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Before we parted for the morning, he suggested I see the German Ambassador,
and I suggested that I also see Lansing and Polk. I left him with a vast accu-
mulation of congratulatory telegrams and letters.
I asked Polk to come to the White House. When I told him of the dis-
cussions the President and I were having he was much disturbed, and thought the
President would wreck his administration if he undertook to carry out his views.
He did not consider the submarine issue was now so pressing, or that the cases in
hand were so offensive as to make it necessary to break off diplomatic negotiations.
This morning in discussing these matters with the President, he went so
far as to say if the Allies wanted war with us we would not shrink from it. This
was in reply to my contention that a proposal of peace would be accepted by Ger-
many and refused by the Allies, and that Germany would then feel that she could
begin an unrestricted u-boat warfare. This would lead him to try to break with
Germany, but our people would not follow him for the reason that Germany having
consented to peace parleys, would be thought more or less justified in employing
unrestricted submarine warfare.
I also told the President that in the event Germany did not do this, and
did not violate international law further, we would inevitably drift into a
sympathetic alliance with her, and if this came about, England and France might,
under provocation, declare war against us. He thought they would not dare re-
sort to this and if they did, they could do this country no serious hurt. I
disagreed with him again. I thought Great Britain might conceivably destroy our
fleet and land troops from Japan in sufficient numbers to hold certain parts of
the United States. He replied they might get a good distance but would have to
stop somewhere, to which I agreed.
In repeating this conversation to Polk, he thought the probable stopping
place would be the Gulf of Mexico. Polk thought I should talk to Lansing, so we
| Title | ms_0466_s2_v4_284 |
| Transcript | Before we parted for the morning, he suggested I see the German Ambassador, and I suggested that I also see Lansing and Polk. I left him with a vast accu- mulation of congratulatory telegrams and letters. I asked Polk to come to the White House. When I told him of the dis- cussions the President and I were having he was much disturbed, and thought the President would wreck his administration if he undertook to carry out his views. He did not consider the submarine issue was now so pressing, or that the cases in hand were so offensive as to make it necessary to break off diplomatic negotiations. This morning in discussing these matters with the President, he went so far as to say if the Allies wanted war with us we would not shrink from it. This was in reply to my contention that a proposal of peace would be accepted by Ger- many and refused by the Allies, and that Germany would then feel that she could begin an unrestricted u-boat warfare. This would lead him to try to break with Germany, but our people would not follow him for the reason that Germany having consented to peace parleys, would be thought more or less justified in employing unrestricted submarine warfare. I also told the President that in the event Germany did not do this, and did not violate international law further, we would inevitably drift into a sympathetic alliance with her, and if this came about, England and France might, under provocation, declare war against us. He thought they would not dare re- sort to this and if they did, they could do this country no serious hurt. I disagreed with him again. I thought Great Britain might conceivably destroy our fleet and land troops from Japan in sufficient numbers to hold certain parts of the United States. He replied they might get a good distance but would have to stop somewhere, to which I agreed. In repeating this conversation to Polk, he thought the probable stopping place would be the Gulf of Mexico. Polk thought I should talk to Lansing, so we |
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