and disinterested service which should make
us ashamed of any thought of hostility or fearful preparation for
trouble." Hence his proclamation of neutrality, which was universally
accepted as right. Hence, also, his adjuration to be "impartial in thought
as well as in action," which was not so universally accepted and marks,
perhaps, a definite rift between Wilson and the bulk of educated opinion
in the Northeast.

[Footnote 2: Speech on the _George Washington_, July 4, 1919.]

During the early days of August Wilson had proclaimed his desire to act
as mediator between the warring forces, although he must have realized
that the suggestion would prove fruitless at that moment. Again, after
the battle of the Marne, he took advantage of German discouragement,
apparently receiving a hint from Johann von Bernstorff, German
Ambassador in Washington, to sound the belligerents on the possibility of
an arrangement. Failing a second time to elicit serious consideration of
peace, he withdrew to wait for a better opportunity. Thus the Germans,
beaten back from Paris, vainly pounded the allied lines on the Yser; the
Russians, after forcing their path through Galicia, defended Warsaw with
desperation; while Wilson kept himself and his country strictly aloof
from the conflict.

But no mere desires or declarations could prevent the war from touching
America, and each day made more apparent the difficulties and the dangers
of neutrality. The Atlantic no longer separated the two worlds. In
September and October the British Government, taking advantage of the
naval supremacy assured by their fleet, issued Orders in Council designed
to provide for close control of neutral commerce and to prevent the
importation of contraband into Germany. British supervision of war-time
trade has always been strict and its interpretation of the meaning of
contraband broad; the present instance was no exception. American ships
and cargoes were seized and confiscated to an extent which, while it
doubtless seemed justified to the British, who were fighting for their
lives, evoked a chorus of bitter complaints from American producers and
exporters. Commerce with neutral countries of Europe threatened to become
completely interrupted. On the 21st of October and again on the 26th of
December, the State Department sent notes of protest to the British
Government. The tone of the discussion was notably sharpened by the
seizure of the _Wilhelmina_, supposedly an A