Chapter XVII: DIPLOMATIC NEGOTIATIONS (Continued) (2)

The majority of the German newspapers spoke in a very kindly way about this dinner and about what was said at it. Of course, they all took what I said as an expression of friendliness, and only Reventlow claimed that, by referring to the members of the government, I was interfering in the internal affairs of Germany.

The speeches and, in fact, this dinner constituted a last desperate attempt to preserve friendly relations. Both the reasonable men present and I knew, almost to a certainty, that return to ruthless submarine war had been decided on and that only some lucky chance could prevent the military, backed by the made public opinion, from insisting on a defiance of international law and the laws of humanity.

The day after the dinner the Chancellor sent for me and expressed approval of what I said and thanked me for it and on the surface it seemed as if everything was "as merry as a marriage bell." Unfortunately, I am afraid that all this was only on the surface, and that perhaps the orders to the submarine commanders to recommence ruthless war had been given the day preceding this love-feast.

The Germans believed that President Wilson had been elected with a mandate to keep out of war at any cost, and that America could be insulted, flouted and humiliated with impunity. Even before this dinner we had begun to get rumours of the resumption of ruthless submarine war and within a few days I was cabling to the Department information based not upon absolute facts but upon reports which seemed reliable and which had been collected through the able efforts of our very capable naval attaché, Commander Gherardi.

And this information was confirmed by the hints given to me by various influential Germans. Again and again after the sixth of January, I was assured by Zimmermann and others in the Foreign Office that nothing of the kind was contemplated.

Now were the German moves in the direction of peace sincere or not?

From the time when the Chancellor first spoke of peace, I asked him and others what the peace terms of Germany were. I could never get any one to state any definite terms of peace and on several occasions when I asked the Chancellor whether Germany was willing to withdraw from Belgium, he always said, "Yes, but with guarantees." Finally in January, 1917, when he was again talking of peace, I said, "What are these peace terms to which you refer continually? Will you allow me to ask a few questions as to the specific terms of peace? First are the Germans willing to withdraw from Belgium?" The Chancellor answered, "Yes, but with guarantees." I said, "What are these guarantees?" He said, "We must possibly have the forts of Liege and Namur; we must have other forts and garrisons throughout Belgium. We must have possession of the railroad lines. We must have possession of the ports and other means of communication. The Belgians will not be allowed to maintain an army, but we must be allowed to retain a large army in Belgium. We must have the commercial control of Belgium." I said, "I do not see that you have left much for the Belgians except that King Albert will have the right to reside in Brussels with an honor guard." And the Chancellor said, "We cannot allow Belgium to be an outpost (_Vorwerk_) of England"; and I said, "I do not suppose the English, on the other hand, wish it to become an outpost of Germany, especially as von Tirpitz has said that the coast of Flanders should be retained in order to make war on England and America." I continued, "How about Northern France?" He said, "We are willing to leave Northern France, but there must be a rectification of the frontier." I said, "How about the Eastern frontier?" He said, "We must have a very substantial rectification of our frontier." I said, "How about Roumania?" He said, "We shall leave Bulgaria to deal with Roumania." I said, "How about Serbia?" He said, "A very small Serbia may be allowed to exist, but that is a question for Austria. Austria must be left to do what she wishes to Italy, and we must have indemnities from all countries and all our ships and colonies back."

Of course, "rectification of the frontier" is a polite term for "annexation."

On the twenty-second of January, 1917, our President addressed the Senate; and in his address he referred to his Note of the eighteenth of December, sent to all belligerent governments. In this address he stated, referring to the reply of the Entente Powers to his Peace Note of the eighteenth of December, "We are that much nearer to the definite discussion of the peace which shall end the present war."

He referred to the willingness of both contestants to discuss terms of peace, as follows: "The Central Powers united in reply which stated merely that they were ready to meet their antagonists in conference to discuss terms of peace. The Entente Powers have replied much more definitely and have stated, in general terms, indeed, but with sufficient definiteness to imply details, the arrangements, guarantees and acts of reparation which they deem to be the indispensable conditions of a satisfactory settlement. We are that much nearer a definite discussion of the peace which shall end the present war." The President further referred to a world concert to guarantee peace in the future and said, "The present war must first be ended, but we owe it to candour and to a just regard for the opinion of mankind to say that so far as our participation in guarantees of future peace is concerned, it makes a great deal of difference in what way and upon what terms it is ended." He said that the statesmen of both of the groups of nations at war had stated that it was not part of the purpose they had in mind to crush their antagonists, and he said that it must be implied from these assurances that the peace to come must be "a peace without victory."

In the course of his address he said: "Statesmen everywhere are agreed that there should be a united, independent and autonomous Poland." In another place he said: "So far as practicable, moreover, every great people now struggling toward a full development of its resources and its powers should be assured a direct outlet to the highways of the sea." Where this cannot be done by cession of territory it can no doubt be arranged by the neutralisation of direct rights of way; and he closed by proposing in effect that the nations of the world should adopt the Monroe Doctrine and that no nation should seek to explain its policy for any other nation or people.

After the receipt of the Ultimatum of January thirty-first from Germany, the Chancellor, in a conversation I had with him, referred to this Peace Note of December eighteenth and to the speech of January twenty-second.

I must say here that on my return to Germany I went very far in assuring the Chancellor and other members of the Government of the President's desire to see peace established in the world; and I told them that I believed that the President was ready to go very far in the way of coercing any nation which refused a reasonable peace; but I also impressed on all the members of the Government with whom I came in contact my belief that the election had not in any way altered the policy of the President, and I warned them of the danger to our good relations if ruthless submarine warfare should be resumed.

Von Bethmann-Hollweg, however, at this interview after the thirty-first of January, said that he had been compelled to take up ruthless submarine war because it was evident that President Wilson could do nothing towards peace. He spoke particularly of the President's speech of January twenty-second and said that in that speech the President had made it plain that he considered that the answer of the Entente Powers to his Peace Note formed a basis for peace, which was a thing impossible for Germany even to consider; and said further (and this was a criticism I heard not only from him, but also from many Germans), that when the President spoke of a united and independent Poland he evidently meant to take away from Germany that part of Poland which had been incorporated in the Kingdom of Prussia and give it to this new and independent Kingdom, thereby bringing the Eastern frontier of Germany within two hours by motor from Berlin; and that, further, when the President spoke of giving each nation a highway to the sea, he meant that the German port of Dantzig should be turned over to this new State of Poland, thereby not only taking a Prussian port but cutting the extreme Eastern part of Prussia from the remainder of the country. I said that these objections appeared to me very frivolous; that the President, of course, like a clever lawyer endeavouring to gain his end, which was peace, had said that all parties were apparently agreed that there should be a peace; that if Germany were fighting a merely defensive war, as she had always claimed, she should be greatly delighted when the President declared that all the weight of America was in favor of a peace without victory, which meant, of course, that Germany should be secured from that crushing and dismemberment which Germany's statesmen had stated so often that they feared. I said, further, that I was sure that when the President spoke of the united and independent State of Poland he had not, of course, had reference to Poland at any particular period of its history, but undoubtedly to Poland as constituted by Germany and Austria themselves; and that, in referring to the right of a nation to have access to the sea, he had in mind Russia and the Dardanelles rather than to any attempt to take a Prussian port for the benefit of Poland.

Von Bethmann-Hollweg said that one of the principal reasons why Germany had determined upon a resumption of ruthless submarine warfare was because of this speech of the President to the American Senate. Of course, the trouble with this feeling and the criticism of the President's speech made by the Chancellor is that the orders for the resumption of ruthless submarine warfare had been given long before the news of the speech came to Germany.

I had cabled the information collected by Commander Gherardi as to the orders given to submarines long before the date of the President's speech, and it happened that on the night after I had received the German note announcing this resumption I was taking a walk after dinner about the snow-covered streets of Berlin. In the course of this walk I met a young German woman of my acquaintance who was on intimate terms with the Crown Princess. She was on her way on foot from the opera house, where she had been with the Crown Princess, to the underground station, for by this time, of course, taxis had become an unknown luxury in Berlin, and I joined her. I told her of the Ultimatum which, I had received at six o'clock that evening from Zimmermann and I told her that I was sure that it meant the breaking of diplomatic relations and our departure from Germany. She expressed great surprise that the submarine warfare was set to commence on the thirty-first of January and said that weeks before they had been talking over the matter at the Crown Princess's and that she had heard then that the orders had been given to commence it on the fifteenth. In any event it is certain that the orders to the submarine commanders had been given long prior to the thirty-first and probably as early as the fifteenth.

I sincerely believe that the only object of the Germans in making these peace offers was first to get the Allies, if possible, in a conference and there detach some or one of them by the offer of separate terms; or, if this scheme failed, then it was believed that the general offer and talk about peace would create a sentiment so favourable to the Germans that they might, without fear of action by the United States, resume ruthless submarine warfare against England.

A week or two before the thirty-first of January, Dr. Solf asked me if I did not think that it would be possible for the United States to permit the resumption of ruthless submarine warfare against Great Britain. He said that three months time was all that would be required to bring Great Britain to her knees and end the war. And in fact so cleverly did von Tirpitz, Grand Admiral von Meuster, the Conservatives and the enemies of the Chancellor and other advocates of submarine war carry on their propaganda that the belief was ingrained in the whole of the German nation that a resumption of this ruthless war would lead within three months to what all Germans so ardently desired--peace. It was impossible for any government to resist the popular demand for the use of this illegal means of warfare, because army and navy and people were convinced that ruthless submarine war spelled success and a glorious peace.

But this peace, of course, meant only a German peace, a peace as outlined to me by the Chancellor; a peace impossible for the Allies and even for the world to accept; a peace which would leave Germany immensely powerful and ready immediately after the war to take up a campaign against the nations of the Western hemisphere; a peace which would compel every nation, so long as German autocracy remained in the saddle, to devote its best energies, the most fruitful period of each man's life, to preparations for war.

On January thirtieth, I received a definite intimation of the coming Ultimatum the next day and, judging that the hint meant the resumption of ruthless submarine war, I telegraphed a warning to the American Ambassadors and Ministers as well as to the State Department. On January thirty-first at about four o'clock in the afternoon I received from Zimmermann a short letter of which the following is a copy:

"The Secretary of State of the Foreign Office, Zimmermann,
requests the honor of the visit of his Excellency, the
Ambassador of the United States of America, this afternoon
at six o'clock in the Foreign Office, Wilhelmstrasse 75/76.

"Berlin, the 31st January, 1917."

Pursuant to this letter, I went to the Foreign Office at six o'clock. Zimmermann then read to me in German a note from the Imperial Government, announcing the creation of the war zones about Great Britain and France and the commencement of ruthless submarine warfare at twelve P. M. that night. I made no comment, put the note in my pocket and went back to the Embassy. It was then about seven P. M. and, of course, the note was immediately translated and despatched with all speed to America.

After the despatch of the note I had an interview with the Chancellor in which he, as I have stated above, criticised both the Peace Note of December eighteenth as not being definite enough and the speech to the Senate of January twenty-second; and further said that he believed that the situation had changed, that, in spite of what the President had said in the note before the _Sussex_ settlement, he was now for peace, that he had been elected on a peace platform, and that nothing would happen. Zimmermann at the time he delivered the note told me that this submarine warfare was a necessity for Germany, and that Germany could not hold out a year on the question of food. He further said, "Give us only two months of this kind of warfare and we shall end the war and make peace within three months."

Saturday, February third, the President announced to Congress the breaking of diplomatic relations with Germany. The news of this, of course, did not reach Berlin until the next day; and on this Saturday afternoon Mrs. Gerard and I had an engagement to go to the theatre with Zimmermann and Mrs. Friedlaender-Fuld-Mitford, a young lady whose father is considered the richest man in Berlin, and who had been married to a young Englishman, named Mitford, a son of Lord Redesdale. Through no fault on the lady's part, there had been an annulment of this marriage; and she was occupying a floor of her own in the handsome house of her father and mother on the Pariser-Platz in Berlin. We stopped for Mrs. Mitford and took her to the theatre where we saw a very clever play, I think by Thoma, called "Die Verlorene Tochter" (The Prodigal Daughter). Zimmermann did not come to the play but joined us later at the Friedlaender-Fuld House where we had a supper of four in Mrs. Mitford's apartments. After supper, while I was talking to Zimmermann, he spoke of the note to America and said: "During the past month, this is what I have been doing so often at the General Headquarters with the Emperor. I often thought of telling you what was going on as I used to tell you in the old days, but I thought that you would only say that such a course would mean a break of diplomatic relations, and so I thought there was no use in telling you. But as you will see, everything will be all right. America will do nothing, for President Wilson is for peace and nothing else. Everything will go on as before. I have arranged for you to go to the Great General Headquarters and see the Kaiser next week and everything will be all right."

The next day, Sunday, we had a German who is connected with the Foreign Office and his American wife to lunch, and another German who had been in America, also connected with the Foreign Office. Just as we were going in to lunch some one produced a copy of the "_B. Z._", the noon paper published in Berlin, which contained what seemed to be an authentic account of the breaking of diplomatic relations by America. The lunch was far from cheerful. The Germans looked very sad and said practically nothing, while I tried to make polite conversation at my end of the table.

The next day I went over to see Zimmermann, having that morning received the official despatch from Washington, and told him that I had come to demand my passports.

Of course, Zimmermann by that time had received the news and had had time to compose himself. The American correspondents told me that when he saw them on the day before, he had at first refused to say anything and then had been rather violent in his language and had finally shown great emotion. I am sure, from everything I observed, that the break of diplomatic relations came as an intense surprise to him and to the other members of the government, and yet I cannot imagine why intelligent men should think that the United States of America had fallen so low as to bear without murmur this sudden kick in the face.

The police who had always been about our Embassy since the commencement of the war, were now greatly increased in numbers; and guarded not only the front of the house, but also the rear and the surrounding streets; but there was no demonstration whatever on the part of the people of Berlin. On Tuesday afternoon I went out for a walk, walking through most of the principal streets of Berlin, absolutely alone, and on my return to the Embassy I found Count Montgelas, who, with the rank of Minister, was at the head of the department which included American affairs in the Foreign Office. I asked Montgelas why I had not received my passports, and he said that I was being kept back because the Imperial Government did not know what had happened to Count Bernstorff and that there had been rumours that the German ships in America had been confiscated by our government. I said that I was quite sure that Bernstorff was being treated with every courtesy and that the German ships had not been confiscated. I said, moreover, "I do not see why I have to disprove your idea that Bernstorff is being maltreated and the German ships confiscated. It seems to me it is for you to prove this; and, at any event, why don't you have the Swiss Government, which now represents you, cable to its Minister in Washington and get the exact facts?" He said, "Well, you know, the Swiss are not used to cabling."

He then produced a paper which was a re-affirmation of the treaty between Prussia and the United States of 1799, with some very extraordinary clauses added to it. He asked me to read this over and either to sign it or to get authority to sign it, and said that if it was not signed it would be very difficult for Americans to leave the country, particularly the American correspondents. I read this treaty over and then said, "Of course I cannot sign this on my own responsibility and I will not cable to my government unless I can cable in cipher and give them my opinion of this document." He said, "That is impossible." This treaty was as follows:

Agreement between Germany and the United States of America
concerning the treatment of each other's citizens and their
private property after the severance of diplomatic relations.

_Article 1._

After the severance of diplomatic relations between Germany and
the United States of America and in the event of the outbreak of
war between the two Powers the citizens of either party and their
private property in the territory of the other party shall be
treated according to Article 23 of the treaty of amity and
commerce between Prussia and the United States of 11 July, 1799,
with the following explanatory and supplementary clauses.

_Article 2._

German merchants in the United States and American merchants
in Germany shall so far as the treatment of their persons and
their property is concerned be held in every respect on a par
with the other persons mentioned in Article 23. Accordingly
they shall even after the period provided for in Article 23 has
elapsed be entitled to remain and continue their profession in
the country of their residence.

Merchants as well as the other persons mentioned in Article 23
may be excluded from fortified places or other places of military
importance.

_Article 3._

Germans in the United States and Americans in Germany shall
be free to leave the country of their residence within the
times and by the routes that shall be assigned to them by the
proper authorities.

The persons departing shall be entitled to take along their
personal property including money, valuables and bank accounts
excepting such property the exportation of which is prohibited
according to general provisions.

_Article 4._

The protection of Germans in the United States and of Americans
in Germany and of their property shall be guaranteed in accordance
with the laws existing in the countries of either party. They
shall be under no other restrictions concerning the enjoyment of
their private rights and the judicial enforcement of their rights
than neutral residents; they may accordingly not be transferred
to concentration camps nor shall their private property be subject
to sequestration or liquidation or other compulsory alienation
except in cases that under the existing laws apply also to neutrals.

As a general rule, German property in the United States and
American property in Germany shall not be subject to sequestration
or liquidation or other compulsory alienation under other
conditions than neutral property.

_Article 5._

Patent rights or other protected rights held by Germans in the
United States or Americans in Germany shall not be declared
void; nor shall the exercise of such rights be impeded nor shall
such rights be transferred to others without the consent of the
person entitled thereto; provided that regulations made exclusively
in the interest of the State shall apply.

_Article 6._

Contracts made between Germans and Americans either before or
after the severance of diplomatic relations, also obligations
of all kinds between Germans and Americans shall not be declared
cancelled, void or in suspension except under provisions applicable
to neutrals.

Likewise the citizens of either party shall not be impeded in
fulfilling their liabilities arising from such obligations either
by injunctions or by other provisions unless these apply also to
neutrals.

_Article 7._

The provisions of the sixth Hague Convention relative to the
treatment of enemy merchant ships at outbreak of hostilities
shall apply to the merchant vessels of either party and their
cargo.

The aforesaid ships may not be forced to leave port unless at
the same time they be given a pass recognised as binding by all
the enemy sea powers to a home port or a port of an allied country
or to another port of the country in which the ship happens to be.

_Article 8._

The regulations of chapter 3 of the eleventh Hague Convention
relative to certain restrictions in the exercise of the right
of capture in maritime war shall apply to the captains, officers
and members of the crews of merchant ships specified in Article
7 and of such merchant ships that may be captured in the course
of a possible war.

_Article 9._

This agreement shall apply also to the colonies and other
foreign possessions of either party.

Berlin, February, 1917.

I then said, "I shall not cable at all. Why do you come to me with a proposed treaty after we have broken diplomatic relations and ask an Ambassador who is held as a prisoner to sign it? Prisoners do not sign treaties and treaties signed by them would not be worth anything." And I also said, "After your threat to keep Americans here and after reading this document, even if I had authority to sign it I would stay here until hell freezes over before I would put my name to such a paper."

Montgelas seemed rather rattled, and in his confusion left the paper with me--something, I am sure, he did not intend to do in case of a refusal. Montgelas was an extremely agreeable man and I think at all times had correctly predicted the attitude of America and had been against acts of frightfulness, such as the torpedoing of the _Lusitania_ and the resumption of ruthless submarine war. I am sure that a gentleman like Montgelas undertook with great reluctance to carry out his orders in the matter of getting me to sign this treaty.

I must cheerfully certify that even the most pro-German American correspondents in Berlin, when I told them of Montgelas' threat, showed the same fine spirit as their colleagues. All begged me not to consider them or their liberty where the interests of America were involved.

As soon as diplomatic relations were broken, and I broke them formally not only in my conversation with Zimmermann of Monday morning but also by sending over a formal written request for my passports on the evening of that day, our telegraph privileges were cut off. I was not even allowed to send telegrams to the American consuls throughout Germany giving them their instructions. Mail also was cut off, and the telephone. My servants were not even permitted to go to the nearby hotel to telephone. In the meantime we completed our preparations for departure. We arranged to turn over American interests, and the interests of Roumania and Serbia and Japan, to the Spanish Embassy; and the interests of Great Britain to the Dutch. I have said already that I believe that Ambassador Polo de Bernabe will faithfully protect the interests of America, and I believe that Baron Gevers will fearlessly fight the cause of the British prisoners.

We sold our automobiles; and two beautiful prize winning saddle horses, one from Kentucky and one from Virginia, which I had brought with me from America, went on the stage, that is, I sold them to the proprietor of the circus in Berlin!

The three tons of food which we had brought with us from America we gave to our colleagues in the diplomatic corps,--the Spaniards, Greeks, Dutch and the Central and South Americans. I had many friends among the diplomats of the two Americas who were all men of great ability and position in their own country. I think that most of them know only too well the designs against Central and South America cherished by the Pan-Germans.

Finally, I think on the morning of Friday, Mr. Oscar King Davis, correspondent of the _New York Times_, received a wireless from Mr. Van Anda, editor of the _New York Times_, telling him that Bernstorff and his staff were being treated with every courtesy and that the German ships had not been confiscated. In the evening our telephone was reconnected, and we were allowed to receive some telegrams and to send open telegrams to the consuls, etc. throughout Germany; and we were notified that we would probably be allowed to leave the next day in the evening.

Always followed by spies, I paid as many farewell visits to my diplomatic colleagues as I was able to see; and on Saturday I thought that, in spite of the ridiculous treatment accorded us in cutting off the mail and telephone and in holding me for nearly a week, I would leave in a sporting spirit: I therefore, had my servant telephone and ask whether Zimmermann and von Bethmann-Hollweg would receive me. I had a pleasant farewell talk of about half an hour with each of them and I expressly told the Chancellor that I had come to bid him a personal farewell, not to make a record for any White Book, and that anything he said would remain confidential. I also stopped in to thank Dr. Zahn, of the Foreign Office, who had arranged the details of our departure and gave him a gold cigarette case as a souvenir of the occasion. At the last moment, the Germans allowed a number of the consuls and clerks who had been working in the Embassy, and the American residents in Berlin, to leave on the train with us; so that we were about one hundred and twenty persons in all on this train, which left the Potsdamer station at eight-ten in the evening. The time of our departure had not been publicly announced, but although the automobiles, etc. in front of the Embassy might have attracted a crowd, there was no demonstration whatever; and, in fact, during this week that I was detained in Berlin I walked allover the city every afternoon and evening, went into shops, and so on, without encountering any hostile demonstration.

There was a large crowd in the station to see us off. All the Spanish Embassy, Dutch, Greeks and many of our colleagues from Central and South America were there. There were, from the Foreign Office, Montgelas, Dr. Roediger, Prittwitz and Horstmann. As the train pulled out, a number of the Americans left in Berlin who were on the station platform raised quite a vigorous cheer.

Two officers had been sent by the Imperial Government to accompany us on this train; one, a Major von der Hagen, sent by the General Staff and the other, a representative of the Foreign Office, Baron Wernher von Ow-Wachendorf. It was quite thoughtful of the Foreign Office to send this last officer, as it was by our efforts that he had secured his exchange when he was a prisoner in England; and he, therefore, would be supposed to entertain kindly feelings for our Embassy.

I had ordered plenty of champagne and cigars to be put on the train and we were first invited to drink champagne with the officers in the dining car; then they joined us in the private salon car which we occupied in the end of the train. The journey was uneventful. Outside some of the stations a number of people were drawn up who stared at the train in a bovine way, but who made no demonstration of any kind.

We went through Württemburg and entered Switzerland by way of Schaffhausen. The two officers left us at the last stop on the German side. I had taken the precaution before we left Berlin to find out their names, and, as they left us, I gave each of them a gold cigarette case inscribed with his name and the date.

At the first station on the Swiss side a body of Swiss troops were drawn up, presenting arms, and the Colonel commanding the Swiss army (there are no generals in Switzerland), attended by several staff officers, came on the train and travelled with us nearly to Zurich.

I started to speak French to one of these staff officers, but he interrupted me by saying in perfect English, "You do not have to speak French to me. My name is Iselin, many of my relations live in New York and I lived there myself some years."

At Zurich we left the German special train, and were met on the platform by some grateful Japanese, the American Consul and a number of French and Swiss newspaper reporters, thus ending our exodus from Germany.