of State:  “Liners will not be sunk by our submarines without warning and without safety of the lives of non-combatants, provided the liners do not try to escape or offer resistance.”  Editorially, the New York Times declared:  “It is a triumph not only of diplomacy but of reason, of humanity, of justice, and of truth.”  The Secretary of State saw in it “a recognition of the fundamental principles for which we have contended.”

=The Presidential Election of 1916.=—­In the midst of this crisis came the presidential campaign.  On the Republican side everything seemed to depend upon the action of the Progressives.  If the breach created in 1912 could be closed, victory was possible; if not, defeat was certain.  A promise of unity lay in the fact that the conventions of the Republicans and Progressives were held simultaneously in Chicago.  The friends of Roosevelt hoped that both parties would select him as their candidate; but this hope was not realized.  The Republicans chose, and the Progressives accepted, Charles E. Hughes, an associate justice of the federal Supreme Court who, as governor of New York, had won a national reputation by waging war on “machine politicians.”

In the face of the clamor for expressions of sympathy with one or the other of the contending powers of Europe, the Republicans chose a middle course, declaring that they would uphold all American rights “at home and abroad, by land and by sea.”  This sentiment Mr. Hughes echoed in his acceptance speech.  By some it was interpreted to mean a firmer policy in dealing with Great Britain; by others, a more vigorous handling of the submarine menace.  The Democrats, on their side, renominated President Wilson by acclamation, reviewed with pride the legislative achievements of the party, and commended “the splendid diplomatic victories of our great President who has preserved the vital interests of our government and its citizens and kept us out of war.”

In the election which ensued President Wilson’s popular vote exceeded that cast for Mr. Hughes by more than half a million, while his electoral vote stood 277 to 254.  The result was regarded, and not without warrant, as a great personal triumph for the President.  He had received the largest vote yet cast for a presidential candidate.  The Progressive party practically disappeared, and the Socialists suffered a severe set-back, falling far behind the vote of 1912.

=President Wilson Urges Peace upon the Warring Nations.=—­Apparently convinced that his pacific policies had been profoundly approved by his countrymen, President Wilson, soon after the election, addressed “peace notes” to the European belligerents.  On December 16, the German Emperor proposed to the Allied Powers that they enter into peace negotiations, a suggestion that was treated as a mere political maneuver by the opposing governments.  Two days later President Wilson sent a note to the warring nations asking them to avow