The latest American Note to Germany—the text of which was
published in the papers of Monday, and about which we have written fully elsewhere—was followed almost imme- diately by another outrage against an American vessel. On Sunday last the Leclanaw,' bound from Archangel to Belfast with flax, was sunk off the Orkneys. The crew were warned to leave the vessel, and were taken on board the German submarine. When within sight of land they were placed in their boats and the submarine dived. The Leelanaw,' which did not sink under shell-fire, was finally torpedoed. The excitement caused in America was considerable. If any of the crew had been killed, the relations of Germany and the United States must have reached the breaking-point. As it was, the destruction of property was felt to be less provocative than the destruction of life, and the situation remains much as before, though Mr. Wilson has demanded compensation.
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