The text of the German Reply to the American Note
about the Lusitania' and submarine warfare generally was published in the papers of Tuesday. It is a wholesale effort in tem- porizing, evading, and equivocating. The German Govern- ment profess "a keen wish to co-operate in a frank and friendly way in clearing up a possible misunderstanding which may have arisen in the relations of the two Govern- ments." As regards the attacks on the American steamships 'Cushing' and Gulflight,' the reply says that Germany has no intention of bombing or torpedoing in the war zone neutral ships which have committed no hostile act If there have been isolated and exceptional instances of such attacks, they were due to the difficulty of identification, and this in turn was due to the misuse of neutral flags by British merchant- men and to the "auspicious or culpable behaviour" of British masters. Reparation will be made for the 'Cushing' and • Gulflight ' if the inquiry now in progress shows Germany to be at fault. The inquiry, it is suggested, can be supple- mented if desired by an international Commission under the Hague Agreement of 1907.
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