at that time, when there
was as yet no definite provocation--as, for example, the Mexico
Dispatch. The theory of this small pro-German group in New York
was that Congress would at that time have done anything to avoid
war, and that they had only accepted the Gore resolution in order
to humiliate the President in the eyes of the world as no head
of a State had ever been disavowed before.

In the same quarter--as also happened before the Committee of the
German National Assembly--the whole question aroused indignation.
It was said that when the Germans read that it had been pompously
brought forward as a point of honor whether a few Americans should
travel by enemy armed vessels, they bristled with anger. It looked
to them as though the alternatives were whether these few Americans
should travel in the war-zone on neutral ships, or whether a great
civilized nation like Germany should go under! The matter developed
from the "too proud to fight" attitude--when Wilson really believed
there was a danger of war, and so drew back--to the tone of February,
1916--when he no longer believed in the possibility of war, but
felt sure that he could subdue us with hard words. They thought it
strange, moreover, to hear Wilson speaking of the gradual breakdown
of the delicate structure of international law. That had resulted
from England's attitude, and in 1812 America had declared war on
the English because of an illegal blockade.

Politics are not to be carried on by indignation, but only with a
cool head and a clear vision for political realities. We could not
alter the American situation, but must strive to conduct ourselves
in such a way as to prejudice the position of the United States as
little as possible.

I had from the beginning little doubt that Mr. Wilson would make
his will prevail, because the domestic position in the United States
made any other issue impossible. The presidential election was
imminent, and the Democratic party had no likely candidate apart
from Mr. Wilson. If a split occurred within the party the Republicans
would be bound to win. Senators Stone and Gore were the leaders of the
Democratic Opposition, while the Republicans in this case supported
the policy of the President, partly because they were on the side of
the Entente, partly because they wanted to assure the interests of
American commerce. As has already been mentioned, Senator Stone had
always maintained a neutral attitude to the last, chiefly