sixth, from Copenhagen. The
newspapers to-day and last night print articles to the effect
that the negotiations are taking a more favourable course.

* * * * *

_February, 1916._ I dined last night at von Jagow's. He said I
would get a note to-day which would accept all Bernstorff's
propositions except, as he put it, one word, viz.: Germany will
acknowledge liability for the loss of American lives by the
sinking of the _Lusitania_, but will not acknowledge that the act
of sinking was illegal. He said that international law had to be
changed, that the submarine was a new weapon, and that, anyway,
if a break came with America, that they had a lot of new
submarines here and would make an effective submarine blockade of
England. To-day a cipher from the German Foreign Office came in
to be forwarded to the State Department for Bernstorff, so I
suppose this is what he referred to. Probably the Germans are in
earnest on this proposition. It is now squarely up to the
American people to decide.

Of course, I am very much disturbed at the turn of affairs, but I
am doing nothing except repeating to Lansing what is said to me,
and trying to convince the Germans that we are in earnest.

* * * * *

I was very glad to see Colonel House in Berlin, for many reasons,
and, especially, that the President may get his view of the
situation here. He had long talks with the Chancellor, von Jagow,
and Zimmermann, and also met Dr. Solf, the Colonial Minister; von
Gwinner, head of the Deutsche Bank; Gutmann, of the Dresdner
Bank; and Dr. Rathenau, head of the Allegemeine Electricitaets
Gesellschaft and many corporations, who is now engaged with the
General Staff in providing raw materials for Germany.

I think the Germans are getting short of copper and nickel,
especially the latter. Copper lightning rods of churches have
been taken and an effort was made to take the brass reading desk
in the American Church and the fittings in the Japanese Embassy.

I think from underground rumours that the Germans and the
propagandists will endeavour to embroil us with Japan.

Baroness von Schroeder, a von Tirpitz spy, stated the other day
that Japan would send a note to the United States of America
making demands on the U. S. in regard to the Japanese immigration
question.

There was a well-defined report that Germany would issue a
manifesto stating that enemy merchant ships would be f