Secretary Bryan is understood to have urged that the United States could stand firmly for its rights and not close the doors to any explanation that Germany—or any other belligerent—might make. It is understood that Bryan pointed out that Germany had accepted the principles of the arbitration treaties as a general proposition, but failed to execute the treaty because of the European War breaking out. Her opponents enjoy the advantages under such a treaty, and Secretary Bryan insisted that Germany should not be denied the same rights....
Although Secretary Bryan will continue his efforts to modify the note, persons close to the President insist that he will fail. The President is said to have decided, after hearing all arguments, that the safest course is to remain firm in the demand that American rights under international law be preserved. And it is expected that when the note is finally O. K.'d by Counselor Lansing, it will be sent to Germany.
There is speculation as to whether Secretary Bryan will sign the note as Secretary of State. He has angrily refused to take any positive position on the subject. If he should refuse, his retirement from the cabinet would be certain. Bryan's friends insist that he has been loyal to the President and has made many concessions to meet the latter's wishes. They believe that he will content himself with a protest and again bow to the will of his chief. But there was no way of getting any confirmation of this opinion from Bryan.
This is the first serious friction that has developed in President Wilson's cabinet. Politicians declare it will have far-reaching effect. Bryan has fought consistently for arbitration principles. And he now considers, some of his friends think, that they have been ridden over rough-shod.[19]...
[19] John Edwin Nevin in The Omaha News, June 8, 1915.
The next morning President Wilson announced his acceptance of Mr. Bryan's resignation as Secretary of State.
189. Value of Inference in the Foiled Interview.—The reporter who would attain success in his profession should not fail to study with care this story by Mr. Nevin, to learn not so much what the story contains as what the person who wrote it had to know and had to be able to do before he could turn out such a piece of work. One should analyze it to see how startlingly few new facts the correspondent had in his possession at the time he was writing, and how he played up those lonesome details with a premonition of coming events that was uncanny. Above all, the prospective reporter should observe with what rare judgment and accuracy the writer noted in Mr. Bryan's demeanor a few distinctive incidents which were at once both trivial and yet laden with suggestions of events to come. To produce this story the writer had to know not only a man, but men. A cub would have got nothing; this man scooped the best correspondents of the nation.
190. Series of Interviews.—In a story containing a number of interviews, let the lead feature the consensus of opinion expressed in the interviews. Then follow in the body with the individual quotations, each man's name being placed prominently at the beginning of the paragraph containing his interview, so that in a rapid reading of the story the eye may catch readily the change from the words of one man to another. When there is a large number of such interviews, the name may even be set in display type at the beginning of the paragraph. If, however, the persons interviewed are not at all prominent, but their statements are worth while, the quotations may be given successively and the names buried within the paragraph.
191. Leads for Speeches.—In comparison with handling an interview, a report of a speech is an easy task. In the case of the sermon or the lecture, typewritten copies are almost always available and the thoughts are presented in orderly sequence. So if the reporter has followed the advice given in Part II, Chapter VII, and taken longhand notes of a speech, or has not been so engrossed in mere note-taking that he has been unable to follow the trend of the speaker's thought, he will experience comparatively little trouble in writing up the speech. He may begin in any one of a half-dozen or more ways. He may feature: (1) the speaker's theme; (2) the title of the address, which may or may not be the theme; (3) a sentence or a paragraph of forceful direct quotation; (4) an indirect quotation of one or more dynamic statements; (5) the speaker's name; (6) the occasion of the speech; or (7) the time or the place of delivery. Any one of these may be played up according to its importance in the address.
192. Featuring a Single Sentence.—Of the seven or eight different kinds of lead, a quotation of a single sentence or a single paragraph is happiest if one can be found that will give the keynote of the speech or will harmonize with a declared policy of the paper. Thus: