pedoing (March 24, 1916)
of the Sussex, a Channel ferry-boat, crowded with passengers, among whom
were many Americans. Then the President sent a flat message calling down
the Potsdam pirates and declaring that unless they abandoned their
nefarious practices "the United States had no choice but to sever
diplomatic relations with the German Empire altogether" (April 18,
1916).

This brought a grudging promise from Germany that she would henceforth
refrain from sinking merchant-vessels "without warning and without
saving human lives, unless the ship attempted to escape or offer
resistance." How this promise was kept may be judged from the sinking of
the Marina (October 28), with the loss of eight American lives, and of
the Russian (December 14), with the loss of seventeen American lives,
and other similar sinkings.

During all this time Germany had been building new and larger submarines
with wonderful industry. She had filled up her pack of sea-wolves. On
January 31, 1917, she revoked her flimsy pledge, let loose her
wolf-pack, and sent word to all the neutral nations that she would sink
at sight all ships found in the zones which she had marked "around Great
Britain, France, Italy, and in the Eastern Mediterranean." (Why We Are
at War, p. 23, New York, 1917.) The President promptly broke off
diplomatic relations (February 3), and said that we should refrain from
hostilities until the commission of "actual overt acts" by Germany
forced us to the conviction that she meant to carry out her base threat.

The overt acts came quickly. Between February 3 and April 1 eight
American merchant-ships were sunk, and more than forty American lives
were destroyed by the Potsdam pirates.

The die was cast. On April 2, 1917, the President advised Congress that
the United States could no longer delay the formal acceptance of "the
status of belligerent which had been thrust upon it." On April 6
Congress took the necessary action. On the same day the President
proclaimed that "a state of war exists between the United States and the
Imperial German Government."

Back of this momentous and noble decision, in which the hearts of the
immense majority of Americans are with the President, there are
undoubtedly many strong and righteous reasons. Some of these I have
tried to set forth in the first part of this article. But we must never
forget that the specific reason given by the President, the definite
cause which forced us into the war, i