I was very much interested in trying to find out just what the German opinion was of America coming into the war. Lieut. Rose used to stick his chest up in the air and say that the United States' coming in wouldn't make any difference in the ultimate outcome of the war, and that the only difference it would make was that the States would lose a lot of men and money. Just the same, I am of the opinion that Rose knew that America's coming in spelled the finish of Germania, though of course he wouldn't admit it. One day at the table he said that the "Star Spangled Banana," as he loved to call our flag, was only a joke and that it looked like a gridiron to him. I made the remark that possibly the stars and stripes would not prove the joke he imagined. My retorts to sallies of this kind were very moderate, as I considered I was in no position to argue the point with him, and didn't want to lose any of my liberties. I was always afraid to start an argument with him, as I am very hot-headed and knew that in the event of a row I was sure to get the worst of it eventually. Rose used to laugh at the American soldier, saying we were crazy to imagine that we could take a man and make a soldier out of him in a year, that at best these men would only be cannon fodder, that Germany had proved it takes three years to make a soldier, also that our submarines were mere toys, and that as for submarine defense, just as soon as we figured out some Yankee patent to protect our ships, they (Germany) would invent some other way to destroy them. Rose believed that the submarine would eventually decide the war. It was pretty hard to sit at the same table and hear an enemy slam the American government and not to be able to "hit back" or even "argue" the point.