While these public discussions were going on, the fight on the Chancellor began to grow. It was evident that when the Reichstag met again in September that there would be bitter and perhaps a decisive fight on von Bethmann-Hollweg. The division in Germany became so pronounced that people forgot for a time the old party lines and the newspapers and party leaders spoke of the "Bethmann parties" and the "von Tirpitz party." Whether the submarine should be used ruthlessly against all shipping was the issue which divided public sentiment. The same democratic forces which had been supporting the Chancellor in other fights again lined up with the Foreign Office. The reactionaries supported Major Bassermann, who really led the fight against the Chancellor. During this period the Chancellor and the Foreign Office saw that the longer the war lasted the stronger the von Tirpitz party would become because the people were growing more desperate and were enthused by the propaganda cry of the Navy, "Down with England." The Chancellor and the Foreign Office tried once more to get the world to talk about peace. After the presidential nominations in America the press began to discuss the possibilities of American peace intervention. Every one believed that the campaign and elections in America would have an important effect on the prospects of peace. Theodore Wolff, editor of the Berlin _Tageblatt_, who was the Chancellor's chief supporter in newspaper circles, began the publication of a series of articles to explain that in the event of the election of Charles E. Hughes, Germany would be able to count upon more assistance from America and upon peace. At the time the Allies were pounding away at the Somme and every effort was being made to bring about some kind of peace discussions when these battles were over.