"Thrilling events may follow shortly," said the Cleveland Leader, for "any day may witness a fight to the death between a German submarine and an American ship carrying guns supplied by the United States Navy and manned by naval gunners," and Germany "would doubtless declare war." Germany's attitude was disclosed by Foreign Secretary Zimmermann: "We are determined to carry through the submarine war to the end," said he, "and have spoken our last word; the decision is in President Wilson's hands." The President's act "will cause a thrill of patriotic enthusiasm throughout the land," said the Philadelphia Public Ledger. He "has done right and acted wisely," remarked the Utica Press; while the Albany Knickerbocker Press believed his action "well considered and thoroughly justified." The Boston Herald hoped there would be "no further faltering." The Springfield Republican put the case in these words: "Either the United States must stay on the seas or get off the seas; if it is to stay on the seas further delay in arming merchantmen can scarcely be tolerated."

On March 12 "armed neutrality" became the settled purpose of the Government. All the world was to be officially informed of it as soon as notifications delivered to the Embassies and Legations of Foreign Governments represented in Washington could be transmitted. The German Government was to be notified through the Swiss Government, which was representing German interests in the United States. The formal notice read as follows:

"In view of the announcements of the Imperial German Government on January 31, 1917, that all ships, those of neutrals included, met within certain zones of the high seas, would be sunk without any precaution taken for the safety of the persons on board, and without the exercise of visit and search, the Government of the United States has determined to place upon all American merchant vessels sailing through the barred areas an armed guard for the protection of the vessels and the lives of the persons on board.”

By repeated acts Germany thus created a state of war between herself and the United States. Her acts in fact were not to be looked upon as provocation to war; they were war itself. Reports came late in March of the sinking of three

more American ships by German submarines-the Vigilancia, the City of Memphis, and the Illinois, two of which were westward bound in ballast. All were trading vessels of American ownership and registry and manned by Americans. Some parts of the crews were saved but many men were missing. The destruction of these ships, after the warnings we had given by word and act, dispelled all doubt as to Germany's intentions. It was impossible longer to entertain a belief that she would try to avoid war with the United States. She was firing upon our ships, she was sinking them, and destroying or endangering the lives of our citizens, which was the essence of war, such acts being incompatible with a wish to avoid it.

When German U-boats had thus added five to their already heavy toll of American lives, official Washington realized that we had passed, by the inexorable logic of events, from "armed neutrality" to "a state of war." That was the view taken by the Cabinet in its meeting of March 20. The following day the President issued a second call to Congress to meet on April 2, two weeks earlier than the date named in his first summons, "to receive a communication concerning grave matters of national policy which should be taken immediately under consideration." These "grave matters" related to Germany's attacks upon American ships. and American citizens. A state of war between Germany and the United States actually existed, said Vice-President Marshall in a speech at Montgomery, Ala., on the 20th. This opinion was echoed by Charles E. Hughes, Elihu Root, and Theodore Roosevelt. "There is now a state of war, and the people of the United States should recognize the fact." said Mr. Hughes. "Germany is making war on us and our reply must be either war or submission," affirmed Mr. Root. Colonel Roosevelt, after pointing out that Germany "had steadily waged war upon us" ever since her declaration of unrestricted submarine warfare on January 31, added: "Let us face the accomplished fact, admit that Germany is at war with us, and in turn wage war on Germany with all our energy and courage and regain the right to look the whole world in the eyes without flinching."

More than twenty American ships had now been attacked

by German and Austrian submarines and other Teutonic commerce raiders since the outbreak of the war, according to data compiled at the State Department. Ten had been destroyed by submarines, one, the William P. Frye, by the German converted cruiser and raider Prinz Eitel Freidrich, and one, the Cushing, by a German airship. On March 23 survivors of an American oil-steamship, the Healdton, sunk by a German submarine, arrived at Rotterdam. Seven Americans had perished. The captain described how he had been in his cabin when aroused by a terrific concussion. All the lights went out and he rushed on deck to stop the engines only to find that a torpedo had gone through amidships at the spot where the ship's name was illuminated brightly, and had wrecked the engine-room. The light clearly had served as a target. He rushed back to the cabin in the dark and was just able to grab a coat and his sextant before a second explosion shook the ship. This time it had been torpedoed aft, setting the tanks ablaze. Burning oil ran in all directions. The Healdton was settling fast by the stern. One or two men never came up. The submarine came forward at once and was facing the sinking ship but no men could be seen on the submarine. She soon dived under the water again. In twenty minutes all was over. Then came twelve hours in open boats, every one insufficiently clad, and exposed to bitter hail and snow until picked up by the trawler Java. According to the captain's calculations he was well within the so-called safe channel when the Healdton was torpedoed. Two sloops with thirteen and seven men respectively, succeeded in getting away, but the third, containing twenty-one men, capsized and nearly all were drowned.

The Healdton was an American ship; she was flying an American flag, and in her crew were thirteen American citizens. Without warning she was torpedoed twenty-five miles off the coast of Holland, outside the German barred zone and within the limits of the safety-zone. A score of human lives were lost. The act was one of the cumulative provocations that could make no change in our growing resolve to take up arms against Germany, save that it would stir the American people to a firmer determination. The

only adequate explanation of Germany's behavior, the only one that really explained, was the assumption that she was afflicted with some hitherto unobserved and monstrous variety of rabies.3

2 Principal Sources: The Independent, The Outlook, New York; The Chicago Tribune; The Times, The Evening Post, The Literary Digest, New York; Associated Press dispatches.

THE HOSTILE GERMAN U-53 THAT CAME TO AMERICA IN 1916 In the period when relations between the United States and Germany were growing more and more critical. but six months before we declared war on Germany, the German U-53 suddenly made its appearance in Newport Harbor and off Nantucket on October S. sark the Newfoundland liner Stephano and some smaller boats, the result as to marine insurance rates being that they were advanced about 500 per cent. It was not until the late summer and autumn of 1918 that U-boats again visited the Atlantic coast. Both visits were accepted at the time as German efforts to repress the war spirit in the United States