Von Jagow had the
same idea and said that it was "fate," and that there was nothing
more to be done. I myself felt that nothing could alter public
opinion in Germany; that in spite of von Tirpitz' fall, which had
taken place some time before, the advocates of ruthless submarine
warfare would win, and that to satisfy them Germany would risk
a break with America.
I was sitting in my office in a rather dazed and despairing state
when Professor Ludwig Stein, proprietor of a magazine called
_North_and_South_ and a writer of special articles on Germany's
foreign relations for the _Vossische_Zeitung_, under the
name of "Diplomaticus," called to see me.
He informed me that he thought the situation was not yet hopeless,
that there was still a large party of reasonable men in Germany
and that he thought much good could be done if I should go to
the great general headquarters and have a talk with the Kaiser,
who, he informed me, was reported to be against a break.
I told Dr. Stein that, of course, I was perfectly willing to
go if there was the slightest chance of preventing war; and I
also told the Chancellor that if he was going to decide this
question in favor of peace it would be possibly easier for him
if the decision was arrived at under the protection, as it were,
of the Emperor; or that, if the decision lay with the Emperor,
I might possibly be able to help in convincing him if I had an
opportunity to lay the American side of the case before him.
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