_Editorial comment of the German newspapers on President Wilson's note
of June 9 was reported by_ THE TIMES _staff correspondent in Berlin on
June 12 as being "surprisingly restrained and optimistic." Captain L.
Persius, the naval critic of the Berliner Tageblatt, which is close to
Dr. von Bethmann-Hollweg, writing under the caption, "On the Way to an
Understanding," said:_
An agreement is possible and the Washington Government shows an honest
desire to arrive at an agreement. This is characteristic of the
American note. There is no evidence of rattling the sabre, as those
who viewed American statesmen and American conditions rightly
anticipated. The hopes of our enemies who have already rejoiced at the
thought that the Stars and Stripes soon would be floating beside the
union jack and the tricolor are proved false, and one can anticipate
that the answer of our Government will put aside that last stumbling
block to doing away with all differences. The note indicates that
America by no means takes the position that the German Admiralty must
issue an order to end the submarine warfare before any negotiations
can be entered upon. Giving up submarine warfare is only hinted at by
implication. Germany's humanity is appealed to entirely in general
terms and merely the expectation is expressed that the lives of
American citizens and their property will be spared in the future.
A willingness is expressed to help make England give up the plan to
starve out Germany. The giving up of the attempt to starve Germany out
on the part of England is the most important point for us. The main
interest will centre in future upon it. Will England declare herself
ready to return to the basis of the London Declaration? Will she no
longer place any difficulties in the way of neutral commerce, and in
particular will she remove the declaration of the North Sea as a war
zone? We will wait and see if the English statesmen have learned that
Germany can't be starved. We can await Great Britain's decision with
quietness.
_The evening edition of the Vossische Zeitung said:_
President Wilson's note creates no new situation between Germany and
America, but its honorable and carefully weighed tone will help to
clear up the existing situation. There can be no difference of opinion
about Mr. Wilson's final aim--that the lives of peaceful neutrals must
be kept out of danger. What we can do and what America must do to
achieve this will require negotiations between us and America, which
must be conducted with every effort toward being just and by
maintaining our standpoint in the friendliest spirit.
_The Lokalanzeiger commented:_
The colored reports spread by our enemies are not borne out by the
text, which contains no trace of an ultimatum. The tone is friendly
and free from all brusqueness. The contents are only a rewriting of
the earlier standpoint, and it will be a matter for further
negotiations to state again the arguments advanced by Germany and to
justify them. It would be premature to comment on individual points,
particularly those of a technical nature. One can rejoice, however,
that the Wilson note is so couched as not to preclude a possibility
for further negotiations promising success.
He gives the German Government an opportunity to send further proofs
in the Lusitania case and declares his willingness to negotiate
between Germany and England relative to mutual concessions having a
bearing on submarine warfare. This offer, to be sure, would have been
decidedly more valuable if he had expressed a willingness to take the
initiative. But be that as it may, in the further negotiations America
will see that on the German side exists an honorable desire to deal
with friendly suggestions in a friendly spirit. In any event, the
situation resulting from the American note is such that it is apparent
that in the statement trumpeted abroad that America had also entered
the ranks of our enemies the wish was father to the thought.
_The widely read Mittag Zeitung said of the note:_
The alarming messages which the Reuter Bureau appended to the Bryan
resignation must be all taken back today. There is neither an
ultimatum nor any threatening language toward Germany in the note. To
be sure, the difference between America's and Germany's conception of
the submarine warfare remain. The Americans for the present simply
will not see that the best protection against endangering the lives of
American citizens is for Americans not to go aboard English ships.
Over the question of whether the Lusitania carried ammunition or not,
which for us is not in question, the present inquiry will throw some
light. In any case, the English hope and prophecy that the new note
would mean a rupture in the German-American negotiations have not been
fulfilled. For everything else we can wait with calmness.
_The morning edition of the Vossische Zeitung, commenting on the
summary, merely said:_
The contents and tone of this note make it inexplainable that the
break between Wilson and Bryan was on its account. After Bryan's
declarations we had expected a note which might conjure up danger of a
German-American war. Mr. Bryan, who heads all the American peace
associations and likes to hear himself popularly referred to as the
Prince of Peace, apparently wants to appear as the savior from this
danger for reasons of internal politics, so as to win peace friends
among the German-Americans, Irish, and Jews with a view to the
Democratic Presidential nomination. Mr. Wilson, on the other hand,
hopes as negotiator between England and Germany to play the rôle of
arbiter mundi and through a great success in foreign politics assure
his position at home. The new Secretary, Mr. Lansing, has been long
considered a coming man. He has by no means been considered an
out-and-out friend of England.
_The Morgen Post, in a particularly sane two-column editorial,
expresses Germany's genuine satisfaction over America's hearty offer
of good offices, and says:_
There is no tinge of threat or high-handed tone toward Germany in the
note. On the contrary, its tone is quiet though earnest throughout,
and in several places it strikes a note of whole-hearted friendship
and seeks to leave a way open for further friendly negotiations. No
doubt the German Government will accept America's proffered good
offices with pleasure. It will be interesting to see what attitude the
English will now take. If they will revise the contraband list set up
by themselves and desist from making difficulties for neutral commerce
with Germany, and, above all, let foodstuffs and textile raw materials
through unhindered to Germany, then so far as we are concerned the
submarine warfare can cease.
Let the English continue to violate international law whereby they
forced us to resort to the use of the submarine as a weapon against
their commerce, and we will never allow ourselves to be persuaded to
give up this weapon, the only one we have to protect us against
violation at the hands of England and with which we can punish England
for her unlawful conduct. Should America's good offices prove to be in
vain it will be not ours but England's fault, and the Americans will
then readily understand that the reproach of an inhuman mode of
warfare must be laid at the doors of England and not Germany.
It will soon be seen whether President Wilson employs the same measure
of energy against the English as against us. We sincerely hope so
because of the friendly, hearty tone of his note. "The American
Government cannot admit that the proclamation of a war zone may be
made to abbreviate the rights of American citizens?" Really not? We
recall that at the beginning of the war England declared the whole
North Sea as a war zone and the Americans did not get excited at that
time. We had a right to protest bitterly at America's attitude then,
but we will forget about it at the present moment. America has
proffered her good offices, and we will not doubt that her intentions
are honorable and meant in good faith.
_Paul Michaelis, in the Tageblatt, said:_
It is certain that the note does not simplify the serious situation,
and it is equally certain that it does not completely bar the way to
a peaceful and friendly understanding. The American Government holds
fast to the principle that submarine warfare on merchantmen is
inconsistent with the principles of justice and humanity, but the
German Government has never left the slightest doubt that it only
decided on the submarine warfare because the English method of
scorning all previous rules of naval warfare forced Germany to a
counter-war on commerce with the submarine.
But there seems to be no reason why the German and American
Governments should not get together in a joint discussion looking
toward some other form of naval warfare. This presupposes that
England, which took the first step in the commerce war, also takes the
first step to end it. At the same time the question must be
investigated of how ammunition shipments to our enemies can be
reconciled with the eternal principles of humanity featured by the
American note.
While there may be some practical difficulties, there can be no doubt
of Germany's willingness to help to bring about a modification of the
naval war along more humane lines. The answer to the American note
must, of course, take most carefully into account all the diplomatic,
political, and military exigencies, and it will be several weeks
before it is ready to be handed to the American Ambassador, especially
as we must wait to hear Dr. Meyer-Gerhard.
But it must be said now that the German people, now, as formerly, lay
great value on a continuation of unclouded relations with the United
States, whose war for freedom it once greeted with rejoicing, and
within whose borders millions of Germans have found a new home.
_Count Reventlow, Germany's "enfant terrible" who has been a
consistent thorn in the flesh of the German Foreign Office because of
his anti-American utterances, struck a surprisingly restrained and
moderate tone in the Tageszeitung:_
The question is not how it may be possible to do away with all
differences of opinion under all circumstances, but whether it is at
all possible to do away with them without rendering the submarine war
impotent. This standpoint contains nothing unfriendly, nothing brusque
against the United States. The practical question remains whether we
can preserve our German standpoint and still come to an understanding
with America. If Mr. Wilson holds to his non-recognition of the war
zone, with all its corollaries, then we cannot see how we can possibly
come to a real understanding.
On the other hand, the question arises whether President Wilson would
continue to cling to that standpoint if certain modifications and
mutual guarantees could be brought about which under certain
circumstances would render American passenger traffic safe.
_A newspaper war between advocates of a friendly settlement and the
"no compromise" representatives soon began to rage. Naval writers in
particular urged that Germany could not afford to yield an iota
regarding the principles and practice of submarine warfare, but the
very violence of their attacks upon the advocates of an understanding
indicates that the latter are not without influence._
_The Cologne Gazette points out editorially that the German press in
general has shown satisfaction that President Wilson's communication
offers opportunity for an understanding, and expresses the belief that
diplomacy on both sides of the Atlantic will work with zeal and
good-will to this end. It adds:_
It is quite certain the German Government, at least, will do this, and
will be generally supported therein by the people. It would be pure
imbecility to seek to drag in without necessity a ninth or tenth enemy
for ourselves, even though its participation in the war should be
limited to supplying the Quadruple Alliance with money and munitions.
We say without necessity; for recognition of the fact that Germany is
acting in self-defense in using the torpedoes of its submarines
against hostile merchantmen so long as England maintains its business
blockade against us should, we believe, be a condition which the
United States should recognize as preliminary to negotiations.
_In a leading article entitled "Bad Advice" the Cologne Gazette takes
the Lokalanzeiger to task for attempting to palliate the British
"starving-out policy" and exportations from America of war supplies.
Conceding that the cutting off of supplies is an accepted method of
warfare, it states that international law provides expressly that this
weapon may be used only in the form of an effective blockade. It holds
that no effective blockade of the German coasts has been declared,
however, and that Germany therefore is deprived of the possibility of
taking action against blockading ships._
_Regarding the exportation of munitions from the United States, the
Gazette adopts the argument of Philip Zorn, German member of The Hague
Tribunals, that, although the convention adopted at The Hague
justifies sales by private firms, a neutral State is bound to prohibit
sales of this nature when the commerce in arms assumes such magnitude
that continuation of war is directly dependent thereon. He says:_
"That the German representatives [at The Hague] voted in favor of
permission to deliver arms is incontestable," the article continues,
"but there is a great difference between stamping every sale of arms
by a private firm in a neutral State as a violation of international
law--this was what the German representatives objected to--and arguing
that to supply enormous quantities to one group of belligerents alone,
and to devote practically the entire available industry of a country
thereto, is consonant with the spirit of true neutrality."
_Captain von Kuehlwetter, the naval expert of the Tag, points out that
the American note passes over in silence the German representations
regarding the British Admiralty's instructions to merchantmen to seek
cover under neutral flags and to attack submarines under this cover.
He declares this is the kernel of the whole argument and the
justification for the German policy. He adds:_
If a submarine attacks such a ship there is an outcry about barbarians
who violate international law and endanger innocent neutral
passengers, but if a ship attacks a submarine then it is a brave act
of a daring shipper, to whom is given a commission, a gold watch, and
a diploma.