Never in history had a neutral nation indicted another as the United States did Germany in its first Lusitania note without immediately going to war.  Because the Foreign Office feared the reaction it might have upon the people, the newspapers were not permitted to publish the text until the press bureaus of the Navy and the Foreign Office had mobilised the editorial writers and planned a publicity campaign to follow the note’s publication.  But the Navy and Foreign Office could not agree on what should be done.  The Navy wanted to ignore Wilson.  Naval officers laughed at President Wilson’s impertinence and, when the Foreign Office sent to the Admiralty for all data in possession of the Navy Department regarding the sinking of the Lusitania the Navy refused to acknowledge the request.

During this time I was in constant touch with the Foreign Office and the American Embassy.  Frequently I went to the Navy Department but was always told they had nothing to say.  When it appeared, however, that there might he a break in diplomatic relations over the Lusitania the Kaiser called the Chancellor to Great Headquarters for a conference.  Meanwhile Germany delayed her reply to the American note because the Navy and Foreign Office were still at loggerheads.  On the 31st of May von Jagow permitted me to quote him in an interview saying: 

“America can hardly expect us to give up any means at our disposal to fight our enemy.  It is a principle with us to defend ourselves in every possible way.  I am sure that Americans will be reasonable enough to believe that our two countries cannot discuss the Lusitania matter until both have the same basis of facts.”

The American people were demanding an answer from Germany and because the two branches of the Government could not agree on what should be said von Jagow had to do something to gain time.  Germany, therefore, submitted in her reply of the 28th of May certain facts about the Lusitania for the consideration of the American Government saying that Germany reserved final statements of its position with regard “to the demands made in connection with the sinking of the Lusitania until a reply was received from the American Government.”  After the note was despatched the chasm between the Navy and Foreign Office was wider than ever.  Ambassador Gerard, who went to the Foreign Office daily, to try to convince the officials that they were antagonising the whole world by their attitude on the Lusitania question, returned to the Embassy one day after a conference with Zimmermann and began to prepare a scrap book of cartoons and clippings from American newspapers.  Two secretaries were put to work pasting the comments, interviews, editorials and cartoons reflecting American opinion in the scrap book.  Although the German Foreign Office had a big press department its efforts were devoted more to furnishing the outside world with German views than with collecting outside opinions for the information of the German Government.  Believing that this information would be of immeasurable benefit to the German diplomats in sounding the depths of public sentiment in America, Gerard delivered the book to von Jagow personally.