Our leading article yesterday touched on certain pointe at which American diplomacy has been accused of ineptitude. Of American humour, however, there is rarely any question; and its appearance, as reported in to-day's telegrams, in the discussion of the status ut armed merchantmen, is delightful. "How," asks Washington of the Central Powers, "'are you going to determine whether a ship is armed or unarmed if you sink them all without warning!" The simplicity of the question is unanswerable. The Central Powers have fallen into their own trap. But then, of course, the Central Powers never had any sense of humour.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.