We find that the appalling crime was committed contrary to international
law and the conventions of all civilized nations.
We also charge the officers of said submarine and the Emperor and the
Government of Germany, under whose orders they acted, with the crime of
wholesale murder before the tribunal of the civilized world.
We desire to express sincere condolences and sympathy with the relatives
of the deceased, the Cunard Company, and the United States, many of
whose citizens perished in this murderous attack on an unarmed liner.
President Wilson's note to Germany, written consequent on the torpedoing
of the Lusitania, was dated six days later, showing that time for
careful deliberation was duly taken. The President's Secretary, Joseph
P. Tumulty, on May 8th, the day following the tragedy, made this
statement:
Of course the President feels the distress and the gravity of the
situation to the utmost, and is considering very earnestly but very
calmly, the right course of action to pursue. He knows that the people
of the country wish and expect him to act with deliberation as well as
with firmness.
Although signed by Mr. Bryan, as Secretary of State, the note was
written by the President in shorthand--a favorite method of Mr. Wilson
in making memoranda--and transcribed by him on his own typewriter.
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