As one of these conferences was approaching its end Mr.Balfour slightly coughed, uttered an "er," and gave other indications that he was about to touch upon a ticklish question.
"Before I go," he said, "there--er--is one subject I would--er--like to say something about." Mr.Polk at once grasped what was coming.
"I know what you have in mind," said Mr.Polk in his characteristically quick way.

"You want us to apply your blacklist to neutrals." In other words, the British hoped that the United States, now that it was in the war, would adopt against South America and other offenders those same discriminations which this country had so fiercely objected to, when it was itself a neutral.
The British statesman gave Mr.Polk one of his most winning smiles and nodded.
"Mr.Balfour," said Mr.Polk, "it took Great Britain three years to reach a point where it was prepared to violate all the laws of blockade.
You will find that it will take us only two months to become as great criminals as you are!" Mr.Balfour is usually not explosive in his manifestations of mirth, but his laughter, in reply to this statement, was almost uproarious.

And the State Department was as good as its word.

It immediately forgot all the elaborate "notes" and "protests" which it had been addressing to Great Britain.

It became more inexorable than Great Britain had ever been in keeping foodstuffs out of neutral countries that were contiguous to Germany.