e him to make, on his own initiative
in Berlin, at the time when the American Note of 10th June had
to be answered, a proposal which met with a by no means cordial
reception. His suggestion was that a certain number of passenger
ships, detailed beforehand for the purpose, and rendered clearly
recognizable, should be used for the transport of Americans to
England; but though this scheme was embodied in the German Note
of 8th July, it was at once rejected at Washington. Any assent
to it would no doubt have involved a further departure from the
principles laid down by the American Government--principles which
it desired should be generally accepted, but which had already been
in some measure compromised. The vessels which it was suggested
should be employed in this service were to be marked in red, white
and blue stripes, and as barbers' shops in the United States are
decorated in this manner, they were called "Barber Ships."

On the 21st of July, the final American Note on the _Lusitania_ case
was dispatched. The Washington Government modified their position to
the extent that they recognized the legality of submarine warfare,
provided that before the sinking of any merchant ship, the crew and
passengers were given a chance to leave in safety; in the main,
however, the Note maintained the original American point of view.
It read as follows:

"If a belligerent cannot retaliate against an enemy without injuring
the lives of neutrals as well as their property, humanity as well
as justice and due regard for the dignity of neutral Powers should
dictate that the practice be discontinued. If persisted in it would
in such circumstances constitute an unpardonable offence against
the Sovereignty of the neutral nation affected ... the Government
of the United States cannot believe that the Imperial Government
will longer refrain from disavowing the wanton act of its naval
commander in sinking the _Lusitania_ or offering reparation for
the American lives lost, so far as reparation can be made for the
needless destruction of human life by that illegal act.

"In the meanwhile the very value which this Government sets upon
the long, unbroken friendship between the people and Government
of the United States and the people and Government of the German
nation, impels it to press most solemnly upon the Imperial German
Government the necessity for the scrupulous observance of neutral
rights. This is a critical matter. Friendship itself