Americans can do their own thinking when the facts are laid before them.
I have really no authority to speak. But my mission in the United
States is to inform your people of the German attitude. The German
Ambassador, Count von Bernstorff, can speak only in official phrases. I
talk straight out, bluntly.
_Dr. Dernburg put much stress on the fact that the Cunard Line officials
did not warn American passengers that the ship carried a large store of
ammunition and other contraband of war. He continued:_
Did they issue a warning? I would like an answer. If that warning was
not given, American passengers were being used as a cloak for England's
war shipments.
It is not reasonable that such a vessel could not be sunk because there
were American passengers on board. They had been warned by Germany of
the danger.
England could hire one American to travel to and fro on each of her
ships, carry on shipments of arms, and place her men-of-war anywhere, if
American passengers can be used as shields.
_Asked whether he expected action by the United States because of the
Lusitania's sinking, Dr. Dernburg said:_
That is a question I cannot discuss.
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