May 8—Secretary Tumulty, after a conference with President Wilson, states that the Chief Executive "is considering very earnestly, but very calmly, the right course of action to pursue"; Secretary Bryan directs Ambassadors Gerard and Page to make full reports; an official communication issued in Berlin states that the Lusitania "was naturally armed with guns," that "she had large quantities of war material in her cargo," that her owners are responsible for the sinking, and that Germany gave full warning of the danger; the British Government announces that the statement that the Lusitania was armed "is wholly false"; American newspapers strongly condemn the sinking, many referring to it as murder; there is talk of war by many private citizens of the United States; there is rejoicing in Germany, where towns are hung with flags and children in Southern Germany are given a half-holiday, so reports state; Berlin newspapers acclaim the sinking, while hundreds of telegrams of congratulation are received by Admiral von Tirpitz, Minister of Marine; Dr. Bernhard Dernburg, former German Colonial Secretary, in a statement in Cleveland, argues that the sinking was justified.
May 9—Dudley Field Malone, Collector of the Port of New York, makes an official denial that the Lusitania was armed when she sailed; President Wilson has not yet consulted his Cabinet on the situation, but is studying the problem alone; Theodore Roosevelt terms the sinking "an act of simple piracy," and declares we should act at once; survivors criticise the British Admiralty for not supplying a convoy, and also criticise the handling of the Lusitania; newspapers in Vienna rejoice over the torpedoing.
May 10—In a speech at Philadelphia, President Wilson declares that "there is such a thing as a man being too proud to fight; there is such a thing as a nation being so right that it does not need to convince others by force that it is right"; Coroner's jury at Kinsale, which investigated five deaths resulting from the torpedoing of the Lusitania, in returning its verdict charges the Emperor and Government of Germany, and the officers of the submarine, "with the crime of wholesale murder before the tribunal of the civilized world"; a spirit of vengeance is springing up in England; the German Foreign Office sends to the German Embassy at Washington, which communicates it to the State Department, a message of sympathy at the loss of lives, but says the blame rests with England for her "starvation plan" and for her having armed merchantmen; telegrams are pouring in by the hundred to the White House and the Department of State, but the majority advise against the use of force; there is a fifteen-minute panic on the New York Stock Exchange on the rumor of the assassination of President Wilson, prices falling from 4 to 15 points; British exchanges bar German members; the National Security League issues an open letter in New York, declaring that the army, navy, and coast defenses are inadequate, and urging support for a military efficiency program; various State Legislatures pledge their support to President Wilson.
May 11—Secretary Bryan receives an official circular issued by the German Government which declares that there is no intention of attacking, either by submarine or aircraft, neutral ships in the war zone, and that if such attacks occur through mistake damages will be paid; President Wilson is at work on his communication to Berlin; American Line announces it will not hereafter carry contraband of war; Navy League of the United States passes a resolution asking President Wilson to call an extra session of Congress to authorize a bond issue of $500,000,000 for a bigger navy; riots occur all over England, demonstrations being made against Germans and German shops; former President Roosevelt states that the United States should act promptly and should forbid all commerce with Germany, while former President Taft states that delay can do no harm and that the United States should not hurry into war; President Wilson's Philadelphia speech results in a rise in prices on the New York Stock Exchange; the Committee of Mercy issues a country-wide appeal for help for destitute survivors of the Lusitania; customs guard on German ships at Boston is doubled; Cunard Line cancels intended sailing of the Mauretania from Liverpool; extra police guards are placed over the German ships at Hoboken.
May 12—Postponement is made until tomorrow of the sending of the American note to Germany; German Embassy discontinues its advertisement warning the public not to sail on British or allied ships: anti-alien rioting continues in England; seventy customs men, on orders from Washington, search German ships at Hoboken for explosives, none being found.
May 13—The text of the American note to Germany is made public at Washington; besides the Lusitania, it mentions the Falaba, Cushing, and Gulflight cases; it states that the United States Government expects a disavowal of the acts of the German commanders, reparation for the injuries, and a prevention of such acts in the future; it indicates that submarine warfare should be given up; it refers to the "surprising irregularity" of the German Embassy's advertisement warning Americans to keep off British ships, and states that notice of an unlawful act cannot be an excuse for its commission; it states that Germany will not expect the United States "to omit any word or any act" necessary to maintain American rights.
May 14—The American note to Germany has been delayed in transmission, and is not presented yet; President Wilson and the Cabinet are pleased with the response of the country to the note, which is praised generally by newspapers and public men: damage in anti-German rioting in South Africa is reported from Cape Town to exceed $5,000,000.
May 15—Ambassador Gerard hands the American note to the German Foreign Office; newspapers in England and France praise the note; Dr. Dernburg, who has for months been in the United States as unofficial spokesman for Germany, expresses a desire to go home, this being due, it is understood in Washington, to the criticisms resulting from his defense of the sinking of the Lusitania; German-American newspapers and prominent German-American individuals are going on record as being for the United States as against Germany in event of war.
May 16—New York clergymen from their pulpits praise President Wilson's note to Germany as a powerful instrument for the preservation of peace in this country; the loss of the Lusitania is proving a stimulus to recruiting in Great Britain.
May 17—The American note has not yet been published in Berlin, and most of the newspapers, under confidential orders from the Government, have refrained from comment.