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diff --git a/old/15479-8.txt b/old/15479-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..e72399d --- /dev/null +++ b/old/15479-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,13299 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook, New York Times Current History; The European +War, Vol 2, No. 2, May, 1915, by Various + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: New York Times Current History; The European War, Vol 2, No. 2, May, 1915 + April-September, 1915 + + +Author: Various + +Release Date: March 27, 2005 [eBook #15479] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY; +THE EUROPEAN WAR, VOL 2, NO. 2, MAY, 1915*** + + +E-text prepared by Juliet Sutherland, Linda Cantoni, Joshua Hutchinson, +and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team + + + +Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this + file which includes the original illustrations. + See 15479-h.htm or 15479-h.zip: + (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/5/4/7/15479/15479-h/15479-h.htm) + or + (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/5/4/7/15479/15479-h.zip) + + + + + +The New York Times + +CURRENT HISTORY + +A Monthly Magazine + +THE EUROPEAN WAR, VOLUME II + +April, 1915-September, 1915 + +With Index + +Number II, May, 1915 + + + + + + + +[Illustration: (logo) THE N.Y. TIMES] + + + +New York +The New York Times Company + +1915 + + + + +CONTENTS + +NUMBER II. MAY, 1915. + + Page + +GENERAL SIR JOHN FRENCH'S OWN STORY (With Map) 205 + The Costly Victory of Neuve Chapelle + +ROBERTS OF KANDAHAR (Poem) 210 + By Sidney Low + +THE SURRENDER OF PRZEMYSL (With Maps) 211 + How Galicia's Strong Fortress Yielded to the Russian Siege + +THE JESTERS (Poem) 217 + By Marion Couthouy Smith + +LORD KITCHENER ADVERTISES FOR RECRUITS 218 + +BATTLE OF THE DARDANELLES (With Map) 219 + The Disaster that Befell the Allies' Fleet + +OFFICIAL STORY OF TWO SEA FIGHTS (With Maps) 223 + +BETWEEN MIDNIGHT AND MORNING (Poem) 231 + By Sir Owen Seaman + +THE GREATEST OF CAMPAIGNS (With Map) 232 + The French Official Account Concluded + +SONNET ON THE BELGIAN EXPATRIATION 250 + By Thomas Hardy + +WAR CORRESPONDENCE (With Map) 251 + +THE SPIRIT OF MANKIND 258 + By Woodrow Wilson + +"WHAT THE GERMANS SAY ABOUT THEIR OWN METHODS OF WARFARE" 259 + (With Facsimile Letters) + By Professor Bedier of the College de France + +THE RECRUIT (Poem) 274 + By Hortense Flexner + +AMERICAN REPLY TO BRITAIN'S BLOCKADE ORDER 275 + By William J. Bryan + +GERMANY'S CONDITIONS OF PEACE 279 + By Dr. Bernhard Dernburg + +THE ALLIES' CONDITIONS OF PEACE 282 + By Sir Edward Grey + +SOUTH AFRICA'S ROMANTIC BLUE PAPER (With Map) 284 + +THE BELLS OF BERLIN (Poem) 289 + From _Punch_ of London + +WARFARE AND BRITISH LABOR 290 + By Earl Kitchener + +SAVIORS OF EUROPE 292 + By Rene Bazin + +BRITAIN'S PERIL OF STRIKES AND DRINK 293 + By Lloyd George + +ITALY'S EVOLUTION AS REFLECTED BY HER PRESS 301 + +SOME RUSES DE GUERRE (Poem) 304 + By A.M. Wakeman + +THE EUROPEAN WAR AS SEEN BY CARTOONISTS 305 + +FACSIMILE OF A BELGIAN BREAD-CHECK 329 + +TO A GERMAN APOLOGIST (Poem) 329 + By Beatrice Barry + +AMERICA'S NEUTRALITY 330 + By Count Albert Apponyi + +NEUTRAL SPIRIT OF THE SWISS 335 + An Interview with President Motta + +TO KING AND PEOPLE (Poem) 336 + By Walter Sichel + +A SWISS VIEW OF GERMANY 337 + By Maurice Millioud + +THE LAND OF MAETERLINCK 344 + By Alfred Sutro + +AMERICA AND PROHIBITION RUSSIA 345 + By Isabel F. Hapgood + +THE MOTHER'S SONG (Poem) 350 + By Cecilia Reynolds Robertson + +PAN-AMERICAN RELATIONS AS AFFECTED BY THE WAR 351 + By Huntington Wilson + +AN EASTER MESSAGE (Poem) 357 + By Beatrice Barry + +AN INTERVIEW ON THE WAR WITH HENRY JAMES 358 + By Preston Lockwood + +A TALK WITH BELGIUM'S GOVERNOR 363 + By Edward Lyall Fox + +A CHARGE IN THE DARK (Poem) 365 + By O.C.A. Child + +A NEW POLAND 366 + By Gustave Hervé + +"WITH THE HONORS OF WAR" 368 + By Wythe Williams + +GENERAL FOCH, THE MAN OF YPRES 373 + +THE UNREMEMBERED DEAD (Poem) 377 + By Ella A. Fanning + +CANADA AND BRITAIN'S WAR UNION 378 + By Edward W. Thomson + +ENGLAND (Poem) 384 + By John E. Dolson + +AMERICAN AID OF FRANCE 385 + By Eugène Brieux + +A FAREWELL (Poem) 387 + By Edna Mead + +STORIES OF FRENCH COURAGE 388 + By Edwin L. Shuman + +A TROOPER'S SOLILOQUY (Poem) 392 + By O.C.A. Child + +AMERICAN UNFRIENDLINESS 393 + By Maximilian Harden + +ENDOWED WITH A NOBLE FIRE OF BLOOD 395 + By A. Kouprine + +CHRONOLOGY OF THE WAR 396 + +THE DAY (Poem) 408 + By Henry Chappell + +[Illustration: COMMANDER THIERICHENS + +Commander of the German commerce-raider Prinz Eitel Friedrich, which +sank the American sailing ship William P. Frye.] + +[Illustration: THE GRAND DUCHESS OF LUXEMBURG + +Whose little State was first occupied by the German forces. + +(Photo from George Grantham Bain.)] + + + + +The New York Times + +CURRENT HISTORY + +A MONTHLY MAGAZINE + +THE EUROPEAN WAR + +MAY, 1915 + + + + +General Sir John French's Own Story + +The Costly Victory of Neuve Chapelle + + +_LONDON, April 14.--Field Marshal Sir John French, commander of the +British expeditionary forces on the Continent, reports the British +losses in the three days' fighting at Neuve Chapelle last month, as +follows: Killed, 190 officers, 2,337 men; wounded, 359 officers, 8,174 +other ranks; missing, 23 officers, 1,728 men; total casualties, 12,811. +The report continues:_ + +The enemy left several thousand dead on the field, and we have positive +information that upward of 12,000 wounded were removed by trains. Thirty +officers and 1,657 of other ranks were captured. + +_The British commander's dispatch concerning the battle is long, and +says, among other things:_ + +Considerable delay occurred after the capture of Neuve Chapelle, and the +infantry was greatly disorganized. I am of the opinion that this delay +would not have occurred had the clearly expressed order of the general +officer commanding the First Army been more carefully observed. + +_Field Marshal Sir John French's report, which covers the battles of +Neuve Chapelle and St. Eloi under date of April 5, was published in the +official Gazette today. The Commander in Chief writes:_ + +The event of chief interest and importance which has taken place is the +victory achieved over the enemy in the battle of Neuve Chapelle, which +was fought on March 10, 11, and 12. + +The main attack was delivered by the troops of the First Army under +command of General Sir Douglas Haig, supported by a large force of heavy +artillery, a division of cavalry, and some infantry of the General +Reserve. Secondary and holding attacks and demonstrations were made +along the front of the Second Army, under direction of its commander, +Sir Horace Smith-Dorrien. + +While the success attained was due to the magnificent bearing and +indomitable courage displayed by the troops of the Fourth and Indian +Corps, I consider that the able and skillful dispositions which were +made by the general officer commanding the First Army contributed +largely to the defeat of the enemy and to the capture of his position. +The energy and vigor with which General Sir Douglas Haig handled his +command show him to be a leader of great ability and power. + +Another action of considerable importance was brought about by a +surprise attack made by the Germans on March 14 against the +Twenty-seventh Division holding the trenches east of St. Eloi. A large +force of artillery was concentrated in this area under the cover of a +mist and a heavy volume of fire was suddenly brought to bear on the +trenches. + +At 5 o'clock in the afternoon this artillery attack was accompanied by +two mine explosions, and in the confusion caused by these and by the +suddenness of the attack the position of St. Eloi was captured and held +for some hours by the enemy. + +Well-directed and vigorous counter-attacks, in which the troops of the +Fifth Army Corps showed great bravery and determination, restored the +situation by the evening of the 15th. + +_The dispatch describes further operations, saying:_ + +On Feb. 6 a brilliant action by the troops of the First Corps materially +improved our position in the area south of La Bassée Canal. During the +previous night parties of the Irish Guards and the Third Battalion of +the Coldstream Guards had succeeded in gaining ground from which a +converging fire could be directed on the flanks and rear of certain +brick stacks occupied by the Germans, which had been for some time a +source of considerable annoyance. At 2 P.M. the affair commenced with a +severe bombardment of the brick stacks and the enemy's trenches. + +A brisk attack by the Third Battalion of the Coldstream Guards and Irish +Guards from our trenches west of the brick stacks followed and was +supported by the fire from the flanking position which had been seized +the previous night by the same regiments. + +The attack succeeded, the brick stacks were occupied without difficulty, +and a line was established north and south through a point about forty +yards east of the brick stacks. + +The casualties suffered by the Fifth Corps throughout the period under +review, and particularly during the month of February, have been +heavier than those on other parts of the line. I regret this, but do not +think, taking all circumstances into consideration, that they were +unduly numerous. The position then occupied by the Fifth Corps had +always been a very vulnerable part of our line. The ground was marshy, +and trenches were most difficult to construct and maintain. The +Twenty-seventh and Twenty-eighth Divisions of the Fifth Corps had no +previous experience in European warfare, and a number of the units +composing the corps had only recently returned from service in tropical +climates. In consequence, the hardships of a rigorous Winter campaign +fell with greater weight upon these divisions than upon any other in the +command. + +Chiefly owing to these causes the Fifth Corps, up to the beginning of +March, was constantly engaged in counter-attacks to retake trenches and +ground which had been lost. In their difficult and arduous task, +however, the troops displayed the utmost gallantry and devotion, and it +is most creditable to the skill and energy of their leaders that I am +able to report how well they have surmounted all their difficulties and +that the ground first taken over by them is still intact and held with +little greater loss than is incurred by the troops in all other parts of +the line. + +_Describing an attack on the German trenches near St. Eloi on Feb. 28 by +Princess Patricia's Regiment, of the Canadian contingent, under command +of Lieut. C.E. Crabbe, the Commander in Chief says:_ + +The services performed by this distinguished corps have continued to be +very valuable since I had occasion to refer to them in my last dispatch. +They have been most ably organized and trained and were commanded by +Lieut. Colonel F.D. Farquhar, D.S.O., who I deeply regret to say was +killed while superintending some trench work on March 20. His loss will +be deeply felt. + +_Emphasizing the co-operation of the British and French forces and the +new rôle in warfare assumed by the cavalry, the Commander in Chief +writes:_ + +During the month of February I arranged with General Foch to render the +Ninth French Corps, holding the trenches to my left, some much-needed +rest by sending the three divisions of the British Cavalry Corps to hold +a portion of the French trenches, each division for a period of ten days +alternately. + +[Illustration: Map showing the field of the Battle of Neuve Chapelle and +its position in the Allied line.] + +It was very gratifying to me to note once again in this campaign the +eager readiness which the cavalry displayed to undertake a rôle which +does not properly belong to them in order to support and assist their +French comrades. In carrying out this work the leader, officers, and men +displayed the same skill and energy which I have had reason to comment +upon in former dispatches. + +_Referring to Neuve Chapelle and the considerations leading up to this, +the Field Marshal says:_ + +About the end of February many vital considerations induced me to +believe that a vigorous offensive movement by the troops under my +command should be planned and carried out at the earliest possible +moment. Among the more important reasons which convinced me of this +necessity were the general aspect of the allied situation throughout +Europe, and particularly the marked success of the Russian Army in +repelling the violent onslaughts of Marshal von Hindenburg; the apparent +weakening of the enemy on my front, and the necessity for assisting our +Russian allies to the utmost by holding as many hostile troops as +possible in the western theatre; the efforts to this end which were +being made by the French forces at Arras and in Champagne, and--perhaps +the most weighty consideration of all--the need of fostering the +offensive spirit in the troops under my command after the trying and +possibly enervating experiences which they had gone through of a severe +Winter in the trenches. + +In a former dispatch I commented upon the difficulties and drawbacks +which the Winter weather in this climate imposes upon a vigorous +offensive. Early in March these difficulties became greatly lessened by +the drying up of the country and by spells of brighter weather. + +I do not propose in this dispatch to enter at length into the +considerations which actuated me in deciding upon the plan, time, and +place of my attack. As mentioned above, the main attack was carried out +by units of the First Army, supported by troops of the Second Army and +the general reserve. The object of the main attack was to be the capture +of the village of Neuve Chapelle and the enemy's position at that point, +and the establishment of our line as far forward as possible to the east +of that place. + +The object, nature, and scope of the attack and the instructions for the +conduct of the operations were communicated by me to Sir Douglas Haig +in a secret memorandum, dated Feb. 19. + +_After describing the main topographical features of the battlefield and +showing how the Germans had established a strong post with numerous +machine guns among the big houses, behind walls and in orchards which +flanked the approaches to the village, Sir John proceeds:_ + +The battle opened at 7:30 o'clock the morning of the 10th of March by a +powerful bombardment of the enemy's position in Neuve Chapelle. The +artillery bombardment had been well prepared and was most effective, +except on the extreme northern portion of the front of attack. + +At 8:05 o'clock the Twenty-third and Twenty-fifth Brigades of the Eighth +Division assaulted the German trenches on the northwest of the village. +At the same hour the Garhwal Brigade of the Meerut (British India) +Division, which occupied a position to the south of Neuve Chapelle, +assaulted the German trenches in its front. The Garhwal Brigade and the +Twenty-fifth Brigade carried the enemy's lines of intrenchment, where +the wire entanglements had been almost entirely swept away by our +shrapnel fire. + +The Twenty-third Brigade, however, on the northeast, was held up by wire +entanglements which were not sufficiently cut. At 8:05 o'clock the +artillery was turned on Neuve Chapelle, and at 8:35 o'clock the advance +of the infantry was continued. The Twenty-fifth and the Garhwal Brigades +pushed on eastward and northeastward, respectively, and succeeded in +getting a foothold in the village. The Twenty-third Brigade was still +held up in front of the enemy's wire entanglements, and could not +progress. Heavy losses were suffered, especially in the Middlesex +Regiment and the Scottish Rifles. + +The progress, however, of the Twenty-fifth Brigade into Neuve Chapelle +immediately to the south of the Twenty-third Brigade had the effect of +turning the southern flank of the enemy's defenses in front of the +Twenty-third Brigade. This fact, combined with powerful artillery +support, enabled the Twenty-third Brigade to get forward between 10 and +11 A.M., and by 11 o'clock the whole of the village of Neuve Chapelle +and the roads leading northward and southwestward from the eastern end +of that village were in our hands. + +During this time our artillery completely cut off the village and +surrounding country from any German reinforcements which could be thrown +into the fight to restore the situation, by means of a curtain of +shrapnel fire. Prisoners subsequently reported that all attempts at +reinforcing the front line were checked. Steps were at once taken to +consolidate the positions won. + +Considerable delay occurred after the capture of the Neuve Chapelle +position. The infantry was greatly disorganized by the violent nature of +the attack and by its passage through the enemy's trenches and the +buildings of the village. It was necessary to get the units to some +extent together before pushing on. The telephonic communication being +cut by the enemy's fire rendered communication between the front and the +rear most difficult. The fact of the left of the Twenty-third Brigade +having been held up had kept back the Eighth Division and had involved a +portion of the Twenty-fifth Brigade in fighting to the north, out of its +proper direction of advance. All this required adjustment. An orchard +held by the enemy north of Neuve Chapelle also threatened the flank of +an advance toward the Aubers Bridge. + +I am of the opinion that this delay would not have occurred had the +clearly expressed order of the general officer commanding the First Army +been carefully observed. + +The difficulties above enumerated might have been overcome earlier in +the day if the general officer commanding the Fourth Corps had been able +to bring his reserve brigades more speedily into action. As it was, a +further advance did not commence before 3:30 o'clock. The Twenty-first +Brigade was able to form up in the open on the left without a shot being +fired at it, thus showing that, at the time, the enemy's resistance had +been paralyzed. + +The brigade pushed forward in the direction of Moulin-du-Pietre. At +first it made good progress, but was subsequently held up by machine gun +fire from houses and from a defended work in the line of the German +intrenchments opposite the right of the Twenty-second Brigade. + +Further to the south the Twenty-fourth Brigade, which had been directed +on Pietre, was similarly held up by machine guns in houses and trenches. +At the road junction, 600 yards to the northwest of Pietre, the +Twenty-fifth Brigade, on the right of the Twenty-fourth, was also held +up by machine guns from a bridge held by the Germans over the River Les +Layes, which is situated to the northwest of the Bois du Biez. + +While two brigades of the Meerut Division were establishing themselves +on a new line the Dehra Dun Brigade, supported by the Jullunder Brigade +of the Lahore Division, moved to the attack of the Bois du Biez, but +were held up on the line of the River Les Layes by a German post at the +bridge, which enfiladed them and brought them to a standstill. + +The defended bridge over the Les Layes and its neighborhood immediately +assumed considerable importance. While the artillery fire was brought to +bear, as far as circumstances would permit, on this point, General Sir +Douglas Haig directed the First Corps to dispatch one or more battalions +of the First Brigade in support of the troops attacking the bridge. +Three battalions were thus sent to Richebourg St. Vaast. + +Darkness coming on and the enemy having brought up reinforcements, no +further progress could be made, and the Indian Corps and the Fourth +Corps proceeded to consolidate the position they had gained. + +While the operations, which I have thus briefly reported, were going on, +the First Corps, in accordance with orders, delivered an attack in the +morning from Givenchy simultaneously with that against Neuve Chapelle, +but as the enemy's wire was insufficiently cut very little progress +could be made, and the troops at this point did little more than hold +fast to the Germans in front of them. + +On the following day, March 11, the attack was renewed by the Fourth and +Indian Corps, but it was soon seen that further advance would be +impossible until the artillery had dealt effectively with the various +houses and defended localities which had held the troops up along the +entire front. + +Efforts were made to direct the artillery fire accordingly, but, owing +to the weather conditions, which did not permit of aerial observations, +and the fact that nearly all the telephone communications between the +artillery observers and their batteries had been cut, it was impossible +to do so with sufficient accuracy. When our troops, who were pressing +forward, occupied a house there, it was not possible to stop our +artillery fire, and the infantry had to be withdrawn. + +As most of the objects for which the operations had been undertaken had +been attained, and as there were reasons why I considered it inadvisable +to continue the attack at that time, I directed General Sir Douglas Haig +on the night of the 12th to hold and consolidate the ground which had +been gained by the Fourth and Indian Corps, and suspend further +offensive operations for the present. + +The losses during these three days' fighting were, I regret to say, very +severe, numbering 190 officers and 2,337 of other ranks killed, 359 +officers and 8,174 of other ranks wounded, and 23 officers and 1,720 of +other ranks missing. But the results attained were, in my opinion, wide +and far-reaching. + +_Referring to the severity of the casualties in action, the Commander in +Chief writes:_ + +I can well understand how deeply these casualties are felt by the nation +at large, but each daily report shows clearly that they are endured on +at least an equal scale by all the combatants engaged throughout Europe, +friends and foe alike. + +In war as it is today, between civilized nations armed to the teeth with +the present deadly rifle and machine gun, heavy casualties are +absolutely unavoidable. For the slightest undue exposure the heaviest +toll is exacted. The power of defense conferred by modern weapons is the +main cause for the long duration of the battles of the present day, and +it is this fact which mainly accounts for such loss and waste of life. +Both one and the other can, however, be shortened and lessened if +attacks can be supported by a most efficient and powerful force of +artillery available; but an almost unlimited supply of ammunition is +necessary, and a most liberal discretionary power as to its use must be +given to artillery commanders. I am confident that this is the only +means by which great results can be obtained with a minimum of loss. + + + + +ROBERTS OF KANDAHAR. + +SIDNEY LOW, in The London Times. + + + Through the long years of peril and of strife, + He faced Death oft, and Death forbore to slay, + Reserving for its sacrificial Day, + The garnered treasure of his full-crowned life; + So saved him till the furrowed soil was rife, + With the rich tillage of our noblest dead; + Then reaped the offering of his honored head, + In that red field of harvest, where he died, + With the embattled legions at his side. + + + + +The Surrender of Przemysl + +How Galicia's Strong Fortress Yielded to the Russian Siege + + + The Austrian fortress of Przemysl fell on March 22, 1915, + after an investment and siege which lasted, with one short + interruption, for nearly four months. This important event was + celebrated by a Te Deum of thanksgiving in the presence of the + Czar and the General Staff. The importance to the Russians of + the capitulation of Przemysl is suggested by the fact that + about 120,000 prisoners were reported taken when the Austrians + yielded. Until this was effected the Russians could not + venture upon a serious invasion of Hungary, and the investing + troops who were then freed were more numerous than the + defenders. + +[By the Correspondent of The London Times.] + +PETROGRAD, March 22. + +The Minister of War has informed me that he has just received a telegram +from the Grand Duke Nicholas announcing the fall of Przemysl. + +The fall of Przemysl marks the most important event of the Russian +campaign this year. It finally and irrevocably consolidates the position +of the Russians in Galicia. The Austro-German armies are deprived of the +incentive hitherto held out to them of relieving the isolated remnant of +their former dominion. The besieging army will be freed for other +purposes. From information previously published the garrison aggregated +about 25,000 men, hence the investing forces, which must always be at +least four times as great as the garrison, represent not less than +100,000 men. From all the information lately received from both Russian +and neutral sources, the position of the Austro-German armies in the +Carpathians has become distinctly critical. The reinforcements for the +gallant troops of General Brusiloff, General Radko Dmitrieff, and other +commanders are bound to exercise an enormous influence on the future +course of the campaign in the Carpathians. + +All honor and credit are given by the Russians to the garrison of +Przemysl and General Kusmanek. Russian officers ever had the highest +opinion of the personality of the commandant. I heard from those who +fought under General Radko Dmitrieff in the early stages of the Galician +campaign that when our troops, after sweeping away the resistance at +Lwow and Jaroslau, loudly knocked at the doors of the fortress of +Przemysl, they met with a stern rebuff. In reply to the summons of the +Russians to surrender the keys the commandant wrote a curt and dignified +note remarking that he considered it beyond his own dignity or the +dignity of the Russian General to discuss the surrender of the fortress +before it had exhausted all its powers of resistance. During the second +invasion of Poland by the Austro-German armies the enemy's lines swept +up to and just beyond Przemysl, interrupting the investment of the +fortress. The wave of the Austrian invasion began to subside at the end +of the first week in November. Only then could we begin the siege of the +mighty fortress, which proved successful after the lapse of four months. + +The first Russian attempt to storm Przemysl without previous +bombardment, which followed immediately upon the commandant's refusal to +surrender, resulted in very great loss of life to no purpose. Thereafter +it was decided to abstain from further attempts to take the fortress +until our siege guns could be placed and a preliminary bombardment could +sufficiently facilitate the task of the besiegers. Meanwhile, although +the fortress and town were duly invested, our lines were somewhat remote +from the outlying forts, and the peasants of adjacent villages were, it +is said, able to pass freely to and from the town of Przemysl--a fact +which would enable the inhabitants to obtain supplies. From all +accounts neither the garrison nor the inhabitants were reduced to very +great straits for food. The announcement made at the time of the first +investment of the fortress that provisions and supplies would easily +last till May was, however, obviously exaggerated. + +I understand that heavy siege guns were ready to be conveyed to Przemysl +at the end of January, but that the Russian military authorities decided +to postpone their departure in view of the determined attempts made by +the Austro-German forces to pierce the Russian lines in the Carpathians +in order to relieve the fortress, which, if successful, might have +endangered the safety of the siege material. Owing to this fact the +bombardment of Przemysl began only about a fortnight ago, when the +Austro-German offensive had so far weakened as to satisfy the Russian +authorities that there was no further danger from this quarter. + +The concluding stages of the siege have been related in the dispatches +from the Field Headquarters during the past week. The capture of the +dominating heights in the eastern sector followed close upon the first +bombardment. The final desperate sortie led by General Kusmanek at the +head of the Twenty-third Division of the Honved precipitated the end. +The remnants of the garrison were unable to man the works extending to a +thirty-mile periphery. + +The loss of the western approaches left General Kusmanek no alternative +but to surrender. He had exhausted his ammunition and used up his +effectives. His messages for help were either intercepted or unanswered. +The assailants broke down the last resistance. The most important +strategical point in the whole of Galicia is now in Russian hands. + + +TE DEUM AT HEADQUARTERS. + +PETROGRAD, March 22. + +_The following official communiqué was issued from the Main Headquarters +this morning:_ + +The fortress of Przemysl has surrendered to our troops. + +At the Headquarters of the Commander in Chief a Te Deum of thanksgiving +was celebrated in the presence of the Czar, the Grand Duke Nicholas, +Commander in Chief, and all the staff. + +_The following communiqué from the Great Headquarters is issued here +today:_ + +Northern Front.--From the Niemen to the Vistula and on the left bank of +the latter river there has been no important change. Our troops +advancing from Tauroggen captured, after a struggle, Laugszargen, (near +the frontier of East Prussia,) where they took prisoners and seized an +ammunition depot and engineers' stores. + +The Carpathians.--There has been furious fighting on the roads to +Bartfeld (in Hungary) in the valleys of the Ondawa and Laborcz. + +Near the Lupkow Pass and on the left bank of the Upper San our troops +have advanced successfully, forcing the way with rifle fire and with the +bayonet. In the course of the day we took 2,500 prisoners, including +fifty officers and four machine guns. + +In the direction of Munkacz the Germans, in close formation, attacked +our positions at Rossokhatch, Oravtchik, and Kosziowa, but were +everywhere driven back by our fire and by our counter-attacks with +severe losses. In Galicia there has been a snowstorm. + +Przemysl.--On the night of the 21st there was a fierce artillery fire +round Przemysl. Portions of the garrison who once more tried to effect a +sortie toward the northeast toward Oikowic were driven back within the +circle of forts with heavy losses. + +_Note.--This portion of the communiqué was evidently drafted before the +fall of Przemysl took place, and the communiqué proceeds:_ + +In recognition of the joyous event of the fall of Przemysl the Czar has +conferred upon the Grand Duke Nicholas the Second Class of the Order of +St. George and the Third Class of the same order on General Ivanoff, the +commander of the besieging army. + +[Illustration: Map of the Siege of Przemysl. The small triangles +indicate outlying fortified hills with their height in feet.] + + +COLLECTING THE ARMS. + +_By Hamilton Fyfe, Correspondent of The London Daily Mail._ + +PETROGRAD, March 23. + +Advance detachments of Russian troops entered Przemysl last night. The +business of collecting the arms is proceeding. I believe the officers +will be allowed to keep their swords. + +Great surprise has been caused here by a statement that the number of +troops captured exceeds three army corps. Possibly on account of the +snowstorm no further telegram has been received from the Grand Duke +Nicholas, and no details of the fall of the garrison have yet been +officially announced. I have, however, received the definite assurance +of a very high authority that the force which has surrendered includes +nine Generals, over 2,000 officers, and 130,000 men. In spite of the +authority of my informant, I am still inclined to await confirmation of +these figures. + +The leading military organ, the Russki Invalid, says that the garrison +was known to number 60,000 men and that it had been swelled to some +extent by the additional forces drafted in before the investment began. +The Retch estimates the total at 80,000, and a semi-official +announcement also places the strength of the garrison at that figure, +excluding artillery and also the men belonging to the auxiliary and +technical services. + +There is an equal difference of opinion regarding the number of guns +taken. The estimates vary from 1,000 to 2,000. What is known for certain +is that the fortress contained 600 big guns of the newest type and a +number of small, older pieces. + +The characteristic spirit in which Russia is waging war is shown by the +service of thanksgiving to God which was held immediately the news of +the fall of the fortress reached the Grand Duke's headquarters. The Czar +was there to join with the staff in offering humble gratitude to the +Almighty for the great victory accorded to the Russian arms. + +The first crowds which gathered here yesterday to rejoice over the great +news moved with one consent to the Kazan Cathedral, where they sang the +national hymn and crossed themselves reverently before the holy, +wonder-working picture of Kazan, the Mother of God. In spite of the +heaviest snowstorm of the Winter, which made the streets impassable and +stopped the tramway cars, the Nevski Prospekt rang all the afternoon and +evening with the sound of voices raised in patriotic song. + +Przemysl is admitted to be the first spectacular success of the war on +the side of the Allies. It is not surprising that the nation is proud +and delighted, yet so generous is the Russian mind that there mingle +with its triumph admiration and sympathy for the garrison which was +compelled to surrender after a long, brave resistance. Popular +imagination has been thrilled by the story of the last desperate sortie, +which will take a high place in the history of modern war. + +When toward the end of the week the hope of relief, which had so long +buoyed up the defenders, was with heavy, resolved hearts abandoned, +General Kousmanek resolved to try to save at all events some portion of +his best troops by sending them to fight a way out. From the ranks, +thinned terribly by casualties and also by typhus and other diseases +caused through hunger and the unhealthy state of the town, he selected +20,000 men and served out to them five days' reduced rations, which were +all he had left. He also supplied them with new boots in order to give +them as good a chance as possible to join their comrades in the +Carpathians, whose summits could be seen from Przemysl in the shining, +warm Spring sunshine. + +It was a hopeless enterprise, pitifully futile. It is true that the +Austrian armies sent to relieve the city were only a few days' march +distant, but even if the 20,000 had cut a way through the investing +force they would have found another Russian army between them and their +fellow-countrymen. General Kousmanek, before they started, addressed +them. In a rousing speech he said: + + Soldiers, for nearly half a year, in spite of cold and hunger, + you have defended the fortress intrusted to you. The eyes of + the world are fixed on you. Millions at home are waiting with + painful eagerness to hear the news of your success. The honor + of the army and our fatherland requires us to make a + superhuman effort. Around us lies the iron ring of the enemy. + Burst a way through it and join your comrades who have been + fighting so bravely for you and are now so near. + + I have given you the last of our supplies of food. I charge + you to go forward and sweep the foe aside. After our many + gallant and glorious fights we must not fall into the hands of + the Russians like sheep; we must and will break through. + +In case this appeal to the men's fighting spirit were ineffective +threats were also used to the troops, who were warned by their officers +that any who returned to the fortress would be treated as cowards and +traitors. After the General's speech the men were told to rest for a few +hours. At 4 in the morning they paraded and at 5 the battle began. For +nine hours the Austrians hurled themselves against the iron ring, until +early in the afternoon, when, broken and battered, the remains of the +twenty thousand began to straggle back to the town. Exhausted and +disheartened, the garrison was incapable of further effort. + +In order to prevent useless slaughter General Kousmanek sent officers +with a flag of truce to inquire about the terms of surrender. These were +arranged very quickly. + +In spite of the local value of the victory, and the vastness of the +captures of material as well as of men, it must not be thought, as many +are inclined to think here, that the Novoe Vremya exaggerates +dangerously when it compares the effect likely to be produced with that +of the fall of Metz and Port Arthur. + +It certainly brings the end of the Austrians' participation in the war +more clearly in sight. But the Austrians will fight for some time yet. +What it actually does is to free a large Russian force for the +operations against Cracow or to assist in the invasion of Hungary. + +What is the strength of this force it would be imprudent to divulge, but +I can say that it certainly amounts to not less than an "army," +(anything from 80,000 to 200,000 men.) Those who are anxious to arrive +at a closer figure can calculate by the fact that the Russians had a +forty-mile front around Przemysl which was strong enough to repulse +attacks at all points. Another very useful consequence is that all the +Galician railway system is now in Russian hands. It makes the transport +of troops much easier. + +One further reflection was suggested to me last night by a very +distinguished and influential Russian soldier, holding office under the +Government. "The method which prevailed at Przemysl was as follows: +Instead of rushing against the place and losing heavily, we waited and +husbanded our forces until the garrison was unable to hold out any +longer. That is the method adopted by the Allies. It must in the course +of time force Germany to surrender also. + +"Up to now we have held our own against her furious sorties. Soon we +shall begin to draw more closely our investing lines. Only one end was +possible to Przemysl. The fate of Germany is equally sure." + +Now all eyes are fixed on the Dardanelles. The phrase on every lip is: +"When the fall of Constantinople follows, then Prussia must begin to see +that the case is hopeless." But we must not deceive ourselves, for even +when her allies are defeated Prussia will still be hard to beat. +Przemysl must not cause us to slacken our effort in any direction or in +the slightest degree. + + +WHAT THE RUSSIANS FOUND + +Special Cable to THE NEW YORK TIMES. + +_LONDON, April 3.--The London Times under date Przemysl, March 30, +publishes a dispatch from Stanley Washburn, its special correspondent +with the Russian armies, who, by courtesy of the Russian high command, +is the first foreigner to visit the great Galician fortress since its +fall. He says:_ + +Przemysl is a story of an impregnable fortress two or three times +over-garrisoned with patient, haggard soldiers starving in trenches, and +sleek, faultlessly dressed officers living off the fat of the land in +fashionable hotels and restaurants. + +The siege started with a total population within the lines of investment +of approximately 200,000. Experts estimate that the fortress could have +been held with 50,000 or 60,000 men against any forces the Russians +could bring against it. It is probable that such supplies as there were +were uneconomically expended, with the result that when the push came +the situation was at once acute, and the suffering of all classes save +the officers became general. First the cavalry and transport horses were +consumed. Then everything available. Cats were sold at 8 shillings, and +fair-sized dogs at a sovereign. + +While the garrison became thin and half starved, the mode of life of the +officers in the town remained unchanged. The Café Sieber was constantly +well filled with dilettante officers who gossipped and played cards and +billiards and led the life to which they were accustomed in Vienna. +Apparently very few shared any of the hardships of their men or made any +effort to relieve their condition. At the Hotel Royal until the last, +the officers had their three meals a day, with fresh meat, cigars, +cigarettes, wines, and every luxury, while, as a witness has informed +me, their own orderlies and servants begged for a slice of bread. + +There can be no question that ultimate surrender was due to the fact +that the garrison was on the verge of starvation, while the officers' +diet was merely threatened with curtailment. Witnesses state that +private soldiers were seen actually to fall in the streets from lack of +nourishment. The officers are reported to have retained their private +thoroughbred riding horses until the day before the surrender, when +2,000 of them were killed to prevent them from falling into the hands of +the Russians. A Russian officer of high rank informed me that when he +entered the town hundreds of these bodies of beautiful thoroughbred +horses were to be seen with half-crazed Austrian and Hungarian soldiers +tearing into the bodies with their faces and hands smeared with red +blood as they devoured the raw flesh. + +[Illustration: Map showing the scene of action between Przemysl and +Cracow and the Carpathian Passes.] + +The Russians were utterly amazed at the casual reception which they +received. The Austrian officers showed not the slightest sign of being +disconcerted or humiliated at the collapse of their fortress. + +The first Russian effort was at once to relieve the condition of the +garrison and civilians. Owing to the destruction of the bridge this was +delayed, but soon with remarkable efficiency distribution depots were +opened everywhere and the most pressing needs were somewhat relieved. + +The entire conduct of the siege on the part of the garrison seems wholly +without explanation. The Austrians had throughout plenty of ammunition, +and they certainly grossly outnumbered the Russians; yet they made but +one recent effort to break out, which occurred three days before the +surrender. + +Civilians inform me that they gladly welcome the Russians and that the +first troops who entered were greeted with cheers, while the garrison +was frankly pleased that the siege was over and their troubles at an +end. + +As an example of overofficering it may be stated that General Kusmanek +had seventy-five officers on his staff, while General Artamonov, the +acting Russian Governor, had but four on his immediate staff. + +The removal of the prisoners is proceeding with great efficiency. They +are going out at the rate of about 10,000 a day. The docility of the +captives is indicated by the fact that the Russian guards attached to +the prisoners' columns number about one for every hundred prisoners. +They are all strung out for miles between the fortress and Lemberg. The +prisoners are so eager to get out and to see the last of the war that +they follow the instructions of their captors like children. + +All the civilians as well as prisoners I have talked with are unanimous +in their praise of the Russian officers and soldiers, who have shown +nothing but kindness and delicacy of feeling since their entrance into +the fortress. This consideration strikes me as being utterly wasted on +the captured officers, who treat the situation superciliously and are +quite complacent in their relations with the Russians. + + + + +THE JESTERS. + +By MARION COUTHOUY SMITH. + + + Ev'n he, the master of the songs of life, + May speak at times with less than certain sound-- + "He jests at scars who never felt a wound." + So runs his word! Yet on the verge of strife, + They jest not who have never known the knife; + They tremble who in the waiting ranks are found, + While those scarred deep on many a battle-ground + Sing to the throbbing of the drum and fife. + They laugh who know the open, fearless breast, + The thrust, the steel-point, and the spreading stain; + Whose flesh is hardened to the searing test, + Whose souls are tempered to a high disdain. + Theirs is the lifted brow, the gallant jest, + The long last breath, that holds a victor-strain. + + + + +Lord Kitchener Advertises for Recruits + + +[Illustration: _This map shows the comparative distances from London of +Ostend and of some English towns. London is in the exact center of the +map._ + +If the German Army were in Manchester. + +If the German Army were in Manchester, every fit man in the country +would enlist without a moment's delay. + +Do you realise that the German Army is now at Ostend, only 125 miles +away--or 40 miles nearer to London than is Manchester? + +How much nearer must the Germans come before _you_ do something to stop +them? + +The German Army must be beaten in Belgium. The time to do it is _now_. + +Will you help? Yes? Then enlist _TODAY_. + +_God Save the King._ + +(Facsimile of an advertisement that appeared in The London Times, March +17, 1915.)] + + + + +Battle of the Dardanelles + +The Disaster That Befell the Allies' Fleet + + +AS THE TURKS SAW IT. + +_BERLIN, March 22, (via London, 11:33 A.M.)--The correspondent at +Constantinople of the Wolff Bureau telegraphed today a description of +the fighting at the Dardanelles on Thursday, March 18, in which the +French battleship Bouvet and two British battleships were sent to the +bottom. An abridgment of the correspondent's story follows:_ + +The efforts of the Allies to force the Strait of the Dardanelles reached +their climax in an artillery duel on Thursday, March 18, which lasted +seven hours. The entire atmosphere around the Turkish forts was darkened +by clouds of smoke from exploding shells and quantities of earth thrown +into the air by the projectiles of the French and British warships. The +earth trembled for miles around. + +The Allies entered the strait at 11:30 in the morning, and shelled the +town of Chank Kale. Four French and five British warships took part in +the beginning. This engagement reached its climax at 1:30, when the fire +of the Allies was concentrated upon Fort Hamidieh and the adjacent +fortified positions. + +The attack of modern marine artillery upon strong land forts presented +an interesting as well as a terrifying spectacle. At times the forts +were completely enveloped in smoke. At 2 o'clock the Allies changed +their tactics and concentrated their fire upon individual batteries, but +it was evident that they found difficulty in getting the range. Many of +the shells fell short, casting up pillars of water, or went over the +forts to explode in the town. + +At 3:15, when the bombardment was at its hottest, the French battleship +Bouvet was seen to be sinking at the stern. A moment later her bows +swung clear of the water, and she was seen going down. Cheers from the +Turkish garrisons and forts greeted this sight. Torpedo boats and other +craft of the Allies hurried to the rescue, but they were successful in +saving only a few men. Besides having been struck by a mine, the Bouvet +was severely damaged above the water line by shell fire. One projectile +struck her forward deck. A mast also was shot away and hung overboard. +It could be seen that the Bouvet when she sank was endeavoring to gain +the mouth of the strait. This, however, was difficult, owing, +apparently, to the fact that her machinery had been damaged. + +Shortly after the sinking of the Bouvet a British ship was struck on the +deck squarely amidship and compelled to withdraw from the fight. Then +another British vessel was badly damaged, and at 3:45 was seen to retire +under a terrific fire from the Turkish battery. This vessel ran in +toward the shore. For a full hour the Allies tried to protect her with +their guns, but it was apparent that she was destined for destruction. +Eight effective hits showed the hopelessness of the situation for this +vessel. She then withdrew toward the mouth of the Dardanelles, which she +reached in a few minutes under a hail of shells. The forts continued +firing until the Allies were out of range. + +This was the first day when the warships attacking the Dardanelles kept +within range of the Turkish guns for any considerable length of time. +The result for them was terrible, owing to the excellent marksmanship +from the Turkish batteries. The Allies fired on this day 2,000 shells +without silencing one shore battery. The result has inspired the Turks +with confidence, and they are looking forward to further engagements +with calm assurance. + + +ELIMINATION OF MINES. + +_The London Times naval correspondent writes, in its issue of March 20:_ + +The further attack upon the inner forts at the Dardanelles, which was +resumed by the allied squadrons on Thursday, has resulted, +unfortunately, but not altogether unexpectedly, in some loss of ships +and gallant lives. + +The clear and candid dispatch in which the operations are described +attributes the loss of the ships to floating mines, which were probably +released to drift down with the current in such large numbers that the +usual method of evading these machines was unavailable. This danger, it +is said, will require special treatment. Presumably the area having been +swept clear of anchored mines, it was not considered necessary to take +other precautions than such as were concerned with the movement of the +battleships themselves. + +The satisfactory feature of the operations is that the ships maintained +their superiority over the forts, and succeeded in silencing them after +a few hours' bombardment. The sinking of the battleships occurred later +in the afternoon, and it would seem at a time when a portion of the +naval force was making a further advance to cover the mine-sweeping +operations. There is nothing in the dispatch which indicates anything +but the eventual success of the work, nor that the defenses have proved +more formidable than was anticipated. The danger from floating mines may +have been somewhat underestimated, but it is one that can be met and is +most unlikely to form a decisive factor. + +Manifestly the Turks, with their German advisers, have done their utmost +to repair, by means of howitzers and field guns, the destruction of the +fixed defenses; but it is not likely that any temporary expedients will +prove more than troublesome to the passage of the fleet. The +determination of the Allies to make a satisfactory ending of the +operations is shown by the immediate dispatch of reinforcing ships, and +by the fact that ample naval and military forces are available on the +spot. + +Every one will regret that illness has obliged Vice Admiral Carden to +relinquish the chief command, but this is now in the very capable hands +of Vice Admiral Robeck. + + +BRITISH OFFICIAL REPORT. + +[From The London Times, March 20, 1915.] + +_After ten days of mine-sweeping inside the Dardanelles the British and +French fleets made a general attack on the fortresses at the Narrows on +Thursday. After about three hours' bombardment all the forts ceased +firing._ + +_Three battleships were lost in these operations by striking mines--the +French Bouvet, and the Irresistible and the Ocean. The British crews +were practically all saved, but nearly the whole of the men on the +Bouvet perished._ + +_The Secretary of the Admiralty issued the following statement last +night:_ + +Mine-sweeping having been in progress during the last ten days inside +the strait, a general attack was delivered by the British and French +fleets yesterday morning upon the fortresses at the Narrows of the +Dardanelles. + +At 10:45 A.M. Queen Elizabeth, Inflexible, Agamemnon, and Lord Nelson +bombarded Forts J, L, T, U, and V; while Triumph and Prince George fired +at Batteries F, E, and H. A heavy fire was opened on the ships from +howitzers and field guns. + +At 12:22 the French squadron, consisting of the Suffren, Gaulois, +Charlemagne, and Bouvet, advanced up the Dardanelles to engage the forts +at closer range. Forts J, U, F, and E replied strongly. Their fire was +silenced by the ten battleships inside the strait, all the ships being +hit several times during this part of the action. + +By 1:25 P.M. all forts had ceased firing. + +Vengeance, Irresistible, Albion, Ocean, Swiftsure, and Majestic then +advanced to relieve the six old battleships inside the strait. + +As the French squadron, which had engaged the forts in the most +brilliant fashion was passing out, Bouvet was blown up by a drifting +mine and sank in thirty-six fathoms north Erenkeui Village in less than +three minutes. + +At 2:36 P.M., the relief battleships renewed the attack on the forts, +which again opened fire. The attack on the forts was maintained while +the operations of the mine-sweepers continued. At 4:09 Irresistible +quitted the line, listing heavily; and at 5:50 she sank, having probably +struck a drifting mine. At 6:05, Ocean, also having struck a mine, both +vessels sank in deep water, practically the whole of the crews having +been removed safely under a hot fire. + +[Illustration: QUEEN MARY + +Wife of George V., King of Great Britain and Ireland. + +_(Photo from Underwood & Underwood.)_] + +[Illustration: THE RIGHT HON. DAVID LLOYD GEORGE + +The radical Chancellor of the British Exchequer, upon whom has devolved +the task of financing the great war. + +_(Photo by A. & R. Annan & Sons.)_] + +The Gaulois was damaged by gun fire. + +Inflexible had her forward control position hit by a heavy shell, and +requires repair. + +The bombardment of the forts and the mine-sweeping operations terminated +when darkness fell. The damage to the forts effected by the prolonged +direct fire of the very powerful forces employed cannot yet be +estimated, and a further report will follow. + +The losses of ships were caused by mines drifting with the current which +were encountered in areas hitherto swept clear, and this danger will +require special treatment. + +The British casualties in personnel are not heavy, considering the scale +of the operations; but practically the whole of the crew of the Bouvet +were lost with the ship, an internal explosion having apparently +supervened on the explosion of the mine. + +The Queen and Implacable, which were dispatched from England to replace +ships' casualties in anticipation of this operation, are due to arrive +immediately, thus bringing the British fleet up to its original +strength. + +The operations are continuing, ample naval and military forces being +available on the spot. + +On the 16th inst., Vice Admiral Carden, who has been incapacitated by +illness, was succeeded in the chief command by Rear Admiral John Michael +de Robeck, with acting rank of Vice Admiral. + + +THE SCENE IN THE STRAIT. + +_The London Times publishes this story of an eyewitness:_ + +TENEDOS, (Aegina,) March 18. + +This is not so much an account of the five hours' heavy engagement +between the Turkish forts and the allied ships which has been fought +actually within the Dardanelles today as an impression of the +bombardment as seen at a distance of fifteen miles or so from the top of +a high, steep hill called Mount St. Elias, at the northern end of +Tenedos. + +Over the ridge of Kum Kale you plainly see, like a great blue lake, the +first reach of the Dardanelles up to the narrow neck between Chanak and +Kilid Bahr. It was up and down in this stretch of water that the largest +vessels of the allied fleet steamed today for over four hours, hurling, +with sheets of orange flame from their heavy guns, a constant succession +of shells on the forts that guard the Narrows at Chanak, while the +Turkish batteries, with a frequency that lessened as the day went on, +flashed back at them in reply, with the difference that, while the +effects of the Allies' shells were continually manifest in the columns +of smoke and dust that were signs of the damage they had wrought, a +great number of the enemy's shots fell in the sea hundreds of yards from +the bombarding ships, sending torrents of water towering harmlessly into +the air. + +Not that the successes of the day have been won without cost. I saw +several ships, French and British, struck by shells that raised volumes +of white smoke, and one of the French squadron is toiling slowly home at +this moment down by the head and with a list to port, while, so far as +one could make out with a glass, several boatloads of men were being +taken off her. + +The ships left their stations between the Turkish and Asiatic coasts and +Tenedos early this morning and by 11 they were steaming in line up the +Dardanelles. + +It was 11:45 when the first notable hit was made by an English ship. I +could see eight vessels, apparently all battleships, lying in line from +the entrance up the strait. The ship furthest up appeared to be the +Queen Elizabeth, and I think it was she that fired the shot which +exploded the powder magazine at Chanak. A great balloon of white smoke +sprang up in the midst of the magazine which leaped out from a fierce, +red flame, and reached a great height. When the flame had disappeared +the dense smoke continued to grow till it must have been a column +hundreds of feet high. + +[Illustration: [map of the Dardanelles]] + +In the five minutes that followed this shot three more shells from the +Queen Elizabeth fell practically on the same spot, and two minutes later +yet another by the side of the smoking ruins. + +There were now eight battleships, all pre-dreadnoughts, left at Tenedos, +and at noon six of them started off in line a-head toward the strait. +The English ships already within were passing further up and went out of +sight. + +The bombarding ships were steaming constantly up and down, turning at +each end of the stretch, which is about a couple of miles long. + +A long thin veil of black smoke was drifting slowly westward from the +fighting. At about 1:30 Erenkeui Village, standing high on the Asiatic +side, received a couple of shells. At 1:45 a division of eight +destroyers in line steamed into the entrance of the strait, and a little +later the last two battleships from Tenedos joined, the Dublin +patrolling outside. An hour later the most striking effect was produced +by a shell falling on a fort at Kilid Bahr, which evidently exploded +another magazine. A huge mass of heavy jet-black smoke gradually rose +till it towered high above the cliffs on the European and Asiatic sides. +It ballooned slowly out like a gigantic genie rising from a fisherman's +bottle. + +By now the action was slackening, and at 3:45 five ships were slowly +steaming homeward from the entrance. At 4:30 there were still eight +vessels in the strait, but the forts had practically ceased to fire. The +action was over for the day. + +The result had been the apparent silencing of several Turkish batteries, +and those terrific explosions at the forts at Chanak and Kilid Bahr, the +ultimate effect of which remains to be seen when the attack is renewed +tonight. For Chanak is burning. + + + + +Official Story of Two Sea Fights + +[From The London Times, March 3, 1915.] + + +_Admiralty, March 3, 1915._ + +_The following dispatch has been received from Vice Admiral Sir David +Beatty, K.C.B., M.V.O., D.S.O., commanding the First Battle Cruiser +Squadron, reporting the action in the North Sea on Sunday, the 24th of +January, 1915:_ + +H.M.S. Princess Royal, +Feb. 2, 1915. + +Sir: I have the honor to report that at daybreak on Jan. 24, 1915, the +following vessels were patrolling in company: + +The battle cruisers Lion, Capt. Alfred E.M. Chatfield, C.V.O., flying my +flag; Princess Royal, Capt. Osmond de B. Brock, Aide de Camp; Tiger, +Capt. Henry B. Pelly, M.V.O.; New Zealand, Capt. Lionel Halsey, C.M.G., +Aide de Camp, flying the flag of Rear Admiral Sir Archibald Moore, +K.C.B., C.V.O., and Indomitable, Capt. Francis W. Kennedy. + +The light cruisers Southampton, flying the broad pennant of Commodore +William E. Goodenough, M.V.O.; Nottingham, Capt. Charles B. Miller; +Birmingham, Capt. Arthur A.M. Duff, and Lowestoft, Capt. Theobald W.B. +Kennedy, were disposed on my port beam. + +Commodore (T) Reginald Y. Tyrwhitt, C.B., in Arethusa, Aurora, Capt. +Wilmot S. Nicholson; Undaunted, Capt. Francis G. St. John, M.V.O.; +Arethusa and the destroyer flotillas were ahead. + +At 7:25 A.M. the flash of guns was observed south-southeast. Shortly +afterward a report reached me from Aurora that she was engaged with +enemy's ships. I immediately altered course to south-southeast, +increased to 22 knots, and ordered the light cruisers and flotillas to +chase south-southeast to get in touch and report movements of enemy. + +This order was acted upon with great promptitude, indeed my wishes had +already been forestalled by the respective senior officers, and reports +almost immediately followed from Southampton, Arethusa, and Aurora as to +the position and composition of the enemy, which consisted of three +battle cruisers and Blücher, six light cruisers, and a number of +destroyers, steering northwest. The enemy had altered course to +southeast. From now onward the light cruisers maintained touch with the +enemy, and kept me fully informed as to their movements. + +The battle cruisers worked up to full speed, steering to the southward. +The wind at the time was northeast, light, with extreme visibility. At +7:30 A.M. the enemy were sighted on the port bow steaming fast, steering +approximately southeast, distant 14 miles. + +Owing to the prompt reports received we had attained our position on the +quarter of the enemy, and so altered course to southeast parallel to +them, and settled down to a long stern chase, gradually increasing our +speed until we reached 28.5 knots. Great credit is due to the engineer +staffs of New Zealand and Indomitable--these ships greatly exceeded +their normal speed. + +At 8:52 A.M., as we had closed to within 20,000 yards of the rear ship, +the battle cruisers manoeuvred to keep on a line of bearing so that guns +would bear, and Lion fired a single shot, which fell short. The enemy at +this time were in single line ahead, with light cruisers ahead and a +large number of destroyers on their starboard beam. + +Single shots were fired at intervals to test the range, and at 9:09 A.M. +Lion made her first hit on the Blücher, No. 4 in the line. The Tiger +opened fire at 9:20 A.M. on the rear ship, the Lion shifted to No. 3 in +the line, at 18,000 yards, this ship being hit by several salvos. The +enemy returned our fire at 9:14 A.M. Princess Royal, on coming into +range, opened fire on Blücher, the range of the leading ship being +17,500 yards, at 9:35 A.M. New Zealand was within range of Blücher, +which had dropped somewhat astern, and opened fire on her. Princess +Royal shifted to the third ship in the line, inflicting considerable +damage on her. + +Our flotilla cruisers and destroyers had gradually dropped from a +position broad on our beam to our port quarter, so as not to foul our +range with their smoke; but the enemy's destroyers threatening attack, +the Meteor and M Division passed ahead of us, Capt. the Hon. H. Meade, +D.S.O., handling this division with conspicuous ability. + +About 9:45 A.M. the situation was as follows: Blücher, the fourth in +their line, already showed signs of having suffered severely from gun +fire; their leading ship and No. 3 were also on fire, Lion was engaging +No. 1, Princess Royal No. 3, New Zealand No. 4, while the Tiger, which +was second in our line, fired first at their No. 1, and when interfered +with by smoke, at their No. 4. + +The enemy's destroyers emitted vast columns of smoke to screen their +battle cruisers, and under cover of this the latter now appeared to have +altered course to the northward to increase their distance, and +certainly the rear ships hauled out on the port quarter of their leader, +thereby increasing their distance from our line. The battle cruisers, +therefore, were ordered to form a line of bearing north-northwest, and +proceed at their utmost speed. + +Their destroyers then showed evident signs of an attempt to attack. Lion +and Tiger opened fire on them, and caused them to retire and resume +their original course. + +The light cruisers maintained an excellent position on the port quarter +of the enemy's line, enabling them to observe and keep touch, or attack +any vessel that might fall out of the line. + +At 10:48 A.M. the Blücher, which had dropped considerably astern of +enemy's line, hauled out to port, steering north with a heavy list, on +fire, and apparently in a defeated condition. I consequently ordered +Indomitable to attack enemy breaking northward. + +At 10:54 A.M. submarines were reported on the starboard bow, and I +personally observed the wash of a periscope two points on our starboard +bow. I immediately turned to port. + +At 11:03 A.M. an injury to the Lion being reported as incapable of +immediate repair, I directed Lion to shape course northwest. At 11:20 +A.M. I called the Attack alongside, shifting my flag to her at about +11:35 A.M. I proceeded at utmost speed to rejoin the squadron, and met +them at noon retiring north-northwest. + +I boarded and hoisted my flag on Princess Royal at about 12:20 P.M., +when Capt. Brock acquainted me of what had occurred since the Lion fell +out of the line, namely, that Blücher had been sunk and that the enemy +battle cruisers had continued their course to the eastward in a +considerably damaged condition. He also informed me that a Zeppelin and +a seaplane had endeavored to drop bombs on the vessels which went to the +rescue of the survivors of Blücher. + +The good seamanship of Lieut. Commander Cyril Callaghan, H.M.S. Attack, +in placing his vessel alongside the Lion and subsequently the Princess +Royal, enabled the transfer of flag to be made in the shortest possible +time. + +At 2 P.M. I closed Lion and received a report that the starboard engine +was giving trouble owing to priming, and at 3:38 P.M. I ordered +Indomitable to take her in tow, which was accomplished by 5 P.M. + +The greatest credit is due to the Captains of Indomitable and Lion for +the seaman-like manner in which the Lion was taken in tow under +difficult circumstances. + +The excellent steaming of the ships engaged in the operation was a +conspicuous feature. + +I attach an appendix giving the names of various officers and men who +specially distinguished themselves. + +Where all did well it is difficult to single out officers and men for +special mention, and as Lion and Tiger were the only ships hit by the +enemy, the majority of these I mention belong to those ships. + +I have the honor to be, Sir, + +Your obedient servant, + +(Signed) DAVID BEATTY, +Vice Admiral. + + +OFFICERS. + +Commander Charles A. Fountaine, H.M.S. Lion. + +Lieut. Commander Evan C. Bunbury, H.M.S. Lion. + +Lieut. Frederick T. Peters, H.M.S. Meteor. + +Lieut. Charles M.R. Schwerdt, H.M.S. Lion. + +Engineer Commander Donald P. Green, H.M.S. Lion. + +Engineer Commander James L. Sands, H.M.S. Southampton. + +Engineer Commander Thomas H. Turner, H.M.S. New Zealand. + +Engineer Lieut. Commander George Preece, H.M.S. Lion. + +Engineer Lieut. Albert Knothe, H.M.S. Indomitable. + +Surgeon Probationer James A. Stirling, R.N.V.R., H.M.S. Meteor. + +Mr. Joseph H. Burton, Gunner (T), H.M.S. Lion. + +Chief Carpenter Frederick E. Dailey, H.M.S. Lion. + + +PETTY OFFICERS AND MEN. + +Py. Or. J.W. Kemmett, O.N. 186,788, Lion. + +A.B.H. Davis, O.N. 184,526, Tiger. + +A.B.H.F. Griffin, O.N.J. 14,160, Princess Royal. + +A.B.P.S. Livingstone, O.N. 234,328, Lion. + +A.B.H. Robison, O.N. 209,112, Tiger. + +A.B.G.H. le Seilleur, O.N. 156,802, Lion. + +Boy, 1st CL., F.G.H. Bamford, O.N.J. 26,598, Tiger. + +Boy, 1st CL., J.F. Rogers, O.N.J. 28,329, Tiger. + +Ch. Ee. R. Artr., 1st CL., E.R. Hughes, O.N. 268,999, Indomitable. + +Ch. Ee. R. Artr., 2d CL, W.B. Dand, O.N. 270,648, New Zealand. + +Ch. Ee. A. Artr. W. Gillespie, O.N. 270,080, Meteor. + +Mechn. A.J. Cannon, O.N. 175,440, Lion. + +Mechn. E.C. Ephgrave, O.N. 288,231, Lion. + +Ch. Stkr. P. Callaghan, O.N. 278,953, Lion. + +Ch. Stkr. A.W. Ferris, O.N. 175,824, Lion. + +Ch. Stkr. J.E. James, O.N. 174,232, New Zealand. + +Ch. Stkr. W.E. James, O.N. 294,406, Indomitable. + +Ch. Stkr. J. Keating, R.F.R., O.N. 165,732, Meteor. + +Stkr. Py. Or. M. Flood, R.F.R., O.N. 153,418, Meteor. + +Stkr. Py. Or. T.W. Hardy, O.N. 292,542, Indomitable. + +Stkr. Py. Or. A.J. Sims, O.N. 276,502, New Zealand. + +Stkr. Py. Or. S. Westaway, R.F.R., O.N. 300,938, Meteor. + +Actg. Ldg. Skr. J. Blackburn, O.N.K. 4,844, Tiger. + +Stkr., 1st Cl., A.H. Bennet, O.N.K. 10,700, Tiger. + +Stkr., 2d Cl., H. Turner, O.N.K. 22,720, Tiger. + +Ldg. Carpenter's Crew, E.O. Bradley, O.N. 346,621, Lion. + +Ldg. Carpenter's Crew, E. Currie, O.N. 344,851, Lion. + +Sick Berth Attendant C.S. Hutchinson, O.N.M. 3,882, Tiger. + +Ch. Writer S.G. White, O.N. 340,597, Tiger. + +Third Writer H.C. Green, O.N.M. 8,266, Tiger. + +Officers' Steward, 3d Cl., F.W. Kearley, O.N.L. 2,716, Tiger. + + +HONORS AWARDED. + +Lord Chamberlain's Office, +St. James's Palace, +March 3, 1915. + +The King has been graciously pleased to give orders for the following +appointment to the Most Honorable Order of the Bath, in recognition of +the services of the undermentioned officer mentioned in the foregoing +dispatch: + +To be an Additional Member of the Military Division of the Third Class +or Companion. + +Capt. Osmond de Beauvoir Brock, A.D.C., Royal Navy. + +Admiralty, S.W., +March 3, 1915. + +The King has been graciously pleased to give orders for the following +appointment to the Distinguished Service Order, and for the award of the +Distinguished Service Cross, to the undermentioned officers in +recognition of their services mentioned in the foregoing dispatch: + +To be Companion of the Distinguished Service Order. + +Lieut. Frederic Thornton Peters, Royal Navy. + +To receive the Distinguished Service Cross. + +Surg. Probationer James Alexander Stirling, R.N.V.R. + +Gunner (T) Joseph H. Burton. + +Chief Carpenter Frederick E. Dailey. + +The following promotion has been made: + +Commander Charles Andrew Fountaine to be a Captain in his Majesty's +fleet, to date March 3, 1915. + +The following awards have also been made: + +To receive the Distinguished Service Medal. + +P.O. J.W. Kemmett, O.N. 186,788. +A.B. H. Davis, O.N. 184,526. +A.B. H.F. Griffin, O.N.J. 14,160. +A.B. P.S. Livingstone, O.N. 234,328. +A.B. H. Robison, O.N. 209,112. +A.B. G.H. le Seilleur, O.N. 156,802. +Boy, 1st Cl., F.G.H. Bamford, O.N.J. 26,598. +Boy, 1st Cl., J.F. Rogers, O.N.J. 28,329. +Ch. E.R. Art., 1st Cl., E.R. Hughes, O.N. 268,999. +Ch. E.R. Art., 2d Cl., W.B. Dand, O.N. 270,648. +Ch. E.R. Art., W. Gillespie, O.N. 270,080. +Mechn. A.J. Cannon, O.N. 175,440. +Mechn. E.C. Ephgrave, O.N. 288,231. +Ch. Stkr. P. Callaghan, O.N. 278,953. +Ch. Stkr. A.W. Ferris, O.N. 175,824. +Ch. Stkr. J.E. James, O.N. 174,232. +Ch. Stkr. W.E. James, O.N. 294,406. +Ch. Stkr. J. Keating, R.F.R., O.N. 165,732. +Stkr. P.O. M. Flood, R.F.R., O.N. 153,418. +Stkr. P.O. T.W. Hardy, O.N. 292,542. +Stkr. P.O. A.J. Sims, O.N. 276,502. +Stkr. P.O. S. Westaway, R.F.R., O.N. 300,938. +Actg. Ldg. Stkr. J. Blackburn, O.N.K. 4,844. +Stkr., 1st Cl., A.H. Bennet, O.N.K. 10,700. +Stkr., 2d Cl., H. Turner, O.N.K. 22,720. +Ldg. Carpenter's Crew, E.O. Bradley, O.N. 346,621. +Ldg. Carpenter's Crew, E. Currie, O.N. 344,851. +Sick Berth Attendant C.S. Hutchinson, O.N.M. 3,882. +Ch. Writer S.G. White, O.N. 340,597. +Third Writer H.C. Green, O.N.M. 8,266. +Officers' Steward, 3d Cl., F.W. Kearley, O.N.L. 2,716. + + +BATTLE OF THE FALKLANDS + +_Admiralty, March 3, 1915._ + +_The following dispatch has been received from Vice Admiral Sir F.C. +Doveton-Sturdee, K.C.B., C.V.O., C.M.G., reporting the action off the +Falkland Islands on Tuesday, the 8th of December, 1914:_ + +INVINCIBLE, at Sea, +Dec. 19, 1914. + +Sir: I have the honor to forward a report on the action which took place +on Dec. 8, 1914, against a German squadron off the Falkland Islands. + +I have the honor to be, Sir, + +Your obedient servant, + +F.C.D. STURDEE, +Vice Admiral, Commander in Chief. +The Secretary, Admiralty. + +(A)--PRELIMINARY MOVEMENTS. + +The squadron, consisting of H.M. ships Invincible, flying my flag, Flag +Capt. Percy T.M. Beamish; Inflexible, Capt. Richard F. Phillimore; +Carnarvon, flying the flag of Rear Admiral Archibald P. Soddart, Flag +Capt. Harry L.d'E. Skipwith; Cornwall, Capt. Walter M. Ellerton; Kent, +Capt. John D. Allen; Glasgow, Capt. John Loce; Bristol, Capt. Basil H. +Fanshawe, and Macedonia, Capt. Bertram S. Evans, arrived at Port +Stanley, Falkland Islands, at 10:30 A.M. on Monday, Dec. 7, 1914. +Coaling was commenced at once, in order that the ships should be ready +to resume the search for the enemy's squadron the next evening, Dec. 8. + +At 8 A.M. on Tuesday, Dec. 8, a signal was received from the signal +station on shore: + +"A four-funnel and two-funnel man-of-war in sight from Sapper Hill, +steering northward." + +[Illustration: THE BATTLE OF THE FALKLAND ISLANDS FROM THE OFFICIAL +REPORT OF ADMIRAL STURDEE. + +The numbers given on the plan show the corresponding positions of +vessels at various times. All ships bearing the same number were +simultaneously in the positions charted.] + +At this time the positions of the various ships of the squadron were as +follows: + +Macedonia: At anchor as lookout ship. + +Kent (guard ship): At anchor in Port William. + +Invincible and Inflexible: In Port William. + +Carnarvon: In Port William. + +Cornwall: In Port William. + +Glasgow: In Port Stanley. + +Bristol: In Port Stanley. + +The Kent was at once ordered to weigh, and a general signal was made to +raise steam for full speed. + +At 8:20 A.M. the signal station reported another column of smoke in +sight to the southward, and at 8:45 A.M. the Kent passed down the harbor +and took up a station at the entrance. + +The Canopus, Capt. Heathcoat S. Grant, reported at 8:47 A.M. that the +first two ships were eight miles off, and that the smoke reported at +8:20 A.M. appeared to be the smoke of two ships about twenty miles off. + +At 8:50 A.M. the signal station reported a further column of smoke in +sight to the southward. + +The Macedonia was ordered to weigh anchor on the inner side of the other +ships, and await orders. + +At 9:20 A.M. the two leading ships of the enemy, (Gneisenau and +Nürnberg,) with guns trained on the wireless station, came within range +of the Canopus, which opened fire at them across the low land at a range +of 11,000 yards. The enemy at once hoisted their colors and turned away. +At this time the masts and smoke of the enemy were visible from the +upper bridge of the Invincible at a range of approximately 17,000 yards +across the low land to the south of Port William. + +A few minutes later the two cruisers altered course to port, as though +to close the Kent at the entrance to the harbor, but about this time it +seems that the Invincible and Inflexible were seen over the land, as the +enemy at once altered course and increased speed to join their +consorts. + +The Glasgow weighed and proceeded at 9:40 A.M. with orders to join the +Kent and observe the enemy's movements. + +At 9:45 A.M. the squadron--less the Bristol--weighed, and proceeded out +of harbor in the following order: Carnarvon, Inflexible, Invincible, and +Cornwall. On passing Cape Pembroke Light the five ships of the enemy +appeared clearly in sight to the southeast, hull down. The visibility +was at its maximum, the sea was calm, with a bright sun, a clear sky, +and a light breeze from the northwest. + +At 10:20 A.M. the signal for a general chase was made. The battle +cruisers quickly passed ahead of the Carnarvon and overtook the Kent. +The Glasgow was ordered to keep two miles from the Invincible, and the +Inflexible was stationed on the starboard quarter of the flagship. Speed +was eased to twenty knots at 11:15 A.M., to enable the other cruisers to +get into station. + +At this time the enemy's funnels and bridges showed just above the +horizon. + +Information was received from the Bristol at 11:27 A.M. that three enemy +ships had appeared off Port Pleasant, probably colliers or transports. +The Bristol was therefore directed to take the Macedonia under orders +and destroy transports. + +The enemy were still maintaining their distance, and I decided, at 12:20 +P.M., to attack with the two battle cruisers and the Glasgow. + +At 12:47 P.M. the signal to "Open fire and engage the enemy" was made. + +The Inflexible opened fire at 12:55 P.M. from her fore turret at the +right-hand ship of the enemy, a light cruiser; a few minutes later the +Invincible opened fire at the same ship. + +The deliberate fire from a range of 16,500 to 15,000 yards at the +right-hand light cruiser, which was dropping astern, became too +threatening, and when a shell fell close alongside her at 1:20 P.M. she +(the Leipzig) turned away, with the Nürnberg and Dresden, to the +southwest. + +These light cruisers were at once followed by the Kent, Glasgow, and +Cornwall, in accordance with my instructions. + +The action finally developed into three separate encounters, besides the +subsidiary one dealing with the threatened landing. + +(B.)--ACTION WITH THE ARMORED CRUISERS. + +The fire of the battle cruisers was directed on the Scharnhorst and +Gneisenau. The effect of this was quickly seen when, at 1:25 P.M., with +the Scharnhorst leading, they turned about seven points to port in +succession into line ahead and opened fire at 1:30 P.M. Shortly +afterward speed was eased to twenty-four knots and the battle cruisers +were ordered to turn together, bringing them into line ahead, with the +Invincible leading. + +The range was about 13,500 yards at the final turn, and increased until +at 2 P.M. it had reached 16,450 yards. + +The enemy then (2:10 P.M.) turned away about ten points to starboard, +and a second chase ensued until at 2:45 P.M. the battle cruisers again +opened fire; this caused the enemy, at 2:53 P.M., to turn into line +ahead to port and open fire at 2:55 P.M. + +The Scharnhorst caught fire forward, but not seriously, and her fire +slackened perceptibly; the Gneisenau was badly hit by the Inflexible. + +At 3:30 P.M. the Scharnhorst led around about ten points to starboard; +just previously her fire had slackened perceptibly, and one shell had +shot away her third funnel; some guns were not firing, and it would +appear that the turn was dictated by a desire to bring her starboard +guns into action. The effect of the fire on the Scharnhorst became more +and more apparent in consequence of smoke from fires, and also escaping +steam. At times a shell would cause a large hole to appear in her side, +through which could be seen a dull red glow of flame. At 4:04 P.M. the +Scharnhorst, whose flag remained flying to the last, suddenly listed +heavily to port, and within a minute it became clear that she was a +doomed ship, for the list increased very rapidly until she lay on her +beam ends, and at 4:17 P.M. she disappeared. + +The Gneisenau passed on the far side of her late flagship, and continued +a determined but ineffectual effort to fight the two battle cruisers. + +At 5:08 P.M. the forward funnel was knocked over and remained resting +against the second funnel. She was evidently in serious straits, and her +fire slackened very much. + +At 5:15 P.M. one of the Gneisenau's shells struck the Invincible; this +was her last effective effort. + +At 5:30 P.M. she turned toward the flagship with a heavy list to +starboard, and appeared stopped, with steam pouring from her escape +pipes and smoke from shell and fires rising everywhere. About this time +I ordered the signal "Cease fire!" but before it was hoisted the +Gneisenau opened fire again, and continued to fire from time to time +with a single gun. + +At 5:40 P.M. the three ships closed in on the Gneisenau, and at this +time the flag flying at her fore truck was apparently hauled down, but +the flag at the peak continued flying. + +At 5:50 P.M. "Cease fire!" was made. + +At 6 P.M. the Gneisenau heeled over very suddenly, showing the men +gathered on her decks and then walking on her side as she lay for a +minute on her beam ends before sinking. + +The prisoners of war from the Gneisenau report that by the time the +ammunition was expended some 600 men had been killed and wounded. The +surviving officers and men were all ordered on deck and told to provide +themselves with hammocks and any articles that could support them in the +water. + +When the ship capsized and sank there were probably some 200 unwounded +survivors in the water, but, owing to the shock of the cold water, many +were drowned within sight of the boats and ship. + +Every effort was made to save life as quickly as possible, both by boats +and from the ships; lifebuoys were thrown and ropes lowered, but only a +portion could be rescued. The Invincible alone rescued 108 men, +fourteen of whom were found to be dead after being brought on board. +These men were buried at sea the following day with full military +honors. + +(C)--ACTION WITH THE LIGHT CRUISERS. + +At about 1 P.M., when the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau turned to port to +engage the Invincible and Inflexible, the enemy's light cruisers turned +to starboard to escape; the Dresden was leading and the Nürnberg and +Leipzig followed on each quarter. + +In accordance with my instructions, the Glasgow, Kent, and Cornwall at +once went in chase of these ships; the Carnarvon, whose speed was +insufficient to overtake them, closed the battle cruisers. + +The Glasgow drew well ahead of the Cornwall and Kent, and at 3 P.M. +shots were exchanged with the Leipzig at 12,000 yards. The Glasgow's +object was to endeavor to outrange the Leipzig with her 6-inch guns and +thus cause her to alter course and give the Cornwall and Kent a chance +of coming into action. + +At 4:17 P.M. the Cornwall opened fire, also on the Leipzig. + +At 7:17 P.M. the Leipzig was on fire fore and aft, and the Cornwall and +Glasgow ceased fire. + +The Leipzig turned over on her port side and disappeared at 9 P.M. Seven +officers and eleven men were saved. + +At 3:36 P.M. the Cornwall ordered the Kent to engage the Nürnberg, the +nearest cruiser to her. + +Owing to the excellent and strenuous efforts of the engine room +department, the Kent was able to get within range of the Nürnberg at 5 +P.M. At 6:35 P.M. the Nürnberg was on fire forward and ceased firing. +The Kent also ceased firing and closed to 3,300 yards; as the colors +were still observed to be flying on the Nürnberg, the Kent opened fire +again. Fire was finally stopped five minutes later on the colors being +hauled down, and every preparation was made to save life. The Nürnberg +sank at 7:27 P.M., and, as she sank, a group of men were waving a German +ensign attached to a staff. Twelve men were rescued, but only seven +survived. + +The Kent had four killed and twelve wounded, mostly caused by one shell. + +During the time the three cruisers were engaged with the Nürnberg and +Leipzig, the Dresden, which was beyond her consorts, effected her escape +owing to her superior speed. The Glasgow was the only cruiser with +sufficient speed to have had any chance of success. However, she was +fully employed in engaging the Leipzig for over an hour before either +the Cornwall or Kent could come up and get within range. During this +time the Dresden was able to increase her distance and get out of sight. + +The weather changed after 4 P.M., and the visibility was much reduced; +further, the sky was overcast and cloudy, thus assisting the Dresden to +get away unobserved. + +(D)--ACTION WITH THE ENEMY'S TRANSPORTS. + +A report was received at 11:27 A.M. from H.M.S. Bristol that three ships +of the enemy, probably transports or colliers, had appeared off Port +Pleasant. The Bristol was ordered to take the Macedonia under his orders +and destroy the transports. + +H.M.S. Macedonia reports that only two ships, steamships Baden and Santa +Isabel, were present; both ships were sunk after the removal of the +crews. + +I have pleasure in reporting that the officers and men under my orders +carried out their duties with admirable efficiency and coolness, and +great credit is due to the engineer officers of all the ships, several +of which exceeded their normal full speed. + +The names of the following are specially mentioned: + +OFFICERS. + +Commander Richard Herbert Denny Townsend, H.M.S. Invincible. + +Commander Arthur Edward Frederick Bedford, H.M.S. Kent. + +Lieut. Commander Wilfred Arthur Thompson, H.M.S. Glasgow. + +Lieut. Commander Hubert Edward Danreuther, First and Gunnery Lieutenant, +H.M.S. Invincible. + +Engineer Commander George Edward Andrew, H.M.S. Kent. + +Engineer Commander Edward John Weeks, H.M.S. Invincible. + +Paymaster Cyril Sheldon Johnson, H.M.S. Invincible. + +Carpenter Thomas Andrew Walls, H.M.S. Invincible. + +Carpenter William Henry Venning, H.M.S. Kent. + +Carpenter George Henry Egford, H.M.S. Cornwall. + +PETTY OFFICERS AND MEN. + +Ch. P.O. D. Leighton, O.N. 124,288, Kent. + +P.O., 2d Cl., M.J. Walton, (R.F.R., A. 1,756,) O.N. 118,358, Kent. + +Ldg. Smn. F.S. Martin, O.N. 233,301, Invincible, Gnr's. Mate, Gunlayer, +1st Cl. + +Sigmn. F. Glover, O.N. 225,731, Cornwall. + +Ch. E.R. Art., 2d Cl., J.G. Hill, O.N. 269,646, Cornwall. + +Actg. Ch. E.R. Art., 2d Cl., R. Snowdon, O.N. 270,654, Inflexible. + +E.R. Art., 1st Cl., G.H.F. McCarten, O.N. 270,023, Invincible. + +Stkr. P.O. G.S. Brewer, O.N. 150,950, Kent. + +Stkr. P.O. W.A. Townsend, O.N. 301,650, Cornwall. + +Stkr., 1st Cl., J. Smith, O.N. SS 111,915, Cornwall. + +Shpwrt., 1st Cl., A.N.E. England, O.N. 341,971, Glasgow. + +Shpwrt., 2d Cl., A.C.H. Dymott, O.N.M. 8,047, Kent. + +Portsmouth R.F.R.B. 3,307 Sergt. Charles Mayes, H.M.S. Kent. + +F.C.D. STURDEE. + + + + +BETWEEN MIDNIGHT AND MORNING. + +By SIR OWEN SEAMAN. + +[From King Albert's Book.] + + + You that have faith to look with fearless eyes + Beyond the tragedy of a world at strife, + And trust that out of night and death shall rise + The dawn of ampler life; + + Rejoice, whatever anguish rend your heart, + That God has given you, for a priceless dower, + To live in these great times and have your part + In Freedom's crowning hour. + + That you may tell your sons who see the light + High in the heavens, their heritage to take-- + "I saw the powers of darkness put to flight! + I saw the morning break!" + + + + +The Greatest of Campaigns + +The French Official Account Concluded + + + The second and succeeding installments--the first installment + appeared in CURRENT HISTORY for April--of the official French + historical review of the operations in the western theatre of + war from the beginning until the end of January, 1915--the + first six months--are described in the subjoined + correspondence of The Associated Press. + +_LONDON, March 18, (Correspondence of The Associated Press.)--The +Associated Press has received the second installment of the historical +review emanating from French official sources of the operations in the +Western theatre of war, from its beginning up to the end of January. It +should be understood that the narrative is made purely from the French +standpoint. The additional installment of the document dealing with the +victory of the Marne, Sept. 6th to 15th, is as follows:_ + +If one examines on the map the respective positions of the German and +French armies on Sept. 6 as previously described, it will be seen that +by his inflection toward Meaux and Coulommiers General von Kluck was +exposing his right to the offensive action of our left. This is the +starting point of the victory of the Marne. + +On the evening of Sept. 5 our left army had reached the front +Penchard-Saint-Souflet-Ver. On the 6th and 7th it continued its +attacks vigorously with the Ourcq as objective. On the evening of +the 7th it was some kilometers from the Ourcq, on the front +Chambry-Marcilly-Lisieux-Acy-en-Multien. On the 8th, the Germans, who +had in great haste reinforced their right by bringing their Second +and Fourth Army Corps back to the north, obtained some successes by +attacks of extreme violence. They occupied Betz, Thury-en-Valois, and +Nanteuil-le-Haudouin. But in spite of this pressure our troops held +their ground well. In a brilliant action they took three standards, and, +being reinforced, prepared a new attack for the 10th. At the moment that +this attack was about to begin the enemy was already in retreat toward +the north. The attack became a pursuit, and on the 12th we established +ourselves on the Aisne. + + +LEFT OF KLUCK'S ARMY THREATENED. + +Why did the German forces which were confronting us and on the evening +before attacking so furiously retreat on the morning of the 10th? +Because in bringing back on the 6th several army corps from the south to +the north to face our left the enemy had exposed his left to the attacks +of the British Army, which had immediately faced around toward the +north, and to those of our armies which were prolonging the English +lines to the right. This is what the French command had sought to bring +about. This is what happened on Sept. 8 and allowed the development and +rehabilitation which it was to effect. + +On the 6th the British Army had set out from the line Rozcy-Lagny and +had that evening reached the southward bank of the Grand Morin. On the +7th and 8th it continued its march, and on the 9th had debouched to the +north of the Marne below Chateau-Thiery, taking in flank the German +forces which on that day were opposing, on the Ourcq, our left army. +Then it was that these forces began to retreat, while the British Army, +going in pursuit and capturing seven guns and many prisoners, reached +the Aisne between Soissons and Longueval. + +The rôle of the French Army, which was operating to the right of the +British Army, was threefold. It had to support the British attacking on +its left. It had on its right to support our centre, which from Sept. 7 +had been subjected to a German attack of great violence. Finally, its +mission was to throw back the three active army corps and the reserve +corps which faced it. + +On the 7th it made a leap forward, and on the following days reached and +crossed the Marne, seizing, after desperate fighting, guns, howitzers, +mitrailleuses, and 1,300,000 cartridges. On the 12th it established +itself on the north edge of the Montagne-de-Reime in contact with our +centre, which for its part had just forced the enemy to retreat in +haste. + + +THE ACTION OF FERE-CHAMPENOISE. + +Our centre consisted of a new army created on Aug. 29 and of one of +those which at the beginning of the campaign had been engaged in Belgian +Luxemburg. The first had retreated on Aug. 29 to Sept. 5 from the Aisne +to the north of the Marne and occupied the general front Sézanne-Mailly. + +The second, more to the east, had drawn back to the south of the line +Humbauville-Chateau-Beauchamp-Bignicourt-Blesmes-Maurupt-le-Montoy. + +The enemy, in view of his right being arrested and the defeat of his +enveloping movement, made a desperate effort from the 7th to the 10th to +pierce our centre to the west and to the east of Fére-Champenoise. On +the 8th he succeeded in forcing back the right of our new army, which +retired as far as Gouragançon. On the 9th, at 6 o'clock in the morning, +there was a further retreat to the south of that village, while on the +left the other army corps also had to go back to the line +Allemant-Connantre. + +Despite this retreat the General commanding the army ordered a general +offensive for the same day. With the Morocco Division, whose behavior +was heroic, he met a furious assault of the Germans on his left toward +the marshes of Saint Gond. Then with the division which had just +victoriously overcome the attacks of the enemy to the north of Sézanne, +and with the whole of his left army corps, he made a flanking attack in +the evening of the 9th upon the German forces, and notably the guard, +which had thrown back his right army corps. The enemy, taken by +surprise by this bold manoeuvre, did not resist, and beat a hasty +retreat. + +On the 11th we crossed the Marne between Tours-sur-Marne and Sarry, +driving the Germans in front of us in disorder. On the 12th we were in +contact with the enemy to the north of the Camp de Chalons. Our other +army of the centre, acting on the right of the one just referred to, had +been intrusted with the mission during the 7th, 8th, and 9th of +disengaging its neighbor, and it was only on the 10th that, being +reinforced by an army corps from the east, it was able to make its +action effectively felt. On the 11th the Germans retired. But, +perceiving their danger, they fought desperately, with enormous +expenditure of projectiles, behind strong intrenchments. On the 12th the +result had none the less been attained, and our two centre armies were +solidly established on the ground gained. + + +THE OPERATIONS OF THE RIGHT. + +To the right of these two armies were three others. They had orders to +cover themselves to the north and to debouch toward the west on the +flank of the enemy, which was operating to the west of the Argonne. But +a wide interval in which the Germans were in force separated them from +our centre. The attack took place, nevertheless, with very brilliant +success for our artillery, which destroyed eleven batteries of the +Sixteenth German Army Corps. + +On the 10th inst. the Eighth and Fifteenth German Army Corps +counter-attacked, but were repulsed. On the 11th our progress continued +with new successes, and on the 12th we were able to face round toward +the north in expectation of the near and inevitable retreat of the +enemy, which, in fact, took place from the 13th. + +The withdrawal of the mass of the German force involved also that of the +left. From the 12th onward the forces of the enemy operating between +Nancy and the Vosges retreated in a hurry before our two armies of the +East, which immediately occupied the positions that the enemy had +evacuated. The offensive of our right had thus prepared and +consolidated in the most useful way the result secured by our left and +our centre. + +[Illustration: Map showing the successive stages of the Battle of the +Marne.] + +Such was this seven days' battle, in which more than two millions of men +were engaged. Each army gained ground step by step, opening the road to +its neighbor, supported at once by it, taking in flank the adversary +which the day before it had attacked in front, the efforts of one +articulating closely with those of the other, a perfect unity of +intention and method animating the supreme command. + +To give this victory all its meaning it is necessary to add that it was +gained by troops which for two weeks had been retreating, and which, +when the order for the offensive was given, were found to be as ardent +as on the first day. It has also to be said that these troops had to +meet the whole German army, and that from the time they marched forward +they never again fell back. Under their pressure the German retreat at +certain times had the appearance of a rout. + +In spite of the fatigue of our men, in spite of the power of the German +heavy artillery, we took colors, guns, mitrailleuses, shells, more than +a million cartridges, and thousands of prisoners. A German corps lost +almost the whole of its artillery, which, from information brought by +our airmen, was destroyed by our guns. + + +"THE RUSH TO THE SEA." + +_LONDON, March 18.--The third installment of the historical review of +the war, emanating from French official sources and purely from the +French viewpoint, has been received by The Associated Press. The French +narrative contains a long chapter on the siege war from the Oise to the +Vosges, which lasted from Sept. 13 to Nov. 30. Most of the incidents in +this prolonged and severe warfare have been recorded in the daily +bulletins. The operations were of secondary importance, and were +conducted on both sides with the same idea of wearing down the troops +and the artillery of the opposing forces with the view of influencing +the decisive result in the great theatre of war in the north. The next +chapter deals with "the rush to the sea," Sept. 13 to Oct. 23, and is as +follows:_ + +GENERAL CHARACTER OF THE ACTION. + +As early as Sept. 11 the Commander in Chief had directed our left army +to have as important forces as possible on the right bank of the Oise. +On Sept. 17 he made that instruction more precise by ordering "a mass to +be constituted on the left wing of our disposition, capable of coping +with the outflanking movement of the enemy." Everything led us to expect +that flanking movement, for the Germans are lacking in invention. +Indeed, their effort at that time tended to a renewal of their manoeuvre +of August. In the parallel race the opponents were bound in the end to +be stopped only by the sea; that is what happened about Oct. 20. + +The Germans had an advantage over us, which is obvious from a glance at +the map--the concentric form of their front, which shortened the length +of their transports. In spite of this initial inferiority we arrived in +time. From the middle of September to the last week in October fighting +went on continually to the north of the Oise, but all the time we were +fighting we were slipping northward. On the German side this movement +brought into line more than eighteen new army corps, (twelve active army +corps, six reserve corps, four cavalry corps.) On our side it ended in +the constitution of three fresh armies on our left and in the transport +into the same district of the British Army and the Belgian Army from +Antwerp. + +For the conception and realization of this fresh and extended +disposition the French command, in the first place, had to reduce to a +minimum the needs for effectives of our armies to the east of the Oise, +and afterwards to utilize to the utmost our means of transport. It +succeeded in this, and when, at the end of October, the battle of +Flanders opened, when the Germans, having completed the concentration of +their forces, attempted with fierce energy to turn or to pierce our +left, they flung themselves upon a resistance which inflicted upon them +a complete defeat. + + +DEPLOYMENT OF A FIRST ARMY. + +The movement began on our side only with the resources of the army which +had held the left of our front during the battle of the Marne, +reinforced on Sept. 15 by one army corps. + +This reinforcement, not being sufficient to hold the enemy's offensive, +(district of Vaudelincourt-Mouchy-Uaugy,) a fresh army was transported +more to the left, with the task "of acting against the German right wing +in order to disengage its neighbor, ... while preserving a flanking +direction in its march in relation to the fresh units that the enemy +might be able to put into line." + +To cover the detrainments of this fresh army in the district +Clermont-Beauvais-Boix a cavalry corps and four territorial divisions +were ordered to establish themselves on both banks of the Somme. In the +wooded hills, however, which extend between the Oise and Lassigny the +enemy displayed increasing activity. Nevertheless, the order still +further to broaden the movement toward the left was maintained, while +the territorial divisions were to move toward Bethune and Aubigny. The +march to the sea went on. + +From the 21st to the 26th all our forces were engaged in the district +Lassigny-Roye-Peronne, with alternations of reverse and success. It was +the first act of the great struggle which was to spread as it went on. +On the 26th the whole of the Sixth German Army was deployed against us. +We retained all our positions, but we could do no more; consequently +there was still the risk that the enemy, by means of a fresh afflux of +forces, might succeed in turning us. + +Once more reinforcements, two army corps, were directed no longer on +Beauvais, but toward Amiens. The front was then again to extend. A fresh +army was constituted more to the north. + + +DEPLOYMENT OF THE SECOND ARMY. + +From Sept. 30 onward we could not but observe that the enemy, already +strongly posted on the plateau of Thiepval, was continually slipping +his forces from south to north, and everywhere confronting us with +remarkable energy. + +Accordingly, on Oct. 1 two cavalry corps were directed to make a leap +forward and, operating on both banks of the Scarpe, to put themselves in +touch with the garrison of Dunkirk, which, on its side, had pushed +forward as far as Douai. But on Oct. 2 and 3 the bulk of our fresh army +was very strongly attacked in the district of Arras and Lens. +Confronting it were two corps of cavalry, the guards, four active army +corps, and two reserve corps. A fresh French army corps was immediately +transported and detrained in the Lille district. + +But once more the attacks became more pressing, and on Oct. 4 it was a +question whether, in view of the enemy's activity both west of the Oise +and south of the Somme, and also further to the north, a retreat would +not have to be made. General Joffre resolutely put this hypothesis aside +and ordered the offensive to be resumed with the reinforcements that had +arrived. It was, however, clear that, despite the efforts of all, our +front, extended to the sea as it was by a mere ribbon of troops, did not +possess the solidity to enable it to resist with complete safety a +German attack, the violence of which could well be foreseen. + +In the Arras district the position was fairly good. But between the Oise +and Arras we were holding our own only with difficulty. Finally, to the +north, on the Lille-Estaires-Merville-Hazebrouck-Cassel front, our +cavalry and our territorials had their work cut out against eight +divisions of German cavalry, with very strong infantry supports. It was +at this moment that the transport of the British Army to the northern +theatre of operations began. + +[Illustration: VICE ADMIRAL H.R.H. THE DUKE OF THE ABRUZZI + +Cousin of the King of Italy, Commander of the dreadnought squadron of +the Italian Navy. + +_(Photo (c) by Pach Bros., N.Y.)_] + +[Illustration: H.M. FERDINAND I. + +Tsar of the Bulgars. + +_(Photo from P.S. Rogers.)_] + + +THE TRANSPORT OF THE BRITISH ARMY. + +Field Marshal French had, as early as the end of September, expressed +the wish to see his army resume its initial place on the left of the +allied armies. He explained this wish on the ground of the greater +facility of which his communications would have the advantage in this +new position, and also of the impending arrival of two divisions of +infantry from home and of two infantry divisions and a cavalry division +from India, which would be able to deploy more easily on that terrain. +In spite of the difficulties which such a removal involved, owing to the +intensive use of the railways by our own units, General Joffre decided +at the beginning of October to meet the Field Marshal's wishes and to +have the British Army removed from the Aisne. + +It was clearly specified that on the northern terrain the British Army +should co-operate to the same end as ourselves, the stopping of the +German right. In other terms, the British Army was to prolong the front +of the general disposition without a break, attacking as soon as +possible, and at the same time seeking touch with the Belgian Army. + +But the detraining took longer than had been expected, and it was not +possible to attack the Germans during the time when they had only +cavalry in the Lille district and further to the north. + + +THE ARRIVAL OF THE BELGIAN ARMY. + +There remained the Belgian Army. On leaving Antwerp on Oct. 9 the +Belgian Army, which was covered by 8,000 British bluejackets and 6,000 +French bluejackets, at first intended to retire as far as to the north +of Calais, but afterwards determined to make a stand in Belgian +territory. Unfortunately, the condition of the Belgian troops, exhausted +by a struggle of more than three months, did not allow any immediate +hopes to be based upon them. This situation weighed on our plans and +delayed their execution. + +On the 16th we made progress to the east of Ypres. On the 18th our +cavalry even reached Roulers and Cortemark. But it was now evident that, +in view of the continual reinforcing of the German right, our left was +not capable of maintaining the advantages obtained during the previous +few days. To attain our end and make our front inviolable a fresh effort +was necessary. That effort was immediately made by the dispatch to the +north of the Lys of considerable French forces, which formed the French +Army of Belgium. + + +THE FRENCH ARMY OF BELGIUM. + +The French Army of Belgium consisted, to begin with, of two territorial +divisions, four divisions of cavalry, and a naval brigade. Directly +after its constitution it was strengthened by elements from other points +on the front whose arrival extended from Oct. 27 to Nov. 11. These +reinforcements were equivalent altogether in value to five army corps, a +division of cavalry, a territorial division, and sixteen regiments of +cavalry, plus sixty pieces of heavy artillery. + +Thus was completed the strategic manoeuvre defined by the instructions +of the General in Chief on Sept. 11 and developed during the five +following weeks with the ampleness we have just seen. The movements of +troops carried out during this period were methodically combined with +the pursuit of operations, both defensive and offensive, from the Oise +to the North Sea. + +On Oct. 22 our left, bounded six weeks earlier by the Noyon district, +rested on Nieuport, thanks to the successive deployment of five fresh +armies--three French armies, the British Army, and the Belgian Army. + +Thus the co-ordination decided upon by the General in Chief attained its +end. The barrier was established. It remained to maintain it against the +enemy's offensive. That was the object and the result of the battle of +Flanders, Oct. 22 to Nov. 15. + + +OPERATIONS IN FLANDERS. + +_The fourth installment of the French review takes up the operations in +Flanders, as follows:_ + +The German attack in Flanders was conducted strategically and tactically +with remarkable energy. The complete and indisputable defeat in which it +resulted is therefore significant. + +The forces of which the enemy disposed for this operation between the +sea and the Lys comprised: + +(1) The entire Fourth Army commanded by the Duke of Württemberg, +consisting of one naval division, one division of Ersatz Reserve, (men +who had received no training before the war,) which was liberated by the +fall of Antwerp; the Twenty-second, Twenty-third, Twenty-sixth and +Twenty-seventh Reserve Corps, and the Forty-eighth Division belonging to +the Twenty-fourth Reserve Corps. + +(2) A portion of another army under General von Fabeck, consisting of +the Fifteenth Corps, two Bavarian corps and three (unspecified) +divisions. + +(3) Part of the Sixth Army under the command of the Crown Prince of +Bavaria. This army, more than a third of which took part in the battle +of Flanders, comprised the Nineteenth Army Corps, portions of the +Thirteenth Corps and the Eighteenth Reserve Corps, the Seventh and +Fourteenth Corps, the First Bavarian Reserve Corps, the Guards, and the +Fourth Army Corps. + +(4) Four highly mobile cavalry corps prepared and supported the action +of the troops enumerated above. Everything possible had been done to +fortify the "morale" of the troops. At the beginning of October the +Crown Prince of Bavaria in a proclamation had exhorted his soldiers "to +make the decisive effort against the French left wing," and "to settle +thus the fate of the great battle which has lasted for weeks." + +[Illustration: Map showing the swaying battle line from Belfort to the +North Sea and the intrenched line on April 15, 1915.] + +On Oct. 28, Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria declared in an army order that +his troops "had just been fighting under very difficult conditions," +and he added: "It is our business now not to let the struggle with our +most detested enemy drag on longer.... The decisive blow is still to be +struck." On Oct. 30, General von Deimling, commanding the Fifteenth Army +Corps (belonging to General von Fabeck's command,) issued an order +declaring that "the thrust against Ypres will be of decisive +importance." It should be noted also that the Emperor proceeded in +person to Thielt and Courtrai to exalt by his presence the ardor of his +troops. Finally, at the close of October, the entire German press +incessantly proclaimed the importance of the "Battle of Calais." It is +superfluous to add that events in Poland explain in a large measure the +passionate resolve of the German General Staff to obtain a decision in +the Western theatre of operations at all costs. This decision would be +obtained if our left were pierced or driven in. To reach Calais, that +is, to break our left; to carry Ypres, that is, to cut it in half; +through both points to menace the communications and supplies of the +British expeditionary corps, perhaps even to threaten Britain in her +island--such was the German plan in the Battle of Flanders. It was a +plan that could not be executed. + + +CHECK OF GERMAN ATTACK. + +The enemy, who had at his disposal a considerable quantity of heavy +artillery, directed his efforts at first upon the coast and the country +to the north of Dixmude. His objective was manifestly the capture of +Dunkirk, then of Calais and Boulogne, and this objective he pursued +until Nov. 1. + +On Oct. 23 the Belgians along the railway line from Nieuport to Dixmude +were strengthened by a French division. Dixmude was occupied by our +marines (fusiliers marins). During the subsequent day our forces along +the railway developed a significant resistance against an enemy superior +in number and backed by heavy artillery. On the 29th the inundations +effected between the canal and the railway line spread along our front. +On the 30th we recaptured Ramscapelle, the only point on the railway +which Belgians had lost. On the 1st and 2d of November the enemy +bombarded Furnes, but began to show signs of weariness. On the 2d he +evacuated the ground between the Yser and the railway, abandoning +cannon, dead and wounded. On the 3d our troops were able to re-enter the +Dixmude district. The success achieved by the enemy at Dixmude at this +juncture was without fruit. They succeeded in taking the town. They +could not debouch from it. The coastal attack had thus proved a total +failure. Since then it has never been renewed. The Battle of Calais, so +noisily announced by the German press, amounted to a decided reverse for +the Germans. + + +GERMAN DEFEAT AT YPRES. + +The enemy had now begun an attack more important than its predecessor, +in view of the numbers engaged in it. This attack was intended as a +renewal to the south of the effort which had just been shattered in the +north. Instead of turning our flank on the coast, it was now sought to +drive in the right of our northern army under the shock of powerful +masses. This was the Battle of Ypres. + +In order to understand this long, desperate, and furious battle, we must +hark back a few days in point of time. At the moment when our cavalry +reached Roulers and Cortemark (Oct. 28) our territorial divisions from +Dunkirk, under General Biden, had occupied and organized a defensive +position at Ypres. It was a point d'appui, enabling us to prepare and +maintain our connections with the Belgian Army. From Oct. 23 two British +and French army corps were in occupation of this position, which was to +be the base of their forward march in the direction of Roulers-Menin. +The delays already explained and the strength of the forces brought up +by the enemy soon brought to a standstill our progress along the line +Poelcapelle, Paschendaele, Zandvorde, and Gheluvelt. But in spite of the +stoppage here, Ypres was solidly covered, and the connections of all the +allied forces were established. Against the line thus formed the German +attack was hurled from Oct. 25 to Nov. 13, to the north, the east, and +the south of Ypres. From Oct. 26 on the attacks were renewed daily with +extraordinary violence, obliging us to employ our reinforcements at the +most threatened points as soon as they came up. Thus, on Oct. 31, we +were obliged to send supports to the British cavalry, then to the two +British corps between which the cavalry formed the connecting link, and +finally to intercalate between these two corps a force equivalent to two +army corps. Between Oct. 30 and Nov. 6 Ypres was several times in +danger. The British lost Zandvorde, Gheluvelt, Messines, and Wytschaete. +The front of the Allies, thus contracted, was all the more difficult to +defend; but defended it was without a recoil. + + +REINFORCEMENTS ARRIVE. + +The arrival of three French divisions in our line enabled us to resume +from the 4th to the 8th a vigorous offensive. On the 10th and 11th this +offensive, brought up against fresh and sharper German attacks, was +checked. Before it could be renewed the arrival of fresh reinforcements +had to be awaited, which were dispatched to the north on Nov. 12. By the +14th our troops had again begun to progress, barring the road to Ypres +against the German attacks, and inflicting on the enemy, who advanced in +massed formation, losses which were especially terrible in consequence +of the fact that the French and British artillery had crowded nearly 300 +guns on to these few kilometers of front. + +Thus the main mass of the Germans sustained the same defeat as the +detachments operating further to the north along the coast. The support +which, according to the idea of the German General Staff, the attack on +Ypres was to render to the coastal attack, was as futile as that attack +itself had been. + +During the second half of November the enemy, exhausted and having lost +in the Battle of Ypres alone more than 150,000 men, did not attempt to +renew his effort, but confined himself to an intermittent cannonade. +We, on the contrary, achieved appreciable progress to the north and +south of Ypres, and insured definitely by a powerful defensive +organization of the position the inviolability of our front. + +[The compiler of the report here adds a footnote saying that the bodies +of more than 40,000 Germans were found on the battlefield during these +three weeks of battle. The report next proceeds to summarize the +character and results of the operations since the Battle of +Flanders--that is, during the period Nov. 30-Feb. 1.] + +Since the former date the French supreme command had not thought it +advisable to embark upon important offensive operations. It has confined +itself to local attacks, the main object of which was to hold in front +of us as large a number of German corps as possible, and thus to hinder +the withdrawal of the troops which to our knowledge the German General +Staff was anxious to dispatch to Russia. + + +FEW SENT TO THE EAST. + +As a matter of fact, the numbers transported to the eastern front have +been very moderate. Of the fifty-two army corps which faced us on the +western front, Germany has only been able to take four and one-half +corps for the eastern front. On the other hand, climatic conditions--the +rain, mud, and mist--were such as to diminish the effectiveness of +offensive operations and to add to the costliness of any undertaken, +which was another reason for postponing them. Still another reason lies +in the fact that from now on the allied forces can count upon a steadily +expanding growth, equally in point of numbers and units as of material, +while the German forces have attained the maximum of their power, and +can only diminish now both in numbers and in value. These conditions +explain the character of the siege warfare which the operations have +assumed during the period under review. + +[Illustration: Map illustrating the Battle of Flanders, the Battle of +Ypres, and the terrain of the frustrated German efforts to reach Dunkirk +and Calais.] + +Meanwhile, it is by no means the case that the siege warfare has had the +same results for the Germans as for us. From Nov. 15 to Feb. 1, our +opponents, in spite of very numerous attacks, did not succeed in taking +anything from us, except a few hundred metres of ground to the north of +Soissons. We, on the contrary, have obtained numerous and appreciable +results. + +[The French writer here proceeds to strike a balance of gains and losses +between the allied and the German forces in France during the Winter +campaign. The result he sums up as follows:] + +1. A general progress of our troops; very marked at certain points. + +2. A general falling back of the enemy, except to the northeast of +Soissons. + +To complete the balance it must be added that: + +1. The German offensive in Poland was checked a month ago. + +2. The Russian offensive continues in Galicia and the Carpathians. + +3. A large part of the Turkish Caucasian army has been annihilated. + +4. Germany has exhausted her resources of officers, (there are now on an +average twelve officers to a regiment,) and henceforth will only be able +to develop her resources in men to the detriment of the existing units. + +5. The allied armies, on the contrary, possess the power of reinforcing +themselves in a very considerable degree. + +It may, therefore, be declared that in order to obtain complete success +it is sufficient for France and her allies to know how to wait and to +prepare victory with indefatigable patience. + +The German offensive is broken. + +The German defensive will be broken in its turn. + +[It is evident from the report that the numbered German army corps are +Prussian corps unless otherwise specified.] + + +THE FRENCH ARMY AS IT IS. + +_LONDON, March 18, (Correspondence of The Associated Press.)--All of +Part II., of the historical review of the war, emanating from French +official sources, and purely from the French viewpoint, has been +received by The Associated Press. Part II, deals with the conditions in +the French Army, furnishing a most interesting chapter on this subject +under the title, "The French Army as it Is."_ + +_The compiler of the report, beginning this part of his review on Feb. +1, says that the condition of the French Army is excellent and +appreciably superior to what it was at the beginning of the war from the +three points of view of numbers, quality, and equipment. Continuing, he +says:_ + +In the higher command important changes have been made. It has, in fact, +been rejuvenated by the promotion of young commanders of proved quality +to high rank. All the old Generals, who at the beginning of August were +at the head of large commands, have been gradually eliminated, some as +the result of the physical strain of war and others by appointment to +territorial commands. This rejuvenation of the higher ranks of the army +has been carried out in a far-reaching manner, and it may be said that +it has embraced all the grades of the military hierarchy from commanders +of brigades to commanders of armies. The result has been to lower the +average age of general officers by ten years. Today more than +three-fourths of the officers commanding armies and army corps are less +than 60 years of age. Some are considerably younger. A number of the +army corps commanders are from 46 to 54 years of age, and the brigade +commanders are usually under 50. There are, in fact, at the front +extremely few general officers over 60, and these are men who are in +full possession of their physical and intellectual powers. + + +MANY COLONELS PROMOTED. + +This rejuvenation of the high command was facilitated by a number of +circumstances, notable among which were the strengthening of the higher +regimental ranks carried out during the three years preceding the war, +as a result of which at the outset of the campaign each infantry +regiment had two Lieutenant Colonels, and each cavalry and artillery +regiment a Colonel and Lieutenant Colonel, and also the system of +promotion for the duration of the war. Many officers who began the war +as Colonels now command brigades. Some are even at the head of divisions +or army corps. Ability proved on the field of battle is now immediately +recognized and utilized, and in this way it has been possible to provide +in the most favorable manner for the vacancies created by the changes in +command which were considered necessary in the first weeks of the war. + +The higher grades of the French Army are inspired by a remarkable unity +in the matter of military theory, and by a solidarity of spirit which +has found striking expression in the course of the numerous moves of +army corps from one part of the theatre of operations to another, which +have been carried out since the beginning of the war. + +The cavalry after six months of war still possesses an excess of +officers. There are on an average thirty-six officers to a regiment +instead of the thirty-one considered to be the necessary minimum. The +artillery, which has suffered relatively little, has also an excess of +officers, and is further able to count upon a large number of Captains +and other officers, who before the war were employed in the arsenals or +in technical research. Finally the reserve artillery officers have +nearly all proved to be excellent battery commanders. + +The losses in the junior commissioned ranks have naturally been highest +in the infantry. There is, however, nothing like a want of officers in +this arm. Many Captains and Lieutenants who have been wounded by +machine-gun fire (such wounds are usually slight and quickly healed,) +have been able to return speedily to the front. The reserve officers +have in general done remarkably well, and in many cases have shown quite +exceptional aptitude for the rank of company commanders. The +non-commissioned officers promoted to sub-Lieutenancies make excellent +section leaders, and even show themselves very clever and energetic +company commanders in the field. + +It must be remembered also that thanks to the intellectual and physical +development of the generation now serving with the colors; and thanks, +above all, to the warlike qualities of the race, and the democratic +spirit of our army, we have been able to draw upon the lower grades and +even upon the rank and file for officers. Many men who began the war on +Aug. 2 as privates, now wear the officers' epaulettes. The elasticity of +our regulations regarding promotion in war time, the absence of the +spirit of caste, and the friendly welcome extended by all officers to +those of their military inferiors who have shown under fire their +fitness to command, have enabled us to meet all requirements. + +The state of our infantry on Jan. 15 was very satisfactory and much +superior to that of the German infantry. On an average each of our +regiments has forty-eight officers, including eighteen regular officers, +fifteen reserve officers, and fifteen non-commissioned officers. In each +regiment six of the twelve companies are commanded by Captains who are +regular officers, three by Captains of the reserve and three by +Lieutenants. Each company has at least three officers. The state of the +army as regards the commissioned ranks from the highest to the lowest is +declared to be exceptionally brilliant. The army is led by young, +well-trained, and daring chiefs, and the lower commissioned ranks have +acquired the art of war by experience. + + +2,500,000 FRENCH AT FRONT. + +Including all ranks, France now has more than 2,500,000 men at the +front, and every unit is, or was on Jan. 15, at war strength. The +infantry companies are at least 200 strong. In many regiments the +companies have a strength of 250 or more. + +In other arms, which have suffered less than the infantry, the units are +all up to, or above, regulation strength. + +This fact constitutes one of the most important advantages of the French +Army over the Germans. While Germany has created a great number of new +units, army corps or divisions, which absorbed at a blow all of her +available resources in officers and men, the French supreme command has +avoided the formation of new units, except in limited number, and has +only admitted exceptions to this rule when it was able to count with +certainty on being able to provide amply for both the present and future +requirements of the new units, as regards all ranks, without encroaching +upon the reserves needed for the existing units. + +At the same time, thanks to the depots in the interior of the country, +the effectives at the front have been maintained at full strength. The +sources of supply for this purpose were the remainder of the eleven +classes of the reserves, the younger classes of the territorial army, +and the new class of 1914. A large number of the men wounded in the +earlier engagements of the war have been able to return to the front. +They have been incorporated in the new drafts, providing these with a +useful stiffening of war-tried men. + +With regard to the supplies of men upon which the army can draw to +repair the wastage at the front, we learn that there are practically +half as many men in the depots as at the front, in other words about +1,250,000. Further supplies of men are provided by the class of 1915 and +the revision of the various categories of men of military age previously +exempted on grounds of health or for other reasons from the duty of +bearing arms. As a result of this measure nearly half a million men have +been claimed for the army, almost all of whom, after rigorous physical +tests, have been declared fit for military service. + + +DRILLED BY CONVALESCENTS. + +In the depots in which the new soldiers are being trained the services +of many officers and non-commissioned officers discharged as +convalescents after being wounded are utilized in order to give a +practical turn to the instruction. There are still many voluntary +enlistments, and with all these resources of men the army can count upon +reinforcements soon to be available which will considerably augment its +offensive power. + +The quality of the troops has improved perceptibly since the beginning +of the war. The men have become hardened and used to war, and their +health--largely owing to the excellence of the commissariat--is +extremely satisfactory. In spite of the severity of the Winter hardly +any cases of disease of the respiratory organs have occurred, and the +sanitary returns of the army show an appreciable improvement on those of +the preceding Winter. + +With regard to the reserves, experience has verified the dictum of the +Serbian and Bulgarian Generals in the war of 1913, namely, that "two +months in the field are necessary in order to get at the full value of +reserves." Our infantry is now accustomed to the rapid and thorough +"organization" of the defensive. In August it neither liked nor had the +habit of using the spade. Today those who see our trenches are +astounded. They are veritable improvised fortresses, proof against the +77-millimeter gun and often against artillery of higher calibre. During +the last five months not a single encounter can be cited in which our +infantry did not have the advantage over the German infantry. All the +enemy's attacks have been repulsed, except to the north of Soissons, +where their success was due to the flooded state of the Aisne and the +carrying away of our bridges. Our attacks, on the other hand, have +yielded important results, and have been carried out with plenty of +spirit, although without the imprudence which cost us such heavy losses +in August. + +The cavalry has made remarkable progress. Throughout October this branch +was called on to eke out the inadequate numbers of the infantry, and +showed itself perfectly adapted to the necessities of fighting on foot. +Several regiments of cavalry have been used as infantry, and, armed with +rifles, have rendered the most valuable services. + +The artillery has displayed a superiority in the use of its admirable +material, which is recognized by the Germans themselves. + + +_LONDON, March 27, (Correspondence of The Associated Press.)--Further +installments of the French official review of the condition of the +French Army after six months of war have been obtained by The Associated +Press. The sixth installment deals with material, artillery, transport, +and supplies, and the seventh takes up the situation of the German Army +and makes an analysis of the German forces in the field and available +for service._ + +_The first chapter of the seventh installment, headed "The German +Effort," opens with a statement as to the German forces at the beginning +of the campaign. The writer says:_ + +The military effort of Germany at the outset of the campaign exceeded +all anticipations. Her design was to crush the French Army in a few +weeks under a tremendous mass of troops. Nothing was neglected to bring +that mass together. + +The number of German army corps in time of peace is twenty-five. When +war began the German General Staff put in the field on the two theatres +of operations: 1, as fighting troops, (active, reserve, Ersatz or +Landwehr,) sixty-one army corps; 2, as troops to guard communications +and territory, formations of the Landsturm. + +In October six and a half new army corps made their appearance, plus a +division of sailors--in all seven corps. From the end of November to the +end of December there was only an insignificant increase, consisting of +the division of sailors. In January, 1915, the number of fighting +formations put into line by the German Army was therefore sixty-nine +army corps, divided as follows: + +Active corps, twenty-five and a half; reserve corps, twenty-one and a +half; Ersatz brigades, six and a half; reserve corps of new formation, +seven and a half, and corps of Landwehr, eight and a half. + + +GERMANY'S GREAT INITIAL EFFORT. + +The immense effort thus made by Germany explains itself very well, if, +having regard to the position of Germany at the opening of the war, one +considers that of the Allies. Germany desired to take advantage of the +circumstances which enabled her to make a simultaneous mobilization of +all her forces--a mobilization which the three allied armies could not +carry out so rapidly. Germany wished with the mass of troops to crush +first of all the adversary who appeared to her the most dangerous. This +effort, broken for the first time on the Marne, attained its maximum at +the moment of the battle of Flanders, in which more than fifty army +corps out of sixty-nine were pitted against the French, British, and +Belgian Armies. + +Here also the method followed by Germany is easily comprehensible. At +the end of October the Russian danger was beginning to become pressing, +and it was necessary to win a decisive victory in the western theatre of +the war. It was imperative to give international opinion the impression +that Germany remained in that quarter mistress of operations. Finally, +it behooved her by this victory to gain the freedom to transport a large +number of army corps to Poland. We have seen that the battle of +Flanders, instead of being a success for Germany, was a marked defeat. +This defeat was fraught with results, and it dominates the present +position of the German Army. The plans above described of the German +mobilization, which had their justification in view of a prompt victory, +were calculated to become extremely perilous from the moment that that +victory failed to be gained. + + +INITIATIVE LOST BY GERMANY. + +From that moment, in fact, Germany lost the initiative and the direction +of the war. And, furthermore, she was condemned to suffer the +counter-effects of the enormous and precipitate effort which she had +made in vain. From the point of view of her effectiveness and her +regimental cadres, (basic organization,) she had undergone a wastage +which her adversaries, on the other hand, had been able to save +themselves. She had, in the words of the proverb, put all her eggs in +one basket, and in spite of her large population she could no longer, +owing to the immediate and sterile abuse which she had made of her +resources, pretend to regain the superiority of numbers. + +She was reduced to facing as best she could on both war fronts the +unceasingly increasing forces of the Allies. She had attained the +maximum of tension and had secured a minimum of results. She had thus +landed herself in a difficulty which will henceforward go on increasing +and which is made clear when the wastage which her army has suffered is +closely studied. + + +WASTAGE OF GERMAN EFFECTIVES. + +_Chapter II. of this section of the review bears the headline "Wastage +of German Effectives."_ + +The wastage of effectives is easy to establish, it says. We have for the +purpose two sources--the official lists of losses published by the +German General Staff and the notebooks, letters, and archives of +soldiers and officers killed and taken prisoners. These different +documents show that by the middle of January the German losses on the +two fronts were 1,800,000 men. + +These figures are certainly less than the reality, because, for one +thing, the sick are not comprised, and, for another, the losses in the +last battle in Poland are not included. Let us accept them, however; let +us accept also that out of these 1,800,000 men 500,000--this is the +normal proportion--have been able to rejoin after being cured. Thus the +final loss for five months of the campaign has been 1,300,000 men, or +260,000 men per month. These figures agree exactly with what can be +ascertained when the variations of effectives in certain regiments are +examined. + +It is certain that the majority of the German regiments have had to be +completely renewed. What, then, is the situation created by these +enormous losses? + +_This question is answered by a statement headed "German troops +available for 1915."_ + +The total of German formations known at the beginning of January, says +the review, represented in round numbers 4,000,000 men. According to the +official reports on German recruiting, the entire resources of Germany +in men amount to 9,000,000. But from these 9,000,000 have to be deducted +men employed on railways, in the police, and in certain administrations +and industries--altogether 500,000 men. The total resources available +for the war were therefore 8,500,000. Out of these about one-half, say +4,000,000, are now at the front. The definitive losses represent at +least 1,300,000 men. The available resources amounted, then, at the +beginning of January, to 3,200,000 men. + + +GERMANY'S RESERVES UNTRAINED. + +Of what are these resources composed? Chiefly of men who were untrained +in time of peace, the trained reservists having almost all left the +depots for the front. It has, moreover, to be noted that out of these +3,200,000 men there are, according to the statistics, 800,000 who are +more than 39 years of age, and therefore of only mediocre military +value. Thus there remain 2,400,000. Finally, the category of the +untrained in peace comprises, according to the estimates of German +military authorities themselves, one-quarter of inefficients. + +The really valuable resources capable of campaigning are therefore just +2,000,000. These men, comprising the 1915, 1916, and 1917 classes, +called out in anticipation, constitute--and this point cannot be too +strongly insisted upon--the total of available resources for the +operations during the twelve months of 1915. As to what the military +value of these troops will be, considering the haste with which they +have been trained, the formidable losses sustained in the battle of +Flanders by the newly formed corps show very clearly. Their military +value will be limited. + + +GERMAN LOSSES 260,000 A MONTH. + +When it is remembered that, according to the German documents +themselves, the definite loss each month is 260,000 men, it is manifest +that the available resources for the year 1915 will not suffice to fill +the gaps of a war of ten months. + +It is then superabundantly established that in the matter of effectives +Germany has reached the maximum of possible effort. If with the men at +present available she creates, as it is certain that she is preparing to +do at this moment, fresh formations, she will be preventing herself, if +the war lasts another ten months, as is admissible, from being able to +complete afresh her old formations. If she creates no new formations, +she will have in 1915 exactly what is necessary and no more to complete +the existing units afresh. + +Bearing in mind the ways of the German General Staff, one may suppose +that, disregarding the eventual impossibility of recompleting, it is +still addressing itself to creating new formations. The weakness to +which Germany will expose herself in the matter of effectives has just +been set forth, and it is easy to show that this weakness will be still +further aggravated by the wastage in the regimental orders. + + +PRAISES FRENCH "SEVENTY-FIVES." + +_In the sixth installment, beginning with the field gun, the famous +"seventy-fives," the compiler of the report, after rehearsing the +splendid qualities of this weapon--its power, its rapidity of action, +and its precision--points out that it possesses a degree of strength and +endurance which makes it an implement of war of the first order._ + +It may be stated without hesitation [says the review] that our +"seventy-five" guns are in as perfect condition today as they were on +the first day of the war, although the use made of them has exceeded all +calculations. The consumption of projectiles was, in fact, so enormous +as to cause for a moment an ammunition crisis, which, however, was +completely overcome several weeks ago. + +The methodical and complete exploitation of all the resources of the +country, organized since the beginning of the war, has enabled us to +accumulate a considerable stock of fresh munitions, and an increasing +rate of production is henceforth assured. We are thus sure of being able +to provide without particular effort for all the needs of the campaign, +present and future, however long the war may last, and it is this +certainty which has enabled us to supply projectiles to several of the +allied armies, among others, to the Serbian and Belgian armies. From +the statements of German prisoners we have learned that the +effectiveness of our new projectiles is superior to that of the old +ones. + + +FRENCH HEAVY GUNS SUPERIOR. + +Our heavy artillery was in process of reorganization when the war broke +out, with the result that we were indisputably in a position of +inferiority in respect of this arm during the first battles. But today +the rôles have been changed and our adversaries themselves acknowledge +the superiority of our heavy artillery. + +The change has been brought about in various ways, partly by the intense +activity of the cannon foundries in new production, partly by the +employment at the front of the enormous reserves of artillery preserved +in the fortresses. The very large number of heavy guns at the front +represents only a part of the total number available for use. There is +an abundant stock of projectiles for the heavy artillery, which, as in +the case of the field gun ammunition, is daily growing in importance. +The same is true of the reserves of powder and other explosives and of +all materials needed for the manufacture of shells. + +With regard to small arms, hand grenades, bombs, and all the devices for +lifetaking which the trench warfare at short distance has brought into +use, the position of the French troops is in every way favorable. + +_There follows a passage on the development of the machine gun in this +kind of warfare._ + +Owing to the extended use of this weapon, the number supplied to the +various units has been appreciably increased, says the review. Not only +is each unit in possession of its full regulation complement of machine +guns, but the number of these guns attached to each unit has been +increased since Feb. 1 by one-third. + +_The report next passes to the transport service, which, it says, has +worked with remarkable precision since the beginning of the war. This +section of the review closes by referring to food supplies for the army, +which are described as abundant._ + + +_LONDON, March 27, (Correspondence of The Associated Press.)--The eighth +installment of the French official review of the war, previous chapters +of which have been published, takes up the German losses of officers, +the wastage of guns and projectiles, and "the moral wastage of the +German Army."_ + +_The chapter on losses of officers begins with the statement that the +condition of the cadres, or basic organizations, in the German Army is +bad. The proportion of officers, and notably of officers by profession, +has been enormously reduced, it says; and a report made in December +showed that in a total of 124 companies, active or reserve, there were +only 49 officers of the active army. The active regiments have at the +present time, according to the review, an average of 12 professional +officers; the reserve regiments, 9 to 10; the reserve regiments of new +formation, 6 to 7; and it is to be remembered that these officers have +to be drawn upon afresh for the creation of new units._ + +"If Germany creates new army corps, and if the war lasts ten months," it +continues, "she will reduce almost to nothing the number of professional +officers in each regiment, a number which already is very insufficient." + + +FRENCH CONDITIONS IN CONTRAST. + +_The French report points out that on the other hand, all the French +regiments have been constantly kept at a minimum figure of eighteen +professional officers per regiment. At the same time it admits that the +commanders of German corps, commanders of active battalions, and the +officers attached to the commanders of army corps are officers by +profession._ + +_The French report then addresses itself to the wastage of material. +Discussing the wastage of guns, it says:_ + +It is easy to ascertain the German losses in artillery. On Dec. 28 the +Sixty-sixth Regiment of Artillery entrained at Courtrai for Germany +twenty-two guns, of which eighteen were used up. This figure is +extremely high for a single regiment. + +The same facts have been ascertained as regards heavy artillery. On +Dec. 21 and 22 seventy-seven guns of heavy artillery, which were no +longer serviceable, were sent to Cologne. These movements, which are not +isolated facts, show how ill the German artillery has resisted the +ordeal of the campaign. + +Other proofs, moreover, are decisive. For some weeks we have noted the +very peculiar aspect of the marking on the bands of a great number of +shells of the 77 gun. When these markings are compared with those of +shells fired three months ago it is plain beyond all question that the +tubes are worn and that many of them require to be replaced. This loss +in guns is aggravated by the necessity which has arisen of drawing upon +the original army corps for the guns assigned to the recently formed +corps or those in course of formation. Several regiments of field +artillery have, in fact, had to give up two batteries. + + +WEARING OUT OF MATERIAL. + +These two phenomena--wearing out of material and drafts upon +batteries--will inevitably result either in the reduction of batteries +from six to four guns, a reduction of the number of batteries in the +army corps, or the partial substitution for 77 guns of 9-centimeter +cannon of the old pattern, the presence of which has been many times +perceived at the front. + +Furthermore, the German artillery lacks and has lacked for a very long +time munitions. It has been obliged to reduce its consumption of shells +in a notable degree. No doubt is possible in this respect. The +statements of prisoners since the battle of the Marne, and still more +since the battle of the Yser, make it clear that the number of shots +allowed to the batteries for each action is strictly limited. We have +found on officers killed or taken prisoner the actual orders prescribing +positively a strict economy of munitions. + +For the last three months, too, we notice that the quality of the +projectiles is mediocre. Many of them do not burst. On Jan. 7, in the +course of a bombardment of Laventie, scarcely any of the German shells +burst. The proportion of non-bursts was estimated at two-fifths by the +British on Dec. 14, two-thirds by ourselves in the same month. On Jan. 3 +at Bourg-et-Comin, and at other places since then, shrapnel fell the +explosion of which scarcely broke the envelope and the bullets were +projected without any force. About the same time our Fourteenth Army +Corps was fired at with shrapnel loaded with fragments of glass, and on +several points of our front shell casings of very bad quality have been +found, denoting hasty manufacture and the use of materials taken at +hazard. + +From numerous indications it appears that the Germans are beginning to +run short of their 1898 pattern rifle. A certain number of the last +reinforcements (January) are armed with carbines or rifles of a poor +sort without bayonets. Others have not even rifles. Prisoners taken at +Woevre had old-pattern weapons. + +The upshot of these observations is that Germany, despite her large +stores at the beginning, and the great resources of her industrial +production, presents manifest signs of wear, and that the official +optimism which she displays does not correspond with the reality of the +facts. + + +MORAL WASTAGE. + +_Under the caption "Moral Wastage of the German Army," the review +continues:_ + +The material losses of the German Army have corresponded with a moral +wastage which it is interesting and possible to follow, both from the +interrogation of prisoners and the pocketbooks and letters seized upon +them or on the killed. + +At the beginning of the war the entire German Army, as was natural, was +animated by an unshakable faith in the military superiority of the +empire. It lived on the recollections of 1870, and on those of the long +years of peace, during which all the powers which had to do with Germany +displayed toward her a spirit of conciliation and patience which might +pass for weakness. + +The first prisoners we took in August showed themselves wholly +indifferent to the reverses of the German Army. They were sincerely and +profoundly convinced that, if the German Army retired, it was in virtue +of a preconceived plan, and that our successes would lead to nothing. +The events at the end of August were calculated to strengthen this +contention in the minds of the German soldiers. + +The strategic retreat of the French Army, the facility with which the +German armies were able to advance from Aug. 25 to Sept. 5, gave our +adversaries a feeling of absolute and final superiority, which +manifested itself at that time by all the statements gleaned and all the +documents seized. + +At the moment of the battle of the Marne the first impression was one of +failure of comprehension and of stupor. A great number of German +soldiers, notably those who fell into our hands during the first days of +that battle, believed fully, as at the end of August, that the retreat +they were ordered to make was only a means of luring us into a trap. +German military opinion was suddenly converted when the soldiers saw +that this retreat continued, and that it was being carried out in +disorder, under conditions which left no doubt as to its cause and its +extent. + +This time it was really a defeat, and a defeat aggravated by the absence +of regular supplies and by the physical and moral depression which was +the result. The severity of the losses sustained, the overpowering +effects of the French artillery, began from this moment to be noted in +the German pocketbooks with veritable terror. Hope revived, however, at +the end of some weeks, and there is to be found in the letters of +soldiers and officers the announcement of "a great movement" which is +being prepared, and which is to lead the German armies anew as far as +Paris. + + +LOSSES IN "BATTLE OF CALAIS." + +This is the great "battle of Calais," which, contrary to the +anticipations of the enemy, was in reality fought to the east of the +Yser. The losses of the Germans, which during those ten days exceeded +150,000 men, and may perhaps have reached 200,000, produced a terrifying +impression on the troops. From that moment prisoners no longer declared +themselves sure of success. For a certain time they had been consoled +by the announcement of the capture of Warsaw. This pretended success +having proved to be fictitious, incredulity became general. + +During the last two months the most intelligent of the prisoners have +all admitted that no one could any longer say on which side victory +would rest. If we think of the absolute confidence with which the German +people had been sustained, this avowal is of great importance. + +Letters seized on a dead officer speak of the imminence of a military +and economic hemming-in of Germany. They discuss the possibility of +Germany finding herself after the war with "empty hands and pockets +turned inside out." There is no longer any question of imposing the +conqueror's law upon adversaries at his mercy, but of fighting with the +energy of despair to secure an honorable peace. An officer of the +General Staff who was made prisoner on Jan. 18 said: "Perhaps this +struggle of despair has already begun." + +_There follows a chapter bearing the title, "The System of Lies," in +which the review describes the methods by which it is alleged the German +Government "made a sustained effort to create in the army an artificial +state of mind based entirely upon lies and a scientific system of +fables."_ + + + + +SONNET ON THE BELGIAN EXPATRIATION. + +By THOMAS HARDY. + +[From King Albert's Book.] + + + I dreamt that people from the Land of Chimes + Arrived one Autumn morning with their bells, + To hoist them on the towers and citadels + Of my own country, that the musical rhymes + + Rung by them into space at measured times + Amid the market's daily stir and stress, + And the night's empty starlit silentness, + Might solace souls of this and kindred climes. + + Then I awoke; and, lo, before me stood + The visioned ones, but pale and full of fear; + From Bruges they came, and Antwerp, and Ostend, + + No carillons in their train. Vicissitude + Had left these tinkling to the invaders' ear, + And ravaged street, and smoldering gable-end. + + + + +War Correspondence + +A Month of German Submarine War + +By Vice Admiral Kirchhoff of the German Navy + + + Under the heading, "A Month of U-Boat War," Vice Admiral + Kirchhoff of the German Navy discusses the German submarine + warfare against merchant shipping in its first month. The + article, appearing in the Hamburger Framdenblatt of March 19, + 1915, is reproduced: + +On March 18 a month had passed since the beginning of our sharp +procedure against our worst foe. We can in every way be satisfied with +the results achieved in the meantime! In spite of all "steps" taken +before and thereafter, the English have everywhere had important losses +to show at sea--some 200 ships lost since the beginning of the war, +according to the latest statements of the Allies--so that even they +themselves no longer dare to talk about the "German bluff." + +On the new and greater "war zone" established by us, our submarines have +known how to work bravely, and have been able, for instance, to operate +successfully on a single morning on the east coast, in the Channel, and +in the Irish Sea. We have heard of many losses of our opponents, and on +the other hand of the subjugation of only two of our brave U-boats. +Ceaselessly they are active on the coasts of Albion; shipping is +paralyzed at some points; steamship companies--including also many +neutral ones--have suspended their sailings; in short, our threat of a +more acute condition of war "with all means at hand" has been fully +fulfilled. + +The "peaceful shipping," too, has taken notice of it and adjusted itself +according to our instructions. The official objections of neutrals have +died away without effect; throughout the world we have already been +given right; the shipping circles of the neutral States are in great +part holding entirely back. The empty threats that floated over to us +from across the Channel, that the captured crews of German submarines +will be treated differently than other prisoners--yes, as plain pirates +and sea robbers--those are nothing but an insignificant ebullition of +British "moral insanity." They are a part of the hypocritical cant +without which, somehow, Great Britain cannot get along. If Great Britain +should act in accordance with it, however, then we shall know what we, +for our part, have to do! + +German and probably English mines, too, have helped our submarines in +clearing up among the English mercantile and war fleet. Many merchant +ships warned long in advance have been compelled to believe in the +warning, and with them frequently a great part of their crews--"without +any warning whatever," as our opponents like to say. + +All measures of defense, yes, even more significant, all measures of +deception and boastful "ruses de guerre," and even all attempts to hush +up the news of German accomplishments and whenever possible to suppress +it completely--all these efforts have been futile. Our results surpass +the expectations that had been cherished. Who knows how many +accomplishments other than those which have been published may also have +been achieved? Foreign newspapers report a large number of steamships +overdue. From overseas likewise we receive favorable reports about the +sinking of enemy ships. But the best is the news that our submarines +have succeeded in sinking two English auxiliary cruisers and perhaps +also one or two larger English transport ships with several thousand men +on board. + +The last announcement has filled us all with greatest satisfaction. +This, our latest method of warfare, is "truly humane"; it leads more +speedily to the goal than anything else, so that the number of victims +will in the end be smaller after all. It brings peace to all of us +sooner than the empty paper protests and crying to Heaven about violence +and international law, law of the sea, and laws of humanity could do. +In the innocent exalted island kingdom many a fellow is already +striking; why should not even the recruit strike, who is also beginning +to get a glimmer of the truth that there are no props in the ocean +waves? + +The more opponents come before the bows of our ships and are sunk, the +better! Down with them to the bottom of the sea; that alone will help! +Let us hope that we shall soon receive more such cheerful news. + + + + +Three Weeks of the War in Champagne + +By a British Observer + + +_The following article, issued by the British Press Bureau, London, +March 18, 1915, is from a British observer with the French forces in the +field who has the permission of General Joffre to send communications +home from time to time, giving descriptions of the work, &c., of the +French Army which will be of interest to the British reader._ + +I propose to give some account of the operations which have been in +progress for the last three weeks in Champagne. Every day since Feb. 15 +the official communiqués find something to say about a district which +lies midway between Rheims and Verdun. The three places which are always +mentioned, which form the points of reference, are Perthes-lez-Hurlus, +Le Mesnil-lez-Hurlus, and Beauséjour Farm. The distance between the +first and the last is three and one-half miles; the front on which the +fighting has taken place is about five miles; and the French have been +attacking at one point or another in this front every day for the last +three weeks. It is, therefore, an operation of a different kind to those +which we have seen during the Winter months. Those were local efforts, +lasting a day or two, designed to keep the enemy busy and prevent him +from withdrawing troops elsewhere; this is a sustained effort, made with +the object of keeping a constant pressure on his first line of defense, +of affecting his use of the railway from Bazancourt to Challerange, a +few miles to the north, and of wearing down his reserves of men and +ammunition. It may be said that Feb. 15 marks the opening of the 1915 +campaign, and that this first phase will find an important place when +the history of the war comes to be written. + +We must first know something of the nature of the country, which is +entirely different to that in which the British Army is fighting. It is +one vast plain, undulating, the hills at most 200 feet higher than the +valleys, gentle slopes everywhere. The soil is rather chalky, poor, +barely worth cultivating; after heavy rain the whole plain becomes a sea +of shallow mud; and it dries equally quickly. The only features are the +pine woods, which have been planted by hundreds. From the point of view +of profit, this would not appear to have been a success; either the soil +is too poor, or else it is unsuitable to the maritime pine; for the +trees are rarely more than 25 feet high. As each rise is topped, a new +stretch of plain, a new set of small woods appear, just like that which +has been left behind. + +[Illustration: ELEUTHERIOS K. VENIZELOS + +The great Greek statesman who recently resigned as Prime Minister. + +_(Photo from Medom Photo Service.)_] + +[Illustration: LORD HARDINGE OF PENSHURST + +Who, as Viceroy, rules England's Indian Empire during the critical +period of the war.] + +The villages are few and small, most of them are in ruins after the +fighting in September; and the troops live almost entirely in colonies +of little huts of wood or straw, about four feet high, dotted about in +the woods, in the valleys, wherever a little water and shelter is +obtainable. Lack of villages means lack of roads; this has been one of +the great difficulties to be faced; but, at the same time, the movement +of wagons across country is possible to a far greater extent than in +Flanders, although it is often necessary to use eight or ten horses to +get a gun or wagon to the point desired. + +From the military point of view the country is eminently suitable for +troops, with its possibilities of concealment, of producing sudden +surprises with cavalry, and of manoeuvre generally. It is, in fact, the +training ground of the great military centre of Châlons; and French +troops have doubtless been exercised over this ground in every branch of +military operation, except that in which they are engaged at the present +moment. + +What commander, training his men over this ground, could have imagined +that the area from Perthes-lez-Hurlus to Beauséjour Farm would become +two fortress lines, developed and improved for four months; or that he +would have to carry out an attack modeled on the same system as that +employed in the last great siege undertaken by French troops, that of +Sebastopol in 1855? Yet this is what is being done. Every day an attack +is made on a trench, on the edge of one of the little woods or to gain +ground in one of them; every day the ground gained has to be transformed +so as to give protection to its new occupants and means of access to +their supports; every night, and on many days, the enemy's +counter-attacks have to be repulsed. + +Each attack has to be prepared by a violent and accurate artillery fire; +it may be said that a trench has to be morally captured by gun fire +before it can be actually seized by the infantry. Once in the new +trench, the men have to work with their intrenching tools, without +exposing themselves, and wait for a counter-attack, doing what damage +they can to the enemy with hand grenades and machine guns. Thus the +amount of rifle fire is very small; it is a war of explosives and +bayonets. + +Looking at the battle at a distance of about 2,000 yards from the +enemy's line, the stillness of what one sees is in marked contrast to +the turmoil of shells passing overhead. The only movement is the cloud +of smoke and earth that marks the burst of a shell. Here and there long +white lines are visible, when a trench has brought the chalky subsoil up +to the top, but the number of trenches seen is very small compared to +the number that exist, for one cannot see into the valleys, and the top +of the ground is an unhealthy place to choose for seating a trench. The +woods are pointed out, with the names given them by the soldiers, but it +needs fieldglasses to see the few stumps that remain in those where the +artillery has done its work. And then a telephone message arrives, +saying that the enemy are threatening a counter-attack at a certain +point, and three minutes later there is a redoubled whistling of shells. +At first one cannot see the result of this fire--the guns are searching +the low ground where the enemy's reserves are preparing for the +movement, but a little later the ground in front of the threatened +trench becomes alive with shell bursts, for the searching has given +place to the building up of a wall of fire through which it is +impossible for the foe to pass without enormous loss. + +The attached map may enable us to look more closely at what has been +achieved. The lowest dotted line, numbered 15, is the line of the French +trenches on Feb. 15. They were then close up to the front of the German +line with its network of barbed wire, its machine-gun emplacements, +often of concrete, and its underground chambers for sheltering men from +the shells. Each successive dotted line shows the line held by the +French on the evening of the date written in the dotted line. Thus the +total gain of ground, that between the most southerly and the most +northerly dotted lines, varies between 200 yards, where the lines are +close together northeast of Perthes, and 1,400 yards, half way between +Le Mesnil and Beauséjour Farm. But the whole of this space has been a +series of trenches and fortified woods, each of which has had to be +attacked separately. + +[Illustration: Map of the French Operations in the Champagne + +Some of the severest fighting on the western battle front took place in +this little section of about four miles of trenches, lying between +Rheimes and Verdun. For a whole month from Feb. 15, the attacks were +kept up by the French forces almost continuously, and the sketch gives +the graphic result of changes for three weeks of that time. Ostensibly +the purpose of the French was to pierce the German line and cut the +railway a few miles to the rear. Incidentally, the French aimed to keep +their opponents busy, and thus prevent any reinforcements being sent to +von Hindenburg in the east. + +The total gain of ground--that between the most southerly and most +northerly dotted lines--varies from 200 yards northeast of Perthes to +1,400 yards, half way between Le Mesnil and Beauséjour Farm. But the +whole of this space has been a series of trenches and fortified woods, +each of which had to be attacked separately. + +The letters (A to G) in the sketch indicate the points of the severest +fighting. A (the "little fort") was taken and lost three times before +the French finally held it. B saw some of the stiffest encounters, the +Germans attacking the hill nearly every day after the French captured +it, and even the Prussian Guard being put in. The woods at C, D, and E +were centres of terrific combats, in which trenching and mining were +continuous tasks. The redoubt at F was captured only after large losses +on both sides. At the extreme west is still another wood, (G.) which the +French attacked three times before they were successful in getting a +foothold there.] + +Some of the points where the fighting has been heaviest are shown in +letters on the map. A is the "little fort," a redoubt on an open spur, +holding perhaps 500 men. This was first attacked in January; it was +partly taken, but the French in the end retained only the southern +corner, where they remained for something like a fortnight. On Feb. 16 +it was again taken in part, and lost the same day. On the 17th the same +thing happened. On the 23d they once more got into the work; in the +evening they repulsed five separate counter-attacks; then a sixth +succeeded in turning them out. On the 27th they took all except a bit of +trench in the northern face, and two days later they made that good, as +well as a trench about fifty yards to the north of the work. + +B is a small hill, marked 196. The capture of this, with its two lines +of trenches, was one of the most brilliant pieces of work done. Since +this date, the 26th, the enemy have continued to counter-attack nearly +every day. It was here that the Prussian Guard was put in; but they have +failed to get it back, and their losses have been very high. The +prisoners stated that one regiment had its Colonel and all the superior +officers killed or wounded. C is a wood, called the "Yellow Burnt Wood." +It is still in the hands of the Germans, a regular nest of machine guns, +which command the ground not only to the front but also down valleys to +the east and west. The French are just in the southwest corner. + +At D there are two woods; the southern we will call No. 3, the northern +No. 4. On the 16th our allies got a trench just south of No. 3; they got +into the wood on the 18th, and fought backward and forward in the wood +that day and all the 19th and 20th; by the evening of the 20th they had +almost reached the northern edge. On the 21st a stronger counter-attack +than usual was repulsed, and in pursuing the retiring enemy they +secured the northern edge. On the 22d there was more fighting in No. 3, +but in the end the French managed to make their way into No. 4 as far as +a trench which runs along a crest midway through the wood. The next six +days saw continuous fighting in No. 4, sometimes near the northern end, +sometimes at the crest in the middle, and occasionally back near the +southern end. The French now hold the northern edge, and have pushed +troops into the "Square" wood just north of the line of the 25th. + +At E again there are two small woods; these were both captured on the +26th, but the trenches in the northern one had been mined, and the +French had no sooner seized them than they were blown up. At F there was +another small redoubt; part of this was taken on the 19th from the east, +but the work was not finally captured till the 27th, when 240 corpses +were found in it. On the extreme west, at G, is a wood which has twice +been unsuccessfully attacked. On the first occasion troops got into the +wood, but a severe snowstorm prevented the artillery from continuing to +assist them, and they were driven out. The second was an attempt to +surprise the enemy at 2 A.M. on the 25th; this also failed. A third +attack was made on March 7 and was successful; the French line now runs +through the wood. + +The above will serve to show the tenacity which is required for an +operation of this kind. Up to the present the French have made steady +and continuous progress, and their success may be best judged from the +fact that they have not been forced back on any day behind the line they +held in the morning, despite innumerable counter-attacks. And this is +not merely a question of ground, but one of increasing moral +superiority, for it is in the unsuccessful counter-attacks that losses +are heavy, and these and the sense of failure affect the morale of an +army sooner or later. + +Will the French push through the line? Will a hole be made, or is the +enemy like a badger, who digs himself in rather faster than you can dig +him out? I cannot tell; it would indeed be an astonishing measure of +success for a first attempt, and the enemy may require a great deal more +hammering at many points before he has definitely had enough at any one +point. But these operations have brought the day closer, and turn our +thoughts to the time when we shall be able to move forward, and one +finds the cavalrymen wondering whether perhaps they, too, will get their +chance. + + + + +The Germans Concrete Trenches + +By F.H. Gailor, American Rhodes Scholar of New College, Oxford + +[From The London Daily Mail, March 24, 1915.] + + +At the kind invitation of General Longchamps, German Military Governor +of the Province of Namur, I spent two days with him going along the +country in and behind the firing line in Northern France from near +Rheims to the small village of Monthois, near Vouziers, on the Aisne. + +About five miles out of Monthois we came to the artillery positions of +the Germans. We could see the flashes of the guns long before we reached +the hills where they were placed, but when we came up and dismounted the +position was most cleverly concealed by a higher hill in front and the +heavy woods which served as a screen for the artillery. I noticed many +holes where the French shells had burst, and the valley to the north +looked as if some one had been experimenting with a well digger. One +21-centimeter shell had cut a swath about 100 yards long out of the +woods on the hill where we dismounted. The trees were twisted from their +stumps as if a small cyclone had passed, and one could realize the +damage the shells could do merely by the displaced air. + +We went on forward into the valley on foot and stopped about two hundred +yards in front and to the left of where the German guns were firing. +There, although of course we could not see the French position, we could +hear and see their shells as they exploded. They were firing short, one +of the officers told me, because they thought the Germans were on the +forward hill. He could see one of the French aeroplanes directing their +fire, but I could not make it out. We stayed there listening to the +shells and watching the few movements of German batteries that were +taking place. A party of officers hidden by the trees were taking +observations and telephoning the results of the German fire and, no +doubt, of the French fire in the German trenches. There was no +excitement; but for the noise the whole scene reminded me of some kind +of construction work, such as building a railroad. + +After about an hour, when nothing had happened, one began to realize +that even such excitement may become monotonous and be taken as a matter +of course. One of the officers told me that the Germans had been there +since the beginning of October and that even the trenches were in the +same position as when they first came. + +Certainly the trenches seem permanent enough for spending many Winters. +A number of them have now been built of concrete, especially in that +swampy part near the Aisne where they strike water about three feet +underground. The difficulty is in draining out the water when it rains. + +Some of the trenches have two stories, and at the back of many of them +are subterranean rest houses built of concrete and connected with the +trenches by passages. The rooms are about seven feet high and ten feet +square, and above the ground all evidence of the work is concealed by +green boughs and shrubbery so that they may escape the attention of the +enemy's aeroplanes. + +With the noise and the fatigue, the men say it is impossible to sleep +naturally, but they become so used to the firing and so weary that they +become oblivious of everything even when shells are falling within a +dozen yards of them. They stay in the trenches five days and then get +five days' rest. In talking to the men one feels the influence on them +of a curious sort of fatalism--they have been lucky so far and will come +through all right. One sees and feels everywhere the spirit of a great +game. The strain of football a thousand times magnified. The joy of +winning and boyish pleasure in getting ahead of the other fellows side +by side with the stronger passions of hatred and anger and the sight of +agony and death. + +We talked to some of the little groups of men along the road who were +going back to their five days in the trenches. Of course all large units +are split up so as not to attract attention. They were all the same, all +sure of winning, and all bearded, muddy, and determined. I could not +help thinking of American football players at the end of the first half. +These men seemed all the same. I have no recollection of a single +individual. The "system" and its work has made a type not only of +clothes but of face. Their answers to the usual questions were all the +same, and one felt in talking to them that their opinions were +machine-made. Three points stood out--Germany is right and will win; +England is wrong and will knuckle under; we hate England because we are +alike in religion, custom, and opinion, and it is the war of kindred +races. Everywhere one met the arguments and stories of unfairness and +cruelty in fighting that have appeared in the English papers, but with +the names reversed. English soldiers had surrendered and then fired; had +shot from beneath a Red Cross flag or had killed prisoners. The stories +were simple and as hackneyed as most of those current in England. + +The concrete rest houses were interesting. Most of them have furniture +made from trees "to amuse us and pass the time." Both officers and men +use the same type of house, though discipline forbids that the same +house be used by both officers and men. The light in these houses is bad +and the ventilation not all that it should be, but they are extremely +careful about sanitation, and everywhere one smells disinfectants and +sees evidence of scrupulous guarding against disease. Oil and candles +are scarce and the "pocket electric" that all the men and officers carry +does not last long enough for much reading. There are always telephone +connections, but in most cases visits are impossible save by way of the +underground passages and the trenches. + +One officer described the life as entirely normal; another said, in +speaking of a Louis XV. couch which had been borrowed from a near-by +château and was the pride of a regiment, "Oh! we are cave-dwellers, but +we have some of the luxuries of at least the nineteenth century." + +The Major Commandant at Rethel showed me a letter from a friend +demanding "some easy chairs and a piano for his trench house," and the +Major said, "I hear they have music up on the Yser, but the French are +too close to us here!" + +All that I saw of the German Red Cross leads me to believe that it is +adequate and efficient. At Rethel we saw a Red Cross train of thirty-two +cars perfectly equipped. The cars are made specially with open +corridors, so that stretchers or rubber-wheeled trucks may be rolled +from one car to another. The berths are in two tiers, much like an +American sleeping car, and each car when full holds twenty-eight men. +There is an operating car fully equipped for the most delicate and +dangerous cases; in fact, when we saw the train at Rethel it had stopped +on its way to Germany for an operation on a man's brain. + + + + +The Spirits of Mankind + +By Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States + + + The conviction that great spiritual forces will assert + themselves at the end of the European war to enlighten the + judgment and steady the spirits of mankind was expressed by + President Wilson in an address of welcome delivered at the + Maryland annual conference of the Methodist Protestant Church + at Washington on April 8, 1915. The text of his address + appears below. + +These are days of great perplexity, when a great cloud of trouble hangs +and broods over the greater part of the world. It seems as if great, +blind, material forces had been released which had for long been held in +leash and restraint. And yet underneath that you can see the strong +impulses of great ideals. + +It would be impossible for men to go through what men are going through +on the battlefields of Europe and struggle through the present dark +night of their terrible struggle if it were not that they saw, or +thought that they saw, the broadening of light where the morning should +come up and believed that they were standing each on his side of the +contest for some eternal principle for right. + +Then all about them, all about us, there sits the silent, waiting +tribunal which is going to utter the ultimate judgment upon this +struggle, the great tribunal of the opinion of the world; and I fancy I +see, I hope that I see, I pray that it may be that I do truly see, great +spiritual forces lying waiting for the outcome of this thing to assert +themselves, and are asserting themselves even now to enlighten our +judgment and steady our spirits. + +No man is wise enough to pronounce judgment, but we can all hold our +spirits in readiness to accept the truth when it dawns on us and is +revealed to us in the outcome of this titanic struggle. + +It is of infinite benefit that in assemblages like this and in every +sort of assemblage we should constantly go back to the sources of our +moral inspiration and question ourselves as to what principle it is that +we are acting on. Whither are we bound? What do we wish to see triumph? +And if we wish to see certain things triumph, why do we wish to see them +triumph? What is there in them that is for the lasting benefit of +mankind? + +For we are not in this world to amuse ourselves with its affairs. We are +here to push the whole sluggish mass forward in some particular +direction, and unless you know the direction in which you want to go +your force is of no avail. Do you love righteousness? is what each one +of us ought to ask himself. And if you love righteousness are you ready +to translate righteousness into action and be ashamed and afraid before +no man? + +It seems to me, therefore, that it is worth suggesting to you that you +are not sitting here merely to transact the business and express the +ideals of a great church as represented in the State of Maryland, but +you are here also as part of the assize of humanity, to remind +yourselves of the things that are permanent and eternal, which if we do +not translate into action we have failed in the fundamental things of +our lives. + +You will see that it is only in such general terms that one can speak in +the midst of a confused world, because, as I have already said, no man +has the key to this confusion. No man can see the outcome, but every man +can keep his own spirit prepared to contribute to the net result when +the outcome displays itself. + + + + +"What the Germans Say About Their Own Methods of Warfare" + +By Joseph Bedier, Professor in the College de France + +[From an article in the Revue de Paris for January, 1915.] + + +I purpose to show that the German armies cannot altogether escape the +reproach of violating on occasion the law of nations. I shall establish +this by French methods, through the use of documents of sound value. + +My texts are genuine, well vouched for, and I have taken pains to +subject them to a critical examination, as scrupulous and minute as +heretofore in times of peace I expended in weighing the authority of +some ancient chronicle, or in scrutinizing the authenticity of some +charter. Perhaps this care was born of professional habit, or due to a +natural craving for exactness, but in either case it is a voucher for +the work, which is meant for all comers--for the passer-by, for the +indifferent, and even for my country's foes. My wish is that the veriest +looker-on, idly turning these pages, may be confronted only with +documents whose authenticity will be self-evident, if he is willing to +see, and whose ignominious tale will reach his heart, if ye have a +heart. + +I have, moreover, sought for documents not only incontestably genuine +but of unquestioned authority. Accusation is easy, while proof is +difficult. No belligerent has ever been troubled to find mountains of +testimony, true or false, against his enemy; but were this evidence +gathered by the most exalted magistrates, under the most solemn judicial +sanction, it must unfortunately long remain useless; until the accused +has full opportunity to controvert it, every one is free to treat it as +false or, at the best, as controvertible. For this reason I shall avoid +resting the case upon Belgian or French statements, though I know them +to be true. My purpose has been to bring forward such testimony that no +man living, be he even a German, should be privileged to cast a doubt +upon it. German crimes will be established by German documents. + +These will be taken mainly from the "War Diaries," which Article 75 of +the German Army Regulations for Field Service enjoins upon soldiers to +keep during their marches, and which were seized by the French upon the +persons of their prisoners, as military papers, as authorized by Article +4 of The Hague Convention of 1907. The number of these is daily +increasing, and I trust that some day, for the edification of all, the +complete collection may be lodged in the Germanic section of manuscripts +in the National Library. Meantime, the Marquis de Dampierre, +paleographer and archivist, graduate of the Ecole des Chartes, is +preparing, and will shortly publish, a volume in which the greater part +of these notebooks will be minutely described, transcribed, and +clarified. Personally, I have only examined about forty of them, but +they will answer my purpose, by presenting relevant extracts, furnishing +the name, rank, and regiment of the author, with indications of time and +place. Classification is difficult, mainly because ten lines of a single +text not infrequently furnish evidence of a variety of offenses. I must +take them almost at random, grouping them under such analogies or +association of ideas or images as they may offer. + + +I. + +The first notebook at hand is that of a soldier of the Prussian Guard, +the Gefreiter Paul Spielmann, (of Company I, First Brigade of the +Infantry Guard.) He tells the story of an unexpected night alarm on the +1st of September in a village near Blamont. The bugle sounds, and the +Guard, startled from sleep, begins the massacre, (Figs. 1 and 2:) + +[Illustration: Figure 1.] + + The inhabitants fled through the village. It was horrible. The + walls of houses are bespattered with blood and the faces of + the dead are hideous to look upon. They were buried at once, + some sixty of them. Among them many old women, old men, and + one woman pregnant--the whole a dreadful sight. Three children + huddled together--all dead. Altar and arches of the church + shattered. Telephone communication with the enemy was found + there. This morning, Sept. 2, all the survivors were driven + out; I saw four little boys carrying on two poles a cradle + with a child some five or six months old. The whole makes a + fearful sight. Blow upon blow! Thunderbolt on thunderbolt! + Everything given over to plunder. I saw a mother with her two + little ones--one of them had a great wound in the head and an + eye put out. + +Deserved repression, remarks this soldier: "They had telephone +communication with the enemy." And yet, we may recall that by Article +30 of The Hague Convention of 1907, signed on behalf of H.M. the Emperor +of Germany, "no collective penalty, pecuniary or other, shall be +proclaimed against a population, by reason of individual acts for which +the population is not responsible _in solido_." What tribunal during +that dreadful night took the pains to establish this joint +participation? + +[Illustration: Figure 2.] + + +II. + +The unsigned notebook of a soldier of the Thirty-second Reserve Infantry +(Fourth Reserve Corps) has this entry: + + Creil, Sept. 3.--The iron bridge was blown up. For this we set + the streets on fire, and shot the civilians. + +Yet it must be obvious that only the regular troops of the French +Engineer Corps could have blown up the iron bridge at Creil; the +civilians had no hand in it. As an excuse for these massacres, when any +excuse is offered, the notebooks usually note that "civilians" or +"francs-tireurs" had fired on the troops. But the "scrap of paper" which +Germany subscribed--the Convention of 1907--provides in its first +article "the laws, the rights, and the duties are not applicable solely +to the army, but also to militia and bodies of volunteers" under certain +conditions, of which the main one is that they shall "openly bear arms;" +while Article 2 stipulates that "the population of an unoccupied +territory, which on the approach of the enemy spontaneously takes up +arms to resist the invading forces, without having had time to organize +as provided in Article I, shall be considered as a belligerent, if they +bear arms openly and observe the laws and customs of war." + +[Illustration: Figure 3.] + +In the light of this text, the bearing of the barbarous recitals which +follow may be properly estimated: + + (a) Notebook of Private Hassemer, (Eighth Corps, Sept. 3, + 1914, at Sommepy, Marne.)--Dreadful butchery. Village burned + to the ground; the French thrown into the burning houses, + civilians and all burned together. + + (b) Notebook of Lieut. Kietzmann, (Second Company, First + Battalion, Forty-ninth Infantry,) under date of Aug. 18, 1914, + (Fig. 3.)--A short distance above Diest is the village of + Schaffen. About fifty civilians were concealed in the church + tower, and from there fired on our troops with a + _mitrailleuse_. All the civilians were shot. + + [It may here be noted, for the sake of precision, that the + First Report of the Belgian Commission of Inquiry, Antwerp, + Aug. 28, Page 3, identifies some of the "civilians" killed at + Schaffen on the 18th of August; among them, "the wife of + François Luyckz, 45 years of age, with her daughter _aged 12, + who were discovered in a sewer and shot_"; and "the daughter + of Jean Ooyen, 9 years of age, who was shot"; and "André + Willem, sacristain, who was bound to a tree and _burned + alive_."] + + (c) Notebook of a Saxon officer, unnamed, (178th Regiment, + Twelfth Army Corps, First Saxon Corps,) Aug. 26.--The + exquisite village of Gué-d'Hossus (Ardennes) was given to the + flames, although to my mind it was guiltless. I am told that a + cyclist fell from his machine, and in his fall his gun was + discharged; at once the firing was begun in his direction, and + thereupon all the male inhabitants were simply thrown into the + flames. It is to be hoped that like atrocities will not be + repeated. + +This Saxon officer had, nevertheless, already witnessed like +"atrocities." The preceding day, Aug. 25, at Villers-en-Fagne, (Belgian +Ardennes,) "where we found grenadiers of the guard, killed and wounded," +he had seen "the curé and other inhabitants shot"; and three days +previous, Aug. 23, at the village of Bouvignes, north of Dinant, he had +witnessed what he thus describes: + + Through a breach made in the rear we get access into the + residence of a well-to-do inhabitant and occupy the house. + Passing through a number of apartments, we reach a door where + we find the corpse of the owner. Further on in the interior + our men have wrecked everything like vandals. Everything has + been searched. Outside, throughout the country, the spectacle + of the inhabitants who have been shot defies any description. + They have been shot at such short range that they are almost + decapitated. Every house has been ransacked to the furthest + corners, and the inhabitants dragged from their hiding places. + The men shot; the women and children locked into a convent, + from which shots were fired. And, for this reason, the convent + is about to be set fire to; it may, however be ransomed if it + surrenders the guilty ones and pays a ransom of 15,000 francs. + +We shall see as we proceed how these notebooks complement one another. + + (d) Notebook of the Private Philipp, (from Kamenz, Saxony, + First Company, First Battalion, 178th Regiment.) On the day + indicated above--Aug. 23--a private of the same regiment was + the witness of a scene similar to that just described; + perhaps, the same scene, but the point of view is + different.--At 10 o'clock in the evening the First Battalion + of the 178th came down into the burning village to the north + of Dinant--a saddening spectacle--to make one shiver. At the + entrance to the village lay the bodies of some fifty citizens, + shot for having fired upon our troops from ambush. In the + course of the night many others were shot down in like manner, + so that we counted more than two hundred. Women and children, + holding their lamps, were compelled to assist at this horrible + spectacle. We then sat down midst the corpses to eat our rice, + as we had eaten nothing since morning. (Fig. 4.) + +[Illustration: Figure 4.] + +Here is a military picture fully outlined, and worthy to compete in the +Academy of Fine Arts of Dresden. But one passage of the text is somewhat +obscure and might embarrass the artist--"Women and children, holding +their lamps, were compelled to assist at this horrible spectacle." What +spectacle?--the shooting, or the counting of the corpses? To get some +certainty on this historic point, the artist should question that noble +soldier--the Colonel of the 178th. + +His work of that night, however, was in accord with the spirit of his +companions in arms, and of his chiefs. We may assure ourselves of this +by consulting the Sixth Report of the Belgian Commission of Inquiry +upon, the violation of the rules of the law of nations (Havre, Nov. 10, +1914) and the ignoble proclamations placarded by the Germans throughout +Belgium. I will content myself with three short extracts. + +Extract from a proclamation of General von Bülow, placarded at Liège, +Aug. 22, 1914: + + The inhabitants of the city of Andenne, after having protested + their peaceful intentions, were guilty of a treacherous + surprise upon our troops. It was with my consent that the + General in Chief set fire to the whole locality, and that + about one hundred persons were shot. + +(The Belgian report controverts the accusation against the inhabitants +of Andenne of having taken hostile measures against the German troops, +and adds: "As a matter of fact, more than two hundred persons were +shot"--almost everything was ravaged. For a distance of at least three +leagues the houses were destroyed by fire.) + +Extract from a proclamation of Major Dieckmann, placarded at Grivegnée, +Sept. 8, 1914: + + Any one not responding instantly to the command "raise your + arms" is subject to the penalty of death. + +Extract from proclamation of Marshal Baron von der Goltz, placarded at +Brussels, Oct. 5, 1914: + + Hereafter the localities nearest the place where similar acts + (destruction of railways or telegraphic lines) were + done--whether or not they were _accomplices in the act_--will + be punished without mercy. To this end hostages have been + taken from all the localities adjacent to railways menaced by + similar attacks, and upon the first attempt to destroy the + railways, telegraphic or telephone lines, they will at once be + shot. + + +III. + +I copy from the first page of an unsigned notebook, (Fig. 5:) + + Langeviller, Aug. 22.--Village destroyed by the Eleventh + Battalion of Pioneers. Three women hanged to trees; the first + dead I have seen. + +Who can these three women be?--criminals undoubtedly--guilty of having +fired upon German troops, unless, indeed, they may have been "in +communication by telephone" with the enemy; and the Eleventh Pioneers +unquestionably meted out to them just punishment. But, at all events, +they expiated their guilt, and the Eleventh Pioneers has passed on. The +crime these women committed is unknown to the troops which are to +follow. Among these new troops will there be found no chief, no +Christian, to order the ropes cut and allow these dangling bodies to +rest on the earth? + +[Illustration: Figure 5.] + +No, the regiment passes under the gibbets and their flags brush against +the hanging corpses; they pass on, Colonel and officers--gentlemen +all--Kulturträger. And they do this knowingly; these corpses must hang +there as an example, not for the other women of the village, for these +doubtless already understand, but as an example to the regiment and to +the other regiments that will follow, and who must be attuned to war, +who must be taught their stern duty to kill women when occasion offers. +The teaching will be effective, unquestionably. Shall we look for proof +of it? The young soldier, who tells us above that these corpses were the +first dead he had ever seen, adds a week later, on the tenth and last +page of his notebook, the following, (Fig. 6:) + + In this way we destroyed eight dwellings and their + inhabitants. In one of the houses we bayoneted two men, with + their wives and a young girl 18 years old. The young: one + almost unmanned me, her look was so innocent! But we could not + master the excited troop, for at such times they are no longer + men--they are beasts. + +[Illustration: Figure 6.] + +Let me add a few texts which will attest that these assassinations of +women and children are customary tasks set to German soldiers: + +(a) The writer in a notebook, unsigned, reports that at Orchies (Nord) +"a woman was shot for not having obeyed the command to halt!" whereupon +he adds, "the whole locality was set on fire." (Fig. 7.) + +[Illustration: Figure 7.] + +(b) The officer of the 178th Saxon Regiment, mentioned above, reports +that in the vicinity of Lisognes (Belgian Ardennes) "the Chasseur of +Marburg, having placed three women in line, killed them all with one +shot." + +(c) A few lines more, taken from the notebook of the Reservist Schlauter +(Third Battery, Fourth Regiment, Field Artillery of the Guard,) (Fig. +8:) + + Aug. 25, (in Belgium.)--We shot 300 of the inhabitants of the + town. Those that survived the salvo were requisitioned as + grave diggers. You should have seen the women at that time! + But it was impossible to do otherwise. In our march upon Wilot + things went better; the inhabitants who wished to leave were + allowed to do so. But whoever fired was shot. Upon our leaving + Owele the rifles rang out, and with that, flames, women, and + all the rest. + +[Illustration: Figure 8.] + + +IV. + +Frequently when a German troop want to carry a position, they place +before them civilians--men, women, and children--and find shelter behind +these ramparts of living flesh. As such a stratagem is essentially +playing upon the nobility of heart of the adversary, and saying to him +"you won't fire upon these unfortunates, I know it, and I hold you at my +mercy, unarmed, because you are not as craven as I am," as it implies a +homage to the enemy and the self-degradation of the one employing it, it +is almost inconceivable that soldiers should resort to it; it represents +a new invention in the long story of human vileness, which even the +dreadful Penitentiels of the Middle Ages had not discovered. In reading +the stories from French, Belgian, and English sources, attributing such +practices to the Germans, it has made me doubt, if not the truthfulness, +at least the detailed exactness of the stories. It seemed to me that the +tales must be of crimes by men who would be disavowed, individual +lapses, which do not dishonor the nation, because the nation on +ascertaining them would repudiate them. But how can we doubt that the +German Nation has, on the contrary, accepted these acts as exploits +worthy of herself, that in them she recognizes her own aptitudes, and +finds pleasure in the contemplation; how, I ask, can we doubt this in +reading the following narrative signed by a Bavarian officer, Lieut. A. +Eberlein, spread out in the columns of one of the best known periodicals +of Germany, the Münchner Neueste Nachrichten, in its issue of Wednesday, +Oct. 7, 1914, Page 22, Lieut. Eberlein relates there the occupation of +Saint-Dié at the end of August. He entered the town at the head of a +column, and while waiting for reinforcements was compelled to barricade +himself in a house, (Fig. 9:) + +[Illustration: Figure 9.] + + We arrested three civilians, and a bright idea struck me. We + furnished them with chairs and made them seat themselves in + the middle of the street. There were supplications on one + part, and some blows with the stocks of our guns on the other. + One, little by little, gets terribly hardened. Finally, there + they were sitting in the street. How many anguished prayers + they may have muttered, I cannot say, but during the whole + time their hands were joined in nervous contraction. I am + sorry for them, but the stratagem was of immediate effect. The + enfilading directed from the houses diminished at once; we + were able then to take possession of the house opposite, and + thus became masters of the principal street. From that moment + every one that showed his face in the street was shot. And the + artillery meanwhile kept up vigorous work, so that at about 7 + o'clock in the evening, when the brigade advanced to rescue + us, I could report "Saint-Dié has been emptied of all + enemies." + + As I learned later, the ---- Regiment of Reserves, which came + into Saint-Dié further north, had experiences entirely similar + to our own. The four civilians whom they had placed on chairs + in the middle of the street were killed by French bullets. I + saw them myself stretched out in the street near the hospital. + + +V. + +Article 28 of The Hague Convention of 1907, subscribed to by Germany, +uses this language: "The sacking of any town or locality, even when +taken by assault, is prohibited." And Article 47 runs: "[in occupied +territory] pillage is forbidden." + +We shall see how the German armies interpret these articles. + +Private Handschuhmacher (Eleventh Battalion of Chasseurs Reserves) +writes in his notebook: + + Aug. 8, 1914, Gouvy, (Belgium.)--There, the Belgians having + fired on some German soldiers, we started at once pillaging + the merchandise warehouse. Several cases--eggs, shirts, and + everything that could be eaten was carried off. The safe was + forced and the gold distributed among the men. As to the + securities, they were torn up. + +This happened as early as the fourth day of the war, and it helps us to +understand a technical article on the operations of the military +treasury (Der Zahlmeister im Felde) in the Berliner Tageblatt of the +26th of November, 1914, in which an economic phenomenon of rather +unusual import is recited as a simple incident: "Experience has +demonstrated that very much more money is forwarded by postal orders +from the theatre of operations to the interior of the country than vice +versa." + +As, in accordance with the continual practice of the German armies, +pillaging is only a prelude to incendiarism, the sub-officer Hermann +Levith (160th Regiment of Infantry, Eighth Corps) writes: + + The enemy occupied the village of Bievre and the edge of the + wood behind it. The Third Company advanced in first line. We + carried the village, and then pillaged and burned almost all + the houses. + +And Private Schiller (133d Infantry, Nineteenth Corps) writes: + + Our first fight was at Haybes (Belgium) on the 24th of August. + The Second Battalion entered the village, ransacked the + houses, pillaged them, and burned those from which shots had + been fired. + +And Private Sebastian Reishaupt (Third Bavarian Infantry, First Bavarian +Corps) writes: + + The first village we burned was Parux, (Meurthe-et-Moselle.) + After this the dance began, throughout the villages, one after + the other; over the fields and pastures we went on our + bicycles up to the ditches at the edge of the road, and there + sat down to eat our cherries. + +They emulate each other in their thefts; they steal anything that comes +to hand and keep records of the thefts--"Schnaps, Wein, Marmelade, +Zigarren," writes this private soldier; and the elegant officer of the +178th Saxon Regiment, who was at first indignant at the "vandalismus" of +his men, further on admits that he himself, on the 1st of September, at +Rethel, stole "from a house near the Hôtel Moderne a superb waterproof +and a photographic apparatus for Felix." All steal, without distinction +or grade, or of arms, or of cause, and even in the ambulances the +doctors steal. Take this example from the notebook of the soldier +Johannes Thode (Fourth Reserve Regiment of Ersatz): + + At Brussels, Oct. 5, 1914.--An automobile arrived at the + hospital laden with war booty--one piano, two sewing machines, + many albums, and all sorts of other things. + +"Two sewing machines" as "war booty." From whom were these stolen? +Beyond a doubt from two humble Belgian women. And for whom were they +stolen? + + +VI. + +I must admit that, out of the forty notebooks, or thereabout, that I +have handled, there are six or seven that do not relate any exactions, +either from hypocritical reticence or because there are some regiments +which do not make war in this vile fashion. And there are as many as +three notebooks whose writers, in relating these ignoble things, express +astonishment, indignation, and sorrow. I will not give the names of +these, because they deserve our regard, and I wish to spare them the +risk of being some day blamed or punished by their own. + +[Illustration: Figure 10.] + +The first, the Private X., who belongs to the Sixty-fifth Infantry, +Regiment of Landwehr, says of certain of his companions in arms, (Fig. +10:) + + They do not behave as soldiers, but rather as highwaymen, + bandits, and brigands, and are a dishonor to our regiment and + to our army. + +Another, Lieut. Y., of the Seventy-seventh Infantry of Reserves, says: + + No discipline, ... the Pioneers are well nigh worthless; as to + the artillery, it is a band of robbers. + +The third, Private Z., of the Twelfth Infantry of Reserves, First Corps, +writes, (Fig. 11:) + +[Illustration: Figure 11.] + + Unfortunately, I am forced to make note of a fact which should + not have occurred, but there are to be found, even in our own + army, creatures who are no longer men, but hogs, to whom + nothing is sacred. One of these broke into a sacristy; it was + locked, and where the Blessed Sacrament was kept. A + Protestant, out of respect, had refused to sleep there. This + man used it as a deposit for his excrements. How is it + possible there should be such creatures? Last night one of the + men of the Landwehr, more than thirty-five years of age, + married, tried to rape the daughter of the inhabitant where + he had taken up his quarters--a mere girl--and when the father + intervened he pressed his bayonet against his breast. + +Beyond these three, who are still worthy of the name of soldiers, the +other thirty are all alike, and the same soul (if we can talk of souls +among such as these) animates them low and frantic. I say they are all +about alike, but there are shades of difference. There are some who, +like subtle jurists, make distinctions, blaming here and approving +there--"Dort war ein Exempel am Platze." Others laugh and say "Krieg ist +Krieg," or sometimes they add in French, to emphasize their derision, +"Ja, Ja, c'est la guerre," and some among them, when their ugly business +is done, turn to their book of canticles and sing psalms, such as the +Saxon Lieut. Reislang, who relates how one day he left his drinking bout +to _assist at the "Gottesdienst"_, but having eaten too much and drunken +too much, had to quit the holy place in haste; and the Private Moritz +Grosse of the 177th Infantry, who, after depicting the sacking of +Saint-Vieth, (Aug. 22,) the sacking of Dinant, (Aug. 23,) writes this +phrase: + + Throwing of incendiary grenades into the houses, and in the + evening a military chorus--"Now let all give thanks to God." + (Fig. 12.) + +They're all of a like tenor. Now, if we consider that I could exchange +the preceding texts with others quite similar, quite as cynical, and +taken at random, for instance--from the notebook of the Reservist +Lautenschlager of the First Battalion, Sixty-sixth Regiment of Infantry, +or the notebook of the Private Eduard Holl of the Eighth Corps, or the +notebook of the sub-officer Reinhold Koehn of the Second Battalion of +Pomeranian Pioneers, or that of the sub-officer Otto Brandt of the +Second Section of Reserve Ambulances, or of the Reservist Martin Müller +of the 100th Saxon Reserve, or of Lieut. Karl Zimmer of the Fifty-fifth +Infantry, or that of the Private Erich Pressler of the 100th Grenadiers, +First Saxon Corps, &c., and if we will note that, among the exactions +reported above, there are very few that are the work of isolated brutes, +(such as, unfortunately, may be found even in the most noble armies,) +but that, on the contrary, the crimes represented here are collective +actions in obedience to service orders, and such as rest upon and +dishonor not only the individual but the entire troop, the officers, and +the nation; and if we will further note that these thirty notebooks +taken at random--Bavarian, Saxon, Pomeranian, Brandeburger, or from the +provinces of Baden and the Rhine--must of necessity represent hundreds +and thousands of others quite similar, as we may judge from the +frightful monotony of their recitals; if we consider all this, we must, +I think, be forced to admit that these atrocities are nothing less than +the practical application of a methodically organized system. + +[Illustration: Figure 12.] + + +VII. + +H.M. the Emperor of Germany, by ratifying The Hague Convention of 1907, +covenanted (Article 24) that "it is forbidden (c) to kill or wound an +enemy who, having laid down his arms, or being without means of defense, +has surrendered unconditionally. (d) To declare that no quarter shall be +given." + +Have the German armies respected these covenants? Throughout Belgian and +French reports depositions such as the following abound. This is taken +from a French Captain of the 288th Infantry: + + On the 22d, in the evening, I learned that in the woods, about + one hundred and fifty meters north of the square formed by the + intersection of the great Calonne trench with the road from + Vaux-les-Palameis to Saint-Rémy, there were corpses of French + soldiers shot by the Germans. I went to the spot and found the + bodies of about thirty soldiers within a small space, most of + them prone, but several still kneeling, and _all having a + precisely similar wound_--a bullet through the ear. One only, + seriously wounded in his lower parts, could still speak, and + told me that the Germans before leaving had ordered them to + lie down and that then had them shot through the head; that + he, already wounded had secured indulgence by stating that he + was the father of three small children. The skulls of these + unfortunates were scattered; the guns, broken at the stock, + were scattered here and there; and the blood had besprinkled + the bushes to such an extent that in coming out of the woods + my cape was spattered with it; it was a veritable shambles. + +I quote this testimony, not to base any accusations upon it, but simply +to give precision to our indictment. I will not lay stress upon it as +evidence, for I wish to keep to the rule which I have laid down--to have +records of nothing but German sources of information. + +I will quote here the text of an order of the day addressed by General +Stenger, in command of the Fifty-eighth German Brigade, on the 26th of +August, to the troops under his orders: + + From this day forward no further prisoners will be taken. All + prisoners will be massacred. The wounded, whether in arms or + not in arms, shall be massacred. Even the prisoners already + gathered in convoys will be massacred. No living enemy must + remain behind us. + + Signed--First Lieutenant in Command of the Company, Stoy; + Colonel Commanding the Regiment, Neubauer; General in Command + of the Brigade, Stenger. + + +About thirty soldiers of Stenger's Brigade (112th and 142d Regiments of +Baden Infantry) were questioned. I have read their depositions, taken +under oath and signed with their own names; all confirming the fact that +this order of the day was given to them on the 26th of August. In one +place by the Major Mosebach, in another by Lieut. Curtius, &c. Most of +these witnesses said that they were ignorant whether the order was +carried out, but three among them testified that it was carried out +under their own eyes in the Forest of Thiaville, where ten or twelve +wounded French, already made prisoners by a battalion, were done away +with; two others of the witnesses saw the order carried out along the +road of Thiaville, where several wounded, found in the ditches by the +company as it marched past, were killed. + +[Illustration: Figure 13.] + +Of course, I cannot here produce the original autograph of General +Stenger, nor am I here called upon to furnish the names of the German +prisoners who gave this testimony. But I shall have no trouble to +establish entirely similar crimes on the faith of German autographs. + +For instance, we find in the notebook of Private Albert Delfosse (111th +Infantry of Reserves, Fourteenth Reserve Corps,) (Fig. 13:) + + In the woods (near Saint-Rémy, 4th or 5th of September)--Found + a very fine cow and a calf killed; and again the corpses of + Frenchmen horribly mutilated. + +Must we understand that these bodies were mutilated by loyal weapons, +torn perhaps by shells? This may be, but it would be a charitable +interpretation, which is belied by this newspaper heading, (Figs. 14 and +15:) + + JAUERSCHES TAGEBLATT Amtlicher Anzeiger Für Stadt und Kreis + Jauer Jauer, Sonntag, Den 18, Oktober, 1914. Nr. 245. 106, + Jahrgang. + +This is a heading of a newspaper picked up in a German trench. Jauer is +a city of Silesia, about fifty kilometers west of Breslau, where two +battalions of the 154th Regiment of Saxon Infantry are garrisoned. One +Sunday morning, Oct. 18, doubtless at the hour when the +inhabitants--women and children--were wending their way to church, there +was distributed throughout the quiet little town, and through the +hamlets and villages of the district, the issue of this local paper with +the following inscription: "A day of honor for our regiment, Sept. 24, +1914," as the title of an article of some two hundred lines, sent from +the front by a member of the regiment--the sub-officer Klemt of the +First Company, 154th Infantry Regiment. + +[Illustration: GENERAL VON KUSMANEK + +Whose stubborn defense of Przemysl made it one of the most notable +sieges of history. + +_(Photo from Underwood & Underwood.)_] + +[Illustration: CAPT.-LIEUT. OTTO WEDDIGEN + +Whose submarine exploits have done more damage to England's navy than +all Germany's gunners. + +_(Photo from The Photo News.)_] + +[Illustration: Figure 14.] + +[Illustration: Figure 15.] + +The sub-officer Klemt relates how, on the 24th of September, his +regiment having left Hannonville in the morning, accompanied by Austrian +batteries, suddenly came up against a double fire of infantry and +artillery. Their losses were terrible, and yet the enemy was still +invisible. Finally, says this officer, it was found that the bullets +came from above, from trees which the French soldiers had climbed. +From this point let me quote verbatim, (Fig. 16:) + +[Illustration: Figure 16.] + + They're brought down from the trees like squirrels, to get a + hot reception with bayoneted stock; they'll need no more + doctors' care. We are not fighting loyal enemies, but + treacherous brigands. [Note--It is scarcely necessary to point + out that it is no more "treacherous," but quite as lawful, to + fire from the branches of a tree as from a window, or from a + trench, and that, on the contrary, it is rather more + venturesome and more courageous, as the sequel of this story + will show.] We crossed the clearing at a bound. The foe is + hidden here and there among the bushes, and now we are upon + them. No quarter will be given. We fire standing, at will; + very few fire kneeling; nobody dreams of shelter. We finally + reach a slight depression in the ground, and there the red + trousers are lying in masses, here and there--dead or wounded. + We club or stab the wounded, for we know that these rascals, + as soon as we are gone by, will fire from behind. We find one + Frenchman lying at full length upon his face, but he is + counterfeiting death. A kick from a robust fusilier gives him + notice that we are there. Turning over he asks for quarter, + but he gets the reply--"Oh! is that the way, blackguard, that + your tools work?" and he is pinned to the ground. On one side + of me I hear curious cracklings. They're the blows which a + soldier of the 154th is vigorously showering upon the bald + pate of a Frenchman with the stock of his gun; he very wisely + chose for this work a French gun, for fear of breaking his + own. Some men of particularly sensitive soul grant the French + wounded the grace to finish them with a bullet, but others + scatter here and there, wherever they can, their clubbings and + stabbings. Our adversaries have fought bravely. They were + élite troops that we had before us. They had allowed us to + come within thirty, and even within ten, meters--too close. + Their arms and knapsacks thrown down in heaps showed that they + wanted to fly, but upon the appearance of our "gray phantoms" + terror paralyzed them, and, on the narrow path in which they + crowded, the German bullets brought them the order to halt! + There they are at the very entrance of their leafy hiding + places, lying down moaning and asking for quarter, but whether + their wounds are light or grievous, the brave fusiliers saved + their country the expensive care which would have to be given + to such a number of enemies. + +Now the recital continues very ornate, very literary, and the writer +relates how his Imperial Highness Prince Oscar of Prussia, being advised +of the exploits (perhaps, indeed, other exploits than these) of the +154th and of the Regiment of Grenadiers, which forms the Brigade with +the 154th, declared them both worthy of the name of "King's Brigade," +and the recital closes with this phrase: "When night came on, with a +prayer of thankfulness on our lips we fell asleep to await the coming +day." Then adding, by way of postscript, a little phrase "Heimkehr vom +Kampf." He carries the notebook--prose and verse together--to his +Lieutenant, who countersigns it: "Certified as correct, De Niem, +Lieutenant Commanding the Company," and then he sends his paper to his +town of Jauer, where he is quite confident that he will find some +newspaper publisher to accept it, printers to set it up, and a whole +population to enjoy it. Now, let me ask any reader--whatever be his +country--if he can imagine it possible for such a tale to be spread +abroad in any paper in his language, in his native town, for the +edification of his wife and his children. In what other country than in +Germany is such a thing conceivable? Not in France, at all events. Now, +if my readers want another document to show how customary it is in the +German Army to mutilate the wounded, well, I will borrow one from the +notebook of Private Paul Glöde of the Ninth Battalion of Pioneers, Ninth +Corps, (Figs. 17 and 18:) + + Aug. 12, 1914, in Belgium.--One can get an idea of the fury of + our soldiers in seeing the destroyed villages. Not one house + left untouched. Everything eatable is requisitioned by the + unofficered soldiers. Several heaps of men and women put to + execution. Young pigs are running about looking for their + mothers. Dogs chained, without food or drink. And the + houses about them on fire. But the just anger of our soldiers + is accompanied also by pure vandalism. In the villages, + already emptied of their inhabitants, the houses are set on + fire. I feel sorry for this population. If they have made use + of disloyal weapons, after all, they are only defending their + own country. The atrocities which these non-combatants are + still committing are revenged after a savage fashion. + _Mutilations of the wounded are the order of the day._ + +This was written as early as the 12th of August--the tenth day after the +invasion of innocent Belgium--and these wounded creatures that were +tortured had done nothing more than defend their land against +Germany--their native land--which Germany had sworn, not only to respect +but, if need be, to defend. And yet, in many countries pharisees reading +these lines will go forward tranquilly to their churches, or their +temples, or their banking houses, or their foreign offices, saying: "In +what do these things concern us?" "Ja, ja, this is war." Yes, it is war, +but war such as was never made by the soldiers of Marceau, such as never +will be made by the soldiers of Joffre, such as never has been made and +never will be made by France--"Mother of Arts, of Arms, and of Laws." +Yes, it is war, but war such as Attila would not have carried on if he +had subscribed to certain stipulations; for, in subscribing them, he +would have awakened to the notion, which _alone_ distinguishes the +civilized man from the barbarian, distinguishes a nation from a +horde--respect for the word once given. Yes, it is war, but war the +theory of which could only be made up by such pedant megalomaniacs as +the Julius von Hartmanns, the Bernhardis, and the Treitschkes; the +theory which accords to the elect people the right to uproot from the +laws and customs of war what centuries of humanity, of Christianity, and +chivalry have at great pains injected into it; the theory of systematic +and organized ferocity; today exposed to public reprobation, not only as +an odious thing, but no less silly and absurd. For have we not reached +the ridiculous when the incendiaries of Louvain, and Malines, and +Rheims, the assassins of women and children, and of the wounded, already +find it necessary to repudiate their actions, at least in words, and to +impose upon the servility of their ninety-three Kulturträger such +denials as this: "It is not true that we are making war in contempt of +the law of nations, nor that our soldiers are committing acts of +cruelty, or of insubordination, or indiscipline.... We will carry this +conflict through to the end as a civilized people, and we answer for +this upon our good name and upon our honor!" Why this humble and pitiful +repudiation? Perhaps because their theory of war rested upon the +postulate of their invincibility, and that, in the first shiver of their +defeat upon the Marne, it collapsed, and now their repudiation quickly +follows--in dread of the _lex talionis_. + +[Illustration: Figure 17.] + +[Illustration: Figure 18. [Continuation of Figure 17.]] + +I will stop here. I leave the conclusion to the allied armies, already +in sight of victory. + + NOTE.--General Stenger's order of the day, mentioned on page + [Transcriber's Note: blank in original], was communicated + orally by various officers in various units of the brigade. + Consequently, the form in which we have received it may + possibly be incomplete or altered. In face of any doubt, the + French Government has ordered an inquiry to be made into the + prisoners' camps. Not one of the prisoners to whom our + magistrates presented the order of the day in the + above-mentioned form found a word to alter. They one and all + declared that this was the order of the day which had been + orally given in the ranks, repeated from man to man; many + added the names of the officers who had communicated the order + to them; some related in what a vile way it had been carried + out under their eyes. All the evidence of these German + soldiers was collected in a legal manner, under the sanction + of an oath, and it is after reading their depositions that I + wrote the order of the day. + + The text of all this evidence was transmitted to all the + French Embassies and Legations in foreign countries on the + 24th of October, 1914. Every neutral wishing to clear his + conscience is at liberty to obtain it from the representatives + of the French Republic, who will certainly respond willingly. + + + + +THE RECRUIT. + +By HORTENSE FLEXNER. + + + He had a woodland look--half-startled, gay-- + As if his eyes, light-thirsty, had not learned + To wake accustomed on earth's joyous day, + A child, whose merriment and wonder burned + In harmless flame, even his uniform + Was but a lie to hide his wind-wild grace, + Whose limbs were rounded youth, too supple, warm, + To hold the measure of the street-made pace. + Music and marching--colors in the sky-- + The crowded station, then the train--farewell! + For all he had the glance, exultant, shy, + That seemed to marvel, "More to see--to tell!" + Yet with his breathing moved, hid by his coat, + A numbered, metal disk, strapped round his throat! + + + + +American Reply to Britain's Blockade Order + +By William J. Bryan, American Secretary of State + + +_With the publication on April 6, 1915, of its note in reply to the +British Government's Order in Council, proclaiming a virtual blockade +against commerce to and from Germany--printed in the April, 1915, number +of_ THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY_--the American Government rested +its case. The text of the note to Great Britain follows:_ + +WASHINGTON, March 30, 1915. + +The Secretary of State to the American Ambassador at London: + +You are instructed to deliver the following to his Majesty's Government +in reply to your Nos. 1,795 and 1,798 of March 15: The Government of the +United States has given careful consideration to the subjects treated in +the British notes of March 13 and March 15, and to the British Order in +Council of the latter date. + +These communications contain matters of grave importance to neutral +nations. They appear to menace their rights of trade and intercourse, +not only with belligerents but also with one another. They call for +frank comment in order that misunderstandings may be avoided. The +Government of the United States deems it its duty, therefore, speaking +in the sincerest spirit of friendship, to make its own view and position +with regard to them unmistakably clear. + +The Order in Council of the 15th of March would constitute, were its +provisions to be actually carried into effect as they stand, a practical +assertion of unlimited belligerent rights over neutral commerce within +the whole European area and an almost unqualified denial of the +sovereign rights of the nations now at peace. + +This Government takes it for granted that there can be no question what +those rights are. A nation's sovereignty over its own ships and +citizens under its own flag on the high seas in time of peace is, of +course, unlimited, and that sovereignty suffers no diminution in time of +war, except in so far as the practice and consent of civilized nations +has limited it by the recognition of certain now clearly determined +rights which it is conceded may be exercised by nations which are at +war. + +A belligerent nation has been conceded the right of visit and search, +and the right of capture and condemnation, if upon examination a neutral +vessel is found to be engaged in unneutral service or to be carrying +contraband of war intended for the enemy's Government or armed forces. + +It has been conceded the right to establish and maintain a blockade of +an enemy's ports and coasts and to capture and condemn any vessel taken +in trying to break the blockade. It is even conceded the right to detain +and take to its own ports for judicial examination all vessels which it +suspects for substantial reasons to be engaged in unneutral or +contraband service and to condemn them if the suspicion is sustained. +But such rights, long clearly defined both in doctrine and practice, +have hitherto been held to be the only permissible exceptions to the +principle of universal equality of sovereignty on the high seas as +between belligerents and nations not engaged in war. + +It is confidently assumed that his Majesty's Government will not deny +that it is a rule sanctioned by general practice that, even though a +blockade should exist and the doctrine of contraband as to unblockaded +territory be rigidly enforced, innocent shipments may be freely +transported to and from the United States through neutral countries to +belligerent territory, without being subject to the penalties of +contraband traffic or breach of blockade, much less to detention, +requisition, or confiscation. + +Moreover, the rules of the Declaration of Paris of 1856--among them that +free ships make free goods--will hardly at this day be disputed by the +signatories of that solemn agreement. + +His Majesty's Government, like the Government of the United States, have +often and explicitly held that these rights represent the best usage of +warfare in the dealings of belligerents with neutrals at sea. In this +connection I desire to direct attention to the opinion of the Chief +Justice of the United States in the case of the Peterhof, which arose +out of the civil war, and to the fact that that opinion was unanimously +sustained in the award of the Arbitration Commission of 1871, to which +the case was presented at the request of Great Britain. From that time +to the Declaration of London of 1909, adopted with modifications by the +Order in Council of the 23d of October last, these rights have not been +seriously questioned by the British Government. And no claim on the part +of Great Britain of any justification for interfering with the clear +rights of the United States and its citizens as neutrals could be +admitted. To admit it would be to assume an attitude of unneutrality +toward the present enemies of Great Britain, which would be obviously +inconsistent with the solemn obligations of this Government in the +present circumstances. And for Great Britain to make such a claim would +be for her to abandon and set at nought the principles for which she has +consistently and earnestly contended in other times and circumstances. + +The note of his Majesty's principal Secretary of State for Foreign +Affairs, which accompanies the Order in Council, and which bears the +same date, notifies the Government of the United States of the +establishment of a blockade which is, if defined by the terms of the +Order in Council, to include all the coasts and ports of Germany and +every port of possible access to enemy territory. But the novel and +quite unprecedented feature of that blockade, if we are to assume it to +be properly so defined, is that it embraces many neutral ports and +coasts, bars access to them, and subjects all neutral ships seeking to +approach them to the same suspicion that would attach to them were they +bound for the ports of the enemies of Great Britain, and to unusual +risks and penalties. + +It is manifest that such limitations, risks, and liabilities placed upon +the ships of a neutral power on the seas, beyond the right of visit and +search and the right to prevent the shipment of contraband already +referred to, are a distinct invasion of the sovereign rights of the +nation whose ships, trade, or commerce is interfered with. + +The Government of the United States is, of course, not oblivious to the +great changes which have occurred in the conditions and means of naval +warfare since the rules hitherto governing legal blockade were +formulated. It might be ready to admit that the old form of "close" +blockade, with its cordon of ships in the immediate offing of the +blockaded ports, is no longer practicable in the face of an enemy +possessing the means and opportunity to make an effective defense by the +use of submarines, mines, and air craft; but it can hardly be maintained +that, whatever form of effective blockade may be made use of, it is +impossible to conform at least to the spirit and principles of the +established rules of war. + +If the necessities of the case should seem to render it imperative that +the cordon of blockading vessels be extended across the approaches to +any neighboring neutral port or country, it would seem clear that it +would still be easily practicable to comply with the well-recognized and +reasonable prohibition of international law against the blockading of +neutral ports, by according free admission and exit to all lawful +traffic with neutral ports through the blockading cordon. + +This traffic would, of course, include all outward-bound traffic from +the neutral country and all inward-bound traffic to the neutral country, +except contraband in transit to the enemy. Such procedure need not +conflict in any respect with the rights of the belligerent maintaining +the blockade, since the right would remain with the blockading vessels +to visit and search all ships either entering or leaving the neutral +territory which they were in fact, but not of right, investing. + +The Government of the United States notes that in the Order in Council +his Majesty's Government give as their reason for entering upon a course +of action, which they are aware is without precedent in modern warfare, +the necessity they conceive themselves to have been placed under to +retaliate upon their enemies for measures of a similar nature, which the +latter have announced it their intention to adopt, and which they have +to some extent adopted, but the Government of the United States, +recalling the principles upon which his Majesty's Government have +hitherto been scrupulous to act, interprets this as merely a reason for +certain extraordinary activities on the part of his Majesty's naval +forces and not as an excuse for or prelude to any unlawful action. + +If the course pursued by the present enemies of Great Britain should +prove to be in fact tainted by illegality and disregard of the +principles of war sanctioned by enlightened nations, it cannot be +supposed, and this Government does not for a moment suppose, that his +Majesty's Government would wish the same taint to attach to their own +actions or would cite such illegal acts as in any sense or degree a +justification for similar practices on their part in so far as they +affect neutral rights. + +It is thus that the Government of the United States interprets the +language of the note of his Majesty's principal Secretary of State for +Foreign Affairs, which accompanies the copy of the Order in Council, +which was handed to the Ambassador of the United States by the +Government in London and by him transmitted to Washington. + +This Government notes with gratification that "wide discretion is +afforded to the prize court in dealing with the trade of neutrals in +such a manner as may in the circumstances be deemed just, and that full +provision is made to facilitate claims by persons interested in any +goods placed in the custody of the Marshal of the prize court under the +order." That "the effect of the Order in Council is to confer certain +powers upon the executive officers of his Majesty's Government," and +that "the extent to which these powers will be actually exercised and +the degree of severity with which the measure of blockade authorized +will be put into operation are matters which will depend on the +administrative orders issued by the Government and the decisions of the +authorities especially charged with the duty of dealing with individual +ships and cargoes, according to the merits of each case." + +This Government further notes with equal satisfaction the declaration of +the British Government that "the instructions to be issued by his +Majesty's Government to the fleet and to the customs officials and +executive committees concerned will impress upon them the duty of acting +with the utmost dispatch consistent with the object in view, and of +showing in every case such consideration for neutrals as may be +compatible with that object, which is succinctly stated, to establish a +blockade to prevent vessels from carrying goods for or coming from +Germany." + +In view of these assurances formally given to this Government, it is +confidently expected that the extensive powers conferred by the Order in +Council on the executive officers of the Crown will be restricted by +orders issued by the Government, directing the exercise of their +discretionary powers in such a manner as to modify in practical +application those provisions of the Order in Council, which, if strictly +enforced, would violate neutral rights and interrupt legitimate trade. +Relying on the faithful performance of these voluntary assurances by his +Majesty's Government, the United States takes it for granted that the +approach of American merchantmen to neutral ports situated upon the long +line of coast affected by the Order in Council will not be interfered +with when it is known that they do not carry goods which are contraband +of war or goods destined to or proceeding from ports within the +belligerent territory affected. + +The Government of the United States assumes with the greater confidence +that his Majesty's Government will thus adjust their practice to the +recognized rules of international law because it is manifest that the +British Government have adopted an extraordinary method of "stopping +cargoes destined for or coming from the enemy's territory," which, owing +to the existence of unusual conditions in modern warfare at sea, it will +be difficult to restrict to the limits which have been heretofore +required by the law of nations. Though the area of operations is +confined to "European waters, including the Mediterranean," so great an +area of the high seas is covered and the cordon of ships is so distant +from the territory affected that neutral vessels must necessarily pass +through the blockading force in order to reach important neutral ports +which Great Britain as a belligerent has not the legal right to blockade +and which, therefore, it is presumed she has no intention of claiming to +blockade. + +The Scandinavian and Danish ports, for example, are open to American +trade. They are also free, so far as the actual enforcement of the Order +in Council is concerned, to carry on trade with German Baltic ports, +although it is an essential element of blockade that it bear with equal +severity upon all neutrals. + +This Government, therefore, infers that the commanders of his Majesty's +ships of war, engaged in maintaining the so-called blockade, will be +instructed to avoid an enforcement of the proposed measures of +non-intercourse in such a way as to impose restrictions upon neutral +trade more burdensome than those which have been regarded as inevitable, +when the ports of a belligerent are actually blockaded by the ships of +its enemy. + +The possibilities of serious interruption of American trade under the +Order in Council are so many, and the methods proposed are so unusual, +and seem liable to constitute so great an impediment and embarrassment +to neutral commerce, that the Government of the United States, if the +Order in Council is strictly enforced, apprehends many interferences +with its legitimate trade which will impose upon his Majesty's +Government heavy responsibilities for acts of the British authorities +clearly subversive of the rights of neutral nations on the high seas. It +is, therefore, expected that the Majesty's Government, having considered +these possibilities, will take the steps necessary to avoid them, and, +in the event that they should unhappily occur, will be prepared to make +full reparation for every act which, under the rules of international +law, constitutes a violation of neutral rights. + +As stated in its communication of Oct. 22, 1914, "this Government will +insist that the rights and duties of the United States and its citizens +in the present war be defined by the existing rules of international law +and the treaties of the United States irrespective of the provisions of +the Declaration of London, and that this Government reserves to itself +the right to enter a protest or demand in each case, in which those +rights and duties so defined are violated or their free exercise +interfered with by the authorities of the British Government." + +In conclusion you will reiterate to his Majesty's Government that this +statement of the view of the Government of the United States is made in +the most friendly spirit, and in accordance with the uniform candor +which has characterized the relations of the two Governments in the +past, and which has been in large measure the foundation of the peace +and amity existing between the two nationals without interruption for a +century. + +BRYAN. + + + + +Germany's Conditions of Peace + +The First Authoritative German Presentation of the Idea + +By Dr. Bernhard Dernburg, Late German Colonial Secretary of State + + +_That Germany would be willing to make peace on the basis of a free +neutral sea, guaranteed by the powers, was indicated in a letter written +by Dr. Bernhard Dernburg, ex-Colonial Secretary of Germany, and read at +a pro-German mass meeting held in Portland, Me., on April 17, 1915. +After an explanatory note Dr. Dernburg divided into numbered clauses his +letter, as follows:_ + +(1) Whatever peace is concluded should be of a permanent nature; no +perfunctory patching up should be permitted. The horror of all the +civilized nations of the Old World slaughtering one another, every one +convinced of the perfect righteousness of their own cause--a recurrence, +if it could not be avoided absolutely, should be made most remote, so as +to take the weight from our minds that all this young blood of the best +manhood of Europe might be spilled in vain. + +(2) For this purpose it must be borne in mind that the world has changed +considerably since the last big conflagration, and that all the +countries striving for humanity and civilization are now one big family, +with interests, spiritual as well as commercial, interlocking to a +degree that no disturbance of any part of the civilized globe can exist +without seriously affecting the rest. A disturbance in one quarter must +make quite innocent bystanders involuntary victims, to the serious +detriment of spiritual peace and commercial pursuits. + +The great highway on which thoughts and things travel are the high seas. +I can with full authority disclaim any ambition by my country as to +world dominion. She is much too modest, on the one hand, and too +experienced, on the other hand, not to know that such a state will never +be tolerated by the rest. Events have shown that world dominion can +only be practiced by dominion of the high seas. The aim of Germany is to +have the seas, as well as the narrows, kept permanently open for the +free use of all nations in times of war as well as in times of peace. +The sea is nobody's property and must be free to everybody. The seas are +the lungs from which humanity draws a fresh breath of enterprise, and +they must not be stopped up. + +I, personally, would go so far as to neutralize all the seas and narrows +permanently by a common and effective agreement guaranteed by all the +powers, so that any infringement on that score would meet with the most +severe punishment that can be meted out to any transgressor. + +(3) A free sea is useless except combined with the freedom of cable and +mail communications with all countries, whether belligerent or not. I +should like to see all the cables jointly owned by the interested +nations and a world mail system over sea established by common consent. +But, more than this, an open sea demands an open policy. This means +that, while every nation must have the right, for commercial and fiscal +purposes, to impose whatever duties it thinks fit, these duties must be +equal for all exports and imports for whatever destination and from +whatever source. It would be tantamount to world empire, in fact, if a +country owning a large part of the globe could make discriminating +duties between the motherland and dominions or colonies as against other +nations. + +This has been of late the British practice. German colonies have always +been open to every comer, including the motherland, on equal terms. Such +equality of treatment should be the established practice for all the +future. The only alternative to an open sea and free intercourse policy +would be a Chinese wall around each country. If there is no free +intercourse every country must become self-sufficient. Germany has +proved that it can be done. But this policy would mean very high customs +barriers, discrimination, unbounded egotism, and a world bristling in +arms. While the free sea policy stands for the true aims of +international relations, namely, in exchange of goods, which must +benefit either party, to be mutually satisfactory, it will engender +friendly feeling among all the peoples, advance civilization, and +thereby have a sure tendency toward disarmament. + +(4) Germany has been taxed with disregarding treaty obligations, tearing +up a scrap of paper--a solemn engagement of international character +regarding Belgium. I have the less reason to enter into this matter +since--if it was a breach of international law at all--it has been +followed up by all other belligerents by destroying other parts of that +code so essential to the welfare of the community of nations. Two German +men-of-war have been destroyed in neutral waters. The protests that the +Government of this country had to make against Great Britain's treatment +of international sea law and the rights of the neutrals are too numerous +to be recounted. Chinese neutrality has been violated in the grossest +way. + +In disregard of all conventions, China is now being subjected to demands +incompatible with the rights of self-respecting nations. Egypt and +Cyprus have been annexed by Great Britain, disregarding all treaties. +Germany's diplomatic representatives have been driven from China, +Morocco, and Egypt--all countries sovereign at the time. The Declaration +of London, which had been set up by the Government of the United States +as the governing document, had to be dropped as such. There is +practically no part of international law that could stand the test. +Justice toward neutrals compels that international law should be +re-established in a codified form, with sufficient guarantees so as to +save, as far as possible, all the neutrals from possible implication in +a war in which they do not take part. + +(5) Germany does not strive for territorial aggrandizement in Europe; +she does not believe in conquering and subjugating unwilling +nations--this on account of a spirit of justice and her knowledge of +history. No such attempts have ever been permanently successful. + +Belgium commands the main outlet of Western German trade, is the natural +foreland of the empire, and has been conquered with untold sacrifice of +blood and treasure. It offers to German trade the only outlet to an open +sea and it has been politically established, maintained, and defended by +England in order to keep these natural advantages from Germany. + +The love for small peoples that England heralds now will never stand +investigation, as shown by the destruction of the small Boer republics. +So Belgium cannot be given up. However, these considerations could be +disregarded if all the other German demands, especially a guaranteed +free sea, were fully complied with and the natural commercial +relationship of Belgium to Germany was considered in a just and workable +form. In this case Germany will not fail when the times come to help in +rebuilding the country; in fact, she is doing so now. + +(6) Germany is a country smaller in size than California, but populated +thirty-five times as thickly as that State. She loves and fosters family +life, and sees her future in the raising of large families of healthy +children under the home roof and under the national flag. German parents +have no desire to expatriate every year a considerable number of their +children. This implies that her industrial development, which would +alone give occupation to the yearly increase of pretty nearly a million +people, should go on unhampered. + +The activity of her people should have an outlet in the development of +such foreign parts as need or wish for development. Great Britain has +shown very little foresight in constantly opposing such efforts, +playing Morocco into the hands of France, a nation that remained +stationary for forty-four years, with little more than half of the +population of Germany, and with a system equally undermining religion +and morality in keeping families small for the sake of worldly comforts. + +England, furthermore, constantly obstructed the German endeavor to +reclaim for the benefit of all of the world the granary in Mesopotamia. +A permanent peace will mean that this German activity must get a wide +scope without infringement upon the rights of others. Germany should be +encouraged to continue her activities in Africa and Asia Minor, which +can only result in permanent benefit to all the world. Americans have a +saying "that it will never do good to sit on a safety valve." + +There is nothing in the program of my country which would not be +beneficial to the rest of the world, especially the United States. That +this is so the events of the last months have conclusively shown, and a +better appreciation of what Germany really stands for has recently +taken place. So, if I plead the cause of my country, I am not pleading +as a German alone, but as a citizen of a country who wishes to be a +useful and true member of the universality of nations, contributing by +humanitarian aims and by the enhancement of personal freedom to the +happiness of even the lowliest members of the great world community. + +I am proud to say that I cannot only give this assurance, but produce +facts, and I beg to refer to the modern system of social reforms which +Germany inaugurated and carries through at an expense which is every +year larger by half than the expense of the military system. + +The brunt of this war has not been borne by the men who fight, but by +the women who suffer, and it will be one of the proudest and most +coveted achievements that Germany will gain in rewarding in a dignified +and permanently beneficial way the enormous sacrifices of womanhood, to +alleviate to the extent of the possible the hardships and sorrows that +this war has brought upon them. + +[Illustration] + + + + +The Allies' Conditions of Peace + +By Sir Edward Grey + + + Sir Edward Grey, presiding at a lecture on the war by Mr. + Buchan, delivered March 22, 1915, reviewed the origin and + causes of the conflict. Germany, he said, refused every + suggestion made to her for settling the dispute by means of a + conference. On her must rest for all time the appalling + responsibility for having plunged Europe into this war. One + essential condition of peace must be the restoration to + Belgium of her independence and reparation to her for the + cruel wrong done to her. England claims for herself and her + allies claim for themselves, and together will secure for + Europe, the right of independent sovereignty for the different + nations, the right to pursue a national existence in the light + of general liberty. + +The occasion of our meeting this afternoon is to hear a lecture from my +friend Mr. Buchan on the strategy of the war, and he is sure to make it +informing and interesting. His friends know him as a man of fine public +spirit and patriotism, in whom a crisis such as this in his country's +history arouses the noblest feelings. I am sorry that an engagement +makes it necessary for me to return soon to the Foreign Office, and +therefore it will be a great disappointment to me not to hear the whole +of the lecture. I take the opportunity to make my apology now, and also +to make one or two remarks on the origin and issues of the war. While we +are engaged in considering the particular methods by which the war may +be prosecuted to a successful conclusion do not let us lose sight even +for a moment of the character and origin of this war and of the main +issues for which we are fighting. Hundreds of millions of money have +been spent, hundreds of thousands of lives have been lost, and millions +have been maimed and wounded in Europe during the last few months. And +all this might have been avoided by the simple method of a conference or +a joint discussion between the powers concerned which might have been +held in London, at The Hague, or wherever and in whatever form Germany +would have consented to have it. It would have been far easier to have +settled by conference the dispute between Austria-Hungary and Serbia, +which Germany made the occasion for this war, than it was to get +successfully through the Balkan crisis of two years ago. Germany knew +from her experience of the conference in London which settled the Balkan +crisis that she could count upon our good will for peace in any +conference of the powers. We had sought no diplomatic triumph in the +Balkan Conference; we did not give ourselves to any intrigue; we pursued +impartially and honorably the end of peace, and we were ready last July +to do the same again. + +In recent years we have given Germany every assurance that no aggression +upon her would receive any support from us. We withheld from her one +thing--we would not give an unconditional promise to stand aside, +however aggressive Germany herself might be to her neighbors. Last July, +before the outbreak of the war, France was ready to accept a conference; +Italy was ready to accept a conference; Russia was ready to accept a +conference; and we know now that after the British proposal for a +conference was made, the Emperor of Russia himself proposed to the +German Emperor that the dispute should be referred to The Hague. Germany +refused every suggestion made to her for settling the dispute in this +way. On her rests now, and must rest for all time, the appalling +responsibility for having plunged Europe into this war and for having +involved herself and the greater part of the Continent in the +consequences of it. + +We know now that the German Government had prepared for war as only +people who plan can prepare. This is the fourth time within living +memory that Prussia had made war in Europe. In the Schleswig-Holstein +war, in the war against Austria in 1866, in the war against France in +1870, as we now know from all the documents that have been revealed, it +was Prussia who planned and prepared these wars. The same thing has +occurred again, and we are determined that it shall be the last time +that war shall be made in this way. + +We had assured Belgium that never would we violate her neutrality so +long as it was respected by others. I had given this pledge to Belgium +long before the war. On the eve of the war we asked France and Germany +to give the same pledge. France at once did so. Germany declined to give +it. When, after that, Germany invaded Belgium we were bound to oppose +Germany with all our strength, and if we had not done so at the first +moment, is there any one who now believes that when Germany attacked the +Belgians, when she shot down combatants and non-combatants in a way that +violated all the rules of war of recent times and the laws of humanity +of all time--is there any one who thinks it possible now that we could +have sat still and looked on without eternal disgrace? + +Now what is the issue for which we are fighting? In due time the terms +of peace will be put forward by our Allies in concert with us--in +accordance with the alliance that exists between us--and published to +the world. One essential condition must be the restoration to Belgium of +her independence, national life, and free possession of her territory, +and reparation to her as far as reparation is possible for the cruel +wrong done to her. That is part of the great issue for which we, with +our allies, are contending, and the great part of the issue is this--We +wish the nations of Europe to be free to live their independent lives, +working out their own form of government for themselves, and their own +national developments, whether they be great nations or small States, in +full liberty. This is our ideal. The German ideal--we have had it poured +out by German professors and publicists since the war began--is that of +the Germans as a superior people, to whom all things are lawful in the +securing of their own power, against whom resistance of any sort is +unlawful--a people establishing a domination over the nations of the +Continent, imposing a peace which is not to be liberty for every nation, +but subservience to Germany. I would rather perish or leave the +Continent altogether than live on it under such conditions. + +After this war we and the other nations of Europe must be free to live, +not menaced continually by talk of "supreme war lords," and "shining +armor," and the sword continually "rattled in the scabbard," and heaven +continually invoked as the accomplice of Germany, and not having our +policy dictated and our national destinies and activities controlled by +the military caste of Prussia. We claim for ourselves and our allies +claim for themselves, and together we will secure for Europe, the right +of independent sovereignty for the different nations, the right to +pursue a national existence, not in the shadow of Prussian hegemony and +supremacy, but in the light of equal liberty. + +All honor for ever be given from us whom age and circumstances have kept +at home to those who have voluntarily come forward to risk their lives, +and give their lives on the field of battle on land and on sea. They +have their reward in enduring fame and honor. And all honor be from us +to the brave armies and navies of our Allies, who have exhibited such +splendid courage and noble patriotism. The admiration they have aroused, +and their comradeship in arms, will be an ennobling and enduring memory +between us, cementing friendships and perpetuating national good will. +For all of us who are serving the State at home or in whatever capacity, +whether officials, or employers, or wage earners, doing our utmost to +carry on the national life in this time of stress, there is the +knowledge that there can be no nobler opportunity than that of serving +one's country when its existence is at stake, and when the cause is just +and right; and never was there a time in our national history when the +crisis was so great and so imperative, or the cause more just and right. + + + + +South Africa's Romantic Blue Paper + +Recording the Vision of "Oom Niklaas," the Boer Seer of Lichtenburg + +[From THE NEW YORK TIMES, April 18, 1915.] + + +The South African "Blue Paper" is out. It is unique. However widely and +however eagerly the official documents of the other countries involved +in the present war may have been read, they could not be called romantic +in any sense of the word. + +The "Blue Paper" issued by the Union of South Africa presents a distinct +contrast. In the third paragraph of the very first page of this weighty +document, which deals with the recent rebellion, is the following +unusual sentence: + + It is not surprising, then, that in the ferment aroused by the + gigantic struggle in Europe, which seemed to be shaking the + world to its foundations, young men began to see visions and + old men to dream dreams of what the outcome might be for South + Africa. + +And this is followed by a still stranger passage: + + The times were not without their signs. There was a seer in + Lichtenburg who had visions of strange import. Years ago and + long before any one in this country had dreamed of war he + beheld a great fight of bulls, six or seven of them, engaged + in bloody combat; a gray bull had emerged victorious from the + contest. + + The bulls signified the great nations of Europe, and the gray + bull was Germany. Thousands had discussed this strange vision + and had remembered its prophetic character when, later, war + actually broke out. The vision seemed ominous. Germany was + predestined to triumph. + +The seer is Niklaas van Rensburg, and he runs through this Government +report like a scarlet thread through gray homespun. It is around his +influence that the uprising of Sept. 15 is built. It is under his roof +that all manner of lurid conspiracies are hatched. Not only do his words +carry with the crowds that gather before his house to hear his prophecy, +but his warnings shape the actions of some of the Transvaal Generals. +The Government report will not go so far as to brand "Oom Niklaas" as a +hoax. Says the preface: + + It is desired to point out that the narrative of events has + been compiled in as objective a manner as possible, and that + it contains no statement which is not borne out by evidence in + possession of the Government. + +Evidently, to denounce visions of gray bulls as hocus-pocus would be to +describe a puzzling situation much too subjectively, since the +Government has apparently no evidence that these are not genuine +prophecy. The best the Government can do is to call them "extraordinary +and apparently quite authentic." + +But the extraordinary part of it is that an illiterate old soothsayer +should be considered important enough to be included in an official +report. + +His most famous and most influential prophecy, the one that will go down +in the history of South Africa, was that which concerned General de la +Rey and the fatal number 15. + +The prophecy which came back to the minds of van Rensburg's followers +when war broke out was one concerning General de la Rey, the intrepid +soldier who had commanded the Lichtenburg burghers in the Boer war and +since become President of the Western Transvaal Farmers' Association. +Van Rensburg had always admired General de la Rey. He had frequently +hinted to his circle that great things were in store for him. One of his +visions had been well known to General de la Rey and his friends for +some years. The report says: + + The seer had beheld the number 15 on a dark cloud from which + blood issued, and then General de la Rey returning home + without his hat. Immediately afterward came a carriage covered + with flowers. + + +[Illustration: H.M. CONSTANTINE I. + +King of Greece. + +_(Photo from P.S. Rogers.)_] + +[Illustration: JOHN REDMOND + +The great Irish leader, who says that Ireland has now taken her proper +place in the British Empire. + +_(Photo from P.S. Rogers.)_] + +This was several years ago. But the people did not forget the prophecy, +and when war broke out in Europe the Western Transvaal--in the +Lichtenburg-Wolmaransstad area, where van Rensburg's influence was +strongest--was immediately aflame. The Government does not seek to +minimize the importance of this influence: + + When the war at last broke out, the effect in Lichtenburg was + instantaneous. The prophecies of van Rensburg were eagerly + recalled, and it was remembered that he had foretold a day on + which the independence of the Transvaal would be restored. + + Certain individuals could be seen daily cleaning their rifles + and cartridges in order to be ready for the day. Within a week + of the declaration of war between England and Germany the + district was further profoundly stirred by the news (now + become generally known) that a great meeting of local burghers + was to be held at Treurfontein on the 15th of August, and that + certain local officers were commandeering their burghers to + come to this meeting armed and fully equipped for active + service. + +The outbreak of the war in Europe suddenly brought the Lichtenburger's +prophecy down to earth and crystallized the dream. The commandants were +evidently as convinced that independence was at hand as the crowd. + + Careful inquiries by other local officers brought to light the + following facts: + + Veld Kornet, I.E. Claassen, and Commandant F.G.A. Wolmarans of + Ward Onder Hartsrivier had been commandeering their own + burghers as well as their political friends since the first + week of August to come to the meeting which was to be held at + Treurfontein on the 15th. The instructions given to these men + were that they were to come with rifle, horse, saddle and + bridle, and as much ammunitions and provisions as they could + manage to bring. + + The meeting was to be addressed by General de la Rey, and it + was generally believed that the assembled burghers would march + on Potchefstroom immediately after the meeting. + +None doubted the truth of the seer's prophecy now. The Western Transvaal +took it for its guide with implicit confidence. + + The strange vision of the number 15, which had long been + common knowledge, was now discussed with intense interest. The + 15, it was said, signified the 15th of August, the day of the + meeting. That would be the day which had been so long + expected--the day of liberation. + + Van Rensburg was now the oracle. His prophecies with regard to + the great war had been signally fulfilled. Germany was at + grips with England, and her triumph was looked upon as + inevitable. + + The day had arrived to strike a blow for their lost + independence. Van Rensburg assured his following that the + Union Government was "finished." Not a shot would be fired. + The revolution would be complete and bloodless. + + Between the 10th and the 15th the plotters in Lichtenburg were + actively preparing for the day. There is evidence that German + secret agents were working in concert with them. When doubters + asked how they could be so certain that the 15 signified a day + of the month--and of the month of August in particular--they + were scornfully if illogically told that "in God's time a + month sooner or later made no difference." + +Of course, General de la Rey was the storm centre. He had been mentioned +in the same vision with the number 15 and it was taken for granted that +he would play the chief rôle in the Treurfontein meeting. De la Rey was +the unquestioned ruler of the Western Transvaal. The report states: + + He possessed an unrivaled influence and was looked up to as + the uncrowned king of the West. His attitude at the meeting + would sway the mass of his adherents and decide the question + of peace or war. + +Accordingly, General Louis Botha, Premier of the South African Union, +summoned General de la Rey to Pretoria some days before the meeting, and +persuaded him to use his best efforts to allay excitement. + +On the 15th the meeting was held. The situation was a tense one. Not one +of the burghers present doubted the outcome. Yet General de la Rey +exhorted them to remain cool and calm. He urged them to await the turn +of events in Europe. After his address a "strange and unusual silence" +was observed, says the "Blue Paper." + + A resolution was passed unanimously expressing complete + confidence in the Government to act in the best interests of + South Africa in the present world crisis. The burghers + appeared to have taken their leader's advice to heart, as they + dispersed quietly to their homes. + +All danger of a rebellious movement had apparently been averted. + +The only difficulty was that the prophecy of "Oom Niklaas" was still +standing. The fact that the uprising had failed did not seem in the +least to invalidate the vision. If the mysterious number did not mean +Aug. 15, then perhaps it did mean Sept. 15. + +Accordingly, preparations were laid for a rebellion for the latter date. +The plot was engineered by Lieut. Colonel Solomon G. Maritz and General +Christian Frederick Beyers. Maritz is a brilliant though unlettered +Colonel who won distinction in the Boer war, while Beyers was the +Commandant General of the South African Union forces. Beyers is dead +now; Maritz and some of the prominent men associated in the conspiracy +are in prison awaiting trial. + +Beyers and Maritz did not trust entirely to the prophecy of the seer of +Lichtenburg. Maritz had already obtained a guarantee from the +authorities in German West Africa, with whom he had been in +communication for some time, that in the event of Germany's victory the +Free State and the Transvaal would be given their freedom. He had +organized the back-veldt Boers into readiness to go over into German +West Africa at a moment's notice. In the Free State, General de Wet was +ready to aid the rebellion, and the Western Transvaal, already excited, +could easily be swung into line. + +The regiments of the west were to concentrate at Potchefstroom early in +September for their annual training. At that time the members of the +Government, among them General de la Rey, who is a member of the +Legislative Assembly, would be in Cape Town for the session of the +Parliament. + +Everything made the 15th of September look like an auspicious date for +the conspirators and those who believed in van Rensburg. But General de +la Rey still remained the storm centre. He was the factor which upset +all plans. He was the most difficult obstacle. A large personality, his +influence could never be discounted. If he could be induced to join the +conspiracy the cause was as good as won. Should he oppose the movement +it was lost, for neither Beyers nor Major Kemp, a leader in his district +in West Transvaal, could hope to do anything against General de la Rey +in the west. + +General de la Rey believed in the Lichtenburg prophet. A strong man, of +extraordinary force and intelligence, the whole course of his plans +might be altered by a new vision from van Rensburg. Beyers knew this, +says the report, and saw the way by which he should win the General to +the conspiracy. + + There is evidence to prove that General Beyers set himself + systematically to work in General de la Rey's mind in order to + induce him to join the conspiracy. + + General de la Rey was known to hold strong religious views, + which colored his whole outlook. The seer, van Rensburg, who + was always full of religious talk, had in this way acquired a + considerable amount of influence over General de la Rey. + + There is the best of evidence (General Beyers's own statement) + for the belief that he himself did not scruple to work on + General de la Rey's mind through his religious feelings. + +Just how Beyers accomplished this has not yet been revealed, but there +was material enough to his hand. The news from Europe was disquieting. +The German drive to Paris seemed irresistible. It looked as if in a week +or two Germany would have the Allies at her mercy. + +The prophet saw visions in which 40,000 German soldiers were marching up +and down the streets of London. He predicted significantly that the new +South African State would have at its head "a man who feared God." The +Government of Premier Botha and General Smuts, the Minister of Finance +and Defense, was "finished." He had seen the English leaving the +Transvaal and moving down toward Natal. When they had gone far away, a +vulture flew from among them and returned to the Boers and settled down +among them. That was Botha. As for Smuts, he would flee desperately to +England and would never be seen in South Africa again. Through it all +ran the strange number 15. + +This was excellent material for the conspirators. But the problem was to +get General de la Rey away from the Parliament session at Cape Town and +into the Potchefstroom camp at the psychological moment. Beyers sent a +series of urgent telegrams to Cape Town hinting at important business. +He emphasized the need for General de la Rey's immediate presence in +Potchefstroom. He had evidently not yet broached the conspiracy to the +General, but hoped only to get him to the camp at the critical moment +when his presence would prove the deciding factor. + +[Illustration: [map of South Africa]] + +Everything in Potchefstroom was in readiness. The Active Citizen Force +concentrated here--about 1,600 men--was to start the uprising. The +movement was to be promptly seconded throughout the Western Transvaal. +The "Vierkleur" was to be hoisted, and a march made on Pretoria, men and +horses being commandeered on the way. This was to take place on Tuesday, +the 15th. There was an attempt to line up the prophet to add to the +theatric effect, says the report. + + On the night of the 14th the "Prophet" himself was specially + sent for by motor car to be personally present on the 15th to + witness the consummation of his prophecy. The conspirators + hoped to profit by the impression he would undoubtedly make on + those who still hesitated. + + Unfortunately for them, however, the seer refused to leave his + home, saying that "it was not yet clear to him that that was + his path." + +The signal for the revolt was to be the arrival of General Beyers and +General de la Rey in the Potchefstroom camp. The latter was returning +from Cape Town via Kimberley, and was due to arrive in Potchefstroom on +the 15th. But for some reason he chose to come back through the Free +State, and by the 15th was only at Johannesburg. + +This upset plans. Beyers had to act quickly. He had his chauffeur +overhaul his motor car, equip it with new tubes and covers, in readiness +for "a long journey." In a short time the car was on its way to bring +General de la Rey from Johannesburg to Pretoria, where Beyers would meet +him. + +There was no time to be lost. It was too late to stage the rebellion for +the 15th, but Beyers arranged for it to be at 4 o'clock on the morning +of Wednesday, the 16th. + +General de la Rey arrived in Pretoria. General Beyers met him and asked +him to go immediately with him to Potchefstroom. + +The car came within sight of Johannesburg. A police cordon had been +thrown around the town for the purpose of capturing three desperadoes, +known as the "Foster gang," who were trying to escape in a motor car. +The police were instructed to stop all motors and to examine in +particular any car containing three men. + +Beyers's car held three men. It was racing at high speed. It was, of +course, challenged by the police and ordered to stop. But Beyers knew +nothing of the "Foster gang" and the reason for the police cordon. Keyed +up to the highest pitch of nervous tension, his immediate conclusion was +that his plot had been discovered and that the police were after him. He +believed he was trapped. + +Meanwhile, Major Kemp at Potchefstroom grew more and more anxious as the +hours slipped by. Midnight came, and no news of the two Generals. About +3 o'clock in the morning, says the report, an officer sharing the tent +of a Lieutenant Colonel by the name of Kock, who was Kemp's confidant, +was awakened by the entrance of a man. It proved to be Major Kemp. He +leaned over Kock's bed and whispered something in his ear. + +Kock, in a profoundly startled voice, exclaimed, "Oh, God!" + +Kemp left immediately, and Kock then whispered to his friend: "General +de la Rey is dood geskiet," (General de la Rey has been shot dead.) + +The effect of this news on South Africa can be imagined. The whole +country was aflame. This was what the number 15 meant. The General had +indeed "returned home without his hat, followed by a carriage full of +flowers." + +Report ran through every town that General de la Rey had been +deliberately assassinated by the Government. As a matter of fact, the +report states that the shooting was purely accidental, done by the +police under the belief that this motor car which would not halt at +their command contained the "Foster gang." Beyers exhibited the +motor-car everywhere, arousing sentiment to the highest pitch. + +The rest was easy. The rank and file, at least, now believed firmly in +the prophet. He had always said that General Botha would offer no +resistance, that the revolution would be bloodless, and thousands went +over to the cause led by Maritz and Beyers in this belief. But it was +not until Oct. 12 that martial law was proclaimed in South Africa. The +rebellion had begun. + + + + +THE BELLS OF BERLIN + +[From Punch of London.] + + + _(Which are said to be rung by order occasionally to announce + some supposed German victory.)_ + + The Bells of Berlin, how they hearten the Hun + _(Oh, dingle dong dangle ding dongle ding dee;)_ + No matter what devil's own work has been done + They chime a loud chant of approval, each one, + Till the people feel sure of their place in the sun + _(Oh, dangle ding dongle dong dingle ding dee.)_ + + If Hindenburg hustles an enemy squad + _(Oh, dingle dong dangle ding dongle ding dee,)_ + The bells all announce that the alien sod + Is damp with the death of some thousand men odd, + Till the populace smiles with a gratified nod + _(Oh, dangle ding dongle dong dingle ding dee.)_ + + If Tirpitz behaves like a brute on the brine + _(Oh, dingle dong dangle ding dongle ding dee,)_ + The bells with a clash and a clamor combine + To hint that the Hated One's on the decline, + And the city gulps down the good tidings like wine, + _(Oh, dangle ding dongle dong dingle ding dee.)_ + + The Bells of Berlin, are they cracked through and through + _(Oh, dingle dong dangle ding dongle ding dee,)_ + Or deaf to the discord like Germany, too? + For whether their changes be many or few, + The worst of them is that they never ring true, + _(Oh, dangle ding dongle dong dingle ding dee.)_ + + + + +Warfare and British Labor + +By Earl Kitchener, England's Secretary of State for War + + + In his speech delivered in the House of Lords on March 15, + 1915, Earl Kitchener calls upon the whole nation to work, not + only in supplying the manhood of the country to serve in the + ranks, but in supplying the necessary arms, ammunition, and + equipment for successful operations in various parts of the + world. + +For many weeks only trench fighting has been possible owing to the +climatic conditions and waterlogged state of the ground. During this +period of apparent inaction, it must not be forgotten that our troops +have had to exercise the utmost individual vigilance and resource, and, +owing to the proximity of the enemy's lines, a great strain has been +imposed upon them. Prolonged warfare of this sort might be expected to +affect the morale of an army, but the traditional qualities of patience, +good temper, and determination have maintained our men, though highly +tried, in a condition ready to act with all the initiative and courage +required when the moment for an advance arrived. The recently published +accounts of the fighting in France have enabled us to appreciate how +successfully our troops have taken the offensive. The German troops, +notwithstanding their carefully prepared and strongly intrenched +positions, have been driven back for a considerable distance and the +villages of Neuve Chapelle and L'Epinette have been captured and held by +our army, with heavy losses to the enemy. + +In these operations our Indian troops took a prominent part and +displayed fine fighting qualities. I will in this connection read a +telegram I have received from Sir John French: + + Please transmit following message to Viceroy India: I am glad + to be able to inform your Excellency that the Indian troops + under General Sir James Willcocks fought with great gallantry + and marked success in the capture of Neuve Chapelle and + subsequent fighting which took place on the 10th, 11th, 12th + and 13th of this month. The fighting was very severe and the + losses heavy, but nothing daunted them. Their tenacity, + courage and endurance were admirable and worthy of the best + traditions of the soldiers of India. + +I should like also to mention that the Canadian Division showed their +mettle and have received the warm commendation of Sir John French for +the high spirit and bravery with which they have performed their part. +Our casualties during the three days' fighting, though probably severe, +are not nearly so heavy as those suffered by the enemy, from whom a +large number of prisoners have been taken. + +Since I last spoke in this House substantial reinforcements have been +sent to France. They include the Canadian Division, the North Midland +Division, and the Second London Division, besides other units. These are +the first complete divisions of the Territorial Force to go to France, +where I am sure they will do credit to themselves and sustain the high +reputation which the Territorials have already won for themselves there. +The health of the troops has been remarkably good, and their freedom +from enteric fever and from the usual diseases incidental to field +operations is a striking testimony to the value of inoculation and to +the advice and skill of the Royal Army Medical Corps and its auxiliary +organizations. + +The French army, except for a slight withdrawal at Soissons, owing to +their reinforcements being cut off by the swollen state of the Aisne +River, have made further important progress at various points on the +long line they hold, especially in Champagne. Association with both our +allies in the western theatre has only deepened our admiration of their +resolute tenacity and fighting qualities. + +In the Eastern theatre the violent German attacks on Warsaw have failed +in their purpose, and a considerable concentration of German troops to +attack the Russian positions in East Prussia, after causing a +retirement, are now either well held or are being driven back. In the +Caucasus fresh defeats have been inflicted by the Russians on the Turks, +and the latter have also been repulsed by our forces in Egypt when they +attempted to attack the Suez Canal. The operations now proceeding +against the Dardanelles show the great power of the allied fleets, and, +although at the present stage I can say no more than what is given in +the public press on the subject, your Lordships may rest assured that +the matter is well in hand. + +The work of supplying and equipping new armies depends largely on our +ability to obtain the war material required. Our demands on the +industries concerned with the manufacture of munitions of war in this +country have naturally been very great, and have necessitated that they +and other ancillary trades should work at the highest possible pressure. +The armament firms have promptly responded to our appeal, and have +undertaken orders of vast magnitude. The great majority also of the +employees have loyally risen to the occasion, and have worked, and are +working, overtime and on night shifts in all the various workshops and +factories in the country. + +Notwithstanding these efforts to meet our requirements, we have +unfortunately found that the output is not only not equal to our +necessities, but does not fulfill our expectations, for a very large +number of our orders have not been completed by the dates on which they +were promised. The progress in equipping our new armies, and also in +supplying the necessary war material for our forces in the field, has +been seriously hampered by the failure to obtain sufficient labor, and +by delays in the production of the necessary plant, largely due to the +enormous demands not only of ourselves, but of our allies. + +While the workmen generally, as I have said, have worked loyally and +well, there have, I regret to say, been instances where absence, +irregular timekeeping, and slack work have led to a marked diminution +in the output of our factories. In some cases the temptations of drink +account for this failure to work up to the high standard expected. It +has been brought to my notice on more than one occasion that the +restrictions of trade unions have undoubtedly added to our difficulties, +not so much in obtaining sufficient labor, as in making the best use of +that labor. I am confident, however, that the seriousness of the +position as regards our supplies has only to be mentioned, and all +concerned will agree to waive for the period of the war any of those +restrictions which prevent in the very slightest degree our utilizing +all the labor available to the fullest extent that is possible. + +I cannot too earnestly point out that, unless the whole nation works +with us and for us, not only in supplying the manhood of the country to +serve in our ranks, but also in supplying the necessary arms, +ammunition, and equipment, successful operations in the various parts of +the world in which we are engaged will be very seriously hampered and +delayed. I have heard rumors that the workmen in some factories have an +idea that the war is going so well that there is no necessity for them +to work their hardest. I can only say that the supply of war material at +the present moment and for the next two or three months is causing me +very serious anxiety, and I wish all those engaged in the manufacture +and supply of these stores to realize that it is absolutely essential +not only that the arrears in the deliveries of our munitions of war +should be wiped off, but that the output of every round of ammunition is +of the utmost importance, and has a large influence on our operations in +the field. + +The bill which my noble friend is about to place before the House as an +amendment to the Defense of the Realm act is calculated to rectify this +state of things as far as it is possible, and, in my opinion, it is +imperatively necessary. In such a large manufacturing country as our own +the enormous output of what we require to place our troops in the field +thoroughly equipped and found with ammunition is undoubtedly possible, +but this output can only be obtained by a careful and deliberate +organization for developing the resources of the country so as to enable +each competent workman to utilize in the most useful manner possible all +his ability and energy in the common object which we all have in view, +which is the successful prosecution and victorious termination of this +war. [Cheers.] I feel sure that there is no business or manufacturing +firm in this country that will object for one moment to any delay or +loss caused in the product of their particular industry when they feel +that they and their men are taking part with us in maintaining the +soldiers in the field with those necessaries without which they cannot +fight. + +As I have said, the regular armament firms have taken on enormous +contracts vastly in excess of their ordinary engagements in normal times +of peace. We have also spread orders both in the form of direct +contracts and subcontracts over a large number of subsidiary firms not +accustomed in peace time to this class of manufacture. It will, I am +sure, be readily understood that, when new plant is available for the +production of war material, those firms that are not now so engaged +should release from their own work the labor necessary to keep the +machinery fully occupied on the production for which it is being laid +down, as well as to supply sufficient labor to keep working at full +power the whole of the machinery which we now have. + +I hope that this result will be attained under the provisions of the +bill now about to be placed before you. Labor may very rightly ask that +their patriotic work should not be used to inflate the profits of the +directors and shareholders of the various great industrial and armament +firms, and we are therefore arranging a system under which the important +armament firms will come under Government control, and we hope that +workmen who work regularly by keeping good time shall reap some of the +benefits which the war automatically confers on these great companies. + +I feel strongly that the men working long hours in the shops by day and +by night, week in and week out, are doing their duty for their King and +country in a like manner with those who have joined the army for active +service in the field. [Cheers.] They are thus taking their part in the +war and displaying the patriotism that has been so manifestly shown by +the nation in all ranks, and I am glad to be able to state that his +Majesty has approved that where service in this great work of supplying +the munitions of war has been thoroughly, loyally and continuously +rendered, the award of a medal will be granted on the successful +termination of the war. [Cheers.] + + + + +SAVIORS OF EUROPE + +By Rene Bazin + +[From King Albert's Book.] + + +I believe that King Albert and Belgium, in sacrificing themselves as +they have done for right, have saved Europe. + +I believe that in order to act with such decision it was essential to +have a King, that is to say, a leader responsible to history, of an old +and proved stock. + +I believe that for such action a Christian nation was essential, a +nation capable of understanding, of accepting, and of enduring the +ordeal. + +I believe that the first duty of the Allies will be to restore the +Kingdom of Belgium, and that the example shown by the King and his +people will be exalted in all civilized countries as long as the world +reads history. + + + + +Britain's Peril of Strikes and Drink + +By David Lloyd George, Chancellor of the Exchequer. + + + The gravity of labor disputes in the present time of national + danger was dealt with by Mr. Lloyd George in a speech to his + constituents at Bangor on Feb. 28, 1915, special reference + being made to the Clyde strike. He declared that compulsory + arbitration in war time was imperative, as it was "intolerable + that the lives of Britons should be imperiled for a matter of + a farthing an hour." This was essentially an engineers' war, + for equipment was even more needed than men. Mr. Lloyd George + went on to comment on the adverse effect of drinking upon + production, and added: "We have great powers to deal with + drink, and we shall use them." + +I have promised for some time to address a meeting at Bangor. I have +been unable to do so because Ministers of the Crown have been working +time and overtime, and I am sorry to say that we are not even able to +make the best of the day of rest, the urgency is so great, the pressure +is so severe. I had something to say today, otherwise I should not have +been here, and I had something to say that required stating at once. +This is the only day I had to spare. It is no fault of mine. It is +because we are entirely absorbed in the terrible task which has been +cast upon our shoulders. I happened to have met on Friday morning, +before I decided to come down here, one of the most eminent Scottish +divines, a great and old friend of mine, Dr. Whyte of Edinburgh. We were +discussing what I have got to say today. I remarked to him, "I have only +one day on which to say it, and as that is Sunday afternoon I am very +much afraid my constituents won't listen to me." He replied, "If they +won't have you, come to Scotland, and we will give you the best Sunday +afternoon meeting you ever had." But I thought I would try Wales first. +[Cheers.] He told me that in the Shorter Catechism you are allowed to do +works of charity and necessity, and those who tell me that this is not +work of necessity do not know the need, the dire need, of their country +at this hour. At this moment there are Welshmen in the trenches of +France facing cannon and death; the hammering of forges today is +ringing down the church bells from one end of Europe to the other. When +I know these things are going on now on Sunday as well as the week days +I am not the hypocrite to say, "I will save my own soul by not talking +about them on Sundays." [Cheers.] + +Do we understand the necessity? Do we realize it? Belgium, once +comfortably well-to-do, is now waste and weeping, and her children are +living on the bread of charity sent them by neighbors far and near. And +France--the German Army, like a wild beast, has fastened its claws deep +into her soil, and every effort to drag them out rends and tears the +living flesh of that beautiful land. The beast of prey has not leaped to +our shores--not a hair of Britain's head has been touched by him. Why? +Because of the vigilant watchdog that patrols the deep for us; and that +is my complaint against the British Navy. It does not enable us to +realize that Britain at the present moment is waging the most serious +war it has ever been engaged in. We do not understand it. A few weeks +ago I visited France. We had a conference of the Ministers of Finance of +Russia, France, Great Britain, and Belgium. Paris is a changed city. Her +gayety, her vivacity, is gone. You can see in the faces of every man +there, and of every woman, that they know their country is in the grip +of grim tragedy. They are resolved to overcome it, confident that they +will overcome it, but only through a long agony. + +No visitor to our shores would realize that we are engaged in exactly +the same conflict, and that on the stricken fields of the Continent and +along the broads and the narrows of the seas that encircle our islands +is now being determined, not merely the fate of the British Empire, but +the destiny of the human race for generations to come. [Cheers.] We are +conducting a war as if there was no war. I have never been doubtful +about the result of the war, [cheers,] and I will give you my reasons by +and by. Nor have I been doubtful, I am sorry to say, about the length of +the war and its seriousness. In all wars nations are apt to minimize +their dangers and the duration. Men, after all, see the power of their +own country; they cannot visualize the power of the enemy. I have been +accounted as a pessimist among my friends in thinking the war would not +be over before Christmas. I have always been convinced that the result +is inevitably a triumph for this country. I have also been convinced +that that result will not be secured without a prolonged struggle. I +will tell you why. I shall do so not in order to indulge in vain and +idle surmises as to the duration of the war, but in order to bring home +to my countrymen what they are confronted with, so as to insure that +they will leave nothing which is at their command undone in order, not +merely to secure a triumph, but to secure it at the speediest possible +moment. It is in their power to do so. It is also in their power, by +neglect, by sloth, by heedlessness, to prolong their country's agony, +and maybe to endanger at least the completeness of its triumphs. This is +what I have come to talk to you about this afternoon, for it is a work +of urgent necessity in the cause of human freedom, and I make no apology +for discussing on a Sunday the best means of insuring human liberty. +[Cheers.] + +I will give you first of all my reasons for coming to the conclusion +that after this struggle victory must wait on our banners if we properly +utilize our resources and opportunities. The natural resources of the +allied countries are overwhelmingly greater than those of their enemies. +In the man capable of bearing arms, in the financial and economic +resources of these countries, in their accessibility to the markets of +the world through the command of the sea for the purpose of obtaining +material and munitions--all these are preponderatingly in favor of the +allied countries. But there is a greater reason than all these. Beyond +all is the moral strength of our cause, and that counts in a struggle +which involves sacrifices, suffering, and privation for all those +engaged in it. A nation cannot endure to the end that has on its soul +the crimes of Belgium. [Loud cheers.] The allied powers have at their +disposal more than twice the number of men which their enemies can +command. You may ask me why are not those overwhelming forces put into +the field at once and this terrible war brought to a triumphant +conclusion at the earliest possible moment. In the answer to that +question lies the cause of the war. The reason why Germany declared war +is in the answer to that question. + +In the old days when a nation's liberty was menaced by an aggressor a +man took from the chimney corner his bow and arrow or his spear, or a +sword which had been left to him by an ancestry of warriors, went to the +gathering ground of his tribe, and the nation was fully equipped for +war. That is not the case now. Now you fight with complicated, highly +finished weapons, apart altogether from the huge artillery. Every rifle +which a man handles is a complicated and ingenious piece of mechanism, +and it takes time. The German arsenals were full of the machinery of +horror and destruction. The Russian arsenals were not, and that is the +reason for the war. Had Russia projected war, she also would have filled +her arsenals, but she desired above everything peace. ["Hear, hear!"] I +am not sure that Russia has ever been responsible for a war of +aggression against any of her European neighbors. Certainly this is not +one of them. She wanted peace, she needed peace, she meant peace, and +she would have had peace had she been left alone. She was at the +beginning of a great industrial development, and she wanted peace in +order to bring it to its full fructification. She had repeatedly stood +insolences at the hands of Germany up to the point of humiliation, all +for peace, and anything for peace. + +Whatever any one may say about her internal Government, Russia was +essentially a peaceable nation. The men at the head of her affairs were +imbued with the spirit of peace. The head of her army, the Grand Duke +Nicholas, [cheers,] is about the best friend of peace in Europe. Never +was a nation so bent on preserving peace as Russia was. It is true +Germany six or seven years ago had threatened to march her legions +across the Vistula and trample down Russia in the mud, and Russia, +fearing a repetition of the same threat, was putting herself in a +position of defense. But she was not preparing for any aggression, and +Germany said, "This won't do. We don't like people who can defend +themselves. We are fully prepared. Russia is not. This is the time to +plant our dagger of tempered steel in her heart before her breastplates +are forged." That is why we are at war. [Cheers.] Germany hurried her +preparations, made ready for war. She made a quarrel with the same cool +calculation as she had made a new gun. She hurled her warriors across +the frontier. Why? Because she wanted to attack somebody, a country that +could not defend herself. It was the purest piece of brigandage in +history. [Cheers.] All the same there remains the fact that Russia was +taken at a disadvantage, and is, therefore, unable to utilize beyond a +fraction the enormous resources which she possesses to protect her soil +against the invader. France was not expecting war, and she, therefore, +was taken unawares. + +What about Britain? We never contemplated any war of aggression against +any of our neighbors, and therefore we never raised an army adequate to +such sinister purposes. During the last thirty years the two great +political parties in the State have been responsible for the policy of +this country at home and abroad. For about the same period we have each +been governing this country. For about fifteen years neither one party +nor the other ever proposed to raise an army in this country that would +enable us to confront on land a great Continental power. What does that +mean? We never meant to invade any Continental country. [Cheers.] That +is the proof of it. If we had we would have started our great armies +years ago. We had a great navy, purely for protection, purely for the +defense of our shores, and we had an army which was just enough to deal +with any small raid that happened to get through the meshes of our navy, +and perhaps to police the empire. That was all, no more. But now we have +to assist neighbors becoming the victims of a power with millions of +warriors at its command, and we have to improvise a great army, and +gallantly have our men flocked to the standard. [Cheers.] We have raised +the largest voluntary army that has been enrolled in any country or any +century--the largest voluntary army, and it is going to be larger. +[Cheers.] + +I saw a very fine sample of that army this morning at Llandudno. I +attended a service there, and I think it was about the most thrilling +religious service I have ever been privileged to attend. There were men +there of every class, every position, every calling, every condition of +life. The peasant had left his plow, the workman had left his lathe and +his loom, the clerk had left his desk, the trader and the business man +had left their counting houses, the shepherd had left his sunlit hills, +and the miner the darkness of the earth, the rich proprietor had left +his palace, and the man earning his daily bread had quitted his humble +cottage. There were men there of diverse and varied faiths who +worshipped at different shrines--men who were in array against each +other months ago in bitter conflict, and I saw them march with one step +under one flag to fight for the same cause, and I saw them worship the +same God. What has brought them together? The love of their native land, +resentment for a cruel wrong inflicted upon the weak and defenseless. +More than that, what brought them together was that instinct which comes +to humanity at critical times when the moment has arrived to cross +rivers of blood in order to rescue humanity from the grip of some +strangling despotism. [Cheers.] They have done nobly. That is what has +brought them together, but we want more, [cheers,] and I have no doubt +we will get more. + +If this country had produced an army which was equal in proportion to +its population to the number of men under arms in France and in Germany +at the present moment there would be three millions and a half in this +country and 1,200,000 in the Colonies. [Cheers.] That is what I mean +when I say our resources are quite adequate to the task. It is not our +fight merely--it is the fight of humanity. [Cheers.] The allied +countries between them could raise armies of over twenty millions of +men. Our enemies can put in the field barely half that number. + +Much as I should like to talk about the need for more men, that is not +the point of my special appeal today. We stand more in need of equipment +than we do of men. This is an engineers' war, [cheers,] and it will be +won or lost owing to the efforts or shortcomings of engineers. I have +something to say about that, for it involves sacrifices for all of us. +Unless we are able to equip our armies our predominance in men will +avail us nothing. We need men, but we need arms more than men, and delay +in producing them is full of peril for this country. You may say that I +am saying things that ought to be kept from the enemy. I am not a +believer in giving any information which is useful to him. You may +depend on it he knows, but I do not believe in withholding from our own +public information which they ought to possess, because unless you tell +them you cannot invite their co-operation. The nation that cannot bear +the truth is not fit for war, and may our young men be volunteers, while +the unflinching pride of those they have left behind them in their deed +of sacrifice ought to satisfy the most apprehensive that we are not a +timid race, who cannot face unpleasant facts! The last thing in the +world John Bull wants is to be mollycoddled. The people must be told +exactly what the position is, and then we can ask them to help. We must +appeal for the co-operation of employers, workmen, and the general +public; the three must act and endure together, or we delay and maybe +imperil victory. We ought to requisition the aid of every man who can +handle metal. It means that the needs of the community in many respects +will suffer acutely vexatious, and perhaps injurious, delay; but I feel +sure that the public are prepared to put up with all this discomfort, +loss, and privation if thereby their country marches triumphantly out of +this great struggle. [Cheers.] We have every reason for confidence; we +have none for complacency. Hope is the mainspring of efficiency; +complacency is its rust. + +We laugh at things in Germany that ought to terrify us. We say, "Look at +the way they are making their bread--out of potatoes, ha, ha!" Aye, that +potato-bread spirit is something which is more to dread than to mock at. +I fear that more than I do even von Hindenburg's strategy, efficient as +it may be. That is the spirit in which a country should meet a great +emergency, and instead of mocking at it we ought to emulate it. I +believe we are just as imbued with the spirit as Germany is, but we want +it evoked. [Cheers.] The average Briton is too shy to be a hero until he +is asked. The British temper is one of never wasting heroism on needless +display, but there is plenty of it for the need. There is nothing +Britishers would not give up for the honor of their country or for the +cause of freedom. Indulgences, comforts, even the necessities of life +they would willingly surrender. Why, there are two millions of them at +this hour who have willingly tendered their lives for their country. +What more could they do? If the absorption of all our engineering +resources is demanded, no British citizen will grudge his share of +inconvenience. + +But what about those more immediately concerned in that kind of work? +Here I am approaching something which is very difficult to talk +about--I mean the employers and workmen. I must speak out quite plainly; +nothing else is of the slightest use. For one reason or another we are +not getting all the assistance we have the right to expect from our +workers. Disputes, industrial disputes, are inevitable; and when you +have a good deal of stress and strain, men's nerves are not at their +best. I think I can say I always preserve my temper in these days--I +hope my wife won't give me away--[laughter]--and I have no doubt that +the spirit of unrest creeps into the relations between employer and +workmen. Some differences of opinion are quite inevitable, but we cannot +afford them now; and, above all, we cannot resort to the usual method of +settling them. + +I suppose I have settled more labor disputes than any man in this hall, +and, although those who only know me slightly may be surprised to hear +me say it, the thing that you need most is patience. If I were to give a +motto to a man who is going to a conference between employers and +workmen I would say: "Take your time; don't hurry. It will come around +with patience and tact and temper." But you know we cannot afford those +leisurely methods now. Time is victory, [cheers,] and while employers +and workmen on the Clyde have been spending time in disputing over a +fraction, and when a week-end, ten days, and a fortnight of work which +is absolutely necessary for the defense of the country has been set +aside, I say here solemnly that it is intolerable that the life of +Britain should be imperiled for the matter of a farthing an hour. + +Who is to blame? That is not the question, but--How it is to be stopped? +Employers will say, "Are we always to give way?" Workmen say, "Employers +are making their fortunes out of an emergency of the country; why are +not we to have a share of the plunder?" ["Hear, hear!" and laughter.] +There is one gentleman here who holds that view. [Laughter.] I hope he +is not an engineer. [Renewed laughter.] "We work harder than ever," say +the workmen. All I can say is, if they do they are entitled to their +share. But that is not the point--who is right? Who is wrong? They are +both right and they are both wrong. The whole point is that these +questions ought to be settled without throwing away the chances of +humanity in its greatest struggle. [Cheers.] There is a good deal to be +said for and there is a vast amount to be said against compulsory +arbitration, but during the war the Government ought to have power to +settle all these differences, and the work should go on. The workman +ought to get more. Very well, let the Government find it out and give it +to him. If he ought not, then he ought not to throw up his tools. The +country cannot afford it. It is disaster, and I do not believe the +moment this comes home to workmen and employers they will refuse to +comply with the urgent demand of the Government. There must be no delay. + +There is another aspect of the question which it is difficult and +dangerous to tackle. There are all sorts of regulations for restricting +output. I will say nothing about the merits of this question. There are +reasons why they have been built up. The conditions of employment and +payment are mostly to blame for those restrictions. The workmen had to +fight for them for their own protection, but in a period of war there is +a suspension of ordinary law. Output is everything in this war. + +This war is not going to be fought mainly on the battlefields of Belgium +and Poland. It is going to be fought in the workshops of France and +Great Britain; and it must be fought there under war conditions. There +must be plenty of safeguards and the workman must get his equivalent, +but I do hope he will help us to get as much out of those workshops as +he can, for the life of the nation depends on it. Our enemies realize +that, and employers and workmen in Germany are straining their utmost. +France, fortunately, also realizes it, and in that land of free +institutions, with a Socialist Prime Minister, a Socialist Secretary of +State for War, and a Socialist Minister of Marine, the employers and +workmen are subordinating everything to the protection of their +beautiful land. + +I have something more to say about this, and it is unpleasant. I would +wish that it were not I, but somebody else that should say it. Most of +our workmen are putting every ounce of strength into this urgent work +for their country, loyally and patriotically. But that is not true of +all. There are some, I am sorry to say, who shirk their duty in this +great emergency. I hear of workmen in armaments works who refuse to work +a full week's work for the nation's need. What is the reason? They are a +minority. The vast majority belong to a class we can depend upon. The +others are a minority. But, you must remember, a small minority of +workmen can throw a whole works out of gear. What is the reason? +Sometimes it is one thing, sometimes it is another, but let us be +perfectly candid. It is mostly the lure of the drink. They refuse to +work full time, and when they return their strength and efficiency are +impaired by the way in which they have spent their leisure. Drink is +doing us more damage in the war than all the German submarines put +together. + +What has Russia done? [Cheers.] Russia, knowing her deficiency, knowing +how unprepared she was, said, "I must pull myself together. I am not +going to be trampled upon, unready as I am. I will use all my +resources." What is the first thing she does? She stops the drink. +[Cheers.] I was talking to M. Bark, the Russian Minister of Finance, a +singularly able man, and I asked, "What has been the result?" He said, +"The productivity of labor, the amount of work which is put out by the +workmen, has gone up between 30 and 50 per cent." [Cheers.] I said, "How +do they stand it without their liquor?" and he replied, "Stand it? I +have lost revenue over it up to £65,000,000 a year, and we certainly +cannot afford it, but if I proposed to put it back there would be a +revolution in Russia." That is what the Minister of Finance told me. He +told me that it is entirely attributable to the act of the Czar himself. +It was a bold and courageous step--one of the most heroic things in the +war. [Cheers.] One afternoon we had to postpone our conference in Paris, +and the French Minister of Finance said, "I have got to go to the +Chamber of Deputies, because I am proposing a bill to abolish absinthe." +[Cheers.] Absinthe plays the same part in France that whisky plays in +this country. It is really the worst form of drink used; not only among +workmen, but among other classes as well. Its ravages are terrible, and +they abolished it by a majority of something like 10 to 1 that +afternoon. [Cheers.] + +That is how those great countries are facing their responsibilities. We +do not propose anything so drastic as that--we are essentially moderate +men. [Laughter.] But we are armed with full powers for the defense of +the realm. We are approaching it, I do not mind telling you, for the +moment, not from the point of view of people who have been considering +this as a social problem--we are approaching it purely from the point of +view of these works. We have got great powers to deal with drink, and we +mean to use them. [Cheers.] We shall use them in a spirit of moderation, +we shall use them discreetly, we shall use them wisely, but we shall use +them fearlessly, [cheers,] and I have no doubt that, as the country's +needs demand it, the country will support our action and will allow no +indulgence of that kind to interfere with its prospects in this terrible +war which has been thrust upon us. + +There are three things I want you to bear in mind. The first is--and I +want to get this into the minds of every one--that we are at war; the +second, that it is the greatest war that has ever been fought by this or +any other country, and the other, that the destinies of your country and +the future of the human race for generations to come depend upon the +outcome of this war. What does it mean were Germany to win? It means +world power for the worst elements in Germany, not for Germany. The +Germans are an intelligent race; they are undoubtedly a cultivated race; +they are a race of men who have been responsible for great ideas in this +world. But this would mean the dominance of the worst elements among +them. If you think I am exaggerating just you read for the moment +extracts from the articles in the newspapers which are in the ascendency +now in Germany about the settlement which they expect after this war. I +am sorry to say I am stating nothing but the bare, brutal truth. I do +not say that the Kaiser will sit on the throne of England if he should +win. I do not say that he will impose his laws and his language on this +country as did William the Conqueror. I do not say that you will hear +the tramp, the noisy tramp of the goose step in the cities of the +Empire. [Laughter.] I do not say that Death's Head Hussars will be +patrolling our highways. I do not say that a visitor, let us say, to +Aberdaron, will have to ask a Pomeranian policeman the best way to +Hell's Mouth. [Loud laughter.] That is not what I mean. What I mean is +that if Germany were triumphant in this war it would practically be the +dictator of the international policy of the world. Its spirit would be +in the ascendant. Its doctrines would be in the ascendant; by the sheer +power of its will it would bend the minds of men in its own fashion. +Germanism in its later and worst form would be the inspiriting thought +and philosophy of the hour. + +Do you remember what happened to France after 1870? The German armies +left France, but all the same for years after that, and while France was +building up her army, she stood in cowering terror of this monster. Even +after her great army was built France was oppressed with a constant +anxiety as to what might happen. Germany dismissed her Ministers. Had it +not been for the intervention of Queen Victoria in 1874 the French Army +would never have been allowed to be reconstructed, and France would +simply have been the humble slave of Germany to this hour. What a +condition for a country! And now France is fighting not so much to +recover her lost provinces, she is fighting to recover her self-respect +and her national independence; she is fighting to shake off this +nightmare that has been on her soul for over a generation, [cheers,] a +France with Germany constantly meddling, bullying, and interfering. And +that is what would happen if Russia were trampled upon, France broken, +Britain disarmed. We should be left without any means to defend +ourselves. We might have a navy that would enable us, perhaps, to resent +insult from Nicaragua, [laughter,] we might have just enough troops, +perhaps, to confront the Mad Mullah--I mean the African specimen. [Loud +laughter.] + +Where would the chivalrous country be to step in to protect us as we +protected France in 1874? America? If countries like Russia and France, +with their huge armies, and the most powerful navy in the world could +not face this terrible military machine, if it breaks that combination, +how can America step in? It would be more than America can do to defend +her own interests on her own continent if Germany is triumphant. They +are more unready than we were. Ah! but what manner of Germany would we +be subordinate to? There has been a struggle going on in Germany for +over thirty years between its best and its worst elements. It is like +that great struggle which is depicted, I think, in one of Wagner's great +operas between the good and the evil spirit for the possession of the +man's soul. That great struggle has been going on in Germany for thirty +or forty years. At each successive general election the better elements +seemed to be getting the upper hand, and I do not mind saying I was one +of those who believed they were going to win. I thought they were going +to snatch the soul of Germany--it is worth saving, it is a great, +powerful soul--I thought they were going to save it. So a dead military +caste said, "We will have none of this," and they plunged Europe into +seas of blood. Hope was again shattered. Those worst elements will +emerge triumphant out of this war if Germany wins. + +What does that mean? We shall be vassals, not to the best Germany, not +to the Germany of sweet songs and inspiring, noble thoughts--not to the +Germany of science consecrated to the service of man, not to the Germany +of a virile philosophy that helped to break the shackles of +superstition in Europe--not to that Germany, but to a Germany that +talked through the raucous voice of Krupp's artillery, a Germany that +has harnessed science to the chariot of destruction and of death, the +Germany of a philosophy of force, violence, and brutality, a Germany +that would quench every spark of freedom either in its own land or in +any other country in rivers of blood. I make no apology on a day +consecrated to the greatest sacrifice for coming here to preach a holy +war against that. [Great cheering.] + +Concluding this speech in Welsh, Mr. Lloyd George said: "War is a time +of sacrifice and of service. Some can render one service, some another, +some here and some there. Some can render great assistance, others but +little. There is not one who cannot help in some measure, whether it be +only by enduring cheerfully his share of the discomfort. In the old +Welsh legend there is a story of a man who was given a series of what +appeared to be impossible tasks to perform ere he could reach the +desires of his heart. Among other things he had to do was to recover +every grain of seed that had been sown in a large field and bring it all +in without one missing by sunset. He came to an anthill and won all the +hearts and enlisted the sympathies of the industrious little people. +They spread over the field, and before sundown the seed was all in +except one, and as the sun was setting over the western skies a lame ant +hobbled along with that grain also. Some of us have youth and vigor and +suppleness of limb; some of us are crippled with years or infirmities, +and we are at best but little ants. But we can all limp along with some +share of our country's burden, and thus help her in this terrible hour +to win the desire of her heart." [Loud cheers.] + +Mr. Lloyd George and his party returned after the meeting to Llandudno, +where today he will inspect the First Brigade of the Welsh Army Corps. + + +BRITAIN'S MUNITIONS COMMITTEE + +_LONDON, April 14.--The Times says this morning:_ + +An important step has at last been taken by the Government toward the +solution of the supreme problem of the moment--the organization of the +national output of munitions of war. A strong committee has been +appointed, with full power to deal with the question. It is to be +representative of not merely one department but of the Treasury, +Admiralty, War Office, and Board of Trade; in short, of the whole +Government, with all its resources and authority. + +The Chancellor of the Exchequer is to be Chairman, and the first meeting +will be held today. + +The work before the committee is nothing less than the organization of +the whole resources of the nation for the production of materials of +war. Hitherto, in spite of many warnings and some half-hearted attempts +at organization, there has been no central, co-ordinated authority. + +It is an open secret that it was during Lloyd George's visit to France +at the beginning of the year that he first appreciated the scientific +organization of labor which our Allies had already achieved. Not content +with utilizing and extending the existing armament plant, the French +have long since diverted several temporarily irrelevant industries to +the main business of waging war. + +_With reference to the drink problem The Times says:_ + +While the Government is apparently considering the expropriation of all +the licensed houses in the kingdom, this far-reaching proposal has not +at present gone beyond the stage of inquiry and consultation, and it is +tolerably certain that it will go no farther unless it is assured of no +serious opposition in the country. + +The Parliamentary Opposition, the leaders of which have been consulted +in a general way, are believed to stand by the principle which they +followed since the war began, namely: They are not prepared to quarrel +with any measure which the Government regards as necessary for the +active prosecution of the war so long as no injustice is done to +established interests. + + + + +Italy's Evolution as Reflected in Her Press + + + Italy has reached her present position through the development + of a policy the steps of which have been brightly illuminated + by the press of the Peninsula. The most important of these + steps may be designated as follows: + + First, the declaration of the Government to the German + Ambassador at Rome on Aug. 1, 1914, that it did not regard the + conflict begun by Austria-Hungary and Germany as a defensive + war and hence not binding on it as a member of the Triple + Alliance, and its subsequent declarations of "neutrality," of + "armed neutrality," and of "a neutrality which is likely to be + broken if the interests of the country demanded it." + + Second, Premier Salandra's speech of Dec. 3 for "armed, alert + neutrality," and the declaration in Parliament on Dec. 5 by + Signor Giolitti showing that the declaration of Aug. 1 was + merely a repetition of one conveyed to Austria in the Summer + of 1913, when Austria had suggested that she aid Bulgaria in + subduing Serbia. + + Third, the arrival in Rome in December of the former German + Imperial Chancellor, Prince von Bülow, as Extraordinary + Ambassador to the Quirinal, for the purpose of keeping Italy + neutral, and, when this seemed doubtful, to negotiate between + Italy and Austria what territorial compensation the latter + would render the former in order to perpetuate the neutrality + of the Peninsula. + + Aside from the influence of these official acts, which invited + press comments, the Italian papers have paid keen attention to + the conduct of the war, concerning which the Government could + not, on account of its neutrality, offer an opinion. Among + such incidents of conduct have been the British declaration of + a protectorate over Egypt and the bombardment of the + Dardanelles by the Franco-British fleet. + + In order to weigh the full significance of the comments of the + Italian papers on these subjects a word may be said concerning + the status of the journals themselves: + + The most conspicuous is the Idea Nazionale, a paper of Rome + practically dedicated to intervention. Then comes the + conservative and solid Corriere della Sera of Milan, whose + Rome correspondent, Signor Torre, has peculiar facilities for + learning the intentions of the Ministry. Both the Tribuna and + the Giornale d'Italia are considered Government organs, but, + while the former rarely comments with authority except on + accomplished facts, the latter, although often voicing the + unofficial and personal opinions of Premier Salandra, who is + known to be privately in favor of intervention, also voices + the sentiment of former Premier Giolitti, who is known to be + for continued neutrality. The Stampa of Turin is a Giolitti + organ. + + The Osservatore Romano is the well-known Vatican organ, which + naturally supports Austria, a Catholic country, where such + support does not conflict too pointedly with the sentiments of + Catholics in neutral countries. Other clerical papers with + strong pro-German opinions and with German industrial backing + are the Corriere d'Italia and the Popolo Romano. The + Messaggero of Rome and the Secolo of Milan, influenced by + important British and French interests, are for intervention + at all costs. The Avanti is the Socialist organ. + + +CAUSES OF ITALY'S NEUTRALITY. + +_From the Corriere della Sera, Aug. 2, 1914:_ + +Italy's decision to remain neutral is based on three causes: + +1. The terms of the Triple Alliance call for Italy's participation in +war only if Germany or Austria-Hungary is attacked by another power. The +present war is not a defensive war, but one brought on by +Austria-Hungary and Germany. + +2. The spirit of the alliance demands that no warlike action be taken +involving the three countries without full mutual discussion and +agreement. Italy was not even consulted by Austria-Hungary and the +course of events was brought to her knowledge only by news agency +reports. + +3. When Italy went to war with Turkey, Austria prevented her from acting +with a free hand in the Adriatic and the Aegean, thereby prolonging the +war at an enormous cost in men and money to Italy. Italy would be +justified in acting in precisely the same manner now toward +Austria-Hungary. + +_From Secolo, Sept. 3, 1914:_ + +During the last few days we have assisted at a deplorable example of our +Latin impressionability. The first German victories have made Italians +waver, and Germany is taking advantage of the popular nervousness, and +is working on public opinion in countless ways. Italy is invaded by +Germans, who assert that Germany will issue victorious, and that her +commercial and industrial activity will not be arrested. We are +inundated with German letters, telegrams, newspapers, and private +communications from German commercial houses, all asserting that Germany +will win, and that Italy should keep neutral, to be on the winning side. + +We are not of that opinion. We cannot lose sight of England. Germany +knows that England represents her great final danger, hence the +bitterness with which she speaks of England in all the above +communications. England is not playing a game of bluff. She is not +impotent by land, as Germany says, and may give Germany a mortal blow by +sea. The war may possibly end in a titanic duel between England and +Germany. In this case England will go through with the struggle calmly +and grimly, smiling at difficulties and disregarding losses. + +_From the Corriere d'Italia, Sept. 17, 1914:_ + +We do not know what Italy will do tomorrow, but we are of opinion that, +in face of all eventualities, it is the elementary duty of patriotism +not to trouble the calm expectancy of public opinion and not to mar the +task of the Government, already difficult enough. + +_From the Messaggero, Sept. 18, 1914:_ + +The Italian Nation is beginning to ask itself whether it ought to remain +until the conclusion of peace in an attitude of resignation. It is +necessary for us with clear vision to take our place in the fighting +line. While the destinies of a new Europe are being decided on the +battlefields of Champagne, Belgium, Galicia, and Hungary the Government +is assuming a grave responsibility before the country in deciding to be +disinterested in the struggle. The keen popular awakening which is +manifested in demonstrations, meetings, and public discussions shows +that growing preoccupation and varied uneasiness will not cease so long +as the fate of the country is not decided at the right time by men who +by temperament are best fitted to be interpreters of the soul and the +interests of the nation. + +_From the Corriere della Sera, Oct. 4, 1914:_ + +Many who now invoke a war of liberation complained at the beginning of +August that Italy had not helped her allies. The declaration of +neutrality then seemed the greatest act of wisdom performed by Italy for +many years. Now, however, we must think of the future. Let us remember +that the powers will only support our wishes when they have need of us. +Gratitude and sympathy are mere phrases when the map of Europe is being +redrawn. If Italy desire to safeguard her interests in the Adriatic she +cannot postpone her decision till the last moment. Italy is isolated; +the Triple Alliance treaty cannot defend her even if it be still in +force. Italy and Austria, as Count Nigra and Prince Bülow said, must be +allies or enemies. Can they remain allies after what has happened? + + +ITALY'S ARMED, ALERT NEUTRALITY. + +_From the Idea Nazionale, Dec. 3, 1914:_ + +The day on which Italy will undertake to realize those aspirations she +will find full and unconditional support. Great Britain is favorable to +Italy gaining supremacy in the Adriatic, which is so necessary to her +existence. If Great Britain needs Italy's support in Africa it will be +only a matter of one or two army corps, and such an expedition, while +having a great moral and political importance, would not diminish +Italian military power in Europe. + +_From the Avanti, Dec. 4, 1914:_ + +Premier Salandra's speech was Jesuitical. It contents the Jingoes by +certain dubious phrases, while discontenting the Clerical and +Conservative neutrals. + +_From the Corriere d'Italia, Dec. 4, 1914:_ + +This much-applauded word, "aspirations," was not (in Signor Salandra's +speech) meant to refer to any particular belligerent, and the Cabinet +consequently has no program. + +_From the Stampa, Dec. 5, 1914:_ + +Austria, before the war, disclaimed any intention of occupying Serbia, +and her declaration cannot be disregarded by Italy, whose relations with +Austria have been always conditional on the maintenance of the Balkan +status quo, which Austria now threatens to alter. The Italian Government +cannot ignore this condition, especially as during the Libyan war +Austria menaced Italy, unless she desisted from bombarding the Albanian +coast. Thus the Serbian situation may constitute a new factor. + +_From the Corriere della Sera, Jan. 31, 1915:_ + +Italy's true policy is to come to a friendly agreement with the Slavs, +which will guarantee their mutual interests. Italy wants a national +settlement in the Balkan Peninsula, independent of the great powers. In +no circumstances can Italy bind her lot to Austria-Hungary's policy. + + +BRITISH PROTECTORATE OVER EGYPT. + +_From the Idea Nazionale, Dec. 19, 1914:_ + +The British Government's act merely sanctions a situation already +existing in fact since 1882. In our governing circle it is not thought +that the change of régime in Egypt will occasion, at least for the time +being, any great modifications in public law in relation to the +international statutes regulating the position of foreigners in Egypt. + +_From the Tribuna, Dec. 20, 1914:_ + +The Mediterranean agreement, in which Italy, too, has taken part, +implicitly recognized the actual status England had acquired in Egypt. +Now the war has demonstrated the judicial incongruity of a Turkish +province in which and for which the English had to carry out warlike +operations against Turkey. The protectorate already existed in +substance, and Great Britain might now even have proclaimed annexation. + +_From the Giornale d'Italia, Dec. 19, 1914:_ + +Great Britain had for some months been preparing this event, which +legally regulates a situation which has existed in fact. The present +situation has been brought about without any disturbance, like +everything that England does, in silence, neatly and without disturbing +any one. Nobody can be astonished at Great Britain's declaration of a +protectorate over Egypt. + + +THE DARDANELLES. + +_From the Giornale d'Italia, March 7, 1915:_ + +It will be extremely difficult for Italy longer to remain neutral. The +attack by the allied fleet on the Dardanelles has brought up three great +problems affecting Italian interests. The first of these problems is the +new rule to allow Russia access to the Mediterranean through the +Dardanelles; the second concerns the equilibrium of the Balkans, and the +third the partition of Asiatic Turkey, which affects the equilibrium of +the Eastern Mediterranean. It is impossible for Italy to keep out of the +solution of such problems unless she be satisfied to see not only the +powers of the Triple Entente settle these affairs according to their +interests, but also the small but audacious and resolute nation, Greece. + +_From the Messaggero, March 17, 1915:_ + +The cession of the Trentino would be valueless if it implied the +abandonment of Italian aspirations in Venetia Giulia, (land west of the +Julian Alps,) in the Adriatic, and in Asia Minor, and submission to +German policy. We cannot obtain by neutrality the territory we want, +nor, if we renew the Triple Alliance, can we make an agreement with +Great Britain for our security in the Mediterranean. + + +VON BUELOW'S WORK AND PLEA FOR INTERVENTION. + +_From the Corriere della Sera, Feb. 8, 1915:_ + +Happily our aspirations in the Adriatic, our interests in the Central +Mediterranean and in Northern Africa coincide admirably with the policy +which it is easiest for us to pursue. Unless we profit with the utmost +prudence, with the greatest circumspection, by the present rare +opportunity which history offers us to set the finishing touches to our +unification, to render our land and sea frontiers immeasurably more +secure than they are, to harmonize our foreign with our domestic policy, +we shall experience after the close of the war the darkest and most +difficult days of our existence. The crisis through which we are passing +is the gravest we have yet encountered. Let us make it a crisis of +growth, not a symptom of irreparable senile decay. + +_From the Stampa, March 15, 1915:_ + +There is surely no possibility of an Austro-Italian war without German +intervention. If Italy attacks Austria, Germany will attack Italy; nor +will Austria make concessions, for Austria, like Turkey, never changes +her system, even when wrong. + +_From the Giornale d'Italia, March 19, 1915:_ + +Italy either can obtain peacefully immediate and certain satisfaction of +her sacred aspirations, together with the protection of her great and +complex interests, or she can have recourse to the supreme test of arms. +It is absurd to think that Italy, after seven months of preparation, +when she is in an especially advantageous diplomatic and military +position, will be satisfied with the Biblical mess of pottage or +less--mere promises. + +However negotiations go the great national interests must be protected +at any costs. This is the firm will of the country and the duty of the +Government. For fifty years Italy has made great sacrifices to be an +element of peace in Europe. The equilibrium and peace of the Continent +were broken through the fault of others against Italy's desire and +without consulting her. Others have the responsibility for the present +terrible crisis, but Italy would be unworthy if she did not issue with +honor and advantage from the conflict. Greece, Rumania, and Bulgaria are +awaiting Italy's move and will follow suit. Thus Italian influence is +great at this moment, which must be seized, as it is in her power to +contribute to the formation of a new international combination. + + + + +SOME RUSES DE GUERRE. + +By A.M. WAKEMAN. + + +(Respectfully submitted to the British Government.) + + Great Churchill's plan to fool the foe is simple and unique-- + You only take a neutral flag and hoist it at your peak. + Thereby a ship with funnels four looks just like one with two, + Because the pattern has been changed on her Red, White, and Blue. + + Now, cannot you improve on this, and so protect your towns, + As well as all your gallant ships at anchor in the Downs? + Old London, with the Stars and Stripes, might well pass for New York; + And Baltimore for Maryland instead of County Cork. + + To mouth of Thames (N-O-R-E) just add four letters more, + Then hoist the Danish ensign, and, behold, 'tis Elsinore! + And Paris will be Washington if, on the Eiffel Tower, + They raise the flag of U.S.A., (a well-known neutral power.) + + Your sailors might wear Leghorn hats, and out upon the blue, + They'd look like sons of Italy, (at present neutral, too;) + And, if upon your King the Hun would try to work some ill, + With pickelhaube on his head he'd pass for Uncle Bill. + + + + +THE EUROPEAN WAR AS SEEN BY CARTOONISTS + + +[German Cartoon] + +The Fatal Moment In America + +[Illustration: _--From Simplicissimus, Munich._ + +"Citizens of America, protect your existence and your honor by the force +of arms!" + +"Sorry, but just now we happen to be sold out!"] + + +[English Cartoon] + +Top Dog + +[Illustration: _--From The Bystander, London._] + + +[German Cartoon] + +England's "Splendid Isolation" + +[Illustration: _--From Simplicissimus, Munich._] + + +[English Cartoon] + +The Sultan "Over the Water" + +[Illustration: _--From Punch, London._ + +MEHMED V. (to Constantinople): "I don't want to leave you, but I think I +ought to go."] + + +[German Cartoon] + +Churchill's Flag Swindle + +[Illustration: _--From Simplicissimus, Munich._ + +"Really I don't care to go out any more in these disgraceful rags!" + +"Cheer up, Mrs. Britannia, just steal something better!"] + + +[German Cartoon] + +May God Punish England! + +[Illustration: [Reproduction of a cover design of a widely advertised +issue of "Simplicissimus," the German comic weekly published in Munich. +The legend at the top reads, "May God Punish England!"]] + + +[Italian Cartoon] + +Speeches of the Kaiser in 1915 + +[Illustration: _--From L'Asino, Rome._ + +JANUARY: "I alone will defeat the world." + +MARCH: "Naturally, with God's help." + +JUNE: "All goes badly--the fault is not mine." + +DECEMBER: "The fault is his."] + + +[English Cartoon] + +Our Embarrassing Cousin + +[Illustration: _--From The Bystander, London._ + +JONATHAN: "In spite 'f my noo-trality, John, d'ye notice how +'ffectionate I am?--how I sympathise with yer?" + +JOHN BULL: "M--m'yes, that's all right, but I should like it better just +now if you'd leave my hands a bit freer to fight those rascals as they +deserve!"] + + +[German Cartoon] + +John Bull at the Costumer's + +[Illustration: _--From Simplicissimus, Munich._ + +"What costume shall I choose so that none will recognize me?" + +"Why don't you go as a gentleman?"] + + +[English Cartoon] + +William o' the Wisp + +[Illustration: _--From Punch, London._] + + +[German Cartoon] + +American Neutrality + +[Illustration: _--From Meggendorfer-Blaetter, Munich._] + + +[English Cartoon] + +What the War Office Has to Put Up With + +[Illustration: _--From Punch, London._ + +Demonstration of a device for catching bombs from airships.] + + +[German Cartoon] + +Va Banque! + +[Illustration: _--From Lustige Blaetter, Berlin._ + +The Monte Carlo habitue's last play.] + + +[Italian Cartoon] + +The Final Earthquake--In Germany + +[Illustration: _--From L'Asino, Rome._ + +By the grace of God and the will of the nation. + +[The falling columns are marked "feudalism" and "militarism."]] + + +[German Cartoon] + +From the English Eating-House + +[Illustration: _--From Lustige Blaetter, Berlin._ + +England utilizes the refuse of her domestic establishment as cannon +fodder.] + + +[English Cartoon] + +The Bread-Winner + +[Illustration: _--From Punch, London._] + + +[Italian Cartoon] + +Italy's Neutrality + +[Illustration: _--From L'Asino, Rome._ + +Every day the dance becomes more difficult. + +(The dancer is the German Ambassador, von Buelow.)] + + +[English Cartoon] + +Busy Packing + +[Illustration: _--From The Bystander, London._ + +SULTAN MEHMED: "'Am I there'?!! I should rather think I am!! We're being +'moved,' you know. And the hammering outside is something too awful!!" + +His ISLAMIC MAJESTY HADJI GUILLIOUN: "Kismet, my boy, Kismet! Besides, I +feel sure you'll be awfully pleased with Asia Minor--so quiet!--we +Mussulmans always feel so at home there, too!" + +(The English preface their telephone conversations with "Are you there?" +instead of "Hello!")] + + +[German Cartoon] + +In the Cause of Culture + +[Illustration: _--From Simplicissimus, Munich._ + +"Papa has gone away to Europe to protect the nice Englishmen from the +savages. If you are very good, perhaps he will bring you back a nice +German beefsteak."] + + +[English Cartoon] + +Queen Elizabeth in the Dardanelles + +[Illustration: _--From Punch, London._ + +(The reference is to the huge British dreadnought that bears the name of +England's famous queen.)] + + +[French Cartoon] + +The "Sick Man" At Home + +[Illustration: _--From Le Rire, Paris._ + +The camel with two humps. + +(The original title was "_Le Chameau à deux Boches_." In French slang a +German is a _bosche_.)] + + +[German Cartoon] + +"The Cripple-Entente" + +[Illustration: _--From Lustige Blaetter, Berlin._ + +As it must finally be.] + + +[French Cartoon] + +Beware of the John-Bull-Dog! + +[Illustration: _--From Le Rire, Paris._ + +"Go lie down, contemptible little England!" + +"What I get my teeth into I hang onto!"] + + +[German Cartoon] + +The Great Question + +[Illustration: _--From Lustige Blaetter, Berlin._ + +"If I remain neutral, will you remain neutral?" + +"If you were neutral, would he be neutral?" + +"If he is neutral then we will remain neutral." + +"If we remain neutral, will they remain neutral?" + +"And you also, neutral?" + +"Shall you remain neutral?"] + + + + +Facsimile of a Belgian Bread-Check + + +[Illustration: The card is in French and Flemish. The face reads: "No. +6,715. Gratis. City of Brussels, Department of Public Supplies. +Committee No. 1. Street ----. Card issued to the family ----, living at +----, for the daily delivery of ---- portions. To be presented at +----Street. N.B.--Victuals will be delivered only to the father or +mother of a family." The reverse side bears stamps showing the dates on +which rations were issued to the holder. The original is somewhat larger +than this reproduction.] + + + + +TO A GERMAN APOLOGIST + +By BEATRICE BARRY. + + + You may seek and find if you will, perchance, + Excuses for your attack on France, + And perhaps 'twill not be so hard to show + Why England finds you her deadly foe; + There are reasons old and reasons new + For feelings hard 'twixt the Russ and you, + But talk as you may till the Judgment Day, + You cannot ever explain away-- + Belgium. + + You have used both speech and the printed word + To have your side of the story heard, + We have listened long, we have listened well + To everything that you had to tell, + We would fain be fair, but it seems as though + You _can't_ explain what we wish to know, + And when lesser points have been cleared away, + You are sure to fail us when we say-- + "Belgium!" + + You may rant and talk about British gold, + And opinions that are bought and sold, + But facts, no matter how hard to face, + Are facts, and the horrors taking place + In that little land, pledged to honor's creed, + Make your cause a luckless one to plead. + There are two sides? True. But when both are heard, + Our sad hearts echo a single word-- + "Belgium!" + + We are not misled by the savage tales + An invading army never fails + To have told of it. There are false and true, + And we want to render you your due. + But our hearts go out to that ravished land + Where a few grim heroes make their stand, + And our ears hear faintly, from overseas, + The wailing cry of those refugees-- + _"Belgium--Belgium--Belgium!"_ + + + + +America's Neutrality + +By Count Albert Apponyi + +[From THE NEW YORK TIMES, March 28, 1915.] + + + The letter which follows was sent by Count Albert Apponyi to + Dr. Nicholas Murray Butler, and was written in the latter part + of last month in Budapest. Count Apponyi, who is one of the + most distinguished of contemporary European statesmen, was + President of the Hungarian Parliament from 1872 to 1904. He + was formerly Minister of Public Instruction, Privy Councillor, + Member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague, and + Member of the Interparliamentary Union. + +I have been greatly interested in your account of American neutrality +in the present European crisis. I must confess that I had seen it in a +somewhat different light before and that some of the facts under our +notice still appear to me as hardly concordant with the magnificent +attitude of impartiality, nay, not even with the international duties of +neutrality, which intellectual and official America professes to keep. + +We cannot explain to ourselves that a neutral power should suffer the +selling of arms and ammunition by its citizens to one of the belligerent +parties, when no such selling to the other party is practically +feasible; we cannot understand why America should meekly submit to the +dictates of England, declaring all foodstuffs and manufacturing +materials contraband of war, with not even a show of right and with the +clear and openly proclaimed intention of starving Germany and +Austria-Hungary; why, on the other hand, America should use an almost +threatening language against Germany, and against Germany alone, when +the latter country announces reprisals against the English trade, which, +under given circumstances, can be considered only as acts of legitimate +self-defense against an enemy who chooses to wage war not on our +soldiers only, but on our women and children, too. + +With all the respect we feel for the United States, we cannot find this +attitude of their Government either fair or dignified. I offer these +remarks in no spirit of uncalled-for criticism, but because I see how +much the moral authority of the United States and their splendid +situation as the providential peace makers of some future--alas! still +far off--day has been impaired by the aforementioned proceedings. We +cannot help considering them as so many acts of ill-disguised hostility +against ourselves and of compliance with our foes. How can you expect, +then, to have your good offices accepted with confidence by both +belligerent parties when the times are ripe for them? It seems like the +throwing away of a magnificent opportunity, and I think that those who, +like yourself, cherish for your country the noble ambition of being some +day the restorer of peace, should exert themselves to prevent practices +which, if continued, would disable her to play any such part. + +In your letter you strike the keynote of what I cannot help considering +the partiality of Americans for the Entente powers. It is the idea that +"in the western area of conflict, at least, there is an armed clash +between the representatives of dynastic institutions and bureaucratic +rule on the one hand with those of representative government and liberal +institutions on the other." I can understand that it impresses some +people that way, but I beg to enter a protest against this +interpretation of the conflict. + +Liberal or less liberal institutions have nothing to do with it in the +west; the progress of democracy in Germany will not be stopped by her +victory, it will rather be promoted by it, because the masses are +conscious of bearing the burden of war and of being the main force of +its vigorous prosecution, and they are enlightened and strong enough to +insist on a proper reward. Rights cannot be denied to those who +fulfilled duties involving self-sacrifice of the sublimest kind with +unflinching devotion. No practical interest of democracy then is +involved in the conflict of the western powers. + +As to their representing liberal institutions in a higher or lower +degree, I am perfectly willing to admit England's superior claims in +that respect, but I am not at all inclined to recognize such superiority +in modern France, republic though she calls herself. The omnipresence +and omnipotence of an obtruding bureaucratic officialism is just what it +has been under the old monarchy; religious oppression has only changed +sides, but it still flourishes as before. In former times the Roman +Catholic religion was considered as a State religion and in her name +were dissent and Freemasonry oppressed; today atheism is the official +creed, and on its behalf are Catholic believers oppressed. + +Separation of Church and State, honestly planned and loyally fulfilled +in America has been perverted in modern France into a network of +vexations and unfair measures against the Church and her faithful +servants; the same term is used and this misleads you to cover widely +different meanings. In a word, it is a perfect mistake to consider +modern France as the "sweet land of liberty" which America is. A German +citizen, with less show of political rights, enjoys more personal +freedom than is granted to a French one, if he happens to differ from +the ruling mentality. + +So stand things in the western area of conflict. But how about the east? +You are kind enough to admit in your letter that "from this (the +aforementioned) standpoint of course the appearance of Russia among the +allies is an anomaly and must be explained on other grounds." Anomaly is +a rather tame word to characterize the meaning of this appearance of +Russia. I should hardly designate it by this term. + +She does not "appear among the allies." She is the leading power among +them; it is her war, as Mr. Tsvolski, the Russian Ambassador to Paris, +very properly remarked: "C'est ma guerre." She planned it, she gave +Austria-Hungary no chance to live on peaceful terms with her neighbors, +she forced it upon us, she drew France into it by offering her a bait +which that poor country could not resist, she created the situation +which England considered as her best opportunity for crushing Germany. I +must repeat it over and over again: it is in its origin a Russian war, +with a clearly outlined Russian program of conquest. + +Here, then, you have a real clash between two principles; not shades of +principles as these may subsist between Germany and her western foes, +but principles in all their essential features; not between different +tints of gray, but between black and white, between affirmation and +negation; affirmation of the principle of human dignity, liberty, +safety, and negation of the same; western evolution and eastern +reaction. + +I wonder why those prominent Americans who are so deeply impressed by +the comparatively slight shades of liberalism differentiating Germany +from England and France are not struck by the absolute contrast existing +between Muscovitism and western civilized rule as represented by +Austria-Hungary and Germany; that they overlook the outstanding fact +that while in the western area the conflict has nothing whatever to do +with the principles embodied in the home policy of the belligerents, in +the east, on the other hand, these principles will in truth be affected +by the results of war, since a Russian victory, followed by a Russian +conquest, would mean the retrogression of western institutions and the +corresponding expansion of eastern ones over a large area and large +numbers of men. + +It is the consciousness of fighting in this war which has been forced +upon us, against the direst calamity threatening our kind and on behalf +of the most precious conquests of progress and civilization, which +enhances our moral force so as to make it unconquerable. The hope which +I expressed in my first letter, that Serbia's doom would soon be +fulfilled, has been prostrated by the mistakes of an over-confident +Commander in Chief; but that means postponement only and does not alter +the prospects of war in their essentials. + +Good progress is achieved in the campaign against Russia; a chapter of +it may be brought to a happy close before long. The spirit of the +country shows no symptom of weakening; it is really wonderful what a +firm resolve pervades our whole people, though every man between twenty +and forty-two stands in the field, and though the losses are frightful. +Economically we hold out easily; the expenses of war are defrayed by +inner loans, which give unexpected results; every bit of arable land is +tilled as in time of peace, the old, the women and the half-grown youths +doing the work of their absent supporters, neighbors assisting each +other in a spirit of brotherhood truly admirable. In cases of urgent +need we have the prisoners of war, whose number increased to nearly +300,000 (in Austria-Hungary alone) and to whom it is a real boon to find +employment in the sort of work they are accustomed to. + +The manufacturing interest, of course, suffers severe losses; but the +number of the unemployed is rather less than usual, since a greater part +of the "hands" is absorbed by the army. In a word, though the sufferings +of war are keenly felt, they are less severe than had been expected, and +there is not the smallest indication of a break-down. The area of +Germany, Austria, and Hungary taken as a whole is self-supporting with +regard to foodstuffs. The English scheme of starving us is quite as +silly as it is abominable. England can, of course, inflict severe losses +on our manufacturers by closing the seas against their imports and +exports; but this is not a matter of life and death, such as the first +reprisals of Germany, if successful, may prove to England. + +Generally speaking, it seems likely that England will be caught in the +net of her own intrigue. She did not scruple to enlist the services of +Japan against her white enemies, but this act of treachery will be +revenged upon herself. The latest proceedings of Japan against China can +have one meaning only--the wholesale expulsion of the white man from +Eastern Asia. The Japs do not care one straw who wins in Europe; they +seized upon their own opportunity for their own purposes. England only +gets her deserts; but how do Americans feel about it? Can America be +absolved from a certain amount of responsibility for what may soon prove +imminent danger to herself? Has not her partiality for England given +encouragement to methods of warfare unprecedented in the history of +civilized nations and fruitful of evil consequences to neutral nations? + +To us, in our continental position, all this means much less than it +means to you. It does not endanger our prospects. We feel comparatively +stronger every day. Our losses, though enormous, are only one-half of +those of the Entente armies, according to the Geneva Red Cross Bureau's +calculation. The astounding number of unwounded prisoners of war which +Russia loses at every encounter, and even in spaces of time between two +encounters, shows that the moral force of her army is slowly giving way, +while the vigor of our troops is constantly increasing. After six months +of severe fighting our military position is certainly stronger than the +position of the Entente powers, though the latter represent a population +of 250,000,000, (English colonies and Japan not included,) against the +140,000,000 of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Turkey. Who can doubt on +which side superior moral power fights? Who can doubt, therefore, what +the ultimate result promises to be? + +If it takes more time to bring matters to a decision--and a decision +must be obtained at any price, if there is to follow a period of +permanent peace--part, at least, of the responsibility for the horrors +of the protracted war, for the slaughter of many hundred thousands more +of human beings, rests on America. But for the American transports of +guns and ammunition, the power of Russia would give way in a shorter +time, considering her enormous losses in that respect and her inability +to supplement them from her own workshops. + +It is very edifying that American pacifists are exerting themselves +against the current of militarism which appears to spread in their +country; but wouldn't it be better still, more to the purpose and +certainly practically more urgent, to insist upon a truly neutral +attitude of the great republic, to protest against her feeding the war +by providing one belligerent side with its implements? Do American +pacifists really fail to see that their country by such proceedings +disables herself from being the peacemaker of the future? Do they think +it immaterial from the standpoint of her moral power, as well as of her +material interests, how central Europe, a mass of 120,000,000, think of +her, feel about her? + +I hope my readers will not find fault with me for using such plain +language. My well-known enthusiastic regard for the great American +commonwealth makes it unnecessary that I should protest against the +charge of meaning disrespect or anything else whatever but a sincere +desire to state with absolute sincerity how we feel about these matters, +in what light they appear to us. I think America must know this, because +it is part of the general situation she has to reckon with when shaping +her policies. I fervently hope these policies will remain in concordance +with the great principles on which the commonwealth is built and with +the teaching embodied in that farewell address which is read once a year +in Congress and in which the greatest American emphatically warns his +countrymen from becoming entangled in the conflicts of European nations. + +A few words more about the future of Europe may be said on this +occasion. I have read with the keenest interest your own and Mr. +Carnegie's statements concerning a future organization of Europe on the +pattern of the United States. My personal views concerning this +magnificent idea have been expressed in anticipation in my America +lectures of the year 1911. Allow me to quote my own words: + + Analogies are often misleading, the most obvious ones + especially so. Nothing seems more obvious than to draw + conclusions from the existing union of American States to a + possible union of European nations; but no fancied analogy is + to be applied with greater caution than this one. The American + Union's origin was the common struggle of several English + colonies, now States, for their emancipation; unity of purpose + was the main principle of their growth, union its natural + result. + + Europe, on the other hand, is, in her origin and in her + present state, a compound of conflicting interests and + struggling potentialities. Mutual antagonism remained the + principle of growth embodied in the several national lives. + The juridical formula of this system is the principle of + national sovereignty in its most uncompromising interpretation + and most limitless conception. As such it is the natural + result of a historical growth mainly filled with antagonism; + in the consciousness of (European) nations it lives as + synonymous with national honor, as something above doubt and + discussion. + +Let me add to this the following remarks: + +1. Any sort of union among the nations of Europe appears impossible if +it is meant to include Russia. Russia represents eastern mentality, +which implies an unadmissible spirit of aggression and of conquest. It +seems to be a law of nature on the old Continent that eastern nations +should wish to expand to the west as long as they are powerful. Not to +mention the great migration of nations which gave birth to mediaeval +organizations, you may follow this law in the history of the Tartars, of +the Turks, and of Russia herself. The spirit of aggressiveness vanishes +only when decay sets in, which is still far from being the case of +Russia, or when a nation is gradually converted to Occidental mentality, +which, I hope, will some day be her happy lot. But till then, and that +may mean a century or two, any sort of union including Russia would mean +a herd of sheep including a wolf. + +2. What I hope then, for the present, as the most desirable result of +the war, is a thorough understanding between the nations of the Western +European Continent, construction of a powerful political block, +corresponding to the area of western mentality, in close connection with +America; such a block would discourage aggression from the east; it +would urge Russia on the path of reform and home improvement. England +would be welcome to join it, on condition of renouncing those +pretensions to monopolizing the seas which are as constant a menace to +peace as Russian aggressiveness is. So we should have, if not "the +United States of Europe," which at present lies beyond the boundary +lines of possibilities, a strong peace union of the homogeneous western +nations. Alas! this result can be reached only by destroying the present +unnatural connections, which mean the continuance of war till a crushing +decision is obtained. + +3. The American colonies of England did not think of union as of a peace +scheme; they had been compelled into it by war, by the necessity of +self-defense. It is only such an overpowering motive which has force +enough to blot out petty rivalries and minor antagonisms. If union +between States belonging to the same race and not divided either by +history or by serious conflicting interests could be effected only under +the pressure of a common peril, we must infer "a minori ad majus" that +such a powerful incentive will be more necessary still to persuade into +union nations of different races, each cherishing memories of mutual +collisions and actually aware of not unimportant clashing interests. + +The menace of aggression from the east has been brought home to us by +the present war; gradually it will be understood even by those +Occidentals who at present unhappily lend their support to that +aggression. On this perception of the higher common interests of +self-defense do I build the possibilities of a western coalition. But a +time may come when Russia will be compelled to join it and to complete +thereby the union of the whole of Europe; it may come sooner than the +conversion of Russia to western ideas could be effected by natural +evolution; it may come through the yellow peril, the menace of which has +been brought nearer to us by the accursed policy of England. + +Let Japan organize the dormant forces of China, as it seems bent upon +doing, and the same law of eastern aggressiveness which is at the bottom +of the present war will push the yellow mass toward Europe. Russia, as +comparatively western, will have to bear their first onset; for this she +will require Occidental assistance, and in the turmoil of that direful +conflict--or, let us hope, in order to avoid it--she will readily give +up all designs against her western neighbors, and she may become really +western by the necessities which impel her to lean on the west. + +But this may or may not happen. What I see before me as a tangible +possibility is the great western block. It is the only principle of +reconstruction after war that contains a guarantee of a permanent peace; +it is the one, therefore, which the pacifists of all nations should +strive for, once they get rid of the passing mentality of conflict that +now obscures the judgment of the best among us. + +[Illustration] + + + + +Neutral Spirit of the Swiss + +An Interview With President Motta of the Swiss Confederation + +[From The London Times, Jan. 30, 1915.] + + +BERNE, Jan. 20. + +The President of the Swiss Confederation is the symbol of a democracy so +perfect that the man in the street is not quite sure who the President +is. He knows that he is one of a council of seven, and that he is +elected for one year, and that is all. In the Federal Palace, the Berne +Westminster and Downing Street, the anonymity is almost as complete. +Officers pass and repass in the corridors--one of the signs, like the +waiting military motor cars at the door, of mobilization--but this does +not change the spirit, simple and civilian, of the interior. + +M. Motta, Chief of State for this year, is a man of early middle life. +He is the best type of Swiss, a lawyer by profession, whose limpid +French seems to express culture as well as candor. Nor could one doubt +for a moment the sincerity of his speech. Speaking on the Swiss position +in the war, M. Motta was anxious to remove the impression that it was +colored, dominated by the existence of the German-speaking cantons, more +numerous than the French. "Of course," he said, "we have our private +sympathies, which incline us one way or the other, and there is the +language tie--though here we are greatly attached to our Bernese +patois--but I would have you believe the Swiss are essentially just and +impartial, they look at the war objectively. + +"We have good-will toward all the nations. Need I say that we respect +and esteem England? Have you not found that you are well received? There +is no antagonistic feeling against any one. Our neutrality is imposed +upon us by our position, a neutrality that is threefold in its effects, +for it is political, financial, and economic. Italy, France, Germany, +Austria, are our neighbors; we send them goods, and we receive supplies +from them in return." + +We then talked of the army, of that wonderful little army which, at this +moment, is watching the snowy passes of the Alps. Two years ago it is +said to have impressed the Kaiser on manoeuvres; perhaps for that reason +he has refrained to pass that way. Outside, in the slippery streets, +over which the red-capped children passed with shouts of glee, I had +seen something of the preparations; the men, steel-like and stolid, +marching by, the officers, stiff and martial-looking, saluting right and +left under the quaint arcades of this charming city. Colored photographs +of corps commanders adorned the windows and seemed to find a ready sale. +These things pointed in the same direction. Switzerland, posted on her +crests, was watching the issue of the terrific struggle in the plains. + +"We must defend our neutrality," the President said, "our 600 years of +freedom. There is not a single man in the country who thinks +differently. I am an Italian-Swiss, one of the least numerous of our +nationalities, but there is only one voice here as elsewhere--only one +voice from Ticino to Geneva. That we shall defend our neutrality is +proved by the great expenditure on our army; otherwise, it would be the +height of folly." + +The President spoke of army expenditure, of the simple army system, of +the reorganization which had been carried out some years before. +Switzerland was spending £20,000 a day, a large sum for a small country. +Since the day when the general mobilization had been decreed--some +classes have now been liberated--Switzerland had spent £4,500,000. It +was a lot of money. + +The army, of course, was a militia; some few officers were professional +soldiers, others were drawn from a civil career and were doctors, +lawyers, engineers, and merchants. In 1907 the country had consented to +lengthen the periods of training in what are quaintly called the +"recruits' schools" and "rehearsal schools." In the former category the +men do sixty-five days' training a year, in the latter forty-five. + +"I assure you," continued M. Motta, "whatever sympathy the German-Swiss +may feel toward Germany, the French-Swiss toward France, or the Italian +toward Italy, it is nothing like as warm and as intimate as that which +each Swiss feels toward his fellow-Swiss." + +This was the national note which dominated everything. At first there +was a little difficulty in the councils of the nation. Some showed a +tendency to lose their balance, but that phase had passed, and each day, +I gathered, purely Swiss interests were coming uppermost. + +"And the press, M. le President?" + +M. Motta admitted that some writers had been excessive in their +language and had been lacking in good taste; but, on the whole, he +thought the newspapers had impartially printed news from both sides, and +he cited a list of leading organs--Switzerland is amazingly full of +papers--which had been conspicuous for their moderation. + +And then there was the question of contraband. Orders were very precise +on the subject; the Cabinet had limitless power since the opening of the +war; if there was any smuggling it was infinitesimal, and, as to +foodstuffs, Switzerland regretted she could not import more for her own +needs. The Government had established a monopoly and forbidden +re-exportation, but supplies were not up to the normal. The route by the +Rhine was closed. + +Finally came the phrase, concluding the conversation: "Whoever violates +our neutrality will force us to become the allies of his enemy." There +could be nothing more categorical. + + + + +TO KING AND PEOPLE. + +By WALTER SICHEL. + +[From King Albert's Book.] + + + _All the great things have been done by the little + peoples._--DISRAELI. + + Sire, King of men, disdainer of the mean, + Belgium's inspirer, well thou stand'st for all + She bodes to generations yet unseen, + Freedom and fealty--Kingship's coronal. + + Nation of miracles, how swift you start + To super-stature of heroic deeds + So brave, so silent beats your bleeding heart + That ours, e'en in the flush of welcome, bleeds. + + No sound of wailing. Look, above, afar, + Throbs in the darkness with triumphant ray + A little yet an all-commanding star, + The morning star that heralds forth the day. + + + + +A Swiss View of Germany + +By Maurice Millioud + + + M. Maurice Millioud, an eminent member of the Faculty of the + University of Lausanne, Switzerland, has written an article of + marked breadth and penetration in which he presents a quite + novel view of the forces which, in combination, have brought + Germany to its actual position. These forces are political, + social, and economic; beneath and through them works the + subtle impulsion of a national conception of right and might + which the author sums up as the "ideology of caste." Want of + space forbids the publication of the entire article. We give + its most significant parts with such summary of those portions + which it was necessary to omit as, we trust, will enable our + readers to follow the general argument. + +Humanitarians the most deeply buried in dreams yield with stupefaction +to the evidence of fact. European war was possible, since here it is, +and even a world war, for all continents are represented in the mêlée. +Millions of men on the one side or the other are ranged along battle +fronts of from 500 to 1,000 kilometers. We are witnessing a displacement +of human masses to which there is nothing comparable except the +formidable convulsions of geologic ages. + +The world then was in formation. Will a new Europe, a new society, a new +humanity, take form from the prodigious shock by which our imagination +is confounded? + +We can at least seek to understand what we cannot hinder. + +This war was not a matter of blind fate, but had been foreseen for a +long time. What are the forces that have set the nations in movement? I +do not seek to establish responsibility. Whosoever it may be, those who +have let loose the conflict have behind them peoples of one mind. That, +perhaps, is the most surprising feature in an epoch when economic, +social, and moral interests are so interwoven from one end of the earth +to the other that the conqueror himself must suffer cruelly from the +ruin of the conquered. + +The Governments have determined the day and the hour. They could not +have done it in opposition to the manifest will of the nations. Public +sentiment has seconded them. What is it then which rouses man from his +repose, impels him to desert his gains, his home, the security of a +regular life, and sends him in eager search for bloody adventures? + +This problem involves different solutions because it embraces a number +of cases. Between the Russians, the French, the English, the Germans +there is a similarity of will, but not, it seems, an analogy of +sentiment. I shall undertake to analyze the case of Germany. It has +peculiar interest on account of its importance, of its definiteness, of +the comparisons to which it leads, and the reflections which it +suggests. Numerous facts easy to verify and in part recent permit us to +throw some light upon it and offer us a guarantee against hazardous +conjectures. + +_Defining a caste as "a group of men bound to each other by solidarity +of functions in society," such as the Brahmins of India and the feudal +nobility, Prof. Millioud says that he will use the terms as equivalent +or nearly equivalent to a "directing class." Quoting the article from +Vorwaerts which led to the suspension of that Socialist organ and which +"admits by implication that responsibility for the war falls on +Germany," he proceeds to examine the origins of the influence of the war +party and the interests it served._ + +Here we must have recourse to history. In Germany the dominant class is +composed in part of an aristocracy by birth and of bourgeois +capitalists, more or less of them ennobled. The interior policy of +Germany since 1871 and even since 1866 is explained by the relations, +sometimes kindly, sometimes hostile, of these two categories of persons, +by the opposition or the conjunction of these two influences, and not +by a struggle of the dominant class against the socialistic mass. That +struggle, which is in France and is becoming in England a fact of +essential gravity, has been in Germany only a phenomenon of secondary +importance. It has determined neither the profound evolution of the +national life nor the chief decisions of the Government. + +In Germany, as is known, the abolition of the ancien régime did not take +place brusquely as in France. After the revolution and the French +occupation, the noble caste recovered all its privileges. It has lost +them little by little, but not yet entirely. Even the liquidation of the +property of the feudal régime was not completed until toward 1850. +Napoleon made some sad cuts in the little sovereignties, but from 1813 +to 1815 the princely families did their utmost to recover their +independence. The greater part were mediatized, but their tenacity +offered a serious obstacle up to 1871 to the establishment of German +unity. + +That unity was accomplished in despite of them, by sword and fire, as +Bismarck said, that is to say, by the wars of 1866 and 1870. Care was +taken, however, not to abase them more than was strictly necessary, for +it was intended to maintain the hierarchy. What was wanted was a +monarchical unity, made from above down, and not a democratic unity +brought about by popular impulsion. + +On the other hand, the smaller nobles formed, after 1820, a vast +association for the defense of their rights, the Adelskette. Moreover, +they could not be sacrificed, in the first place, because they had +rendered invaluable services in the wars of independence, they had +arisen as one man, and they had ruined themselves in sacrifices for the +national cause, they had organized the people and led it to victory, +finally because they served to restrain the high nobility whose +domination was feared. They sustained the throne against the princes, +the higher nobility against the democracy, the lesser nobility against +the higher, the two forming an intermediary class between the monarch +and the nation. That was the social conception which prevailed with +those who were working to realize the unity of Germany, so that the +nobility, lesser or higher, in default of its privileges retained its +functions. + +Treitschke, in his last lessons, about 1890, called it "a political +class." For the bourgeois, he said, wealth, instruction, letters, arts. +Their part is fine enough. The nobility is apt at governing. That is its +special distinction. For a long time, in fact, the nobility has filled +alone or almost alone the great administrative, governmental, and +military posts. + +Bismarck was the finished type, the representative par excellence of +this class of men. He had their intellectual and moral qualities carried +to the highest degree of superiority. But he underwent evolution after +1871, and his caste with him, under the pressure of general +circumstances. + +Bismarck was a Junker, a Prussian rustic, monarchist, particularist, +agrarian and militarist. Each of his qualities is an attribute of a +mentality of caste, a very curious one, not lacking in grandeur, but +very narrow and not always adequate to the conduct of affairs. + +Monarchist means anti-Parliamentarian. The fine scorn of rhetoric and +even of public discussion, a conviction that democracy will not lead to +anything beyond a display of mediocrity, that is one of the salient +features of his mind. Patriotism conceived as an attachment to personal +relations, as the service of one man, the subject, to another man, the +King, and not the service of an anonymous person, the functionary, to an +abstraction, the State, the republic, this was formerly designated by +the word faithful, (féal,) which has disappeared from our vocabulary +because it is without meaning in our present moral state. + +The Junker is particularist, at least he was. The political and +administrative centralization which the Jacobins achieved in France +inspires him with horror. For him it is disorder. He sees in it nothing +but a dust heap of individuals crushed beneath a formula. Even today, +when the German accuses France of anarchy, that is what he means. He +figures to himself the nation as a vast hierarchy of liberties, an +autonomy of States within the empire, of provinces within the State, of +communes within the province, of proprietors within the commune. +Equality is equality of rank, of worth, of wealth, of force, but +impersonal equality before the law is for him an unnatural thing, an +invention of the professors which at heart he despises. + +He is agrarian and militarist, that is to say, conservative and enamored +of force. In 1830 four-fifths of the population lived by agriculture and +the landlord governed his peasants patriarchally. He kept the +conservatist spirit of a rustic, a very lively sense of authority and +the military instinct. He had scant liking for distant enterprises or +adventures. He was at once religious, warlike, and realist, knowing how +to nurse his ambitions and to confine his view to what was within reach. + +Bismarck for a long time was the decided opponent of naval armaments and +colonial policy, in short, of imperialism. Even his projects for social +reform--insurance against sickness, against old age--which have been +accepted as concessions to modern ideas, were due entirely to his +monarchical and patriarchal conception of the State. He copied the +ancient decrees of Colbert as to naval personnel. He would have gone as +far as assurance against non-employment. In the dominion of the King, he +said, no one should die of hunger. + +The Junker made a force of Prussia; he made Prussia itself. It was due +to him that she passed after 1815 from the form of a Polizeistaat to the +form of Kulturstaat, the latter only an expansion of the former. In +place of a watchful, regulating, and vexatious State she became an +organized State, the instructor of youth, the protector of religion, the +source of inspiration for agricultural reforms, and all great commercial +and industrial enterprises. This State was not an emanation from the +national will, but the creator of a nation, the living and moving +self-incarnation of the Hegelian "idea," that is to say, the Divine +thought. + +Of all the German aristocracy the noble of Pomerania or Brandenburg, the +Prussian Junker, represented this social type most definitely. In the +south the liberal tendencies--to be exact, the memories of the French +Revolution--persisted far into the nineteenth century. But it is well +known that German unity was accomplished by military force and against +liberalism. + +After 1871, and even after Sadowa, the problem of interior policy which +presented itself was that of the "Prussianization" of Germany. At one +time it seemed that Bismarck was on the point of succeeding in it. What +was that national liberal party upon which he depended for so long? It +was the old liberal party, with advanced tendencies tainted with +democratic liberalism and even with cosmopolitanism, keeping up its +relations with the intellectuals, the university men, who made so much +noise with pen and voice about 1848 and later. They dreamed of the unity +of Germany in the democratic liberty and moral hegemony of their nation, +having become in Europe the sobered heir of the French Revolution. + +Under the influence of Bismarck they sacrificed to their dream of unity, +to their national dream, their liberal dream, and they secured for the +Chancellor the support of the upper bourgeoisie. + +It was indeed the Prussianization of Germany, but in that spirit and in +that system contemporary German militarism would never have fructified. +It was contrary to the characteristic tendencies of a monarchical State +supported by a conservative caste, which was also particularist, +military, and agricultural. A State of this kind tends to become a +closed State. + +What then happened? An event of capital importance which everybody +knows, but of which we only now begin to see the consequences. It was +the radical transformation of Germany from an agricultural to an +industrial nation. In its origin this phenomenon dates from before the +nineteenth century. By 1848 it had become perceptible. Since 1866, and +especially since 1871, it has dominated the entire social evolution of +the empire. Here, in fact, is the revolution. It partakes of the +character of a tragedy, it has overturned the conditions of life +throughout the entire German territory. + +At the close of the War of Independence, four out of five Germans lived +on the land, two out of three were engaged in agriculture. By 1895 the +agricultural population was only 35.7 per cent. That, supported by +industry and commerce, kept continually increasing. In 1895 it was 50.6 +per cent. + +This progress of industry and trade indicates the rise of a new class of +the population, that of the capitalists. It seemed at first that their +arrival would result in a dispossession of the nobility. For example, +under the ancien régime the bourgeois could not acquire the property of +the nobles. Toward 1880, for Eastern Prussia only, 7,086 estates of +11,065 belonged to non-nobles. They could have been acquired only with +money. Capital was supplanting birth. Today even, in Prussia, five +members of the Ministry, a little more than one-third, are bourgeois not +enjoying the particle von. + +The new dominant class encroached upon the ancient in two ways, by +depriving it of its clientele and by acquiring a considerable weight in +the State. "The weight of a social class" is the totality of its means +of action, which it possesses on account of its numbers, its personal +influence, its wealth, and the importance of the interests which it +represents. The clientele of the agrarian nobility was essentially the +peasants, who have continually diminished in number, the attraction of +industrial and commercial employments having caused a great migration to +the interior, to the factories, and the cities. + +For many years this phenomenon has been disclosed by statistics and +pointed out by economists and sociologists, but no remedy has been +found. Today, although emigration abroad has much moderated, Germany has +not labor for its tillage. It is obliged to import farm hands and even +cereals. It no longer produces foodstuffs sufficient for its own +support. + +Moreover, the peasant who remains upon the soil is freed +from the landlord, and agricultural production has become +specialized--industrialized. There is the case, for instance, of that +peasant woman who declared that she had not the time to wash her linen +and who sent it to the steam laundry at Karlsruhe. Here is not merely an +economic transformation, but a moral evolution. The agriculturist who no +longer produces in order to consume but in order to sell, and who must +live from the product of his sales, tries to produce as much as +possible. He hires foreign labor to get from it all that he can. The +impersonal relations of employer and employed replace the patriarchal +traditions. Thus the land owner finds himself caught in the mechanism of +the capitalistic system. + +As to the "weight" of the new class, it increased prodigiously during +the years following the war of 1870, thanks to the millions which the +empire could invest in its industries and which allowed it to endow its +commerce and its merchant marine, to complete the network of its roads, +canals, and railways. + +The law of concentration of capital was verified on this occasion in a +striking manner. In the famous years 1871 to 1874, which the Germans +call the Gründejahre, the foundation years, gigantic industrial and +commercial enterprises took a spring which seemed irresistible. A +Director of the Deutsche Bank, of the Dresdener Bank, the President of a +company for transatlantic commerce, such as the Hamburg-American Line, +or of the committee of great electric establishments, enjoyed an +influence in the councils of the State far greater than that of a Baron, +a Count, or a little mediatized Prince. + +What was the aristocracy of birth going to do about it? Struggle +desperately? It took that tack at first. Bismarck ranged himself in its +support for some time. He was himself an agrarian. But he was not long +in installing paper mills on his estates at Varzin. It is said that the +Emperor himself possesses porcelain factories. A part of the nobility +for a long time tried to adapt itself to the new method of production. +It took to it awkwardly and often ended in ruin. + +Freytag has described this phenomenon at its beginnings in a romance +which is a chef d'oeuvre. A part of the nobility yielded, fell into the +hands of the financiers, the money lenders, the managers of agricultural +enterprises, sold their lands, and took refuge in the great civil, +administrative and military posts. The remainder resisted as well as +they could. There was antagonism between their interests and those of +the capitalists, between the religious and particularist tendencies on +one hand and free thought and cosmopolitanism on the other. The +agrarians demanded tariff duties on agricultural products to raise the +price of their foodstuffs. The industrials wanted a low cost of living +in order to avoid the rise of wages and to compete with better advantage +for foreign markets. + +Bismarck was the target for vehement opposition when he inclined toward +the party of the traders and the industrials in his colonial and tariff +policy. This evolution came about 1879. For a while the great Chancellor +was looked upon almost as a traitor. + +Nevertheless, his view was just. Balancing the forces on the one hand by +those on the other, ceding protective duties first to one side and then +to the other, offsetting the advantages which he offered to one side by +the prerogatives which he accorded to the other, he finally succeeded in +reconciling them. + +From this reconciliation of the two dominant classes has resulted the +extraordinary power of Germany. The bourgeois parties have from time to +time grumbled over the military appropriations, but they have always +voted them. And militarism, which is the support of the aristocracy, has +been placed at the service of capitalistic ambition. By the prestige of +force, awakening hopes here and inspiring fears there, more than once by +the help of manoeuvres of intimidation, it has become an instrument of +economic conquest. + +Other combinations, other reciprocal interlacings, have taken place +which have given an exceptional and unique character to contemporary +Germany. It is a case of social psychology of extreme interest. To +describe it would require long detail. The combination of the +aristocratic and military tendency with the industrial and plutocratic +tendency, the tendency of the police spirit, the regularizing spirit of +the Kulturstaat with the individual initiative of the capitalist +_entrepreneur_, methodical habits of administration with the love of +risk characteristic of the speculator, all this constitutes imperialism, +German imperialism, distinct from every other, because to a definite +object, economic conquest, it adds another, less precise, in which the +moral satisfaction dear to aristocracy, the pleasure of dominating, the +love of displaying force, the tendency to prove one's own superiority to +one's self, play a large part. + +Economic conquest has become a necessity for Germany. Transformed into +an industrial State, it no longer produces its own food. Since 1885 its +imports have exceeded its exports by 1,353,000,000 marks. Whence did +Germany derive these 1,300,000,000 marks which were needed, good year +and bad, to meet its balance of trade? It owes them to its maritime +commerce and the revenue of its capital invested abroad. Its maritime +commerce then must augment and must triumph over all competition. At +every cost it must open for itself outlets for its industrial products +in order to buy foodstuffs which it does not produce sufficiently. If +not, famine. + +Let us see now how the complicated play of all these social forces and +the effect of this economic situation have been embodied in formulas, +what has been its intellectual expression. + +This is no idle question, for men have always claimed to be guided by +ideas, and generally they are, but they rarely know where their ideas +come from or in what they consist. Without intellectual expression +imperialism would not have extended to all the classes of society. The +passion of economic conquest did not prevail throughout the whole of +Germany. The bourgeois in the Liberal provinces, the corps of officers, +the corps of teachers, the clergy were refractory to it. This direct +form of imperialism does not seduce them. Not everybody can see his +country and the universe through the eyes of an oligarch of high +finance. A doctrine works with power when it appeals to instincts, when +it awakens collective emotions, diverse enough in themselves, and joins +them to each other with an appearance of logical deduction. It is not +indispensable, but it is useful that it should borrow the language of +the day. In the mediaeval epoch this language was religious. Beginning +with the seventeenth century it was metaphysical. In our own time it is +a scientific language set off by Greek words. + +If the German philosophies of the second half of the nineteenth century +are considered, there are not many of them that pass beyond the limit of +the school. They are honest, scholarly productions elaborated by men who +have read much, of whom some, like Wundt, are eminent specialists, but +who have not conquered either their subjects or their readers. One feels +that they are not of their century. + +It is not from them, it is not from Eucken, the pleasant popularizer, it +is not from Windelbund or Ostwald that the cultivated public sought the +direction for its thought. To satisfy the need of general ideas which +was everywhere felt, associations were formed, churches with or without +God, of which a very important one was the "Monistenbund," in which +Haeckel exploited his materialism transformed into a sort of biological +pantheism. + +But it was outside of the associations and outside of the school that +the flame of creative genius burned brightly. The man of the last +generation was Nietzsche. That his thought has been perverted by his +interpreters there is no doubt. They have taken this eagle who gazed +unblinded at the sun and exhibited him to the young people in all sorts +of philosophic rôles for the benefit of the industrial and military +coalition. Nietzsche depicted in lines of fire the resurrection of +heroism, his vision of the superman was that of an ardent soul, steeled +by sufferings, meditating a tragic conception of life with serenity, +and in his solitary individualism surmounting the infirmity of man and +his own by the insistent will to eternal ascension. + +He was made the apostle of brute force, a sort of Messiah of the +"struggle for life." Moreover, he was soon put one side and Gobineau was +revived. He also, who if he did not have genius had wit, would have been +surprised and hardly flattered perhaps by the rôle which they made him +play. The dolichocephalic (long-skulled) blonde whom he celebrated was +not exactly the one whom we are now judging by his works, but at least +he proclaimed the superiority of the German race. + +His doctrine was the centre around which were gathered a complete +ensemble of dogmas and of very diverse theories, whose connected thread +it is not easy to discover when it is searched for logically, but +appears quite distinctly when not reason, but reasons, are demanded. The +reasons are found in the need of justifying in theory the economic and +military imperialism, born as we have seen from conditions of fact and +from very practical motives. + +I do not pretend that it was calculated, nor that the optimates made +express requisition of the naturalists, economists, and historians and +sociologists and moralists to provide an imperialistic philosophy for +the use of adult and normal dolichocephalous blondes. But there +certainly was a coincidence. It may have been due to the influence of +what is called a _milieu ambiant_, that of the commercial and military +party. The authors of the doctrine lived in a special atmosphere. Their +intellect was there formed--or deformed--their work consisted in +gathering facts, inventing reasonings, elaborating formulas, so as to +subject natural science, history and morality to the service of that +keen will for hegemony which was in Germany the common characteristic +and was the connecting link between the ancient and the new directing +class. + +To convince one that this is so, it is enough to arrange the works of +the pan-Germanists in a series passing from the simplest to the most +complicated. The dates are of no importance. We might put at one of the +extremes the works of the Prussian General, von Bernhardi, and at the +other the gigantic lucubration of a famous pan-German zealot, a +neophite, a convert, almost a deserter, Mr. Houston Stewart Chamberlain. + +_Prof. Millioud examines at some length and acutely the tendencies and +teachings of von Bernhardi, now familiar to American readers, sums up +the work of the philosophers of minor rank and turns to Mr. +Chamberlain._ + +With Mr. Chamberlain the thesis of vital competition, the morality of +force, the judgment of history against little nations, the civilizing +mission imposed upon greater Germany by its very greatness, by its +economic, scientific and artistic superiority, everything tends to the +glorification of the German, to his duty to govern the whole world which +he feels so imperatively and which he accepts with such a noble +simplicity. His work is not easily summarized, not only because it +counts 1,379 pages and two appendices, but because all is in everything, +and everything in the universe is also in Mr. Chamberlain's book. And +the German has made everything. Not indeed the world; that he has only +remade and is about to remake. But he has a way of remaking so creative +that one might say that without him the Creator Himself would be a bit +embarrassed. He has gathered to himself alone the heritage of Greece and +Rome as far as it was worth anything. From the year 1200 to the year +1800 he founded, ripened, and saved a new civilization several times +over. The mother of our sciences and our arts, Italy, is Germanic; the +great architecture of the Middle Ages is Germanic; the true +interpretation of Christianity, the true conception of art, the true +social economy, the love of nature, the sense of individuality, the +exploration of the world and of the soul, the great reawakenings of +conscience, all the great flashes of thought are Germanic; everything is +Germanic, except you and me, perhaps; so much the worse for me and so +much the worse for you. After this book, the success of which has been +prodigious, it would truly seem that there is nothing more to say. +Germanic thought has appropriated the universe to itself. It only +remained for the German sword to complete the work. It is drawn! + +I have tried to describe the modifications, or rather the successive +additions, by which the elementary themes disclosing economic, +political, and military appetites in the directing class have been +disguised as theories of biology, history, political economy, sociology, +and morality. It would take another study or another article to show how +science was perverted to such ends. The severity of methods, rigor in +the determination of facts, precision in reasoning, prudence in +generalization, serene impartiality and objectivity in verification, in +a word the scientific spirit, cannot be bent to so many pleasant +compromises without sacrificing a great part of its dignity and its +title to respect. + +This has been a singular and melancholy event for those of us who have +been raised in respect for German science and in admiration for its +methods, as well as for its discoveries. Certainly, from Liebig to +Roentgen and to Behring, from Kant to Wundt, Germany has counted many +distinguished pioneers. In the matter of fecund originality, however, +and creative inspiration, Italy and France have always equaled, if not +surpassed, her. She has had no Marconi, no Pasteur or Poincaré, no +Carrel. + +What we have received from her so long that it has become almost a +matter of instinct is less dazzling flashes than an equal and constant +light. And the savants, the university men who bring to us +anthropological romances, history stuffed with legends and personal +prejudices, sociology constructed in contempt of the facts! + +In these later days we have seen all these joining under the guidance of +their most illustrious members to address the civilized nations in an +appeal in which by virtue of their quality as savants they undertook to +pronounce upon facts which they don't understand, to deny those which +they cannot help understanding, and solemnly to declare that it is not +true that Germany has violated the neutrality of the territory of +Belgium. For proof of this, nothing but their word of honor. Do they +take us for those young gentlemen who said to Monge, "Professor, give us +your word of honor that this theorem is true and we will excuse you from +the demonstration of it"? + +Fully to explain the rôle of the intellectual savants and university men +in the formation of the ideology of caste which prevails among the +Germans it would be necessary to recite the history of instruction in +Germany, not such as Davis and Paulson have written it, but such as it +actually is under the influence of institutions and programmes--I mean +the moral history of instruction. + +The great Frederick was wont to cry, "I commence by taking; afterward I +shall always have pedants enough to establish my rights." Pedants or +not, the members of the teaching corps of every grade in Germany are a +wheel of the State, their mission is to form not men, but Germans, to +inculcate the national idea. Their views have penetrated even to the +common people. + +Germany receives a double education--that of the school and that of the +barracks. The spirit of these two institutions is the same, and their +influence, which has been exercised since 1848 in opposition to +humanitarian and internationalist ideas, has encountered no serious +obstacles, for it went readily with certain old instincts which it was +not difficult to reawaken and which general circumstances favored. + +"Latrocinia nullam habent infamiam," said Caesar, speaking of the +Germans. Pillage brings no shame. This desire of gain, this positive and +realistic tendency is one of the motives which the brusque and +prodigious economic expansion of Germany has promoted in the most +efficient manner. + +This total assimilation of a people of 70,000,000 of souls by an +aristocratic, almost a feudal, directing class, a combination of +plutocrats and militarists, is in reality a most curious phenomenon, +more than curious, in a sense grandiose, and in any case full of +suggestions and menaces. + +Surrender of body and soul, confidence almost religious, enthusiastic +faith, the directing class has conquered everything within in order to +conquer everything without. Now it stakes everything upon the cast of +the dice. I have not undertaken to decide whether it is just or not. The +event will determine whether it is genius or madness. + + + + +THE LAND OF MAETERLINCK + +By Alfred Sutro + +[From King Albert's Book.] + + +I have translated many books of Maeterlinck's; I have wandered with him +among the canals of Bruges and the fragrant gardens of Ghent; I have +seen the places where he dreamed of Pelléas and Mélisande, and the hives +of the bees he loved. Through him I learned to know Belgium, today all +the world knows. Her cities are laid waste now and her people scattered, +but her people will return and rebuild the cities, and the enemy will be +dust. The day will come when the war will be far distant, a thing of the +past, remote, forgotten, but never, while men endure or heroism counts, +will it be forgotten what the Belgians did for Liberty's sake and for +the sake of Albert, their King. + + + + +America and Prohibition Russia + +Two Mustard Seeds of Reform Carried From This Land to the Steppes + +By Isabel F. Hapgood + + +When Russia recently abolished the sale of liquor, first in the shops +run as a Government monopoly, and, after a brief experience of the +beneficent results, in the restaurants and clubs as well, an astonished +and admiring world recognized the measure as one of the greatest events +in the moral history of a nation. It takes rank with the reforms of +Peter the Great. It almost casts into the shade the emancipation of the +serfs. + +There has always existed in Russia a strong party which severely +disapproved of Peter precisely because he forced "Western" ideas upon +them. Their idea has always been that Russia would have developed a far +higher degree of genuine culture and far more precious spiritual +qualities had she been left to the promptings of her own genius and its +"healthy, natural" development. And there are, indubitably, persons +scattered through the vast Russian Empire who entertain parallel +opinions with regard to the total prohibition of liquor just effected, +and with regard to the projected change in the calendar now assumed to +be imminent. I trust that I shall not increase their numbers to +dangerous proportions if I call attention to the fact that these reforms +have also, like Peter the Great's ideas, been imported from the +West--from the Far West, the United States. I am sure my +fellow-countrymen will be gratified to learn the truth, and I cheerfully +accept the risk, and assume that Russia will, in all probability, remain +ignorant of my interference! + +It is true that we do not have actual, effective prohibition anywhere +here in America, and that we do not seem to be within measurable +distance of such an achievement; that Russia has distanced us again in +this, just as she distanced us by emancipating her serfs, without a +war, before we emancipated our slaves, with the aid of a war. But we +have supplied the scriptural mustard seed in the case of prohibition in +Russia, and have either furnished the seed for the change in the +calendar, or, at any rate, have provided elements that have hastened its +growth to a very remarkable degree. + +Mustard seed No. 1 was carried over from the United States in the Autumn +of 1887 and sown on the good ground of the late Count Tolstoy, and other +noble men, whence--as results show--it spread abroad with a swiftness +suggestive rather of the proverbial weed than of the fair flower its +blossoming has shown it to be. + +In the Autumn of 1886 Dr. Peter Semyonovitch Alexyeeff of Moscow, +accompanied by his wife, sailed for Canada and the United States for the +purpose of inspecting the hospitals, prisons, and elementary schools; +and they came for the Winter because some parts of Canada during that +season possess a climate similar to that of Central Russia, while in +other parts the climates are identical. In fact, Canada is the only +country in the world where the climatic conditions are at all analogous. +The construction of new hospitals, the adaptation of already existing +buildings for hospital use, the internal arrangement, and the perfection +of their internal machinery had long been matters of deep interest to +Dr. Alexyeeff. + +Germany and France, with climates so different from that of Russia, +could not furnish him with the information available in North America, +where, in his opinion, the habits and conditions of existence--such +important factors in matters connected with hospitals and invalids--also +differ less from those of Russia than do the general surroundings in the +countries of the Continent. After visiting the principal cities of +Canada and the United States from Quebec to Vancouver, and from Boston +to Washington, (some of them more than once,) Dr. Alexyeeff arrived at +the conclusion that the hospitals of the United States were better built +and much better administered than those of London, Paris, Berlin, and +Vienna. + +Naturally, no one could spend nine months in investigating hospitals and +prisons in this country without coming in contact with the liquor +problem. Moreover, Dr. Alexyeeff was a wideawake man, who took an +interest not only in all matters connected with his profession, but in +very many outside of it. He was, also, a man of very lofty character. +His wife once wrote me concerning him somewhat as follows: "He walks, +habitually, on such moral heights, in such a rarefied spiritual +atmosphere, that I, the daughter of an English clergyman, reared +accordingly, and myself (as you know) deeply in sympathy with it, find +difficulty in following him." Obviously, he was precisely the man to +appreciate the temperance movement, and to carry it to its logical +conclusion. In the preface to a volume, "About America," which he +published in Moscow in 1888, he writes: + + Neither the wonders of wild nature in the Rocky Mountains nor + the menacing might and grandeur of Niagara produce such an + impression on a Russian as the success of the fight with + drunkenness--the temperance movement--and the successful + development, in all classes of society, of morality and the + strict application of practical morals. + +He did not confine himself to this brief, general statement. He wrote in +praise of temperance, of prohibition, for learned Russian societies. +Then he wrote a book entitled "Concerning Drunkenness." The Censor's +permit to publish is dated March 29, (April 10,) 1887. It was published +by the management of the magazine, Russkaya Mysl, (Russian Thought,) +which may indicate that it had first appeared in that monthly as a +series of articles, though I have not been able to verify the fact. The +book may have been published promptly, or at least the article from the +medical magazine may have been published in the cheap form (costing two +or three cents) used by the semi-commercial, semi-philanthropic firm +"Posrednik," which may be rendered "Middleman" or "Mediator," designed +for the dissemination of good and useful reading among the masses. + +At any rate, "Concerning Drunkenness" appeared at the price of one ruble +(about fifty cents) in 1891, prefaced by a dissertation by Count +Tolstoy, "Why Do People Stupefy Themselves?" specially written for this +occasion, as Dr. Alexyeeff told me. (It has been translated under the +title of "Alcohol and Tobacco," London, and published without any +indication that Dr. Alexyeeff inspired it.) + +In 1896 a second edition, revised and enlarged, was published, also in +Moscow; and to this the author added a list of helpful publications and +a summary bibliography, which included books issued in various foreign +countries, ranging in number from 705 for Great Britain and Colonies, +142 for the United States, 247 for Germany, 124 for ten other countries +combined, (up to 1885 in all these cases,) to ten for Russia. Of these +ten, four are in Latin, four in German, one is in Swedish and one in +Russian--the latter, evidently, an article republished from The Medical +News. On the whole, a list practically non-existent, so far as Russia +was concerned! + +Dr. Alexyeeff had discovered a field of endeavor as virgin as the +unplowed steppe. Only scientists desperately hard up for an unusual +topic for a strictly academic discussion and recklessly willing to risk +incurring universal unpopularity would have dreamed of unearthing those +volumes. He promptly aroused Count Tolstoy's interest in the subject of +temperance, which in this case signified prohibition, since the Count in +his preface to Dr. Alexyeeff's book (dated July 10-22, 1890,) treated +liquor on the same basis as tobacco, which he had totally abjured at +least two years previously. With Tolstoy, to become convinced that a +reform was desirable was, as all the world knows, to become an ardent +propagandist of that reform. Thanks to the efforts of Dr. Alexyeeff, +seconded by those of Tolstoy, temperance began to attract attention in +Russia, temperance societies were formed, and have been steadily +increasing ever since in numbers and activity. + +Eventually Mr. Tchelisheff arrived on the scene with his splendid vital +force and practical solutions of the financial and other problems (or +suggestions for them) that arise from prohibition, (especially when a +Government monopoly and revenue are concerned,) which he most +strenuously advocated when Mayor of Samara, as representative in the +Duma--everywhere, in fact, where he could obtain a hearing, willing or +unwilling, up to the Emperor Nicholas himself. And the Emperor showed +that he was equal to the magnificent opportunity, and joined hands with +the former peasant in aiding his country. + +In an interview published by THE TIMES a while ago Mr. Tchelisheff +mentions that his attention was first drawn to the subject of the evils +of drunkenness by a book which he saw a muzhik reading. Judging from the +point at which he inserts that mention into his outline sketch of his +career (previous to the great famine which he--erroneously--assigns to +the "end of the '80s," but which came in 1891) his interest was aroused +precisely at the time when Dr. Alexyeeff's first utterances may be +assumed to have seen the light of print. At any rate, it is an admitted +fact that Dr. Alexyeeff carried to Russia and to Tolstoy from the United +States the idea and inspiration which has borne such wonderful fruit in +the abolition of the liquor traffic "forever," as the Imperial ukase +runs. + +Mr. Tchelisheff is a noteworthy figure in history accordingly, but Dr. +Alexyeeff should not be forgotten. When I made his acquaintance at Count +Tolstoy's, in Moscow, he had just requested (and obtained) a detail of +service in Tchita, Trans-Baikal Province, Siberia, as physician to the +political exiles there, thinking the region would repay study from many +points of view, in his leisure hours. The preface to the first edition +of his book "Concerning Drunkenness" is dated "July, 1899, Tchita," and +from Tchita I received my copy from him. In that preface he states the +scope of his book in a way which confirms my conviction that Mr. +Tchelisheff was first stirred to interest, and in the end aroused to +action, by the United States, via Dr. Alexyeeff. He writes: + + The battle which in all ages has been waged against + drunkenness has been confined hitherto almost exclusively to + the realms of medicine and ethics; the social part of the + question is only just beginning to be worked out, and has + hardly as yet won the rights of citizenship, and down to our + own day there have been no serious legal measures adopted for + the battle with drunkenness. + +Therefore, he omits the legal aspects of the matter in his book and +confines himself to an attempt at popularizing the information scattered +in divers individual books, "borrowing everything which can lead to the +ultimate goal--the extermination of the evil caused by the use of +spirituous drinks." He continues: + + Public opinion has nowhere as yet, even in the lands where + considerable success has attended the war on drunkenness, + ripened sufficiently a desire to give, even incompletely, a + summary of the information about that battle, and make my + fellow-countrymen acquainted with a matter still little known + in Russia, so I am prompted to write what follows. + +The second edition of this book, with the surprising list of Russian +treatises on drunkenness to which I have already alluded, is dated +"June, 1895, Riga," where he lived after his return from Siberia, as an +official of the Government medical service, until his death in August, +1913. During the stay in Tchita of the Alexyeeffs, the present Emperor +(then the heir,) passed through it, on his way home (from the trip to +India and Japan which came so near terminating fatally in the latter +country) after having officially opened work upon the construction of +the Trans-Siberian Railway, on the shores of the Pacific Ocean. A formal +reception and ceremonies were organized in Tchita; and I allude to the +matter because of a curious detail mentioned in a letter to me by Mrs. +Alexyeeff. Foreigners have very queer ideas, she said, as to the +position and treatment of the political exiles in Siberia; some of the +Tchita exiles served as heads of the committees for welcoming the heir, +and he shook hands with them and treated them exactly as he treated the +Governor General of the Province. + +Whether it was his admiration for the American temperance movement which +influenced Dr. Alexyeeff's views on everything American, I cannot say. +But, assuredly, not many foreign visitors have pronounced upon our +country such a panegyric as is contained in the preface to his "Across +America." He writes: + + Conscientious fulfillment of every duty, industry, energy, and + moral purity are the typical qualities of the genuine + American. It is difficult to form any idea of the wide + development of philanthropy, the significance of religion, and + the practical application to life of ethical principles, the + application of moral obligations in business, the upright, + God-fearing life of the Americans, unless one has lived among + them. They have neither prostitution, foundling hospitals, nor + hospitals for venereal diseases. A European is not accustomed + to see empty prisons and hospitals in densely settled + localities--to come upon cities where there is nothing for the + police, the Judges, and the doctors to do he finds startling. + They have attained the height where priests, pastors, + preachers, and teachers are rarely obliged to contend with + indifference.... + + After a trip to America it would be difficult to return an + atheist--you are more likely to come back in a religious frame + of mind.... Idleness and luxury are not among the + distinguishing characteristics of the descendants of the + Puritans.... In the light, transparent atmosphere of the + States, simplicity, the cheerful, alert spirit infects the + foreigner, makes him a more frank, trustful, optimistic + warrior for the truth, and causes him to forget what it means + to be downcast in spirit, or what spleen and hypochondria are. + +Until he died, in Siberia, in Russia, everywhere, Dr. Alexyeeff worked +for temperance. He was enthusiastic about it when I saw him and his wife +in England, in 1907. + +Mr. Tchelisheff having been aroused to interest, theoretically, by +America, via Dr. Alexyeeff, as is fairly proven, it was only natural +that he should proceed to make the personal observations on the +practical, social side of drunkenness which he mentions in his Times +interview. He noticed, during the great famine of 1891, that it was the +drunkards who had squandered their grain and pawned their possessions +to the keepers of the dramshops who robbed other men's granaries and +houses, burned, rioted, and murdered; while the men who did not drink +had plenty of food and grain to hold out. We are informed from Russia +that even during its still brief reign prohibition has resulted in +remarkable improvement in health, living conditions, and bank accounts. + +Mr. Tchelisheff is, as I have said, a noteworthy figure in history. He +would be a remarkable figure in any land; but for those who are not +acquainted with Russia, the rise of a man born a peasant, educated +solely by his own efforts on stray newspapers and books which fell in +his way in his schoolless village, and absolutely lacking in money or +influence, ("svyazi"--connections, is the Russian version of "pull,") to +the position of multi-millionaire and co-worker with the Emperor, is +amazing almost beyond belief. In reality, it is as simple as the rise of +an American newsboy, of an Edison or a Carnegie to a position of power +in the United States. Fate, circumstances, as well as their own +personality are the factors in all these cases; and in every similar +case. + +Moreover, there is in Russia no eternally impassable barrier of caste, +but there is a genuine democracy which is not easy to define, but is +very easily felt. For instance, the title of "Prince," (to which, unlike +that of "Count" or "Baron"--conferrable--one must be born, runs the +rule, with exceptions for such national heroes as Suvaroff,) counts for +nothing or approximately that, unless its owner possesses, in addition, +the wealth, character, learning or other characteristics which would +render him a man of mark without it. + +There are other interesting instances of peasants who have risen high in +Russia, and Mr. Tchelisheff is their worthy successor. The founder of +the great silversmiths' firm of Ovtchinnikoff was a serf. His successors +have made it their rule, "out of gratitude to God," to maintain and +educate a certain number of poor boys, who, when their intellectual and +technical training is completed, are free to remain with the firm as +valued artists or to go forth independently. When the Emperor Alexander +II. celebrated the twenty-fifth anniversary of his accession to the +throne, all the Sovereigns of Europe sent him magnificent presents. +These are assembled in his library, at the Winter Palace, Petrograd; and +in the centre--accorded that place by the Russians with equal good +feeling, good taste, and justice--is a large group in solid silver, +representing a huge mass of rock upon whose pinnacles stand figures +representing the different parts of the empire--Little Russia, Siberia, +and so forth. The inscription reads: "To the Tzar-Liberator from the +Liberated Serf." It was made by the Ovtchinnikoffs and presented by +another ex-serf, who had become a millionaire railway magnate. + +Mustard Seed No. 2 from America to Russia falls into a somewhat +different category. It more nearly resembles one of those grains of +antique wheat found in a tomb and sprouting vigorously when finally +planted in congenial, helpful soil. I trust that my comparison may not +be regarded as disrespectful. One could not, willingly, be disrespectful +to the calendar, any more than to the thermometer! + +Russia, by adhering to the Julian Calendar and refusing to adopt the +Gregorian, has now fallen thirteen days behind the rest of the world. It +falls behind about a day for every century. There are several reasons +why Russia has not, up to now, remedied the serious inconvenience caused +by this conflict of dates. One is--the Gregorian Calendar is Roman +Catholic, and named after a Pope. It is, also, inaccurate. Worst of all, +the rectification might--almost infallibly would, under ordinary +circumstances--cause trouble at the outset, especially in one +incalculably important direction. + +Russian scientists long ago worked out a new calendar far more accurate +than the Gregorian for thousands of years, and when the change is made +that calendar will be adopted. The fundamental difficulty lies in the +fact that all the people whose saints' days must inevitably be skipped +for the first year in the process of rectification will inevitably feel +that they are being robbed of their guardian angels, that they are +"orphans"--a mournful word greatly beloved of the Russian masses under +multiform circumstances, both material and spiritual--and orphaned in a +peculiarly distressing and irrevocable way. They might even feel when +their saints' days came around quite correctly the next year that some +spurious adventurer--Angel of Darkness--was being foisted upon them. + +Fanatics and professional mischief-makers would certainly seize with +avidity upon such a godsend of a chance, unparalleled since the days of +Peter the Great's father, when the Patriarch Nikon had the errors of the +copyists in the Scriptures and church service books corrected. But the +present war has fused all parties, united all hearts in patriotism, +loyalty to, and confidence in their Emperor and created a fervid +inclination amounting to enthusiasm to accept even the most drastic +reforms he may make cheerfully, unquestionably, as for the good of the +fatherland. + +On the matter of the calendar reform America has for many years past +been exerting a steadily increasing influence. During the past twenty +years the steady flow of immigrants from Russia and other countries +belonging to the Orthodox Catholic Church of the East, (Greco-Russian,) +has increased to a great volume, and it seems destined to attain still +greater proportions when the war is over. These people are obliged to +work and keep holiday by the Gregorian calendar and to worship by the +Julian. This entails hardships. + +For example, a devout Russian who has been forced to remain idle on our +Christmas and New Year's Days must sacrifice his pay--sometimes risk or +lose his job--if he wishes to observe the feasts of his own church. A +reform of the calendar would be hailed with joy by innumerable such +immigrants, who have been over here long enough to consider calmly the +practical aspects of a temporary dislocation of saints' days. The +ecclesiastical authorities in this country have frequently protested, +in print, both here and in Russia, and I have been informed that the +Holy Synod has been appealed to, more than once, to induce it to cast +its influence into the balance with that of the scientists and the +governmental authorities, who have been discussing the matter for years +past, and hesitating over the probable consequences of action--a case of +peasant joining hands with the rulers of Russia, once more like Mr. +Tchelisheff and the Emperor Nicholas--or the people of the United States +and the President--to secure a needed reform! + +And these same peasant-immigrants in America have, without the shadow of +a doubt, already written back to their relatives and friends in the old +country--and very frequently--about the difficulties of the antiquated +Julian calendar, and these, in turn, can disseminate common sense about +the change in a way which the Government, aided by the Holy Synod and +the explanations of home-staying parish priests, unaided, could never +effect. When the fitting time arrives, perhaps the Russian Government +will avail itself of just this argument, among others--the welfare of +friends in distant America. There has never been a propitious time in +Russia to make that calendar reform since the reign of Peter the Great +until now. And America may fairly be said to have brought from its dark +hiding place the mustard seed which has been trying so long to +germinate, and imparted to it a vivifying impulse. + + + + +THE MOTHER'S SONG. + +By CECILIA REYNOLDS ROBERTSON. + + + Hush, oh, my baby, your father's a soldier, + He's off to the war, and we've nothing to eat. + And the glory is neither for you nor for me, + With the cockleburr crushing the wheat. + + Little boy baby, look well on your mother; + Some day you may ask why she bore you at all; + For the trenches are foul with the blood and the wallow, + And the bayonet is sharp for your fall. + + Rest, rosy limbs, and blue eyes and gold lashes-- + Made in the mold of the Saviour, they say! + Drink deep of my bosom, my starved, meagre bosom, + That--keeps you alive for the fray. + + Sleep, oh, my man child, and smile in your sleeping, + But the gun has been fashioned to lay in your hand, + And your life blood flows smooth in your fair little body + The better to water and plenish the land! + + + + +Pan-American Relations As Affected by the War + +Consequences of the European Conflict on Future Commerce Between the +United States and Latin America + +By Huntington Wilson, + +_Formerly Assistant Secretary of State_. + + +I. + +A study of the effects of the war upon our relations with the other +republics of this hemisphere involves political, commercial, financial +and strategic elements of far-reaching scope and much complexity. The +situation presents an opportunity. It offers a lesson even more vital +than the opportunity. The political considerations are most relevant to +the lesson; and the final text of the lesson will be the result of the +war. The economic opportunity is already upon us, definite and clear. It +will not wait. It must be grasped without delay and may therefore be +first discussed. + +There is something repellent in counting our advantages under the shadow +of so great a tragedy but we must try to be as practical as those who +are fond of accusing us of materialism. Does any one think that the +steam-roller of admirably organized and Government-fostered German +competition would pause if we lay in the road; that if we received a +check, Anglo-Saxon cousinship and fair play would always mitigate +British competition; or that then not a single European merchant in +South America would ever again use scorn and detraction against our +goods, or encourage, through influence with the press, prejudice due to +"Yankee peril" nonsense? In short, is it likely that all our +competitors would suddenly love us just because we were in trouble? No, +things are not as they should be and meanwhile must be dealt with as +they are. + +There used to be apparently very little hope of our shaking the tree and +gathering the golden fruit of foreign enterprise unless forced to it by +the collapse, through dire hard times, of the wonderful home market +which has made spoiled children of our manufacturers. Now comes this +war. It forces upon us a wonderful, a unique opportunity to gain and +hold our proper place in the finance, trade, and enterprise of Latin +America. The richness of the field is often exaggerated, but its +cultivation is certainly worth the effort of men of foresight. + +What are we going to do about it? This is the question; for if American +business men do not do their part the ultimate effect of the war upon +our economic interests in this part of the world will be unimportant. We +must not be like the young gold miners who were looking exclusively for +large nuggets with handles. We must go at it seriously and +scientifically and solidly, not superficially, casually, and +opportunistically. We must begin with the earnest intention of +continuing our efforts for all time. + +An enthusiastic commercial spasm will be worth nothing. There have got +to be real efforts, real hard work, the expenditure of money for future +and not merely immediate profits, a cheerful readiness to discard old +and cherished methods, a new adaptability, a new painstaking attention +to details. There has got to be serious study of foreign countries and +keen interest in our relations to them. Without all this, mailing +catalogues, (usually in English,) banquets and speeches and +organizations will take us nowhere. + +American business men are bestirring themselves. They know that we need +ships to carry our goods advantageously, and banks for the favorable +financing of our trade. They should be able to compel our Government's +support where needful, as in a ship subsidy or a limited guarantee of +reasonable profit to American investment in ships. In connection with +our efforts at Caribbean commerce, as another instance, they should be +able to get a flexible sliding scale tariff provision passed by +Congress, so that, in dealing with the countries whose coffee or other +special products we buy, we could induce them to give us for our exports +reciprocal advantages over our competitors. Indeed, a kind of Caribbean +tariff union might well be feasible and desirable. + +So long ago as last August the British Government sent all over the +world for samples and specifications of German goods which their +manufacturers might contrive to displace. We should take corresponding +action in regard to the goods of our competitors. Our manufacturers +should be reconciled to sending to find out what each market wants +instead of asking a population to take or leave what we make. Our +commercial campaign should include the effort to replace goods from one +belligerent country formerly handled by local merchants from another +belligerent country, such as British goods previously sold through the +German houses which so abound in these countries. + +Good men from small countries without political significance in +world-politics already make their influence felt as employes of foreign +Governments and as merchants in foreign countries. The war may set free +many more men and send them about the world to work for their own +interests, for the country they most believe in, and perhaps ultimately +for an adopted country. International commerce must have its courtiers, +and the good will of all such men should also be reckoned with. They +spread friendship or prejudice against us. Many of them are importers +and will push our goods or some one else's according to the manner in +which we deal with them. + +American manufacturers are doubtless weary of being told that they pack +badly, that they are niggardly about credits, that they do not send +enough or sufficiently qualified representatives, that they are careless +of details, and so on. Still, before mentioning some further particular +steps that should be taken, it is necessary to emphasize the fact that +these same old faults are, and until corrected must remain, the chief +detriments to our foreign trade. + +In some of the republics there is a real disposition to deal with us; in +others there is a preference for Europe. Now, as to many goods, they +must deal with us or go without, although I am informed that a German +firm, for example, has got word to its clients in these countries that +it is prepared to fill orders via Copenhagen. If we think that our +competitors have gone entirely or permanently out of business we shall +be ridiculously and sadly disappointed. We shall be on trial, and if our +exporters make good they will find a conservative disposition to +continue to buy from us. + +In the effort it is important to remember that there is much to live +down in criticism of methods of the past. One Latin-American gentleman, +an enthusiast for American commerce, exclaimed to me in despair: "Son +hombres capazes de poner una hacha Collins con vidrios para ventanas," +which means: "they (the American exporters) are capable of packing a +Collins hatchet with window glass." Others told me how leading firms +always stamped their letters for domestic and not foreign postage. The +office boy simply would not learn geography. Nobody minded paying the +deficit, but through local red tape this seeming trifle sometimes caused +two or even three weeks' delay in the delivery of important letters. + +Certain of our strongest firms have been calmly ignoring shipping +directions. What did they care if the packages had to cross the Andes on +mule back, and if mules could only carry packages of a certain size and +weight? What did they care if the duty remission for materials on some +Government contract, or the customs classification of a shipment, +depended on adherence to specific directions? I could multiply examples +of the most amazing casualness and careless disregard, of bad packing, +of ungenerous credit, which have enraged the importer. + +A European merchant, many years established in a South American city, +and knowing the community, has been selling pianos in this way: The +manufacturer would quote him a price and deliver the piano, giving him +long credit at an ordinary rate of interest. The merchant would finally +sell the piano on the installment plan, receiving interest at a higher +rate on the deferred payments, the merchant trusting the buyer, the +manufacturer trusting the merchant, both thus making good profits, and +the purchaser being accommodated. This man found the American +manufacturer entirely unwilling to deal in this way. + +European houses on the spot, whether independent or financed by large +home houses, give credits for as long, sometimes, as a year. They would +not continue to do so if they lost by doing it. Often this fits the +customs of the local domestic trade. In one country the local retailer +is expected to be paid within eighteen months. Naturally, our exporters' +demand for "cash down on receipt of documents," even when the customer +is well vouched for, does not appeal to him. + +He prefers to get long credit from a European house, and pay interest +for it, rather than to borrow from his bank at high interest or sink his +own capital to pay for American goods, long before he gets them, their +price plus the profit of a commission house. Indeed, he is generally +dissatisfied with the methods of American export trade as now conducted, +which is almost exclusively through commission houses. These, it seems, +might become more efficient through organization and more aggressive and +scientific methods. + +On the other hand, the export trade of certain of the big combinations +is beginning to be pushed with commendable zeal and efficiency. Trade at +large, to reach its greatest volume, must include the pushing of smaller +lines of goods. These smaller lines, in the aggregate, would reach +considerable sums, and it does not appear that there have hitherto +existed efficient agencies for their marketing. To hold Latin-American +trade we must equal our competitors in liberality of credits, in +representation on the spot, and in other facilities. + +There is no doubt that more American merchants resident in the trade +centres would give valuable impetus to our commerce. Even our commission +houses operating on the spot are so few that in handling many lines +there is the greatest danger of their sacrificing the building up of a +steady trade to the opportunities of unduly heavy profits now and then, +and so damaging our general commercial interests. Then we must send many +commercial travelers. + +Just here, however, it cannot be too strongly emphasized that Americans +sent to these countries to do business must above all be men of +agreeable manners. In these countries many quite unworthy people have +these: so a good man who lacks them is likely to be badly misjudged. +They should have sympathetic personality and sufficient education, +besides being men of sobriety and good character, and should be able to +speak the language of the country. + +All this will be expensive, but non-competing firms might join in +sending men, or competing firms might, it is hoped, be guaranteed +against the terrors of the Sherman law in order to join in sending a +corps of representatives upon some basis of division of the field or +the profits. Combination is even more necessary abroad to put forth the +nation's strength in world competition than it is for efficiency at +home. These men would be students and salesmen, and perhaps future +merchants who would settle in these countries and emulate the patriotic +groups of resident foreigners who in so many places help to form an +atmosphere favorable to their countries' interests. + +They would work to replace with our goods those now shut off by the war, +but also to introduce dozens of lines of American products which are now +comparatively hard to find in these markets. A number of strong firms +might join to establish commercial houses or selling agencies in trade +centres of certain groups of countries. Commission houses might do the +same if they carried samples and instructed their clients in packing, +credits, &c., but in each case there should be American houses on the +spot which would carry general lines and supply to the eye that visible +evidence of the goods themselves which is such a valuable form of +advertisement. + +In the establishment of American houses in these countries, as in many +other respects, much may be learned from the Germans. They bring out +carefully selected young men. These, if efficient, have sure promotion. +The partners retire before old age to make room for those who work up. +The inefficient are dropped. It is a little like the principle of a good +foreign service. + +I think the most minute study should be given, first, to the nearer +countries, say those north of the Equator, including the republics of +the Caribbean. Each country must be separately studied. Primarily, there +will be found a cry, sometimes desperate, for capital. Public works, +concessionary and otherwise, have stopped for lack of funds from Europe. +New developments in railroad building, mining, harbor works, +plantations, are arrested. Where European credits have been customarily +used to handle crops, there is distress, and no less so in cases in +which such credit has previously been given by ostensibly American +houses operating really with European capital. + +American capital may come to the rescue by advances upon good security +through local banks. It can establish banks or buy controlling interests +in existing banks, many of which pay their stockholders 15 per cent. or +more. It can relieve the stagnation and make profitable investment by an +active campaign for public and private contracts and for sound and fair +concessions, not visionary or get-rich-too-quick schemes. + +Supposably, the repairing of the destruction brought by the war will +make European capital scarce for some years, but an effort will +doubtless be made to retain for it its former preponderance in these +countries; and so it is important that, whatever the war's effects upon +our own money markets, use should be made of such an opportunity as does +not come more than once. + +To be sure, the scarcity of money in the United States makes this +difficult, but the same worldwide money scarcity will secure an +especially high rate of interest in Latin America, where even in normal +times money can often be placed on excellent security in some of the +countries, and at a rate very high indeed compared to that prevailing +now in the United States. For safe investments with such a margin of +profit, it is to be hoped that money, even if dear at home, will be +forthcoming. + +Undoubtedly the purchasing power of these republics has been hard hit by +the cutting off of credits and markets by the war, as their Governments +have been hard hit through the falling off of revenues from import +duties. Some of the Governments will require foreign loans. Capital, I +repeat--and I mean really American capital--is the urgent need. We are +not asked to make them a present of capital to buy our goods with, but +if we do not help finance them and buy their products they will have +nothing with which to buy our goods. + +The situation invites us to give capital and credit to take the place of +the European supply which has failed. One need not fear that the returns +will be uninviting, for Europe would hardly have been supplying credit +and capital to Latin America as a mere matter of amiability. Thus our +capital must regenerate Latin-American prosperity, while our bankers, +merchants, and manufacturers are engaged in making solid, permanent +arrangements, not opportunistic ones, to take possession of a great +share in the present and still more in the growing future development +and commerce of these countries. Capital, then, and credit are the first +requisites. + +The war has had the effect of making the Latin-American countries +realize for once the economic importance to them of the United States. +The products of some, like the tin of Bolivia and the nitrates of Chile, +have been going almost entirely to Europe. Several republics suffer the +more acutely in proportion to their previous failure to cultivate +financial and commercial relations with the United States. + +They now feel this and are compelled to a mood receptive to our +advances. More, they are forced to seek new markets for their goods just +as they are forced to buy some of ours. In this way there should come +about new exports to the United States, and there should spring up there +the corresponding new industries and habits of consumption, to the +ultimate benefit of all the countries concerned. + +Meanwhile, the United States is the only present economic hope of a +number of the republics. It is to be hoped that our capitalists and +business men will realize the responsibilities as well as the +opportunities of profit in the rôle they are asked to play, and that +their response to their new opportunities will be one of courage, +thoroughness and intelligence, and one also of quiet patriotism. + + +II. + +POLITICAL POTENTIALITIES. + +Turning from the opportunity to the lesson, from the commercial and +economic aspects of this question to those that are political in the +large sense, one's imagination is appalled at the potentialities of the +yet unknown results of so vast an upheaval. Yet we must envisage some of +these if we are to be prepared for their effect upon us. We must be +ready for the impact of the resultant forces of these great dynamics. We +must be ready everywhere, but nowhere more than in our relations with +Latin America, in the zone of the Caribbean, and wherever the Monroe +Doctrine as still interpreted gives us a varying degree of +responsibility. + +The war's first effect upon our Latin-American relations is to compel +through commercial and financial rapprochement a larger measure of +material interdependence, more contact, and, we may hope, a substitution +of knowledge for the former reciprocity of ignorance. All this makes for +better social and intellectual relations, good understanding and +friendship, and so for political relations much more substantial in the +case of many of the republics than the rather flimsy Pan-Americanism +celebrated in eloquent speeches and futile international conferences. + +There is little in Pan-Americanism of that kind. The "raza Latina" of +eloquence is not itself homogeneous; still less so is the population of +the whole hemisphere. And with Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, and +Santiago we have, of course, far less propinquity than we have with the +capitals of Europe. But what we really can do is to build up, especially +with the nearer republics, real ties of common interest and good +neighborhood, and with the distant ones ties of commerce and esteem. + +The war may tend to cure certain rather self-centred countries of +affecting the morbid view that the people of the United States are lying +awake nights contriving to devour them, when, in fact, it would be hard +to find in a crowded street in the United States one in a thousand of +the passersby who knew more than the name, at most, of one of those very +few countries referred to. + +Europe's preoccupation with the war temporarily deprives such a country +and its few misguided prophets whose monomania is dread of that chimera, +the "Colossus of the North," of the pastime of nestling up to Europe in +the hope of annoying us. It postpones, too, the hope of the morbid ones +that we shall come to war with a powerful enemy. Now, perhaps, even +these will appreciate the remark of a diplomatist of a certain weak +country in contact with European powers, who once said: "If we only had +the United States for a neighbor! What I can't understand is that your +neighbors do not realize their good luck." Turning from these +exceptional phenomena, the very fact of the war leaves the United States +in a general position of greater political prestige. + +Whatever the upshot of the European tragedy, its political and +psychological consequences are likely to be great. If it result in new +national divisions upon racial lines of more reality, who knows but that +the awakened spirits of nationality will germinate fresh military +ambitions? Or will the horrors of the war force political reforms and +the search for assurance in more democratic institutions against any +repetition of those horrors? And is popular government an assurance +against useless war while men remain warlike even when not military? + +Except from the successful countries or from those where disaster has +brought such sobering change that men can return to work heartened with +new hope, when the war is over there is likely to be a heavy emigration +of disgusted people. Possibly even victory will be so dear that men will +emigrate from a country half prostrate in its triumph. Many will come as +the Puritans came, and as the bulk of our own excellent Germanic element +came, and will cast in their lot with a new nation. We shall get a good +share, but doubtless some will go to the republics of the far South, and +some to the highlands of the tropics and through the canal to the West +Coast. If so, this will tend gradually toward increased production and +purchasing power, as well as toward a leavening of social, political, +and economic conditions of life. + +If the war were indecisive or left all the combatants more or less +prostrated, peaceful immigration might give a big impulse to the +gradual growing up of powerful States in the temperate zone of the +extreme South. The situation there, and the evolution of our own power, +make it perhaps even now fair to consider the question of regarding as +optional in any given case the assertion by us of the Monroe Doctrine +much below the equator, let us say, beyond which it may possibly be +doubtful whether we have nowadays much reason for special interest. + +But, even so, our relations to South America and our obligations under +the Monroe Doctrine, in spite of the blessed fortifications of the +Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, leave us where it is tempting fate to be +without a navy of the first magnitude, and a big merchant marine. We +have seen what happened to Belgium and Luxemburg. We have seen how even +some of the most enlightened nations can still make force their god. +Nations learn slowly, and there are perhaps some new big ones coming on, +like China. + +If the war is a fight to a finish, and the Allies triumph, we can +imagine Russia, with its teeming millions of people, occupied for a +while in the Near East; Japan consolidating her position in the Far +East, an increasingly powerful neighbor to us in the Philippines, the +Hawaiian Islands, and the Pacific Ocean; France still a great power; and +England as a world power of uncomfortably ubiquitous strength, able to +challenge the Monroe Doctrine at will. + +Or, let us suppose that Germany should triumph and that German +emigration should swarm into the Caribbean countries, or into Brazil or +some other country where there is already a large German colony--elated, +triumphant Germans, not Germans disgusted by a disastrous war. Would +Germany be likely to heed the Monroe Doctrine, or would it be only +another "scrap of paper"? + +In the present stage of civilization the safety of America should not be +left dependent upon the forbearance of any power that may emerge +dangerously strong from the war or that may otherwise arise. The +obligations and rights of our Latin-American relations, under the Monroe +Doctrine and otherwise, like our security and our efficiency as a force +for peace and good in the world, demand a big navy, a merchant marine, +and the self-discipline and safeguard of adequate military preparedness. +The need of these and of a diplomacy of intelligent self-interest, +continuity, and intense nationalism is the lesson brought home to us by +the European war in its effects upon our Latin-American relations as +well as upon our general position as a great power. + + + + +AN EASTER MESSAGE + +By BEATRICE BARRY. + + + Into what depths of misery thou art hurled, + Belgium, thou second Saviour of the World! + Thou who hast died + For all of Europe, lo, we bathe thy feet + So cruelly pierced, and find the service sweet, + Thou crucified. + + But though we mourn thy agony and loss, + And weep beneath the shadow of thy cross-- + We know the day + That brings the resurrection and the life + Shall dawn for thee when war and all its strife + Hath passed away. + + Then, out of all her travail and her pain, + Belgium, though crushed to earth, shall rise again; + And on the sod + Whence sprang a race so strong, so free from guile, + Men shall behold, in just a little while, + The smile of God. + + Land of the brave--soon, by God's grace, the free-- + Thy woe is transient; joy shall come to thee; + It cannot fail. + The darkest night gives way to rosy dawn, + And thou, perchance, shalt see on Easter morn, + The Holy Grail. + + + + +An Interview on the War With Henry James + +By Preston Lockwood + +[From THE NEW YORK TIMES, March 21, 1915.] + + +One of the compensations of the war, which we ought to take advantage +of, is the chance given the general public to approach on the personal +side some of the distinguished men who have not hitherto lived much in +the glare of the footlights. Henry James has probably done this as +little as any one; he has enjoyed for upward of forty years a reputation +not confined to his own country, has published a long succession of +novels, tales, and critical papers, and yet has apparently so delighted +in reticence as well as in expression that he has passed his seventieth +year without having responsibly "talked" for publication or figured for +it otherwise than pen in hand. + +Shortly after the outbreak of the war Mr. James found himself, to his +professed great surprise, Chairman of the American Volunteer Motor +Ambulance Corps, now at work in France, and today, at the end of three +months of bringing himself to the point, has granted me, as a +representative of THE NEW YORK TIMES, an interview. What this departure +from the habit of a lifetime means to him he expressed at the outset: + +"I can't put," Mr. James said, speaking with much consideration and +asking that his punctuation as well as his words should be noted, "my +devotion and sympathy for the cause of our corps more strongly than in +permitting it thus to overcome my dread of the assault of the +interviewer, whom I have deprecated, all these years, with all the force +of my preference for saying myself and without superfluous aid, without +interference in the guise of encouragement and cheer, anything I may +think worth my saying. Nothing is worth my saying that I cannot help +myself out with better, I hold, than even the most suggestive young +gentleman with a notebook can help me. It may be fatuous of me, but, +believing myself possessed of some means of expression, I feel as if I +were sadly giving it away when, with the use of it urgent, I don't +gratefully employ it, but appeal instead to the art of somebody else." + +It was impossible to be that "somebody else," or, in other words, the +person privileged to talk with Mr. James, to sit in presence of his fine +courtesy and earnestness, without understanding the sacrifice he was +making, and making only because he had finally consented to believe that +it would help the noble work of relief which a group of young Americans, +mostly graduates of Harvard, Yale, and Princeton, are carrying on along +their stretch of the fighting line in Northern France. + +Mr. James frankly desired his remarks to bear only on the merits of the +American Volunteer Motor Ambulance Corps. It enjoys today the fullest +measure of his appreciation and attention; it appeals deeply to his +benevolent instincts, and he gives it sympathy and support as one who +has long believed, and believes more than ever, in spite of everything, +at this international crisis, in the possible development of "closer +communities and finer intimacies" between America and Great Britain, +between the country of his birth and the country, as he puts it, of his +"shameless frequentation." + +There are many people who are eloquent about the war, who are +authorities on the part played in it by the motor ambulance and who take +an interest in the good relations of Great Britain and the United +States; but there is nobody who can tell us, as Mr. James can, about +style and the structure of sentences, and all that appertains to the +aspect and value of words. Now and then in what here follows he speaks +familiarly of these things for the first time in his life, not by any +means because he jumped at the chance, but because his native kindness, +whether consciously or unconsciously, seemed so ready to humor the +insisting inquirer. + +"It is very difficult," he said, seeking to diminish the tension so +often felt by a journalist, even at the moment of a highly appreciated +occasion, "to break into graceful license after so long a life of +decorum; therefore you must excuse me if my egotism doesn't run very +free or my complacency find quite the right turns." + +He had received me in the offices of the corps, businesslike rooms, +modern for London, low-ceiled and sparely furnished. It was not by any +means the sort of setting in which as a reader of Henry James I had +expected to run to earth the author of "The Golden Bowl," but the place +is, nevertheless, today, in the tension of war time, one of the few +approaches to a social resort outside his Chelsea home where he can be +counted on. Even that delightful Old World retreat, Lamb House, Rye, now +claims little of his time. + +The interviewer spoke of the waterside Chelsea and Mr. James's long +knowledge of it, but, sitting not overmuch at his ease and laying a +friendly hand on the shoulder of his tormentor, he spoke, instead, of +motor ambulances, making the point, in the interest of clearness, that +the American Ambulance Corps of Neuilly, though an organization with +which Richard Norton's corps is in the fullest sympathy, does not come +within the scope of his remarks. + +"I find myself Chairman of our Corps Committee for no great reason that +I can discover save my being the oldest American resident here +interested in its work; at the same time that if I render a scrap of +help by putting on record my joy even in the rather ineffectual +connection so far as 'doing' anything is concerned, I needn't say how +welcome you are to my testimony. What I mainly seem to grasp, I should +say, is that in regard to testifying at all unlimitedly by the aid of +the newspapers, I have to reckon with a certain awkwardness in our +position. Here comes up, you see, the question of our reconciling a +rather indispensable degree of reserve as to the detail of our activity +with the general American demand for publicity at any price. There are +ways in which the close presence of war challenges the whole claim for +publicity; and I need hardly say that this general claim has been +challenged, practically, by the present horrific complexity of things at +the front, as neither the Allies themselves nor watching neutrals have +ever seen it challenged before. The American public is, of course, +little used to not being able to hear, and hear as an absolute right, +about anything that the press may suggest that it ought to hear about; +so that nothing may be said ever to happen anywhere that it doesn't +count on having reported to it, hot and hot, as the phrase is, several +times a day. We were the first American ambulance corps in the field, +and we have a record of more than four months' continuous service with +one of the French armies, but the rigor of the objection to our taking +the world into our intimate confidence is not only shown by our still +unbroken inability to report in lively installments, but receives also a +sidelight from the fact that numerous like private corps maintained by +donations on this side of the sea are working at the front without the +least commemoration of their deeds--that is, without a word of +journalistic notice. + +"I hope that by the time these possibly too futile remarks of mine come +to such light as may await them Mr. Norton's report of our general case +may have been published, and nothing would give the committee greater +pleasure than that some such controlled statement on our behalf, best +proceeding from the scene of action itself, should occasionally appear. +The ideal would, of course, be that exactly the right man, at exactly +the right moment, should report exactly the right facts, in exactly the +right manner, and when that happy consummation becomes possible we shall +doubtless revel in funds." + +Mr. James had expressed himself with such deliberation and hesitation +that I was reminded of what I had heard of all the verbal alterations +made by him in novels and tales long since published; to the point, we +are perhaps incorrectly told of replacing a "she answered" by a "she +indefinitely responded." + +I should, indeed, mention that on my venturing to put to Mr. James a +question or two about his theory of such changes he replied that no +theory could be stated, at any rate in the off-hand manner that I seemed +to invite, without childish injustice to the various considerations by +which a writer is moved. These determinant reasons differ with the +context and the relations of parts to parts and to the total sense in a +way of which no a priori account can be given. + +"I dare say I strike you," he went on, "as rather bewilderedly weighing +my words; but I may perhaps explain my so doing very much as I the other +day heard a more interesting fact explained. A distinguished English +naval expert happened to say to me that the comparative non-production +of airships in this country indicated, in addition to other causes, a +possible limitation of the British genius in that direction, and then on +my asking him why that class of craft shouldn't be within the compass of +the greatest makers of sea-ships, replied, after brief reflection: +'Because the airship is essentially a bad ship, and we English can't +make a bad ship well enough.' Can you pardon," Mr. James asked, "my +making an application of this to the question of one's amenability or +plasticity to the interview? The airship of the interview is for me a +bad ship, and I can't make a bad ship well enough." + +Catching Mr. James's words as they came was not very difficult; but +there was that in the manner of his speech that cannot be put on paper, +the delicate difference between the word recalled and the word allowed +to stand, the earnestness of the massive face and alert eye, tempered by +the genial "comment of the body," as R.L. Stevenson has it. + +Henry James does not look his seventy years. He has a finely shaped +head, and a face, at once strong and serene, which the painter and the +sculptor may well have liked to interpret. Indeed, in fine appreciation +they have so wrought. Derwent Wood's admirable bust, purchased from last +year's Royal Academy, shown by the Chantrey Fund, will be permanently +placed in the Tate Gallery, and those who fortunately know Sargent's +fine portrait, to be exhibited in the Sargent Room at the San Francisco +Exhibition, will recall its having been slashed into last year by the +militant suffragettes, though now happily restored to such effect that +no trace of the outrage remains. + +Mr. James has a mobile mouth, a straight nose, a forehead which has +thrust back the hair from the top of his commanding head, although it is +thick at the sides over the ears, and repeats in its soft gray the color +of his kindly eyes. Before taking in these physical facts one receives +an impression of benignity and amenity not often conveyed, even by the +most distinguished. And, taking advantage of this amiability, I asked if +certain words just used should be followed by a dash, and even boldly +added: "Are you not famous, Mr. James, for the use of dashes?" + +"Dash my fame!" he impatiently replied. "And remember, please, that +dogmatizing about punctuation is exactly as foolish as dogmatizing about +any other form of communication with the reader. All such forms depend +on the kind of thing one is doing and the kind of effect one intends to +produce. Dashes, it seems almost platitudinous to say, have their +particular representative virtue, their quickening force, and, to put it +roughly, strike both the familiar and the emphatic note, when those are +the notes required, with a felicity beyond either the comma or the +semicolon; though indeed a fine sense for the semicolon, like any sort +of sense at all for the pluperfect tense and the subjunctive mood, on +which the whole perspective in a sentence may depend, seems anything but +common. Does nobody ever notice the calculated use by French writers of +a short series of suggestive points in the current of their prose? I +confess to a certain shame for my not employing frankly that shade of +indication, a finer shade still than the dash.... But what on earth are +we talking about?" And the Chairman of the Corps Committee pulled +himself up in deprecation of our frivolity, which I recognized by +acknowledging that we might indeed hear more about the work done and +doing at the front by Richard Norton and his energetic and devoted +co-workers. Then I plunged recklessly to draw my victim. + +"May not a large part of the spirit which animates these young men be a +healthy love of adventure?" I asked. + +The question seemed to open up such depths that Mr. James considered a +moment and began: + +"I, of course, don't personally know many of our active associates, who +naturally waste very little time in London. But, since you ask me, I +prefer to think of them as moved, first and foremost, not by the idea of +the fun or the sport they may have, or of the good thing they may make +of the job for themselves, but by that of the altogether exceptional +chance opened to them of acting blessedly and savingly for others, +though indeed if we come to that there is no such sport in the world as +so acting when anything in the nature of risk or exposure is attached. +The horrors, the miseries, the monstrosities they are in presence of are +so great surely as not to leave much of any other attitude over when +intelligent sympathy has done its best. + +"Personally I feel so strongly on everything that the war has brought +into question for the Anglo-Saxon peoples that humorous detachment or +any other thinness or tepidity of mind on the subject affects me as +vulgar impiety, not to say as rank blasphemy; our whole race tension +became for me a sublimely conscious thing from the moment Germany flung +at us all her explanation of her pounce upon Belgium for massacre and +ravage in the form of the most insolent, 'Because I choose to, damn you +all!' recorded in history. + +"The pretension to smashing world rule by a single people, in virtue of +a monopoly of every title, every gift and every right, ought perhaps to +confound us more by its grotesqueness than to alarm us by its energy; +but never do cherished possessions, whether of the hand or of the +spirit, become so dear to us as when overshadowed by vociferous +aggression. How can one help seeing that such aggression, if hideously +successful in Europe, would, with as little loss of time as possible, +proceed to apply itself to the American side of the world, and how can +one, therefore, not feel that the Allies are fighting to the death for +the soul and the purpose and the future that are in _us_, for the +defense of every ideal that has most guided our growth and that most +assures our unity? + +"Of course, since you ask me, my many years of exhibited attachment to +the conditions of French and of English life, with whatever fond play of +reflection and reaction may have been involved in it, make it inevitable +that these countries should peculiarly appeal to me at the hour of their +peril, their need and their heroism, and I am glad to declare that, +though I had supposed I knew what that attachment was, I find I have any +number of things more to learn about it. English life, wound up to the +heroic pitch, is at present most immediately before me, and I can +scarcely tell you what a privilege I feel it to share the inspiration +and see further revealed the character of this decent and dauntless +people. + +"However, I am indeed as far as you may suppose from assuming that what +you speak to me of as the 'political' bias is the only ground on which +the work of our corps for the Allies should appeal to the American +public. Political, I confess, has become for me in all this a loose and +question-begging term, but if we must resign ourselves to it as +explaining some people's indifference, let us use a much better one for +inviting their confidence. It will do beautifully well if givers and +workers and helpers are moved by intelligent human pity, and they are +with us abundantly enough if they feel themselves simply roused by, and +respond to, the most awful exhibition of physical and moral anguish the +world has ever faced, and which it is the strange fate of our actual +generations to see unrolled before them. We welcome any lapse of logic +that may connect inward vagueness with outward zeal, if it be the zeal +of subscribers, presenters or drivers of cars, or both at once, +stretcher-bearers, lifters, healers, consolers, handy Anglo-French +interpreters, (these extremely precious,) smoothers of the way; in +short, after whatever fashion. We ask of nobody any waste of moral or of +theoretic energy, nor any conviction of any sort, but that the job is +inspiring and the honest, educated man a match for it. + +"If I seem to cast doubt on any very driving intelligence of the great +issue as a source of sympathy with us, I think this is because I have +been struck, whenever I have returned to my native land, by the +indifference of Americans at large to the concerns and preoccupations of +Europe. This indifference has again and again seemed to me quite beyond +measure or description, though it may be in a degree suggested by the +absence throughout the many-paged American newspaper of the least +mention of a European circumstance unless some not-to-be-blinked war or +revolution, or earthquake or other cataclysm has happened to apply the +lash to curiosity. The most comprehensive journalistic formula that I +have found myself, under that observation, reading into the general case +is the principle that the first duty of the truly appealing sheet in a +given community is to teach every individual reached by it--every man, +woman and child--to count on appearing there, in their habit as they +live, if they will only wait for their turn. + +"However," he continued, "my point is simply my plea for patience with +our enterprise even at the times when we can't send home sensational +figures. 'They also serve who only stand and wait,' and the essence of +our utility, as of that of any ambulance corps, is just to be there, on +any and every contingency, including the blessed contingency of a +temporary drop in the supply of the wounded turned out and taken +on--since such comparative intermissions occur. Ask our friends, I beg +you, to rid themselves of the image of our working on schedule time or +on guarantee of a maximum delivery; we are dependent on the humors of +battle, on incalculable rushes and lapses, on violent outbreaks of +energy which rage and pass and are expressly designed to bewilder. It is +not for the poor wounded to oblige us by making us showy, but for us to +let them count on our open arms and open lap as troubled children count +on those of their mother. It is now to be said, moreover, that our +opportunity of service threatens inordinately to grow; such things may +any day begin to occur at the front as will make what we have up to now +been able to do mere child's play, though some of our help has been +rendered when casualties were occurring at the rate, say, of 5,000 in +twenty minutes, which ought, on the whole, to satisfy us. In face of +such enormous facts of destruction--" + +Here Mr. James broke off as if these facts were, in their horror, too +many and too much for him. But after another moment he explained his +pause. + +"One finds it in the midst of all this as hard to apply one's words as +to endure one's thoughts. The war has used up words; they have weakened, +they have deteriorated like motor car tires; they have, like millions of +other things, been more overstrained and knocked about and voided of the +happy semblance during the last six months than in all the long ages +before, and we are now confronted with a depreciation of all our terms, +or, otherwise speaking, with a loss of expression through increase of +limpness, that may well make us wonder what ghosts will be left to +walk." + +This sounded rather desperate, yet the incorrigible interviewer, +conscious of the wane of his only chance, ventured to glance at the +possibility of a word or two on the subject of Mr. James's present +literary intentions. But the kindly hand here again was raised, and the +mild voice became impatient. + +"Pardon my not touching on any such irrelevance. All I want is to invite +the public, as unblushingly as possible, to take all the interest in us +it can; which may be helped by knowing that our bankers are Messrs. +Brown Brothers & Co., 59 Wall Street, New York City, and that checks +should be made payable to the American Volunteer Motor Ambulance Corps." + + + + +A Talk With Belgium's Governor + +By Edward Lyall Fox + +[From THE NEW YORK TIMES, April 11, 1915.] + +Copyright, 1915, by the Wildman News Service. + + +"It would have been a very grave mistake not to have invaded Belgium. +It would have been an unforgivable military blunder. I justify the +invading of Belgium on absolute military grounds. What other grounds are +there worth while talking about when a nation is in a war for its +existence?" + +It is the ruler of German Belgium speaking. The stern, serious-faced +Governor General von Bissing, whom they call "Iron Fist," the man who +crushes out sedition. Returning, I had just come up from the front +around Lille, and almost the only clothes I had were those on my back; +and the mud of the trenches still clung to my boots and puttees in +yellow cakes. They were not the most proper clothes in which to meet +King Albert's successor, but in field gray I had to go. + +The Governor General received me in a dainty Louis Quinze room done in +rose and French gray, and filled incongruously with delicate chairs and +heavy brocaded curtains, a background which instantly you felt precisely +suited his Excellency. In the English newspapers, which, by the way, are +not barred from Berlin cafés, I had read of his Excellency as the "Iron +Fist," or the "Heavy Heel," and I rather expected to see a heavy, +domineering man. Instead, a slender, stealthy man in the uniform of a +General rose from behind a tapestry topped table, revealing, as he did, +a slight stoop in his back, perhaps a trifle foppish. He held out a +long-fingered hand. + +General von Bissing spoke no English. Somehow I imagined him to be one +of those old German patriots who did not learn the language simply +because it was English. Through Lieut. Herrmann I asked the Governor +General what Germany was doing toward the reconstruction of Belgium. I +told him America, when I had left, was under the impression that +Belgium was a land utterly laid waste by the German armies. I frankly +told him that in America the common belief was that the German military +Government meant tyranny; what was Germany doing for Belgium? + +"I think," replied Governor General von Bissing, "that we are doing +everything that can be done under the circumstances. Those farm lands +which you saw, coming up from Lille to Brussels, were planted by German +soldiers and in the Spring they will be harvested by our soldiers. +Belgium has not been devastated, and its condition has been grievously +misstated, as you have seen. You must remember that the armies have +passed back and forth across it--German, Belgian, English, and +French--but I think you have seen that only in the paths of these armies +has the countryside suffered. Where engagements were not fought or shots +fired, Belgium is as it was. + +"There has been no systematic devastation for the purpose of +intimidating the people. You will learn this if you go all over Belgium. +As for the cities, we are doing the best we can to encourage business. +Of course, with things the way they are now, it is difficult. I can only +ask you to go down one of the principal business streets here, the Rue +de la Neuf, for instance, and price the articles that you find in the +shops and compare them with the Berlin prices. The merchants of Brussels +are not having to sacrifice their stock by cutting prices, and, equally +important, there are people buying. I can unhesitatingly say that things +are progressing favorably in Belgium." + +The conversation turned upon Belgian and English relations before this +war. The Governor General mentioned documentary evidence found in the +archives in Brussels, proving an understanding between these countries +against Germany. He spoke briefly about the point that the subjects of +King Albert had been betrayed into the hands of English financiers and +then laconically said: "The people of Belgium are politically +undisciplined children. + +"They are the victims of subtle propaganda that generally takes the form +of articles in French and neutral newspapers," and General von Bissing +looked me straight in the eyes, as though to emphasize that by neutral +he meant the newspapers of the United States. "I can understand the +French doing this," he said, "because they always use the Belgians and +do not care what happens to them. It is beyond my comprehension, though, +how the Government of any neutral country permits the publication of +newspaper articles that can have but one effect, and that is to +encourage revolt in a captured people. A country likes to call itself +humanitarian, and yet it persists in allowing the publication of +articles that only excite an ignorant, undisciplined people and lead +them to acts of violence that must be wiped out by force," and the +Governor General's mouth closed with a click. + +"Do you know that the people of Brussels, whenever a strong wind carries +the booming of heavy guns miles in from the front, think that French and +English are going to recapture the city? Any day that we can hear the +guns faintly, we know that there is an undercurrent of nervous +expectancy running through the whole city. It goes down alleys and +avenues and fills the cafés. You can see Belgians standing together, +whispering. Twice they actually set the date when King Albert would +return. + +"This excitement and unrest, and the feeling of the English coming in, +is fostered and encouraged by the articles in French and neutral +newspapers that are smuggled in. I do not anticipate any uprising among +the Belgians, although the thoughtless among them have encouraged it. An +uprising is not a topic of worry in our councils. It could do us no +harm. We would crush it out like that," and von Bissing snapped his thin +fingers, "but if only for the sake of these misled and betrayed people, +all seditious influences should cease." + +I asked the Governor General the attitude of officials of the Belgian +Government who were being used by the Germans in directing affairs. + +"My predecessor, General von der Goltz," he replied, "informed me that +the municipal officials in Brussels and most Belgian cities showed a +good co-operative spirit from the start. The higher officials were +divided, some refusing flatly to deal with the German administration. I +do not blame these men, especially the railway officials, for I can see +their viewpoint. In these days railway roads and troop trains were +inseparable, and if those Belgian railway officials had helped us, they +would have committed treason against their country. There was no need, +though, for the Post Office officials to hold out, and only lately they +have come around. Realizing, however, that without their department the +country would be in chaos, the officials of the Department of Justice +immediately co-operated with us. Today the Belgian Civil Courts try all +ordinary misdemeanors and felonies. Belgian penal law still exists and +is administered by Belgians. However, all other cases are tried by a +military tribunal, the Feld Gericht." + +I asked General von Bissing if there was much need for this military +tribunal. I shall not forget his reply. + +"We have a few serious cases," he said. "Occasionally there is a little +sedition but for the most part it is only needle pricks. They are quiet +now. They know why," and, slowly shaking his head, von Bissing, who is +known as the sternest disciplinarian in the entire German Army, smiled. + +We talked about the situation in America. + +"The truth will come out," said von Bissing slowly. "Your country is +renowned for fair play. You will be fair to Germany, I know. Your +American Relief Commission is doing excellent work. It is in the highest +degree necessary. At first the German Army had to use the food they +could get by foraging in Belgium, for the country does not begin to +produce the food it needs for its own consumption, and there were no +great reserves that our troops could use. But the German Army is not +using any of the Belgian food now." + +[Illustration: H.M. MOHAMMED V. + +Sultan of Turkey. + +_(Photo from P.S. Rogers.)_] + +[Illustration: H.M. VITTORIO EMANUELE III. + +King of Italy.] + +I asked the Governor General if the Germans had not been very glad that +America was sending over food. + +"It is most important," he said, "that America regularly sends +provisions to Belgium. Your country should feel very proud of the good +it has done here. I welcome the American Relief Committee; we are +working in perfect harmony. Despite reports to the contrary, we never +have had any misunderstanding. Through the American press, please thank +your people for their kindness to Belgium. + +"But," he continued impressively, referring back to the justification of +Germany's occupation and speaking with quiet force, "if we had not sent +our troops into Belgium, the English would have landed their entire +expeditionary army at Antwerp, and cut our line of communication. How do +I know that? Simply because England would have been guilty of the +grossest blunder if she had not done that, and the man who is in charge +of England's Army has never been known as a blunderer." + + + + +A CHARGE IN THE DARK + +By O.C.A. CHILD. + + + Out of the trenches lively, lads! + Steady, steady there, number two! + Step like your feet were tiger's pads-- + Crawl when crawling's the thing to do! + + Column left, through the sunken road! + Keep in touch as you move by feel! + Empty rifles--no need to load-- + Night work's close work, stick to steel! + + Wait for shadows and watch the clouds, + When it's moonshine, down you go! + Quiet, quiet, as men in shrouds, + Cats a-prowl in the dark go slow. + + Curse you, there, did you have to fall? + Damn your feet and your blind-bat eyes! + Caught in the open, caught--that's all! + Searchlights! slaughter--we meant surprise! + + Shrapnel fire a bit too low-- + Gets us though on the ricochet! + Open order and in we go, + Steel, cold steel, and we'll make 'em pay. + + God above, not there to win? + Left, while my men go on to die! + Take them in, Sergeant, take them in! + Go on, fellows, good luck--good-bye! + + + + +A New Poland + +By Gustave Hervé + + + Gustave Hervé, author of the article translated below, which + appears in a recent number of his paper, La Guerre + Sociale--suppressed, it is reported, by the French + authorities--has been described as "the man who fights all + France." He is 44 years old, and has spent one-fourth of his + life in prison, on account of Socialistic articles against the + French flag and Government. He used to continue writing such + articles from prison and thus get his sentences lengthened. + + Hervé has always opposed everything savoring of militarism and + conquest. From his article on Poland it will be seen that, + although he says nothing anti-French or antagonistic to the + Allies in general, he desires a Russian triumph over Germany + not for his own sake, but as a preliminary to a reconstruction + of the Polish Nation out of the lands wrested from Poland by + Russia, Germany, and Austria. + +In spite of its vagueness, the Grand Duke Nicholas's proclamation +justifies the most sanguine hopes. This has been recognized not only by +all the Poles whom it has reached, those of Russian Poland, and the +three million Polish refugees who live in America, but moreover, all the +Allies have interpreted it as a genuine promise that Poland would be +territorially and politically reconstructed. + +What would it be right to include in a reconstructed Poland, if the +great principle of nationality is to be respected? + +First, such a Poland would naturally include all of the Russian Poland +of today--by that I mean all the districts where Poles are in a large +majority. This forms a preliminary nucleus of 12,000,000 inhabitants, +among whom are about 2,000,000 Jews. This great proportion of Jews is +accounted for by the fact that Poland is in the zone where Jews are +allowed to live in Russia. + +Our new Poland would not comprise the ancient Lithuania--the districts +of Wilno, Kovno, and Grodno--although Lithuania formerly was part of +Poland and still has about one million Polish inhabitants who form the +aristocracy and bourgeoisie. Lithuania, which is really the region of +the Niemen, is peopled by Letts, who have their own language, resembling +neither Polish nor Russian, and they likewise hope to obtain some day a +measure of autonomy in the Russian Empire, with the right to use their +language in schools, churches, and civil proceedings. One thing is +certain: they would protest, and rightly, against actual incorporation +into the new Poland. + +The 125,000 square kilometers and 12,000,000 inhabitants of Russian +Poland, lying around Warsaw, would constitute the nucleus of +reconstructed Poland. + +Must we add to this the 79,000 square kilometers and 8,000,000 +inhabitants of Galicia, which was Austria's share in the spoils of old +Poland? Certainly, so far as western Galicia around Cracow is concerned, +for this is a wholly Polish region, the Poles there numbering 2,500,000. + +As for eastern Galicia, of which the principal city is Lemberg, (Lvov in +Polish,) the question is more delicate. Though Eastern Galicia has over +1,500,000 Poles and 600,000 Jews, most of the population is Ruthenian. +Now these Ruthenians, who are natives, subjugated in former times by the +conquering Poles, and who still own much of the big estates, are related +to the "Little Russians," the southerners of Russia, and speak a dialect +which is to Russian what Provençal is to French. + +Besides, whereas the Poles are Catholics, the Ruthenians are Greek +Orthodox Christians like the Russians, but differ from the latter in +that they are connected with the Roman Church, and are thus schismatics +in the eyes of the Russian priests. + +Should these Ruthenians be annexed to Russia along with the 1,500,000 +Poles and 500,000 Jews, among whom they have lived for centuries, they +would scarcely look upon this as acceptable unless they were certain of +having under Russian rule at least equal political liberty and respect +for their dialect and religion as they have under Austrian rule. + +Should they be incorporated with the rest of Polish Galicia into the new +Poland? It is hardly probable that they desire this, having enjoyed +under Austria a considerable measure of autonomy as regards their +language and schools. Would not the best solution be to make of Eastern +Galicia an autonomous province of the reconstructed Poland, guaranteeing +to it its local privileges? + +That leaves for consideration the portion of Poland now forming part of +Prussia. + +There can be no question as to what should be done with the districts of +Posen and Thorn. These are the parts of Poland stolen by Prussia, which +the Prussians, a century and a quarter after the theft, have not +succeeded in Germanizing. + +North of the Posen district is Western Prussia, whose principal city is +Dantzic; that too is a Polish district, stolen in 1772. Since then +Dantzic has been Germanized and there are numerous German officials and +employes in the other towns of the region. All the rural districts and a +part of the towns, however, have remained Polish in spite of attempts to +Germanize them as brutal as those applied to Posnania. But, if united +Poland should include Western Prussia, as she has the right to do--there +being no rule against what is right--Eastern Prussia, including +Königsberg, will be cut off from the rest of Germany. + +Now, Eastern Prussia, with the exception of the southern part about the +Masurian Lakes, which has remained Polish, has been German from early +mediaeval times. It is the home of the most reactionary junkers of all +Prussia, a cradle of Prussian royalty and of the Hohenzollerns. Despite +our hatred for these birds of prey, could we wish that the new Poland +should absorb these 2,000,000 genuine Germans? + +If the region of Königsberg remains Prussian and the Masurian Lakes +region is added to Poland, why not leave to Germany the strip of land +along the coast, including Dantzic, in order that Eastern Prussia may +thus be joined to Germany at one end? + +Another question: There is in Prussian Upper Silesia a district, that of +Oppeln, rich in iron ore, which was severed in the Middle Ages from +Poland, but which has remained mostly Polish and which adjoins Poland. +If the majority of Polish residents there demand it, would it not be +well to join it once more to Poland, which would become, by this +addition, contiguous to the Czechs of Bohemia? + +To sum up: + +Without laying hands on the German district of Königsberg, united +Poland, by absorbing all the territory at present held by Prussia, in +which the majority of the inhabitants are Poles, will take from the +latter 70,000 square kilometers and 5,700,000 inhabitants. With these, +the new Poland would have 24,000,000 inhabitants, including Eastern +Galicia. + +If Russia gave to this Poland in lieu of actual independence the most +liberal autonomy and reconstructed a Polish kingdom under the suzerainty +of the Czar--a Poland with its Diet, language, schools and army--would +not the present war seem to us a genuine war of liberation and Nicholas +II. a sort of Czar-liberator? + +And if resuscitated Poland, taught by misfortune, compassionate toward +the persecuted and proscribed because she herself has been persecuted +and proscribed, should try to cure herself of her anti-Semitism, which +has saddened her best friends in France, would not you say that she +indeed deserved to be resuscitated from among the dead? + + + + +"With the Honors of War" + +By Wythe Williams + +[From THE NEW YORK TIMES, April, 1915.] + + +It was just at the dawn of a March morning when I got off a train at +Gerbéviller, the little "Martyr City" that hides its desolation as it +hid its existence in the foothills of the Vosges. + +There was a dense fog. At 6 A.M. fog usually covers the valleys of the +Meurthe and Moselle. From the station I could see only a building across +the road. A gendarme demanded my credentials. I handed him the +laisser-passer from the Quartier Général of the "First French Army," +which controls all coming and going, all activity in that region. The +gendarme demanded to know the hour when I proposed to leave. I told him. +He said it would be necessary to have the permit "viséd for departure" +at the headquarters of the gendarmerie. He pointed to the hazy outlines +of another building just distinguishable through the fog. + +This was proof that the town contained buildings--not just a building. +The place was not entirely destroyed, as I had supposed. I went down the +main street from the station, the fog enveloping me. I had letters to +the town officials, but it was too early in the morning to present them. +I would first get my own impressions of the wreck and the ruin. But I +could see nothing on either hand as I stumbled along in the mud. So I +commented to myself that this was not as bad as some places I had seen. +I thought of the substantial station and the buildings across the +road--untouched by war. I compared Gerbéviller with places where there +is not even a station--where not one simple house remains as the result +of "the day when the Germans came." + +The road was winding and steep, dipping down to the swift little stream +that twists a turbulent passage through the town. The day was coming +fast but the fog remained white and impenetrable. After a few minutes I +began to see dark shapes on either side of the road. Tall, thin, +irregular shapes, some high, some low, but with outlines all softened, +toned down by the banks of white vapor. + +I started across the road to investigate and fell into a pile of jagged +masonry on the sidewalk. Through the nearness of the fog I could see +tumbled piles of bricks. The shapes still remained--spectres that seemed +to move in the light wind from the valley. An odor that was not of the +freshness of the morning assailed me. I climbed across the walk. No wall +of buildings barred my path, but I mounted higher on the piles of brick +and stones. A heavy black shape was now at my left hand. I looked up and +in the shadow there was no fog. I could see a crumbled swaying side wall +of a house that was. The odor I noticed was that caused by fire. +Sticking from the wall I could see the charred wood joists that once +supported the floor of the second story. Higher, the lifting fog +permitted me to see the waving boughs of a tree that hung over the house +that was, outlined against a clear sky. At my feet, sticking out of the +pile of bricks and stones, was the twisted iron fragments that was once +the frame of a child's bed. I climbed out into the sunshine. + +I was standing in the midst of a desolation and a silence that was +profound. There was nothing there that lived, except a few fire-blacked +trees that stuck up here and there in the shelter of broken walls. Now I +understood the meaning of the spectral shapes. They were nothing but the +broken walls of the other houses that were. They were all that remained +of nine-tenths of Gerbéviller. + +I wandered along to where the street turned abruptly. There the ground +pitched more sharply to the little river. There stood an entire half of +a house unscathed by fire; it was one of those unexplainable freaks that +often occur in great catastrophes. Even the window glass was intact. +Smoke was coming from the chimney. I went to the opposite side and there +stood an old woman looking out toward the river, brooding over the ruin +stretching below her. + +"You are lucky," I said. "You still have your home." + +She threw out her hands and turned a toothless countenance toward me. I +judged her to be well over seventy. It wasn't her home, she explained. +Her home was "là-bas"--pointing vaguely in the distance. She had lived +there fifty years--now it was burned. Her son's house for which he had +saved thirty years to be able to call it his own, was also gone; but +then her son was dead, so what did it matter? Yes, he was shot on the +day the Germans came. He was ill, but they killed him. Oh, yes, she saw +him killed. When the Germans went away she came to this house and built +a fire in the stove. It was very cold. + +And why were the houses burned? No; it was not the result of +bombardment. Gerbéviller was not bombarded until after the houses were +burned. They were burned by the Germans systematically. They went from +house to house with their torches and oil and pitch. They did not +explain why they burned the houses, but it was because they were angry. + +The old woman paused a moment, and a faint flicker of a smile showed in +the wrinkles about her eyes. I asked her to continue her story. + +"You said because they were angry," I prompted. The smile broadened. Oh, +yes, they were very angry, she explained. They did not even make the +excuse that the villagers fired upon them. They were just angry through +and through. And it was all because of those seventy-five French +chasseurs who held the bridge. Some one called to her from the house. +She hobbled to the door. "Anyone can tell you about the seventy-five +chasseurs," she said, disappearing within. + +I went on down the road and stood upon the bridge over the swift little +river. It was a narrow little bridge only wide enough for one wagon to +pass. Two roads from the town converged there, the one over which I had +passed and another which formed a letter "V" at the juncture with the +bridge. Across the river only one road led away from the bridge and it +ran straight up a hill, when it turned suddenly into the broad national +highway to Lunéville about five miles away. + +One house remained standing almost at the entrance to the bridge, at the +end nearest the town. Its roof was gone, and its walls bore the marks of +hundreds of bullets, but it was inhabited by a little old man of fifty, +who came out to talk with me. He was the village carpenter. His house +was burned, so he had taken refuge in the little house at the bridge. +During the time the Germans were there he had been a prisoner, but they +forgot him the morning the French army arrived. Everybody was in such a +hurry, he explained. + +I asked him about the seventy-five chasseurs at the bridge. Ah, yes, we +were then standing on the site of their barricade. He would tell me +about it, for he had seen it all from his house half way up the hill. + +The chasseurs were first posted across the river on the road to +Lunéville, and when the Germans approached, early in the morning, they +fell back to the bridge, which they had barricaded the night before. It +was the only way into Gerbéviller, so the chasseurs determined to fight. +They had torn up the street and thrown great earthworks across one end +of the bridge. Additional barricades were thrown up on the two +converging streets, part way up the hill, behind which they had +mitrailleuses which could sweep the road at the other end of the bridge. + +About a half mile to the south a narrow footbridge crossed the river, +only wide enough for one man. It was a little rustic affair that ran +through the grounds of the Château de Gerbéviller that faced the river +only a few hundred yards below the main bridge. It was a very ancient +château, built in the twelfth century and restored in the seventeenth +century. It was a royal château of the Bourbons. In it once lived the +great François de Montmorency, Duc de Luxembourg and Marshal of France. +Now it belonged to the Marquise de Lamberty, a cousin of the King of +Spain. + +I interrupted, for I wanted to hear about the chasseurs. I gave the +little old man a cigarette. He seized it eagerly--so eagerly that I also +handed him a cigar. He just sort of fondled that cigar for a moment and +then placed it in an inside pocket. It was a very cheap and very bad +French cigar, for I was in a part of the country that has never heard of +Havanas, but to the little old man it was something precious. "I will +keep it for Sunday," he said. + +I then got him back to the seventy-five chasseurs. It was just eight +o'clock in the morning--a beautiful sunshiny morning--when the German +column appeared around the bend in the road which we could see across +the bridge, and which joined the highway from Lunéville. There were +twelve thousand in that first column. One hundred and fifty thousand +more came later. A band was playing "Deutschland über alles" and the men +were singing. The closely packed front ranks of infantry broke into the +goose step as they came in sight of the town. It was a wonderful sight; +the sun glistened on their helmets; they marched as though on parade +right down almost to the opposite end of the bridge. + +Then came the command to halt. For a moment there was a complete +silence. The Germans, only a couple of hundred yards from the barricade, +seemed slowly to consider the situation. The Captain of the chasseurs, +from a shelter behind the very little house that is still standing--and +where his men up the two roads could see him--softly waved his hand. + +Crack-crack-crack--crack-crack-crack-crack--crack-crack-crack! The +bullets from the mitrailleuses whistled across the bridge into the front +ranks of the "Deutchland über alles" singers, while the men behind the +bridge barricade began a deadly rifle fire. + +Have you ever heard a mitrailleuse? It is just like a telegraph +instrument, with its insistant clickety click-click-click, only it is a +hundred times as loud. Indeed I have been told by French officers that +it has sometimes been used as a telegraph instrument, so accurately can +its operator reel out its hundred and sixty shots a minute. + +On that morning at the Gerbéviller barricade, however, it went faster +than the telegraph. These men on the converging roads just shifted their +range slightly and poured bullets into the next ranks of infantry and so +on back along the line, until Germans were dropping by the dozen at the +sides of the little straight road. Then the column broke ranks wildly +and fled back into the shelter of the road from Lunéville. + +A half hour later a detachment of cavalry suddenly rounded the corner +and charged straight for the barricade. The seventy-five were ready for +them. Some of them got half way across the bridge and then tumbled into +the river. Not one got back around the corner of the road to Lunéville. + +There was another half hour of quiet, and then from the Lunéville road a +battery of artillery got into action. Their range was bad, so far as any +achievement against the seventy-five was concerned, so they turned their +attention to the château, which they could easily see from their +position across the river. The first shell struck the majestic tower of +the building and shattered it. The next smashed the roof, the third hit +the chapel--and so continued the bombardment until flames broke out to +complete the destruction. + +Of course the Germans could not know that the château was empty, that +its owner was in Paris and both her sons fighting in the French Army. +But they had secured the military advantage of demolishing one of the +finest country houses in France, with its priceless tapestries, ancient +marbles and heirlooms of the Bourbons. A howl of German glee was heard +by the seventy-five chasseurs crouching behind their barricades. So +pleased were the invaders with their achievement, that next they bravely +swung out a battery into the road leading to the bridge, intending to +shell the barricades. The Captain of chasseurs again waved his hand. +Every man of the battery was killed before the guns were in position. It +took an entire company of infantry--half of them being killed in the +action--to haul those guns back into the Lunéville road, thus to clear +the way for another advance. + +From then on until 1 o'clock in the afternoon there were three more +infantry attacks, all failing as lamentably as the first. The +seventy-five were holding off the 12,000. At the last attack they let +the Germans advance to the entrance of the bridge. They invited them +with taunts to "avancez." Then they poured in their deadly fire, and as +the Germans broke and fled they permitted themselves a cheer. Up to this +time not one chasseur was killed. Only four were wounded. + +Shortly after 1 o'clock the German artillery wasted a few more shells on +the ruined château and the chasseurs could see a detachment crawling +along the river bank in the direction of the narrow footbridge that +crossed through the château park a half mile below. The Captain of the +chasseurs sent one man with a mitrailleuse to hold the bridge. He posted +himself in the shelter of a large tree at one end. In a few minutes +about fifty Germans appeared. They advanced cautiously on the bridge. +The chasseur let them get half way over before he raked them with his +fire. The water below ran red with blood. + +The Germans retreated for help and made another attack an hour later +with the same result. By 4 o'clock, when the lone chasseur's ammunition +was exhausted, it is estimated that he had killed 175 Germans, who made +five desperate rushes to take the position, which would have enabled +them to make a flank attack on the seventy-four still holding the main +bridge. When his ammunition was gone--which occurred at the same time as +the ammunition at the main bridge was exhausted--this chasseur with the +others succeeded in effecting a retreat to a main body of cavalry. If he +still lives--this modern Horatius at the bridge--he remains an unnamed +hero in the ranks of the French Army, unhonored except in the hearts of +those few of his countrymen who know. + +During the late hours of the afternoon aeroplanes flew over the +chasseurs' position, thus discovering to the Germans how really weak +were the defenses of the town, how few its defenders. Besides, the +ammunition was gone. But for eight hours--from 8 in the morning until 4 +in the afternoon--the seventy-five had held the 12,000. General Joffre +has said in one of his reports that the defense of the bridge at +Gerbéviller had an important bearing on the battle of the Marne, which +was just beginning, for it gave Castelnau's Army of the East time to dig +its trenches a few miles back of Gerbéviller before the Germans got +through. + +Had that body of 12,000 succeeded earlier the 150,000 Germans that +advanced the next day might have been able to fall on the French right +flank during the most critical and decisive battle of the war. The total +casualties of the chasseurs were three killed, three captured, and six +wounded. + +The little old man and I had walked to the entrance of the château park +before he finished his story. It was still too early for breakfast. I +thanked him and told him to return to his work in the little house by +the bridge. I wanted to explore the château at leisure. + +I entered the place--what was left of it. Most of the walls were +standing. Walls built in the twelfth century do not break easily, even +with modern artillery. But the modern roof and seventeenth century inner +walls were all demolished. Not a single article of furniture or +decoration remained. But the destruction showed some of the same +freaks--similar to that little house left untouched by fire on the +summit of the hill. + +For instance, the Bourbon coat of arms above the grand staircase was +untouched, while the staircase itself was just splintered bits of +marble. On another fragment of a wall there still hung a magnificent +stag's antlers. Strewed about in the corners I saw fragments of vases +that had been priceless. Even the remnants were valuable. In the ruined +music room I found a piece of fresh, clean music, (an Alsatian waltz,) +lying on the mantelpiece. I went out to the front of the building, where +the great park sweeps down to the edge of the river. An old gardener in +one of the side paths saw me. We immediately established cordial +relations with a cigarette. + +He told me how, after the chasseurs retreated beyond the town, the +Germans--reduced over a thousand of their original number by the +activities of the day--swept over the barricades of the bridge and into +the town. Yes, the old woman I had talked with was right about it. They +were very angry. They were ferociously angry at being held eight hours +at that bridge by a force so ridiculously small. + +The first civilians they met they killed, and then they began to fire +the houses. One young man, half witted, came out of one of the houses +near the bridge. They hanged him in the garden behind the house. Then +they called his mother to see. A mob came piling into the château headed +by four officers. All the furniture and valuables that were not +destroyed they piled into a wagon and sent back to Lunéville. Of the +gardener who was telling me the story they demanded the keys of the wine +cellars. No; they did not injure him. They just held him by the arms +while several dozen of the soldiers spat in his face. + +While the drunken crew were reeling about the place, one of them +accidentally stumbled upon the secret underground passage leading to the +famous grottoes. These grottoes and the underground connection from the +château were built in the fifteenth century. They are a half mile away, +situated only half above ground, the entrance looking out on a smooth +lawn that extends to the edge of the river. Several giant trees, the +trunks of which are covered with vines, semi-shelter the entrance, which +is also obscured by climbing ivy. The interior was one of the treasures +of France. The vaulted ceilings were done in wonderful mosaic. The walls +decorated with marbles and rare sea shells. In every nook were marble +pedestals and antique statuary, while the fountain in the centre, +supplied from an underground stream, was of porphyry inlaid with mosaic. + +The Germans looked upon it with appreciative eyes and cultured minds. +But it did not please them. They were still very angry. Its destruction +was a necessity of war. It could not be destroyed by artillery because +it was half underground and screened by the giant trees. But it could be +destroyed by picks and axes. A squad of soldiers was detailed to the +job. They did it thoroughly. The gardener took me there to see. Not a +scrap of the mosaic remained. The fountain was smashed to bits. A +headless Venus and a smashed and battered Adonis were lying prone upon +the ground. + +The visitors to the château and environs afterward joined their comrades +in firing the town. Night had come. Also across the bridge waited the +hundred and fifty thousand reinforcements come from Lunéville. The five +hundred of the two thousand inhabitants who remained were herded to the +upper end of the town near the station. That portion was not to be +destroyed because the German General would make his headquarters there. + +The inhabitants were to be given a treat. They were to witness the +entrance of the hundred and fifty thousand--the power and might of +Germany was to be exhibited to them. So while the flames leaped high +from the burning city, reddening the sky for miles, while old men +prayed, while women wept, while little children whimpered, the sound of +martial music was heard down the street near the bridge. The infantry +packed in close formation, the red light from the fire shining on their +helmets, were doing the goose step up the main street to the +station--the great German army had entered the city of Gerbéviller with +the honors of war. + + + + +General Foch, the Man of Ypres + +An Account of France's New Master of War + +[From THE NEW YORK TIMES, April, 1915.] + + +"Find out the weak point of your enemy and deliver your blow there," +said the Commander of the Twentieth French Army Corps at Nancy at a +staff banquet in 1913. + +"But suppose, General," said an artillery officer, "that the enemy has +no weak point?" + +"If the enemy has no weak point," returned the commander, with a gleam +of the eye and an aggressive tilt of the chin, "make one." + +The commander was Foch--Ferdinand Foch--who has suddenly flashed before +the world as the greatest leader in the French Army after Joffre, and +who in that remark at Nancy gave the index to the basic quality of his +character as a General. General Foch is today in command of the northern +armies of France, besides being the chief Lieutenant and confidant of +Joffre. Joffre conceives; Foch, master tactician, executes. He finds the +weak point; if there is no weak point, he creates or seeks to create +one. + +When King George of England was at the front in France recently he +conferred the Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath--the highest military +distinction in the form of an order within the gift of the British +Crown--on two Frenchmen. Joffre was one. The other was Foch. + +"Foch? Foch? Who is Foch?" asked the British public, perplexed, when the +newspapers printed the news of the granting of this signal honor. + +"Foch is the General who was at the head of the French military mission +which followed our army manoeuvres three years ago," replied a few men +who happened to have been intimately acquainted with those manoeuvres. + +"But what has that to do with the Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath?" +asked John Bull. And the manoeuvre experts not being able to reply, the +English newspapers demanded from their correspondents in France an +answer to the query, "Who is Foch? Why the Grand Cross?" + +And the main features of the answers to that query were these: + +Foch is the "greatest strategist in Europe and the humblest," in the +words of Joffre. + +Foch is the hero of the Marne, the man who perceived on Sept. 9 that +there must be a gap between the Prussian Guard and the Saxon Army, and +who gathered enough artillery to crush the guard in the St. Gond marshes +and forced both the Prussians and the Saxons, now separated, to retreat. + +Foch is the man of Ypres, the commander who was in general control of +the successful fight made by the French and the British, aided by the +Belgians, to prevent the Germans from breaking through to Calais. + +Foch, in short, is one of the military geniuses of the war, so record +observers at the front. He is a General who has something of the +Napoleonic in his composition; the dramatic in war is for him--secrecy +and suddenness, gigantic and daring movements; fiery, yet coldly +calculated attacks; vast strategic conceptions carried out by swift, +unfaltering tactics. Foch has a tendency to the impetuous, but he is +impetuous scientifically. He has, however, taken all in all, much more +of the dash and nervousness and warmth of the Southern Latin than has +Joffre--cool, cautious, taciturn Joffre. Yet both men are from the south +of France. They were born within a few miles of one another, within +three months of one another, Foch being born on Oct. 2, 1851, and Joffre +on Jan. 12, 1852. + +Most writers who have dealt with Foch agree on this as one of his +paramount characteristics--the Napoleonic mode of military thought. +When Foch was director of the Ecole de Guerre, where he had much to do +with shaping the military views of many of the men who are now +commanding units of the French Armies, he was considered to be possessed +of almost an obsession on the subject of Napoleon. He studied Napoleon's +campaigns, and restudied them. He went back much further, however, in +his choice of a master, and gave intense application to the campaigns of +Caesar. Napoleon and Caesar--these were the minds from which the mind of +the Marne and Ypres has learned some of its lessons of success. + +Here Foch invites comparison with another of the dominant figures of the +war--General French. For French is described by his biographer as "a +worshipper of Napoleon," regarding him as the world's greatest +strategist, and in following out and studying Napoleon's campaigns +French personally covered and studied much of the ground in Belgium over +which he has been fighting. French is a year younger than Foch. They are +old friends, as are French and Joffre, and Joffre and Foch. + +The inclination of Foch to something of the Napoleonic is shown beyond +the realm of strategy and tactics. Foch is credited with knowing the +French soldier, his heart, his mind, his capabilities, and the method of +getting the most out of those capabilities, in a way reminiscent of the +winner of Jena. And Foch knows not only the privates, but the officers. +When he went to the front he visited each commander; the Colonels he +called by name; the corps commanders, without exception, had attended +his lectures at the Ecole de Guerre. + +As for the men, Foch makes it his business to get into personal contact +with them, as Napoleon used to do. Foch does not hobnob with them, there +is no joking or familiarity, but he goes into the trenches and the +occupied villages and looks the men over informally, inspects food or +equipment, makes a useful comment or two, drops a phrase that is worth +repeating, and leaves behind him enthusiasm and respect. The Paris +Figaro says that he has the gift of setting souls afire, of arousing +that élan in the French fighter which made that fighter perform military +miracles when the "sun of Austerlitz" was high. It has been declared by +a French writer that Foch knows the human element in the French Army +better than any other man living. + +With all his knowledge of men, his power of inspiring them, Foch is +quiet, retiring, non-communicative, with no taste for meeting people in +social intercourse. His life has been monotonous--work and work and +work. He has the reputation of being a driver; he used to be +particularly severe on shirkers in the war college, and such, no matter +what their influence, had no chance of getting a diploma leading to an +attractive staff position when Foch was Director. When he was in command +at Nancy and elsewhere he used to work his staffs hard, and they had to +share much of the monotony of work which has been chiefly Foch's life. +He did not go in for society, merely making the formal calls required by +the etiquette of garrison towns on the chief garrison hostesses, and +giving dinners two or three times a year to his staff. + +Foch, indeed, with his quiet ways and his hard work and his studying of +Napoleon and Caesar, was characterized by some of the officers of the +army as a pedant, a theorist, and these held that Foch had small chance +of doing anything important in such a practical realm as that of real +war. + +Because of his Directorship of the Ecole de Guerre he was known to many +officers, but as far as France at large was concerned his name was +scarcely known at all last August. Yet officers knew him in other lands +besides his own. His two great books, "Principles of War" and "Conduct +of War," have been translated into English, German, and Italian, and are +highly regarded by military men. He has been ranked by the +Militär-Wochenblatt, organ of the German General Staff, as one of the +few strategists of first class ability among the Allies. + +Foch is a slim man, with a great deal of nervous energy in his actions, +being so quick and graceful in movement, indeed, that a recent English +observer declares he carries himself more like a man of 40 than one of +64. His gray blue eyes are particularly to be noticed, so keen are they. +His speech is quick, precise, logical. + +So little has Foch been known to the French public that it has been +stated time and again that he is an Alsatian. He is not, but comes of a +Basque family which has lived for many generations in the territory +which is now the Department of the Hautes-Pyrénées, directly on the +border of Spain. Foch was born in the town of Tarbes in that department. +Joffre was born in the Department Pyrénées-Orientales, on the Spanish +border to the east. Foch's father, Napoleon Foch, was a Bonapartist and +Secretary of the Prefecture at Tarbes under Napoleon III. One of his two +brothers, a lawyer, is also called Napoleon. The other is a Jesuit +priest. Foch and these brothers attended the local college, and then +turned to their professions. + +In 1870 Foch served as a subaltern against the Germans, as did Joffre. +After the war Foch began to win recognition as a man of brains, and at +26 he was given a commission as artillery Captain. Later he became +Professor of Tactics in the Ecole de Guerre, with the title of +Commandant, where he remained for five years, and then returned to +regimental work. It was when Foch reached the grade of Brigadier General +that he went back to the War College, this time as Director, one of the +most confidential positions in the War Department. From this post he +went to the command of the Thirteenth Division, thence to the command of +the Eighth Corps at Bourges, and thence to the command of the Twentieth +Corps at Nancy. + +At the time that Foch was appointed Director of the Ecole de Guerre, +Clemenceau was Premier, and upon the latter fell the task of choosing an +officer for the important Directorship. There was keen competition for +the position, many influential Generals desiring the appointment, and in +consequence much wire-pulling went on. The story goes that Clemenceau, +a man of action, became impatient of the intrigues for the post, and +determined to make his own choice unhampered. + +According to the story, Clemenceau, after a conference one day upon +routine business with Foch, asked the latter to dine. The Ecole de +Guerre was not mentioned during the meal, the men chatting upon general +topics. But as the coffee was being brought on, the Premier turned +suddenly to the General and said, brusquely: + +"By the way, I've a good bit of news for you. You're nominated Director +of the Ecole de Guerre." + +"Director of the Ecole de Guerre! But I'm not a candidate for the post." + +"That is possible. But you're appointed all the same, and I know you +will do excellent work in the position." + +Foch thanked the Premier, but he still had some doubts, and added: + +"I fear you don't know all my family connections. I have a brother who +is a Jesuit." + +"Jesuit be d-----!" the Premier is reported to have roared in reply. +"Oh, I beg your pardon, Mr. Director! You are the Director of the Ecole +de Guerre. All the Jesuits in creation won't alter that--it is a fait +accompli." + +Among the confidential bits of work worthy of note that Foch has done +for the War Department is the report he made upon the larger guns of the +French field artillery, which have done such execution in the present +war. For many weeks Foch went around the great Creusot gun works in the +blouse of a workman, testing, watching, experimenting, analyzing. + +Foch was one of the high officers in France who was not in the least +surprised by the war and who had personally been holding himself in +readiness for it for years. He felt, and often said, that a great war +was inevitable; so much used he to dwell upon the certainty of war that +some persons regarded him as an alarmist when he kept declaring that +French officers should take every step within their power to get +themselves and the troops ready for active service at an instant's +notice. He also held that France as a nation should prepare to the +utmost of her power for the assured conflict. + +In a recent issue of The London Times there was a description of Foch by +a Times correspondent who had been at Foch's headquarters in the north +of France. The correspondent's remarks are prefaced by the statement +that in a late dispatch General French mentions General Foch as one of +those whose help he has "once more gratefully to acknowledge." The +correspondent writes in part: + + What Ernest Lavisse has clone for civilian New France in his + direction of the Ecole Normale General Foch has done in a + large measure for the officers of New France by his teaching + of strategy and tactics at the Ecole de Guerre. He left his + mark upon the whole teaching of general tactics. + + I had the honor of being received recently by General Foch at + his headquarters in the north of France--a house built for + very different purposes many years ago, when Flemish civil + architecture was in its flower. The quiet atmosphere of + Flemish ease and burgomaster comfort has completely vanished. + The building hums with activity, as does the whole town. A + fleet of motor cars is ready for instant action. Officers and + orderlies hurry constantly to and fro. There is an occasional + British uniform, a naval airman's armored car, and above all + the noise of this bustle, though lower in tone, the sound of + guns in the distance from Ypres. + + The director of all this activity is General Foch. There in + the north he is putting his theories of war to the test with + as much success as he did at the outbreak of hostilities in + Lorraine and later in the centre during the battle of the + Marne. Although born with the brain of a mathematician, + General Foch's ideas upon war are by no means purely + scientific. He refuses, indeed, to regard war, and more + especially modern war, as an exact science. The developments + of science have, indeed, but increased the mental and moral + effort required of each participant, and it is only in the + passions aroused in each man by the conflict of conception of + life that the combatant finds the strength of will to + withstand the horrors of modern warfare. + + General Foch is a philosopher as well as a fighter. He is one + of the rare philosophers who have proved the accuracy of their + ideas in the fire of battle. A typical instance of this is + given by "Miles" in a recent number of the Correspondant. + During the battle of the Marne the Germans made repeated + efforts to cut through the centre where General Foch commanded + between Sézanne and Mailly. On three consecutive days General + Foch was forced to retire. Every morning he resumed the + offensive, with the result that his obstinacy won the day. He + was able to profit by a false step by the enemy to take him in + the flank and defeat him. + + General Foch's whole life and teaching were proved true in + those days. He has resolved the art of war into three + fundamental ideas--preparation, the formation of a mass, and + the multiplication of this mass in its use. In order to derive + the full benefit of the mass created it is necessary to have + freedom of action, and that is only obtained by intellectual + discipline. General Foch has written: + + "Discipline for a leader does not mean the execution of orders + received in so far as they seem suitable, just reasonable, or + even possible. It means that you have entirely grasped the + ideas of the leader who has given the order and that you take + every possible means of satisfying him. Discipline does not + mean silence, abstention, only doing what appears to you + possible without compromising yourself; it is not the practice + of the art of avoiding responsibilities. On the contrary, it + is action in the sense of orders received." + + Fifteen years ago at the Ecole de Guerre General Foch was fond + of quoting Joseph de Maistre's remark, "A battle lost is a + battle which one believes to have lost, for battles are not + lost materially," and of adding, "Battles are therefore lost + morally, and it is therefore morally that they are won." The + aphorism can be extended by this one: "A battle won is a + battle in which one will not admit one's self vanquished." As + "Miles" remarks, "He did as he had said." + +Ernest Dimnet in The London Saturday Review has this to say in part +about Foch and his two widely known books: + + During his two terms of service at the Ecole de Guerre he + produced two considerable works, "Principes de la Guerre" and + "De la Conduite de La Guerre," which give a high idea of their + author's character and talent. There is nothing in them that + ought to scare away the average reader. Their style has the + geometrical lucidity which is the polytechnician's birthright, + but in spite of the deliberate impersonality generally + attached to that style of writing, there emanates from it a + curious quality which gradually shows us the author as a + living person. + + We have the impression of a vast mental capacity turned to the + lifelong study of a fascinating subject and acquiring in it + the dignity of attitude and the naturalness which mastery + inevitably produces. War has been the constant meditation of + this powerful brain. In "La Conduite de la Guerre" this + meditation is the minute historical examination of the battles + of the First Empire and 1870. "Nothing can replace the + experience of war," writes the author, "except the history of + war," and it is clear that he understands the word "history" + as all those who go to the past for a lesson in greatness + understand it. + + "Les Principes de la Guerre" is more immediately technical, + yet it strikes one as being less a speculation than a + visualizing of what modern war was sure to be. If the reader + did not feel that he lacks the background which only the + contemplation a million times repeated of concrete details can + create, he would be tempted to marvel at the extraordinary + simplicity of these views. But a good judge who was very near + the General until a wound removed him for a while from the--to + him--fascinating scene tells me that this simplicity and + directness--which marked the action of Foch at the battle of + the Marne as they formerly marked his teaching--are the + perfection to which only a few can aspire. + + + + +THE UNREMEMBERED DEAD + +By ELLA A. FANNING. + + + "For those who die in war, and have none to pray for + them."--Litany. + + We lay a wreath of laurel on the sward, + Where rest our loved ones in a deep repose + Unvexed by dreams of any earthly care, + And, checking not our tears, we breathe a prayer, + Grateful for even the comfort which is ours-- + That we may kneel and sob our sorrow there, + And place the deathless leaf, the rarest flowers. + + Though Winter's cruel fingers brown the sod, + It's dearer far than all the world beside! + Forms live again--we gaze in love and pride + On youthful faces prest close to our own. + Eyes smile to ours; we hear each tender tone, + Grief's smart is softened--less the sense of loss. + This grave we have, at least; we're not alone! + + And they must know of our unchanging love-- + Our tender thought--our memory--our prayers! + And in our constancy, ah! each one shares + To whom death comes on distant battlefields, + When life's last breath not even the solace yields-- + "There's one who'll mourn for me--whose tears will flow!"-- + Not even a grave is theirs, unnamed, unwept! + God rest their souls--the dead we do not know! + + + + +Canada and Britain's War Union + +By Edward W. Thomson, F.R.S.L., F.R.S.C. + +[From THE NEW YORK TIMES, April, 1915.] + + +Canada's political relation to Great Britain, and, indeed, to all other +countries, has been essentially altered by Canada's quite voluntary +engagement in the war. Were feudal terms not largely inapplicable, one +might aver that the vassal has become the suzerain's ally, political +equality connoted. + +But, indeed, Canadians were never vassals. They have ever been Britons, +whatever their individual origins, retaining the liberties of their +political birthright. While in a certain tutelage to their own monarchs' +immediate Ministries, they have continually, slowly, consciously, +expanded their freedom from such tutelage, substituting for it +self-government or rule by their own representatives, without forsaking +but rather enhancing their allegiance to the common Crown. This has long +been the symbol of their self-government, even as it is to old country +kinsmen the symbol of rule by themselves. + +The alteration manifested by Canada's active, voluntary engagement in +the European war is the change from Canadians holding, as they formerly +did, that Great Britain was bound to defend Canada, while Canadians were +not bound to defend Great Britain outside Canada. The "dependency" has +not been now dragged in; it acted as an independency; it recognized its +participation with Great Britain in a common danger; it proceeded quite +voluntarily, quite independently, to recruit, organize, dispatch, and +maintain large forces for the common cause. Canada's course has become +that of a partner in respect of acceptance of risks and of contribution +to expenses. + +This partner has no formally specified share in gains, or in authority, +or in future policy of the concern. Canada has no obvious, distinct, +admitted way or voice as to the conduct of war or making of peace. She +appears, with the other self-governing Dominions of the Crown, as an +ally having no vote in settlements, none of the prerogatives of an ally. +Hence some observers in Great Britain, in Canada, in other realms of the +Crown contend that the old, expressed relations between Great Britain, +Canada, and the other Dominions must inevitably be extensively changed +formally as well as actually in consequence of the war. + +Some say imperial federation cannot but ensue. Others argue that formal +independence must arrive if such federation come not speedily. Others +contend for an Empire League of sister States. Nobody ventures to +mention what was often talked publicly by Canadians from thirty to fifty +years ago, and later by Goldwin Smith, viz., Canada's entrance to the +United States as a new tier of sovereign States. The idea of severance +from Great Britain has vanished. Discussion of the other alternatives is +not inactive, but it is forced. It engages the quidnuncs. They are +talkers who must say something for the delight of hearing themselves; +or they are writers who live under the exigency of needing to get +"something different" daily into print. They are mostly either +"Jingoes" or Centralizationists, as contra to Nationalists or +Decentralizationists, long-standing opponents. + +Each set perceives their notions liable to be profoundly affected by +Canada's fighting in Europe. Each affects belief that their own +political designs cannot but be thereby served; each is afflicted with +qualms of doubt. They alike appreciate the factors that make for their +opponent's cause. Both know the strength of popular attachment to Great +Britain; both know the traditional and inbred loathing of the +industrious masses for the horrible bloodshed and insensate waste of +treasure in war. Both sets balance inwardly the chances that sentiments +seemingly irreconcilable and about equally respectable may, after the +war, urge Canadians either to draw politically closer to their +world-scattered kin, or to cut ligaments that might pull them again and +again, time without end, into the immemorial European shambles. + +But is the Canadian public excitedly interested in the discussion? Not +at all. Spokesmen and penmen of the two contentious factions are +victimized by their own perfervid imaginations. The electorate, the +masses, are not so swayed. The Canadian people, essentially British no +matter what their origins, are mainly, like all English-speaking +democracies, of straight, primitive, uncomplicated emotions, and of +essentially conservative mind. They "plug" along. The hour and the day +hold their attention. It is given to the necessary private works of the +moment, as to the necessary public conduct of the time. + +They did not, as a public, spin themselves any reasons or excuses for +their hearty approval of Canada's engagement in the war. Her or their +contributions of men and money to its fields of slaughter and waste +appeared and appear to them natural, proper, inevitable. They applauded +seriously the country's being "put in for it" by agreement of the two +sets of party politicians, and without any direct consultation of the +electorate in this, the most important departure Canada ever made, +because prompt action seemed the only way, and time was lacking for +debate about what seemed the next thing that had to be done. In fact, +the Canadian people, regarded collectively, felt and acted in this case +with as much ingenuousness as did those Tyrolese mountaineers, bred, +according to Heine, to know nothing of politics save that they had an +Emperor who wore a white coat and red breeches. + + When the patriots climbed up to them, and told them with + oratory that they now had a Prince who wore a blue coat and + white breeches, they grasped their rifles, and kissed wife and + children, and went down the mountain and offered their lives + in defense of the white coat and the dear old red breeches. + +But did they forsake their relish of and devotion to their customary, +legendary Tyrolese liberties? No more will the Canadian masses, by +reason of their hearty participation in the war, incline to yield jot or +tittle of their usual, long-struggled-for, gradually acquired, valuable +and valued British self-governing rights. Can the Jingoes or +Centralizationists scare them backward? Or the Decentralizationists or +Separatists hurry them forward? Won't they just continue to "plug along" +as their forefathers did in the old country and in the new, gaining a +bit more freedom to do well or ill at their own collective choice--that +is, if the war result "as usual" in British security, according to +confident British expectation. + +Such is the Canadian political situation. It has been essentially +similar any time within living memory. The people approve in politics +what they feel, instinctively, to be the profitable or the decent and +reasonable necessary next thing to do. Which signifies that those +controversialists are probably wrong who conceive that a result of the +war, if it be a win for the Allies, will cause any great formal change +in Canada's political relation to Great Britain. + +The truly valuable change in such relations is already secured; it +cannot but become more notably established by future discussion; it is +and will be a change by reason of greatly increased influence on Great +Britain by Canada and the other Dominions. And it appears highly +probable that such inevitable change in influence or weight of the new +countries is sufficient for all sentiments concerned, and for all useful +purposes on behalf of which formal changes are advocated by doctrinaires +and idealists. + +The British peoples have acquired by long practice in very various +politics a way of making existing arrangements "do" with some slight +patching. They are instinctively seized of the truth of Edmund Burke's +maxim, "Innovation is not improvement." They have "muddled along" into +precisely the institutions that suit any exigency, their sanest +political philosophers recognizing that the exigency must always be +most amenable to the most flexible system. + +It is because the existing arrangements between London and the several +Dominion capitals don't suit logicians that they do suit experienced +statesmen pretty well. Because these institutions can be patched as +occasion may require, they are retained for patching on occasion. +Because the loose, go-as-you-please organization of the so-called +"empire" has revealed almost incredible unity of sentiment and purpose, +practiced statesmen regard it as a prodigious success. They are mighty +shy of affiliating with any of the well-meaning doctrinaires who have +been explaining any time within the last century that the system is +essentially incoherent and absurd and urgently needs profound change +with doctrinaire improvements. + +Sir Robert Borden, for instance. Some days ago he most amiably gave me a +little private talk on these matters, of course on the tacit +understanding that he was not to be "interviewed" as for close reporting +of his informal sentences. He was, by the way, apparently in robust +health, as if, like Mr. Asquith, of a temperament to flourish under the +heaviest responsibilities ever laid on a Prime Minister in his own +country. No statesman could be of aspect and utterance less hurried, nor +more pleasant, lucid, cautious, disposed to give a friendly caller large +and accurate information briefly, while disclosing nothing at variance +with or unfindable in his published speeches. Of some of them he +repeated apposite slices; to others he referred for further +enlightenment as to his views on imperial federation. Really he was +neither secretive nor newly informative. The Premier of Canada at any +time is governed, much as I have endeavored to show how the electors +are, by that natural, instinctive course of the general loyal Canadian +mind, which constitutes "the situation" and controls Governmental +proceedings on behalf of the public. + +Well meaning persons who allege Sir Robert to have either favored or +disfavored imperial federation have been inaccurate. Precisely what +imperial federation may be nobody knows, for the simple and sufficient +reason that nobody has ever sketched or elaborated a scheme in that +regard which appeared or appears desirable as a change from the +all-compelling situation. What has never been adopted as desirable +cannot be termed practicable in statesmen's language. To declare an +untried scheme impracticable might be an error of rashness. + +The idea of federating the empire has long attracted Sir Robert, with +many other admirable Canadians and Britons, since it connotes or +involves the concept of British Union for all worthy and necessary +purposes, including maintenance of local autonomy or self-government, +surely a most praiseworthy design. Discussion of that idea is unlikely +to be harmful; it may be useful; something may come of it that may seem +desirable and practicable to substantially all interests and people +concerned. A consummation devoutly to be wished, but not to be rushed! +One point, frequently specified in Sir Robert's public speeches, was +stated as follows in a recent report, pamphleted for distribution by his +own side: + + It is impossible to believe that the existing status, so far + as it concerns the control of foreign policy and + extra-imperial relations, can remain as it is today. All are + conscious of the complexity of the problem thus presented; and + no one need despair of a satisfactory solution, and no one can + doubt the profound influence which the tremendous events of + the past few months and of those in the immediate future must + exercise upon one of the most interesting and far-reaching + questions ever presented for the consideration of statesmen. + +There Sir Robert was recommending no particular solution. A little +earlier in the same speech he illustrated the deep sense of all +experienced British statesmen that there never is or can be in the +British system any final solution of any grave problem, the vital +essence of the system being flux and change to suit ever-changing +circumstance. + + In so far as this empire may be said to possess a + Constitution, it is of modern growth and is still in the stage + of development. One can hardly conceive that it will ever + distinctly emerge from that state or attain a status in + which constitutional development is no longer to be + anticipated. Indeed, the genius of the British people and all + our past history lead us to believe the contrary. The steps in + advance have been usually gradual and always practical; and + they have been taken on instinct rather than upon any + carefully considered theory. + +[Illustration: YUAN SHIH-KAI + +President of the Chinese Republic. + +_(Photo by Rio V. De Sieux.)_] + +[Illustration: PRINCE VON BUELOW + +German Ambassador to Italy.] + +Which was admonition at once of the Centralizationists and their +opponents, the Nationalists. + +Whatever alteration of existing British inter-arrangements may come +after the war will be done on instinct in view of circumstances that +cannot now be foreseen. Wherefore clamorers for this or that, their +favorite scheme, are now inopportunists. Hence they are neglected by the +public as unimpressive, futile wasters of breath or ink. Indeed Canada, +Great Britain, the whole race of mankind are now swept on the crest of a +huge wave of Fate. When it casts them ashore, recedes, leaves men to +consider what may best be done for the future, then will have come the +time to rearrange political fabrics, if need be. Then Sir Robert Borden +will probably continue in his often clearly specified opinion that +Canada, if remaining liable as now to be drawn into Great Britain's more +perilous wars--a liability which must ever urge Canada to strong +participation in order that the peril may be the sooner ended--ought to +have a share in controlling Great Britain's foreign policy. Which +sharing Mr. Asquith declared last year impracticable, in that sense +inadmissible. + +Westminster must retain freedom to move, act, strike quickly. Her course +toward Germany had to be decided last August within a few hours. +Obviously her freedom, her power for promptitude would be hindered in +proportion to need for such consultation with and approval by councilors +of many distant countries as is presupposed by advocates of imperial +federation. Why establish control by cumbersome, superfluous machinery +when the war has made it clear as the sun at high noon that the +essential desideratum, British Union, exists now? All the notable +communities of the King's realms have demonstrated that they are in the +mind, the condition of a voluntary empire. What more can be desired +save by such as desire old country domination of all the concerned +countries, and who really long for a formal and subservient Empire? + +Sir Richard Jebb, a deep student of the Empire problem, declared clearly +last November the meaning of that general voluntary British war union +which is a wonder of mankind, and in the course to teach a profound, +general political lesson. He wrote: + + That the war will in any event change the external relations + is evident. But why, if we win, should it change the political + relations between the parts, except to the extent of + encouraging us to conserve and develop the existing system + which has given so signal an example of effective imperial + unity in time of need? Continually talking of imperial unity, + we fail to recognize it when we have got it. There is never + going to be a moment when one might say "Yesterday we were not + united; today the Grand Act (of Imperial Federation + understood) has been signed; henceforth we are united." + + The cult of the Grand Act is a snare and a delusion. Whatever + may happen hereafter--even the Grand Act itself--posterity is + likely to look back upon August, 1914, as the moment when the + British Empire reached the zenith of its unity. Let us + remember that the existing system is not stationary, though + its principle (voluntary union) may be final. It has been + developing steadily since 1902. + + The Australian fleet unit, the first of the Dominion navies, + which enables each to exert upon foreign policy the full + weight of its importance in the empire, was not begun until + 1910. The corollary, that any Dominion Minister appointed to + reside in London should have free and constant access to the + British Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary, was only + conceded in January, 1912, and has not yet been taken + advantage of, even by Australia. + + But the development is all true to principle. What principle? + Voluntary co-operation, as opposed to central compulsion. In + war, as in peace, each of the Britannic nations is free to do + or not to do. But we have invoked naval and military + co-ordination, with results which the Australian Navy has + already exemplified (on the Emden, &c.) + + Has this system of the free Commonwealth, as distinguished + from the German principle of a centralized empire organized + primarily for war, broken down under the supreme test, as so + many of our prophets predicted? On the contrary, it has alone + saved South Africa to the empire, besides eliciting + unrestricted military aid from each part. Why change it for + something diametrically opposed to its spirit, substituting + compulsion for liberty, provinces for nation-States? + +Sir Richard Jebb's sentence, specifying the nature of the Australian +influence on foreign policy, seems apt reply to Sir Robert Borden's +oft-repeated specification that a share in control of foreign policy +should accrue to the Dominions by reason of their participation in or +liability to war. This liability really compels them to engage with all +their strength, lest they comfort an enemy by abstention, or by +confining their armaments to self-defense, which might and would be read +as disapproval of Britain's course, if the war were one of magnitude +endangering her. A system more powerfully requiring Great Britain to +take heed that her quarrel be just, lest she be not thrice armed by +approving children, can scarcely be imagined. + +On this matter I have had the pleasure and benefit, during the last +twelve years, of talking with Sir Wilfrid Laurier often. In the quoted +Jebb view he agreed closely when I saw him a few days ago. He remarked, +with special regard to this article for THE NEW YORK TIMES, that his +point of insistence at the Imperial Conferences of 1902, 1907, 1911, and +on all proper occasions, has been that local autonomy--that is, complete +self-government for each of the Dominions--is not only consistent with +British unity but necessary thereto as promoting and conserving that +unity. + +When Mr. Asquith's denial of the practicability of giving the Dominions +a direct share in control of Great Britain's foreign policy is +considered, the Jebb-Laurier view would appear one to which Sir Robert +Borden, cautious statesman, must be led by recognition that potent +influence on foreign policy cannot but come to Dominions energetically +providing at once for their own defense and for their power to aid Great +Britain all along the line. + +As to imperial federation, Sir Wilfrid remarked that he has ever been +openly attracted by that aspiration toward permanent British union, on +which advocacy of the vague project has ever been bottomed. He is, as he +said to me, and as all his long series of political actions have +manifested, British in heart and way of political thinking, as indeed +substantially all his French-Canadian compatriots are. British +liberality, not to say liberalism, has attached them to the British +system as firmly as any community originating from the United Kingdom. +It was a French-Canadian statesman who asserted, some fifty years ago, +when many British-Canadians seemed tending toward union with the United +States, "The last shot fired in Canada for British connection will be +from a French-Canadian." That was before the civil war abolished +slavery. + +But, even as the Britishism of Old Country liberals is strongly +tinctured by devotion to ideals which Americans are wont to regard as +theirs--ideals making for settled peace, industry, the uplift of the +"common people," fair room and reward for those abilities which +conspicuously serve the general welfare--so Sir Wilfrid and his +compatriots acknowledge their Britishism to be acutely conscious of +political kinship with the American people. The French-Canadian +yearning, like that of many Canadians of British origin, is rather for +English-speaking union--a union of at least thorough understanding and +common designs with the American people--than for the narrower exclusive +British union sought by Canadian imperial federationists. + +Sir Wilfrid said, in effect, (I do not profess to report his very +words,) that federation of those British communities widely separated by +geography, but alike in race, language, laws, principles, has always +attracted him as a project of excellent intentions. It is at worst a +noble dream. That dream has become less impracticable than it was +formerly, he thinks, by reason of the essential diminution of the world, +diminution of distances and of time by latter-day inventions. + +Against the idea of general representation in a central Parliament at +London, Sir Wilfrid pointed out that Edmund Burke objected "opposuit +natura"--nature forbade it. The wisest of political philosophers could +not foresee the telegraph, wireless, steam, airships. These have made a +useful central imperial Parliament at least conceivable. Could it be +more useful than the advisory council, or Imperial Conference which has +become quadrennial, and might possibly become annual? That is matter for +discussion. Sir Wilfrid said that such is the political genius of the +British race that he would be rash who alleged any design impracticable +toward which the race may tend so generally as to put it under +discussion for arrangement of details. Conservation of local +self-government, prime essential to agreement for union on common +purposes, might prove reconcilable with federated defense. + +But there is, to Sir Wilfrid's way of thinking, one large objection +against now attempting imperial federation. Its agitators contemplate a +scheme immense, yet not sufficiently inclusive. They do not contemplate +English-speaking solidarity. They purpose leaving out the majority of +English-speakers--the American people. In this they do not follow Cecil +Rhodes, a chief propagandist of their main design. It is true that the +idea of getting Americans to participate in any formal union with all +the rest of their brethren by race and tongue seems now impractical. But +time works wonders. Mr. Gladstone foresaw the United States a people of +six hundred comfortable millions, living in union before the end of the +next century. The hegemony of the English-speaking nations seems likely +to be within attainment by that one of them which appears destined to +become far the most powerful of all in numbers, in wealth, and in +security of environment. Time may show to our successors in this world +some effective method of establishing agreements amounting to that +solidarity for English-speaking action which has been acclaimed as +existent for English-speaking thinking by a mind so eminently reasonable +as that of Lord Haldane. + +It would be hasty, thinks Sir Wilfrid, and it might be injurious for the +British countries to move toward any sort of formal union ostensibly +tending to set them collectively apart from the United States. Give +great beneficent ideas time to develop. Britons can well afford to take +their time, since the war has shown existent among them an almost +perfect union of sentiment and purpose. And this, apparently, with the +blessed effect of enhancing general American good-will to Britons. From +so much good understanding more may ensue, Sir Wilfrid concluded. + +Such Canadians as hold Edmund Burke to have been a spokesman of +consummate political wisdom are apt to regard the busy stir of +doctrinaires, who scream for closer political junction of the British +peoples, even as Burke regarded the hurry of some of the same kidney in +his time. Resolute to bind the thirteen colonies forever to England, +they proceeded to offend, outrage, and drive those colonies to +independence. Be it remembered that these colonies had contributed so +loyally, so liberally to England's armaments and wars that grateful +London Parliaments had insisted on voting back to them the subsidies +they had granted, holding the contributions too generous. To later +proposals of foolish henchmen of George III., proposals that the +colonies, since they had revealed themselves as strong and rich, should +be dragged into some formal political subordination by which, as by +latter-day Imperial Federation, they might be involuntarily mustered and +taxed for imperial purposes, Burke said: + + Our hold on the colonies is the close affection which grows + from common names, from kindred blood, from similar + privileges, and equal protection. These are the ties which, + though light as air, are strong as links of iron. Let the + colonies always keep the idea of their civil rights associated + with your Government; they will cling and grapple to you, and + no force under heaven will be of power to tear them from their + allegiance.... + + As long as you have the wisdom to keep the sovereign authority + of this country as the sanctuary of liberty, the sacred temple + consecrated to our common faith, wherever the chosen race and + sons of England worship freedom, they will turn their faces + toward you. The more they multiply, the more friends you will + have. The more ardently they love liberty, the more perfect + will be their obedience. Slavery they can have anywhere. It is + a weed that grows on every soil. They may have it from Spain; + they may have it from Prussia; but until you become lost to + all feeling of your true interest and your natural dignity, + freedom they can have from none but you. + + This is the commodity of price, of which you have the + monopoly.... Do not entertain so weak an imagination as that + your registers and your bonds, your affidavits and your + sufferances, ... your letters of office and your instructions + and your suspending clauses are the things that hold together + the great contexture of this mysterious whole. These things do + not make your Government. Dead instruments, passive tools as + they are, it is the spirit of the English communion that gives + all their life and efficacy to them. It is the spirit of the + English Constitution which, infused through the mighty mass, + pervades, feeds, unites, invigorates, vivifies every part of + the empire, even to the minutest member. + +And the doctrinaires of Centralization, vociferating their fad of +Imperial Federation, would have that Constitution, in the moment of its +supreme triumph for unity, cast away! Cast away for a new and written +one by which Great Britain and all her children alike would chain +themselves together! Well may practical statesmen view the doctrinaires +with some disdain, not unmindful of Burke's immortal scorn of such +formalists: + +"A sort of people who think that nothing exists but what is gross and +material, and who, therefore, far from being qualified to be directors +of the great movement of empire, are not fit to turn a wheel in the +machine. To men truly initiated and rightly taught, those ruling and +master principles which, in the opinion of such men as I have mentioned, +have no substantial existence, are in truth everything and all in all. +Magnanimity in politics is not seldom the truest wisdom; and a great +empire and little minds go ill together." + + + + +ENGLAND. + +By JOHN E. DOLSON. + + + Birth land of statesmen, bards, heroes, and sages; + Mother of nations--the homes of the free; + Builder of work that will last through the ages, + Hope for Humanity centres in thee. + + Now that thy bugles their clear calls are shrilling, + Now that thy battle voice echoes worldwide, + O'er the long reaches of sea rush the willing + Sons of thy children to fight by thy side. + + Eager to aid thee with treasure and tissue, + Other leal millions will come to thy call. + Civilization is staked on the issue-- + Woe to Mankind if thy lion should fall! + + Fall he will never, till English force slacken + In the great soul of thy dominant race, + Now, as of old, do the Destinies beckon + Thee to be highest in power and place. + + Conflicts now raging will pass into story, + Nations may sink in defeat or disgrace; + Long be thy future resplendent with glory, + Long be thy triumphs the pride of our race! + + + + +American Aid of France + +By Eugène Brieux + +[From THE NEW YORK TIMES, April, 1915.] + + + M. Eugène Brieux, the celebrated French poet and playwright, + who is in this country as the official representative of the + French Academy--the "Forty Immortals"--has written a + remarkable tribute to American aid of France during the + present war. The address, which is herewith presented, was + read by M. Brieux at the residence of Mrs. John Henry Hammond + of New York City recently before a gathering of two hundred + men and women who have been interested in the work of the + American Ambulance Hospital in Paris. + +Miss Marie Van Vorst, who nursed the wounded at the American Ambulance +in Paris, will speak to you of it as an eyewitness. From her you will +receive direct news of your splendid work of humanity. While she was +caring for wounded French, English, and German I was attached to another +hospital at Chartres. It happens, therefore, that I have never seen the +American Military Hospital created by you, but I am not in ignorance +concerning it any more than any other Parisian, any more, indeed, than +the majority of the French people. I know that the American Ambulance is +the most remarkable hospital that the world has seen. I know that you, +since the beginning of the war, have brought the aid of medical science +to wounded men and that you have given not only money, but an +institution, all ready, complete and of the most modern type, and, even +more, that you have sent there your best surgeons and a small army of +orderlies and nurses. + +I know that at first one could not find a place; that there was +available only a building in course of construction, intended to be the +Pasteur School at Neuilly. This building was far from completion; it +lacked doors and there were no stairs. I know that in three weeks your +generosity, your energy, and your quick intelligence has made of this +uncertain shell a modern military hospital, with white walls, electric +light, baths, rooms for administering anaesthetics, operating rooms, +sterilizing plants, apparatus for X-rays, and a dental clinic. I know +that automobiles, admirably adapted to the service, carried the wounded. +And yet I do not know all. I know only by instinct of the devotion of +your young girls, of your women, and of your young men, belonging often +to prominent families, who served as stretcher bearers and orderlies. + +I am not ignorant of the fact that they count by the hundreds those who +have been cured at the American Ambulance at Neuilly, nor of the further +fact that the rate of mortality is extremely low, although they have +sent you those most gravely injured. I know that it is all free; that +there are no charges made for the expenses of administration; that for +the service rendered by your people there is no claim, and that every +cent of every dollar subscribed goes entirely and directly to the care +of the wounded. I know also that the expenses at the hospital are $4,000 +a day, and that ever since the beginning your charity has met this +demand. + +Such splendid effort has not been ignored or misunderstood. The +President of the French Republic has cabled to President Wilson his +appreciation and his gratitude; General Fevier, Inspector General of +Hospitals of the French Army, has publicly expressed his admiration; the +English physicians and public men have shared their sentiments. + +As to the people of Paris, as to the French nation, they have been +touched to the depths of their being. And yet in France we have found +all this quite natural. I shall tell you why. We have so high a regard +for you that when you do anything well no one is surprised. I believe +that if a wounded soldier arriving at your hospital exclaimed, "This is +wonderful!" his comrade who had been ahead of him would answer in a tone +of admonition: "That surprises you? You do not know then that it is done +by the Americans, by the people from the United States?" In this refusal +to be astonished in the face of remarkable achievements, when they come +from you, there is a tribute, a praise of high quality which your +feelings and your patriotism will know how to appreciate. + +I have said that all that comes from you which is good and great seems +natural to us, and I have given you a reason; but there is another. In +France we are accustomed to consider the Republic of the United States +as an affectionate, distant sister. When one receives a gift from a +stranger one is astonished and cries out his thanks, but when the gift +comes from a brother or from some one who, on similar occasions, has +never failed, the thanks are not so outspoken but more profound. One +says: "Ah, it is you, my brother. I suffer. I expected you. I knew that +you would come, for I should have gone to you had you needed me. I thank +you." + +And, indeed, we are closely bound together, you and we. Without doubt, +common interest and an absence of possible competition helps to that +end, but there is something more which unites us--it is our kindred +sentiments. It is this kinship which has created our attraction for each +other and which has cemented it; it is our common ground of affections, +of hatreds, of hopes; our ideals rest upon the same high plane. To +mention but one point, one of you has said: "The United States and +France are the only two nations which have fought for an ideal." And it +is that which separates us, you and us, from a certain other nation, and +which has served to bring us two close together. + +We love you and we are grateful for what you are doing for us. When the +day came for my departure from France to represent here the French +Academy I asked of Mr. Poincaré, who had visited the American Ambulance +at Neuilly, if duty did not forbid me to go. "No," he said to me. "Go to +the United States. Carry greetings to the great nation of America." And +he gave to me, for your President, the letter with which you are +familiar, where he expressed the admiration and the sympathy that he has +for you. + +I have been traveling North and South in the Eastern part of the United +States. I have had many opportunities to admire your power and the +extent of your efforts. Today, in thinking of the American Ambulance +Hospital in Paris, I admire your persistence in labor. You have +established this hospital. That was good. But it costs a thousand +dollars a day, and yet you keep on with the work. That is doubly good. +Indeed, one can understand that you have not been willing, after having +created this model hospital, that some day through lack of support its +doors should close and the wounded you have taken in be turned over to +others; certainly those first subscribers undertook a sort of moral +obligation to themselves not to permit the work to fail. But, none the +less, it is admirable that it should be so. To give once is something, +but it is little if one compares the value of the first gift to those +which follow. + +The first charity is easily understood. Suddenly war is at hand. Its +horrors can be imagined and every one feels that he can in some measure +lessen them, and he opens his purse. Then time passes, the war +continues, and one becomes accustomed to the thoughts that were at first +unbearable--it is so far away and so long. Others in this way were +checked after their first impulse. + +But you, you have thought that, if it is good to establish a hospital, +that alone was not enough, and that each day would bring new wounded to +replace those who, cured, took up their guns again and returned to the +field of battle. And since at the American Ambulance the wounded are +cured quickly, the very excellence of your organization, the science of +your surgeons, and the greatness of your sacrifices all bring upon you +other and new sacrifices to be made. + +But the word "sacrifice" is badly chosen. You do not make sacrifices, +for you are strong and you are good. When you decide upon some new +generous act you have only to appeal to your national pride, which will +never allow an American undertaking to fail. You have the knowledge of +the good that you are doing, and that, for you, is sufficient. You know +that, thanks to your generosity, suffering is relieved, and you know +that, thanks to the science of your surgeons, this relief is not merely +momentary, but that the wounded man who would have remained a cripple if +he had been less ably cared for, will be, thanks to you, completely +cured, and that, instead of dragging out a miserable existence, he will +be able to live a normal life and support a family which will bless +you. Such men will owe it all to the persistence of your generosity. + +I return always to that point, and it is essential. To give once is a +common impulse, common to nearly all the world. It means freeing one's +self from the suffering which good souls feel when they see others +suffer. But to give again after having given is a proof of reflection, +of an understanding of the meaning of life; it is to work intelligently; +it is to insure the value of the first effort; it means the possession +of goodness which is lasting and far-seeing. That is a rare virtue. You +have it. And that is why I express a three-fold thanks, for the past, +for the present, and for the future--thanks that come from the bottom of +the heart of a Frenchman. + + + + +A FAREWELL. + +By EDNA MEAD. + + + Look, Love! I lay my wistful hands in thine + A little while before you seek the dark, + Untraversed ways of War and its Reward, + I cannot bear to lift my gaze and mark + The gloried light of hopeful, high emprise + That, like a bird already poised for flight, + Has waked within your eyes. + For me no proud illusions point the road, + No fancied flowers strew the paths of strife: + War only wears a horrid, hydra face, + Mocking at strength and courage, youth and life. + If you were going forth to cross your sword + In fair and open, man-to-man affray, + One might be even reconciled and say, + "This is not murder; only passion bent + On pouring out its poison"--one could pray + That the day's end might see the madness done + And saner souls rise with the morrow's sun. + But this incarnate hell that yawns before + Your bright, brave soul keyed to the fighter's clench-- + This purgatory that men call the "trench"-- + This modern "Black Hole" of a modern war! + Yea, Love! yet naught I say can save you, so + I lay my heart in yours and let you go. + + + + +Stories of French Courage + +By Edwin L. Shuman + +[From THE NEW YORK TIMES, April, 1915.] + + +There has just appeared in Paris a book called "La Guerre Vue d'Une +Ambulance," which brings the war closer to the eye and heart than +anything else I have read. It is written by Abbé Felix Klein, Chaplain +of the American Ambulance Hospital at Neuilly, a suburb of Paris, and +has the added merit of describing the noble work which American money +and American Red Cross nurses are doing there for the French wounded. +The abbé, by the way, has twice visited the United States in recent +years, has many warm friends here, and has written several enthusiastic +books about the "Land of the Strenuous Life." + +When the war broke out this large-hearted priest and busy author dropped +all his literary and other plans to minister to the wounded soldiers +brought to the war hospital established by Americans in the fine new +building of the Lycée Pasteur, which was to have received its first +medical students a few weeks later. There were 250 beds at first, and +later 500, with more than a hundred American automobiles carrying the +wounded to it, often direct from the front. + +Through all these months Abbé Klein has labored day and night among +these sufferers, cheering some to recovery, easing the dying moments of +others with spiritual solace, and, hardest of all, breaking the news of +bereavement to parents. + +From day to day, through those terrible weeks of fighting on the Aisne +and the Marne, with Paris itself in danger, the good abbé wrote brief +records of his hopes and fears regarding his wounded friends, and set +down in living words the more heroic or touching phases of their simple +stories. Let me translate a few of them for the reader. + +Take, for instance, the case of Charles Marée, a blue-eyed, red-bearded +hero of thirty years, an only son who had taken the place of his invalid +father at the head of their factory, and who had responded to the first +call to arms. During his months of suffering his parents were held in +territory occupied by the enemy and could not be reached. The abbé goes +on to tell his story: + + Let us not be deceived by the calm smile on his face. For six + weeks Charles Marée has been undergoing an almost continual + martyrdom, his pelvis fractured, with all the consequences one + divines, weakened by hemorrhage, his back broken, capable only + of moving his head and arms.... He is one of our most fervent + Christians: I bring him the communion twice a week, and he + never complains of suffering. He is also one of our bravest + soldiers; he has received the military medal, and when I asked + him how it came about he told me the following in a firm tone + and with his hand in mine, for we are great friends: + + "It was given to me the 8th of October. I had to fulfill a + mission that was a little difficult. It was at Mazingarbe, + between Béthune and Lens, and 9 o'clock in the evening. Two of + the enemy's armored auto-machine guns had just been discovered + approaching our lines. I was ordered to go and meet them with + a Pugeot of twenty-five or thirty horse power--I was + automobilist in the Thirtieth Dragoons. + + "I left by the little road from Vermelles on which the two + hostile machines were reported to be approaching. After twenty + minutes I stopped, put out my lights, and waited. A quarter of + an hour of profound silence followed, and then I caught the + sound of the first mitrailleuse. With one spin of the wheel I + threw my machine across the middle of the road. That of the + enemy struck us squarely in the centre. The moment the shock + was past I rose from my seat with my revolver and killed the + chauffeur and the mechanician. + + "But almost immediately the second machine gun arrived. The + two men on it comprehended what had happened. While one of + them stopped the machine, the other aimed at me under his seat + and fired a revolver ball that pierced both thighs; then they + turned their machine and retreated. My companion, happily, was + not hurt, so he could take me to Vermelles, where the + ambulance service was. The same evening they gave me the + military medal, for which I had already been proposed three + times." + +After three months of suffering, borne without complaint, this man died +without having been able to get a word to his parents. The abbé had +become deeply attached to him, and the whole hospital corps felt the +loss of his courageous presence. + +Some of the horror of war is in these pages, as where the author says: + + The doctors worked till 3 o'clock this morning. They had to + amputate arms and legs affected with gangrene. The operating + room was a sea of blood. + +Some of the pathos of war is here, and even a little of its humor, but +most of all its courage. Both of the latter are mingled in the case of +an English soldier who was brought in wounded from the field of +Soissons. + + "I fought until such a day, when I was wounded." + + "And since then?" + + "Since then I have traveled." + +An English infantry officer, a six-footer, brought to the hospital with +his head bandaged in red rather than white, showed the abbé his cap and +the bullet hole in it. + +"A narrow escape," said the abbé in English, and then learned that the +escape was narrower than the wounded forehead indicated. Another bullet, +without touching the officer, had pierced the sole of his shoe under his +foot, and a third had perforated his coat between the body and the arm +without breaking the skin. + +The author's attitude toward the Germans, always free from bitterness, +is sufficiently indicated in such a paragraph as this: + + This afternoon I gave absolution and extreme unction to an + Irishman, who has not regained consciousness since he was + brought here. He had in his portfolio a letter addressed to + his mother. The nurse is going to add a word to say that he + received the last sacraments. A Christian hope will soften the + frightful news. Emperors of Austria and Germany, if you were + present when the death is announced in that poor Irish home, + and in thousands, hundreds of thousands of others, in England, + in France, in Russia, in Servia, in Belgium, in your own + countries, in all Europe, and even in Africa and Asia!... May + God enlighten your consciences! + +The French wounded in the hospital at Neuilly--during the period when +the German right wing was being beaten back from Paris--frequently +accused the German regulars of wanton cruelty, but testified to the +humanity of the reservists. The author relates several episodes +illustrating both points. Here are two: + + "The regulars are no good," said a brave peasant reservist. + "They struck me with the butts of their rifles on my wound. + They broke and threw away all that I had. The reserves arrive, + and it is different; they take care of me. My comrade, wounded + in the breast, was dying of thirst; he actually died of it a + little while afterward. I dragged myself up to go and seek + water for him; the young fellows aimed their guns at me. I was + obliged to make a half-turn and lie down again." + +Another, who also begins by praising the German field officers, saw +soldiers of the active army stripping perfectly nude one of our men who +had a perforated lung, and whom they had made prisoner after his wound: + + "When they saw that they would have to abandon him, they took + away everything from him, even his shirt, and it was done in + pure wickedness, since they carried nothing away." + +One of the most amazing escapes is that of a soldier from Bordeaux, told +partly in his own racy idiom, and fully vouched for by the author. After +relating how he left the railway at Nanteuil and traversed a hamlet +pillaged by the Germans he continues: + + We form ourselves into a skirmish line. The shells come. The + dirt flies: holes to bury an ox? One can see them coming: + zzz--boom! There is time to get out of the way. + + Arrived at the edge of the woods, we separate as scouts. We + are ordered to advance. But, mind you, they already have our + range. The artillery makes things hum. My bugler, near me, is + killed instantly; he has not said a word, poor boy! I am + wounded in the leg. It is about two o'clock. As I cannot drag + myself further, a comrade, before leaving, hides me under + three sheaves of straw with my head under my knapsack. The + shells have peppered it full of holes, that poor sack. Without + it--ten yards away a comrade, who had his leg broken and a + piece of shell in his arm, received seven or eight more + wounds. + + I stayed there all day. In the evening the soldiers of the + 101st took me into the woods, where there were several French + wounded and a German Captain, wounded the evening before. He + was suffering too, poor wretch. About midnight the French + soldiers came to seek those who were transportable. They left + only my comrade, myself and the German Captain. There were + other wounded further along, and we heard their cries. It was + dreary. + +These wounded men passed two whole days there without help. On the third +day the Germans arrived and the narrator gave himself up for lost. But +the German Captain, with whom the Frenchmen had divided their food and +drink, begged that they be cared for. Ultimately they were taken to the +German camp and their wounds attended to. But in a few minutes the camp +became the centre of a violent attack, and again it looked as if the +last day of the wounded prisoners had come. + +Suddenly the Germans ran away and left everything. An hour later, when +the firing ceased, they returned, carried away the wounded of both +nationalities on stretchers, crowded about twenty-five of them into one +wagon (the narrator's broken leg was not stretched out, and he +suffered,) and all the way the wagon gave forth the odor of death. All +day they rode without a bite to eat. At 1 o'clock at night they reached +the village of Cuvergnon, where their wounds were well attended to. The +following day the Germans departed without saying a word, but the +villagers cared for the wounded, both friends and enemies, and in time +the American automobiles carried them to Neuilly. + + It is a paradise [added the wounded man.] Now we are saved. + But what things I have seen! I have seen an officer with his + brain hanging here, over his eye. And black corpses, and + bloated horses! The saddest time is the night. One hears + cries: "Help!" There are some who call their mothers. No one + answers. + +All these recitals of soldiers are stamped with the red badge of +courage. A priest serving as an Adjutant was superintending the digging +of trenches close to the firing line on the Aisne. He had to expose +himself for a space of three feet in going from one trench to another. +In that instant a Mauser bullet struck him under the left eye, traversed +the nostril, the top of the palate, the cheek bone and came out under +the right ear. He felt the bullet only where it came out, but soon he +fell, covered with blood and believed he was wounded to death. Then his +courage returned, and he crawled into the trench. Comrades carried him +to the ambulance at Ambleny, with bullets and "saucepans" raining about +them from every direction. In time he was transferred to the American +Hospital at Neuilly. "I'm only a little disfigured and condemned to +liquids," he told his friend the abbé. "In a few weeks I shall be cured +and will return to the front." + +Abbé Klein tells the curious story of a Zouave and his faithful dog. In +one of the zigzag corridors connecting the trenches near Arras the man +was terribly wounded by a shell that killed all his companions and left +him three-quarters buried in the earth. With only the dead around him, +he "felt himself going to discouragement," to use the author's mild +phrase, when his dog, which had never left him since the beginning of +the war, arrived and began showing every sign of distress and affection. +The wounded man told the author: + + It is not true that he dug me out, but he roused my courage. I + commenced to free my arms, my head, the rest of my body. + Seeing this, he began scratching-with all his might around me, + and then caressed me, licking my wounds. The lower part of my + right leg was torn off, the left wounded in the calf, a piece + of shell in the back, two fingers cut off, and the right arm + burned. I dragged myself bleeding to the trench, where I + waited an hour for the litter carriers. They brought me to the + ambulance post at Roclincourt, where my foot was taken off, + shoe and all; it hung only by a tendon. From there I was + carried on a stretcher to Anzin, then in a carriage to another + ambulance post, where they carved me some more.... My dog was + present at the first operation. An hour after my departure he + escaped and came to me at Anzin. + +But when the Zouave was sent to Neuilly the two friends had to separate. +At the railway station he begged to take his dog along, and told his +story; but the field officer, touched though he was, could not take it +upon himself to send a dog on a military train. The distress of both man +and beast was so evident that more than one nurse had tears in her eyes +as the train pulled out. + +They tried to pet the dog, dubbed him Tue-Boches, offered him dog +delicacies of all sorts, but in vain. He refused all food and remained +for two days "sad to death." Then some one went to the American +Hospital, told how the dog had saved the Zouave, and the upshot of it +was that the faithful animal, duly combed and passed through the +disinfecting room, was admitted to the hospital and recovered his master +and his appetite. But at last accounts his master was still very weak, +and "in the short visit which the dog is allowed to make each day, he +knows perfectly, after a tender and discreet good morning, how to hold +himself very wisely at the foot of the bed, his eyes fixed upon his +patient." + +Thanks to modern science, the cases of tetanus are few in this war, but +there are many deaths from gangrene, because, with no truce for the +removal of the wounded, so many lie for days before receiving medical +aid. Abbé Klein tells of one Breton boy, as gentle a soul as his +sister--"my little Breton," he always calls him, affectionately--and +comments again and again upon the boy's patient courage amid sufferings +that could have but one end. The infection spread in spite of all that +science could do, and even amputation could not save him. At last he +ceased to live, "like a poor little bird," as his French attendant, +herself a mother with three boys in the army, said with tears. + +Saddest of all are the bereaved wives and mothers. The reader will find +many of them in the good Chaplain's book, and they will bring the war +closer than anything else. Sometimes they stand mute under the blow, +looking on the dead face without a sound, and then dropping unconscious +to the floor. Sometimes they cry wild things to heaven. The Chaplain's +work in either case is not easy, and some of his most touching pages +depict such scenes. + +There was a boy of twenty years, who was slowly but surely dying of +gangrene. Let the abbé tell the end of the story: + + At 9 o'clock the parents arrive. Frightened at first by the + change, they are reassured to see that he is suffering so + little, and soon leave him, as they think, to rest. When they + return at 10, suddenly called, their child is dead. Their + grief is terrible. The father still masters himself, but the + mother utters cries. They are led to the chapel, while some + one comes to look for me. The poor woman, who was wandering + about stamping and wringing her hands, rushes to me and cries, + no, it is not possible that her son is dead, a child like + that, so healthy, so beautiful, so lovable; she wishes me to + reassure her, to say it is as she says. Before my silence and + the tears that come to my eyes her groans redouble, and + nothing can calm her: "But what will become of us? We had only + him." + + Nothing quiets her. My words of Christian hope have no more + effect than what the father tries to say to her. For a moment + she listens to my account of the poor boy's words of faith, of + the communion yesterday, of his prayer this morning. But soon + she falls back into her distraction, and I suggest to the + husband that he try to occupy her mind, to make a diversion of + some kind; the more so, I add, as I must leave to attend a + burial. She hears this word: "I don't want him to be taken + from me. You are not going to bury him at once!" I explain + softly that no one is thinking of such a thing; that on the + contrary I am going to take her to those who will let her see + her boy. We go then to the office, and I hurry away to + commence the funeral of another. + + I learn on my return that they have seen their son, such as + death has made him, and that on hearing the cries of the + mother, three other women, already agitated by the visit to + their own wounded and by the funeral preparations, have fallen + in a faint. + +One day last Fall President Poincaré, accompanied by M. Viviani and +General Gallieni, was received at the American Hospital by Mr. Herrick, +the American Ambassador, and by the members of the Hospital Committee. +Abbé Klein has words of praise not only for Mr. Herrick, but also for +his predecessor, Mr. Bacon, and for his successor, Mr. Sharp. His +admiration for the devoted American women who are serving as nurses in +the hospital is expressed frequently in his pages. He says the labors of +the American nurses and those of the French nurses complement each other +admirably. Of the founding and maintenance of the hospital at Neuilly, +he says: + + The resources are provided wholly by the charity of Americans. + From the beginning of the war the administrative council of + their Paris hospital took the initiative in the movement. The + American colony in France, almost unaided, gave the + half-million francs that was subscribed the first month. New + York and other cities of the United States followed their + lead, and, in spite of the financial crisis that grips there + as elsewhere, one may be sure that the funds will not be + wanting. America has its Red Cross, which, justly enough, aids + the wounded of all nations; but, among the belligerents, it + has chosen to distinguish the compatriots of Lafayette and + Rochambeau; our field hospital is the witness of their + faithful gratitude. France will not forget. + +Later the abbé recorded in his diary that the 500 beds would soon be +filled, but added that the generous activity of the Americans would not +end there. They would establish branch hospitals. Large sums had been +placed at the disposal of the committee to found an "ambulance" in +Belgium and another in France as near the front as prudence permitted. +Toward the end of January he recorded the gift of $200,000 from Mrs. +Harry Payne Whitney, and its use by the committee to establish an +affiliated hospital at the College of Juilly, in the Department of +Seine-et-Marne. He added that still other branches were about to be +founded with American funds. + +Abbé Klein writes out of a full and sincere heart, whether as a priest, +a patriot, or a man who loves his fellowmen; and, without seeking it, he +writes as a master of phrase. His new book probably will soon be +translated and published in the United States. + + + + +A TROOPER'S SOLILOQUY + +By O.C.A. CHILD + + + 'Tis very peaceful by our place the now! + Aye, Mary's home from school--the little toad-- + And Jeck is likely bringing in the cow, + Away from pasture, down the hillside road. + + Now Nancy, I'll be bound, is brewing tea! + She's humming at her work the way she will, + And, happen so, she maybe thinks of me + And wishes she'd another cup to fill. + + 'Tis very queer to sit here on this nag + And swing this bit o' blade within my hand-- + To keep my eye upon that German flag + And wonder will they run or will they stand; + + To watch their Uhlans forming up below, + And feel a queersome way that's like to fear; + To hope to God that I won't make a show, + And that my throat is not too dry to cheer; + + To close my eyes a breath and say "God bless + And keep all safe at home, and aid us win," + Then straighten as the bugle sounds "Right, Dress...." + Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah! We're going in! + + + + +American Unfriendliness + +By Maximilian Harden + +[From THE NEW YORK TIMES, April, 1915.] + + + Maximilian Harden, author of the article of which the + following is a translation, is the widely known German + journalist and publicist who has been termed "the German + George Bernard Shaw." The article was published in the second + February number of Die Zukunft. + +_Japan and the United States are being wooed. Ever since the Western +powers' hope of speedy decisive blows on the part of Russia have +shriveled up, they would like to lure the Japanese Army, two to four +hundred thousand men, to the Continent. What was scoffed at as a whim of +Pinchon and Clemenceau now is unveiled as a yearning of those at the +head of the Governments._ + +_The sentimental wish to see Germany's collapse completed by the +activities of the allied European powers now ventures only shyly into +the light of day. The ultimate wearing down of the German Army assures +us of victory; but a speedy termination of the war under which the whole +hemisphere suffers would be preferable. The Trans-Siberian Railway could +bring the Japanese to Poland and East Prussia. The greatness of the +expenditures therefor cannot frighten him who knows what tremendous sums +each week of the war costs the Allies. Where it is a question of our +life, of the existence of all free lands, every consideration must +vanish. Public opinion desires an agreement with the Government of the +Mikado._ + +These sentences I found in the Temps. England will not apply the brakes. +Mr. Winston Churchill, to be sure, lauds the care-free fortune of his +fatherland, which even after Trafalgar, he says, did not command the +seas as freely as today; but in his inmost heart even this "savior of +Calais" does not cheat himself concerning the fact that it is a matter +of life and death. In order not to succumb in such a conflict, England +will sacrifice its prosperous comfort and the lordly pride of the white +man just as willingly as it would, if necessary, Gibraltar and Egypt, +(which might be within the reach of German armies in the Spring.) + +Will Japan follow the luring cry? Any price will be paid for it. What is +Indo-China to the Frenchmen, whose immense colonial empire is exploited +by strangers, if thereby they can purchase the bliss of no longer being +"the victims of 1870"? And the yellow race that co-operated on Europe's +soil in the most momentous decision of all history would live in +splendor such as had never before been seen, and could keep China, the +confused, reeling republic, for at least a generation in its +guardianship. + +The land of the Stars and Stripes is only being asked to give its +neutrality the color of good-will. It is, for the time being, unlikely +that the United States would stand beside our opponents with army and +navy, as has been urgently counseled by Mr. Roosevelt, (who received the +honorary doctor's title in Berlin and as a private citizen reviewed a +brigade drill at the Kaiser's side.) Nevertheless, experience warns us +to be prepared for every change of weather, from the distant West, as +well as the distant East, (and to guard ourselves alike against abuse +and against flattery.) + +The sentiment of the Americans is unfriendly to us. In spite of Princes' +travels, Fritz monuments, exchanges of professors, Kiel Week, and cable +compliments? Yes, in spite of all that. We can't change it. And should +avoid impetuous wooing. + +The missionaries of the Foreign Office brought along with them in trunks +and bundles across the sea the prettiest eagerness; but in many cases +they selected useless and in some cases even injurious methods. +Lectures, pamphlets, defensive writings--the number of the defenders +and the abundance of their implements and talk only nursed suspicion. +Whatever could be done for the explanation of the German conduct was +done by Germania's active children, who know the country and the people. + +The American business man never likes to climb mountains of paper. He +has grown up in a different emotional zone, accustomed to a different +standard of values than the Middle European. To feel his way into +foreign points of view, finally to become, in ordinary daily relations, +a psychologist, that will be one of the chief duties of the German of +tomorrow. He may no longer demand that the stranger shall be like him; +no longer denounce essential differences of temperament as a sin. The +North American, among whose ancestors are Britons and Spaniards, Celts +and Dutchmen, South Frenchmen and Low Germans, does not easily +understand the Englishman, despite the common language; calls him surly, +stiff, cold; charges him with selfishness and presumption, and has +never, as a glance backward will show, shirked battle with him for great +issues. For the most part, to be sure, it remains the scolding of +relatives, who wish to tug at and tousel each other, not to murder each +other. + +Only before the comrade of Japan did the brow of Jonathan wrinkle more +deeply. But every Briton swore that his kinsman would bar the yellow +man's way to Hawaii, California, and the Philippines, and put him in the +fields of Asia only as a terror to the Russians or a scarecrow to the +Germans. A doubt remained, nevertheless; and we missed the chance of a +strong insurance against Japanese encroachment. Stroked caressingly +yesterday and boxed ears today: + + Over there the dollar alone rules, and all diplomacy is a + pestilential swamp; decency is an infrequent guest, with scorn + grinning ever over its shoulder; the entrepreneur is a rogue, + the official a purchasable puppet, the lady a + cold-cream-covered lady-peacock. + +The stubborn idealism, the cheerful ability of the American, his joy in +giving, his achievements in and for art, science, culture--all that was +scarcely noticed. Such a caricature could not be erased by compliments. + +Before Mr. Roosevelt bared his set of stallion's teeth (Hengstgebiss) to +the Berliners, he had spoken cheerfully to Admirals Dewey and Beresford +concerning the possibilities of a war of the Star-Spangled Banner +against Germany. And gentler fellow-countrymen of the billboard man +said: + + You're amazing. Yourselves devilishly greedy for profits, yet + you scoff at us because we go chasing after business. You + fetch heaps of money across the sea, and then turn up your + sublimely snuffing noses as if it stinks. + +To reach an understanding would have been difficult even in times of +peace. The American is unwilling to be either stiff or subservient. He +does not wish to be accounted of less value as a merchant than the +officer or official; wishes to do what he likes and to call the +President an ox outright if he pleases. Leave him as he is; and do not +continually hurt the empire and its swarms of emigrant children by the +attempt to force strangers into the shell of your will and your opinion. + +Is it not possible that the American is analyzing the origin of the war +in his own way? That he looks upon Belgium's fate with other eyes than +the German? That he groans over "the army as an end in itself" and over +"militarism"? That he does not understand us any quicker than the German +Michel understands him? And that he puffs furiously when, after a long +period of drought, the war, a European one, now spoils his trade? + +Only for months at the worst, Sam; then it will spring up again in +splendor such as has never been seen before. No matter how the dice fall +for us, the chief winnings are going to you. The cost of the war +(expense without increment, devastation, loss of business) amounts to a +hundred thousand million marks or more for old Europa; she will be +loaded down with loans and taxes. Even to the gaze of the victor, +customers will sink away that were yesterday capable of buying and +paying. Extraordinary risks cannot be undertaken for many a year on our +soil. But everybody will drift over to you--Ministers of Finance, +artists, inventors, and those who scent profits. You will merely have to +free yourselves from dross (and from the trust thought that cannot be +stifled) and to weed out the tares of demagogy; then you will be the +effective lords of the world and will travel to Europe like a great +Nürnberg that teaches people subsequently to feel how once upon a time +it felt to operate in the Narrows. + +The scope of your planning and of your accomplishment, the very rank +luxuriance of your life, will be marveled at as a fairy wonder. We, +victors and conquered and neutrals, will alike be confined by duty to +austere simplicity of living. Your complaint is unfounded; only gird +yourselves for a wee short time in patience. Whether the business deals +which you grab in the wartime smell good or bad, we shall not now +publicly investigate. If law and custom permit them, what do you care +for alien heartache? If the statutes of international law prohibit them, +the Governments must insure the effectiveness thereof. Scolding does +not help. Until the battle has been fought out to the finish, until the +book of its genesis has been exalted above every doubt, your opinion +weighs as heavy as a little chicken's feather to us. Let writer and +talker rave till they are exhausted--not a syllable yet in defense. + +We do not feel hurt, (haven't spare time for it;) indeed, we are glad +that you gave ten millions each month for Belgium, that you intend to +help care for Poland, that you are opening the savings banks of your +children. But, seriously, we beg you not to howl if American ships are +damaged by the attack of German submarines. England wishes to shut off +our imports of foodstuffs and raw materials, and we wish to shut off +England's. You do not attempt to land on our coast; keep away also from +that of Britain. You were warned early. What is now to take place is +commanded by merciless necessity; must be. + +And let no woeful cries, no threats, crowd into Germany's ears. + + + + +ENDOWED WITH A NOBLE FIRE OF BLOOD + +By A. Kouprine + +[From King Albert's Book.] + + +Not applause, not admiration, but the deep, eternal gratitude of the +whole civilized world is now due to the self-denying Belgian people and +their noble young sovereign. They first threw themselves before the +savage beast, foaming with pride, maddened with blood. They thought not +of their own safety, nor of the prosperity of their houses, nor of the +fate of the high culture of their country, nor of the vast numbers and +cruelty of the enemy. They have saved not only their fatherland, but all +Europe--the cradle of intellect, taste, science, creative art, and +beauty--they have saved from the fury of the barbarians trampling, in +their insolence, the best roses in the holy garden of God. Compared with +their modest heroism the deed of Leonidas and his Spartans, who fought +in the Pass of Thermopylae, falls into the shade. And the hearts of all +the noble and the good beat in accord with their great hearts.... + +No, never shall die or lose its power a people endowed with such a noble +fire of blood, with such feelings that inspire it to confront +bereavement, sorrow, sickness, wounds; to march as friends, hand in +hand, adored King and simple cottager, man and woman, poor and rich, +weak and strong, aristocrat and laborer. Salutation and humblest +reverence to them! + + + + +Chronology of the War + +Showing Progress of Campaigns on All Fronts and Collateral Events from +Feb. 28, 1915, Up To and Including March 31, 1915 + +[Continued from the March Number] + + +CAMPAIGN IN EASTERN EUROPE + +March 1--Two German army corps are defeated in struggle for Przasnysz; +Germans bombard Ossowetz. + +March 2--Russians win Dukla Pass; 10,000 Germans taken prisoner at +Przasnysz; Russians reinforced on both flanks in Poland; Austrians meet +reverse near Stanislau; Austrians make progress in the Carpathians; +Russians shell Czernowitz. + +March 3--Russians press forward from the Niemen and the Dniester; +Austro-German army driven back in Galicia; Germans demolish two Ossowetz +forts. + +March 4--Russians are pressing four armies through the mountain passes +into Hungary; they have checked a new Bukowina drive on the part of the +Austrians. + +March 5--Russians are taking the offensive from the Baltic Sea to the +Rumanian frontier; German armies in the north have been split into +isolated columns; Russians report the recapture of Stanislau and +Czernowitz; snow is retarding the invasion of Hungary. + +March 6--Russian centre takes up attack; Russians are gaining in North +Poland; Austrians give ground in East Galicia. + +March 7--Germans start another drive in region of Pilica River; +Austrians retreat in Bukowina. + +March 8--Russians silence two batteries of German siege artillery at +Ossowetz; Austrians gain ground in the Carpathians and Galicia; it is +reported that German troops in Northern Poland and Galicia are +exhausted. + +March 9--Germans are raising the siege of Ossowetz and are retreating in +Northern Poland; Russians claim that the Austrian offensive in Eastern +Galicia is a complete failure. + +March 10--Germans attempt to break through Russian line in Northern +Poland; General Eichorn's army, retreating from the Niemen, is being +harried by Russian cavalry and has been pierced at one point; Austrians +have successes in the Carpathians and Western Galicia. + +March 11--One million men are engaged in a series of battles in Northern +Poland, the front being eighty miles long. + +March 12--In the Carpathians the Russians capture the villages of Lupkow +and Smolnik and the surrounding heights. + +March 13--Russians check German offensive against Przasnysz; fighting in +progress along Orzyc River; Austrians repulse Russian attack near Cisna +in the Carpathians. + +March 14--Russians check German advance in Mlawa region. + +March 15--Russians capture the chief eastern defense of Przemysl, three +miles from the heart of the defense system, Austrian troops which held +the position leaving many guns in the snow; the siege ring is now drawn +tighter; battle is on in Bukowina; there is fighting among the ice +fields of the Carpathians. + +March 16--Russians take vigorous offensive and drive back army that was +marching on Przasnysz; 100,000 men have been buried in a triangle a few +miles in area between Warsaw and Skierniewice; Germans are making use of +fireworks at night to locate Russian guns; Austrian Archduke Frederick +suggests to Emperor Francis Joseph the abandonment of the campaign +against Serbia, all troops to be diverted to the Carpathians. + +March 17--Przemysl is in peril; Russians have recrossed the German +frontier in two places; there is fighting on a 600-mile front; it is +reported that the Austrian Army in East Galicia has been flanked; a +battle is being fought in the snow for the possession of Tarnowice. + +March 18--Germans threaten severe reprisals on Russians for devastation +in East Prussia; German offensive in much of Poland is reported to be +broken. + +March 19--Memel, German port on the Baltic, is occupied by the Russians; +Tilsit is menaced; Von Hindenburg starts a new offensive in Central +Poland; the Germans have lost heavily along the Pilica; Austrians claim +that they have halted the Russian advance in the Carpathians. + +March 20--Russians win battle in streets of Memel; battle line extends +to Rumanian border; sortie by Przemysl garrison is driven back; +statistics published in Petrograd show that 95 towns and 4,500 villages +in Russian Poland have been devastated as result of German invasion; +damage estimated at $500,000,000. + +March 21--Austrians renew operations against Serbia and are defeated in +artillery duel near Belgrade; Russians are advancing on Tilsit; another +Przemysl sortie is repelled. + +March 22--After a siege which began on Sept. 2, the longest siege in +modern history, the great Galician fortress of Przemysl is surrendered +to the Russians, who capture 9 Austrian Generals, 300 officers, and +125,000 men, according to Russian statements; the strategic value of +Przemysl is considered great, as it guarded the way to Cracow and to +important Carpathian passes; Germans retake Memel; Russians are +preparing for vigorous offensive in the Carpathians; Austrians are +shelling the Montenegrin front. + +March 23--Demonstrations are held in Russia over fall of Przemysl; +Germans say that the capture of the place cannot influence general +situation. + +March 24--Battle is being fought in the Carpathians; Russians march on +Hungary and pursue strong column that had been seeking to relieve +Przemysl; Germans withdraw big guns from Ossowetz. + +March 25--Russians carry Austrian position on crest of Beskid Mountains +in Lupkow Pass region and win victory in Bukowina; fighting in Southern +Poland is resumed. + +March 26--It is reported that the Austro-German armies in the +Carpathians are withdrawing into Hungary; Germans retreat in the north. + +March 27--Violent fighting in the Carpathians; Austrians make gains in +Bukowina. + +March 28--Russians break into Hungary and carry on offensive operations +against Uszok and Lupkow Passes. + +March 29--Austrians make gains at several points; Russians say that the +Memel dash was a mere raid. + +March 30--Russians storm crests in the Carpathians; Austrians are in a +big drive across Bukowina; 160,000 Germans are reported as being rushed +to Austria. + +March 31--Russians are making their way down the southern slopes of the +Carpathians into Hungary; German army corps reported trapped and cut to +pieces in Northern Poland; Pola is preparing for a siege. + + +CAMPAIGN IN WESTERN EUROPE. + +March 2--Germans are pouring reinforcements into Belgium; British gain +ground near La Bassée. + +March 4--Hard fighting in the Vosges; Germans spray burning oil and +chemicals upon French advancing in Malancourt woods. + +March 5--Germans checked at Rheims; report of Sir John French says +situation is unchanged in Belgium; Germans are holding reserves in +Alsace. + +March 9--Floods hamper campaign in Alsace; it is reported that Germans +are shelling factories in France which they cannot capture. + +March 10--Germans declare that the French have failed in the Champagne +district and have lost 45,000 men. + +March 11--After several days of severe fighting the British capture +Neuve Chapelle, the German loss being estimated by British at 18,000; +the British also have lost heavily, particularly in officers; British +believe they will now be able to threaten seriously the German position +at La Bassée; French War Office says operations in Champagne have aided +Russians by preventing Germans from reinforcing eastern armies. + +March 12--British are pressing on toward Lille; they gain near +Armentières, occupy Epinette, and advance toward La Bassée; Germans are +intrenched in Aubers; the new drive is expected by Allies to prevent +Germans in the west from sending reinforcements to the east. + +March 13--Sir John French reports further gains in Neuve Chapelle +region. + +March 14--French occupy Vauquois, the key to a wide area of the Argonne; +they capture trenches and occupy Embermenil; Belgians gain on the Yser; +British repel German attack on Neuve Chapelle; it is announced that the +French recently won a victory at Reichackerkopf in Alsace. + +March 15--French capture trenches north of Arras; Germans drive back +British south of Ypres; Germans meet reverse at Neuve Chapelle; it is +announced that the French recently won a victory at Combres; French and +British are preparing for a general offensive; the first installment is +given out from French official sources of a historical review of the +war, from the French viewpoint, covering the first six months. + +March 16--Belgians cross the Yser; they drive Germans from trenches +south of Nieuport; British retake St. Eloi; barbed wire fence, ten feet +high, encompasses entire zone of German military operations in Alsace; +British still hold Neuve Chapelle after several spirited attempts to +retake it. + +March 17--Westende bombarded; Belgians carry two positions in Yser +region. + +March 18--Belgian Army continues to advance on the Yser; French continue +to hold the heights near Notre Dame de Lorette despite repeated shelling +of their position; Germans are fortifying towns in Alsace. + +March 19--Belgians and Germans are fighting a battle in the underground +passages of a monastery in front of Ramscappelle; official British +report tells of new German repulse at St. Eloi. + +March 21--Germans take a hill in the Vosges. + +March 24--New battle begins along the Yser. + +March 26--Belgians make progress on road from Dixmude to Ypres. + +March 27--French capture summit of Hartmanns-Weilerkopf Mountain. + +March 29--French are pressing the Germans hard at various points in +Champagne; as an offset, the Germans renew activity against Rheims with +lively bombardments; sapping and mining operations are stated to be the +only means of gaining ground in the Argonne. + + +TURKISH AND EGYPTIAN CAMPAIGN. + +March 1--Turkish forces mass on Asiatic side of the Dardanelles under +Essad Pasha, defender of Janina; Russians have completed the expulsion +of Turks from Transcaucasus region and dominate the Black Sea. + +March 3--Russians, after three days' battle, stop reinforcements for +Turks in the Caucasus. + +March 5--Turks abandon for the time the campaign against Egypt and +recall troops. + +March 7--British drive Turks back from the Persian Gulf, with +considerable losses on both sides; it is reported that the Germans +killed 300 Turks in a conflict between these allies after the Egyptian +retreat. + +March 9--Germans report that British were routed recently in Southern +Mesopotamia. + +March 12--General d'Amaade, commander of the French forces in Morocco, +has been put in command of a force which is to aid the allied fleets in +operations against Constantinople. + +March 13--Turks are driven back in Armenia and Northwestern Persia. + +March 16--Russians rout Turks in Armenia and threaten Turks in the +Caucasus. + +March 18--Turkish soldiers kill several civilians in the Urumiah +district of Persia; Turks are massing large forces near Constantinople +and on Asiatic side of the Dardanelles. + +March 19--Russians occupy Archawa. + +March 20--Turks reported to be four days' march from Suez Canal. + +March 23--Turkish force operating against town of Suez is routed. + + +CAMPAIGN IN FAR EAST. + +March 12--It is reported from Peking that nine Germans, among them the +German Military Attaché at Peking, who is leading the party, escaped +from Tsing-tao when it fell, and have made their way 1,000 miles into +Manchuria, where they are trying to blow up tunnels along the +Trans-Siberian railway; Russian troops are pursuing them. + + +CAMPAIGN IN AFRICA. + +March 21--Official announcement is made that General Botha, Commander in +Chief of the Army of the Union of South Africa, has captured 200 +Germans and two field guns at Swakopmund, German Southwest Africa. + + +NAVAL RECORD--GENERAL. + +March 1--Norwegian steamer reports ramming a submarine off English +coast. + +March 2--Bulgaria protests to Austria, Russia, and Serbia against mines +in the Danube; diligent inquiry in England fails to produce any evidence +supporting report that British superdreadnought Audacious, wrecked by +mine or torpedo on Oct. 27, is about to be restored to the fighting +line. + +March 3--Allied fleet silences three inner forts on the Asiatic side of +the Dardanelles; Berlin report says British cruiser Zephyr was damaged. + +March 4--Attack on Dardanelles continues; French ships bombard Bulair +forts and destroy Kavak Bridge; Field Marshal von der Goltz has asked +for German artillery officers to aid in defending Dardanelles, but it is +reported that Germans cannot spare any; German submarine U-8 is sunk by +destroyers of the Dover flotilla; German submarine chases hospital ship +St. Andrew. + +March 5--Allies report that six, possibly seven, German submarines have +been sunk since beginning of the war; two Captains of British merchant +ships claim prize for sinking German submarines; British Admiralty +informs shipping interests that a new mine field has been laid in the +North Sea; Germans report a French ammunition ship sunk at Ostend; +Japanese report that the schooner Aysha, manned by part of the crew of +the Emden, is still roving the Indian Ocean; there is despair in +Constantinople as Dardanelles bombardment continues; Russian Black Sea +fleet is steaming toward the Bosporus; allied fleet is bombarding +Smyrna. + +March 6--British ships Queen Elizabeth and Prince George attack strong +Dardanelles forts, they blow up one and damage two; allied landing party +suffers loss; Asia Minor ports are being shelled; one-third of the +Dardanelles reported clear of Turkish mines; concentration of Turkish +fleet reported; Germans state that a submarine, reported by the Captain +of British merchantman Thordis to have been sunk by his vessel, escaped; +German Embassy at Washington expresses regret over torpedo attack on +British hospital ship Asturias in February, stating that the attack, +which did no harm, was due to mistake. + +March 7--Queen Elizabeth and other ships continue bombardment of +Dardanelles forts. + +March 8--Allied fleet forces its way further into Dardanelles, British +ships opening direct fire on main Turkish positions; more forts are +silenced; most of the Allies' ships are hit, but little damage is done; +effective fire at 21,000 yards against batteries on the Asiatic side; +seaplanes are being much used for locating concealed guns; it is +reported from Petrograd that when the allied fleets began the forcing of +the Dardanelles a Russian ship was invited to head the column, and did +so; ports on the Black Sea are destroyed by Russians; British Admiralty +announces that prisoners from U-8 will be segregated under special +restrictions, and they may be put on trial after the war because of +German submarine methods; British collier Bengrove sunk in Bristol +Channel by torpedo or mine. + +March 9--German submarines sink three British merchantmen, thirty-seven +men going down with one ship; Military Governor of Smyrna says that +British have bombarded unfortified villages; another British +superdreadnought joins allied fleet at Dardanelles; French transports +are on way with troops; Turks lose coal supply by Russian bombardment of +Zunguldiak; report from Berlin that German submarine U-16 has sunk five +merchantmen; British Admiralty states that German submarines, from Jan. +21 to March 3, sank fifteen British steamships out of a total of 8,734 +vessels above 300 tons arriving at or departing from British ports in +that period; more mines planted near Denmark. + +March 10--German auxiliary cruiser Prince Eitel Friedrich anchors at +Newport News for repairs and supplies; she brings passengers and crews +of eleven merchant ships sunk by her in a cruise of 30,000 miles, +including crew of American sailing ship William P. Frye, bound from +Seattle to Queenstown with wheat, sunk on Jan. 28, despite protests of +the Frye's Captain; more Dardanelles forts are reduced; batteries on +Eren-Keui Heights silenced; British sink German submarine U-12; British +collier Beethoven sunk. + +March 11--President Wilson states that there will be "a most searching +inquiry" into the sinking of the William P. Frye by the Prinz Eitel +Friedrich, "and whatever action is taken will be based on the result of +that inquiry"; Commander Thierichens of the Eitel defends sinking of the +Frye, claiming her cargo was contraband; British warships are ordered to +the entrance to the Capes of the Chesapeake to prevent escape of the +Eitel; Eitel goes into drydock for repairs; more Dardanelles forts are +damaged; mine sweeping is being conducted by the Allies at night; allied +fleet before Smyrna gives Turkish commander twenty-four hours to +surrender, otherwise bombardment will go on; it is reported from The +Hague that twelve German submarines are missing; Germans talk of +reprisals if British do not treat submarine crews as prisoners of war. + +March 12--Dardanus batteries on the Dardanelles are silenced; Germans +are fortifying Constantinople; Allies' Consuls demand establishment of a +neutral zone at Smyrna; British auxiliary cruiser Bayano sunk off coast +of Scotland, probably by a submarine, with loss of 200; it is learned +that British bark Conway Castle was sunk on Feb. 27 off the Chilean +coast by the German cruiser Dresden; it is learned that French steamer +Guadeloupe has been sunk off Brazil by the German auxiliary cruiser +Kronprinz Wilhelm; it is reported from Berlin that Germans have sunk 111 +merchant steamships, with tonnage of 400,000, since war began; British +cotton ship Indian Prince is reported sunk. + +March 13--England has lost 90 merchant ships and 47 fishing vessels, +sunk or captured, since the war began; Vice Admiral Carden is stated to +have predicted the forcing of the Dardanelles by Easter; fog delays +Allies' operations in Dardanelles; five British warships wait for Eitel +off Virginia Capes. + +March 14--Three British cruisers sink German cruiser Dresden near Juan +Fernandez Island; no damage to British ships; French steamer Auguste +Conseil sunk by German submarine; German submarine U-29 is reported to +have sunk five British merchantmen in the last few days; citizen of +Leipsic offers reward to crew of submarine that sinks a British +transport. + +March 15--It is reported from Rio Janeiro that Kronprinz Wilhelm has +sunk thirteen ships since she began her attack on Allies' commerce. + +March 16--Officers of the Dresden at Valparaiso say their ship was sunk +in neutral waters; British say she was sunk ten miles off shore; German +liner Macedonia, interned at Las Palmas, Canary Islands, slips out of +port; British cruiser Amethyst is reported to have made a dash to the +further end of the Dardanelles and back; a mine sweeper of the Allies is +blown up; Vice Admiral Carden, "incapacitated by illness," in words of +British Admiralty, is succeeded in chief command in the Dardanelles by +Vice Admiral De Robeck; Germany protests to England against promised +harsh treatment of submarine crews; British and French warships again +appear off coast of Belgium. + +March 17--It is reported from Denmark that the German cruiser Karlsruhe +has been sunk; it is reported from Spain that the Macedonia has been +captured by a British cruiser; two British steamers are sunk and one is +damaged by German submarines; German steamer Sierra Cordoba, which +aided the Dresden, is detained by Peruvian authorities until end of the +war; British lose three mine sweepers and one sailing vessel in the +Dardanelles. + +March 18--British battleships Irresistible and Ocean and French +battleship Bouvet are sunk by floating mines in the Dardanelles while +bombarding forts; 600 men lost with the Bouvet, but almost all of the +British escape; British battle-cruiser Inflexible and French battleship +Gaulois are badly damaged by shells from the forts; most of the forts +suffer severely from the fleet fire; French submarine is sunk in the +Dardanelles; there is a lull in bombardment of Dardanelles and of +Smyrna; German submarine sinks British steamer Glenartney in English +Channel; Copenhagen report says a German sea Captain states that the +Karlsruhe was sunk in December. + +March 19--Negotiations are being carried on, with American Embassy at +Constantinople as intermediary, to try to avert shelling of Pera when +allied fleet forces the Dardanelles; British steamers Hyndford and +Bluejacket torpedoed in English Channel. + +March 20--One French and two British battleships are on their way to +Dardanelles to take place of vessels sunk; new attack is planned by +Allies, with Russia co-operating; Turks say that the ships sunk on March +18 were torpedoed; Chilean seamen say Dresden was sunk in Chilean +waters; Smyrna garrison is reinforced; dummy war fleet, composed of +disguised merchantmen, is reported to be ready in England for use in +strategy against the Germans. + +March 21--German submarine sinks British collier Cairntorr off Beachy +Head. + +March 22--British steamer Concord is torpedoed by a German submarine, +but is stated not to have been sunk. + +March 23--Dutch steamer is fired on by a German trawler; Turks send +reinforcements to Dardanelles forts. + +March 24--German vessels shell Russian positions near Memel; allied +fleet resumes bombardment of Dardanelles forts; Allies land troops on +Gallipoli Peninsula to help in a general attack on the forts which is +planned on arrival of more British and French ships; many Europeans are +leaving Constantinople. + +March 27--U.S. battleship Alabama is ordered to proceed to Norfolk at +once to guard American neutrality should Prinz Eitel Friedrich leave +port. + +March 28--British African liner Falaba is torpedoed and sunk by German +submarine in St. George's Channel; she carried 160 passengers and crew +of 90, of which total 140 were saved; many were killed by the torpedo +explosion; British steamer Aguila is sunk by German submarine U-28 off +Pembrokeshire coast; she carried three passengers and crew of forty-two, +all passengers and twenty-three of crew being lost; Russian Black Sea +fleet attacks Bosporus forts; Dardanelles forts again bombarded; German +Government, in official statement, says that Dresden was sunk in neutral +Chilean waters. + +March 29--Dutch steamer Amstel is blown up by a mine; Russians renew +Bosporus attack; allied fleet shells Dardanelles forts at long range; +reinforced Russian fleet is showing activity in the Baltic; German +Baltic fleet is out. + +March 31--London reports that three fleets and three armies will combine +in attack on Dardanelles forts; the forts are again bombarded; British +steamers Flaminian and Crown of Castile are sunk by German submarines; +Prinz Eitel Friedrich coals under guard of American sailors and +soldiers; Germans shell Libau. + + +NAVAL RECORD--EMBARGO AND WAR ZONE. + +March 1--Premier Asquith announces in the House of Commons the purpose +of England and France to cut Germany off from all trade with the rest of +the world; "the British and French Governments will, therefore, hold +themselves free to detain and take into port ships carrying goods of +presumed enemy destination, ownership, or origin"; officials in +Washington think this attitude of the Allies disregards American rights. + +March 3--Germany alters relief ship rules; vessels may pass through the +English Channel unmolested, but because of mines Germany cannot grant +safe conduct for relief ships to and from England. + +March 4--Secretary Bryan makes public the text of German reply to +American note suggesting modifications of war zone decree; Germany +expresses willingness to make modifications if England will allow +foodstuffs and raw materials to go to German civilians, and if England +will make other modifications in her sea policy; German reply is +forwarded to Ambassador Page to be submitted to the British Foreign +Office for information of English Government; American State Department +makes public part of a recent dispatch from Ambassador Gerard stating +that German Government refuses to accept responsibility for routes +followed by neutral steamers outside German waters; Henry van Dyke, +American Minister at The Hague, advises the State Department that +Germany is anxious to give every possible support to the work of +American Relief Commission for Belgium, and will facilitate the passage +of ships as much as possible. + +March 5--Holland-America Line steamer Noorderdijk, bound for New York, +returns to Rotterdam badly disabled, it being reported that she was +torpedoed in English Channel. + +March 6--Passenger service from Holland to England is to be extended. + +March 8--Germany includes in the war zone the waters surrounding the +Orkney and Shetland Islands, but navigation on both sides of the Faroe +Islands is not endangered. + +March 9--It is announced at Washington that identical notes of inquiry +have been sent to the British and French Governments asking for +particulars as to how embargo on shipments to and from Germany is to be +enforced. + +March 18--Submarine blows up Swedish steamer Hanna, flying her own flag, +off east coast of England; six of crew lost. + +March 15--Text made public of British Order in Council cutting off trade +to and from Germany; British Government, replying to American note, +refuses to permit foodstuffs to enter Germany for civilian population as +suggested; British Government also replies to American note of inquiry +as to particulars of embargo, Sir Edward Grey saying that object of +Allies is, "succinctly stated, to establish a blockade to prevent +vessels from carrying goods for or coming from Germany." + +March 17--Secretary Bryan makes public full text of six recent notes +exchanged between the United States and the Allies and Germany regarding +the embargo and the war zone; Allies contend German war methods compel +the new means of reprisal. + +March 18--Denmark, Norway and Sweden make an identical representation to +the Allies against the embargo decree on trade to and from Germany. + +March 20--Holland protests to Allies against embargo. + +March 21--German submarine U-28 seizes Dutch steamers Batavier V. and +Zaanstroom and their cargoes. + +March 22--Holland asks explanation from Germany of seizure of Batavier +V. and Zaanstroom. + +March 25--Submarine U-28 sinks Dutch steamer Medea. + +March 26--Dutch press is aroused over the sinking of the Medea; Ministry +holds extraordinary council. + +March 27--Germany tells Holland that investigation into seizure of the +Batavier V. and Zaanstroom has not been concluded. + + +AERIAL RECORD. + +March 2--It is learned that in a recent air raid German aviators killed +two women and a child at La Panne, a bathing town on Belgian coast. + +March 3--German aviator bombards Warsaw. + +March 4--French bombard German powder magazine at Rottweil. + +March 5--Zeppelin raid over Calais fails; Pegoud receives French +military medal for his services. + +March 7--French official statement shows that French airmen during the +war have made 10,000 aerial reconnoissances, consuming 18,000 hours in +the air, and have traveled more than 1,116,000 miles; Zeppelin reported +captured by allied airmen near Bethune. + +March 9--British seaplanes drop bombs on Ostend; Lieut. von Hidelen, who +dropped bombs on Paris in September, is at Toulon as a prisoner of war. + +March 12--German airmen bombard Ossowetz. + +March 14--Strassburg is threatened by a fire started by French airman's +bomb; allied aeroplanes said to have wrecked Zeppelin near Tirlemont. + +March 17--German airman unsuccessfully aims five bombs at British +coasting steamer Blonde in the North Sea. + +March 18--Bombs from Zeppelin kill seven in Calais. + +March 20--German airmen drop bombs near Deal, but all fall into the sea; +one bomb narrowly misses American bark Manga Reva. + +March 21--Two Zeppelins drop bombs on Paris, but damage is slight; eight +persons are injured; Zeppelin drops bombs on Calais, with slight damage, +and is driven off by guns. + +March 22--Rotterdam reports that German aviators are aiming bombs +indiscriminately at ships in the North Sea, one Taube dropping five +bombs near a Belgian relief ship; airmen of Allies drop bombs on +Mulheim, injuring three German soldiers. + +March 23--German aeroplane aims seven bombs at British steamer Pandion, +all missing; Paris Temps says that authorities plan hereafter to fight +Zeppelins by aeroplanes over Paris, something which had hitherto been +avoided because of danger to Parisians. + +March 24--British airmen, in dash on Antwerp shipyards, destroy one +German submarine and damage another; German aviators aim bombs and +arrows at British freighter Teal, doing little damage. + +March 26--French drop bombs on Metz, killing three soldiers; little +damage to property. + +March 27--German aviators drop bombs on Calais and Dunkirk; little +damage. + +March 28--German aviator drops bombs on Calais; little damage. + +March 29--Germans state that during recent raid on Strassburg, bombs +dropped by allied aviators killed two children and wounded seven others +and one woman. + +March 30--Copenhagen reports that two Zeppelins have been badly damaged +by a storm while manoeuvering for a raid on England; Turkish seaplane +drops bombs on British warship outside Dardanelles. + +March 31--Thirty German soldiers are killed and sixty wounded near +Thourout, Belgium, by bombs dropped by airmen of Allies; fifteen German +aeroplanes drop 100 bombs at Ostrolenka, Russia; German aeroplane aims +bomb at Dutch trawler in North Sea, but misses her. + + +AUSTRIA. + +March 1--Two Czech regiments revolt. + +March 2--It is learned that the troops executed 200 civilians in +Stanislau. + +March 17--Conviction is stated to prevail in Vienna that war with Italy +is inevitable in the near future; many Austrians are declared to be +indignant that Germany is trying to force the nation to cede territory +to Italy. + +March 18--Russian prisoners and Galician refugees are working on +defensive fortifications in the Trentino, which are being prepared in +event of war with Italy; heavy guns are being mounted in the mountain +passes; fleet is again concentrated at Pola; Austria and Serbia agree to +exchange interned men under 18 or over 50, and also women. + +March 22--Men up to 52 are now being trained for active service; men +formerly rejected as unfit are being called to the colors. + +March 24--Five hundred thousand troops are massed in Southern Tyrol and +the Trentino; many villages near the Italian frontier have been +evacuated and many houses destroyed by dynamite, so as to afford better +range for the big guns. + +March 26--Army contract frauds are discovered in Hungary; rich +manufacturers jailed. + + +BELGIUM. + +March 2--Gen. von Bissing, German Governor General, says the tax +recently ordered imposed on Belgians who do not return to their homes +was suggested by Belgians themselves. + +March 8--Belgian Press Bureau announces that King Albert now has an army +of 140,000 men, a larger force than that which began the war. + +March 9--As a result of new royal decrees calling refugee youths to the +colors the number of recruits is increasing daily; a few days ago King +Albert presented a number of recruits to two veteran regiments in a +speech; Belgian officials are arrested by Germans on charge that they +induced Belgian customs officials to go through Holland to join Belgian +Army. + +March 17--Government issues protest against the German allegation that +documents found in Brussels show that Belgium and England had a secret +understanding before the war of such a nature as to constitute a +violation of Belgium's neutrality; the Government declares that +conversations which took place between Belgian and British military +officers in 1906 and 1912 had reference only to the situation that would +be created if Belgium's neutrality had already been violated by a third +party; it is declared that the documents found by Germans, "provided no +part of them is either garbled or suppressed," will prove the innocent +nature of negotiations between Belgium and England. + +March 18--Firm of Henri Leten is fined $5,000 for violating order of +German Governor General prohibiting payments to creditors in England. + +March 20--One million pigs owned by Germans are billeted on the civilian +population of Belgium, the Belgians being required to feed and care for +the animals. + +March 21--Germans are relaxing iron regulations to some extent in +attempt to get the normal life of Belgium moving again. + +March 23--Seventeen Belgian men are shot in Ghent barracks after having +been found guilty by German court-martial of espionage in the interests +of the Allies. + +March 28--Belgian Legation at Washington issues official response to +statement made by Herr von Jagow, the Imperial German Secretary of +State, that "Belgium was dragged into the war by England"; response says +that it was Germany, not England, that drew the nation into war. + + +BULGARIA. + +March 6--Mobilization is now completed of three divisions of troops near +Tirnova. + +March 12--Heavy artillery is being transported to Janthe, near the Greek +frontier. + +March 20--Three Bulgarian soldiers are killed and several Greek soldiers +are wounded in a fight which followed an attempted movement by strong +Bulgarian force into the region of Demir-Hissar, formerly Turkish +territory, now Greek. + +March 26--Opposition leaders are demanding an interview with the King +with a view of bringing about a change of policy favoring the +Anglo-Franco-Russian alliance; Field Marshal von der Goltz is in Sofia. + +March 30--Bulgaria is holding up shipments of German artillery and large +quantities of ammunition destined for Constantinople. + + +CANADA. + +March 5--Three transports arrive in England with 4,000 Canadian troops. + +March 14--Second contingent is now in camp in England; it is expected +that these troops will soon go to the front. + +March 26--Publication of first account by Official Canadian Recorder +with troops in the field of contingent's experiences; he states that +there have been but few casualties so far; the infantry was held in +reserve in the Neuve Chapelle fight, but the artillery was engaged. + +March 27--There is made public in Ottawa the address delivered by +General Alderon, commanding the Canadian Division, just before the men +first entered the trenches; he warns against taking needless risks and +tells the men he expects them to win, when they meet the Germans with +the bayonet, because of their physique. + + +ENGLAND. + +March 2--Order in Council promulgated providing for prize money for +crews of British ships which capture or destroy enemy vessels to be +distributed among officers and men at rate calculated at $25 for each +person aboard the enemy vessel at beginning of engagement; British spy +system has been so perfected that it is said in some respects to excel +the German; Embassy in Washington denies that women or children are +interned in civilian camps. + +March 4--Government appeals to aviators of British nationality in United +States and Canada to join the Royal Flying Corps. + +March 8--Shipowner offers $2,000 apiece to next four merchant ships +which sink German submarines. + +March 9--House of Commons authorizes Government to take over control of +engineering trade of country in order to increase output of war +munitions. + +March 14--John E. Redmond, leader of the Irish Nationalist Party, +declares in speech that Ireland is now firmly united in England's cause, +and that 250,000 Irishmen are fighting for Britain. + +March 15--Kitchener discusses the war situation in House of Lords, he +expresses anxiety over supply of war materials and blames labor unions +and dram shops in part for the slow output; he praises the Canadian and +Indian troops and the French Army; passport rules for persons going to +France are made more stringent. + +March 16--Heavy losses among officers cause anxiety; T.P. O'Connor says +Irish are with the Allies; stringent passport rules are extended to +persons going into Holland. + +March 19--In six days 511 officers have been lost in killed, wounded, +and missing; newspapers hint at conscription. + +March 20--Officers lost since beginning of the war, in killed, wounded, +and missing, now total 5,476, of which 1,783 have been killed. + +March 23--It is reported that a second German spy was shot in the Tower +of London on March 5, that a third spy is under sentence, and that a +fourth man, a suspect, is under arrest. + +March 24--Earl Percy is acting as Official Observer with the +expeditionary force; warships are ordered not to get supplies from +neutral nations in Western Hemisphere. + +March 26--Field Marshal French says that "the protraction of the war +depends entirely upon the supply of men and munitions," and if this +supply is unsatisfactory the war will be prolonged; German newspapers +charge British atrocities at Neuve Chapelle; Colonial Premiers may meet +for consultation before terms of peace are arranged. + +March 27--Storm of protest is aroused by suggestions of Dr. Lyttelton, +Headmaster of Eton, that concessions should be made to Germany. + +March 28--Premier Asquith is attacked by the Unionist press for alleged +lack of vigor in direction of the war. + +March 30--Three of the nine prison ships on which prisoners have been +kept are vacated, and it is planned to empty the others by the end of +April, prisoners being cared for on shore. + +March 31--King George announces that he is ready to give up use of +liquor in the royal household as an example to the working classes, it +being stated that slowness of output of munitions of war is partly due +to drink; Lord Derby announces that Liverpool dock workers are to be +organized into a battalion, enlisted under military law, as a means of +preventing delays in making war supplies. + + +FRANCE. + +March 1--Official note issued in Paris states that there are 2,080,000 +Germans and Austrians on the Russian and Serbian front, and 1,800,000 +Germans on the French and Belgian front. + +March 5--War Minister introduces bill in Chamber of Deputies giving +authorization to call to the colors the recruits of 1915 and to start +training those of 1916. + +March 6--French Press Bureau estimates the total German losses since the +beginning of the war, in killed, wounded, sick, and prisoners, at +3,000,000. + +March 10--Foreign Office issues report on treatment of French civilian +prisoners by the Germans, charging many instances of cruelty. + +March 11--Eight thousand German and Austrian houses have been +sequestered to date; bill introduced into Chamber of Deputies provides +for burning of soldiers' bodies as a precaution against possible +epidemic of disease; Mi-Carême festivities omitted because of the war. + +March 12--Fine of $100,000, to be paid before March 20, is imposed on +inhabitants of Lille, in hands of the Germans, because of a +demonstration over a group of French prisoners of war brought into the +city. + +March 14--Copenhagen report states that there has been a revolt in +Lille. + +March 25--War Ministry denies General von Bernhardi's charge that France +and England had an arrangement for violation of the neutrality of +Belgium. + +March 28--A cannon is mentioned in the orders of the day for gallantry +in action; General Joffre decorates thirty men for gallantry in action +in the Champagne district. + +March 31--Intense indignation is expressed by the French press over +sinking of British passenger steamer Falaba by German submarine. + + +GERMANY. + +March 5--Interned French civilians are sent to Switzerland for exchange +for German civilians held by the French. + +March 6--Government asks the United States to care for German diplomatic +interests in Constantinople if Allies occupy the Turkish capital; two +British prisoners of war are punished for refusing to obey their own +officers. + +March 7--Copenhagen reports that men up to 55 have been called out; it +is stated that there are now 781,000 war prisoners interned in Germany. + +March 8--British charge that German dumdum bullets were found after a +recent battle in Egypt. + +March 10--Reichstag is informed that the budget is $3,250,000,000--four +times greater than any estimates ever before presented; a further war +credit is asked of $2,500,000,000, to insure financing the war until the +late Autumn; Landsturm classes of 1869-1873 are summoned to the colors +in the Rhine provinces. + +March 15--Prussian losses to date (excluding Bavarian, Württemberg, +Saxon, and naval losses) are 1,050,029 in killed, wounded, and missing. + +March 16--German committee is planning to send Americans to the United +States as propagandists to lay German case before the American people; +20,000 high school boys have volunteered for service. + +March 18--Copenhagen reports that Emperor William and General von +Falkenhayn, Chief of the German General Staff, arrived today at the +German Army Headquarters near Lille to participate in a council of war; +Chief President of the Province of East Prussia states that 80,000 +houses have been entirely destroyed by the Russians and that 300,000 +refugees have left the province; German War Department states that for +every German village burned by the Russians three Russian villages will +be burned by the Germans. + +March 21--Archbishop of Cologne asks children for prayers and offerings, +and suggests that they do without new clothes at confirmation. + +March 22--Lieut. Colonel Kaden urges teachers and parents to foster +hatred of England. + +March 23--English women and children allowed to leave Belgium. + +March 30--It is reported that Emperor William is holding an important +war council in Berlin with military chiefs. + +March 31--Much enthusiasm over sinking of British passenger steamer +Falaba; official statistics of second war loan show that $2,265,000,000 +was subscribed, of which $17,750,000 came from 452,113 persons in sums +of $50 or less; local option is permitted by German Federal Council. + + +GREECE. + +March 3--Crown Council meets at the palace in Athens under Presidency of +the King; among the eminent statesmen present are five ex-Premiers; +deliberations deal with question whether Greece should take part in the +war; further conferences of the Council are planned, and Parliament has +been summoned to meet, after the deliberations are finished. + +March 4--Crown Council meets again. + +March 10--M. Ghounaris completes formation of a new Cabinet; Ministerial +statement declares that the observance of neutrality is imperative on +Greece if she is to protect her national interests. + +March 14--M. Venizelos, former Premier, says that Greece will soon be +forced by course of events to abandon neutrality and join with Allies in +operations against Constantinople and Smyrna; by so doing, he says, the +Government can quadruple the area of Greece. + +March 17--M. Venizelos is quoted by an Italian newspaper correspondent +as saying that the Allies have twice asked Greece since the outbreak of +the war to help Serbia, but attitude of Bulgaria prevented Greece from +doing so; Venizelos resigned, according to this correspondent, because +Crown Council overruled his plan to send 50,000 men to aid Allies. + + +HOLLAND. + +March 2--Semi-official circles deny persistent reports that country is +to enter the war; American Minister van Dyke says that he sees no signs +of any change in the attitude of Holland. + + +ITALY. + +March 2--Much Italian comment caused by introduction in Chamber of +Deputies of bills against espionage, contraband, and publication in +newspapers of news of military movements; Italy is hiring hulks of ships +for grain storage. + +March 3--General Zupelli, Minister of War, speaks in Chamber of Deputies +in favor of a bill authorizing a recall to the colors of reserve +officers; Government asks Chamber for authorization to take control of +every industry connected with the defense of the country, including +wireless telegraphy and aviation. + +March 8--Premier Salandra hints at war at inauguration of new military +harbor at Gaeta. + +March 10--Garibaldians in the French Foreign Legion are allowed by +French Government to return to Italy in response to call of certain +categories of reservists by Italian Government. + +March 11--Military preparations are being pushed with much vigor. + +March 12--Soldiers near Austro-Italian frontier are drilling daily; new +cannon is being tested; fleet is in readiness under Duke of the Abruzzi; +Prince von Buelow is reported to have failed in his efforts to satisfy +Italian demands for Austrian territory as the price of continued +neutrality; it is said that Italy was asked to be satisfied with the +Trentino, while nothing was said as to Trieste. + +March 14--Rome reports that Emperor Francis Joseph, despite urgent +solicitations of Emperor William, refuses to sanction any cession of +territory to Italy and insists that von Buelow's negotiations with the +Italian Government be stopped; Premier Salandra's personal organ, the +Giornale d'Italia, says Italy must obtain territorial expansion; +National League meets at Milan and demands, through intervention in the +war, the liberation of all Italians from Austrian rule. + +March 15--Exchange of telegraphic money orders with Austria is +suspended; the traveling Post Offices on trains bound for the Austrian +frontier are also stopped; it is denied that Austria has refused to cede +any territory whatever, but that what she is willing to cede is far too +little from the Italian viewpoint. + +March 16--Report from Rome states that an authoritative outline of the +territorial demands of Italy shows that she wishes a sweep of territory +to the north and east which would extend her boundary around northern +end of the Adriatic as far south as Fiume on the eastern coast; this +would include Austrian naval base at Pola and the provinces of Trent and +Trieste; von Buelow is said to have assured Italian Government that +concessions will be made. + +March 18--Germans are leaving the Riviera. + +March 20--Identification cards for use in active service are distributed +among soldiers. + +March 21--King signs the decree promulgating a national defense law, +which will become operative tomorrow; the law gives the Government +various powers necessary for efficient war preparations; Parliament +adjourns until the middle of May, leaving military preparations in hands +of the Government. + +March 22--Austrians and Germans are advised by their Consuls to leave +Italy as quickly as possible. + +March 23--Crowds in streets of Venice clamor for war; Government orders +seizure of twenty-nine freight cars with material destined for Krupp gun +works in Germany. + +March 26--All is ready for general mobilization; seven complete classes +are already under the colors; Austrian and German families are leaving. + +March 27--Italian Consul at Buenos Aires calls a meeting of agents of +Italian steamship lines and warns them to be in readiness for possible +transportation of 60,000 reservists. + +March 28--Report from Berne that Emperor William in person has persuaded +Emperor Francis Joseph to cede the territory to Italy which the latter +desires; it is also said that negotiations are being conducted with Rome +directly and solely by Berlin. + + +PERSIA. + +March 18--India Office of British Government says that documents have +reached London showing that German Consular officers and business men +have been engaged in intrigues with the object of facilitating a Turkish +invasion of Persia. + +March 20--Persian Government calls upon Russia to evacuate the Province +of Azerbijan, Northwest Persia. + +March 25--Kurds and Turks are massacring Christians at Urumiah, +Northwestern Persia; situation of American Presbyterian Mission there is +described as desperate; Dr. Harry P. Packard, doctor of the American +missionary station, risks his life to unfurl American flag and save +Persian Christians at Geogtopa; 15,000 Christians are under protection +of American Mission and 2,000 under protection of French Mission at +Urumiah; it is learned that at Gulpashan, the last of 103 villages to be +taken after resistance, the Kurds shot the male citizens in groups of +five, while the younger women were taken as slaves; 20,000 Persian +Christians are dead or missing, while 12,000 are refugees in the +Caucasus; disease is raging among the refugees. + +March 26--Turks force their way into the compound of the American +Mission at Urumiah, seize some Assyrian Christian refugees and kill +them; Turks beat and insult American missionaries; American and British +Consuls at Tabriz, near Urumiah, have joined in appeal to General +commanding Russian forces at Tabriz to go to relief of American Mission +at Urumiah, which is described as practically besieged by Turks and +Kurds; United States State Department is active and asks Ambassador +Morgenthau at Constantinople to urge the Turkish Government to send +protection; Persian War Relief Committee cables funds to American Consul +at Tabriz for relief at Urumiah. + +March 27--Turkish Grand Vizier issues orders that Christians in +disturbed Persian regions be protected and uprisings be suppressed. + +March 28--Turkish regulars are due to arrive at Urumiah to protect +Christians and suppress disorder; Turkish War Office says that "no acts +of violence had been committed at Urumiah"; Grand Vizier states that +reported atrocities are "grossly exaggerated." + +March 30--Turkish Government gives renewed assurances to Ambassador +Morgenthau that protection will be given to Christians at Urumiah. + + +RUMANIA. + +March 6--Parliament passes a law empowering Government to proclaim a +state of siege until the end of the war, if such a step is thought +necessary; military representatives of the Government are seeking to +place large orders for arms and ammunition with American firms. + +March 12--Prime Minister Jonesco is quoted in a newspaper interview as +saying that he is sure the Allies will force the Dardanelles, the result +of which will be that Rumania will join the war. + +March 15--Rumania's war preparations are causing uneasiness in +Austria-Hungary. + +March 18--Government seizes a large quantity of shells in transit from +Germany for Turkish troops. + + +RUSSIA. + +March 1--Paris Temps says that the Allies have reached an agreement by +which Russia will have free passage through the Dardanelles. + +March 4--Village women capture and bind a detachment of German soldiers. + +March 24--Congress of Representatives of the Nobility, in annual session +at Petrograd, passes resolutions stating that "the vital interests of +Russia require full possession of Constantinople, and both shores of the +Bosporus and the Dardanelles and the adjacent islands." + + +TURKEY. + +March 9--American missionaries, arriving in New York from Jerusalem, say +that the fall of the Dardanelles will probably mean a massacre of Jews +and Gentiles in the Holy Land. + +March 11--There is a panic in Constantinople and many foreigners are +leaving. + +March 15--All Serbs and Montenegrins have been ordered to leave +Constantinople within twenty-four hours. + +March 18--The rich are leaving Constantinople; Germans from the +provinces are concentrating there. + +March 19--Appalling conditions prevail in Armenia, following massacres +by Turks and Kurds. + + +UNITED STATES. + +March 1--Indictments are returned by the Federal Grand Jury in New York +against the Hamburg-American Steamship Company and against officials of +the line on the charge of conspiring against the United States by making +out false clearance papers and false manifests in connection with +voyages made by four steamships to supply German cruiser Karlsruhe and +auxiliary cruiser Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse with coal and provisions; +indictments are returned by the Federal Grand Jury in New York against +Richard P. Stegler, a German, Gustave Cook and Richard Madden on the +charge of conspiracy to defraud the Government in obtaining a passport. + +March 2--Three indictments charging the illegal transportation of +dynamite in interstate commerce are returned by the Federal Grand Jury +in Boston against Warner Horn, a German, who tried to destroy the +international railway bridge at Vanceboro, Me., last month; extradition +proceedings by Canada, officials state, will probably have to be halted +until this indictment is disposed of. + +March 7--Horn is made a Federal prisoner in Maine. + +March 8--Carl Ruroede, who was arrested in January with four Germans to +whom he had issued spurious American passports, pleads guilty in the +Federal District Court to charge of conspiring to defraud the United +States Government, and is sentenced to three years' imprisonment; the +four Germans who bought passports are fined $200 each; the Department of +Justice is still investigating in belief there are other conspirators. + +March 16--Stegler turns State's evidence and testifies against Cook and +Madden in the Federal District Court. + +March 18--Cook and Madden are found guilty, the jury making a strong +recommendation for mercy; before the United States Commissioner at +Bangor, Me., Horn claims that his act was an act of war and contests +right of the courts to try him. + +March 19--Stegler is sentenced to sixty days' imprisonment, and Cook and +Madden to ten months; United States Commissioner at Bangor decides that +Horn must stand trial in Boston. + +March 24--Major General Hughes, Minister of Militia and Defense for +Canada, states in the Canadian Parliament that two dozen Americans with +the first Canadian contingent have fallen in battle, and that "hundreds +more are in the Canadian regiments fighting bravely." + +March 25--Horn is taken to Boston from Portland, after two unsuccessful +attempts to obtain a writ of habeas corpus. + +March 31--Leon C. Thrasher of Hardwick, Mass., an American by birth, +was among the passengers lost on the Falaba; American Embassy in London +and the State Department are investigating; the Thrasher family appeals +to Washington for information about his death; Raymond Swoboda, +American, a passenger on the French liner Touraine, which was imperiled +by fire at sea on March 6, has been arrested in Paris charged with +causing the fire. + + +RELIEF WORK. + +March 1--Herbert C. Hoover, Chairman of the American Belgian Relief +Committee, issues statement in London that the Germans have scrupulously +kept their promise, given in December, not to make further requisitions +of foodstuffs in the occupied zone of Belgium for use by the German +Army; he says the Germans have never interfered with foodstuffs imported +by the commission and that all these foodstuffs have gone to the Belgian +civil population; Mr. Hoover further states that "every Belgian is today +on a ration from this commission"; every State in the Union contributes +to the fund for the Easter Argosy, the ship which it is planned the +children of the United States will send with a cargo to Belgium in the +name of Princess Marie José, the little daughter of the King and Queen +of the Belgians; plans are made for the sending of two ships with +cargoes supplied by the people of the State of New York. + +March 2--American Red Cross sends large shipments of supplies to Serbia +and Germany; four American Red Cross nurses sail for Germany; Serbian +Agricultural Relief Committee asks for farming implements. + +March 5--Mississippi, Ohio, and Nebraska form organizations to send +relief ships; American Red Cross is sending large consignments of +supplies to the American Relief Clearing House in Paris. + +March 8--Report from London states that it has just become known in +Budapest that Countess Széchényi, formerly Miss Gladys Vanderbilt, +contracted smallpox while nursing in a Budapest military hospital and +has been dangerously ill for a fortnight; a hospital, exclusively for +the care of wounded soldiers whose cases require delicate surgical +operations, is ready for work at Compiègne under the direction of Dr. +Alexis Carrel of the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research. + +March 9--In gratitude for American help, the municipal authorities of +Louvain inform the American Commission for Relief in Belgium that, when +Louvain is rebuilt, squares or streets will be named Washington, Wilson, +and American Nation. + +March 11--American Red Cross announces plan to send two units for +service with the Belgian Army. + +March 12--Philadelphians give $15,000 for establishment of a +Philadelphia ward in the American Ambulance Hospital in Paris; other +wards bear the names of New York, Providence, New Haven, and Buffalo. + +March 14--Letter to the British Red Cross from Sir Thomas Lipton says +that typhus is threatening Serbia. + +March 16--Mrs. John Hays Hammond, National Chairman of the War +Children's Christmas Fund, has received letters from Princess Mary of +England, and the Russian Ambassador to the United States, writing in +behalf of the Empress of Russia, expressing thanks for the Christmas +supplies sent from the United States. + +March 17--Mme. Vandervelde, wife of the Belgian Minister of State, has +collected nearly $300,000 in the United States for Belgian relief, and +plans to sail for Europe in a few days. + +March 20--Serbian Legation in London sends appeal to United States for +aid for Serbia from the Archbishop of Belgrade. + +March 22--General Kamoroff, as special emissary of the Czar, visits the +American Hospital in Petrograd and thanks the Americans for their help +in caring for Russian wounded. + +March 23--Contributions for the Easter Argosy reach $125,000; letter to +Belgian Relief Committee brings the thanks of King Albert for American +help; American Red Cross sends twenty-seven tons of supplies to Belgian +Red Cross. + +March 24--General Joffre cables thanks to the Lafayette Fund, which is +sending comfort kits to the French soldiers in the trenches. + +March 25--American Commission for Relief in Belgium announces that +arrangements have been completed for feeding 2,500,000 French in the +north of France, behind the German lines; for the past month the +commission has fed more than 500,000 French; it is planned that the +Easter Argosy will sail on May 1. + +March 26--Financial report issued in London by the American Commission +for Relief in Belgium states that foodstuffs of a total value of +$20,000,000 have been delivered to Belgium since the commission began +work, and $19,000,000 worth of foodstuffs is in transit or stored for +future shipments; $8,500,000 has been provided by benevolent +contributions, and the remaining $30,500,000 through banking +arrangements set up by the commission; of the benevolent contributions +the United States has provided $4,700,000; United Kingdom, $1,200,000; +Canada, $900,000; Australasia, $900,000; clothing which has been +distributed is estimated to have been worth an additional $1,000,000; it +is announced that Queen Alexandra, as President of the English Red Cross +Society, has written an autograph note to Mrs. Whitelaw Reid in London +expressing gratitude for the aid given by the American Red Cross. + +March 30--The cash collected by the Belgian Relief Fund, New York, now +totals $1,004,000, said to be the largest amount ever raised in the +United States for relief of distress in a foreign country. + + + + +THE DAY + +By HENRY CHAPPELL. + + + _[The author of this poem is Mr. Henry Chappell, a railway + porter at Bath, England. Mr. Chappell is known to his comrades + as the "Bath Railway Poet."]_ + + You boasted the Day, and you toasted the Day, + And now the Day has come. + Blasphemer, braggart and coward all, + Little you reck of the numbing ball, + The blasting shell, or the "white arm's" fall, + As they speed poor humans home. + + You spied for the Day, you lied for the Day, + And woke the Day's red spleen, + Monster, who asked God's aid Divine, + Then strewed His seas with the ghastly mine; + Not all the waters of all the Rhine + Can wash thy foul hands clean. + + You dreamed for the Day, you schemed for the Day; + Watch how the Day will go. + Slayer of age and youth and prime + (Defenseless slain for never a crime) + Thou art steeped in blood as a hog in slime, + False friend and cowardly foe. + + You have sown for the Day, you have grown for the Day; + Yours is the Harvest red. + Can you hear the groans and the awful cries? + Can you see the heap of slain that lies, + And sightless turned to the flame-split skies + The glassy eyes of the dead? + + You have wronged for the Day, you have longed for the Day + That lit the awful flame. + 'Tis nothing to you that hill and plain + Yield sheaves of dead men amid the grain; + That widows mourn for their loved ones slain, + And mothers curse thy name. + + But after the Day there's a price to pay + For the sleepers under the sod, + And Him you have mocked for many a day-- + Listen, and hear what He has to say: + _"Vengeance is mine, I will repay."_ + What can you say to God? + +Reprinted from _The London Daily Express_ (Copyright). + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY; THE +EUROPEAN WAR, VOL 2, NO. 2, MAY, 1915*** + + +******* This file should be named 15479-8.txt or 15479-8.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/5/4/7/15479 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + https://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. + diff --git a/old/15479.txt b/old/15479.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d60286e --- /dev/null +++ b/old/15479.txt @@ -0,0 +1,13299 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook, New York Times Current History; The European +War, Vol 2, No. 2, May, 1915, by Various + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: New York Times Current History; The European War, Vol 2, No. 2, May, 1915 + April-September, 1915 + + +Author: Various + +Release Date: March 27, 2005 [eBook #15479] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY; +THE EUROPEAN WAR, VOL 2, NO. 2, MAY, 1915*** + + +E-text prepared by Juliet Sutherland, Linda Cantoni, Joshua Hutchinson, +and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team + + + +Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this + file which includes the original illustrations. + See 15479-h.htm or 15479-h.zip: + (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/5/4/7/15479/15479-h/15479-h.htm) + or + (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/5/4/7/15479/15479-h.zip) + + + + + +The New York Times + +CURRENT HISTORY + +A Monthly Magazine + +THE EUROPEAN WAR, VOLUME II + +April, 1915-September, 1915 + +With Index + +Number II, May, 1915 + + + + + + + +[Illustration: (logo) THE N.Y. TIMES] + + + +New York +The New York Times Company + +1915 + + + + +CONTENTS + +NUMBER II. MAY, 1915. + + Page + +GENERAL SIR JOHN FRENCH'S OWN STORY (With Map) 205 + The Costly Victory of Neuve Chapelle + +ROBERTS OF KANDAHAR (Poem) 210 + By Sidney Low + +THE SURRENDER OF PRZEMYSL (With Maps) 211 + How Galicia's Strong Fortress Yielded to the Russian Siege + +THE JESTERS (Poem) 217 + By Marion Couthouy Smith + +LORD KITCHENER ADVERTISES FOR RECRUITS 218 + +BATTLE OF THE DARDANELLES (With Map) 219 + The Disaster that Befell the Allies' Fleet + +OFFICIAL STORY OF TWO SEA FIGHTS (With Maps) 223 + +BETWEEN MIDNIGHT AND MORNING (Poem) 231 + By Sir Owen Seaman + +THE GREATEST OF CAMPAIGNS (With Map) 232 + The French Official Account Concluded + +SONNET ON THE BELGIAN EXPATRIATION 250 + By Thomas Hardy + +WAR CORRESPONDENCE (With Map) 251 + +THE SPIRIT OF MANKIND 258 + By Woodrow Wilson + +"WHAT THE GERMANS SAY ABOUT THEIR OWN METHODS OF WARFARE" 259 + (With Facsimile Letters) + By Professor Bedier of the College de France + +THE RECRUIT (Poem) 274 + By Hortense Flexner + +AMERICAN REPLY TO BRITAIN'S BLOCKADE ORDER 275 + By William J. Bryan + +GERMANY'S CONDITIONS OF PEACE 279 + By Dr. Bernhard Dernburg + +THE ALLIES' CONDITIONS OF PEACE 282 + By Sir Edward Grey + +SOUTH AFRICA'S ROMANTIC BLUE PAPER (With Map) 284 + +THE BELLS OF BERLIN (Poem) 289 + From _Punch_ of London + +WARFARE AND BRITISH LABOR 290 + By Earl Kitchener + +SAVIORS OF EUROPE 292 + By Rene Bazin + +BRITAIN'S PERIL OF STRIKES AND DRINK 293 + By Lloyd George + +ITALY'S EVOLUTION AS REFLECTED BY HER PRESS 301 + +SOME RUSES DE GUERRE (Poem) 304 + By A.M. Wakeman + +THE EUROPEAN WAR AS SEEN BY CARTOONISTS 305 + +FACSIMILE OF A BELGIAN BREAD-CHECK 329 + +TO A GERMAN APOLOGIST (Poem) 329 + By Beatrice Barry + +AMERICA'S NEUTRALITY 330 + By Count Albert Apponyi + +NEUTRAL SPIRIT OF THE SWISS 335 + An Interview with President Motta + +TO KING AND PEOPLE (Poem) 336 + By Walter Sichel + +A SWISS VIEW OF GERMANY 337 + By Maurice Millioud + +THE LAND OF MAETERLINCK 344 + By Alfred Sutro + +AMERICA AND PROHIBITION RUSSIA 345 + By Isabel F. Hapgood + +THE MOTHER'S SONG (Poem) 350 + By Cecilia Reynolds Robertson + +PAN-AMERICAN RELATIONS AS AFFECTED BY THE WAR 351 + By Huntington Wilson + +AN EASTER MESSAGE (Poem) 357 + By Beatrice Barry + +AN INTERVIEW ON THE WAR WITH HENRY JAMES 358 + By Preston Lockwood + +A TALK WITH BELGIUM'S GOVERNOR 363 + By Edward Lyall Fox + +A CHARGE IN THE DARK (Poem) 365 + By O.C.A. Child + +A NEW POLAND 366 + By Gustave Herve + +"WITH THE HONORS OF WAR" 368 + By Wythe Williams + +GENERAL FOCH, THE MAN OF YPRES 373 + +THE UNREMEMBERED DEAD (Poem) 377 + By Ella A. Fanning + +CANADA AND BRITAIN'S WAR UNION 378 + By Edward W. Thomson + +ENGLAND (Poem) 384 + By John E. Dolson + +AMERICAN AID OF FRANCE 385 + By Eugene Brieux + +A FAREWELL (Poem) 387 + By Edna Mead + +STORIES OF FRENCH COURAGE 388 + By Edwin L. Shuman + +A TROOPER'S SOLILOQUY (Poem) 392 + By O.C.A. Child + +AMERICAN UNFRIENDLINESS 393 + By Maximilian Harden + +ENDOWED WITH A NOBLE FIRE OF BLOOD 395 + By A. Kouprine + +CHRONOLOGY OF THE WAR 396 + +THE DAY (Poem) 408 + By Henry Chappell + +[Illustration: COMMANDER THIERICHENS + +Commander of the German commerce-raider Prinz Eitel Friedrich, which +sank the American sailing ship William P. Frye.] + +[Illustration: THE GRAND DUCHESS OF LUXEMBURG + +Whose little State was first occupied by the German forces. + +(Photo from George Grantham Bain.)] + + + + +The New York Times + +CURRENT HISTORY + +A MONTHLY MAGAZINE + +THE EUROPEAN WAR + +MAY, 1915 + + + + +General Sir John French's Own Story + +The Costly Victory of Neuve Chapelle + + +_LONDON, April 14.--Field Marshal Sir John French, commander of the +British expeditionary forces on the Continent, reports the British +losses in the three days' fighting at Neuve Chapelle last month, as +follows: Killed, 190 officers, 2,337 men; wounded, 359 officers, 8,174 +other ranks; missing, 23 officers, 1,728 men; total casualties, 12,811. +The report continues:_ + +The enemy left several thousand dead on the field, and we have positive +information that upward of 12,000 wounded were removed by trains. Thirty +officers and 1,657 of other ranks were captured. + +_The British commander's dispatch concerning the battle is long, and +says, among other things:_ + +Considerable delay occurred after the capture of Neuve Chapelle, and the +infantry was greatly disorganized. I am of the opinion that this delay +would not have occurred had the clearly expressed order of the general +officer commanding the First Army been more carefully observed. + +_Field Marshal Sir John French's report, which covers the battles of +Neuve Chapelle and St. Eloi under date of April 5, was published in the +official Gazette today. The Commander in Chief writes:_ + +The event of chief interest and importance which has taken place is the +victory achieved over the enemy in the battle of Neuve Chapelle, which +was fought on March 10, 11, and 12. + +The main attack was delivered by the troops of the First Army under +command of General Sir Douglas Haig, supported by a large force of heavy +artillery, a division of cavalry, and some infantry of the General +Reserve. Secondary and holding attacks and demonstrations were made +along the front of the Second Army, under direction of its commander, +Sir Horace Smith-Dorrien. + +While the success attained was due to the magnificent bearing and +indomitable courage displayed by the troops of the Fourth and Indian +Corps, I consider that the able and skillful dispositions which were +made by the general officer commanding the First Army contributed +largely to the defeat of the enemy and to the capture of his position. +The energy and vigor with which General Sir Douglas Haig handled his +command show him to be a leader of great ability and power. + +Another action of considerable importance was brought about by a +surprise attack made by the Germans on March 14 against the +Twenty-seventh Division holding the trenches east of St. Eloi. A large +force of artillery was concentrated in this area under the cover of a +mist and a heavy volume of fire was suddenly brought to bear on the +trenches. + +At 5 o'clock in the afternoon this artillery attack was accompanied by +two mine explosions, and in the confusion caused by these and by the +suddenness of the attack the position of St. Eloi was captured and held +for some hours by the enemy. + +Well-directed and vigorous counter-attacks, in which the troops of the +Fifth Army Corps showed great bravery and determination, restored the +situation by the evening of the 15th. + +_The dispatch describes further operations, saying:_ + +On Feb. 6 a brilliant action by the troops of the First Corps materially +improved our position in the area south of La Bassee Canal. During the +previous night parties of the Irish Guards and the Third Battalion of +the Coldstream Guards had succeeded in gaining ground from which a +converging fire could be directed on the flanks and rear of certain +brick stacks occupied by the Germans, which had been for some time a +source of considerable annoyance. At 2 P.M. the affair commenced with a +severe bombardment of the brick stacks and the enemy's trenches. + +A brisk attack by the Third Battalion of the Coldstream Guards and Irish +Guards from our trenches west of the brick stacks followed and was +supported by the fire from the flanking position which had been seized +the previous night by the same regiments. + +The attack succeeded, the brick stacks were occupied without difficulty, +and a line was established north and south through a point about forty +yards east of the brick stacks. + +The casualties suffered by the Fifth Corps throughout the period under +review, and particularly during the month of February, have been +heavier than those on other parts of the line. I regret this, but do not +think, taking all circumstances into consideration, that they were +unduly numerous. The position then occupied by the Fifth Corps had +always been a very vulnerable part of our line. The ground was marshy, +and trenches were most difficult to construct and maintain. The +Twenty-seventh and Twenty-eighth Divisions of the Fifth Corps had no +previous experience in European warfare, and a number of the units +composing the corps had only recently returned from service in tropical +climates. In consequence, the hardships of a rigorous Winter campaign +fell with greater weight upon these divisions than upon any other in the +command. + +Chiefly owing to these causes the Fifth Corps, up to the beginning of +March, was constantly engaged in counter-attacks to retake trenches and +ground which had been lost. In their difficult and arduous task, +however, the troops displayed the utmost gallantry and devotion, and it +is most creditable to the skill and energy of their leaders that I am +able to report how well they have surmounted all their difficulties and +that the ground first taken over by them is still intact and held with +little greater loss than is incurred by the troops in all other parts of +the line. + +_Describing an attack on the German trenches near St. Eloi on Feb. 28 by +Princess Patricia's Regiment, of the Canadian contingent, under command +of Lieut. C.E. Crabbe, the Commander in Chief says:_ + +The services performed by this distinguished corps have continued to be +very valuable since I had occasion to refer to them in my last dispatch. +They have been most ably organized and trained and were commanded by +Lieut. Colonel F.D. Farquhar, D.S.O., who I deeply regret to say was +killed while superintending some trench work on March 20. His loss will +be deeply felt. + +_Emphasizing the co-operation of the British and French forces and the +new role in warfare assumed by the cavalry, the Commander in Chief +writes:_ + +During the month of February I arranged with General Foch to render the +Ninth French Corps, holding the trenches to my left, some much-needed +rest by sending the three divisions of the British Cavalry Corps to hold +a portion of the French trenches, each division for a period of ten days +alternately. + +[Illustration: Map showing the field of the Battle of Neuve Chapelle and +its position in the Allied line.] + +It was very gratifying to me to note once again in this campaign the +eager readiness which the cavalry displayed to undertake a role which +does not properly belong to them in order to support and assist their +French comrades. In carrying out this work the leader, officers, and men +displayed the same skill and energy which I have had reason to comment +upon in former dispatches. + +_Referring to Neuve Chapelle and the considerations leading up to this, +the Field Marshal says:_ + +About the end of February many vital considerations induced me to +believe that a vigorous offensive movement by the troops under my +command should be planned and carried out at the earliest possible +moment. Among the more important reasons which convinced me of this +necessity were the general aspect of the allied situation throughout +Europe, and particularly the marked success of the Russian Army in +repelling the violent onslaughts of Marshal von Hindenburg; the apparent +weakening of the enemy on my front, and the necessity for assisting our +Russian allies to the utmost by holding as many hostile troops as +possible in the western theatre; the efforts to this end which were +being made by the French forces at Arras and in Champagne, and--perhaps +the most weighty consideration of all--the need of fostering the +offensive spirit in the troops under my command after the trying and +possibly enervating experiences which they had gone through of a severe +Winter in the trenches. + +In a former dispatch I commented upon the difficulties and drawbacks +which the Winter weather in this climate imposes upon a vigorous +offensive. Early in March these difficulties became greatly lessened by +the drying up of the country and by spells of brighter weather. + +I do not propose in this dispatch to enter at length into the +considerations which actuated me in deciding upon the plan, time, and +place of my attack. As mentioned above, the main attack was carried out +by units of the First Army, supported by troops of the Second Army and +the general reserve. The object of the main attack was to be the capture +of the village of Neuve Chapelle and the enemy's position at that point, +and the establishment of our line as far forward as possible to the east +of that place. + +The object, nature, and scope of the attack and the instructions for the +conduct of the operations were communicated by me to Sir Douglas Haig +in a secret memorandum, dated Feb. 19. + +_After describing the main topographical features of the battlefield and +showing how the Germans had established a strong post with numerous +machine guns among the big houses, behind walls and in orchards which +flanked the approaches to the village, Sir John proceeds:_ + +The battle opened at 7:30 o'clock the morning of the 10th of March by a +powerful bombardment of the enemy's position in Neuve Chapelle. The +artillery bombardment had been well prepared and was most effective, +except on the extreme northern portion of the front of attack. + +At 8:05 o'clock the Twenty-third and Twenty-fifth Brigades of the Eighth +Division assaulted the German trenches on the northwest of the village. +At the same hour the Garhwal Brigade of the Meerut (British India) +Division, which occupied a position to the south of Neuve Chapelle, +assaulted the German trenches in its front. The Garhwal Brigade and the +Twenty-fifth Brigade carried the enemy's lines of intrenchment, where +the wire entanglements had been almost entirely swept away by our +shrapnel fire. + +The Twenty-third Brigade, however, on the northeast, was held up by wire +entanglements which were not sufficiently cut. At 8:05 o'clock the +artillery was turned on Neuve Chapelle, and at 8:35 o'clock the advance +of the infantry was continued. The Twenty-fifth and the Garhwal Brigades +pushed on eastward and northeastward, respectively, and succeeded in +getting a foothold in the village. The Twenty-third Brigade was still +held up in front of the enemy's wire entanglements, and could not +progress. Heavy losses were suffered, especially in the Middlesex +Regiment and the Scottish Rifles. + +The progress, however, of the Twenty-fifth Brigade into Neuve Chapelle +immediately to the south of the Twenty-third Brigade had the effect of +turning the southern flank of the enemy's defenses in front of the +Twenty-third Brigade. This fact, combined with powerful artillery +support, enabled the Twenty-third Brigade to get forward between 10 and +11 A.M., and by 11 o'clock the whole of the village of Neuve Chapelle +and the roads leading northward and southwestward from the eastern end +of that village were in our hands. + +During this time our artillery completely cut off the village and +surrounding country from any German reinforcements which could be thrown +into the fight to restore the situation, by means of a curtain of +shrapnel fire. Prisoners subsequently reported that all attempts at +reinforcing the front line were checked. Steps were at once taken to +consolidate the positions won. + +Considerable delay occurred after the capture of the Neuve Chapelle +position. The infantry was greatly disorganized by the violent nature of +the attack and by its passage through the enemy's trenches and the +buildings of the village. It was necessary to get the units to some +extent together before pushing on. The telephonic communication being +cut by the enemy's fire rendered communication between the front and the +rear most difficult. The fact of the left of the Twenty-third Brigade +having been held up had kept back the Eighth Division and had involved a +portion of the Twenty-fifth Brigade in fighting to the north, out of its +proper direction of advance. All this required adjustment. An orchard +held by the enemy north of Neuve Chapelle also threatened the flank of +an advance toward the Aubers Bridge. + +I am of the opinion that this delay would not have occurred had the +clearly expressed order of the general officer commanding the First Army +been carefully observed. + +The difficulties above enumerated might have been overcome earlier in +the day if the general officer commanding the Fourth Corps had been able +to bring his reserve brigades more speedily into action. As it was, a +further advance did not commence before 3:30 o'clock. The Twenty-first +Brigade was able to form up in the open on the left without a shot being +fired at it, thus showing that, at the time, the enemy's resistance had +been paralyzed. + +The brigade pushed forward in the direction of Moulin-du-Pietre. At +first it made good progress, but was subsequently held up by machine gun +fire from houses and from a defended work in the line of the German +intrenchments opposite the right of the Twenty-second Brigade. + +Further to the south the Twenty-fourth Brigade, which had been directed +on Pietre, was similarly held up by machine guns in houses and trenches. +At the road junction, 600 yards to the northwest of Pietre, the +Twenty-fifth Brigade, on the right of the Twenty-fourth, was also held +up by machine guns from a bridge held by the Germans over the River Les +Layes, which is situated to the northwest of the Bois du Biez. + +While two brigades of the Meerut Division were establishing themselves +on a new line the Dehra Dun Brigade, supported by the Jullunder Brigade +of the Lahore Division, moved to the attack of the Bois du Biez, but +were held up on the line of the River Les Layes by a German post at the +bridge, which enfiladed them and brought them to a standstill. + +The defended bridge over the Les Layes and its neighborhood immediately +assumed considerable importance. While the artillery fire was brought to +bear, as far as circumstances would permit, on this point, General Sir +Douglas Haig directed the First Corps to dispatch one or more battalions +of the First Brigade in support of the troops attacking the bridge. +Three battalions were thus sent to Richebourg St. Vaast. + +Darkness coming on and the enemy having brought up reinforcements, no +further progress could be made, and the Indian Corps and the Fourth +Corps proceeded to consolidate the position they had gained. + +While the operations, which I have thus briefly reported, were going on, +the First Corps, in accordance with orders, delivered an attack in the +morning from Givenchy simultaneously with that against Neuve Chapelle, +but as the enemy's wire was insufficiently cut very little progress +could be made, and the troops at this point did little more than hold +fast to the Germans in front of them. + +On the following day, March 11, the attack was renewed by the Fourth and +Indian Corps, but it was soon seen that further advance would be +impossible until the artillery had dealt effectively with the various +houses and defended localities which had held the troops up along the +entire front. + +Efforts were made to direct the artillery fire accordingly, but, owing +to the weather conditions, which did not permit of aerial observations, +and the fact that nearly all the telephone communications between the +artillery observers and their batteries had been cut, it was impossible +to do so with sufficient accuracy. When our troops, who were pressing +forward, occupied a house there, it was not possible to stop our +artillery fire, and the infantry had to be withdrawn. + +As most of the objects for which the operations had been undertaken had +been attained, and as there were reasons why I considered it inadvisable +to continue the attack at that time, I directed General Sir Douglas Haig +on the night of the 12th to hold and consolidate the ground which had +been gained by the Fourth and Indian Corps, and suspend further +offensive operations for the present. + +The losses during these three days' fighting were, I regret to say, very +severe, numbering 190 officers and 2,337 of other ranks killed, 359 +officers and 8,174 of other ranks wounded, and 23 officers and 1,720 of +other ranks missing. But the results attained were, in my opinion, wide +and far-reaching. + +_Referring to the severity of the casualties in action, the Commander in +Chief writes:_ + +I can well understand how deeply these casualties are felt by the nation +at large, but each daily report shows clearly that they are endured on +at least an equal scale by all the combatants engaged throughout Europe, +friends and foe alike. + +In war as it is today, between civilized nations armed to the teeth with +the present deadly rifle and machine gun, heavy casualties are +absolutely unavoidable. For the slightest undue exposure the heaviest +toll is exacted. The power of defense conferred by modern weapons is the +main cause for the long duration of the battles of the present day, and +it is this fact which mainly accounts for such loss and waste of life. +Both one and the other can, however, be shortened and lessened if +attacks can be supported by a most efficient and powerful force of +artillery available; but an almost unlimited supply of ammunition is +necessary, and a most liberal discretionary power as to its use must be +given to artillery commanders. I am confident that this is the only +means by which great results can be obtained with a minimum of loss. + + + + +ROBERTS OF KANDAHAR. + +SIDNEY LOW, in The London Times. + + + Through the long years of peril and of strife, + He faced Death oft, and Death forbore to slay, + Reserving for its sacrificial Day, + The garnered treasure of his full-crowned life; + So saved him till the furrowed soil was rife, + With the rich tillage of our noblest dead; + Then reaped the offering of his honored head, + In that red field of harvest, where he died, + With the embattled legions at his side. + + + + +The Surrender of Przemysl + +How Galicia's Strong Fortress Yielded to the Russian Siege + + + The Austrian fortress of Przemysl fell on March 22, 1915, + after an investment and siege which lasted, with one short + interruption, for nearly four months. This important event was + celebrated by a Te Deum of thanksgiving in the presence of the + Czar and the General Staff. The importance to the Russians of + the capitulation of Przemysl is suggested by the fact that + about 120,000 prisoners were reported taken when the Austrians + yielded. Until this was effected the Russians could not + venture upon a serious invasion of Hungary, and the investing + troops who were then freed were more numerous than the + defenders. + +[By the Correspondent of The London Times.] + +PETROGRAD, March 22. + +The Minister of War has informed me that he has just received a telegram +from the Grand Duke Nicholas announcing the fall of Przemysl. + +The fall of Przemysl marks the most important event of the Russian +campaign this year. It finally and irrevocably consolidates the position +of the Russians in Galicia. The Austro-German armies are deprived of the +incentive hitherto held out to them of relieving the isolated remnant of +their former dominion. The besieging army will be freed for other +purposes. From information previously published the garrison aggregated +about 25,000 men, hence the investing forces, which must always be at +least four times as great as the garrison, represent not less than +100,000 men. From all the information lately received from both Russian +and neutral sources, the position of the Austro-German armies in the +Carpathians has become distinctly critical. The reinforcements for the +gallant troops of General Brusiloff, General Radko Dmitrieff, and other +commanders are bound to exercise an enormous influence on the future +course of the campaign in the Carpathians. + +All honor and credit are given by the Russians to the garrison of +Przemysl and General Kusmanek. Russian officers ever had the highest +opinion of the personality of the commandant. I heard from those who +fought under General Radko Dmitrieff in the early stages of the Galician +campaign that when our troops, after sweeping away the resistance at +Lwow and Jaroslau, loudly knocked at the doors of the fortress of +Przemysl, they met with a stern rebuff. In reply to the summons of the +Russians to surrender the keys the commandant wrote a curt and dignified +note remarking that he considered it beyond his own dignity or the +dignity of the Russian General to discuss the surrender of the fortress +before it had exhausted all its powers of resistance. During the second +invasion of Poland by the Austro-German armies the enemy's lines swept +up to and just beyond Przemysl, interrupting the investment of the +fortress. The wave of the Austrian invasion began to subside at the end +of the first week in November. Only then could we begin the siege of the +mighty fortress, which proved successful after the lapse of four months. + +The first Russian attempt to storm Przemysl without previous +bombardment, which followed immediately upon the commandant's refusal to +surrender, resulted in very great loss of life to no purpose. Thereafter +it was decided to abstain from further attempts to take the fortress +until our siege guns could be placed and a preliminary bombardment could +sufficiently facilitate the task of the besiegers. Meanwhile, although +the fortress and town were duly invested, our lines were somewhat remote +from the outlying forts, and the peasants of adjacent villages were, it +is said, able to pass freely to and from the town of Przemysl--a fact +which would enable the inhabitants to obtain supplies. From all +accounts neither the garrison nor the inhabitants were reduced to very +great straits for food. The announcement made at the time of the first +investment of the fortress that provisions and supplies would easily +last till May was, however, obviously exaggerated. + +I understand that heavy siege guns were ready to be conveyed to Przemysl +at the end of January, but that the Russian military authorities decided +to postpone their departure in view of the determined attempts made by +the Austro-German forces to pierce the Russian lines in the Carpathians +in order to relieve the fortress, which, if successful, might have +endangered the safety of the siege material. Owing to this fact the +bombardment of Przemysl began only about a fortnight ago, when the +Austro-German offensive had so far weakened as to satisfy the Russian +authorities that there was no further danger from this quarter. + +The concluding stages of the siege have been related in the dispatches +from the Field Headquarters during the past week. The capture of the +dominating heights in the eastern sector followed close upon the first +bombardment. The final desperate sortie led by General Kusmanek at the +head of the Twenty-third Division of the Honved precipitated the end. +The remnants of the garrison were unable to man the works extending to a +thirty-mile periphery. + +The loss of the western approaches left General Kusmanek no alternative +but to surrender. He had exhausted his ammunition and used up his +effectives. His messages for help were either intercepted or unanswered. +The assailants broke down the last resistance. The most important +strategical point in the whole of Galicia is now in Russian hands. + + +TE DEUM AT HEADQUARTERS. + +PETROGRAD, March 22. + +_The following official communique was issued from the Main Headquarters +this morning:_ + +The fortress of Przemysl has surrendered to our troops. + +At the Headquarters of the Commander in Chief a Te Deum of thanksgiving +was celebrated in the presence of the Czar, the Grand Duke Nicholas, +Commander in Chief, and all the staff. + +_The following communique from the Great Headquarters is issued here +today:_ + +Northern Front.--From the Niemen to the Vistula and on the left bank of +the latter river there has been no important change. Our troops +advancing from Tauroggen captured, after a struggle, Laugszargen, (near +the frontier of East Prussia,) where they took prisoners and seized an +ammunition depot and engineers' stores. + +The Carpathians.--There has been furious fighting on the roads to +Bartfeld (in Hungary) in the valleys of the Ondawa and Laborcz. + +Near the Lupkow Pass and on the left bank of the Upper San our troops +have advanced successfully, forcing the way with rifle fire and with the +bayonet. In the course of the day we took 2,500 prisoners, including +fifty officers and four machine guns. + +In the direction of Munkacz the Germans, in close formation, attacked +our positions at Rossokhatch, Oravtchik, and Kosziowa, but were +everywhere driven back by our fire and by our counter-attacks with +severe losses. In Galicia there has been a snowstorm. + +Przemysl.--On the night of the 21st there was a fierce artillery fire +round Przemysl. Portions of the garrison who once more tried to effect a +sortie toward the northeast toward Oikowic were driven back within the +circle of forts with heavy losses. + +_Note.--This portion of the communique was evidently drafted before the +fall of Przemysl took place, and the communique proceeds:_ + +In recognition of the joyous event of the fall of Przemysl the Czar has +conferred upon the Grand Duke Nicholas the Second Class of the Order of +St. George and the Third Class of the same order on General Ivanoff, the +commander of the besieging army. + +[Illustration: Map of the Siege of Przemysl. The small triangles +indicate outlying fortified hills with their height in feet.] + + +COLLECTING THE ARMS. + +_By Hamilton Fyfe, Correspondent of The London Daily Mail._ + +PETROGRAD, March 23. + +Advance detachments of Russian troops entered Przemysl last night. The +business of collecting the arms is proceeding. I believe the officers +will be allowed to keep their swords. + +Great surprise has been caused here by a statement that the number of +troops captured exceeds three army corps. Possibly on account of the +snowstorm no further telegram has been received from the Grand Duke +Nicholas, and no details of the fall of the garrison have yet been +officially announced. I have, however, received the definite assurance +of a very high authority that the force which has surrendered includes +nine Generals, over 2,000 officers, and 130,000 men. In spite of the +authority of my informant, I am still inclined to await confirmation of +these figures. + +The leading military organ, the Russki Invalid, says that the garrison +was known to number 60,000 men and that it had been swelled to some +extent by the additional forces drafted in before the investment began. +The Retch estimates the total at 80,000, and a semi-official +announcement also places the strength of the garrison at that figure, +excluding artillery and also the men belonging to the auxiliary and +technical services. + +There is an equal difference of opinion regarding the number of guns +taken. The estimates vary from 1,000 to 2,000. What is known for certain +is that the fortress contained 600 big guns of the newest type and a +number of small, older pieces. + +The characteristic spirit in which Russia is waging war is shown by the +service of thanksgiving to God which was held immediately the news of +the fall of the fortress reached the Grand Duke's headquarters. The Czar +was there to join with the staff in offering humble gratitude to the +Almighty for the great victory accorded to the Russian arms. + +The first crowds which gathered here yesterday to rejoice over the great +news moved with one consent to the Kazan Cathedral, where they sang the +national hymn and crossed themselves reverently before the holy, +wonder-working picture of Kazan, the Mother of God. In spite of the +heaviest snowstorm of the Winter, which made the streets impassable and +stopped the tramway cars, the Nevski Prospekt rang all the afternoon and +evening with the sound of voices raised in patriotic song. + +Przemysl is admitted to be the first spectacular success of the war on +the side of the Allies. It is not surprising that the nation is proud +and delighted, yet so generous is the Russian mind that there mingle +with its triumph admiration and sympathy for the garrison which was +compelled to surrender after a long, brave resistance. Popular +imagination has been thrilled by the story of the last desperate sortie, +which will take a high place in the history of modern war. + +When toward the end of the week the hope of relief, which had so long +buoyed up the defenders, was with heavy, resolved hearts abandoned, +General Kousmanek resolved to try to save at all events some portion of +his best troops by sending them to fight a way out. From the ranks, +thinned terribly by casualties and also by typhus and other diseases +caused through hunger and the unhealthy state of the town, he selected +20,000 men and served out to them five days' reduced rations, which were +all he had left. He also supplied them with new boots in order to give +them as good a chance as possible to join their comrades in the +Carpathians, whose summits could be seen from Przemysl in the shining, +warm Spring sunshine. + +It was a hopeless enterprise, pitifully futile. It is true that the +Austrian armies sent to relieve the city were only a few days' march +distant, but even if the 20,000 had cut a way through the investing +force they would have found another Russian army between them and their +fellow-countrymen. General Kousmanek, before they started, addressed +them. In a rousing speech he said: + + Soldiers, for nearly half a year, in spite of cold and hunger, + you have defended the fortress intrusted to you. The eyes of + the world are fixed on you. Millions at home are waiting with + painful eagerness to hear the news of your success. The honor + of the army and our fatherland requires us to make a + superhuman effort. Around us lies the iron ring of the enemy. + Burst a way through it and join your comrades who have been + fighting so bravely for you and are now so near. + + I have given you the last of our supplies of food. I charge + you to go forward and sweep the foe aside. After our many + gallant and glorious fights we must not fall into the hands of + the Russians like sheep; we must and will break through. + +In case this appeal to the men's fighting spirit were ineffective +threats were also used to the troops, who were warned by their officers +that any who returned to the fortress would be treated as cowards and +traitors. After the General's speech the men were told to rest for a few +hours. At 4 in the morning they paraded and at 5 the battle began. For +nine hours the Austrians hurled themselves against the iron ring, until +early in the afternoon, when, broken and battered, the remains of the +twenty thousand began to straggle back to the town. Exhausted and +disheartened, the garrison was incapable of further effort. + +In order to prevent useless slaughter General Kousmanek sent officers +with a flag of truce to inquire about the terms of surrender. These were +arranged very quickly. + +In spite of the local value of the victory, and the vastness of the +captures of material as well as of men, it must not be thought, as many +are inclined to think here, that the Novoe Vremya exaggerates +dangerously when it compares the effect likely to be produced with that +of the fall of Metz and Port Arthur. + +It certainly brings the end of the Austrians' participation in the war +more clearly in sight. But the Austrians will fight for some time yet. +What it actually does is to free a large Russian force for the +operations against Cracow or to assist in the invasion of Hungary. + +What is the strength of this force it would be imprudent to divulge, but +I can say that it certainly amounts to not less than an "army," +(anything from 80,000 to 200,000 men.) Those who are anxious to arrive +at a closer figure can calculate by the fact that the Russians had a +forty-mile front around Przemysl which was strong enough to repulse +attacks at all points. Another very useful consequence is that all the +Galician railway system is now in Russian hands. It makes the transport +of troops much easier. + +One further reflection was suggested to me last night by a very +distinguished and influential Russian soldier, holding office under the +Government. "The method which prevailed at Przemysl was as follows: +Instead of rushing against the place and losing heavily, we waited and +husbanded our forces until the garrison was unable to hold out any +longer. That is the method adopted by the Allies. It must in the course +of time force Germany to surrender also. + +"Up to now we have held our own against her furious sorties. Soon we +shall begin to draw more closely our investing lines. Only one end was +possible to Przemysl. The fate of Germany is equally sure." + +Now all eyes are fixed on the Dardanelles. The phrase on every lip is: +"When the fall of Constantinople follows, then Prussia must begin to see +that the case is hopeless." But we must not deceive ourselves, for even +when her allies are defeated Prussia will still be hard to beat. +Przemysl must not cause us to slacken our effort in any direction or in +the slightest degree. + + +WHAT THE RUSSIANS FOUND + +Special Cable to THE NEW YORK TIMES. + +_LONDON, April 3.--The London Times under date Przemysl, March 30, +publishes a dispatch from Stanley Washburn, its special correspondent +with the Russian armies, who, by courtesy of the Russian high command, +is the first foreigner to visit the great Galician fortress since its +fall. He says:_ + +Przemysl is a story of an impregnable fortress two or three times +over-garrisoned with patient, haggard soldiers starving in trenches, and +sleek, faultlessly dressed officers living off the fat of the land in +fashionable hotels and restaurants. + +The siege started with a total population within the lines of investment +of approximately 200,000. Experts estimate that the fortress could have +been held with 50,000 or 60,000 men against any forces the Russians +could bring against it. It is probable that such supplies as there were +were uneconomically expended, with the result that when the push came +the situation was at once acute, and the suffering of all classes save +the officers became general. First the cavalry and transport horses were +consumed. Then everything available. Cats were sold at 8 shillings, and +fair-sized dogs at a sovereign. + +While the garrison became thin and half starved, the mode of life of the +officers in the town remained unchanged. The Cafe Sieber was constantly +well filled with dilettante officers who gossipped and played cards and +billiards and led the life to which they were accustomed in Vienna. +Apparently very few shared any of the hardships of their men or made any +effort to relieve their condition. At the Hotel Royal until the last, +the officers had their three meals a day, with fresh meat, cigars, +cigarettes, wines, and every luxury, while, as a witness has informed +me, their own orderlies and servants begged for a slice of bread. + +There can be no question that ultimate surrender was due to the fact +that the garrison was on the verge of starvation, while the officers' +diet was merely threatened with curtailment. Witnesses state that +private soldiers were seen actually to fall in the streets from lack of +nourishment. The officers are reported to have retained their private +thoroughbred riding horses until the day before the surrender, when +2,000 of them were killed to prevent them from falling into the hands of +the Russians. A Russian officer of high rank informed me that when he +entered the town hundreds of these bodies of beautiful thoroughbred +horses were to be seen with half-crazed Austrian and Hungarian soldiers +tearing into the bodies with their faces and hands smeared with red +blood as they devoured the raw flesh. + +[Illustration: Map showing the scene of action between Przemysl and +Cracow and the Carpathian Passes.] + +The Russians were utterly amazed at the casual reception which they +received. The Austrian officers showed not the slightest sign of being +disconcerted or humiliated at the collapse of their fortress. + +The first Russian effort was at once to relieve the condition of the +garrison and civilians. Owing to the destruction of the bridge this was +delayed, but soon with remarkable efficiency distribution depots were +opened everywhere and the most pressing needs were somewhat relieved. + +The entire conduct of the siege on the part of the garrison seems wholly +without explanation. The Austrians had throughout plenty of ammunition, +and they certainly grossly outnumbered the Russians; yet they made but +one recent effort to break out, which occurred three days before the +surrender. + +Civilians inform me that they gladly welcome the Russians and that the +first troops who entered were greeted with cheers, while the garrison +was frankly pleased that the siege was over and their troubles at an +end. + +As an example of overofficering it may be stated that General Kusmanek +had seventy-five officers on his staff, while General Artamonov, the +acting Russian Governor, had but four on his immediate staff. + +The removal of the prisoners is proceeding with great efficiency. They +are going out at the rate of about 10,000 a day. The docility of the +captives is indicated by the fact that the Russian guards attached to +the prisoners' columns number about one for every hundred prisoners. +They are all strung out for miles between the fortress and Lemberg. The +prisoners are so eager to get out and to see the last of the war that +they follow the instructions of their captors like children. + +All the civilians as well as prisoners I have talked with are unanimous +in their praise of the Russian officers and soldiers, who have shown +nothing but kindness and delicacy of feeling since their entrance into +the fortress. This consideration strikes me as being utterly wasted on +the captured officers, who treat the situation superciliously and are +quite complacent in their relations with the Russians. + + + + +THE JESTERS. + +By MARION COUTHOUY SMITH. + + + Ev'n he, the master of the songs of life, + May speak at times with less than certain sound-- + "He jests at scars who never felt a wound." + So runs his word! Yet on the verge of strife, + They jest not who have never known the knife; + They tremble who in the waiting ranks are found, + While those scarred deep on many a battle-ground + Sing to the throbbing of the drum and fife. + They laugh who know the open, fearless breast, + The thrust, the steel-point, and the spreading stain; + Whose flesh is hardened to the searing test, + Whose souls are tempered to a high disdain. + Theirs is the lifted brow, the gallant jest, + The long last breath, that holds a victor-strain. + + + + +Lord Kitchener Advertises for Recruits + + +[Illustration: _This map shows the comparative distances from London of +Ostend and of some English towns. London is in the exact center of the +map._ + +If the German Army were in Manchester. + +If the German Army were in Manchester, every fit man in the country +would enlist without a moment's delay. + +Do you realise that the German Army is now at Ostend, only 125 miles +away--or 40 miles nearer to London than is Manchester? + +How much nearer must the Germans come before _you_ do something to stop +them? + +The German Army must be beaten in Belgium. The time to do it is _now_. + +Will you help? Yes? Then enlist _TODAY_. + +_God Save the King._ + +(Facsimile of an advertisement that appeared in The London Times, March +17, 1915.)] + + + + +Battle of the Dardanelles + +The Disaster That Befell the Allies' Fleet + + +AS THE TURKS SAW IT. + +_BERLIN, March 22, (via London, 11:33 A.M.)--The correspondent at +Constantinople of the Wolff Bureau telegraphed today a description of +the fighting at the Dardanelles on Thursday, March 18, in which the +French battleship Bouvet and two British battleships were sent to the +bottom. An abridgment of the correspondent's story follows:_ + +The efforts of the Allies to force the Strait of the Dardanelles reached +their climax in an artillery duel on Thursday, March 18, which lasted +seven hours. The entire atmosphere around the Turkish forts was darkened +by clouds of smoke from exploding shells and quantities of earth thrown +into the air by the projectiles of the French and British warships. The +earth trembled for miles around. + +The Allies entered the strait at 11:30 in the morning, and shelled the +town of Chank Kale. Four French and five British warships took part in +the beginning. This engagement reached its climax at 1:30, when the fire +of the Allies was concentrated upon Fort Hamidieh and the adjacent +fortified positions. + +The attack of modern marine artillery upon strong land forts presented +an interesting as well as a terrifying spectacle. At times the forts +were completely enveloped in smoke. At 2 o'clock the Allies changed +their tactics and concentrated their fire upon individual batteries, but +it was evident that they found difficulty in getting the range. Many of +the shells fell short, casting up pillars of water, or went over the +forts to explode in the town. + +At 3:15, when the bombardment was at its hottest, the French battleship +Bouvet was seen to be sinking at the stern. A moment later her bows +swung clear of the water, and she was seen going down. Cheers from the +Turkish garrisons and forts greeted this sight. Torpedo boats and other +craft of the Allies hurried to the rescue, but they were successful in +saving only a few men. Besides having been struck by a mine, the Bouvet +was severely damaged above the water line by shell fire. One projectile +struck her forward deck. A mast also was shot away and hung overboard. +It could be seen that the Bouvet when she sank was endeavoring to gain +the mouth of the strait. This, however, was difficult, owing, +apparently, to the fact that her machinery had been damaged. + +Shortly after the sinking of the Bouvet a British ship was struck on the +deck squarely amidship and compelled to withdraw from the fight. Then +another British vessel was badly damaged, and at 3:45 was seen to retire +under a terrific fire from the Turkish battery. This vessel ran in +toward the shore. For a full hour the Allies tried to protect her with +their guns, but it was apparent that she was destined for destruction. +Eight effective hits showed the hopelessness of the situation for this +vessel. She then withdrew toward the mouth of the Dardanelles, which she +reached in a few minutes under a hail of shells. The forts continued +firing until the Allies were out of range. + +This was the first day when the warships attacking the Dardanelles kept +within range of the Turkish guns for any considerable length of time. +The result for them was terrible, owing to the excellent marksmanship +from the Turkish batteries. The Allies fired on this day 2,000 shells +without silencing one shore battery. The result has inspired the Turks +with confidence, and they are looking forward to further engagements +with calm assurance. + + +ELIMINATION OF MINES. + +_The London Times naval correspondent writes, in its issue of March 20:_ + +The further attack upon the inner forts at the Dardanelles, which was +resumed by the allied squadrons on Thursday, has resulted, +unfortunately, but not altogether unexpectedly, in some loss of ships +and gallant lives. + +The clear and candid dispatch in which the operations are described +attributes the loss of the ships to floating mines, which were probably +released to drift down with the current in such large numbers that the +usual method of evading these machines was unavailable. This danger, it +is said, will require special treatment. Presumably the area having been +swept clear of anchored mines, it was not considered necessary to take +other precautions than such as were concerned with the movement of the +battleships themselves. + +The satisfactory feature of the operations is that the ships maintained +their superiority over the forts, and succeeded in silencing them after +a few hours' bombardment. The sinking of the battleships occurred later +in the afternoon, and it would seem at a time when a portion of the +naval force was making a further advance to cover the mine-sweeping +operations. There is nothing in the dispatch which indicates anything +but the eventual success of the work, nor that the defenses have proved +more formidable than was anticipated. The danger from floating mines may +have been somewhat underestimated, but it is one that can be met and is +most unlikely to form a decisive factor. + +Manifestly the Turks, with their German advisers, have done their utmost +to repair, by means of howitzers and field guns, the destruction of the +fixed defenses; but it is not likely that any temporary expedients will +prove more than troublesome to the passage of the fleet. The +determination of the Allies to make a satisfactory ending of the +operations is shown by the immediate dispatch of reinforcing ships, and +by the fact that ample naval and military forces are available on the +spot. + +Every one will regret that illness has obliged Vice Admiral Carden to +relinquish the chief command, but this is now in the very capable hands +of Vice Admiral Robeck. + + +BRITISH OFFICIAL REPORT. + +[From The London Times, March 20, 1915.] + +_After ten days of mine-sweeping inside the Dardanelles the British and +French fleets made a general attack on the fortresses at the Narrows on +Thursday. After about three hours' bombardment all the forts ceased +firing._ + +_Three battleships were lost in these operations by striking mines--the +French Bouvet, and the Irresistible and the Ocean. The British crews +were practically all saved, but nearly the whole of the men on the +Bouvet perished._ + +_The Secretary of the Admiralty issued the following statement last +night:_ + +Mine-sweeping having been in progress during the last ten days inside +the strait, a general attack was delivered by the British and French +fleets yesterday morning upon the fortresses at the Narrows of the +Dardanelles. + +At 10:45 A.M. Queen Elizabeth, Inflexible, Agamemnon, and Lord Nelson +bombarded Forts J, L, T, U, and V; while Triumph and Prince George fired +at Batteries F, E, and H. A heavy fire was opened on the ships from +howitzers and field guns. + +At 12:22 the French squadron, consisting of the Suffren, Gaulois, +Charlemagne, and Bouvet, advanced up the Dardanelles to engage the forts +at closer range. Forts J, U, F, and E replied strongly. Their fire was +silenced by the ten battleships inside the strait, all the ships being +hit several times during this part of the action. + +By 1:25 P.M. all forts had ceased firing. + +Vengeance, Irresistible, Albion, Ocean, Swiftsure, and Majestic then +advanced to relieve the six old battleships inside the strait. + +As the French squadron, which had engaged the forts in the most +brilliant fashion was passing out, Bouvet was blown up by a drifting +mine and sank in thirty-six fathoms north Erenkeui Village in less than +three minutes. + +At 2:36 P.M., the relief battleships renewed the attack on the forts, +which again opened fire. The attack on the forts was maintained while +the operations of the mine-sweepers continued. At 4:09 Irresistible +quitted the line, listing heavily; and at 5:50 she sank, having probably +struck a drifting mine. At 6:05, Ocean, also having struck a mine, both +vessels sank in deep water, practically the whole of the crews having +been removed safely under a hot fire. + +[Illustration: QUEEN MARY + +Wife of George V., King of Great Britain and Ireland. + +_(Photo from Underwood & Underwood.)_] + +[Illustration: THE RIGHT HON. DAVID LLOYD GEORGE + +The radical Chancellor of the British Exchequer, upon whom has devolved +the task of financing the great war. + +_(Photo by A. & R. Annan & Sons.)_] + +The Gaulois was damaged by gun fire. + +Inflexible had her forward control position hit by a heavy shell, and +requires repair. + +The bombardment of the forts and the mine-sweeping operations terminated +when darkness fell. The damage to the forts effected by the prolonged +direct fire of the very powerful forces employed cannot yet be +estimated, and a further report will follow. + +The losses of ships were caused by mines drifting with the current which +were encountered in areas hitherto swept clear, and this danger will +require special treatment. + +The British casualties in personnel are not heavy, considering the scale +of the operations; but practically the whole of the crew of the Bouvet +were lost with the ship, an internal explosion having apparently +supervened on the explosion of the mine. + +The Queen and Implacable, which were dispatched from England to replace +ships' casualties in anticipation of this operation, are due to arrive +immediately, thus bringing the British fleet up to its original +strength. + +The operations are continuing, ample naval and military forces being +available on the spot. + +On the 16th inst., Vice Admiral Carden, who has been incapacitated by +illness, was succeeded in the chief command by Rear Admiral John Michael +de Robeck, with acting rank of Vice Admiral. + + +THE SCENE IN THE STRAIT. + +_The London Times publishes this story of an eyewitness:_ + +TENEDOS, (Aegina,) March 18. + +This is not so much an account of the five hours' heavy engagement +between the Turkish forts and the allied ships which has been fought +actually within the Dardanelles today as an impression of the +bombardment as seen at a distance of fifteen miles or so from the top of +a high, steep hill called Mount St. Elias, at the northern end of +Tenedos. + +Over the ridge of Kum Kale you plainly see, like a great blue lake, the +first reach of the Dardanelles up to the narrow neck between Chanak and +Kilid Bahr. It was up and down in this stretch of water that the largest +vessels of the allied fleet steamed today for over four hours, hurling, +with sheets of orange flame from their heavy guns, a constant succession +of shells on the forts that guard the Narrows at Chanak, while the +Turkish batteries, with a frequency that lessened as the day went on, +flashed back at them in reply, with the difference that, while the +effects of the Allies' shells were continually manifest in the columns +of smoke and dust that were signs of the damage they had wrought, a +great number of the enemy's shots fell in the sea hundreds of yards from +the bombarding ships, sending torrents of water towering harmlessly into +the air. + +Not that the successes of the day have been won without cost. I saw +several ships, French and British, struck by shells that raised volumes +of white smoke, and one of the French squadron is toiling slowly home at +this moment down by the head and with a list to port, while, so far as +one could make out with a glass, several boatloads of men were being +taken off her. + +The ships left their stations between the Turkish and Asiatic coasts and +Tenedos early this morning and by 11 they were steaming in line up the +Dardanelles. + +It was 11:45 when the first notable hit was made by an English ship. I +could see eight vessels, apparently all battleships, lying in line from +the entrance up the strait. The ship furthest up appeared to be the +Queen Elizabeth, and I think it was she that fired the shot which +exploded the powder magazine at Chanak. A great balloon of white smoke +sprang up in the midst of the magazine which leaped out from a fierce, +red flame, and reached a great height. When the flame had disappeared +the dense smoke continued to grow till it must have been a column +hundreds of feet high. + +[Illustration: [map of the Dardanelles]] + +In the five minutes that followed this shot three more shells from the +Queen Elizabeth fell practically on the same spot, and two minutes later +yet another by the side of the smoking ruins. + +There were now eight battleships, all pre-dreadnoughts, left at Tenedos, +and at noon six of them started off in line a-head toward the strait. +The English ships already within were passing further up and went out of +sight. + +The bombarding ships were steaming constantly up and down, turning at +each end of the stretch, which is about a couple of miles long. + +A long thin veil of black smoke was drifting slowly westward from the +fighting. At about 1:30 Erenkeui Village, standing high on the Asiatic +side, received a couple of shells. At 1:45 a division of eight +destroyers in line steamed into the entrance of the strait, and a little +later the last two battleships from Tenedos joined, the Dublin +patrolling outside. An hour later the most striking effect was produced +by a shell falling on a fort at Kilid Bahr, which evidently exploded +another magazine. A huge mass of heavy jet-black smoke gradually rose +till it towered high above the cliffs on the European and Asiatic sides. +It ballooned slowly out like a gigantic genie rising from a fisherman's +bottle. + +By now the action was slackening, and at 3:45 five ships were slowly +steaming homeward from the entrance. At 4:30 there were still eight +vessels in the strait, but the forts had practically ceased to fire. The +action was over for the day. + +The result had been the apparent silencing of several Turkish batteries, +and those terrific explosions at the forts at Chanak and Kilid Bahr, the +ultimate effect of which remains to be seen when the attack is renewed +tonight. For Chanak is burning. + + + + +Official Story of Two Sea Fights + +[From The London Times, March 3, 1915.] + + +_Admiralty, March 3, 1915._ + +_The following dispatch has been received from Vice Admiral Sir David +Beatty, K.C.B., M.V.O., D.S.O., commanding the First Battle Cruiser +Squadron, reporting the action in the North Sea on Sunday, the 24th of +January, 1915:_ + +H.M.S. Princess Royal, +Feb. 2, 1915. + +Sir: I have the honor to report that at daybreak on Jan. 24, 1915, the +following vessels were patrolling in company: + +The battle cruisers Lion, Capt. Alfred E.M. Chatfield, C.V.O., flying my +flag; Princess Royal, Capt. Osmond de B. Brock, Aide de Camp; Tiger, +Capt. Henry B. Pelly, M.V.O.; New Zealand, Capt. Lionel Halsey, C.M.G., +Aide de Camp, flying the flag of Rear Admiral Sir Archibald Moore, +K.C.B., C.V.O., and Indomitable, Capt. Francis W. Kennedy. + +The light cruisers Southampton, flying the broad pennant of Commodore +William E. Goodenough, M.V.O.; Nottingham, Capt. Charles B. Miller; +Birmingham, Capt. Arthur A.M. Duff, and Lowestoft, Capt. Theobald W.B. +Kennedy, were disposed on my port beam. + +Commodore (T) Reginald Y. Tyrwhitt, C.B., in Arethusa, Aurora, Capt. +Wilmot S. Nicholson; Undaunted, Capt. Francis G. St. John, M.V.O.; +Arethusa and the destroyer flotillas were ahead. + +At 7:25 A.M. the flash of guns was observed south-southeast. Shortly +afterward a report reached me from Aurora that she was engaged with +enemy's ships. I immediately altered course to south-southeast, +increased to 22 knots, and ordered the light cruisers and flotillas to +chase south-southeast to get in touch and report movements of enemy. + +This order was acted upon with great promptitude, indeed my wishes had +already been forestalled by the respective senior officers, and reports +almost immediately followed from Southampton, Arethusa, and Aurora as to +the position and composition of the enemy, which consisted of three +battle cruisers and Bluecher, six light cruisers, and a number of +destroyers, steering northwest. The enemy had altered course to +southeast. From now onward the light cruisers maintained touch with the +enemy, and kept me fully informed as to their movements. + +The battle cruisers worked up to full speed, steering to the southward. +The wind at the time was northeast, light, with extreme visibility. At +7:30 A.M. the enemy were sighted on the port bow steaming fast, steering +approximately southeast, distant 14 miles. + +Owing to the prompt reports received we had attained our position on the +quarter of the enemy, and so altered course to southeast parallel to +them, and settled down to a long stern chase, gradually increasing our +speed until we reached 28.5 knots. Great credit is due to the engineer +staffs of New Zealand and Indomitable--these ships greatly exceeded +their normal speed. + +At 8:52 A.M., as we had closed to within 20,000 yards of the rear ship, +the battle cruisers manoeuvred to keep on a line of bearing so that guns +would bear, and Lion fired a single shot, which fell short. The enemy at +this time were in single line ahead, with light cruisers ahead and a +large number of destroyers on their starboard beam. + +Single shots were fired at intervals to test the range, and at 9:09 A.M. +Lion made her first hit on the Bluecher, No. 4 in the line. The Tiger +opened fire at 9:20 A.M. on the rear ship, the Lion shifted to No. 3 in +the line, at 18,000 yards, this ship being hit by several salvos. The +enemy returned our fire at 9:14 A.M. Princess Royal, on coming into +range, opened fire on Bluecher, the range of the leading ship being +17,500 yards, at 9:35 A.M. New Zealand was within range of Bluecher, +which had dropped somewhat astern, and opened fire on her. Princess +Royal shifted to the third ship in the line, inflicting considerable +damage on her. + +Our flotilla cruisers and destroyers had gradually dropped from a +position broad on our beam to our port quarter, so as not to foul our +range with their smoke; but the enemy's destroyers threatening attack, +the Meteor and M Division passed ahead of us, Capt. the Hon. H. Meade, +D.S.O., handling this division with conspicuous ability. + +About 9:45 A.M. the situation was as follows: Bluecher, the fourth in +their line, already showed signs of having suffered severely from gun +fire; their leading ship and No. 3 were also on fire, Lion was engaging +No. 1, Princess Royal No. 3, New Zealand No. 4, while the Tiger, which +was second in our line, fired first at their No. 1, and when interfered +with by smoke, at their No. 4. + +The enemy's destroyers emitted vast columns of smoke to screen their +battle cruisers, and under cover of this the latter now appeared to have +altered course to the northward to increase their distance, and +certainly the rear ships hauled out on the port quarter of their leader, +thereby increasing their distance from our line. The battle cruisers, +therefore, were ordered to form a line of bearing north-northwest, and +proceed at their utmost speed. + +Their destroyers then showed evident signs of an attempt to attack. Lion +and Tiger opened fire on them, and caused them to retire and resume +their original course. + +The light cruisers maintained an excellent position on the port quarter +of the enemy's line, enabling them to observe and keep touch, or attack +any vessel that might fall out of the line. + +At 10:48 A.M. the Bluecher, which had dropped considerably astern of +enemy's line, hauled out to port, steering north with a heavy list, on +fire, and apparently in a defeated condition. I consequently ordered +Indomitable to attack enemy breaking northward. + +At 10:54 A.M. submarines were reported on the starboard bow, and I +personally observed the wash of a periscope two points on our starboard +bow. I immediately turned to port. + +At 11:03 A.M. an injury to the Lion being reported as incapable of +immediate repair, I directed Lion to shape course northwest. At 11:20 +A.M. I called the Attack alongside, shifting my flag to her at about +11:35 A.M. I proceeded at utmost speed to rejoin the squadron, and met +them at noon retiring north-northwest. + +I boarded and hoisted my flag on Princess Royal at about 12:20 P.M., +when Capt. Brock acquainted me of what had occurred since the Lion fell +out of the line, namely, that Bluecher had been sunk and that the enemy +battle cruisers had continued their course to the eastward in a +considerably damaged condition. He also informed me that a Zeppelin and +a seaplane had endeavored to drop bombs on the vessels which went to the +rescue of the survivors of Bluecher. + +The good seamanship of Lieut. Commander Cyril Callaghan, H.M.S. Attack, +in placing his vessel alongside the Lion and subsequently the Princess +Royal, enabled the transfer of flag to be made in the shortest possible +time. + +At 2 P.M. I closed Lion and received a report that the starboard engine +was giving trouble owing to priming, and at 3:38 P.M. I ordered +Indomitable to take her in tow, which was accomplished by 5 P.M. + +The greatest credit is due to the Captains of Indomitable and Lion for +the seaman-like manner in which the Lion was taken in tow under +difficult circumstances. + +The excellent steaming of the ships engaged in the operation was a +conspicuous feature. + +I attach an appendix giving the names of various officers and men who +specially distinguished themselves. + +Where all did well it is difficult to single out officers and men for +special mention, and as Lion and Tiger were the only ships hit by the +enemy, the majority of these I mention belong to those ships. + +I have the honor to be, Sir, + +Your obedient servant, + +(Signed) DAVID BEATTY, +Vice Admiral. + + +OFFICERS. + +Commander Charles A. Fountaine, H.M.S. Lion. + +Lieut. Commander Evan C. Bunbury, H.M.S. Lion. + +Lieut. Frederick T. Peters, H.M.S. Meteor. + +Lieut. Charles M.R. Schwerdt, H.M.S. Lion. + +Engineer Commander Donald P. Green, H.M.S. Lion. + +Engineer Commander James L. Sands, H.M.S. Southampton. + +Engineer Commander Thomas H. Turner, H.M.S. New Zealand. + +Engineer Lieut. Commander George Preece, H.M.S. Lion. + +Engineer Lieut. Albert Knothe, H.M.S. Indomitable. + +Surgeon Probationer James A. Stirling, R.N.V.R., H.M.S. Meteor. + +Mr. Joseph H. Burton, Gunner (T), H.M.S. Lion. + +Chief Carpenter Frederick E. Dailey, H.M.S. Lion. + + +PETTY OFFICERS AND MEN. + +Py. Or. J.W. Kemmett, O.N. 186,788, Lion. + +A.B.H. Davis, O.N. 184,526, Tiger. + +A.B.H.F. Griffin, O.N.J. 14,160, Princess Royal. + +A.B.P.S. Livingstone, O.N. 234,328, Lion. + +A.B.H. Robison, O.N. 209,112, Tiger. + +A.B.G.H. le Seilleur, O.N. 156,802, Lion. + +Boy, 1st CL., F.G.H. Bamford, O.N.J. 26,598, Tiger. + +Boy, 1st CL., J.F. Rogers, O.N.J. 28,329, Tiger. + +Ch. Ee. R. Artr., 1st CL., E.R. Hughes, O.N. 268,999, Indomitable. + +Ch. Ee. R. Artr., 2d CL, W.B. Dand, O.N. 270,648, New Zealand. + +Ch. Ee. A. Artr. W. Gillespie, O.N. 270,080, Meteor. + +Mechn. A.J. Cannon, O.N. 175,440, Lion. + +Mechn. E.C. Ephgrave, O.N. 288,231, Lion. + +Ch. Stkr. P. Callaghan, O.N. 278,953, Lion. + +Ch. Stkr. A.W. Ferris, O.N. 175,824, Lion. + +Ch. Stkr. J.E. James, O.N. 174,232, New Zealand. + +Ch. Stkr. W.E. James, O.N. 294,406, Indomitable. + +Ch. Stkr. J. Keating, R.F.R., O.N. 165,732, Meteor. + +Stkr. Py. Or. M. Flood, R.F.R., O.N. 153,418, Meteor. + +Stkr. Py. Or. T.W. Hardy, O.N. 292,542, Indomitable. + +Stkr. Py. Or. A.J. Sims, O.N. 276,502, New Zealand. + +Stkr. Py. Or. S. Westaway, R.F.R., O.N. 300,938, Meteor. + +Actg. Ldg. Skr. J. Blackburn, O.N.K. 4,844, Tiger. + +Stkr., 1st Cl., A.H. Bennet, O.N.K. 10,700, Tiger. + +Stkr., 2d Cl., H. Turner, O.N.K. 22,720, Tiger. + +Ldg. Carpenter's Crew, E.O. Bradley, O.N. 346,621, Lion. + +Ldg. Carpenter's Crew, E. Currie, O.N. 344,851, Lion. + +Sick Berth Attendant C.S. Hutchinson, O.N.M. 3,882, Tiger. + +Ch. Writer S.G. White, O.N. 340,597, Tiger. + +Third Writer H.C. Green, O.N.M. 8,266, Tiger. + +Officers' Steward, 3d Cl., F.W. Kearley, O.N.L. 2,716, Tiger. + + +HONORS AWARDED. + +Lord Chamberlain's Office, +St. James's Palace, +March 3, 1915. + +The King has been graciously pleased to give orders for the following +appointment to the Most Honorable Order of the Bath, in recognition of +the services of the undermentioned officer mentioned in the foregoing +dispatch: + +To be an Additional Member of the Military Division of the Third Class +or Companion. + +Capt. Osmond de Beauvoir Brock, A.D.C., Royal Navy. + +Admiralty, S.W., +March 3, 1915. + +The King has been graciously pleased to give orders for the following +appointment to the Distinguished Service Order, and for the award of the +Distinguished Service Cross, to the undermentioned officers in +recognition of their services mentioned in the foregoing dispatch: + +To be Companion of the Distinguished Service Order. + +Lieut. Frederic Thornton Peters, Royal Navy. + +To receive the Distinguished Service Cross. + +Surg. Probationer James Alexander Stirling, R.N.V.R. + +Gunner (T) Joseph H. Burton. + +Chief Carpenter Frederick E. Dailey. + +The following promotion has been made: + +Commander Charles Andrew Fountaine to be a Captain in his Majesty's +fleet, to date March 3, 1915. + +The following awards have also been made: + +To receive the Distinguished Service Medal. + +P.O. J.W. Kemmett, O.N. 186,788. +A.B. H. Davis, O.N. 184,526. +A.B. H.F. Griffin, O.N.J. 14,160. +A.B. P.S. Livingstone, O.N. 234,328. +A.B. H. Robison, O.N. 209,112. +A.B. G.H. le Seilleur, O.N. 156,802. +Boy, 1st Cl., F.G.H. Bamford, O.N.J. 26,598. +Boy, 1st Cl., J.F. Rogers, O.N.J. 28,329. +Ch. E.R. Art., 1st Cl., E.R. Hughes, O.N. 268,999. +Ch. E.R. Art., 2d Cl., W.B. Dand, O.N. 270,648. +Ch. E.R. Art., W. Gillespie, O.N. 270,080. +Mechn. A.J. Cannon, O.N. 175,440. +Mechn. E.C. Ephgrave, O.N. 288,231. +Ch. Stkr. P. Callaghan, O.N. 278,953. +Ch. Stkr. A.W. Ferris, O.N. 175,824. +Ch. Stkr. J.E. James, O.N. 174,232. +Ch. Stkr. W.E. James, O.N. 294,406. +Ch. Stkr. J. Keating, R.F.R., O.N. 165,732. +Stkr. P.O. M. Flood, R.F.R., O.N. 153,418. +Stkr. P.O. T.W. Hardy, O.N. 292,542. +Stkr. P.O. A.J. Sims, O.N. 276,502. +Stkr. P.O. S. Westaway, R.F.R., O.N. 300,938. +Actg. Ldg. Stkr. J. Blackburn, O.N.K. 4,844. +Stkr., 1st Cl., A.H. Bennet, O.N.K. 10,700. +Stkr., 2d Cl., H. Turner, O.N.K. 22,720. +Ldg. Carpenter's Crew, E.O. Bradley, O.N. 346,621. +Ldg. Carpenter's Crew, E. Currie, O.N. 344,851. +Sick Berth Attendant C.S. Hutchinson, O.N.M. 3,882. +Ch. Writer S.G. White, O.N. 340,597. +Third Writer H.C. Green, O.N.M. 8,266. +Officers' Steward, 3d Cl., F.W. Kearley, O.N.L. 2,716. + + +BATTLE OF THE FALKLANDS + +_Admiralty, March 3, 1915._ + +_The following dispatch has been received from Vice Admiral Sir F.C. +Doveton-Sturdee, K.C.B., C.V.O., C.M.G., reporting the action off the +Falkland Islands on Tuesday, the 8th of December, 1914:_ + +INVINCIBLE, at Sea, +Dec. 19, 1914. + +Sir: I have the honor to forward a report on the action which took place +on Dec. 8, 1914, against a German squadron off the Falkland Islands. + +I have the honor to be, Sir, + +Your obedient servant, + +F.C.D. STURDEE, +Vice Admiral, Commander in Chief. +The Secretary, Admiralty. + +(A)--PRELIMINARY MOVEMENTS. + +The squadron, consisting of H.M. ships Invincible, flying my flag, Flag +Capt. Percy T.M. Beamish; Inflexible, Capt. Richard F. Phillimore; +Carnarvon, flying the flag of Rear Admiral Archibald P. Soddart, Flag +Capt. Harry L.d'E. Skipwith; Cornwall, Capt. Walter M. Ellerton; Kent, +Capt. John D. Allen; Glasgow, Capt. John Loce; Bristol, Capt. Basil H. +Fanshawe, and Macedonia, Capt. Bertram S. Evans, arrived at Port +Stanley, Falkland Islands, at 10:30 A.M. on Monday, Dec. 7, 1914. +Coaling was commenced at once, in order that the ships should be ready +to resume the search for the enemy's squadron the next evening, Dec. 8. + +At 8 A.M. on Tuesday, Dec. 8, a signal was received from the signal +station on shore: + +"A four-funnel and two-funnel man-of-war in sight from Sapper Hill, +steering northward." + +[Illustration: THE BATTLE OF THE FALKLAND ISLANDS FROM THE OFFICIAL +REPORT OF ADMIRAL STURDEE. + +The numbers given on the plan show the corresponding positions of +vessels at various times. All ships bearing the same number were +simultaneously in the positions charted.] + +At this time the positions of the various ships of the squadron were as +follows: + +Macedonia: At anchor as lookout ship. + +Kent (guard ship): At anchor in Port William. + +Invincible and Inflexible: In Port William. + +Carnarvon: In Port William. + +Cornwall: In Port William. + +Glasgow: In Port Stanley. + +Bristol: In Port Stanley. + +The Kent was at once ordered to weigh, and a general signal was made to +raise steam for full speed. + +At 8:20 A.M. the signal station reported another column of smoke in +sight to the southward, and at 8:45 A.M. the Kent passed down the harbor +and took up a station at the entrance. + +The Canopus, Capt. Heathcoat S. Grant, reported at 8:47 A.M. that the +first two ships were eight miles off, and that the smoke reported at +8:20 A.M. appeared to be the smoke of two ships about twenty miles off. + +At 8:50 A.M. the signal station reported a further column of smoke in +sight to the southward. + +The Macedonia was ordered to weigh anchor on the inner side of the other +ships, and await orders. + +At 9:20 A.M. the two leading ships of the enemy, (Gneisenau and +Nuernberg,) with guns trained on the wireless station, came within range +of the Canopus, which opened fire at them across the low land at a range +of 11,000 yards. The enemy at once hoisted their colors and turned away. +At this time the masts and smoke of the enemy were visible from the +upper bridge of the Invincible at a range of approximately 17,000 yards +across the low land to the south of Port William. + +A few minutes later the two cruisers altered course to port, as though +to close the Kent at the entrance to the harbor, but about this time it +seems that the Invincible and Inflexible were seen over the land, as the +enemy at once altered course and increased speed to join their +consorts. + +The Glasgow weighed and proceeded at 9:40 A.M. with orders to join the +Kent and observe the enemy's movements. + +At 9:45 A.M. the squadron--less the Bristol--weighed, and proceeded out +of harbor in the following order: Carnarvon, Inflexible, Invincible, and +Cornwall. On passing Cape Pembroke Light the five ships of the enemy +appeared clearly in sight to the southeast, hull down. The visibility +was at its maximum, the sea was calm, with a bright sun, a clear sky, +and a light breeze from the northwest. + +At 10:20 A.M. the signal for a general chase was made. The battle +cruisers quickly passed ahead of the Carnarvon and overtook the Kent. +The Glasgow was ordered to keep two miles from the Invincible, and the +Inflexible was stationed on the starboard quarter of the flagship. Speed +was eased to twenty knots at 11:15 A.M., to enable the other cruisers to +get into station. + +At this time the enemy's funnels and bridges showed just above the +horizon. + +Information was received from the Bristol at 11:27 A.M. that three enemy +ships had appeared off Port Pleasant, probably colliers or transports. +The Bristol was therefore directed to take the Macedonia under orders +and destroy transports. + +The enemy were still maintaining their distance, and I decided, at 12:20 +P.M., to attack with the two battle cruisers and the Glasgow. + +At 12:47 P.M. the signal to "Open fire and engage the enemy" was made. + +The Inflexible opened fire at 12:55 P.M. from her fore turret at the +right-hand ship of the enemy, a light cruiser; a few minutes later the +Invincible opened fire at the same ship. + +The deliberate fire from a range of 16,500 to 15,000 yards at the +right-hand light cruiser, which was dropping astern, became too +threatening, and when a shell fell close alongside her at 1:20 P.M. she +(the Leipzig) turned away, with the Nuernberg and Dresden, to the +southwest. + +These light cruisers were at once followed by the Kent, Glasgow, and +Cornwall, in accordance with my instructions. + +The action finally developed into three separate encounters, besides the +subsidiary one dealing with the threatened landing. + +(B.)--ACTION WITH THE ARMORED CRUISERS. + +The fire of the battle cruisers was directed on the Scharnhorst and +Gneisenau. The effect of this was quickly seen when, at 1:25 P.M., with +the Scharnhorst leading, they turned about seven points to port in +succession into line ahead and opened fire at 1:30 P.M. Shortly +afterward speed was eased to twenty-four knots and the battle cruisers +were ordered to turn together, bringing them into line ahead, with the +Invincible leading. + +The range was about 13,500 yards at the final turn, and increased until +at 2 P.M. it had reached 16,450 yards. + +The enemy then (2:10 P.M.) turned away about ten points to starboard, +and a second chase ensued until at 2:45 P.M. the battle cruisers again +opened fire; this caused the enemy, at 2:53 P.M., to turn into line +ahead to port and open fire at 2:55 P.M. + +The Scharnhorst caught fire forward, but not seriously, and her fire +slackened perceptibly; the Gneisenau was badly hit by the Inflexible. + +At 3:30 P.M. the Scharnhorst led around about ten points to starboard; +just previously her fire had slackened perceptibly, and one shell had +shot away her third funnel; some guns were not firing, and it would +appear that the turn was dictated by a desire to bring her starboard +guns into action. The effect of the fire on the Scharnhorst became more +and more apparent in consequence of smoke from fires, and also escaping +steam. At times a shell would cause a large hole to appear in her side, +through which could be seen a dull red glow of flame. At 4:04 P.M. the +Scharnhorst, whose flag remained flying to the last, suddenly listed +heavily to port, and within a minute it became clear that she was a +doomed ship, for the list increased very rapidly until she lay on her +beam ends, and at 4:17 P.M. she disappeared. + +The Gneisenau passed on the far side of her late flagship, and continued +a determined but ineffectual effort to fight the two battle cruisers. + +At 5:08 P.M. the forward funnel was knocked over and remained resting +against the second funnel. She was evidently in serious straits, and her +fire slackened very much. + +At 5:15 P.M. one of the Gneisenau's shells struck the Invincible; this +was her last effective effort. + +At 5:30 P.M. she turned toward the flagship with a heavy list to +starboard, and appeared stopped, with steam pouring from her escape +pipes and smoke from shell and fires rising everywhere. About this time +I ordered the signal "Cease fire!" but before it was hoisted the +Gneisenau opened fire again, and continued to fire from time to time +with a single gun. + +At 5:40 P.M. the three ships closed in on the Gneisenau, and at this +time the flag flying at her fore truck was apparently hauled down, but +the flag at the peak continued flying. + +At 5:50 P.M. "Cease fire!" was made. + +At 6 P.M. the Gneisenau heeled over very suddenly, showing the men +gathered on her decks and then walking on her side as she lay for a +minute on her beam ends before sinking. + +The prisoners of war from the Gneisenau report that by the time the +ammunition was expended some 600 men had been killed and wounded. The +surviving officers and men were all ordered on deck and told to provide +themselves with hammocks and any articles that could support them in the +water. + +When the ship capsized and sank there were probably some 200 unwounded +survivors in the water, but, owing to the shock of the cold water, many +were drowned within sight of the boats and ship. + +Every effort was made to save life as quickly as possible, both by boats +and from the ships; lifebuoys were thrown and ropes lowered, but only a +portion could be rescued. The Invincible alone rescued 108 men, +fourteen of whom were found to be dead after being brought on board. +These men were buried at sea the following day with full military +honors. + +(C)--ACTION WITH THE LIGHT CRUISERS. + +At about 1 P.M., when the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau turned to port to +engage the Invincible and Inflexible, the enemy's light cruisers turned +to starboard to escape; the Dresden was leading and the Nuernberg and +Leipzig followed on each quarter. + +In accordance with my instructions, the Glasgow, Kent, and Cornwall at +once went in chase of these ships; the Carnarvon, whose speed was +insufficient to overtake them, closed the battle cruisers. + +The Glasgow drew well ahead of the Cornwall and Kent, and at 3 P.M. +shots were exchanged with the Leipzig at 12,000 yards. The Glasgow's +object was to endeavor to outrange the Leipzig with her 6-inch guns and +thus cause her to alter course and give the Cornwall and Kent a chance +of coming into action. + +At 4:17 P.M. the Cornwall opened fire, also on the Leipzig. + +At 7:17 P.M. the Leipzig was on fire fore and aft, and the Cornwall and +Glasgow ceased fire. + +The Leipzig turned over on her port side and disappeared at 9 P.M. Seven +officers and eleven men were saved. + +At 3:36 P.M. the Cornwall ordered the Kent to engage the Nuernberg, the +nearest cruiser to her. + +Owing to the excellent and strenuous efforts of the engine room +department, the Kent was able to get within range of the Nuernberg at 5 +P.M. At 6:35 P.M. the Nuernberg was on fire forward and ceased firing. +The Kent also ceased firing and closed to 3,300 yards; as the colors +were still observed to be flying on the Nuernberg, the Kent opened fire +again. Fire was finally stopped five minutes later on the colors being +hauled down, and every preparation was made to save life. The Nuernberg +sank at 7:27 P.M., and, as she sank, a group of men were waving a German +ensign attached to a staff. Twelve men were rescued, but only seven +survived. + +The Kent had four killed and twelve wounded, mostly caused by one shell. + +During the time the three cruisers were engaged with the Nuernberg and +Leipzig, the Dresden, which was beyond her consorts, effected her escape +owing to her superior speed. The Glasgow was the only cruiser with +sufficient speed to have had any chance of success. However, she was +fully employed in engaging the Leipzig for over an hour before either +the Cornwall or Kent could come up and get within range. During this +time the Dresden was able to increase her distance and get out of sight. + +The weather changed after 4 P.M., and the visibility was much reduced; +further, the sky was overcast and cloudy, thus assisting the Dresden to +get away unobserved. + +(D)--ACTION WITH THE ENEMY'S TRANSPORTS. + +A report was received at 11:27 A.M. from H.M.S. Bristol that three ships +of the enemy, probably transports or colliers, had appeared off Port +Pleasant. The Bristol was ordered to take the Macedonia under his orders +and destroy the transports. + +H.M.S. Macedonia reports that only two ships, steamships Baden and Santa +Isabel, were present; both ships were sunk after the removal of the +crews. + +I have pleasure in reporting that the officers and men under my orders +carried out their duties with admirable efficiency and coolness, and +great credit is due to the engineer officers of all the ships, several +of which exceeded their normal full speed. + +The names of the following are specially mentioned: + +OFFICERS. + +Commander Richard Herbert Denny Townsend, H.M.S. Invincible. + +Commander Arthur Edward Frederick Bedford, H.M.S. Kent. + +Lieut. Commander Wilfred Arthur Thompson, H.M.S. Glasgow. + +Lieut. Commander Hubert Edward Danreuther, First and Gunnery Lieutenant, +H.M.S. Invincible. + +Engineer Commander George Edward Andrew, H.M.S. Kent. + +Engineer Commander Edward John Weeks, H.M.S. Invincible. + +Paymaster Cyril Sheldon Johnson, H.M.S. Invincible. + +Carpenter Thomas Andrew Walls, H.M.S. Invincible. + +Carpenter William Henry Venning, H.M.S. Kent. + +Carpenter George Henry Egford, H.M.S. Cornwall. + +PETTY OFFICERS AND MEN. + +Ch. P.O. D. Leighton, O.N. 124,288, Kent. + +P.O., 2d Cl., M.J. Walton, (R.F.R., A. 1,756,) O.N. 118,358, Kent. + +Ldg. Smn. F.S. Martin, O.N. 233,301, Invincible, Gnr's. Mate, Gunlayer, +1st Cl. + +Sigmn. F. Glover, O.N. 225,731, Cornwall. + +Ch. E.R. Art., 2d Cl., J.G. Hill, O.N. 269,646, Cornwall. + +Actg. Ch. E.R. Art., 2d Cl., R. Snowdon, O.N. 270,654, Inflexible. + +E.R. Art., 1st Cl., G.H.F. McCarten, O.N. 270,023, Invincible. + +Stkr. P.O. G.S. Brewer, O.N. 150,950, Kent. + +Stkr. P.O. W.A. Townsend, O.N. 301,650, Cornwall. + +Stkr., 1st Cl., J. Smith, O.N. SS 111,915, Cornwall. + +Shpwrt., 1st Cl., A.N.E. England, O.N. 341,971, Glasgow. + +Shpwrt., 2d Cl., A.C.H. Dymott, O.N.M. 8,047, Kent. + +Portsmouth R.F.R.B. 3,307 Sergt. Charles Mayes, H.M.S. Kent. + +F.C.D. STURDEE. + + + + +BETWEEN MIDNIGHT AND MORNING. + +By SIR OWEN SEAMAN. + +[From King Albert's Book.] + + + You that have faith to look with fearless eyes + Beyond the tragedy of a world at strife, + And trust that out of night and death shall rise + The dawn of ampler life; + + Rejoice, whatever anguish rend your heart, + That God has given you, for a priceless dower, + To live in these great times and have your part + In Freedom's crowning hour. + + That you may tell your sons who see the light + High in the heavens, their heritage to take-- + "I saw the powers of darkness put to flight! + I saw the morning break!" + + + + +The Greatest of Campaigns + +The French Official Account Concluded + + + The second and succeeding installments--the first installment + appeared in CURRENT HISTORY for April--of the official French + historical review of the operations in the western theatre of + war from the beginning until the end of January, 1915--the + first six months--are described in the subjoined + correspondence of The Associated Press. + +_LONDON, March 18, (Correspondence of The Associated Press.)--The +Associated Press has received the second installment of the historical +review emanating from French official sources of the operations in the +Western theatre of war, from its beginning up to the end of January. It +should be understood that the narrative is made purely from the French +standpoint. The additional installment of the document dealing with the +victory of the Marne, Sept. 6th to 15th, is as follows:_ + +If one examines on the map the respective positions of the German and +French armies on Sept. 6 as previously described, it will be seen that +by his inflection toward Meaux and Coulommiers General von Kluck was +exposing his right to the offensive action of our left. This is the +starting point of the victory of the Marne. + +On the evening of Sept. 5 our left army had reached the front +Penchard-Saint-Souflet-Ver. On the 6th and 7th it continued its +attacks vigorously with the Ourcq as objective. On the evening of +the 7th it was some kilometers from the Ourcq, on the front +Chambry-Marcilly-Lisieux-Acy-en-Multien. On the 8th, the Germans, who +had in great haste reinforced their right by bringing their Second +and Fourth Army Corps back to the north, obtained some successes by +attacks of extreme violence. They occupied Betz, Thury-en-Valois, and +Nanteuil-le-Haudouin. But in spite of this pressure our troops held +their ground well. In a brilliant action they took three standards, and, +being reinforced, prepared a new attack for the 10th. At the moment that +this attack was about to begin the enemy was already in retreat toward +the north. The attack became a pursuit, and on the 12th we established +ourselves on the Aisne. + + +LEFT OF KLUCK'S ARMY THREATENED. + +Why did the German forces which were confronting us and on the evening +before attacking so furiously retreat on the morning of the 10th? +Because in bringing back on the 6th several army corps from the south to +the north to face our left the enemy had exposed his left to the attacks +of the British Army, which had immediately faced around toward the +north, and to those of our armies which were prolonging the English +lines to the right. This is what the French command had sought to bring +about. This is what happened on Sept. 8 and allowed the development and +rehabilitation which it was to effect. + +On the 6th the British Army had set out from the line Rozcy-Lagny and +had that evening reached the southward bank of the Grand Morin. On the +7th and 8th it continued its march, and on the 9th had debouched to the +north of the Marne below Chateau-Thiery, taking in flank the German +forces which on that day were opposing, on the Ourcq, our left army. +Then it was that these forces began to retreat, while the British Army, +going in pursuit and capturing seven guns and many prisoners, reached +the Aisne between Soissons and Longueval. + +The role of the French Army, which was operating to the right of the +British Army, was threefold. It had to support the British attacking on +its left. It had on its right to support our centre, which from Sept. 7 +had been subjected to a German attack of great violence. Finally, its +mission was to throw back the three active army corps and the reserve +corps which faced it. + +On the 7th it made a leap forward, and on the following days reached and +crossed the Marne, seizing, after desperate fighting, guns, howitzers, +mitrailleuses, and 1,300,000 cartridges. On the 12th it established +itself on the north edge of the Montagne-de-Reime in contact with our +centre, which for its part had just forced the enemy to retreat in +haste. + + +THE ACTION OF FERE-CHAMPENOISE. + +Our centre consisted of a new army created on Aug. 29 and of one of +those which at the beginning of the campaign had been engaged in Belgian +Luxemburg. The first had retreated on Aug. 29 to Sept. 5 from the Aisne +to the north of the Marne and occupied the general front Sezanne-Mailly. + +The second, more to the east, had drawn back to the south of the line +Humbauville-Chateau-Beauchamp-Bignicourt-Blesmes-Maurupt-le-Montoy. + +The enemy, in view of his right being arrested and the defeat of his +enveloping movement, made a desperate effort from the 7th to the 10th to +pierce our centre to the west and to the east of Fere-Champenoise. On +the 8th he succeeded in forcing back the right of our new army, which +retired as far as Gouragancon. On the 9th, at 6 o'clock in the morning, +there was a further retreat to the south of that village, while on the +left the other army corps also had to go back to the line +Allemant-Connantre. + +Despite this retreat the General commanding the army ordered a general +offensive for the same day. With the Morocco Division, whose behavior +was heroic, he met a furious assault of the Germans on his left toward +the marshes of Saint Gond. Then with the division which had just +victoriously overcome the attacks of the enemy to the north of Sezanne, +and with the whole of his left army corps, he made a flanking attack in +the evening of the 9th upon the German forces, and notably the guard, +which had thrown back his right army corps. The enemy, taken by +surprise by this bold manoeuvre, did not resist, and beat a hasty +retreat. + +On the 11th we crossed the Marne between Tours-sur-Marne and Sarry, +driving the Germans in front of us in disorder. On the 12th we were in +contact with the enemy to the north of the Camp de Chalons. Our other +army of the centre, acting on the right of the one just referred to, had +been intrusted with the mission during the 7th, 8th, and 9th of +disengaging its neighbor, and it was only on the 10th that, being +reinforced by an army corps from the east, it was able to make its +action effectively felt. On the 11th the Germans retired. But, +perceiving their danger, they fought desperately, with enormous +expenditure of projectiles, behind strong intrenchments. On the 12th the +result had none the less been attained, and our two centre armies were +solidly established on the ground gained. + + +THE OPERATIONS OF THE RIGHT. + +To the right of these two armies were three others. They had orders to +cover themselves to the north and to debouch toward the west on the +flank of the enemy, which was operating to the west of the Argonne. But +a wide interval in which the Germans were in force separated them from +our centre. The attack took place, nevertheless, with very brilliant +success for our artillery, which destroyed eleven batteries of the +Sixteenth German Army Corps. + +On the 10th inst. the Eighth and Fifteenth German Army Corps +counter-attacked, but were repulsed. On the 11th our progress continued +with new successes, and on the 12th we were able to face round toward +the north in expectation of the near and inevitable retreat of the +enemy, which, in fact, took place from the 13th. + +The withdrawal of the mass of the German force involved also that of the +left. From the 12th onward the forces of the enemy operating between +Nancy and the Vosges retreated in a hurry before our two armies of the +East, which immediately occupied the positions that the enemy had +evacuated. The offensive of our right had thus prepared and +consolidated in the most useful way the result secured by our left and +our centre. + +[Illustration: Map showing the successive stages of the Battle of the +Marne.] + +Such was this seven days' battle, in which more than two millions of men +were engaged. Each army gained ground step by step, opening the road to +its neighbor, supported at once by it, taking in flank the adversary +which the day before it had attacked in front, the efforts of one +articulating closely with those of the other, a perfect unity of +intention and method animating the supreme command. + +To give this victory all its meaning it is necessary to add that it was +gained by troops which for two weeks had been retreating, and which, +when the order for the offensive was given, were found to be as ardent +as on the first day. It has also to be said that these troops had to +meet the whole German army, and that from the time they marched forward +they never again fell back. Under their pressure the German retreat at +certain times had the appearance of a rout. + +In spite of the fatigue of our men, in spite of the power of the German +heavy artillery, we took colors, guns, mitrailleuses, shells, more than +a million cartridges, and thousands of prisoners. A German corps lost +almost the whole of its artillery, which, from information brought by +our airmen, was destroyed by our guns. + + +"THE RUSH TO THE SEA." + +_LONDON, March 18.--The third installment of the historical review of +the war, emanating from French official sources and purely from the +French viewpoint, has been received by The Associated Press. The French +narrative contains a long chapter on the siege war from the Oise to the +Vosges, which lasted from Sept. 13 to Nov. 30. Most of the incidents in +this prolonged and severe warfare have been recorded in the daily +bulletins. The operations were of secondary importance, and were +conducted on both sides with the same idea of wearing down the troops +and the artillery of the opposing forces with the view of influencing +the decisive result in the great theatre of war in the north. The next +chapter deals with "the rush to the sea," Sept. 13 to Oct. 23, and is as +follows:_ + +GENERAL CHARACTER OF THE ACTION. + +As early as Sept. 11 the Commander in Chief had directed our left army +to have as important forces as possible on the right bank of the Oise. +On Sept. 17 he made that instruction more precise by ordering "a mass to +be constituted on the left wing of our disposition, capable of coping +with the outflanking movement of the enemy." Everything led us to expect +that flanking movement, for the Germans are lacking in invention. +Indeed, their effort at that time tended to a renewal of their manoeuvre +of August. In the parallel race the opponents were bound in the end to +be stopped only by the sea; that is what happened about Oct. 20. + +The Germans had an advantage over us, which is obvious from a glance at +the map--the concentric form of their front, which shortened the length +of their transports. In spite of this initial inferiority we arrived in +time. From the middle of September to the last week in October fighting +went on continually to the north of the Oise, but all the time we were +fighting we were slipping northward. On the German side this movement +brought into line more than eighteen new army corps, (twelve active army +corps, six reserve corps, four cavalry corps.) On our side it ended in +the constitution of three fresh armies on our left and in the transport +into the same district of the British Army and the Belgian Army from +Antwerp. + +For the conception and realization of this fresh and extended +disposition the French command, in the first place, had to reduce to a +minimum the needs for effectives of our armies to the east of the Oise, +and afterwards to utilize to the utmost our means of transport. It +succeeded in this, and when, at the end of October, the battle of +Flanders opened, when the Germans, having completed the concentration of +their forces, attempted with fierce energy to turn or to pierce our +left, they flung themselves upon a resistance which inflicted upon them +a complete defeat. + + +DEPLOYMENT OF A FIRST ARMY. + +The movement began on our side only with the resources of the army which +had held the left of our front during the battle of the Marne, +reinforced on Sept. 15 by one army corps. + +This reinforcement, not being sufficient to hold the enemy's offensive, +(district of Vaudelincourt-Mouchy-Uaugy,) a fresh army was transported +more to the left, with the task "of acting against the German right wing +in order to disengage its neighbor, ... while preserving a flanking +direction in its march in relation to the fresh units that the enemy +might be able to put into line." + +To cover the detrainments of this fresh army in the district +Clermont-Beauvais-Boix a cavalry corps and four territorial divisions +were ordered to establish themselves on both banks of the Somme. In the +wooded hills, however, which extend between the Oise and Lassigny the +enemy displayed increasing activity. Nevertheless, the order still +further to broaden the movement toward the left was maintained, while +the territorial divisions were to move toward Bethune and Aubigny. The +march to the sea went on. + +From the 21st to the 26th all our forces were engaged in the district +Lassigny-Roye-Peronne, with alternations of reverse and success. It was +the first act of the great struggle which was to spread as it went on. +On the 26th the whole of the Sixth German Army was deployed against us. +We retained all our positions, but we could do no more; consequently +there was still the risk that the enemy, by means of a fresh afflux of +forces, might succeed in turning us. + +Once more reinforcements, two army corps, were directed no longer on +Beauvais, but toward Amiens. The front was then again to extend. A fresh +army was constituted more to the north. + + +DEPLOYMENT OF THE SECOND ARMY. + +From Sept. 30 onward we could not but observe that the enemy, already +strongly posted on the plateau of Thiepval, was continually slipping +his forces from south to north, and everywhere confronting us with +remarkable energy. + +Accordingly, on Oct. 1 two cavalry corps were directed to make a leap +forward and, operating on both banks of the Scarpe, to put themselves in +touch with the garrison of Dunkirk, which, on its side, had pushed +forward as far as Douai. But on Oct. 2 and 3 the bulk of our fresh army +was very strongly attacked in the district of Arras and Lens. +Confronting it were two corps of cavalry, the guards, four active army +corps, and two reserve corps. A fresh French army corps was immediately +transported and detrained in the Lille district. + +But once more the attacks became more pressing, and on Oct. 4 it was a +question whether, in view of the enemy's activity both west of the Oise +and south of the Somme, and also further to the north, a retreat would +not have to be made. General Joffre resolutely put this hypothesis aside +and ordered the offensive to be resumed with the reinforcements that had +arrived. It was, however, clear that, despite the efforts of all, our +front, extended to the sea as it was by a mere ribbon of troops, did not +possess the solidity to enable it to resist with complete safety a +German attack, the violence of which could well be foreseen. + +In the Arras district the position was fairly good. But between the Oise +and Arras we were holding our own only with difficulty. Finally, to the +north, on the Lille-Estaires-Merville-Hazebrouck-Cassel front, our +cavalry and our territorials had their work cut out against eight +divisions of German cavalry, with very strong infantry supports. It was +at this moment that the transport of the British Army to the northern +theatre of operations began. + +[Illustration: VICE ADMIRAL H.R.H. THE DUKE OF THE ABRUZZI + +Cousin of the King of Italy, Commander of the dreadnought squadron of +the Italian Navy. + +_(Photo (c) by Pach Bros., N.Y.)_] + +[Illustration: H.M. FERDINAND I. + +Tsar of the Bulgars. + +_(Photo from P.S. Rogers.)_] + + +THE TRANSPORT OF THE BRITISH ARMY. + +Field Marshal French had, as early as the end of September, expressed +the wish to see his army resume its initial place on the left of the +allied armies. He explained this wish on the ground of the greater +facility of which his communications would have the advantage in this +new position, and also of the impending arrival of two divisions of +infantry from home and of two infantry divisions and a cavalry division +from India, which would be able to deploy more easily on that terrain. +In spite of the difficulties which such a removal involved, owing to the +intensive use of the railways by our own units, General Joffre decided +at the beginning of October to meet the Field Marshal's wishes and to +have the British Army removed from the Aisne. + +It was clearly specified that on the northern terrain the British Army +should co-operate to the same end as ourselves, the stopping of the +German right. In other terms, the British Army was to prolong the front +of the general disposition without a break, attacking as soon as +possible, and at the same time seeking touch with the Belgian Army. + +But the detraining took longer than had been expected, and it was not +possible to attack the Germans during the time when they had only +cavalry in the Lille district and further to the north. + + +THE ARRIVAL OF THE BELGIAN ARMY. + +There remained the Belgian Army. On leaving Antwerp on Oct. 9 the +Belgian Army, which was covered by 8,000 British bluejackets and 6,000 +French bluejackets, at first intended to retire as far as to the north +of Calais, but afterwards determined to make a stand in Belgian +territory. Unfortunately, the condition of the Belgian troops, exhausted +by a struggle of more than three months, did not allow any immediate +hopes to be based upon them. This situation weighed on our plans and +delayed their execution. + +On the 16th we made progress to the east of Ypres. On the 18th our +cavalry even reached Roulers and Cortemark. But it was now evident that, +in view of the continual reinforcing of the German right, our left was +not capable of maintaining the advantages obtained during the previous +few days. To attain our end and make our front inviolable a fresh effort +was necessary. That effort was immediately made by the dispatch to the +north of the Lys of considerable French forces, which formed the French +Army of Belgium. + + +THE FRENCH ARMY OF BELGIUM. + +The French Army of Belgium consisted, to begin with, of two territorial +divisions, four divisions of cavalry, and a naval brigade. Directly +after its constitution it was strengthened by elements from other points +on the front whose arrival extended from Oct. 27 to Nov. 11. These +reinforcements were equivalent altogether in value to five army corps, a +division of cavalry, a territorial division, and sixteen regiments of +cavalry, plus sixty pieces of heavy artillery. + +Thus was completed the strategic manoeuvre defined by the instructions +of the General in Chief on Sept. 11 and developed during the five +following weeks with the ampleness we have just seen. The movements of +troops carried out during this period were methodically combined with +the pursuit of operations, both defensive and offensive, from the Oise +to the North Sea. + +On Oct. 22 our left, bounded six weeks earlier by the Noyon district, +rested on Nieuport, thanks to the successive deployment of five fresh +armies--three French armies, the British Army, and the Belgian Army. + +Thus the co-ordination decided upon by the General in Chief attained its +end. The barrier was established. It remained to maintain it against the +enemy's offensive. That was the object and the result of the battle of +Flanders, Oct. 22 to Nov. 15. + + +OPERATIONS IN FLANDERS. + +_The fourth installment of the French review takes up the operations in +Flanders, as follows:_ + +The German attack in Flanders was conducted strategically and tactically +with remarkable energy. The complete and indisputable defeat in which it +resulted is therefore significant. + +The forces of which the enemy disposed for this operation between the +sea and the Lys comprised: + +(1) The entire Fourth Army commanded by the Duke of Wuerttemberg, +consisting of one naval division, one division of Ersatz Reserve, (men +who had received no training before the war,) which was liberated by the +fall of Antwerp; the Twenty-second, Twenty-third, Twenty-sixth and +Twenty-seventh Reserve Corps, and the Forty-eighth Division belonging to +the Twenty-fourth Reserve Corps. + +(2) A portion of another army under General von Fabeck, consisting of +the Fifteenth Corps, two Bavarian corps and three (unspecified) +divisions. + +(3) Part of the Sixth Army under the command of the Crown Prince of +Bavaria. This army, more than a third of which took part in the battle +of Flanders, comprised the Nineteenth Army Corps, portions of the +Thirteenth Corps and the Eighteenth Reserve Corps, the Seventh and +Fourteenth Corps, the First Bavarian Reserve Corps, the Guards, and the +Fourth Army Corps. + +(4) Four highly mobile cavalry corps prepared and supported the action +of the troops enumerated above. Everything possible had been done to +fortify the "morale" of the troops. At the beginning of October the +Crown Prince of Bavaria in a proclamation had exhorted his soldiers "to +make the decisive effort against the French left wing," and "to settle +thus the fate of the great battle which has lasted for weeks." + +[Illustration: Map showing the swaying battle line from Belfort to the +North Sea and the intrenched line on April 15, 1915.] + +On Oct. 28, Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria declared in an army order that +his troops "had just been fighting under very difficult conditions," +and he added: "It is our business now not to let the struggle with our +most detested enemy drag on longer.... The decisive blow is still to be +struck." On Oct. 30, General von Deimling, commanding the Fifteenth Army +Corps (belonging to General von Fabeck's command,) issued an order +declaring that "the thrust against Ypres will be of decisive +importance." It should be noted also that the Emperor proceeded in +person to Thielt and Courtrai to exalt by his presence the ardor of his +troops. Finally, at the close of October, the entire German press +incessantly proclaimed the importance of the "Battle of Calais." It is +superfluous to add that events in Poland explain in a large measure the +passionate resolve of the German General Staff to obtain a decision in +the Western theatre of operations at all costs. This decision would be +obtained if our left were pierced or driven in. To reach Calais, that +is, to break our left; to carry Ypres, that is, to cut it in half; +through both points to menace the communications and supplies of the +British expeditionary corps, perhaps even to threaten Britain in her +island--such was the German plan in the Battle of Flanders. It was a +plan that could not be executed. + + +CHECK OF GERMAN ATTACK. + +The enemy, who had at his disposal a considerable quantity of heavy +artillery, directed his efforts at first upon the coast and the country +to the north of Dixmude. His objective was manifestly the capture of +Dunkirk, then of Calais and Boulogne, and this objective he pursued +until Nov. 1. + +On Oct. 23 the Belgians along the railway line from Nieuport to Dixmude +were strengthened by a French division. Dixmude was occupied by our +marines (fusiliers marins). During the subsequent day our forces along +the railway developed a significant resistance against an enemy superior +in number and backed by heavy artillery. On the 29th the inundations +effected between the canal and the railway line spread along our front. +On the 30th we recaptured Ramscapelle, the only point on the railway +which Belgians had lost. On the 1st and 2d of November the enemy +bombarded Furnes, but began to show signs of weariness. On the 2d he +evacuated the ground between the Yser and the railway, abandoning +cannon, dead and wounded. On the 3d our troops were able to re-enter the +Dixmude district. The success achieved by the enemy at Dixmude at this +juncture was without fruit. They succeeded in taking the town. They +could not debouch from it. The coastal attack had thus proved a total +failure. Since then it has never been renewed. The Battle of Calais, so +noisily announced by the German press, amounted to a decided reverse for +the Germans. + + +GERMAN DEFEAT AT YPRES. + +The enemy had now begun an attack more important than its predecessor, +in view of the numbers engaged in it. This attack was intended as a +renewal to the south of the effort which had just been shattered in the +north. Instead of turning our flank on the coast, it was now sought to +drive in the right of our northern army under the shock of powerful +masses. This was the Battle of Ypres. + +In order to understand this long, desperate, and furious battle, we must +hark back a few days in point of time. At the moment when our cavalry +reached Roulers and Cortemark (Oct. 28) our territorial divisions from +Dunkirk, under General Biden, had occupied and organized a defensive +position at Ypres. It was a point d'appui, enabling us to prepare and +maintain our connections with the Belgian Army. From Oct. 23 two British +and French army corps were in occupation of this position, which was to +be the base of their forward march in the direction of Roulers-Menin. +The delays already explained and the strength of the forces brought up +by the enemy soon brought to a standstill our progress along the line +Poelcapelle, Paschendaele, Zandvorde, and Gheluvelt. But in spite of the +stoppage here, Ypres was solidly covered, and the connections of all the +allied forces were established. Against the line thus formed the German +attack was hurled from Oct. 25 to Nov. 13, to the north, the east, and +the south of Ypres. From Oct. 26 on the attacks were renewed daily with +extraordinary violence, obliging us to employ our reinforcements at the +most threatened points as soon as they came up. Thus, on Oct. 31, we +were obliged to send supports to the British cavalry, then to the two +British corps between which the cavalry formed the connecting link, and +finally to intercalate between these two corps a force equivalent to two +army corps. Between Oct. 30 and Nov. 6 Ypres was several times in +danger. The British lost Zandvorde, Gheluvelt, Messines, and Wytschaete. +The front of the Allies, thus contracted, was all the more difficult to +defend; but defended it was without a recoil. + + +REINFORCEMENTS ARRIVE. + +The arrival of three French divisions in our line enabled us to resume +from the 4th to the 8th a vigorous offensive. On the 10th and 11th this +offensive, brought up against fresh and sharper German attacks, was +checked. Before it could be renewed the arrival of fresh reinforcements +had to be awaited, which were dispatched to the north on Nov. 12. By the +14th our troops had again begun to progress, barring the road to Ypres +against the German attacks, and inflicting on the enemy, who advanced in +massed formation, losses which were especially terrible in consequence +of the fact that the French and British artillery had crowded nearly 300 +guns on to these few kilometers of front. + +Thus the main mass of the Germans sustained the same defeat as the +detachments operating further to the north along the coast. The support +which, according to the idea of the German General Staff, the attack on +Ypres was to render to the coastal attack, was as futile as that attack +itself had been. + +During the second half of November the enemy, exhausted and having lost +in the Battle of Ypres alone more than 150,000 men, did not attempt to +renew his effort, but confined himself to an intermittent cannonade. +We, on the contrary, achieved appreciable progress to the north and +south of Ypres, and insured definitely by a powerful defensive +organization of the position the inviolability of our front. + +[The compiler of the report here adds a footnote saying that the bodies +of more than 40,000 Germans were found on the battlefield during these +three weeks of battle. The report next proceeds to summarize the +character and results of the operations since the Battle of +Flanders--that is, during the period Nov. 30-Feb. 1.] + +Since the former date the French supreme command had not thought it +advisable to embark upon important offensive operations. It has confined +itself to local attacks, the main object of which was to hold in front +of us as large a number of German corps as possible, and thus to hinder +the withdrawal of the troops which to our knowledge the German General +Staff was anxious to dispatch to Russia. + + +FEW SENT TO THE EAST. + +As a matter of fact, the numbers transported to the eastern front have +been very moderate. Of the fifty-two army corps which faced us on the +western front, Germany has only been able to take four and one-half +corps for the eastern front. On the other hand, climatic conditions--the +rain, mud, and mist--were such as to diminish the effectiveness of +offensive operations and to add to the costliness of any undertaken, +which was another reason for postponing them. Still another reason lies +in the fact that from now on the allied forces can count upon a steadily +expanding growth, equally in point of numbers and units as of material, +while the German forces have attained the maximum of their power, and +can only diminish now both in numbers and in value. These conditions +explain the character of the siege warfare which the operations have +assumed during the period under review. + +[Illustration: Map illustrating the Battle of Flanders, the Battle of +Ypres, and the terrain of the frustrated German efforts to reach Dunkirk +and Calais.] + +Meanwhile, it is by no means the case that the siege warfare has had the +same results for the Germans as for us. From Nov. 15 to Feb. 1, our +opponents, in spite of very numerous attacks, did not succeed in taking +anything from us, except a few hundred metres of ground to the north of +Soissons. We, on the contrary, have obtained numerous and appreciable +results. + +[The French writer here proceeds to strike a balance of gains and losses +between the allied and the German forces in France during the Winter +campaign. The result he sums up as follows:] + +1. A general progress of our troops; very marked at certain points. + +2. A general falling back of the enemy, except to the northeast of +Soissons. + +To complete the balance it must be added that: + +1. The German offensive in Poland was checked a month ago. + +2. The Russian offensive continues in Galicia and the Carpathians. + +3. A large part of the Turkish Caucasian army has been annihilated. + +4. Germany has exhausted her resources of officers, (there are now on an +average twelve officers to a regiment,) and henceforth will only be able +to develop her resources in men to the detriment of the existing units. + +5. The allied armies, on the contrary, possess the power of reinforcing +themselves in a very considerable degree. + +It may, therefore, be declared that in order to obtain complete success +it is sufficient for France and her allies to know how to wait and to +prepare victory with indefatigable patience. + +The German offensive is broken. + +The German defensive will be broken in its turn. + +[It is evident from the report that the numbered German army corps are +Prussian corps unless otherwise specified.] + + +THE FRENCH ARMY AS IT IS. + +_LONDON, March 18, (Correspondence of The Associated Press.)--All of +Part II., of the historical review of the war, emanating from French +official sources, and purely from the French viewpoint, has been +received by The Associated Press. Part II, deals with the conditions in +the French Army, furnishing a most interesting chapter on this subject +under the title, "The French Army as it Is."_ + +_The compiler of the report, beginning this part of his review on Feb. +1, says that the condition of the French Army is excellent and +appreciably superior to what it was at the beginning of the war from the +three points of view of numbers, quality, and equipment. Continuing, he +says:_ + +In the higher command important changes have been made. It has, in fact, +been rejuvenated by the promotion of young commanders of proved quality +to high rank. All the old Generals, who at the beginning of August were +at the head of large commands, have been gradually eliminated, some as +the result of the physical strain of war and others by appointment to +territorial commands. This rejuvenation of the higher ranks of the army +has been carried out in a far-reaching manner, and it may be said that +it has embraced all the grades of the military hierarchy from commanders +of brigades to commanders of armies. The result has been to lower the +average age of general officers by ten years. Today more than +three-fourths of the officers commanding armies and army corps are less +than 60 years of age. Some are considerably younger. A number of the +army corps commanders are from 46 to 54 years of age, and the brigade +commanders are usually under 50. There are, in fact, at the front +extremely few general officers over 60, and these are men who are in +full possession of their physical and intellectual powers. + + +MANY COLONELS PROMOTED. + +This rejuvenation of the high command was facilitated by a number of +circumstances, notable among which were the strengthening of the higher +regimental ranks carried out during the three years preceding the war, +as a result of which at the outset of the campaign each infantry +regiment had two Lieutenant Colonels, and each cavalry and artillery +regiment a Colonel and Lieutenant Colonel, and also the system of +promotion for the duration of the war. Many officers who began the war +as Colonels now command brigades. Some are even at the head of divisions +or army corps. Ability proved on the field of battle is now immediately +recognized and utilized, and in this way it has been possible to provide +in the most favorable manner for the vacancies created by the changes in +command which were considered necessary in the first weeks of the war. + +The higher grades of the French Army are inspired by a remarkable unity +in the matter of military theory, and by a solidarity of spirit which +has found striking expression in the course of the numerous moves of +army corps from one part of the theatre of operations to another, which +have been carried out since the beginning of the war. + +The cavalry after six months of war still possesses an excess of +officers. There are on an average thirty-six officers to a regiment +instead of the thirty-one considered to be the necessary minimum. The +artillery, which has suffered relatively little, has also an excess of +officers, and is further able to count upon a large number of Captains +and other officers, who before the war were employed in the arsenals or +in technical research. Finally the reserve artillery officers have +nearly all proved to be excellent battery commanders. + +The losses in the junior commissioned ranks have naturally been highest +in the infantry. There is, however, nothing like a want of officers in +this arm. Many Captains and Lieutenants who have been wounded by +machine-gun fire (such wounds are usually slight and quickly healed,) +have been able to return speedily to the front. The reserve officers +have in general done remarkably well, and in many cases have shown quite +exceptional aptitude for the rank of company commanders. The +non-commissioned officers promoted to sub-Lieutenancies make excellent +section leaders, and even show themselves very clever and energetic +company commanders in the field. + +It must be remembered also that thanks to the intellectual and physical +development of the generation now serving with the colors; and thanks, +above all, to the warlike qualities of the race, and the democratic +spirit of our army, we have been able to draw upon the lower grades and +even upon the rank and file for officers. Many men who began the war on +Aug. 2 as privates, now wear the officers' epaulettes. The elasticity of +our regulations regarding promotion in war time, the absence of the +spirit of caste, and the friendly welcome extended by all officers to +those of their military inferiors who have shown under fire their +fitness to command, have enabled us to meet all requirements. + +The state of our infantry on Jan. 15 was very satisfactory and much +superior to that of the German infantry. On an average each of our +regiments has forty-eight officers, including eighteen regular officers, +fifteen reserve officers, and fifteen non-commissioned officers. In each +regiment six of the twelve companies are commanded by Captains who are +regular officers, three by Captains of the reserve and three by +Lieutenants. Each company has at least three officers. The state of the +army as regards the commissioned ranks from the highest to the lowest is +declared to be exceptionally brilliant. The army is led by young, +well-trained, and daring chiefs, and the lower commissioned ranks have +acquired the art of war by experience. + + +2,500,000 FRENCH AT FRONT. + +Including all ranks, France now has more than 2,500,000 men at the +front, and every unit is, or was on Jan. 15, at war strength. The +infantry companies are at least 200 strong. In many regiments the +companies have a strength of 250 or more. + +In other arms, which have suffered less than the infantry, the units are +all up to, or above, regulation strength. + +This fact constitutes one of the most important advantages of the French +Army over the Germans. While Germany has created a great number of new +units, army corps or divisions, which absorbed at a blow all of her +available resources in officers and men, the French supreme command has +avoided the formation of new units, except in limited number, and has +only admitted exceptions to this rule when it was able to count with +certainty on being able to provide amply for both the present and future +requirements of the new units, as regards all ranks, without encroaching +upon the reserves needed for the existing units. + +At the same time, thanks to the depots in the interior of the country, +the effectives at the front have been maintained at full strength. The +sources of supply for this purpose were the remainder of the eleven +classes of the reserves, the younger classes of the territorial army, +and the new class of 1914. A large number of the men wounded in the +earlier engagements of the war have been able to return to the front. +They have been incorporated in the new drafts, providing these with a +useful stiffening of war-tried men. + +With regard to the supplies of men upon which the army can draw to +repair the wastage at the front, we learn that there are practically +half as many men in the depots as at the front, in other words about +1,250,000. Further supplies of men are provided by the class of 1915 and +the revision of the various categories of men of military age previously +exempted on grounds of health or for other reasons from the duty of +bearing arms. As a result of this measure nearly half a million men have +been claimed for the army, almost all of whom, after rigorous physical +tests, have been declared fit for military service. + + +DRILLED BY CONVALESCENTS. + +In the depots in which the new soldiers are being trained the services +of many officers and non-commissioned officers discharged as +convalescents after being wounded are utilized in order to give a +practical turn to the instruction. There are still many voluntary +enlistments, and with all these resources of men the army can count upon +reinforcements soon to be available which will considerably augment its +offensive power. + +The quality of the troops has improved perceptibly since the beginning +of the war. The men have become hardened and used to war, and their +health--largely owing to the excellence of the commissariat--is +extremely satisfactory. In spite of the severity of the Winter hardly +any cases of disease of the respiratory organs have occurred, and the +sanitary returns of the army show an appreciable improvement on those of +the preceding Winter. + +With regard to the reserves, experience has verified the dictum of the +Serbian and Bulgarian Generals in the war of 1913, namely, that "two +months in the field are necessary in order to get at the full value of +reserves." Our infantry is now accustomed to the rapid and thorough +"organization" of the defensive. In August it neither liked nor had the +habit of using the spade. Today those who see our trenches are +astounded. They are veritable improvised fortresses, proof against the +77-millimeter gun and often against artillery of higher calibre. During +the last five months not a single encounter can be cited in which our +infantry did not have the advantage over the German infantry. All the +enemy's attacks have been repulsed, except to the north of Soissons, +where their success was due to the flooded state of the Aisne and the +carrying away of our bridges. Our attacks, on the other hand, have +yielded important results, and have been carried out with plenty of +spirit, although without the imprudence which cost us such heavy losses +in August. + +The cavalry has made remarkable progress. Throughout October this branch +was called on to eke out the inadequate numbers of the infantry, and +showed itself perfectly adapted to the necessities of fighting on foot. +Several regiments of cavalry have been used as infantry, and, armed with +rifles, have rendered the most valuable services. + +The artillery has displayed a superiority in the use of its admirable +material, which is recognized by the Germans themselves. + + +_LONDON, March 27, (Correspondence of The Associated Press.)--Further +installments of the French official review of the condition of the +French Army after six months of war have been obtained by The Associated +Press. The sixth installment deals with material, artillery, transport, +and supplies, and the seventh takes up the situation of the German Army +and makes an analysis of the German forces in the field and available +for service._ + +_The first chapter of the seventh installment, headed "The German +Effort," opens with a statement as to the German forces at the beginning +of the campaign. The writer says:_ + +The military effort of Germany at the outset of the campaign exceeded +all anticipations. Her design was to crush the French Army in a few +weeks under a tremendous mass of troops. Nothing was neglected to bring +that mass together. + +The number of German army corps in time of peace is twenty-five. When +war began the German General Staff put in the field on the two theatres +of operations: 1, as fighting troops, (active, reserve, Ersatz or +Landwehr,) sixty-one army corps; 2, as troops to guard communications +and territory, formations of the Landsturm. + +In October six and a half new army corps made their appearance, plus a +division of sailors--in all seven corps. From the end of November to the +end of December there was only an insignificant increase, consisting of +the division of sailors. In January, 1915, the number of fighting +formations put into line by the German Army was therefore sixty-nine +army corps, divided as follows: + +Active corps, twenty-five and a half; reserve corps, twenty-one and a +half; Ersatz brigades, six and a half; reserve corps of new formation, +seven and a half, and corps of Landwehr, eight and a half. + + +GERMANY'S GREAT INITIAL EFFORT. + +The immense effort thus made by Germany explains itself very well, if, +having regard to the position of Germany at the opening of the war, one +considers that of the Allies. Germany desired to take advantage of the +circumstances which enabled her to make a simultaneous mobilization of +all her forces--a mobilization which the three allied armies could not +carry out so rapidly. Germany wished with the mass of troops to crush +first of all the adversary who appeared to her the most dangerous. This +effort, broken for the first time on the Marne, attained its maximum at +the moment of the battle of Flanders, in which more than fifty army +corps out of sixty-nine were pitted against the French, British, and +Belgian Armies. + +Here also the method followed by Germany is easily comprehensible. At +the end of October the Russian danger was beginning to become pressing, +and it was necessary to win a decisive victory in the western theatre of +the war. It was imperative to give international opinion the impression +that Germany remained in that quarter mistress of operations. Finally, +it behooved her by this victory to gain the freedom to transport a large +number of army corps to Poland. We have seen that the battle of +Flanders, instead of being a success for Germany, was a marked defeat. +This defeat was fraught with results, and it dominates the present +position of the German Army. The plans above described of the German +mobilization, which had their justification in view of a prompt victory, +were calculated to become extremely perilous from the moment that that +victory failed to be gained. + + +INITIATIVE LOST BY GERMANY. + +From that moment, in fact, Germany lost the initiative and the direction +of the war. And, furthermore, she was condemned to suffer the +counter-effects of the enormous and precipitate effort which she had +made in vain. From the point of view of her effectiveness and her +regimental cadres, (basic organization,) she had undergone a wastage +which her adversaries, on the other hand, had been able to save +themselves. She had, in the words of the proverb, put all her eggs in +one basket, and in spite of her large population she could no longer, +owing to the immediate and sterile abuse which she had made of her +resources, pretend to regain the superiority of numbers. + +She was reduced to facing as best she could on both war fronts the +unceasingly increasing forces of the Allies. She had attained the +maximum of tension and had secured a minimum of results. She had thus +landed herself in a difficulty which will henceforward go on increasing +and which is made clear when the wastage which her army has suffered is +closely studied. + + +WASTAGE OF GERMAN EFFECTIVES. + +_Chapter II. of this section of the review bears the headline "Wastage +of German Effectives."_ + +The wastage of effectives is easy to establish, it says. We have for the +purpose two sources--the official lists of losses published by the +German General Staff and the notebooks, letters, and archives of +soldiers and officers killed and taken prisoners. These different +documents show that by the middle of January the German losses on the +two fronts were 1,800,000 men. + +These figures are certainly less than the reality, because, for one +thing, the sick are not comprised, and, for another, the losses in the +last battle in Poland are not included. Let us accept them, however; let +us accept also that out of these 1,800,000 men 500,000--this is the +normal proportion--have been able to rejoin after being cured. Thus the +final loss for five months of the campaign has been 1,300,000 men, or +260,000 men per month. These figures agree exactly with what can be +ascertained when the variations of effectives in certain regiments are +examined. + +It is certain that the majority of the German regiments have had to be +completely renewed. What, then, is the situation created by these +enormous losses? + +_This question is answered by a statement headed "German troops +available for 1915."_ + +The total of German formations known at the beginning of January, says +the review, represented in round numbers 4,000,000 men. According to the +official reports on German recruiting, the entire resources of Germany +in men amount to 9,000,000. But from these 9,000,000 have to be deducted +men employed on railways, in the police, and in certain administrations +and industries--altogether 500,000 men. The total resources available +for the war were therefore 8,500,000. Out of these about one-half, say +4,000,000, are now at the front. The definitive losses represent at +least 1,300,000 men. The available resources amounted, then, at the +beginning of January, to 3,200,000 men. + + +GERMANY'S RESERVES UNTRAINED. + +Of what are these resources composed? Chiefly of men who were untrained +in time of peace, the trained reservists having almost all left the +depots for the front. It has, moreover, to be noted that out of these +3,200,000 men there are, according to the statistics, 800,000 who are +more than 39 years of age, and therefore of only mediocre military +value. Thus there remain 2,400,000. Finally, the category of the +untrained in peace comprises, according to the estimates of German +military authorities themselves, one-quarter of inefficients. + +The really valuable resources capable of campaigning are therefore just +2,000,000. These men, comprising the 1915, 1916, and 1917 classes, +called out in anticipation, constitute--and this point cannot be too +strongly insisted upon--the total of available resources for the +operations during the twelve months of 1915. As to what the military +value of these troops will be, considering the haste with which they +have been trained, the formidable losses sustained in the battle of +Flanders by the newly formed corps show very clearly. Their military +value will be limited. + + +GERMAN LOSSES 260,000 A MONTH. + +When it is remembered that, according to the German documents +themselves, the definite loss each month is 260,000 men, it is manifest +that the available resources for the year 1915 will not suffice to fill +the gaps of a war of ten months. + +It is then superabundantly established that in the matter of effectives +Germany has reached the maximum of possible effort. If with the men at +present available she creates, as it is certain that she is preparing to +do at this moment, fresh formations, she will be preventing herself, if +the war lasts another ten months, as is admissible, from being able to +complete afresh her old formations. If she creates no new formations, +she will have in 1915 exactly what is necessary and no more to complete +the existing units afresh. + +Bearing in mind the ways of the German General Staff, one may suppose +that, disregarding the eventual impossibility of recompleting, it is +still addressing itself to creating new formations. The weakness to +which Germany will expose herself in the matter of effectives has just +been set forth, and it is easy to show that this weakness will be still +further aggravated by the wastage in the regimental orders. + + +PRAISES FRENCH "SEVENTY-FIVES." + +_In the sixth installment, beginning with the field gun, the famous +"seventy-fives," the compiler of the report, after rehearsing the +splendid qualities of this weapon--its power, its rapidity of action, +and its precision--points out that it possesses a degree of strength and +endurance which makes it an implement of war of the first order._ + +It may be stated without hesitation [says the review] that our +"seventy-five" guns are in as perfect condition today as they were on +the first day of the war, although the use made of them has exceeded all +calculations. The consumption of projectiles was, in fact, so enormous +as to cause for a moment an ammunition crisis, which, however, was +completely overcome several weeks ago. + +The methodical and complete exploitation of all the resources of the +country, organized since the beginning of the war, has enabled us to +accumulate a considerable stock of fresh munitions, and an increasing +rate of production is henceforth assured. We are thus sure of being able +to provide without particular effort for all the needs of the campaign, +present and future, however long the war may last, and it is this +certainty which has enabled us to supply projectiles to several of the +allied armies, among others, to the Serbian and Belgian armies. From +the statements of German prisoners we have learned that the +effectiveness of our new projectiles is superior to that of the old +ones. + + +FRENCH HEAVY GUNS SUPERIOR. + +Our heavy artillery was in process of reorganization when the war broke +out, with the result that we were indisputably in a position of +inferiority in respect of this arm during the first battles. But today +the roles have been changed and our adversaries themselves acknowledge +the superiority of our heavy artillery. + +The change has been brought about in various ways, partly by the intense +activity of the cannon foundries in new production, partly by the +employment at the front of the enormous reserves of artillery preserved +in the fortresses. The very large number of heavy guns at the front +represents only a part of the total number available for use. There is +an abundant stock of projectiles for the heavy artillery, which, as in +the case of the field gun ammunition, is daily growing in importance. +The same is true of the reserves of powder and other explosives and of +all materials needed for the manufacture of shells. + +With regard to small arms, hand grenades, bombs, and all the devices for +lifetaking which the trench warfare at short distance has brought into +use, the position of the French troops is in every way favorable. + +_There follows a passage on the development of the machine gun in this +kind of warfare._ + +Owing to the extended use of this weapon, the number supplied to the +various units has been appreciably increased, says the review. Not only +is each unit in possession of its full regulation complement of machine +guns, but the number of these guns attached to each unit has been +increased since Feb. 1 by one-third. + +_The report next passes to the transport service, which, it says, has +worked with remarkable precision since the beginning of the war. This +section of the review closes by referring to food supplies for the army, +which are described as abundant._ + + +_LONDON, March 27, (Correspondence of The Associated Press.)--The eighth +installment of the French official review of the war, previous chapters +of which have been published, takes up the German losses of officers, +the wastage of guns and projectiles, and "the moral wastage of the +German Army."_ + +_The chapter on losses of officers begins with the statement that the +condition of the cadres, or basic organizations, in the German Army is +bad. The proportion of officers, and notably of officers by profession, +has been enormously reduced, it says; and a report made in December +showed that in a total of 124 companies, active or reserve, there were +only 49 officers of the active army. The active regiments have at the +present time, according to the review, an average of 12 professional +officers; the reserve regiments, 9 to 10; the reserve regiments of new +formation, 6 to 7; and it is to be remembered that these officers have +to be drawn upon afresh for the creation of new units._ + +"If Germany creates new army corps, and if the war lasts ten months," it +continues, "she will reduce almost to nothing the number of professional +officers in each regiment, a number which already is very insufficient." + + +FRENCH CONDITIONS IN CONTRAST. + +_The French report points out that on the other hand, all the French +regiments have been constantly kept at a minimum figure of eighteen +professional officers per regiment. At the same time it admits that the +commanders of German corps, commanders of active battalions, and the +officers attached to the commanders of army corps are officers by +profession._ + +_The French report then addresses itself to the wastage of material. +Discussing the wastage of guns, it says:_ + +It is easy to ascertain the German losses in artillery. On Dec. 28 the +Sixty-sixth Regiment of Artillery entrained at Courtrai for Germany +twenty-two guns, of which eighteen were used up. This figure is +extremely high for a single regiment. + +The same facts have been ascertained as regards heavy artillery. On +Dec. 21 and 22 seventy-seven guns of heavy artillery, which were no +longer serviceable, were sent to Cologne. These movements, which are not +isolated facts, show how ill the German artillery has resisted the +ordeal of the campaign. + +Other proofs, moreover, are decisive. For some weeks we have noted the +very peculiar aspect of the marking on the bands of a great number of +shells of the 77 gun. When these markings are compared with those of +shells fired three months ago it is plain beyond all question that the +tubes are worn and that many of them require to be replaced. This loss +in guns is aggravated by the necessity which has arisen of drawing upon +the original army corps for the guns assigned to the recently formed +corps or those in course of formation. Several regiments of field +artillery have, in fact, had to give up two batteries. + + +WEARING OUT OF MATERIAL. + +These two phenomena--wearing out of material and drafts upon +batteries--will inevitably result either in the reduction of batteries +from six to four guns, a reduction of the number of batteries in the +army corps, or the partial substitution for 77 guns of 9-centimeter +cannon of the old pattern, the presence of which has been many times +perceived at the front. + +Furthermore, the German artillery lacks and has lacked for a very long +time munitions. It has been obliged to reduce its consumption of shells +in a notable degree. No doubt is possible in this respect. The +statements of prisoners since the battle of the Marne, and still more +since the battle of the Yser, make it clear that the number of shots +allowed to the batteries for each action is strictly limited. We have +found on officers killed or taken prisoner the actual orders prescribing +positively a strict economy of munitions. + +For the last three months, too, we notice that the quality of the +projectiles is mediocre. Many of them do not burst. On Jan. 7, in the +course of a bombardment of Laventie, scarcely any of the German shells +burst. The proportion of non-bursts was estimated at two-fifths by the +British on Dec. 14, two-thirds by ourselves in the same month. On Jan. 3 +at Bourg-et-Comin, and at other places since then, shrapnel fell the +explosion of which scarcely broke the envelope and the bullets were +projected without any force. About the same time our Fourteenth Army +Corps was fired at with shrapnel loaded with fragments of glass, and on +several points of our front shell casings of very bad quality have been +found, denoting hasty manufacture and the use of materials taken at +hazard. + +From numerous indications it appears that the Germans are beginning to +run short of their 1898 pattern rifle. A certain number of the last +reinforcements (January) are armed with carbines or rifles of a poor +sort without bayonets. Others have not even rifles. Prisoners taken at +Woevre had old-pattern weapons. + +The upshot of these observations is that Germany, despite her large +stores at the beginning, and the great resources of her industrial +production, presents manifest signs of wear, and that the official +optimism which she displays does not correspond with the reality of the +facts. + + +MORAL WASTAGE. + +_Under the caption "Moral Wastage of the German Army," the review +continues:_ + +The material losses of the German Army have corresponded with a moral +wastage which it is interesting and possible to follow, both from the +interrogation of prisoners and the pocketbooks and letters seized upon +them or on the killed. + +At the beginning of the war the entire German Army, as was natural, was +animated by an unshakable faith in the military superiority of the +empire. It lived on the recollections of 1870, and on those of the long +years of peace, during which all the powers which had to do with Germany +displayed toward her a spirit of conciliation and patience which might +pass for weakness. + +The first prisoners we took in August showed themselves wholly +indifferent to the reverses of the German Army. They were sincerely and +profoundly convinced that, if the German Army retired, it was in virtue +of a preconceived plan, and that our successes would lead to nothing. +The events at the end of August were calculated to strengthen this +contention in the minds of the German soldiers. + +The strategic retreat of the French Army, the facility with which the +German armies were able to advance from Aug. 25 to Sept. 5, gave our +adversaries a feeling of absolute and final superiority, which +manifested itself at that time by all the statements gleaned and all the +documents seized. + +At the moment of the battle of the Marne the first impression was one of +failure of comprehension and of stupor. A great number of German +soldiers, notably those who fell into our hands during the first days of +that battle, believed fully, as at the end of August, that the retreat +they were ordered to make was only a means of luring us into a trap. +German military opinion was suddenly converted when the soldiers saw +that this retreat continued, and that it was being carried out in +disorder, under conditions which left no doubt as to its cause and its +extent. + +This time it was really a defeat, and a defeat aggravated by the absence +of regular supplies and by the physical and moral depression which was +the result. The severity of the losses sustained, the overpowering +effects of the French artillery, began from this moment to be noted in +the German pocketbooks with veritable terror. Hope revived, however, at +the end of some weeks, and there is to be found in the letters of +soldiers and officers the announcement of "a great movement" which is +being prepared, and which is to lead the German armies anew as far as +Paris. + + +LOSSES IN "BATTLE OF CALAIS." + +This is the great "battle of Calais," which, contrary to the +anticipations of the enemy, was in reality fought to the east of the +Yser. The losses of the Germans, which during those ten days exceeded +150,000 men, and may perhaps have reached 200,000, produced a terrifying +impression on the troops. From that moment prisoners no longer declared +themselves sure of success. For a certain time they had been consoled +by the announcement of the capture of Warsaw. This pretended success +having proved to be fictitious, incredulity became general. + +During the last two months the most intelligent of the prisoners have +all admitted that no one could any longer say on which side victory +would rest. If we think of the absolute confidence with which the German +people had been sustained, this avowal is of great importance. + +Letters seized on a dead officer speak of the imminence of a military +and economic hemming-in of Germany. They discuss the possibility of +Germany finding herself after the war with "empty hands and pockets +turned inside out." There is no longer any question of imposing the +conqueror's law upon adversaries at his mercy, but of fighting with the +energy of despair to secure an honorable peace. An officer of the +General Staff who was made prisoner on Jan. 18 said: "Perhaps this +struggle of despair has already begun." + +_There follows a chapter bearing the title, "The System of Lies," in +which the review describes the methods by which it is alleged the German +Government "made a sustained effort to create in the army an artificial +state of mind based entirely upon lies and a scientific system of +fables."_ + + + + +SONNET ON THE BELGIAN EXPATRIATION. + +By THOMAS HARDY. + +[From King Albert's Book.] + + + I dreamt that people from the Land of Chimes + Arrived one Autumn morning with their bells, + To hoist them on the towers and citadels + Of my own country, that the musical rhymes + + Rung by them into space at measured times + Amid the market's daily stir and stress, + And the night's empty starlit silentness, + Might solace souls of this and kindred climes. + + Then I awoke; and, lo, before me stood + The visioned ones, but pale and full of fear; + From Bruges they came, and Antwerp, and Ostend, + + No carillons in their train. Vicissitude + Had left these tinkling to the invaders' ear, + And ravaged street, and smoldering gable-end. + + + + +War Correspondence + +A Month of German Submarine War + +By Vice Admiral Kirchhoff of the German Navy + + + Under the heading, "A Month of U-Boat War," Vice Admiral + Kirchhoff of the German Navy discusses the German submarine + warfare against merchant shipping in its first month. The + article, appearing in the Hamburger Framdenblatt of March 19, + 1915, is reproduced: + +On March 18 a month had passed since the beginning of our sharp +procedure against our worst foe. We can in every way be satisfied with +the results achieved in the meantime! In spite of all "steps" taken +before and thereafter, the English have everywhere had important losses +to show at sea--some 200 ships lost since the beginning of the war, +according to the latest statements of the Allies--so that even they +themselves no longer dare to talk about the "German bluff." + +On the new and greater "war zone" established by us, our submarines have +known how to work bravely, and have been able, for instance, to operate +successfully on a single morning on the east coast, in the Channel, and +in the Irish Sea. We have heard of many losses of our opponents, and on +the other hand of the subjugation of only two of our brave U-boats. +Ceaselessly they are active on the coasts of Albion; shipping is +paralyzed at some points; steamship companies--including also many +neutral ones--have suspended their sailings; in short, our threat of a +more acute condition of war "with all means at hand" has been fully +fulfilled. + +The "peaceful shipping," too, has taken notice of it and adjusted itself +according to our instructions. The official objections of neutrals have +died away without effect; throughout the world we have already been +given right; the shipping circles of the neutral States are in great +part holding entirely back. The empty threats that floated over to us +from across the Channel, that the captured crews of German submarines +will be treated differently than other prisoners--yes, as plain pirates +and sea robbers--those are nothing but an insignificant ebullition of +British "moral insanity." They are a part of the hypocritical cant +without which, somehow, Great Britain cannot get along. If Great Britain +should act in accordance with it, however, then we shall know what we, +for our part, have to do! + +German and probably English mines, too, have helped our submarines in +clearing up among the English mercantile and war fleet. Many merchant +ships warned long in advance have been compelled to believe in the +warning, and with them frequently a great part of their crews--"without +any warning whatever," as our opponents like to say. + +All measures of defense, yes, even more significant, all measures of +deception and boastful "ruses de guerre," and even all attempts to hush +up the news of German accomplishments and whenever possible to suppress +it completely--all these efforts have been futile. Our results surpass +the expectations that had been cherished. Who knows how many +accomplishments other than those which have been published may also have +been achieved? Foreign newspapers report a large number of steamships +overdue. From overseas likewise we receive favorable reports about the +sinking of enemy ships. But the best is the news that our submarines +have succeeded in sinking two English auxiliary cruisers and perhaps +also one or two larger English transport ships with several thousand men +on board. + +The last announcement has filled us all with greatest satisfaction. +This, our latest method of warfare, is "truly humane"; it leads more +speedily to the goal than anything else, so that the number of victims +will in the end be smaller after all. It brings peace to all of us +sooner than the empty paper protests and crying to Heaven about violence +and international law, law of the sea, and laws of humanity could do. +In the innocent exalted island kingdom many a fellow is already +striking; why should not even the recruit strike, who is also beginning +to get a glimmer of the truth that there are no props in the ocean +waves? + +The more opponents come before the bows of our ships and are sunk, the +better! Down with them to the bottom of the sea; that alone will help! +Let us hope that we shall soon receive more such cheerful news. + + + + +Three Weeks of the War in Champagne + +By a British Observer + + +_The following article, issued by the British Press Bureau, London, +March 18, 1915, is from a British observer with the French forces in the +field who has the permission of General Joffre to send communications +home from time to time, giving descriptions of the work, &c., of the +French Army which will be of interest to the British reader._ + +I propose to give some account of the operations which have been in +progress for the last three weeks in Champagne. Every day since Feb. 15 +the official communiques find something to say about a district which +lies midway between Rheims and Verdun. The three places which are always +mentioned, which form the points of reference, are Perthes-lez-Hurlus, +Le Mesnil-lez-Hurlus, and Beausejour Farm. The distance between the +first and the last is three and one-half miles; the front on which the +fighting has taken place is about five miles; and the French have been +attacking at one point or another in this front every day for the last +three weeks. It is, therefore, an operation of a different kind to those +which we have seen during the Winter months. Those were local efforts, +lasting a day or two, designed to keep the enemy busy and prevent him +from withdrawing troops elsewhere; this is a sustained effort, made with +the object of keeping a constant pressure on his first line of defense, +of affecting his use of the railway from Bazancourt to Challerange, a +few miles to the north, and of wearing down his reserves of men and +ammunition. It may be said that Feb. 15 marks the opening of the 1915 +campaign, and that this first phase will find an important place when +the history of the war comes to be written. + +We must first know something of the nature of the country, which is +entirely different to that in which the British Army is fighting. It is +one vast plain, undulating, the hills at most 200 feet higher than the +valleys, gentle slopes everywhere. The soil is rather chalky, poor, +barely worth cultivating; after heavy rain the whole plain becomes a sea +of shallow mud; and it dries equally quickly. The only features are the +pine woods, which have been planted by hundreds. From the point of view +of profit, this would not appear to have been a success; either the soil +is too poor, or else it is unsuitable to the maritime pine; for the +trees are rarely more than 25 feet high. As each rise is topped, a new +stretch of plain, a new set of small woods appear, just like that which +has been left behind. + +[Illustration: ELEUTHERIOS K. VENIZELOS + +The great Greek statesman who recently resigned as Prime Minister. + +_(Photo from Medom Photo Service.)_] + +[Illustration: LORD HARDINGE OF PENSHURST + +Who, as Viceroy, rules England's Indian Empire during the critical +period of the war.] + +The villages are few and small, most of them are in ruins after the +fighting in September; and the troops live almost entirely in colonies +of little huts of wood or straw, about four feet high, dotted about in +the woods, in the valleys, wherever a little water and shelter is +obtainable. Lack of villages means lack of roads; this has been one of +the great difficulties to be faced; but, at the same time, the movement +of wagons across country is possible to a far greater extent than in +Flanders, although it is often necessary to use eight or ten horses to +get a gun or wagon to the point desired. + +From the military point of view the country is eminently suitable for +troops, with its possibilities of concealment, of producing sudden +surprises with cavalry, and of manoeuvre generally. It is, in fact, the +training ground of the great military centre of Chalons; and French +troops have doubtless been exercised over this ground in every branch of +military operation, except that in which they are engaged at the present +moment. + +What commander, training his men over this ground, could have imagined +that the area from Perthes-lez-Hurlus to Beausejour Farm would become +two fortress lines, developed and improved for four months; or that he +would have to carry out an attack modeled on the same system as that +employed in the last great siege undertaken by French troops, that of +Sebastopol in 1855? Yet this is what is being done. Every day an attack +is made on a trench, on the edge of one of the little woods or to gain +ground in one of them; every day the ground gained has to be transformed +so as to give protection to its new occupants and means of access to +their supports; every night, and on many days, the enemy's +counter-attacks have to be repulsed. + +Each attack has to be prepared by a violent and accurate artillery fire; +it may be said that a trench has to be morally captured by gun fire +before it can be actually seized by the infantry. Once in the new +trench, the men have to work with their intrenching tools, without +exposing themselves, and wait for a counter-attack, doing what damage +they can to the enemy with hand grenades and machine guns. Thus the +amount of rifle fire is very small; it is a war of explosives and +bayonets. + +Looking at the battle at a distance of about 2,000 yards from the +enemy's line, the stillness of what one sees is in marked contrast to +the turmoil of shells passing overhead. The only movement is the cloud +of smoke and earth that marks the burst of a shell. Here and there long +white lines are visible, when a trench has brought the chalky subsoil up +to the top, but the number of trenches seen is very small compared to +the number that exist, for one cannot see into the valleys, and the top +of the ground is an unhealthy place to choose for seating a trench. The +woods are pointed out, with the names given them by the soldiers, but it +needs fieldglasses to see the few stumps that remain in those where the +artillery has done its work. And then a telephone message arrives, +saying that the enemy are threatening a counter-attack at a certain +point, and three minutes later there is a redoubled whistling of shells. +At first one cannot see the result of this fire--the guns are searching +the low ground where the enemy's reserves are preparing for the +movement, but a little later the ground in front of the threatened +trench becomes alive with shell bursts, for the searching has given +place to the building up of a wall of fire through which it is +impossible for the foe to pass without enormous loss. + +The attached map may enable us to look more closely at what has been +achieved. The lowest dotted line, numbered 15, is the line of the French +trenches on Feb. 15. They were then close up to the front of the German +line with its network of barbed wire, its machine-gun emplacements, +often of concrete, and its underground chambers for sheltering men from +the shells. Each successive dotted line shows the line held by the +French on the evening of the date written in the dotted line. Thus the +total gain of ground, that between the most southerly and the most +northerly dotted lines, varies between 200 yards, where the lines are +close together northeast of Perthes, and 1,400 yards, half way between +Le Mesnil and Beausejour Farm. But the whole of this space has been a +series of trenches and fortified woods, each of which has had to be +attacked separately. + +[Illustration: Map of the French Operations in the Champagne + +Some of the severest fighting on the western battle front took place in +this little section of about four miles of trenches, lying between +Rheimes and Verdun. For a whole month from Feb. 15, the attacks were +kept up by the French forces almost continuously, and the sketch gives +the graphic result of changes for three weeks of that time. Ostensibly +the purpose of the French was to pierce the German line and cut the +railway a few miles to the rear. Incidentally, the French aimed to keep +their opponents busy, and thus prevent any reinforcements being sent to +von Hindenburg in the east. + +The total gain of ground--that between the most southerly and most +northerly dotted lines--varies from 200 yards northeast of Perthes to +1,400 yards, half way between Le Mesnil and Beausejour Farm. But the +whole of this space has been a series of trenches and fortified woods, +each of which had to be attacked separately. + +The letters (A to G) in the sketch indicate the points of the severest +fighting. A (the "little fort") was taken and lost three times before +the French finally held it. B saw some of the stiffest encounters, the +Germans attacking the hill nearly every day after the French captured +it, and even the Prussian Guard being put in. The woods at C, D, and E +were centres of terrific combats, in which trenching and mining were +continuous tasks. The redoubt at F was captured only after large losses +on both sides. At the extreme west is still another wood, (G.) which the +French attacked three times before they were successful in getting a +foothold there.] + +Some of the points where the fighting has been heaviest are shown in +letters on the map. A is the "little fort," a redoubt on an open spur, +holding perhaps 500 men. This was first attacked in January; it was +partly taken, but the French in the end retained only the southern +corner, where they remained for something like a fortnight. On Feb. 16 +it was again taken in part, and lost the same day. On the 17th the same +thing happened. On the 23d they once more got into the work; in the +evening they repulsed five separate counter-attacks; then a sixth +succeeded in turning them out. On the 27th they took all except a bit of +trench in the northern face, and two days later they made that good, as +well as a trench about fifty yards to the north of the work. + +B is a small hill, marked 196. The capture of this, with its two lines +of trenches, was one of the most brilliant pieces of work done. Since +this date, the 26th, the enemy have continued to counter-attack nearly +every day. It was here that the Prussian Guard was put in; but they have +failed to get it back, and their losses have been very high. The +prisoners stated that one regiment had its Colonel and all the superior +officers killed or wounded. C is a wood, called the "Yellow Burnt Wood." +It is still in the hands of the Germans, a regular nest of machine guns, +which command the ground not only to the front but also down valleys to +the east and west. The French are just in the southwest corner. + +At D there are two woods; the southern we will call No. 3, the northern +No. 4. On the 16th our allies got a trench just south of No. 3; they got +into the wood on the 18th, and fought backward and forward in the wood +that day and all the 19th and 20th; by the evening of the 20th they had +almost reached the northern edge. On the 21st a stronger counter-attack +than usual was repulsed, and in pursuing the retiring enemy they +secured the northern edge. On the 22d there was more fighting in No. 3, +but in the end the French managed to make their way into No. 4 as far as +a trench which runs along a crest midway through the wood. The next six +days saw continuous fighting in No. 4, sometimes near the northern end, +sometimes at the crest in the middle, and occasionally back near the +southern end. The French now hold the northern edge, and have pushed +troops into the "Square" wood just north of the line of the 25th. + +At E again there are two small woods; these were both captured on the +26th, but the trenches in the northern one had been mined, and the +French had no sooner seized them than they were blown up. At F there was +another small redoubt; part of this was taken on the 19th from the east, +but the work was not finally captured till the 27th, when 240 corpses +were found in it. On the extreme west, at G, is a wood which has twice +been unsuccessfully attacked. On the first occasion troops got into the +wood, but a severe snowstorm prevented the artillery from continuing to +assist them, and they were driven out. The second was an attempt to +surprise the enemy at 2 A.M. on the 25th; this also failed. A third +attack was made on March 7 and was successful; the French line now runs +through the wood. + +The above will serve to show the tenacity which is required for an +operation of this kind. Up to the present the French have made steady +and continuous progress, and their success may be best judged from the +fact that they have not been forced back on any day behind the line they +held in the morning, despite innumerable counter-attacks. And this is +not merely a question of ground, but one of increasing moral +superiority, for it is in the unsuccessful counter-attacks that losses +are heavy, and these and the sense of failure affect the morale of an +army sooner or later. + +Will the French push through the line? Will a hole be made, or is the +enemy like a badger, who digs himself in rather faster than you can dig +him out? I cannot tell; it would indeed be an astonishing measure of +success for a first attempt, and the enemy may require a great deal more +hammering at many points before he has definitely had enough at any one +point. But these operations have brought the day closer, and turn our +thoughts to the time when we shall be able to move forward, and one +finds the cavalrymen wondering whether perhaps they, too, will get their +chance. + + + + +The Germans Concrete Trenches + +By F.H. Gailor, American Rhodes Scholar of New College, Oxford + +[From The London Daily Mail, March 24, 1915.] + + +At the kind invitation of General Longchamps, German Military Governor +of the Province of Namur, I spent two days with him going along the +country in and behind the firing line in Northern France from near +Rheims to the small village of Monthois, near Vouziers, on the Aisne. + +About five miles out of Monthois we came to the artillery positions of +the Germans. We could see the flashes of the guns long before we reached +the hills where they were placed, but when we came up and dismounted the +position was most cleverly concealed by a higher hill in front and the +heavy woods which served as a screen for the artillery. I noticed many +holes where the French shells had burst, and the valley to the north +looked as if some one had been experimenting with a well digger. One +21-centimeter shell had cut a swath about 100 yards long out of the +woods on the hill where we dismounted. The trees were twisted from their +stumps as if a small cyclone had passed, and one could realize the +damage the shells could do merely by the displaced air. + +We went on forward into the valley on foot and stopped about two hundred +yards in front and to the left of where the German guns were firing. +There, although of course we could not see the French position, we could +hear and see their shells as they exploded. They were firing short, one +of the officers told me, because they thought the Germans were on the +forward hill. He could see one of the French aeroplanes directing their +fire, but I could not make it out. We stayed there listening to the +shells and watching the few movements of German batteries that were +taking place. A party of officers hidden by the trees were taking +observations and telephoning the results of the German fire and, no +doubt, of the French fire in the German trenches. There was no +excitement; but for the noise the whole scene reminded me of some kind +of construction work, such as building a railroad. + +After about an hour, when nothing had happened, one began to realize +that even such excitement may become monotonous and be taken as a matter +of course. One of the officers told me that the Germans had been there +since the beginning of October and that even the trenches were in the +same position as when they first came. + +Certainly the trenches seem permanent enough for spending many Winters. +A number of them have now been built of concrete, especially in that +swampy part near the Aisne where they strike water about three feet +underground. The difficulty is in draining out the water when it rains. + +Some of the trenches have two stories, and at the back of many of them +are subterranean rest houses built of concrete and connected with the +trenches by passages. The rooms are about seven feet high and ten feet +square, and above the ground all evidence of the work is concealed by +green boughs and shrubbery so that they may escape the attention of the +enemy's aeroplanes. + +With the noise and the fatigue, the men say it is impossible to sleep +naturally, but they become so used to the firing and so weary that they +become oblivious of everything even when shells are falling within a +dozen yards of them. They stay in the trenches five days and then get +five days' rest. In talking to the men one feels the influence on them +of a curious sort of fatalism--they have been lucky so far and will come +through all right. One sees and feels everywhere the spirit of a great +game. The strain of football a thousand times magnified. The joy of +winning and boyish pleasure in getting ahead of the other fellows side +by side with the stronger passions of hatred and anger and the sight of +agony and death. + +We talked to some of the little groups of men along the road who were +going back to their five days in the trenches. Of course all large units +are split up so as not to attract attention. They were all the same, all +sure of winning, and all bearded, muddy, and determined. I could not +help thinking of American football players at the end of the first half. +These men seemed all the same. I have no recollection of a single +individual. The "system" and its work has made a type not only of +clothes but of face. Their answers to the usual questions were all the +same, and one felt in talking to them that their opinions were +machine-made. Three points stood out--Germany is right and will win; +England is wrong and will knuckle under; we hate England because we are +alike in religion, custom, and opinion, and it is the war of kindred +races. Everywhere one met the arguments and stories of unfairness and +cruelty in fighting that have appeared in the English papers, but with +the names reversed. English soldiers had surrendered and then fired; had +shot from beneath a Red Cross flag or had killed prisoners. The stories +were simple and as hackneyed as most of those current in England. + +The concrete rest houses were interesting. Most of them have furniture +made from trees "to amuse us and pass the time." Both officers and men +use the same type of house, though discipline forbids that the same +house be used by both officers and men. The light in these houses is bad +and the ventilation not all that it should be, but they are extremely +careful about sanitation, and everywhere one smells disinfectants and +sees evidence of scrupulous guarding against disease. Oil and candles +are scarce and the "pocket electric" that all the men and officers carry +does not last long enough for much reading. There are always telephone +connections, but in most cases visits are impossible save by way of the +underground passages and the trenches. + +One officer described the life as entirely normal; another said, in +speaking of a Louis XV. couch which had been borrowed from a near-by +chateau and was the pride of a regiment, "Oh! we are cave-dwellers, but +we have some of the luxuries of at least the nineteenth century." + +The Major Commandant at Rethel showed me a letter from a friend +demanding "some easy chairs and a piano for his trench house," and the +Major said, "I hear they have music up on the Yser, but the French are +too close to us here!" + +All that I saw of the German Red Cross leads me to believe that it is +adequate and efficient. At Rethel we saw a Red Cross train of thirty-two +cars perfectly equipped. The cars are made specially with open +corridors, so that stretchers or rubber-wheeled trucks may be rolled +from one car to another. The berths are in two tiers, much like an +American sleeping car, and each car when full holds twenty-eight men. +There is an operating car fully equipped for the most delicate and +dangerous cases; in fact, when we saw the train at Rethel it had stopped +on its way to Germany for an operation on a man's brain. + + + + +The Spirits of Mankind + +By Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States + + + The conviction that great spiritual forces will assert + themselves at the end of the European war to enlighten the + judgment and steady the spirits of mankind was expressed by + President Wilson in an address of welcome delivered at the + Maryland annual conference of the Methodist Protestant Church + at Washington on April 8, 1915. The text of his address + appears below. + +These are days of great perplexity, when a great cloud of trouble hangs +and broods over the greater part of the world. It seems as if great, +blind, material forces had been released which had for long been held in +leash and restraint. And yet underneath that you can see the strong +impulses of great ideals. + +It would be impossible for men to go through what men are going through +on the battlefields of Europe and struggle through the present dark +night of their terrible struggle if it were not that they saw, or +thought that they saw, the broadening of light where the morning should +come up and believed that they were standing each on his side of the +contest for some eternal principle for right. + +Then all about them, all about us, there sits the silent, waiting +tribunal which is going to utter the ultimate judgment upon this +struggle, the great tribunal of the opinion of the world; and I fancy I +see, I hope that I see, I pray that it may be that I do truly see, great +spiritual forces lying waiting for the outcome of this thing to assert +themselves, and are asserting themselves even now to enlighten our +judgment and steady our spirits. + +No man is wise enough to pronounce judgment, but we can all hold our +spirits in readiness to accept the truth when it dawns on us and is +revealed to us in the outcome of this titanic struggle. + +It is of infinite benefit that in assemblages like this and in every +sort of assemblage we should constantly go back to the sources of our +moral inspiration and question ourselves as to what principle it is that +we are acting on. Whither are we bound? What do we wish to see triumph? +And if we wish to see certain things triumph, why do we wish to see them +triumph? What is there in them that is for the lasting benefit of +mankind? + +For we are not in this world to amuse ourselves with its affairs. We are +here to push the whole sluggish mass forward in some particular +direction, and unless you know the direction in which you want to go +your force is of no avail. Do you love righteousness? is what each one +of us ought to ask himself. And if you love righteousness are you ready +to translate righteousness into action and be ashamed and afraid before +no man? + +It seems to me, therefore, that it is worth suggesting to you that you +are not sitting here merely to transact the business and express the +ideals of a great church as represented in the State of Maryland, but +you are here also as part of the assize of humanity, to remind +yourselves of the things that are permanent and eternal, which if we do +not translate into action we have failed in the fundamental things of +our lives. + +You will see that it is only in such general terms that one can speak in +the midst of a confused world, because, as I have already said, no man +has the key to this confusion. No man can see the outcome, but every man +can keep his own spirit prepared to contribute to the net result when +the outcome displays itself. + + + + +"What the Germans Say About Their Own Methods of Warfare" + +By Joseph Bedier, Professor in the College de France + +[From an article in the Revue de Paris for January, 1915.] + + +I purpose to show that the German armies cannot altogether escape the +reproach of violating on occasion the law of nations. I shall establish +this by French methods, through the use of documents of sound value. + +My texts are genuine, well vouched for, and I have taken pains to +subject them to a critical examination, as scrupulous and minute as +heretofore in times of peace I expended in weighing the authority of +some ancient chronicle, or in scrutinizing the authenticity of some +charter. Perhaps this care was born of professional habit, or due to a +natural craving for exactness, but in either case it is a voucher for +the work, which is meant for all comers--for the passer-by, for the +indifferent, and even for my country's foes. My wish is that the veriest +looker-on, idly turning these pages, may be confronted only with +documents whose authenticity will be self-evident, if he is willing to +see, and whose ignominious tale will reach his heart, if ye have a +heart. + +I have, moreover, sought for documents not only incontestably genuine +but of unquestioned authority. Accusation is easy, while proof is +difficult. No belligerent has ever been troubled to find mountains of +testimony, true or false, against his enemy; but were this evidence +gathered by the most exalted magistrates, under the most solemn judicial +sanction, it must unfortunately long remain useless; until the accused +has full opportunity to controvert it, every one is free to treat it as +false or, at the best, as controvertible. For this reason I shall avoid +resting the case upon Belgian or French statements, though I know them +to be true. My purpose has been to bring forward such testimony that no +man living, be he even a German, should be privileged to cast a doubt +upon it. German crimes will be established by German documents. + +These will be taken mainly from the "War Diaries," which Article 75 of +the German Army Regulations for Field Service enjoins upon soldiers to +keep during their marches, and which were seized by the French upon the +persons of their prisoners, as military papers, as authorized by Article +4 of The Hague Convention of 1907. The number of these is daily +increasing, and I trust that some day, for the edification of all, the +complete collection may be lodged in the Germanic section of manuscripts +in the National Library. Meantime, the Marquis de Dampierre, +paleographer and archivist, graduate of the Ecole des Chartes, is +preparing, and will shortly publish, a volume in which the greater part +of these notebooks will be minutely described, transcribed, and +clarified. Personally, I have only examined about forty of them, but +they will answer my purpose, by presenting relevant extracts, furnishing +the name, rank, and regiment of the author, with indications of time and +place. Classification is difficult, mainly because ten lines of a single +text not infrequently furnish evidence of a variety of offenses. I must +take them almost at random, grouping them under such analogies or +association of ideas or images as they may offer. + + +I. + +The first notebook at hand is that of a soldier of the Prussian Guard, +the Gefreiter Paul Spielmann, (of Company I, First Brigade of the +Infantry Guard.) He tells the story of an unexpected night alarm on the +1st of September in a village near Blamont. The bugle sounds, and the +Guard, startled from sleep, begins the massacre, (Figs. 1 and 2:) + +[Illustration: Figure 1.] + + The inhabitants fled through the village. It was horrible. The + walls of houses are bespattered with blood and the faces of + the dead are hideous to look upon. They were buried at once, + some sixty of them. Among them many old women, old men, and + one woman pregnant--the whole a dreadful sight. Three children + huddled together--all dead. Altar and arches of the church + shattered. Telephone communication with the enemy was found + there. This morning, Sept. 2, all the survivors were driven + out; I saw four little boys carrying on two poles a cradle + with a child some five or six months old. The whole makes a + fearful sight. Blow upon blow! Thunderbolt on thunderbolt! + Everything given over to plunder. I saw a mother with her two + little ones--one of them had a great wound in the head and an + eye put out. + +Deserved repression, remarks this soldier: "They had telephone +communication with the enemy." And yet, we may recall that by Article +30 of The Hague Convention of 1907, signed on behalf of H.M. the Emperor +of Germany, "no collective penalty, pecuniary or other, shall be +proclaimed against a population, by reason of individual acts for which +the population is not responsible _in solido_." What tribunal during +that dreadful night took the pains to establish this joint +participation? + +[Illustration: Figure 2.] + + +II. + +The unsigned notebook of a soldier of the Thirty-second Reserve Infantry +(Fourth Reserve Corps) has this entry: + + Creil, Sept. 3.--The iron bridge was blown up. For this we set + the streets on fire, and shot the civilians. + +Yet it must be obvious that only the regular troops of the French +Engineer Corps could have blown up the iron bridge at Creil; the +civilians had no hand in it. As an excuse for these massacres, when any +excuse is offered, the notebooks usually note that "civilians" or +"francs-tireurs" had fired on the troops. But the "scrap of paper" which +Germany subscribed--the Convention of 1907--provides in its first +article "the laws, the rights, and the duties are not applicable solely +to the army, but also to militia and bodies of volunteers" under certain +conditions, of which the main one is that they shall "openly bear arms;" +while Article 2 stipulates that "the population of an unoccupied +territory, which on the approach of the enemy spontaneously takes up +arms to resist the invading forces, without having had time to organize +as provided in Article I, shall be considered as a belligerent, if they +bear arms openly and observe the laws and customs of war." + +[Illustration: Figure 3.] + +In the light of this text, the bearing of the barbarous recitals which +follow may be properly estimated: + + (a) Notebook of Private Hassemer, (Eighth Corps, Sept. 3, + 1914, at Sommepy, Marne.)--Dreadful butchery. Village burned + to the ground; the French thrown into the burning houses, + civilians and all burned together. + + (b) Notebook of Lieut. Kietzmann, (Second Company, First + Battalion, Forty-ninth Infantry,) under date of Aug. 18, 1914, + (Fig. 3.)--A short distance above Diest is the village of + Schaffen. About fifty civilians were concealed in the church + tower, and from there fired on our troops with a + _mitrailleuse_. All the civilians were shot. + + [It may here be noted, for the sake of precision, that the + First Report of the Belgian Commission of Inquiry, Antwerp, + Aug. 28, Page 3, identifies some of the "civilians" killed at + Schaffen on the 18th of August; among them, "the wife of + Francois Luyckz, 45 years of age, with her daughter _aged 12, + who were discovered in a sewer and shot_"; and "the daughter + of Jean Ooyen, 9 years of age, who was shot"; and "Andre + Willem, sacristain, who was bound to a tree and _burned + alive_."] + + (c) Notebook of a Saxon officer, unnamed, (178th Regiment, + Twelfth Army Corps, First Saxon Corps,) Aug. 26.--The + exquisite village of Gue-d'Hossus (Ardennes) was given to the + flames, although to my mind it was guiltless. I am told that a + cyclist fell from his machine, and in his fall his gun was + discharged; at once the firing was begun in his direction, and + thereupon all the male inhabitants were simply thrown into the + flames. It is to be hoped that like atrocities will not be + repeated. + +This Saxon officer had, nevertheless, already witnessed like +"atrocities." The preceding day, Aug. 25, at Villers-en-Fagne, (Belgian +Ardennes,) "where we found grenadiers of the guard, killed and wounded," +he had seen "the cure and other inhabitants shot"; and three days +previous, Aug. 23, at the village of Bouvignes, north of Dinant, he had +witnessed what he thus describes: + + Through a breach made in the rear we get access into the + residence of a well-to-do inhabitant and occupy the house. + Passing through a number of apartments, we reach a door where + we find the corpse of the owner. Further on in the interior + our men have wrecked everything like vandals. Everything has + been searched. Outside, throughout the country, the spectacle + of the inhabitants who have been shot defies any description. + They have been shot at such short range that they are almost + decapitated. Every house has been ransacked to the furthest + corners, and the inhabitants dragged from their hiding places. + The men shot; the women and children locked into a convent, + from which shots were fired. And, for this reason, the convent + is about to be set fire to; it may, however be ransomed if it + surrenders the guilty ones and pays a ransom of 15,000 francs. + +We shall see as we proceed how these notebooks complement one another. + + (d) Notebook of the Private Philipp, (from Kamenz, Saxony, + First Company, First Battalion, 178th Regiment.) On the day + indicated above--Aug. 23--a private of the same regiment was + the witness of a scene similar to that just described; + perhaps, the same scene, but the point of view is + different.--At 10 o'clock in the evening the First Battalion + of the 178th came down into the burning village to the north + of Dinant--a saddening spectacle--to make one shiver. At the + entrance to the village lay the bodies of some fifty citizens, + shot for having fired upon our troops from ambush. In the + course of the night many others were shot down in like manner, + so that we counted more than two hundred. Women and children, + holding their lamps, were compelled to assist at this horrible + spectacle. We then sat down midst the corpses to eat our rice, + as we had eaten nothing since morning. (Fig. 4.) + +[Illustration: Figure 4.] + +Here is a military picture fully outlined, and worthy to compete in the +Academy of Fine Arts of Dresden. But one passage of the text is somewhat +obscure and might embarrass the artist--"Women and children, holding +their lamps, were compelled to assist at this horrible spectacle." What +spectacle?--the shooting, or the counting of the corpses? To get some +certainty on this historic point, the artist should question that noble +soldier--the Colonel of the 178th. + +His work of that night, however, was in accord with the spirit of his +companions in arms, and of his chiefs. We may assure ourselves of this +by consulting the Sixth Report of the Belgian Commission of Inquiry +upon, the violation of the rules of the law of nations (Havre, Nov. 10, +1914) and the ignoble proclamations placarded by the Germans throughout +Belgium. I will content myself with three short extracts. + +Extract from a proclamation of General von Buelow, placarded at Liege, +Aug. 22, 1914: + + The inhabitants of the city of Andenne, after having protested + their peaceful intentions, were guilty of a treacherous + surprise upon our troops. It was with my consent that the + General in Chief set fire to the whole locality, and that + about one hundred persons were shot. + +(The Belgian report controverts the accusation against the inhabitants +of Andenne of having taken hostile measures against the German troops, +and adds: "As a matter of fact, more than two hundred persons were +shot"--almost everything was ravaged. For a distance of at least three +leagues the houses were destroyed by fire.) + +Extract from a proclamation of Major Dieckmann, placarded at Grivegnee, +Sept. 8, 1914: + + Any one not responding instantly to the command "raise your + arms" is subject to the penalty of death. + +Extract from proclamation of Marshal Baron von der Goltz, placarded at +Brussels, Oct. 5, 1914: + + Hereafter the localities nearest the place where similar acts + (destruction of railways or telegraphic lines) were + done--whether or not they were _accomplices in the act_--will + be punished without mercy. To this end hostages have been + taken from all the localities adjacent to railways menaced by + similar attacks, and upon the first attempt to destroy the + railways, telegraphic or telephone lines, they will at once be + shot. + + +III. + +I copy from the first page of an unsigned notebook, (Fig. 5:) + + Langeviller, Aug. 22.--Village destroyed by the Eleventh + Battalion of Pioneers. Three women hanged to trees; the first + dead I have seen. + +Who can these three women be?--criminals undoubtedly--guilty of having +fired upon German troops, unless, indeed, they may have been "in +communication by telephone" with the enemy; and the Eleventh Pioneers +unquestionably meted out to them just punishment. But, at all events, +they expiated their guilt, and the Eleventh Pioneers has passed on. The +crime these women committed is unknown to the troops which are to +follow. Among these new troops will there be found no chief, no +Christian, to order the ropes cut and allow these dangling bodies to +rest on the earth? + +[Illustration: Figure 5.] + +No, the regiment passes under the gibbets and their flags brush against +the hanging corpses; they pass on, Colonel and officers--gentlemen +all--Kulturtraeger. And they do this knowingly; these corpses must hang +there as an example, not for the other women of the village, for these +doubtless already understand, but as an example to the regiment and to +the other regiments that will follow, and who must be attuned to war, +who must be taught their stern duty to kill women when occasion offers. +The teaching will be effective, unquestionably. Shall we look for proof +of it? The young soldier, who tells us above that these corpses were the +first dead he had ever seen, adds a week later, on the tenth and last +page of his notebook, the following, (Fig. 6:) + + In this way we destroyed eight dwellings and their + inhabitants. In one of the houses we bayoneted two men, with + their wives and a young girl 18 years old. The young: one + almost unmanned me, her look was so innocent! But we could not + master the excited troop, for at such times they are no longer + men--they are beasts. + +[Illustration: Figure 6.] + +Let me add a few texts which will attest that these assassinations of +women and children are customary tasks set to German soldiers: + +(a) The writer in a notebook, unsigned, reports that at Orchies (Nord) +"a woman was shot for not having obeyed the command to halt!" whereupon +he adds, "the whole locality was set on fire." (Fig. 7.) + +[Illustration: Figure 7.] + +(b) The officer of the 178th Saxon Regiment, mentioned above, reports +that in the vicinity of Lisognes (Belgian Ardennes) "the Chasseur of +Marburg, having placed three women in line, killed them all with one +shot." + +(c) A few lines more, taken from the notebook of the Reservist Schlauter +(Third Battery, Fourth Regiment, Field Artillery of the Guard,) (Fig. +8:) + + Aug. 25, (in Belgium.)--We shot 300 of the inhabitants of the + town. Those that survived the salvo were requisitioned as + grave diggers. You should have seen the women at that time! + But it was impossible to do otherwise. In our march upon Wilot + things went better; the inhabitants who wished to leave were + allowed to do so. But whoever fired was shot. Upon our leaving + Owele the rifles rang out, and with that, flames, women, and + all the rest. + +[Illustration: Figure 8.] + + +IV. + +Frequently when a German troop want to carry a position, they place +before them civilians--men, women, and children--and find shelter behind +these ramparts of living flesh. As such a stratagem is essentially +playing upon the nobility of heart of the adversary, and saying to him +"you won't fire upon these unfortunates, I know it, and I hold you at my +mercy, unarmed, because you are not as craven as I am," as it implies a +homage to the enemy and the self-degradation of the one employing it, it +is almost inconceivable that soldiers should resort to it; it represents +a new invention in the long story of human vileness, which even the +dreadful Penitentiels of the Middle Ages had not discovered. In reading +the stories from French, Belgian, and English sources, attributing such +practices to the Germans, it has made me doubt, if not the truthfulness, +at least the detailed exactness of the stories. It seemed to me that the +tales must be of crimes by men who would be disavowed, individual +lapses, which do not dishonor the nation, because the nation on +ascertaining them would repudiate them. But how can we doubt that the +German Nation has, on the contrary, accepted these acts as exploits +worthy of herself, that in them she recognizes her own aptitudes, and +finds pleasure in the contemplation; how, I ask, can we doubt this in +reading the following narrative signed by a Bavarian officer, Lieut. A. +Eberlein, spread out in the columns of one of the best known periodicals +of Germany, the Muenchner Neueste Nachrichten, in its issue of Wednesday, +Oct. 7, 1914, Page 22, Lieut. Eberlein relates there the occupation of +Saint-Die at the end of August. He entered the town at the head of a +column, and while waiting for reinforcements was compelled to barricade +himself in a house, (Fig. 9:) + +[Illustration: Figure 9.] + + We arrested three civilians, and a bright idea struck me. We + furnished them with chairs and made them seat themselves in + the middle of the street. There were supplications on one + part, and some blows with the stocks of our guns on the other. + One, little by little, gets terribly hardened. Finally, there + they were sitting in the street. How many anguished prayers + they may have muttered, I cannot say, but during the whole + time their hands were joined in nervous contraction. I am + sorry for them, but the stratagem was of immediate effect. The + enfilading directed from the houses diminished at once; we + were able then to take possession of the house opposite, and + thus became masters of the principal street. From that moment + every one that showed his face in the street was shot. And the + artillery meanwhile kept up vigorous work, so that at about 7 + o'clock in the evening, when the brigade advanced to rescue + us, I could report "Saint-Die has been emptied of all + enemies." + + As I learned later, the ---- Regiment of Reserves, which came + into Saint-Die further north, had experiences entirely similar + to our own. The four civilians whom they had placed on chairs + in the middle of the street were killed by French bullets. I + saw them myself stretched out in the street near the hospital. + + +V. + +Article 28 of The Hague Convention of 1907, subscribed to by Germany, +uses this language: "The sacking of any town or locality, even when +taken by assault, is prohibited." And Article 47 runs: "[in occupied +territory] pillage is forbidden." + +We shall see how the German armies interpret these articles. + +Private Handschuhmacher (Eleventh Battalion of Chasseurs Reserves) +writes in his notebook: + + Aug. 8, 1914, Gouvy, (Belgium.)--There, the Belgians having + fired on some German soldiers, we started at once pillaging + the merchandise warehouse. Several cases--eggs, shirts, and + everything that could be eaten was carried off. The safe was + forced and the gold distributed among the men. As to the + securities, they were torn up. + +This happened as early as the fourth day of the war, and it helps us to +understand a technical article on the operations of the military +treasury (Der Zahlmeister im Felde) in the Berliner Tageblatt of the +26th of November, 1914, in which an economic phenomenon of rather +unusual import is recited as a simple incident: "Experience has +demonstrated that very much more money is forwarded by postal orders +from the theatre of operations to the interior of the country than vice +versa." + +As, in accordance with the continual practice of the German armies, +pillaging is only a prelude to incendiarism, the sub-officer Hermann +Levith (160th Regiment of Infantry, Eighth Corps) writes: + + The enemy occupied the village of Bievre and the edge of the + wood behind it. The Third Company advanced in first line. We + carried the village, and then pillaged and burned almost all + the houses. + +And Private Schiller (133d Infantry, Nineteenth Corps) writes: + + Our first fight was at Haybes (Belgium) on the 24th of August. + The Second Battalion entered the village, ransacked the + houses, pillaged them, and burned those from which shots had + been fired. + +And Private Sebastian Reishaupt (Third Bavarian Infantry, First Bavarian +Corps) writes: + + The first village we burned was Parux, (Meurthe-et-Moselle.) + After this the dance began, throughout the villages, one after + the other; over the fields and pastures we went on our + bicycles up to the ditches at the edge of the road, and there + sat down to eat our cherries. + +They emulate each other in their thefts; they steal anything that comes +to hand and keep records of the thefts--"Schnaps, Wein, Marmelade, +Zigarren," writes this private soldier; and the elegant officer of the +178th Saxon Regiment, who was at first indignant at the "vandalismus" of +his men, further on admits that he himself, on the 1st of September, at +Rethel, stole "from a house near the Hotel Moderne a superb waterproof +and a photographic apparatus for Felix." All steal, without distinction +or grade, or of arms, or of cause, and even in the ambulances the +doctors steal. Take this example from the notebook of the soldier +Johannes Thode (Fourth Reserve Regiment of Ersatz): + + At Brussels, Oct. 5, 1914.--An automobile arrived at the + hospital laden with war booty--one piano, two sewing machines, + many albums, and all sorts of other things. + +"Two sewing machines" as "war booty." From whom were these stolen? +Beyond a doubt from two humble Belgian women. And for whom were they +stolen? + + +VI. + +I must admit that, out of the forty notebooks, or thereabout, that I +have handled, there are six or seven that do not relate any exactions, +either from hypocritical reticence or because there are some regiments +which do not make war in this vile fashion. And there are as many as +three notebooks whose writers, in relating these ignoble things, express +astonishment, indignation, and sorrow. I will not give the names of +these, because they deserve our regard, and I wish to spare them the +risk of being some day blamed or punished by their own. + +[Illustration: Figure 10.] + +The first, the Private X., who belongs to the Sixty-fifth Infantry, +Regiment of Landwehr, says of certain of his companions in arms, (Fig. +10:) + + They do not behave as soldiers, but rather as highwaymen, + bandits, and brigands, and are a dishonor to our regiment and + to our army. + +Another, Lieut. Y., of the Seventy-seventh Infantry of Reserves, says: + + No discipline, ... the Pioneers are well nigh worthless; as to + the artillery, it is a band of robbers. + +The third, Private Z., of the Twelfth Infantry of Reserves, First Corps, +writes, (Fig. 11:) + +[Illustration: Figure 11.] + + Unfortunately, I am forced to make note of a fact which should + not have occurred, but there are to be found, even in our own + army, creatures who are no longer men, but hogs, to whom + nothing is sacred. One of these broke into a sacristy; it was + locked, and where the Blessed Sacrament was kept. A + Protestant, out of respect, had refused to sleep there. This + man used it as a deposit for his excrements. How is it + possible there should be such creatures? Last night one of the + men of the Landwehr, more than thirty-five years of age, + married, tried to rape the daughter of the inhabitant where + he had taken up his quarters--a mere girl--and when the father + intervened he pressed his bayonet against his breast. + +Beyond these three, who are still worthy of the name of soldiers, the +other thirty are all alike, and the same soul (if we can talk of souls +among such as these) animates them low and frantic. I say they are all +about alike, but there are shades of difference. There are some who, +like subtle jurists, make distinctions, blaming here and approving +there--"Dort war ein Exempel am Platze." Others laugh and say "Krieg ist +Krieg," or sometimes they add in French, to emphasize their derision, +"Ja, Ja, c'est la guerre," and some among them, when their ugly business +is done, turn to their book of canticles and sing psalms, such as the +Saxon Lieut. Reislang, who relates how one day he left his drinking bout +to _assist at the "Gottesdienst"_, but having eaten too much and drunken +too much, had to quit the holy place in haste; and the Private Moritz +Grosse of the 177th Infantry, who, after depicting the sacking of +Saint-Vieth, (Aug. 22,) the sacking of Dinant, (Aug. 23,) writes this +phrase: + + Throwing of incendiary grenades into the houses, and in the + evening a military chorus--"Now let all give thanks to God." + (Fig. 12.) + +They're all of a like tenor. Now, if we consider that I could exchange +the preceding texts with others quite similar, quite as cynical, and +taken at random, for instance--from the notebook of the Reservist +Lautenschlager of the First Battalion, Sixty-sixth Regiment of Infantry, +or the notebook of the Private Eduard Holl of the Eighth Corps, or the +notebook of the sub-officer Reinhold Koehn of the Second Battalion of +Pomeranian Pioneers, or that of the sub-officer Otto Brandt of the +Second Section of Reserve Ambulances, or of the Reservist Martin Mueller +of the 100th Saxon Reserve, or of Lieut. Karl Zimmer of the Fifty-fifth +Infantry, or that of the Private Erich Pressler of the 100th Grenadiers, +First Saxon Corps, &c., and if we will note that, among the exactions +reported above, there are very few that are the work of isolated brutes, +(such as, unfortunately, may be found even in the most noble armies,) +but that, on the contrary, the crimes represented here are collective +actions in obedience to service orders, and such as rest upon and +dishonor not only the individual but the entire troop, the officers, and +the nation; and if we will further note that these thirty notebooks +taken at random--Bavarian, Saxon, Pomeranian, Brandeburger, or from the +provinces of Baden and the Rhine--must of necessity represent hundreds +and thousands of others quite similar, as we may judge from the +frightful monotony of their recitals; if we consider all this, we must, +I think, be forced to admit that these atrocities are nothing less than +the practical application of a methodically organized system. + +[Illustration: Figure 12.] + + +VII. + +H.M. the Emperor of Germany, by ratifying The Hague Convention of 1907, +covenanted (Article 24) that "it is forbidden (c) to kill or wound an +enemy who, having laid down his arms, or being without means of defense, +has surrendered unconditionally. (d) To declare that no quarter shall be +given." + +Have the German armies respected these covenants? Throughout Belgian and +French reports depositions such as the following abound. This is taken +from a French Captain of the 288th Infantry: + + On the 22d, in the evening, I learned that in the woods, about + one hundred and fifty meters north of the square formed by the + intersection of the great Calonne trench with the road from + Vaux-les-Palameis to Saint-Remy, there were corpses of French + soldiers shot by the Germans. I went to the spot and found the + bodies of about thirty soldiers within a small space, most of + them prone, but several still kneeling, and _all having a + precisely similar wound_--a bullet through the ear. One only, + seriously wounded in his lower parts, could still speak, and + told me that the Germans before leaving had ordered them to + lie down and that then had them shot through the head; that + he, already wounded had secured indulgence by stating that he + was the father of three small children. The skulls of these + unfortunates were scattered; the guns, broken at the stock, + were scattered here and there; and the blood had besprinkled + the bushes to such an extent that in coming out of the woods + my cape was spattered with it; it was a veritable shambles. + +I quote this testimony, not to base any accusations upon it, but simply +to give precision to our indictment. I will not lay stress upon it as +evidence, for I wish to keep to the rule which I have laid down--to have +records of nothing but German sources of information. + +I will quote here the text of an order of the day addressed by General +Stenger, in command of the Fifty-eighth German Brigade, on the 26th of +August, to the troops under his orders: + + From this day forward no further prisoners will be taken. All + prisoners will be massacred. The wounded, whether in arms or + not in arms, shall be massacred. Even the prisoners already + gathered in convoys will be massacred. No living enemy must + remain behind us. + + Signed--First Lieutenant in Command of the Company, Stoy; + Colonel Commanding the Regiment, Neubauer; General in Command + of the Brigade, Stenger. + + +About thirty soldiers of Stenger's Brigade (112th and 142d Regiments of +Baden Infantry) were questioned. I have read their depositions, taken +under oath and signed with their own names; all confirming the fact that +this order of the day was given to them on the 26th of August. In one +place by the Major Mosebach, in another by Lieut. Curtius, &c. Most of +these witnesses said that they were ignorant whether the order was +carried out, but three among them testified that it was carried out +under their own eyes in the Forest of Thiaville, where ten or twelve +wounded French, already made prisoners by a battalion, were done away +with; two others of the witnesses saw the order carried out along the +road of Thiaville, where several wounded, found in the ditches by the +company as it marched past, were killed. + +[Illustration: Figure 13.] + +Of course, I cannot here produce the original autograph of General +Stenger, nor am I here called upon to furnish the names of the German +prisoners who gave this testimony. But I shall have no trouble to +establish entirely similar crimes on the faith of German autographs. + +For instance, we find in the notebook of Private Albert Delfosse (111th +Infantry of Reserves, Fourteenth Reserve Corps,) (Fig. 13:) + + In the woods (near Saint-Remy, 4th or 5th of September)--Found + a very fine cow and a calf killed; and again the corpses of + Frenchmen horribly mutilated. + +Must we understand that these bodies were mutilated by loyal weapons, +torn perhaps by shells? This may be, but it would be a charitable +interpretation, which is belied by this newspaper heading, (Figs. 14 and +15:) + + JAUERSCHES TAGEBLATT Amtlicher Anzeiger Fuer Stadt und Kreis + Jauer Jauer, Sonntag, Den 18, Oktober, 1914. Nr. 245. 106, + Jahrgang. + +This is a heading of a newspaper picked up in a German trench. Jauer is +a city of Silesia, about fifty kilometers west of Breslau, where two +battalions of the 154th Regiment of Saxon Infantry are garrisoned. One +Sunday morning, Oct. 18, doubtless at the hour when the +inhabitants--women and children--were wending their way to church, there +was distributed throughout the quiet little town, and through the +hamlets and villages of the district, the issue of this local paper with +the following inscription: "A day of honor for our regiment, Sept. 24, +1914," as the title of an article of some two hundred lines, sent from +the front by a member of the regiment--the sub-officer Klemt of the +First Company, 154th Infantry Regiment. + +[Illustration: GENERAL VON KUSMANEK + +Whose stubborn defense of Przemysl made it one of the most notable +sieges of history. + +_(Photo from Underwood & Underwood.)_] + +[Illustration: CAPT.-LIEUT. OTTO WEDDIGEN + +Whose submarine exploits have done more damage to England's navy than +all Germany's gunners. + +_(Photo from The Photo News.)_] + +[Illustration: Figure 14.] + +[Illustration: Figure 15.] + +The sub-officer Klemt relates how, on the 24th of September, his +regiment having left Hannonville in the morning, accompanied by Austrian +batteries, suddenly came up against a double fire of infantry and +artillery. Their losses were terrible, and yet the enemy was still +invisible. Finally, says this officer, it was found that the bullets +came from above, from trees which the French soldiers had climbed. +From this point let me quote verbatim, (Fig. 16:) + +[Illustration: Figure 16.] + + They're brought down from the trees like squirrels, to get a + hot reception with bayoneted stock; they'll need no more + doctors' care. We are not fighting loyal enemies, but + treacherous brigands. [Note--It is scarcely necessary to point + out that it is no more "treacherous," but quite as lawful, to + fire from the branches of a tree as from a window, or from a + trench, and that, on the contrary, it is rather more + venturesome and more courageous, as the sequel of this story + will show.] We crossed the clearing at a bound. The foe is + hidden here and there among the bushes, and now we are upon + them. No quarter will be given. We fire standing, at will; + very few fire kneeling; nobody dreams of shelter. We finally + reach a slight depression in the ground, and there the red + trousers are lying in masses, here and there--dead or wounded. + We club or stab the wounded, for we know that these rascals, + as soon as we are gone by, will fire from behind. We find one + Frenchman lying at full length upon his face, but he is + counterfeiting death. A kick from a robust fusilier gives him + notice that we are there. Turning over he asks for quarter, + but he gets the reply--"Oh! is that the way, blackguard, that + your tools work?" and he is pinned to the ground. On one side + of me I hear curious cracklings. They're the blows which a + soldier of the 154th is vigorously showering upon the bald + pate of a Frenchman with the stock of his gun; he very wisely + chose for this work a French gun, for fear of breaking his + own. Some men of particularly sensitive soul grant the French + wounded the grace to finish them with a bullet, but others + scatter here and there, wherever they can, their clubbings and + stabbings. Our adversaries have fought bravely. They were + elite troops that we had before us. They had allowed us to + come within thirty, and even within ten, meters--too close. + Their arms and knapsacks thrown down in heaps showed that they + wanted to fly, but upon the appearance of our "gray phantoms" + terror paralyzed them, and, on the narrow path in which they + crowded, the German bullets brought them the order to halt! + There they are at the very entrance of their leafy hiding + places, lying down moaning and asking for quarter, but whether + their wounds are light or grievous, the brave fusiliers saved + their country the expensive care which would have to be given + to such a number of enemies. + +Now the recital continues very ornate, very literary, and the writer +relates how his Imperial Highness Prince Oscar of Prussia, being advised +of the exploits (perhaps, indeed, other exploits than these) of the +154th and of the Regiment of Grenadiers, which forms the Brigade with +the 154th, declared them both worthy of the name of "King's Brigade," +and the recital closes with this phrase: "When night came on, with a +prayer of thankfulness on our lips we fell asleep to await the coming +day." Then adding, by way of postscript, a little phrase "Heimkehr vom +Kampf." He carries the notebook--prose and verse together--to his +Lieutenant, who countersigns it: "Certified as correct, De Niem, +Lieutenant Commanding the Company," and then he sends his paper to his +town of Jauer, where he is quite confident that he will find some +newspaper publisher to accept it, printers to set it up, and a whole +population to enjoy it. Now, let me ask any reader--whatever be his +country--if he can imagine it possible for such a tale to be spread +abroad in any paper in his language, in his native town, for the +edification of his wife and his children. In what other country than in +Germany is such a thing conceivable? Not in France, at all events. Now, +if my readers want another document to show how customary it is in the +German Army to mutilate the wounded, well, I will borrow one from the +notebook of Private Paul Gloede of the Ninth Battalion of Pioneers, Ninth +Corps, (Figs. 17 and 18:) + + Aug. 12, 1914, in Belgium.--One can get an idea of the fury of + our soldiers in seeing the destroyed villages. Not one house + left untouched. Everything eatable is requisitioned by the + unofficered soldiers. Several heaps of men and women put to + execution. Young pigs are running about looking for their + mothers. Dogs chained, without food or drink. And the + houses about them on fire. But the just anger of our soldiers + is accompanied also by pure vandalism. In the villages, + already emptied of their inhabitants, the houses are set on + fire. I feel sorry for this population. If they have made use + of disloyal weapons, after all, they are only defending their + own country. The atrocities which these non-combatants are + still committing are revenged after a savage fashion. + _Mutilations of the wounded are the order of the day._ + +This was written as early as the 12th of August--the tenth day after the +invasion of innocent Belgium--and these wounded creatures that were +tortured had done nothing more than defend their land against +Germany--their native land--which Germany had sworn, not only to respect +but, if need be, to defend. And yet, in many countries pharisees reading +these lines will go forward tranquilly to their churches, or their +temples, or their banking houses, or their foreign offices, saying: "In +what do these things concern us?" "Ja, ja, this is war." Yes, it is war, +but war such as was never made by the soldiers of Marceau, such as never +will be made by the soldiers of Joffre, such as never has been made and +never will be made by France--"Mother of Arts, of Arms, and of Laws." +Yes, it is war, but war such as Attila would not have carried on if he +had subscribed to certain stipulations; for, in subscribing them, he +would have awakened to the notion, which _alone_ distinguishes the +civilized man from the barbarian, distinguishes a nation from a +horde--respect for the word once given. Yes, it is war, but war the +theory of which could only be made up by such pedant megalomaniacs as +the Julius von Hartmanns, the Bernhardis, and the Treitschkes; the +theory which accords to the elect people the right to uproot from the +laws and customs of war what centuries of humanity, of Christianity, and +chivalry have at great pains injected into it; the theory of systematic +and organized ferocity; today exposed to public reprobation, not only as +an odious thing, but no less silly and absurd. For have we not reached +the ridiculous when the incendiaries of Louvain, and Malines, and +Rheims, the assassins of women and children, and of the wounded, already +find it necessary to repudiate their actions, at least in words, and to +impose upon the servility of their ninety-three Kulturtraeger such +denials as this: "It is not true that we are making war in contempt of +the law of nations, nor that our soldiers are committing acts of +cruelty, or of insubordination, or indiscipline.... We will carry this +conflict through to the end as a civilized people, and we answer for +this upon our good name and upon our honor!" Why this humble and pitiful +repudiation? Perhaps because their theory of war rested upon the +postulate of their invincibility, and that, in the first shiver of their +defeat upon the Marne, it collapsed, and now their repudiation quickly +follows--in dread of the _lex talionis_. + +[Illustration: Figure 17.] + +[Illustration: Figure 18. [Continuation of Figure 17.]] + +I will stop here. I leave the conclusion to the allied armies, already +in sight of victory. + + NOTE.--General Stenger's order of the day, mentioned on page + [Transcriber's Note: blank in original], was communicated + orally by various officers in various units of the brigade. + Consequently, the form in which we have received it may + possibly be incomplete or altered. In face of any doubt, the + French Government has ordered an inquiry to be made into the + prisoners' camps. Not one of the prisoners to whom our + magistrates presented the order of the day in the + above-mentioned form found a word to alter. They one and all + declared that this was the order of the day which had been + orally given in the ranks, repeated from man to man; many + added the names of the officers who had communicated the order + to them; some related in what a vile way it had been carried + out under their eyes. All the evidence of these German + soldiers was collected in a legal manner, under the sanction + of an oath, and it is after reading their depositions that I + wrote the order of the day. + + The text of all this evidence was transmitted to all the + French Embassies and Legations in foreign countries on the + 24th of October, 1914. Every neutral wishing to clear his + conscience is at liberty to obtain it from the representatives + of the French Republic, who will certainly respond willingly. + + + + +THE RECRUIT. + +By HORTENSE FLEXNER. + + + He had a woodland look--half-startled, gay-- + As if his eyes, light-thirsty, had not learned + To wake accustomed on earth's joyous day, + A child, whose merriment and wonder burned + In harmless flame, even his uniform + Was but a lie to hide his wind-wild grace, + Whose limbs were rounded youth, too supple, warm, + To hold the measure of the street-made pace. + Music and marching--colors in the sky-- + The crowded station, then the train--farewell! + For all he had the glance, exultant, shy, + That seemed to marvel, "More to see--to tell!" + Yet with his breathing moved, hid by his coat, + A numbered, metal disk, strapped round his throat! + + + + +American Reply to Britain's Blockade Order + +By William J. Bryan, American Secretary of State + + +_With the publication on April 6, 1915, of its note in reply to the +British Government's Order in Council, proclaiming a virtual blockade +against commerce to and from Germany--printed in the April, 1915, number +of_ THE NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY_--the American Government rested +its case. The text of the note to Great Britain follows:_ + +WASHINGTON, March 30, 1915. + +The Secretary of State to the American Ambassador at London: + +You are instructed to deliver the following to his Majesty's Government +in reply to your Nos. 1,795 and 1,798 of March 15: The Government of the +United States has given careful consideration to the subjects treated in +the British notes of March 13 and March 15, and to the British Order in +Council of the latter date. + +These communications contain matters of grave importance to neutral +nations. They appear to menace their rights of trade and intercourse, +not only with belligerents but also with one another. They call for +frank comment in order that misunderstandings may be avoided. The +Government of the United States deems it its duty, therefore, speaking +in the sincerest spirit of friendship, to make its own view and position +with regard to them unmistakably clear. + +The Order in Council of the 15th of March would constitute, were its +provisions to be actually carried into effect as they stand, a practical +assertion of unlimited belligerent rights over neutral commerce within +the whole European area and an almost unqualified denial of the +sovereign rights of the nations now at peace. + +This Government takes it for granted that there can be no question what +those rights are. A nation's sovereignty over its own ships and +citizens under its own flag on the high seas in time of peace is, of +course, unlimited, and that sovereignty suffers no diminution in time of +war, except in so far as the practice and consent of civilized nations +has limited it by the recognition of certain now clearly determined +rights which it is conceded may be exercised by nations which are at +war. + +A belligerent nation has been conceded the right of visit and search, +and the right of capture and condemnation, if upon examination a neutral +vessel is found to be engaged in unneutral service or to be carrying +contraband of war intended for the enemy's Government or armed forces. + +It has been conceded the right to establish and maintain a blockade of +an enemy's ports and coasts and to capture and condemn any vessel taken +in trying to break the blockade. It is even conceded the right to detain +and take to its own ports for judicial examination all vessels which it +suspects for substantial reasons to be engaged in unneutral or +contraband service and to condemn them if the suspicion is sustained. +But such rights, long clearly defined both in doctrine and practice, +have hitherto been held to be the only permissible exceptions to the +principle of universal equality of sovereignty on the high seas as +between belligerents and nations not engaged in war. + +It is confidently assumed that his Majesty's Government will not deny +that it is a rule sanctioned by general practice that, even though a +blockade should exist and the doctrine of contraband as to unblockaded +territory be rigidly enforced, innocent shipments may be freely +transported to and from the United States through neutral countries to +belligerent territory, without being subject to the penalties of +contraband traffic or breach of blockade, much less to detention, +requisition, or confiscation. + +Moreover, the rules of the Declaration of Paris of 1856--among them that +free ships make free goods--will hardly at this day be disputed by the +signatories of that solemn agreement. + +His Majesty's Government, like the Government of the United States, have +often and explicitly held that these rights represent the best usage of +warfare in the dealings of belligerents with neutrals at sea. In this +connection I desire to direct attention to the opinion of the Chief +Justice of the United States in the case of the Peterhof, which arose +out of the civil war, and to the fact that that opinion was unanimously +sustained in the award of the Arbitration Commission of 1871, to which +the case was presented at the request of Great Britain. From that time +to the Declaration of London of 1909, adopted with modifications by the +Order in Council of the 23d of October last, these rights have not been +seriously questioned by the British Government. And no claim on the part +of Great Britain of any justification for interfering with the clear +rights of the United States and its citizens as neutrals could be +admitted. To admit it would be to assume an attitude of unneutrality +toward the present enemies of Great Britain, which would be obviously +inconsistent with the solemn obligations of this Government in the +present circumstances. And for Great Britain to make such a claim would +be for her to abandon and set at nought the principles for which she has +consistently and earnestly contended in other times and circumstances. + +The note of his Majesty's principal Secretary of State for Foreign +Affairs, which accompanies the Order in Council, and which bears the +same date, notifies the Government of the United States of the +establishment of a blockade which is, if defined by the terms of the +Order in Council, to include all the coasts and ports of Germany and +every port of possible access to enemy territory. But the novel and +quite unprecedented feature of that blockade, if we are to assume it to +be properly so defined, is that it embraces many neutral ports and +coasts, bars access to them, and subjects all neutral ships seeking to +approach them to the same suspicion that would attach to them were they +bound for the ports of the enemies of Great Britain, and to unusual +risks and penalties. + +It is manifest that such limitations, risks, and liabilities placed upon +the ships of a neutral power on the seas, beyond the right of visit and +search and the right to prevent the shipment of contraband already +referred to, are a distinct invasion of the sovereign rights of the +nation whose ships, trade, or commerce is interfered with. + +The Government of the United States is, of course, not oblivious to the +great changes which have occurred in the conditions and means of naval +warfare since the rules hitherto governing legal blockade were +formulated. It might be ready to admit that the old form of "close" +blockade, with its cordon of ships in the immediate offing of the +blockaded ports, is no longer practicable in the face of an enemy +possessing the means and opportunity to make an effective defense by the +use of submarines, mines, and air craft; but it can hardly be maintained +that, whatever form of effective blockade may be made use of, it is +impossible to conform at least to the spirit and principles of the +established rules of war. + +If the necessities of the case should seem to render it imperative that +the cordon of blockading vessels be extended across the approaches to +any neighboring neutral port or country, it would seem clear that it +would still be easily practicable to comply with the well-recognized and +reasonable prohibition of international law against the blockading of +neutral ports, by according free admission and exit to all lawful +traffic with neutral ports through the blockading cordon. + +This traffic would, of course, include all outward-bound traffic from +the neutral country and all inward-bound traffic to the neutral country, +except contraband in transit to the enemy. Such procedure need not +conflict in any respect with the rights of the belligerent maintaining +the blockade, since the right would remain with the blockading vessels +to visit and search all ships either entering or leaving the neutral +territory which they were in fact, but not of right, investing. + +The Government of the United States notes that in the Order in Council +his Majesty's Government give as their reason for entering upon a course +of action, which they are aware is without precedent in modern warfare, +the necessity they conceive themselves to have been placed under to +retaliate upon their enemies for measures of a similar nature, which the +latter have announced it their intention to adopt, and which they have +to some extent adopted, but the Government of the United States, +recalling the principles upon which his Majesty's Government have +hitherto been scrupulous to act, interprets this as merely a reason for +certain extraordinary activities on the part of his Majesty's naval +forces and not as an excuse for or prelude to any unlawful action. + +If the course pursued by the present enemies of Great Britain should +prove to be in fact tainted by illegality and disregard of the +principles of war sanctioned by enlightened nations, it cannot be +supposed, and this Government does not for a moment suppose, that his +Majesty's Government would wish the same taint to attach to their own +actions or would cite such illegal acts as in any sense or degree a +justification for similar practices on their part in so far as they +affect neutral rights. + +It is thus that the Government of the United States interprets the +language of the note of his Majesty's principal Secretary of State for +Foreign Affairs, which accompanies the copy of the Order in Council, +which was handed to the Ambassador of the United States by the +Government in London and by him transmitted to Washington. + +This Government notes with gratification that "wide discretion is +afforded to the prize court in dealing with the trade of neutrals in +such a manner as may in the circumstances be deemed just, and that full +provision is made to facilitate claims by persons interested in any +goods placed in the custody of the Marshal of the prize court under the +order." That "the effect of the Order in Council is to confer certain +powers upon the executive officers of his Majesty's Government," and +that "the extent to which these powers will be actually exercised and +the degree of severity with which the measure of blockade authorized +will be put into operation are matters which will depend on the +administrative orders issued by the Government and the decisions of the +authorities especially charged with the duty of dealing with individual +ships and cargoes, according to the merits of each case." + +This Government further notes with equal satisfaction the declaration of +the British Government that "the instructions to be issued by his +Majesty's Government to the fleet and to the customs officials and +executive committees concerned will impress upon them the duty of acting +with the utmost dispatch consistent with the object in view, and of +showing in every case such consideration for neutrals as may be +compatible with that object, which is succinctly stated, to establish a +blockade to prevent vessels from carrying goods for or coming from +Germany." + +In view of these assurances formally given to this Government, it is +confidently expected that the extensive powers conferred by the Order in +Council on the executive officers of the Crown will be restricted by +orders issued by the Government, directing the exercise of their +discretionary powers in such a manner as to modify in practical +application those provisions of the Order in Council, which, if strictly +enforced, would violate neutral rights and interrupt legitimate trade. +Relying on the faithful performance of these voluntary assurances by his +Majesty's Government, the United States takes it for granted that the +approach of American merchantmen to neutral ports situated upon the long +line of coast affected by the Order in Council will not be interfered +with when it is known that they do not carry goods which are contraband +of war or goods destined to or proceeding from ports within the +belligerent territory affected. + +The Government of the United States assumes with the greater confidence +that his Majesty's Government will thus adjust their practice to the +recognized rules of international law because it is manifest that the +British Government have adopted an extraordinary method of "stopping +cargoes destined for or coming from the enemy's territory," which, owing +to the existence of unusual conditions in modern warfare at sea, it will +be difficult to restrict to the limits which have been heretofore +required by the law of nations. Though the area of operations is +confined to "European waters, including the Mediterranean," so great an +area of the high seas is covered and the cordon of ships is so distant +from the territory affected that neutral vessels must necessarily pass +through the blockading force in order to reach important neutral ports +which Great Britain as a belligerent has not the legal right to blockade +and which, therefore, it is presumed she has no intention of claiming to +blockade. + +The Scandinavian and Danish ports, for example, are open to American +trade. They are also free, so far as the actual enforcement of the Order +in Council is concerned, to carry on trade with German Baltic ports, +although it is an essential element of blockade that it bear with equal +severity upon all neutrals. + +This Government, therefore, infers that the commanders of his Majesty's +ships of war, engaged in maintaining the so-called blockade, will be +instructed to avoid an enforcement of the proposed measures of +non-intercourse in such a way as to impose restrictions upon neutral +trade more burdensome than those which have been regarded as inevitable, +when the ports of a belligerent are actually blockaded by the ships of +its enemy. + +The possibilities of serious interruption of American trade under the +Order in Council are so many, and the methods proposed are so unusual, +and seem liable to constitute so great an impediment and embarrassment +to neutral commerce, that the Government of the United States, if the +Order in Council is strictly enforced, apprehends many interferences +with its legitimate trade which will impose upon his Majesty's +Government heavy responsibilities for acts of the British authorities +clearly subversive of the rights of neutral nations on the high seas. It +is, therefore, expected that the Majesty's Government, having considered +these possibilities, will take the steps necessary to avoid them, and, +in the event that they should unhappily occur, will be prepared to make +full reparation for every act which, under the rules of international +law, constitutes a violation of neutral rights. + +As stated in its communication of Oct. 22, 1914, "this Government will +insist that the rights and duties of the United States and its citizens +in the present war be defined by the existing rules of international law +and the treaties of the United States irrespective of the provisions of +the Declaration of London, and that this Government reserves to itself +the right to enter a protest or demand in each case, in which those +rights and duties so defined are violated or their free exercise +interfered with by the authorities of the British Government." + +In conclusion you will reiterate to his Majesty's Government that this +statement of the view of the Government of the United States is made in +the most friendly spirit, and in accordance with the uniform candor +which has characterized the relations of the two Governments in the +past, and which has been in large measure the foundation of the peace +and amity existing between the two nationals without interruption for a +century. + +BRYAN. + + + + +Germany's Conditions of Peace + +The First Authoritative German Presentation of the Idea + +By Dr. Bernhard Dernburg, Late German Colonial Secretary of State + + +_That Germany would be willing to make peace on the basis of a free +neutral sea, guaranteed by the powers, was indicated in a letter written +by Dr. Bernhard Dernburg, ex-Colonial Secretary of Germany, and read at +a pro-German mass meeting held in Portland, Me., on April 17, 1915. +After an explanatory note Dr. Dernburg divided into numbered clauses his +letter, as follows:_ + +(1) Whatever peace is concluded should be of a permanent nature; no +perfunctory patching up should be permitted. The horror of all the +civilized nations of the Old World slaughtering one another, every one +convinced of the perfect righteousness of their own cause--a recurrence, +if it could not be avoided absolutely, should be made most remote, so as +to take the weight from our minds that all this young blood of the best +manhood of Europe might be spilled in vain. + +(2) For this purpose it must be borne in mind that the world has changed +considerably since the last big conflagration, and that all the +countries striving for humanity and civilization are now one big family, +with interests, spiritual as well as commercial, interlocking to a +degree that no disturbance of any part of the civilized globe can exist +without seriously affecting the rest. A disturbance in one quarter must +make quite innocent bystanders involuntary victims, to the serious +detriment of spiritual peace and commercial pursuits. + +The great highway on which thoughts and things travel are the high seas. +I can with full authority disclaim any ambition by my country as to +world dominion. She is much too modest, on the one hand, and too +experienced, on the other hand, not to know that such a state will never +be tolerated by the rest. Events have shown that world dominion can +only be practiced by dominion of the high seas. The aim of Germany is to +have the seas, as well as the narrows, kept permanently open for the +free use of all nations in times of war as well as in times of peace. +The sea is nobody's property and must be free to everybody. The seas are +the lungs from which humanity draws a fresh breath of enterprise, and +they must not be stopped up. + +I, personally, would go so far as to neutralize all the seas and narrows +permanently by a common and effective agreement guaranteed by all the +powers, so that any infringement on that score would meet with the most +severe punishment that can be meted out to any transgressor. + +(3) A free sea is useless except combined with the freedom of cable and +mail communications with all countries, whether belligerent or not. I +should like to see all the cables jointly owned by the interested +nations and a world mail system over sea established by common consent. +But, more than this, an open sea demands an open policy. This means +that, while every nation must have the right, for commercial and fiscal +purposes, to impose whatever duties it thinks fit, these duties must be +equal for all exports and imports for whatever destination and from +whatever source. It would be tantamount to world empire, in fact, if a +country owning a large part of the globe could make discriminating +duties between the motherland and dominions or colonies as against other +nations. + +This has been of late the British practice. German colonies have always +been open to every comer, including the motherland, on equal terms. Such +equality of treatment should be the established practice for all the +future. The only alternative to an open sea and free intercourse policy +would be a Chinese wall around each country. If there is no free +intercourse every country must become self-sufficient. Germany has +proved that it can be done. But this policy would mean very high customs +barriers, discrimination, unbounded egotism, and a world bristling in +arms. While the free sea policy stands for the true aims of +international relations, namely, in exchange of goods, which must +benefit either party, to be mutually satisfactory, it will engender +friendly feeling among all the peoples, advance civilization, and +thereby have a sure tendency toward disarmament. + +(4) Germany has been taxed with disregarding treaty obligations, tearing +up a scrap of paper--a solemn engagement of international character +regarding Belgium. I have the less reason to enter into this matter +since--if it was a breach of international law at all--it has been +followed up by all other belligerents by destroying other parts of that +code so essential to the welfare of the community of nations. Two German +men-of-war have been destroyed in neutral waters. The protests that the +Government of this country had to make against Great Britain's treatment +of international sea law and the rights of the neutrals are too numerous +to be recounted. Chinese neutrality has been violated in the grossest +way. + +In disregard of all conventions, China is now being subjected to demands +incompatible with the rights of self-respecting nations. Egypt and +Cyprus have been annexed by Great Britain, disregarding all treaties. +Germany's diplomatic representatives have been driven from China, +Morocco, and Egypt--all countries sovereign at the time. The Declaration +of London, which had been set up by the Government of the United States +as the governing document, had to be dropped as such. There is +practically no part of international law that could stand the test. +Justice toward neutrals compels that international law should be +re-established in a codified form, with sufficient guarantees so as to +save, as far as possible, all the neutrals from possible implication in +a war in which they do not take part. + +(5) Germany does not strive for territorial aggrandizement in Europe; +she does not believe in conquering and subjugating unwilling +nations--this on account of a spirit of justice and her knowledge of +history. No such attempts have ever been permanently successful. + +Belgium commands the main outlet of Western German trade, is the natural +foreland of the empire, and has been conquered with untold sacrifice of +blood and treasure. It offers to German trade the only outlet to an open +sea and it has been politically established, maintained, and defended by +England in order to keep these natural advantages from Germany. + +The love for small peoples that England heralds now will never stand +investigation, as shown by the destruction of the small Boer republics. +So Belgium cannot be given up. However, these considerations could be +disregarded if all the other German demands, especially a guaranteed +free sea, were fully complied with and the natural commercial +relationship of Belgium to Germany was considered in a just and workable +form. In this case Germany will not fail when the times come to help in +rebuilding the country; in fact, she is doing so now. + +(6) Germany is a country smaller in size than California, but populated +thirty-five times as thickly as that State. She loves and fosters family +life, and sees her future in the raising of large families of healthy +children under the home roof and under the national flag. German parents +have no desire to expatriate every year a considerable number of their +children. This implies that her industrial development, which would +alone give occupation to the yearly increase of pretty nearly a million +people, should go on unhampered. + +The activity of her people should have an outlet in the development of +such foreign parts as need or wish for development. Great Britain has +shown very little foresight in constantly opposing such efforts, +playing Morocco into the hands of France, a nation that remained +stationary for forty-four years, with little more than half of the +population of Germany, and with a system equally undermining religion +and morality in keeping families small for the sake of worldly comforts. + +England, furthermore, constantly obstructed the German endeavor to +reclaim for the benefit of all of the world the granary in Mesopotamia. +A permanent peace will mean that this German activity must get a wide +scope without infringement upon the rights of others. Germany should be +encouraged to continue her activities in Africa and Asia Minor, which +can only result in permanent benefit to all the world. Americans have a +saying "that it will never do good to sit on a safety valve." + +There is nothing in the program of my country which would not be +beneficial to the rest of the world, especially the United States. That +this is so the events of the last months have conclusively shown, and a +better appreciation of what Germany really stands for has recently +taken place. So, if I plead the cause of my country, I am not pleading +as a German alone, but as a citizen of a country who wishes to be a +useful and true member of the universality of nations, contributing by +humanitarian aims and by the enhancement of personal freedom to the +happiness of even the lowliest members of the great world community. + +I am proud to say that I cannot only give this assurance, but produce +facts, and I beg to refer to the modern system of social reforms which +Germany inaugurated and carries through at an expense which is every +year larger by half than the expense of the military system. + +The brunt of this war has not been borne by the men who fight, but by +the women who suffer, and it will be one of the proudest and most +coveted achievements that Germany will gain in rewarding in a dignified +and permanently beneficial way the enormous sacrifices of womanhood, to +alleviate to the extent of the possible the hardships and sorrows that +this war has brought upon them. + +[Illustration] + + + + +The Allies' Conditions of Peace + +By Sir Edward Grey + + + Sir Edward Grey, presiding at a lecture on the war by Mr. + Buchan, delivered March 22, 1915, reviewed the origin and + causes of the conflict. Germany, he said, refused every + suggestion made to her for settling the dispute by means of a + conference. On her must rest for all time the appalling + responsibility for having plunged Europe into this war. One + essential condition of peace must be the restoration to + Belgium of her independence and reparation to her for the + cruel wrong done to her. England claims for herself and her + allies claim for themselves, and together will secure for + Europe, the right of independent sovereignty for the different + nations, the right to pursue a national existence in the light + of general liberty. + +The occasion of our meeting this afternoon is to hear a lecture from my +friend Mr. Buchan on the strategy of the war, and he is sure to make it +informing and interesting. His friends know him as a man of fine public +spirit and patriotism, in whom a crisis such as this in his country's +history arouses the noblest feelings. I am sorry that an engagement +makes it necessary for me to return soon to the Foreign Office, and +therefore it will be a great disappointment to me not to hear the whole +of the lecture. I take the opportunity to make my apology now, and also +to make one or two remarks on the origin and issues of the war. While we +are engaged in considering the particular methods by which the war may +be prosecuted to a successful conclusion do not let us lose sight even +for a moment of the character and origin of this war and of the main +issues for which we are fighting. Hundreds of millions of money have +been spent, hundreds of thousands of lives have been lost, and millions +have been maimed and wounded in Europe during the last few months. And +all this might have been avoided by the simple method of a conference or +a joint discussion between the powers concerned which might have been +held in London, at The Hague, or wherever and in whatever form Germany +would have consented to have it. It would have been far easier to have +settled by conference the dispute between Austria-Hungary and Serbia, +which Germany made the occasion for this war, than it was to get +successfully through the Balkan crisis of two years ago. Germany knew +from her experience of the conference in London which settled the Balkan +crisis that she could count upon our good will for peace in any +conference of the powers. We had sought no diplomatic triumph in the +Balkan Conference; we did not give ourselves to any intrigue; we pursued +impartially and honorably the end of peace, and we were ready last July +to do the same again. + +In recent years we have given Germany every assurance that no aggression +upon her would receive any support from us. We withheld from her one +thing--we would not give an unconditional promise to stand aside, +however aggressive Germany herself might be to her neighbors. Last July, +before the outbreak of the war, France was ready to accept a conference; +Italy was ready to accept a conference; Russia was ready to accept a +conference; and we know now that after the British proposal for a +conference was made, the Emperor of Russia himself proposed to the +German Emperor that the dispute should be referred to The Hague. Germany +refused every suggestion made to her for settling the dispute in this +way. On her rests now, and must rest for all time, the appalling +responsibility for having plunged Europe into this war and for having +involved herself and the greater part of the Continent in the +consequences of it. + +We know now that the German Government had prepared for war as only +people who plan can prepare. This is the fourth time within living +memory that Prussia had made war in Europe. In the Schleswig-Holstein +war, in the war against Austria in 1866, in the war against France in +1870, as we now know from all the documents that have been revealed, it +was Prussia who planned and prepared these wars. The same thing has +occurred again, and we are determined that it shall be the last time +that war shall be made in this way. + +We had assured Belgium that never would we violate her neutrality so +long as it was respected by others. I had given this pledge to Belgium +long before the war. On the eve of the war we asked France and Germany +to give the same pledge. France at once did so. Germany declined to give +it. When, after that, Germany invaded Belgium we were bound to oppose +Germany with all our strength, and if we had not done so at the first +moment, is there any one who now believes that when Germany attacked the +Belgians, when she shot down combatants and non-combatants in a way that +violated all the rules of war of recent times and the laws of humanity +of all time--is there any one who thinks it possible now that we could +have sat still and looked on without eternal disgrace? + +Now what is the issue for which we are fighting? In due time the terms +of peace will be put forward by our Allies in concert with us--in +accordance with the alliance that exists between us--and published to +the world. One essential condition must be the restoration to Belgium of +her independence, national life, and free possession of her territory, +and reparation to her as far as reparation is possible for the cruel +wrong done to her. That is part of the great issue for which we, with +our allies, are contending, and the great part of the issue is this--We +wish the nations of Europe to be free to live their independent lives, +working out their own form of government for themselves, and their own +national developments, whether they be great nations or small States, in +full liberty. This is our ideal. The German ideal--we have had it poured +out by German professors and publicists since the war began--is that of +the Germans as a superior people, to whom all things are lawful in the +securing of their own power, against whom resistance of any sort is +unlawful--a people establishing a domination over the nations of the +Continent, imposing a peace which is not to be liberty for every nation, +but subservience to Germany. I would rather perish or leave the +Continent altogether than live on it under such conditions. + +After this war we and the other nations of Europe must be free to live, +not menaced continually by talk of "supreme war lords," and "shining +armor," and the sword continually "rattled in the scabbard," and heaven +continually invoked as the accomplice of Germany, and not having our +policy dictated and our national destinies and activities controlled by +the military caste of Prussia. We claim for ourselves and our allies +claim for themselves, and together we will secure for Europe, the right +of independent sovereignty for the different nations, the right to +pursue a national existence, not in the shadow of Prussian hegemony and +supremacy, but in the light of equal liberty. + +All honor for ever be given from us whom age and circumstances have kept +at home to those who have voluntarily come forward to risk their lives, +and give their lives on the field of battle on land and on sea. They +have their reward in enduring fame and honor. And all honor be from us +to the brave armies and navies of our Allies, who have exhibited such +splendid courage and noble patriotism. The admiration they have aroused, +and their comradeship in arms, will be an ennobling and enduring memory +between us, cementing friendships and perpetuating national good will. +For all of us who are serving the State at home or in whatever capacity, +whether officials, or employers, or wage earners, doing our utmost to +carry on the national life in this time of stress, there is the +knowledge that there can be no nobler opportunity than that of serving +one's country when its existence is at stake, and when the cause is just +and right; and never was there a time in our national history when the +crisis was so great and so imperative, or the cause more just and right. + + + + +South Africa's Romantic Blue Paper + +Recording the Vision of "Oom Niklaas," the Boer Seer of Lichtenburg + +[From THE NEW YORK TIMES, April 18, 1915.] + + +The South African "Blue Paper" is out. It is unique. However widely and +however eagerly the official documents of the other countries involved +in the present war may have been read, they could not be called romantic +in any sense of the word. + +The "Blue Paper" issued by the Union of South Africa presents a distinct +contrast. In the third paragraph of the very first page of this weighty +document, which deals with the recent rebellion, is the following +unusual sentence: + + It is not surprising, then, that in the ferment aroused by the + gigantic struggle in Europe, which seemed to be shaking the + world to its foundations, young men began to see visions and + old men to dream dreams of what the outcome might be for South + Africa. + +And this is followed by a still stranger passage: + + The times were not without their signs. There was a seer in + Lichtenburg who had visions of strange import. Years ago and + long before any one in this country had dreamed of war he + beheld a great fight of bulls, six or seven of them, engaged + in bloody combat; a gray bull had emerged victorious from the + contest. + + The bulls signified the great nations of Europe, and the gray + bull was Germany. Thousands had discussed this strange vision + and had remembered its prophetic character when, later, war + actually broke out. The vision seemed ominous. Germany was + predestined to triumph. + +The seer is Niklaas van Rensburg, and he runs through this Government +report like a scarlet thread through gray homespun. It is around his +influence that the uprising of Sept. 15 is built. It is under his roof +that all manner of lurid conspiracies are hatched. Not only do his words +carry with the crowds that gather before his house to hear his prophecy, +but his warnings shape the actions of some of the Transvaal Generals. +The Government report will not go so far as to brand "Oom Niklaas" as a +hoax. Says the preface: + + It is desired to point out that the narrative of events has + been compiled in as objective a manner as possible, and that + it contains no statement which is not borne out by evidence in + possession of the Government. + +Evidently, to denounce visions of gray bulls as hocus-pocus would be to +describe a puzzling situation much too subjectively, since the +Government has apparently no evidence that these are not genuine +prophecy. The best the Government can do is to call them "extraordinary +and apparently quite authentic." + +But the extraordinary part of it is that an illiterate old soothsayer +should be considered important enough to be included in an official +report. + +His most famous and most influential prophecy, the one that will go down +in the history of South Africa, was that which concerned General de la +Rey and the fatal number 15. + +The prophecy which came back to the minds of van Rensburg's followers +when war broke out was one concerning General de la Rey, the intrepid +soldier who had commanded the Lichtenburg burghers in the Boer war and +since become President of the Western Transvaal Farmers' Association. +Van Rensburg had always admired General de la Rey. He had frequently +hinted to his circle that great things were in store for him. One of his +visions had been well known to General de la Rey and his friends for +some years. The report says: + + The seer had beheld the number 15 on a dark cloud from which + blood issued, and then General de la Rey returning home + without his hat. Immediately afterward came a carriage covered + with flowers. + + +[Illustration: H.M. CONSTANTINE I. + +King of Greece. + +_(Photo from P.S. Rogers.)_] + +[Illustration: JOHN REDMOND + +The great Irish leader, who says that Ireland has now taken her proper +place in the British Empire. + +_(Photo from P.S. Rogers.)_] + +This was several years ago. But the people did not forget the prophecy, +and when war broke out in Europe the Western Transvaal--in the +Lichtenburg-Wolmaransstad area, where van Rensburg's influence was +strongest--was immediately aflame. The Government does not seek to +minimize the importance of this influence: + + When the war at last broke out, the effect in Lichtenburg was + instantaneous. The prophecies of van Rensburg were eagerly + recalled, and it was remembered that he had foretold a day on + which the independence of the Transvaal would be restored. + + Certain individuals could be seen daily cleaning their rifles + and cartridges in order to be ready for the day. Within a week + of the declaration of war between England and Germany the + district was further profoundly stirred by the news (now + become generally known) that a great meeting of local burghers + was to be held at Treurfontein on the 15th of August, and that + certain local officers were commandeering their burghers to + come to this meeting armed and fully equipped for active + service. + +The outbreak of the war in Europe suddenly brought the Lichtenburger's +prophecy down to earth and crystallized the dream. The commandants were +evidently as convinced that independence was at hand as the crowd. + + Careful inquiries by other local officers brought to light the + following facts: + + Veld Kornet, I.E. Claassen, and Commandant F.G.A. Wolmarans of + Ward Onder Hartsrivier had been commandeering their own + burghers as well as their political friends since the first + week of August to come to the meeting which was to be held at + Treurfontein on the 15th. The instructions given to these men + were that they were to come with rifle, horse, saddle and + bridle, and as much ammunitions and provisions as they could + manage to bring. + + The meeting was to be addressed by General de la Rey, and it + was generally believed that the assembled burghers would march + on Potchefstroom immediately after the meeting. + +None doubted the truth of the seer's prophecy now. The Western Transvaal +took it for its guide with implicit confidence. + + The strange vision of the number 15, which had long been + common knowledge, was now discussed with intense interest. The + 15, it was said, signified the 15th of August, the day of the + meeting. That would be the day which had been so long + expected--the day of liberation. + + Van Rensburg was now the oracle. His prophecies with regard to + the great war had been signally fulfilled. Germany was at + grips with England, and her triumph was looked upon as + inevitable. + + The day had arrived to strike a blow for their lost + independence. Van Rensburg assured his following that the + Union Government was "finished." Not a shot would be fired. + The revolution would be complete and bloodless. + + Between the 10th and the 15th the plotters in Lichtenburg were + actively preparing for the day. There is evidence that German + secret agents were working in concert with them. When doubters + asked how they could be so certain that the 15 signified a day + of the month--and of the month of August in particular--they + were scornfully if illogically told that "in God's time a + month sooner or later made no difference." + +Of course, General de la Rey was the storm centre. He had been mentioned +in the same vision with the number 15 and it was taken for granted that +he would play the chief role in the Treurfontein meeting. De la Rey was +the unquestioned ruler of the Western Transvaal. The report states: + + He possessed an unrivaled influence and was looked up to as + the uncrowned king of the West. His attitude at the meeting + would sway the mass of his adherents and decide the question + of peace or war. + +Accordingly, General Louis Botha, Premier of the South African Union, +summoned General de la Rey to Pretoria some days before the meeting, and +persuaded him to use his best efforts to allay excitement. + +On the 15th the meeting was held. The situation was a tense one. Not one +of the burghers present doubted the outcome. Yet General de la Rey +exhorted them to remain cool and calm. He urged them to await the turn +of events in Europe. After his address a "strange and unusual silence" +was observed, says the "Blue Paper." + + A resolution was passed unanimously expressing complete + confidence in the Government to act in the best interests of + South Africa in the present world crisis. The burghers + appeared to have taken their leader's advice to heart, as they + dispersed quietly to their homes. + +All danger of a rebellious movement had apparently been averted. + +The only difficulty was that the prophecy of "Oom Niklaas" was still +standing. The fact that the uprising had failed did not seem in the +least to invalidate the vision. If the mysterious number did not mean +Aug. 15, then perhaps it did mean Sept. 15. + +Accordingly, preparations were laid for a rebellion for the latter date. +The plot was engineered by Lieut. Colonel Solomon G. Maritz and General +Christian Frederick Beyers. Maritz is a brilliant though unlettered +Colonel who won distinction in the Boer war, while Beyers was the +Commandant General of the South African Union forces. Beyers is dead +now; Maritz and some of the prominent men associated in the conspiracy +are in prison awaiting trial. + +Beyers and Maritz did not trust entirely to the prophecy of the seer of +Lichtenburg. Maritz had already obtained a guarantee from the +authorities in German West Africa, with whom he had been in +communication for some time, that in the event of Germany's victory the +Free State and the Transvaal would be given their freedom. He had +organized the back-veldt Boers into readiness to go over into German +West Africa at a moment's notice. In the Free State, General de Wet was +ready to aid the rebellion, and the Western Transvaal, already excited, +could easily be swung into line. + +The regiments of the west were to concentrate at Potchefstroom early in +September for their annual training. At that time the members of the +Government, among them General de la Rey, who is a member of the +Legislative Assembly, would be in Cape Town for the session of the +Parliament. + +Everything made the 15th of September look like an auspicious date for +the conspirators and those who believed in van Rensburg. But General de +la Rey still remained the storm centre. He was the factor which upset +all plans. He was the most difficult obstacle. A large personality, his +influence could never be discounted. If he could be induced to join the +conspiracy the cause was as good as won. Should he oppose the movement +it was lost, for neither Beyers nor Major Kemp, a leader in his district +in West Transvaal, could hope to do anything against General de la Rey +in the west. + +General de la Rey believed in the Lichtenburg prophet. A strong man, of +extraordinary force and intelligence, the whole course of his plans +might be altered by a new vision from van Rensburg. Beyers knew this, +says the report, and saw the way by which he should win the General to +the conspiracy. + + There is evidence to prove that General Beyers set himself + systematically to work in General de la Rey's mind in order to + induce him to join the conspiracy. + + General de la Rey was known to hold strong religious views, + which colored his whole outlook. The seer, van Rensburg, who + was always full of religious talk, had in this way acquired a + considerable amount of influence over General de la Rey. + + There is the best of evidence (General Beyers's own statement) + for the belief that he himself did not scruple to work on + General de la Rey's mind through his religious feelings. + +Just how Beyers accomplished this has not yet been revealed, but there +was material enough to his hand. The news from Europe was disquieting. +The German drive to Paris seemed irresistible. It looked as if in a week +or two Germany would have the Allies at her mercy. + +The prophet saw visions in which 40,000 German soldiers were marching up +and down the streets of London. He predicted significantly that the new +South African State would have at its head "a man who feared God." The +Government of Premier Botha and General Smuts, the Minister of Finance +and Defense, was "finished." He had seen the English leaving the +Transvaal and moving down toward Natal. When they had gone far away, a +vulture flew from among them and returned to the Boers and settled down +among them. That was Botha. As for Smuts, he would flee desperately to +England and would never be seen in South Africa again. Through it all +ran the strange number 15. + +This was excellent material for the conspirators. But the problem was to +get General de la Rey away from the Parliament session at Cape Town and +into the Potchefstroom camp at the psychological moment. Beyers sent a +series of urgent telegrams to Cape Town hinting at important business. +He emphasized the need for General de la Rey's immediate presence in +Potchefstroom. He had evidently not yet broached the conspiracy to the +General, but hoped only to get him to the camp at the critical moment +when his presence would prove the deciding factor. + +[Illustration: [map of South Africa]] + +Everything in Potchefstroom was in readiness. The Active Citizen Force +concentrated here--about 1,600 men--was to start the uprising. The +movement was to be promptly seconded throughout the Western Transvaal. +The "Vierkleur" was to be hoisted, and a march made on Pretoria, men and +horses being commandeered on the way. This was to take place on Tuesday, +the 15th. There was an attempt to line up the prophet to add to the +theatric effect, says the report. + + On the night of the 14th the "Prophet" himself was specially + sent for by motor car to be personally present on the 15th to + witness the consummation of his prophecy. The conspirators + hoped to profit by the impression he would undoubtedly make on + those who still hesitated. + + Unfortunately for them, however, the seer refused to leave his + home, saying that "it was not yet clear to him that that was + his path." + +The signal for the revolt was to be the arrival of General Beyers and +General de la Rey in the Potchefstroom camp. The latter was returning +from Cape Town via Kimberley, and was due to arrive in Potchefstroom on +the 15th. But for some reason he chose to come back through the Free +State, and by the 15th was only at Johannesburg. + +This upset plans. Beyers had to act quickly. He had his chauffeur +overhaul his motor car, equip it with new tubes and covers, in readiness +for "a long journey." In a short time the car was on its way to bring +General de la Rey from Johannesburg to Pretoria, where Beyers would meet +him. + +There was no time to be lost. It was too late to stage the rebellion for +the 15th, but Beyers arranged for it to be at 4 o'clock on the morning +of Wednesday, the 16th. + +General de la Rey arrived in Pretoria. General Beyers met him and asked +him to go immediately with him to Potchefstroom. + +The car came within sight of Johannesburg. A police cordon had been +thrown around the town for the purpose of capturing three desperadoes, +known as the "Foster gang," who were trying to escape in a motor car. +The police were instructed to stop all motors and to examine in +particular any car containing three men. + +Beyers's car held three men. It was racing at high speed. It was, of +course, challenged by the police and ordered to stop. But Beyers knew +nothing of the "Foster gang" and the reason for the police cordon. Keyed +up to the highest pitch of nervous tension, his immediate conclusion was +that his plot had been discovered and that the police were after him. He +believed he was trapped. + +Meanwhile, Major Kemp at Potchefstroom grew more and more anxious as the +hours slipped by. Midnight came, and no news of the two Generals. About +3 o'clock in the morning, says the report, an officer sharing the tent +of a Lieutenant Colonel by the name of Kock, who was Kemp's confidant, +was awakened by the entrance of a man. It proved to be Major Kemp. He +leaned over Kock's bed and whispered something in his ear. + +Kock, in a profoundly startled voice, exclaimed, "Oh, God!" + +Kemp left immediately, and Kock then whispered to his friend: "General +de la Rey is dood geskiet," (General de la Rey has been shot dead.) + +The effect of this news on South Africa can be imagined. The whole +country was aflame. This was what the number 15 meant. The General had +indeed "returned home without his hat, followed by a carriage full of +flowers." + +Report ran through every town that General de la Rey had been +deliberately assassinated by the Government. As a matter of fact, the +report states that the shooting was purely accidental, done by the +police under the belief that this motor car which would not halt at +their command contained the "Foster gang." Beyers exhibited the +motor-car everywhere, arousing sentiment to the highest pitch. + +The rest was easy. The rank and file, at least, now believed firmly in +the prophet. He had always said that General Botha would offer no +resistance, that the revolution would be bloodless, and thousands went +over to the cause led by Maritz and Beyers in this belief. But it was +not until Oct. 12 that martial law was proclaimed in South Africa. The +rebellion had begun. + + + + +THE BELLS OF BERLIN + +[From Punch of London.] + + + _(Which are said to be rung by order occasionally to announce + some supposed German victory.)_ + + The Bells of Berlin, how they hearten the Hun + _(Oh, dingle dong dangle ding dongle ding dee;)_ + No matter what devil's own work has been done + They chime a loud chant of approval, each one, + Till the people feel sure of their place in the sun + _(Oh, dangle ding dongle dong dingle ding dee.)_ + + If Hindenburg hustles an enemy squad + _(Oh, dingle dong dangle ding dongle ding dee,)_ + The bells all announce that the alien sod + Is damp with the death of some thousand men odd, + Till the populace smiles with a gratified nod + _(Oh, dangle ding dongle dong dingle ding dee.)_ + + If Tirpitz behaves like a brute on the brine + _(Oh, dingle dong dangle ding dongle ding dee,)_ + The bells with a clash and a clamor combine + To hint that the Hated One's on the decline, + And the city gulps down the good tidings like wine, + _(Oh, dangle ding dongle dong dingle ding dee.)_ + + The Bells of Berlin, are they cracked through and through + _(Oh, dingle dong dangle ding dongle ding dee,)_ + Or deaf to the discord like Germany, too? + For whether their changes be many or few, + The worst of them is that they never ring true, + _(Oh, dangle ding dongle dong dingle ding dee.)_ + + + + +Warfare and British Labor + +By Earl Kitchener, England's Secretary of State for War + + + In his speech delivered in the House of Lords on March 15, + 1915, Earl Kitchener calls upon the whole nation to work, not + only in supplying the manhood of the country to serve in the + ranks, but in supplying the necessary arms, ammunition, and + equipment for successful operations in various parts of the + world. + +For many weeks only trench fighting has been possible owing to the +climatic conditions and waterlogged state of the ground. During this +period of apparent inaction, it must not be forgotten that our troops +have had to exercise the utmost individual vigilance and resource, and, +owing to the proximity of the enemy's lines, a great strain has been +imposed upon them. Prolonged warfare of this sort might be expected to +affect the morale of an army, but the traditional qualities of patience, +good temper, and determination have maintained our men, though highly +tried, in a condition ready to act with all the initiative and courage +required when the moment for an advance arrived. The recently published +accounts of the fighting in France have enabled us to appreciate how +successfully our troops have taken the offensive. The German troops, +notwithstanding their carefully prepared and strongly intrenched +positions, have been driven back for a considerable distance and the +villages of Neuve Chapelle and L'Epinette have been captured and held by +our army, with heavy losses to the enemy. + +In these operations our Indian troops took a prominent part and +displayed fine fighting qualities. I will in this connection read a +telegram I have received from Sir John French: + + Please transmit following message to Viceroy India: I am glad + to be able to inform your Excellency that the Indian troops + under General Sir James Willcocks fought with great gallantry + and marked success in the capture of Neuve Chapelle and + subsequent fighting which took place on the 10th, 11th, 12th + and 13th of this month. The fighting was very severe and the + losses heavy, but nothing daunted them. Their tenacity, + courage and endurance were admirable and worthy of the best + traditions of the soldiers of India. + +I should like also to mention that the Canadian Division showed their +mettle and have received the warm commendation of Sir John French for +the high spirit and bravery with which they have performed their part. +Our casualties during the three days' fighting, though probably severe, +are not nearly so heavy as those suffered by the enemy, from whom a +large number of prisoners have been taken. + +Since I last spoke in this House substantial reinforcements have been +sent to France. They include the Canadian Division, the North Midland +Division, and the Second London Division, besides other units. These are +the first complete divisions of the Territorial Force to go to France, +where I am sure they will do credit to themselves and sustain the high +reputation which the Territorials have already won for themselves there. +The health of the troops has been remarkably good, and their freedom +from enteric fever and from the usual diseases incidental to field +operations is a striking testimony to the value of inoculation and to +the advice and skill of the Royal Army Medical Corps and its auxiliary +organizations. + +The French army, except for a slight withdrawal at Soissons, owing to +their reinforcements being cut off by the swollen state of the Aisne +River, have made further important progress at various points on the +long line they hold, especially in Champagne. Association with both our +allies in the western theatre has only deepened our admiration of their +resolute tenacity and fighting qualities. + +In the Eastern theatre the violent German attacks on Warsaw have failed +in their purpose, and a considerable concentration of German troops to +attack the Russian positions in East Prussia, after causing a +retirement, are now either well held or are being driven back. In the +Caucasus fresh defeats have been inflicted by the Russians on the Turks, +and the latter have also been repulsed by our forces in Egypt when they +attempted to attack the Suez Canal. The operations now proceeding +against the Dardanelles show the great power of the allied fleets, and, +although at the present stage I can say no more than what is given in +the public press on the subject, your Lordships may rest assured that +the matter is well in hand. + +The work of supplying and equipping new armies depends largely on our +ability to obtain the war material required. Our demands on the +industries concerned with the manufacture of munitions of war in this +country have naturally been very great, and have necessitated that they +and other ancillary trades should work at the highest possible pressure. +The armament firms have promptly responded to our appeal, and have +undertaken orders of vast magnitude. The great majority also of the +employees have loyally risen to the occasion, and have worked, and are +working, overtime and on night shifts in all the various workshops and +factories in the country. + +Notwithstanding these efforts to meet our requirements, we have +unfortunately found that the output is not only not equal to our +necessities, but does not fulfill our expectations, for a very large +number of our orders have not been completed by the dates on which they +were promised. The progress in equipping our new armies, and also in +supplying the necessary war material for our forces in the field, has +been seriously hampered by the failure to obtain sufficient labor, and +by delays in the production of the necessary plant, largely due to the +enormous demands not only of ourselves, but of our allies. + +While the workmen generally, as I have said, have worked loyally and +well, there have, I regret to say, been instances where absence, +irregular timekeeping, and slack work have led to a marked diminution +in the output of our factories. In some cases the temptations of drink +account for this failure to work up to the high standard expected. It +has been brought to my notice on more than one occasion that the +restrictions of trade unions have undoubtedly added to our difficulties, +not so much in obtaining sufficient labor, as in making the best use of +that labor. I am confident, however, that the seriousness of the +position as regards our supplies has only to be mentioned, and all +concerned will agree to waive for the period of the war any of those +restrictions which prevent in the very slightest degree our utilizing +all the labor available to the fullest extent that is possible. + +I cannot too earnestly point out that, unless the whole nation works +with us and for us, not only in supplying the manhood of the country to +serve in our ranks, but also in supplying the necessary arms, +ammunition, and equipment, successful operations in the various parts of +the world in which we are engaged will be very seriously hampered and +delayed. I have heard rumors that the workmen in some factories have an +idea that the war is going so well that there is no necessity for them +to work their hardest. I can only say that the supply of war material at +the present moment and for the next two or three months is causing me +very serious anxiety, and I wish all those engaged in the manufacture +and supply of these stores to realize that it is absolutely essential +not only that the arrears in the deliveries of our munitions of war +should be wiped off, but that the output of every round of ammunition is +of the utmost importance, and has a large influence on our operations in +the field. + +The bill which my noble friend is about to place before the House as an +amendment to the Defense of the Realm act is calculated to rectify this +state of things as far as it is possible, and, in my opinion, it is +imperatively necessary. In such a large manufacturing country as our own +the enormous output of what we require to place our troops in the field +thoroughly equipped and found with ammunition is undoubtedly possible, +but this output can only be obtained by a careful and deliberate +organization for developing the resources of the country so as to enable +each competent workman to utilize in the most useful manner possible all +his ability and energy in the common object which we all have in view, +which is the successful prosecution and victorious termination of this +war. [Cheers.] I feel sure that there is no business or manufacturing +firm in this country that will object for one moment to any delay or +loss caused in the product of their particular industry when they feel +that they and their men are taking part with us in maintaining the +soldiers in the field with those necessaries without which they cannot +fight. + +As I have said, the regular armament firms have taken on enormous +contracts vastly in excess of their ordinary engagements in normal times +of peace. We have also spread orders both in the form of direct +contracts and subcontracts over a large number of subsidiary firms not +accustomed in peace time to this class of manufacture. It will, I am +sure, be readily understood that, when new plant is available for the +production of war material, those firms that are not now so engaged +should release from their own work the labor necessary to keep the +machinery fully occupied on the production for which it is being laid +down, as well as to supply sufficient labor to keep working at full +power the whole of the machinery which we now have. + +I hope that this result will be attained under the provisions of the +bill now about to be placed before you. Labor may very rightly ask that +their patriotic work should not be used to inflate the profits of the +directors and shareholders of the various great industrial and armament +firms, and we are therefore arranging a system under which the important +armament firms will come under Government control, and we hope that +workmen who work regularly by keeping good time shall reap some of the +benefits which the war automatically confers on these great companies. + +I feel strongly that the men working long hours in the shops by day and +by night, week in and week out, are doing their duty for their King and +country in a like manner with those who have joined the army for active +service in the field. [Cheers.] They are thus taking their part in the +war and displaying the patriotism that has been so manifestly shown by +the nation in all ranks, and I am glad to be able to state that his +Majesty has approved that where service in this great work of supplying +the munitions of war has been thoroughly, loyally and continuously +rendered, the award of a medal will be granted on the successful +termination of the war. [Cheers.] + + + + +SAVIORS OF EUROPE + +By Rene Bazin + +[From King Albert's Book.] + + +I believe that King Albert and Belgium, in sacrificing themselves as +they have done for right, have saved Europe. + +I believe that in order to act with such decision it was essential to +have a King, that is to say, a leader responsible to history, of an old +and proved stock. + +I believe that for such action a Christian nation was essential, a +nation capable of understanding, of accepting, and of enduring the +ordeal. + +I believe that the first duty of the Allies will be to restore the +Kingdom of Belgium, and that the example shown by the King and his +people will be exalted in all civilized countries as long as the world +reads history. + + + + +Britain's Peril of Strikes and Drink + +By David Lloyd George, Chancellor of the Exchequer. + + + The gravity of labor disputes in the present time of national + danger was dealt with by Mr. Lloyd George in a speech to his + constituents at Bangor on Feb. 28, 1915, special reference + being made to the Clyde strike. He declared that compulsory + arbitration in war time was imperative, as it was "intolerable + that the lives of Britons should be imperiled for a matter of + a farthing an hour." This was essentially an engineers' war, + for equipment was even more needed than men. Mr. Lloyd George + went on to comment on the adverse effect of drinking upon + production, and added: "We have great powers to deal with + drink, and we shall use them." + +I have promised for some time to address a meeting at Bangor. I have +been unable to do so because Ministers of the Crown have been working +time and overtime, and I am sorry to say that we are not even able to +make the best of the day of rest, the urgency is so great, the pressure +is so severe. I had something to say today, otherwise I should not have +been here, and I had something to say that required stating at once. +This is the only day I had to spare. It is no fault of mine. It is +because we are entirely absorbed in the terrible task which has been +cast upon our shoulders. I happened to have met on Friday morning, +before I decided to come down here, one of the most eminent Scottish +divines, a great and old friend of mine, Dr. Whyte of Edinburgh. We were +discussing what I have got to say today. I remarked to him, "I have only +one day on which to say it, and as that is Sunday afternoon I am very +much afraid my constituents won't listen to me." He replied, "If they +won't have you, come to Scotland, and we will give you the best Sunday +afternoon meeting you ever had." But I thought I would try Wales first. +[Cheers.] He told me that in the Shorter Catechism you are allowed to do +works of charity and necessity, and those who tell me that this is not +work of necessity do not know the need, the dire need, of their country +at this hour. At this moment there are Welshmen in the trenches of +France facing cannon and death; the hammering of forges today is +ringing down the church bells from one end of Europe to the other. When +I know these things are going on now on Sunday as well as the week days +I am not the hypocrite to say, "I will save my own soul by not talking +about them on Sundays." [Cheers.] + +Do we understand the necessity? Do we realize it? Belgium, once +comfortably well-to-do, is now waste and weeping, and her children are +living on the bread of charity sent them by neighbors far and near. And +France--the German Army, like a wild beast, has fastened its claws deep +into her soil, and every effort to drag them out rends and tears the +living flesh of that beautiful land. The beast of prey has not leaped to +our shores--not a hair of Britain's head has been touched by him. Why? +Because of the vigilant watchdog that patrols the deep for us; and that +is my complaint against the British Navy. It does not enable us to +realize that Britain at the present moment is waging the most serious +war it has ever been engaged in. We do not understand it. A few weeks +ago I visited France. We had a conference of the Ministers of Finance of +Russia, France, Great Britain, and Belgium. Paris is a changed city. Her +gayety, her vivacity, is gone. You can see in the faces of every man +there, and of every woman, that they know their country is in the grip +of grim tragedy. They are resolved to overcome it, confident that they +will overcome it, but only through a long agony. + +No visitor to our shores would realize that we are engaged in exactly +the same conflict, and that on the stricken fields of the Continent and +along the broads and the narrows of the seas that encircle our islands +is now being determined, not merely the fate of the British Empire, but +the destiny of the human race for generations to come. [Cheers.] We are +conducting a war as if there was no war. I have never been doubtful +about the result of the war, [cheers,] and I will give you my reasons by +and by. Nor have I been doubtful, I am sorry to say, about the length of +the war and its seriousness. In all wars nations are apt to minimize +their dangers and the duration. Men, after all, see the power of their +own country; they cannot visualize the power of the enemy. I have been +accounted as a pessimist among my friends in thinking the war would not +be over before Christmas. I have always been convinced that the result +is inevitably a triumph for this country. I have also been convinced +that that result will not be secured without a prolonged struggle. I +will tell you why. I shall do so not in order to indulge in vain and +idle surmises as to the duration of the war, but in order to bring home +to my countrymen what they are confronted with, so as to insure that +they will leave nothing which is at their command undone in order, not +merely to secure a triumph, but to secure it at the speediest possible +moment. It is in their power to do so. It is also in their power, by +neglect, by sloth, by heedlessness, to prolong their country's agony, +and maybe to endanger at least the completeness of its triumphs. This is +what I have come to talk to you about this afternoon, for it is a work +of urgent necessity in the cause of human freedom, and I make no apology +for discussing on a Sunday the best means of insuring human liberty. +[Cheers.] + +I will give you first of all my reasons for coming to the conclusion +that after this struggle victory must wait on our banners if we properly +utilize our resources and opportunities. The natural resources of the +allied countries are overwhelmingly greater than those of their enemies. +In the man capable of bearing arms, in the financial and economic +resources of these countries, in their accessibility to the markets of +the world through the command of the sea for the purpose of obtaining +material and munitions--all these are preponderatingly in favor of the +allied countries. But there is a greater reason than all these. Beyond +all is the moral strength of our cause, and that counts in a struggle +which involves sacrifices, suffering, and privation for all those +engaged in it. A nation cannot endure to the end that has on its soul +the crimes of Belgium. [Loud cheers.] The allied powers have at their +disposal more than twice the number of men which their enemies can +command. You may ask me why are not those overwhelming forces put into +the field at once and this terrible war brought to a triumphant +conclusion at the earliest possible moment. In the answer to that +question lies the cause of the war. The reason why Germany declared war +is in the answer to that question. + +In the old days when a nation's liberty was menaced by an aggressor a +man took from the chimney corner his bow and arrow or his spear, or a +sword which had been left to him by an ancestry of warriors, went to the +gathering ground of his tribe, and the nation was fully equipped for +war. That is not the case now. Now you fight with complicated, highly +finished weapons, apart altogether from the huge artillery. Every rifle +which a man handles is a complicated and ingenious piece of mechanism, +and it takes time. The German arsenals were full of the machinery of +horror and destruction. The Russian arsenals were not, and that is the +reason for the war. Had Russia projected war, she also would have filled +her arsenals, but she desired above everything peace. ["Hear, hear!"] I +am not sure that Russia has ever been responsible for a war of +aggression against any of her European neighbors. Certainly this is not +one of them. She wanted peace, she needed peace, she meant peace, and +she would have had peace had she been left alone. She was at the +beginning of a great industrial development, and she wanted peace in +order to bring it to its full fructification. She had repeatedly stood +insolences at the hands of Germany up to the point of humiliation, all +for peace, and anything for peace. + +Whatever any one may say about her internal Government, Russia was +essentially a peaceable nation. The men at the head of her affairs were +imbued with the spirit of peace. The head of her army, the Grand Duke +Nicholas, [cheers,] is about the best friend of peace in Europe. Never +was a nation so bent on preserving peace as Russia was. It is true +Germany six or seven years ago had threatened to march her legions +across the Vistula and trample down Russia in the mud, and Russia, +fearing a repetition of the same threat, was putting herself in a +position of defense. But she was not preparing for any aggression, and +Germany said, "This won't do. We don't like people who can defend +themselves. We are fully prepared. Russia is not. This is the time to +plant our dagger of tempered steel in her heart before her breastplates +are forged." That is why we are at war. [Cheers.] Germany hurried her +preparations, made ready for war. She made a quarrel with the same cool +calculation as she had made a new gun. She hurled her warriors across +the frontier. Why? Because she wanted to attack somebody, a country that +could not defend herself. It was the purest piece of brigandage in +history. [Cheers.] All the same there remains the fact that Russia was +taken at a disadvantage, and is, therefore, unable to utilize beyond a +fraction the enormous resources which she possesses to protect her soil +against the invader. France was not expecting war, and she, therefore, +was taken unawares. + +What about Britain? We never contemplated any war of aggression against +any of our neighbors, and therefore we never raised an army adequate to +such sinister purposes. During the last thirty years the two great +political parties in the State have been responsible for the policy of +this country at home and abroad. For about the same period we have each +been governing this country. For about fifteen years neither one party +nor the other ever proposed to raise an army in this country that would +enable us to confront on land a great Continental power. What does that +mean? We never meant to invade any Continental country. [Cheers.] That +is the proof of it. If we had we would have started our great armies +years ago. We had a great navy, purely for protection, purely for the +defense of our shores, and we had an army which was just enough to deal +with any small raid that happened to get through the meshes of our navy, +and perhaps to police the empire. That was all, no more. But now we have +to assist neighbors becoming the victims of a power with millions of +warriors at its command, and we have to improvise a great army, and +gallantly have our men flocked to the standard. [Cheers.] We have raised +the largest voluntary army that has been enrolled in any country or any +century--the largest voluntary army, and it is going to be larger. +[Cheers.] + +I saw a very fine sample of that army this morning at Llandudno. I +attended a service there, and I think it was about the most thrilling +religious service I have ever been privileged to attend. There were men +there of every class, every position, every calling, every condition of +life. The peasant had left his plow, the workman had left his lathe and +his loom, the clerk had left his desk, the trader and the business man +had left their counting houses, the shepherd had left his sunlit hills, +and the miner the darkness of the earth, the rich proprietor had left +his palace, and the man earning his daily bread had quitted his humble +cottage. There were men there of diverse and varied faiths who +worshipped at different shrines--men who were in array against each +other months ago in bitter conflict, and I saw them march with one step +under one flag to fight for the same cause, and I saw them worship the +same God. What has brought them together? The love of their native land, +resentment for a cruel wrong inflicted upon the weak and defenseless. +More than that, what brought them together was that instinct which comes +to humanity at critical times when the moment has arrived to cross +rivers of blood in order to rescue humanity from the grip of some +strangling despotism. [Cheers.] They have done nobly. That is what has +brought them together, but we want more, [cheers,] and I have no doubt +we will get more. + +If this country had produced an army which was equal in proportion to +its population to the number of men under arms in France and in Germany +at the present moment there would be three millions and a half in this +country and 1,200,000 in the Colonies. [Cheers.] That is what I mean +when I say our resources are quite adequate to the task. It is not our +fight merely--it is the fight of humanity. [Cheers.] The allied +countries between them could raise armies of over twenty millions of +men. Our enemies can put in the field barely half that number. + +Much as I should like to talk about the need for more men, that is not +the point of my special appeal today. We stand more in need of equipment +than we do of men. This is an engineers' war, [cheers,] and it will be +won or lost owing to the efforts or shortcomings of engineers. I have +something to say about that, for it involves sacrifices for all of us. +Unless we are able to equip our armies our predominance in men will +avail us nothing. We need men, but we need arms more than men, and delay +in producing them is full of peril for this country. You may say that I +am saying things that ought to be kept from the enemy. I am not a +believer in giving any information which is useful to him. You may +depend on it he knows, but I do not believe in withholding from our own +public information which they ought to possess, because unless you tell +them you cannot invite their co-operation. The nation that cannot bear +the truth is not fit for war, and may our young men be volunteers, while +the unflinching pride of those they have left behind them in their deed +of sacrifice ought to satisfy the most apprehensive that we are not a +timid race, who cannot face unpleasant facts! The last thing in the +world John Bull wants is to be mollycoddled. The people must be told +exactly what the position is, and then we can ask them to help. We must +appeal for the co-operation of employers, workmen, and the general +public; the three must act and endure together, or we delay and maybe +imperil victory. We ought to requisition the aid of every man who can +handle metal. It means that the needs of the community in many respects +will suffer acutely vexatious, and perhaps injurious, delay; but I feel +sure that the public are prepared to put up with all this discomfort, +loss, and privation if thereby their country marches triumphantly out of +this great struggle. [Cheers.] We have every reason for confidence; we +have none for complacency. Hope is the mainspring of efficiency; +complacency is its rust. + +We laugh at things in Germany that ought to terrify us. We say, "Look at +the way they are making their bread--out of potatoes, ha, ha!" Aye, that +potato-bread spirit is something which is more to dread than to mock at. +I fear that more than I do even von Hindenburg's strategy, efficient as +it may be. That is the spirit in which a country should meet a great +emergency, and instead of mocking at it we ought to emulate it. I +believe we are just as imbued with the spirit as Germany is, but we want +it evoked. [Cheers.] The average Briton is too shy to be a hero until he +is asked. The British temper is one of never wasting heroism on needless +display, but there is plenty of it for the need. There is nothing +Britishers would not give up for the honor of their country or for the +cause of freedom. Indulgences, comforts, even the necessities of life +they would willingly surrender. Why, there are two millions of them at +this hour who have willingly tendered their lives for their country. +What more could they do? If the absorption of all our engineering +resources is demanded, no British citizen will grudge his share of +inconvenience. + +But what about those more immediately concerned in that kind of work? +Here I am approaching something which is very difficult to talk +about--I mean the employers and workmen. I must speak out quite plainly; +nothing else is of the slightest use. For one reason or another we are +not getting all the assistance we have the right to expect from our +workers. Disputes, industrial disputes, are inevitable; and when you +have a good deal of stress and strain, men's nerves are not at their +best. I think I can say I always preserve my temper in these days--I +hope my wife won't give me away--[laughter]--and I have no doubt that +the spirit of unrest creeps into the relations between employer and +workmen. Some differences of opinion are quite inevitable, but we cannot +afford them now; and, above all, we cannot resort to the usual method of +settling them. + +I suppose I have settled more labor disputes than any man in this hall, +and, although those who only know me slightly may be surprised to hear +me say it, the thing that you need most is patience. If I were to give a +motto to a man who is going to a conference between employers and +workmen I would say: "Take your time; don't hurry. It will come around +with patience and tact and temper." But you know we cannot afford those +leisurely methods now. Time is victory, [cheers,] and while employers +and workmen on the Clyde have been spending time in disputing over a +fraction, and when a week-end, ten days, and a fortnight of work which +is absolutely necessary for the defense of the country has been set +aside, I say here solemnly that it is intolerable that the life of +Britain should be imperiled for the matter of a farthing an hour. + +Who is to blame? That is not the question, but--How it is to be stopped? +Employers will say, "Are we always to give way?" Workmen say, "Employers +are making their fortunes out of an emergency of the country; why are +not we to have a share of the plunder?" ["Hear, hear!" and laughter.] +There is one gentleman here who holds that view. [Laughter.] I hope he +is not an engineer. [Renewed laughter.] "We work harder than ever," say +the workmen. All I can say is, if they do they are entitled to their +share. But that is not the point--who is right? Who is wrong? They are +both right and they are both wrong. The whole point is that these +questions ought to be settled without throwing away the chances of +humanity in its greatest struggle. [Cheers.] There is a good deal to be +said for and there is a vast amount to be said against compulsory +arbitration, but during the war the Government ought to have power to +settle all these differences, and the work should go on. The workman +ought to get more. Very well, let the Government find it out and give it +to him. If he ought not, then he ought not to throw up his tools. The +country cannot afford it. It is disaster, and I do not believe the +moment this comes home to workmen and employers they will refuse to +comply with the urgent demand of the Government. There must be no delay. + +There is another aspect of the question which it is difficult and +dangerous to tackle. There are all sorts of regulations for restricting +output. I will say nothing about the merits of this question. There are +reasons why they have been built up. The conditions of employment and +payment are mostly to blame for those restrictions. The workmen had to +fight for them for their own protection, but in a period of war there is +a suspension of ordinary law. Output is everything in this war. + +This war is not going to be fought mainly on the battlefields of Belgium +and Poland. It is going to be fought in the workshops of France and +Great Britain; and it must be fought there under war conditions. There +must be plenty of safeguards and the workman must get his equivalent, +but I do hope he will help us to get as much out of those workshops as +he can, for the life of the nation depends on it. Our enemies realize +that, and employers and workmen in Germany are straining their utmost. +France, fortunately, also realizes it, and in that land of free +institutions, with a Socialist Prime Minister, a Socialist Secretary of +State for War, and a Socialist Minister of Marine, the employers and +workmen are subordinating everything to the protection of their +beautiful land. + +I have something more to say about this, and it is unpleasant. I would +wish that it were not I, but somebody else that should say it. Most of +our workmen are putting every ounce of strength into this urgent work +for their country, loyally and patriotically. But that is not true of +all. There are some, I am sorry to say, who shirk their duty in this +great emergency. I hear of workmen in armaments works who refuse to work +a full week's work for the nation's need. What is the reason? They are a +minority. The vast majority belong to a class we can depend upon. The +others are a minority. But, you must remember, a small minority of +workmen can throw a whole works out of gear. What is the reason? +Sometimes it is one thing, sometimes it is another, but let us be +perfectly candid. It is mostly the lure of the drink. They refuse to +work full time, and when they return their strength and efficiency are +impaired by the way in which they have spent their leisure. Drink is +doing us more damage in the war than all the German submarines put +together. + +What has Russia done? [Cheers.] Russia, knowing her deficiency, knowing +how unprepared she was, said, "I must pull myself together. I am not +going to be trampled upon, unready as I am. I will use all my +resources." What is the first thing she does? She stops the drink. +[Cheers.] I was talking to M. Bark, the Russian Minister of Finance, a +singularly able man, and I asked, "What has been the result?" He said, +"The productivity of labor, the amount of work which is put out by the +workmen, has gone up between 30 and 50 per cent." [Cheers.] I said, "How +do they stand it without their liquor?" and he replied, "Stand it? I +have lost revenue over it up to L65,000,000 a year, and we certainly +cannot afford it, but if I proposed to put it back there would be a +revolution in Russia." That is what the Minister of Finance told me. He +told me that it is entirely attributable to the act of the Czar himself. +It was a bold and courageous step--one of the most heroic things in the +war. [Cheers.] One afternoon we had to postpone our conference in Paris, +and the French Minister of Finance said, "I have got to go to the +Chamber of Deputies, because I am proposing a bill to abolish absinthe." +[Cheers.] Absinthe plays the same part in France that whisky plays in +this country. It is really the worst form of drink used; not only among +workmen, but among other classes as well. Its ravages are terrible, and +they abolished it by a majority of something like 10 to 1 that +afternoon. [Cheers.] + +That is how those great countries are facing their responsibilities. We +do not propose anything so drastic as that--we are essentially moderate +men. [Laughter.] But we are armed with full powers for the defense of +the realm. We are approaching it, I do not mind telling you, for the +moment, not from the point of view of people who have been considering +this as a social problem--we are approaching it purely from the point of +view of these works. We have got great powers to deal with drink, and we +mean to use them. [Cheers.] We shall use them in a spirit of moderation, +we shall use them discreetly, we shall use them wisely, but we shall use +them fearlessly, [cheers,] and I have no doubt that, as the country's +needs demand it, the country will support our action and will allow no +indulgence of that kind to interfere with its prospects in this terrible +war which has been thrust upon us. + +There are three things I want you to bear in mind. The first is--and I +want to get this into the minds of every one--that we are at war; the +second, that it is the greatest war that has ever been fought by this or +any other country, and the other, that the destinies of your country and +the future of the human race for generations to come depend upon the +outcome of this war. What does it mean were Germany to win? It means +world power for the worst elements in Germany, not for Germany. The +Germans are an intelligent race; they are undoubtedly a cultivated race; +they are a race of men who have been responsible for great ideas in this +world. But this would mean the dominance of the worst elements among +them. If you think I am exaggerating just you read for the moment +extracts from the articles in the newspapers which are in the ascendency +now in Germany about the settlement which they expect after this war. I +am sorry to say I am stating nothing but the bare, brutal truth. I do +not say that the Kaiser will sit on the throne of England if he should +win. I do not say that he will impose his laws and his language on this +country as did William the Conqueror. I do not say that you will hear +the tramp, the noisy tramp of the goose step in the cities of the +Empire. [Laughter.] I do not say that Death's Head Hussars will be +patrolling our highways. I do not say that a visitor, let us say, to +Aberdaron, will have to ask a Pomeranian policeman the best way to +Hell's Mouth. [Loud laughter.] That is not what I mean. What I mean is +that if Germany were triumphant in this war it would practically be the +dictator of the international policy of the world. Its spirit would be +in the ascendant. Its doctrines would be in the ascendant; by the sheer +power of its will it would bend the minds of men in its own fashion. +Germanism in its later and worst form would be the inspiriting thought +and philosophy of the hour. + +Do you remember what happened to France after 1870? The German armies +left France, but all the same for years after that, and while France was +building up her army, she stood in cowering terror of this monster. Even +after her great army was built France was oppressed with a constant +anxiety as to what might happen. Germany dismissed her Ministers. Had it +not been for the intervention of Queen Victoria in 1874 the French Army +would never have been allowed to be reconstructed, and France would +simply have been the humble slave of Germany to this hour. What a +condition for a country! And now France is fighting not so much to +recover her lost provinces, she is fighting to recover her self-respect +and her national independence; she is fighting to shake off this +nightmare that has been on her soul for over a generation, [cheers,] a +France with Germany constantly meddling, bullying, and interfering. And +that is what would happen if Russia were trampled upon, France broken, +Britain disarmed. We should be left without any means to defend +ourselves. We might have a navy that would enable us, perhaps, to resent +insult from Nicaragua, [laughter,] we might have just enough troops, +perhaps, to confront the Mad Mullah--I mean the African specimen. [Loud +laughter.] + +Where would the chivalrous country be to step in to protect us as we +protected France in 1874? America? If countries like Russia and France, +with their huge armies, and the most powerful navy in the world could +not face this terrible military machine, if it breaks that combination, +how can America step in? It would be more than America can do to defend +her own interests on her own continent if Germany is triumphant. They +are more unready than we were. Ah! but what manner of Germany would we +be subordinate to? There has been a struggle going on in Germany for +over thirty years between its best and its worst elements. It is like +that great struggle which is depicted, I think, in one of Wagner's great +operas between the good and the evil spirit for the possession of the +man's soul. That great struggle has been going on in Germany for thirty +or forty years. At each successive general election the better elements +seemed to be getting the upper hand, and I do not mind saying I was one +of those who believed they were going to win. I thought they were going +to snatch the soul of Germany--it is worth saving, it is a great, +powerful soul--I thought they were going to save it. So a dead military +caste said, "We will have none of this," and they plunged Europe into +seas of blood. Hope was again shattered. Those worst elements will +emerge triumphant out of this war if Germany wins. + +What does that mean? We shall be vassals, not to the best Germany, not +to the Germany of sweet songs and inspiring, noble thoughts--not to the +Germany of science consecrated to the service of man, not to the Germany +of a virile philosophy that helped to break the shackles of +superstition in Europe--not to that Germany, but to a Germany that +talked through the raucous voice of Krupp's artillery, a Germany that +has harnessed science to the chariot of destruction and of death, the +Germany of a philosophy of force, violence, and brutality, a Germany +that would quench every spark of freedom either in its own land or in +any other country in rivers of blood. I make no apology on a day +consecrated to the greatest sacrifice for coming here to preach a holy +war against that. [Great cheering.] + +Concluding this speech in Welsh, Mr. Lloyd George said: "War is a time +of sacrifice and of service. Some can render one service, some another, +some here and some there. Some can render great assistance, others but +little. There is not one who cannot help in some measure, whether it be +only by enduring cheerfully his share of the discomfort. In the old +Welsh legend there is a story of a man who was given a series of what +appeared to be impossible tasks to perform ere he could reach the +desires of his heart. Among other things he had to do was to recover +every grain of seed that had been sown in a large field and bring it all +in without one missing by sunset. He came to an anthill and won all the +hearts and enlisted the sympathies of the industrious little people. +They spread over the field, and before sundown the seed was all in +except one, and as the sun was setting over the western skies a lame ant +hobbled along with that grain also. Some of us have youth and vigor and +suppleness of limb; some of us are crippled with years or infirmities, +and we are at best but little ants. But we can all limp along with some +share of our country's burden, and thus help her in this terrible hour +to win the desire of her heart." [Loud cheers.] + +Mr. Lloyd George and his party returned after the meeting to Llandudno, +where today he will inspect the First Brigade of the Welsh Army Corps. + + +BRITAIN'S MUNITIONS COMMITTEE + +_LONDON, April 14.--The Times says this morning:_ + +An important step has at last been taken by the Government toward the +solution of the supreme problem of the moment--the organization of the +national output of munitions of war. A strong committee has been +appointed, with full power to deal with the question. It is to be +representative of not merely one department but of the Treasury, +Admiralty, War Office, and Board of Trade; in short, of the whole +Government, with all its resources and authority. + +The Chancellor of the Exchequer is to be Chairman, and the first meeting +will be held today. + +The work before the committee is nothing less than the organization of +the whole resources of the nation for the production of materials of +war. Hitherto, in spite of many warnings and some half-hearted attempts +at organization, there has been no central, co-ordinated authority. + +It is an open secret that it was during Lloyd George's visit to France +at the beginning of the year that he first appreciated the scientific +organization of labor which our Allies had already achieved. Not content +with utilizing and extending the existing armament plant, the French +have long since diverted several temporarily irrelevant industries to +the main business of waging war. + +_With reference to the drink problem The Times says:_ + +While the Government is apparently considering the expropriation of all +the licensed houses in the kingdom, this far-reaching proposal has not +at present gone beyond the stage of inquiry and consultation, and it is +tolerably certain that it will go no farther unless it is assured of no +serious opposition in the country. + +The Parliamentary Opposition, the leaders of which have been consulted +in a general way, are believed to stand by the principle which they +followed since the war began, namely: They are not prepared to quarrel +with any measure which the Government regards as necessary for the +active prosecution of the war so long as no injustice is done to +established interests. + + + + +Italy's Evolution as Reflected in Her Press + + + Italy has reached her present position through the development + of a policy the steps of which have been brightly illuminated + by the press of the Peninsula. The most important of these + steps may be designated as follows: + + First, the declaration of the Government to the German + Ambassador at Rome on Aug. 1, 1914, that it did not regard the + conflict begun by Austria-Hungary and Germany as a defensive + war and hence not binding on it as a member of the Triple + Alliance, and its subsequent declarations of "neutrality," of + "armed neutrality," and of "a neutrality which is likely to be + broken if the interests of the country demanded it." + + Second, Premier Salandra's speech of Dec. 3 for "armed, alert + neutrality," and the declaration in Parliament on Dec. 5 by + Signor Giolitti showing that the declaration of Aug. 1 was + merely a repetition of one conveyed to Austria in the Summer + of 1913, when Austria had suggested that she aid Bulgaria in + subduing Serbia. + + Third, the arrival in Rome in December of the former German + Imperial Chancellor, Prince von Buelow, as Extraordinary + Ambassador to the Quirinal, for the purpose of keeping Italy + neutral, and, when this seemed doubtful, to negotiate between + Italy and Austria what territorial compensation the latter + would render the former in order to perpetuate the neutrality + of the Peninsula. + + Aside from the influence of these official acts, which invited + press comments, the Italian papers have paid keen attention to + the conduct of the war, concerning which the Government could + not, on account of its neutrality, offer an opinion. Among + such incidents of conduct have been the British declaration of + a protectorate over Egypt and the bombardment of the + Dardanelles by the Franco-British fleet. + + In order to weigh the full significance of the comments of the + Italian papers on these subjects a word may be said concerning + the status of the journals themselves: + + The most conspicuous is the Idea Nazionale, a paper of Rome + practically dedicated to intervention. Then comes the + conservative and solid Corriere della Sera of Milan, whose + Rome correspondent, Signor Torre, has peculiar facilities for + learning the intentions of the Ministry. Both the Tribuna and + the Giornale d'Italia are considered Government organs, but, + while the former rarely comments with authority except on + accomplished facts, the latter, although often voicing the + unofficial and personal opinions of Premier Salandra, who is + known to be privately in favor of intervention, also voices + the sentiment of former Premier Giolitti, who is known to be + for continued neutrality. The Stampa of Turin is a Giolitti + organ. + + The Osservatore Romano is the well-known Vatican organ, which + naturally supports Austria, a Catholic country, where such + support does not conflict too pointedly with the sentiments of + Catholics in neutral countries. Other clerical papers with + strong pro-German opinions and with German industrial backing + are the Corriere d'Italia and the Popolo Romano. The + Messaggero of Rome and the Secolo of Milan, influenced by + important British and French interests, are for intervention + at all costs. The Avanti is the Socialist organ. + + +CAUSES OF ITALY'S NEUTRALITY. + +_From the Corriere della Sera, Aug. 2, 1914:_ + +Italy's decision to remain neutral is based on three causes: + +1. The terms of the Triple Alliance call for Italy's participation in +war only if Germany or Austria-Hungary is attacked by another power. The +present war is not a defensive war, but one brought on by +Austria-Hungary and Germany. + +2. The spirit of the alliance demands that no warlike action be taken +involving the three countries without full mutual discussion and +agreement. Italy was not even consulted by Austria-Hungary and the +course of events was brought to her knowledge only by news agency +reports. + +3. When Italy went to war with Turkey, Austria prevented her from acting +with a free hand in the Adriatic and the Aegean, thereby prolonging the +war at an enormous cost in men and money to Italy. Italy would be +justified in acting in precisely the same manner now toward +Austria-Hungary. + +_From Secolo, Sept. 3, 1914:_ + +During the last few days we have assisted at a deplorable example of our +Latin impressionability. The first German victories have made Italians +waver, and Germany is taking advantage of the popular nervousness, and +is working on public opinion in countless ways. Italy is invaded by +Germans, who assert that Germany will issue victorious, and that her +commercial and industrial activity will not be arrested. We are +inundated with German letters, telegrams, newspapers, and private +communications from German commercial houses, all asserting that Germany +will win, and that Italy should keep neutral, to be on the winning side. + +We are not of that opinion. We cannot lose sight of England. Germany +knows that England represents her great final danger, hence the +bitterness with which she speaks of England in all the above +communications. England is not playing a game of bluff. She is not +impotent by land, as Germany says, and may give Germany a mortal blow by +sea. The war may possibly end in a titanic duel between England and +Germany. In this case England will go through with the struggle calmly +and grimly, smiling at difficulties and disregarding losses. + +_From the Corriere d'Italia, Sept. 17, 1914:_ + +We do not know what Italy will do tomorrow, but we are of opinion that, +in face of all eventualities, it is the elementary duty of patriotism +not to trouble the calm expectancy of public opinion and not to mar the +task of the Government, already difficult enough. + +_From the Messaggero, Sept. 18, 1914:_ + +The Italian Nation is beginning to ask itself whether it ought to remain +until the conclusion of peace in an attitude of resignation. It is +necessary for us with clear vision to take our place in the fighting +line. While the destinies of a new Europe are being decided on the +battlefields of Champagne, Belgium, Galicia, and Hungary the Government +is assuming a grave responsibility before the country in deciding to be +disinterested in the struggle. The keen popular awakening which is +manifested in demonstrations, meetings, and public discussions shows +that growing preoccupation and varied uneasiness will not cease so long +as the fate of the country is not decided at the right time by men who +by temperament are best fitted to be interpreters of the soul and the +interests of the nation. + +_From the Corriere della Sera, Oct. 4, 1914:_ + +Many who now invoke a war of liberation complained at the beginning of +August that Italy had not helped her allies. The declaration of +neutrality then seemed the greatest act of wisdom performed by Italy for +many years. Now, however, we must think of the future. Let us remember +that the powers will only support our wishes when they have need of us. +Gratitude and sympathy are mere phrases when the map of Europe is being +redrawn. If Italy desire to safeguard her interests in the Adriatic she +cannot postpone her decision till the last moment. Italy is isolated; +the Triple Alliance treaty cannot defend her even if it be still in +force. Italy and Austria, as Count Nigra and Prince Buelow said, must be +allies or enemies. Can they remain allies after what has happened? + + +ITALY'S ARMED, ALERT NEUTRALITY. + +_From the Idea Nazionale, Dec. 3, 1914:_ + +The day on which Italy will undertake to realize those aspirations she +will find full and unconditional support. Great Britain is favorable to +Italy gaining supremacy in the Adriatic, which is so necessary to her +existence. If Great Britain needs Italy's support in Africa it will be +only a matter of one or two army corps, and such an expedition, while +having a great moral and political importance, would not diminish +Italian military power in Europe. + +_From the Avanti, Dec. 4, 1914:_ + +Premier Salandra's speech was Jesuitical. It contents the Jingoes by +certain dubious phrases, while discontenting the Clerical and +Conservative neutrals. + +_From the Corriere d'Italia, Dec. 4, 1914:_ + +This much-applauded word, "aspirations," was not (in Signor Salandra's +speech) meant to refer to any particular belligerent, and the Cabinet +consequently has no program. + +_From the Stampa, Dec. 5, 1914:_ + +Austria, before the war, disclaimed any intention of occupying Serbia, +and her declaration cannot be disregarded by Italy, whose relations with +Austria have been always conditional on the maintenance of the Balkan +status quo, which Austria now threatens to alter. The Italian Government +cannot ignore this condition, especially as during the Libyan war +Austria menaced Italy, unless she desisted from bombarding the Albanian +coast. Thus the Serbian situation may constitute a new factor. + +_From the Corriere della Sera, Jan. 31, 1915:_ + +Italy's true policy is to come to a friendly agreement with the Slavs, +which will guarantee their mutual interests. Italy wants a national +settlement in the Balkan Peninsula, independent of the great powers. In +no circumstances can Italy bind her lot to Austria-Hungary's policy. + + +BRITISH PROTECTORATE OVER EGYPT. + +_From the Idea Nazionale, Dec. 19, 1914:_ + +The British Government's act merely sanctions a situation already +existing in fact since 1882. In our governing circle it is not thought +that the change of regime in Egypt will occasion, at least for the time +being, any great modifications in public law in relation to the +international statutes regulating the position of foreigners in Egypt. + +_From the Tribuna, Dec. 20, 1914:_ + +The Mediterranean agreement, in which Italy, too, has taken part, +implicitly recognized the actual status England had acquired in Egypt. +Now the war has demonstrated the judicial incongruity of a Turkish +province in which and for which the English had to carry out warlike +operations against Turkey. The protectorate already existed in +substance, and Great Britain might now even have proclaimed annexation. + +_From the Giornale d'Italia, Dec. 19, 1914:_ + +Great Britain had for some months been preparing this event, which +legally regulates a situation which has existed in fact. The present +situation has been brought about without any disturbance, like +everything that England does, in silence, neatly and without disturbing +any one. Nobody can be astonished at Great Britain's declaration of a +protectorate over Egypt. + + +THE DARDANELLES. + +_From the Giornale d'Italia, March 7, 1915:_ + +It will be extremely difficult for Italy longer to remain neutral. The +attack by the allied fleet on the Dardanelles has brought up three great +problems affecting Italian interests. The first of these problems is the +new rule to allow Russia access to the Mediterranean through the +Dardanelles; the second concerns the equilibrium of the Balkans, and the +third the partition of Asiatic Turkey, which affects the equilibrium of +the Eastern Mediterranean. It is impossible for Italy to keep out of the +solution of such problems unless she be satisfied to see not only the +powers of the Triple Entente settle these affairs according to their +interests, but also the small but audacious and resolute nation, Greece. + +_From the Messaggero, March 17, 1915:_ + +The cession of the Trentino would be valueless if it implied the +abandonment of Italian aspirations in Venetia Giulia, (land west of the +Julian Alps,) in the Adriatic, and in Asia Minor, and submission to +German policy. We cannot obtain by neutrality the territory we want, +nor, if we renew the Triple Alliance, can we make an agreement with +Great Britain for our security in the Mediterranean. + + +VON BUELOW'S WORK AND PLEA FOR INTERVENTION. + +_From the Corriere della Sera, Feb. 8, 1915:_ + +Happily our aspirations in the Adriatic, our interests in the Central +Mediterranean and in Northern Africa coincide admirably with the policy +which it is easiest for us to pursue. Unless we profit with the utmost +prudence, with the greatest circumspection, by the present rare +opportunity which history offers us to set the finishing touches to our +unification, to render our land and sea frontiers immeasurably more +secure than they are, to harmonize our foreign with our domestic policy, +we shall experience after the close of the war the darkest and most +difficult days of our existence. The crisis through which we are passing +is the gravest we have yet encountered. Let us make it a crisis of +growth, not a symptom of irreparable senile decay. + +_From the Stampa, March 15, 1915:_ + +There is surely no possibility of an Austro-Italian war without German +intervention. If Italy attacks Austria, Germany will attack Italy; nor +will Austria make concessions, for Austria, like Turkey, never changes +her system, even when wrong. + +_From the Giornale d'Italia, March 19, 1915:_ + +Italy either can obtain peacefully immediate and certain satisfaction of +her sacred aspirations, together with the protection of her great and +complex interests, or she can have recourse to the supreme test of arms. +It is absurd to think that Italy, after seven months of preparation, +when she is in an especially advantageous diplomatic and military +position, will be satisfied with the Biblical mess of pottage or +less--mere promises. + +However negotiations go the great national interests must be protected +at any costs. This is the firm will of the country and the duty of the +Government. For fifty years Italy has made great sacrifices to be an +element of peace in Europe. The equilibrium and peace of the Continent +were broken through the fault of others against Italy's desire and +without consulting her. Others have the responsibility for the present +terrible crisis, but Italy would be unworthy if she did not issue with +honor and advantage from the conflict. Greece, Rumania, and Bulgaria are +awaiting Italy's move and will follow suit. Thus Italian influence is +great at this moment, which must be seized, as it is in her power to +contribute to the formation of a new international combination. + + + + +SOME RUSES DE GUERRE. + +By A.M. WAKEMAN. + + +(Respectfully submitted to the British Government.) + + Great Churchill's plan to fool the foe is simple and unique-- + You only take a neutral flag and hoist it at your peak. + Thereby a ship with funnels four looks just like one with two, + Because the pattern has been changed on her Red, White, and Blue. + + Now, cannot you improve on this, and so protect your towns, + As well as all your gallant ships at anchor in the Downs? + Old London, with the Stars and Stripes, might well pass for New York; + And Baltimore for Maryland instead of County Cork. + + To mouth of Thames (N-O-R-E) just add four letters more, + Then hoist the Danish ensign, and, behold, 'tis Elsinore! + And Paris will be Washington if, on the Eiffel Tower, + They raise the flag of U.S.A., (a well-known neutral power.) + + Your sailors might wear Leghorn hats, and out upon the blue, + They'd look like sons of Italy, (at present neutral, too;) + And, if upon your King the Hun would try to work some ill, + With pickelhaube on his head he'd pass for Uncle Bill. + + + + +THE EUROPEAN WAR AS SEEN BY CARTOONISTS + + +[German Cartoon] + +The Fatal Moment In America + +[Illustration: _--From Simplicissimus, Munich._ + +"Citizens of America, protect your existence and your honor by the force +of arms!" + +"Sorry, but just now we happen to be sold out!"] + + +[English Cartoon] + +Top Dog + +[Illustration: _--From The Bystander, London._] + + +[German Cartoon] + +England's "Splendid Isolation" + +[Illustration: _--From Simplicissimus, Munich._] + + +[English Cartoon] + +The Sultan "Over the Water" + +[Illustration: _--From Punch, London._ + +MEHMED V. (to Constantinople): "I don't want to leave you, but I think I +ought to go."] + + +[German Cartoon] + +Churchill's Flag Swindle + +[Illustration: _--From Simplicissimus, Munich._ + +"Really I don't care to go out any more in these disgraceful rags!" + +"Cheer up, Mrs. Britannia, just steal something better!"] + + +[German Cartoon] + +May God Punish England! + +[Illustration: [Reproduction of a cover design of a widely advertised +issue of "Simplicissimus," the German comic weekly published in Munich. +The legend at the top reads, "May God Punish England!"]] + + +[Italian Cartoon] + +Speeches of the Kaiser in 1915 + +[Illustration: _--From L'Asino, Rome._ + +JANUARY: "I alone will defeat the world." + +MARCH: "Naturally, with God's help." + +JUNE: "All goes badly--the fault is not mine." + +DECEMBER: "The fault is his."] + + +[English Cartoon] + +Our Embarrassing Cousin + +[Illustration: _--From The Bystander, London._ + +JONATHAN: "In spite 'f my noo-trality, John, d'ye notice how +'ffectionate I am?--how I sympathise with yer?" + +JOHN BULL: "M--m'yes, that's all right, but I should like it better just +now if you'd leave my hands a bit freer to fight those rascals as they +deserve!"] + + +[German Cartoon] + +John Bull at the Costumer's + +[Illustration: _--From Simplicissimus, Munich._ + +"What costume shall I choose so that none will recognize me?" + +"Why don't you go as a gentleman?"] + + +[English Cartoon] + +William o' the Wisp + +[Illustration: _--From Punch, London._] + + +[German Cartoon] + +American Neutrality + +[Illustration: _--From Meggendorfer-Blaetter, Munich._] + + +[English Cartoon] + +What the War Office Has to Put Up With + +[Illustration: _--From Punch, London._ + +Demonstration of a device for catching bombs from airships.] + + +[German Cartoon] + +Va Banque! + +[Illustration: _--From Lustige Blaetter, Berlin._ + +The Monte Carlo habitue's last play.] + + +[Italian Cartoon] + +The Final Earthquake--In Germany + +[Illustration: _--From L'Asino, Rome._ + +By the grace of God and the will of the nation. + +[The falling columns are marked "feudalism" and "militarism."]] + + +[German Cartoon] + +From the English Eating-House + +[Illustration: _--From Lustige Blaetter, Berlin._ + +England utilizes the refuse of her domestic establishment as cannon +fodder.] + + +[English Cartoon] + +The Bread-Winner + +[Illustration: _--From Punch, London._] + + +[Italian Cartoon] + +Italy's Neutrality + +[Illustration: _--From L'Asino, Rome._ + +Every day the dance becomes more difficult. + +(The dancer is the German Ambassador, von Buelow.)] + + +[English Cartoon] + +Busy Packing + +[Illustration: _--From The Bystander, London._ + +SULTAN MEHMED: "'Am I there'?!! I should rather think I am!! We're being +'moved,' you know. And the hammering outside is something too awful!!" + +His ISLAMIC MAJESTY HADJI GUILLIOUN: "Kismet, my boy, Kismet! Besides, I +feel sure you'll be awfully pleased with Asia Minor--so quiet!--we +Mussulmans always feel so at home there, too!" + +(The English preface their telephone conversations with "Are you there?" +instead of "Hello!")] + + +[German Cartoon] + +In the Cause of Culture + +[Illustration: _--From Simplicissimus, Munich._ + +"Papa has gone away to Europe to protect the nice Englishmen from the +savages. If you are very good, perhaps he will bring you back a nice +German beefsteak."] + + +[English Cartoon] + +Queen Elizabeth in the Dardanelles + +[Illustration: _--From Punch, London._ + +(The reference is to the huge British dreadnought that bears the name of +England's famous queen.)] + + +[French Cartoon] + +The "Sick Man" At Home + +[Illustration: _--From Le Rire, Paris._ + +The camel with two humps. + +(The original title was "_Le Chameau a deux Boches_." In French slang a +German is a _bosche_.)] + + +[German Cartoon] + +"The Cripple-Entente" + +[Illustration: _--From Lustige Blaetter, Berlin._ + +As it must finally be.] + + +[French Cartoon] + +Beware of the John-Bull-Dog! + +[Illustration: _--From Le Rire, Paris._ + +"Go lie down, contemptible little England!" + +"What I get my teeth into I hang onto!"] + + +[German Cartoon] + +The Great Question + +[Illustration: _--From Lustige Blaetter, Berlin._ + +"If I remain neutral, will you remain neutral?" + +"If you were neutral, would he be neutral?" + +"If he is neutral then we will remain neutral." + +"If we remain neutral, will they remain neutral?" + +"And you also, neutral?" + +"Shall you remain neutral?"] + + + + +Facsimile of a Belgian Bread-Check + + +[Illustration: The card is in French and Flemish. The face reads: "No. +6,715. Gratis. City of Brussels, Department of Public Supplies. +Committee No. 1. Street ----. Card issued to the family ----, living at +----, for the daily delivery of ---- portions. To be presented at +----Street. N.B.--Victuals will be delivered only to the father or +mother of a family." The reverse side bears stamps showing the dates on +which rations were issued to the holder. The original is somewhat larger +than this reproduction.] + + + + +TO A GERMAN APOLOGIST + +By BEATRICE BARRY. + + + You may seek and find if you will, perchance, + Excuses for your attack on France, + And perhaps 'twill not be so hard to show + Why England finds you her deadly foe; + There are reasons old and reasons new + For feelings hard 'twixt the Russ and you, + But talk as you may till the Judgment Day, + You cannot ever explain away-- + Belgium. + + You have used both speech and the printed word + To have your side of the story heard, + We have listened long, we have listened well + To everything that you had to tell, + We would fain be fair, but it seems as though + You _can't_ explain what we wish to know, + And when lesser points have been cleared away, + You are sure to fail us when we say-- + "Belgium!" + + You may rant and talk about British gold, + And opinions that are bought and sold, + But facts, no matter how hard to face, + Are facts, and the horrors taking place + In that little land, pledged to honor's creed, + Make your cause a luckless one to plead. + There are two sides? True. But when both are heard, + Our sad hearts echo a single word-- + "Belgium!" + + We are not misled by the savage tales + An invading army never fails + To have told of it. There are false and true, + And we want to render you your due. + But our hearts go out to that ravished land + Where a few grim heroes make their stand, + And our ears hear faintly, from overseas, + The wailing cry of those refugees-- + _"Belgium--Belgium--Belgium!"_ + + + + +America's Neutrality + +By Count Albert Apponyi + +[From THE NEW YORK TIMES, March 28, 1915.] + + + The letter which follows was sent by Count Albert Apponyi to + Dr. Nicholas Murray Butler, and was written in the latter part + of last month in Budapest. Count Apponyi, who is one of the + most distinguished of contemporary European statesmen, was + President of the Hungarian Parliament from 1872 to 1904. He + was formerly Minister of Public Instruction, Privy Councillor, + Member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague, and + Member of the Interparliamentary Union. + +I have been greatly interested in your account of American neutrality +in the present European crisis. I must confess that I had seen it in a +somewhat different light before and that some of the facts under our +notice still appear to me as hardly concordant with the magnificent +attitude of impartiality, nay, not even with the international duties of +neutrality, which intellectual and official America professes to keep. + +We cannot explain to ourselves that a neutral power should suffer the +selling of arms and ammunition by its citizens to one of the belligerent +parties, when no such selling to the other party is practically +feasible; we cannot understand why America should meekly submit to the +dictates of England, declaring all foodstuffs and manufacturing +materials contraband of war, with not even a show of right and with the +clear and openly proclaimed intention of starving Germany and +Austria-Hungary; why, on the other hand, America should use an almost +threatening language against Germany, and against Germany alone, when +the latter country announces reprisals against the English trade, which, +under given circumstances, can be considered only as acts of legitimate +self-defense against an enemy who chooses to wage war not on our +soldiers only, but on our women and children, too. + +With all the respect we feel for the United States, we cannot find this +attitude of their Government either fair or dignified. I offer these +remarks in no spirit of uncalled-for criticism, but because I see how +much the moral authority of the United States and their splendid +situation as the providential peace makers of some future--alas! still +far off--day has been impaired by the aforementioned proceedings. We +cannot help considering them as so many acts of ill-disguised hostility +against ourselves and of compliance with our foes. How can you expect, +then, to have your good offices accepted with confidence by both +belligerent parties when the times are ripe for them? It seems like the +throwing away of a magnificent opportunity, and I think that those who, +like yourself, cherish for your country the noble ambition of being some +day the restorer of peace, should exert themselves to prevent practices +which, if continued, would disable her to play any such part. + +In your letter you strike the keynote of what I cannot help considering +the partiality of Americans for the Entente powers. It is the idea that +"in the western area of conflict, at least, there is an armed clash +between the representatives of dynastic institutions and bureaucratic +rule on the one hand with those of representative government and liberal +institutions on the other." I can understand that it impresses some +people that way, but I beg to enter a protest against this +interpretation of the conflict. + +Liberal or less liberal institutions have nothing to do with it in the +west; the progress of democracy in Germany will not be stopped by her +victory, it will rather be promoted by it, because the masses are +conscious of bearing the burden of war and of being the main force of +its vigorous prosecution, and they are enlightened and strong enough to +insist on a proper reward. Rights cannot be denied to those who +fulfilled duties involving self-sacrifice of the sublimest kind with +unflinching devotion. No practical interest of democracy then is +involved in the conflict of the western powers. + +As to their representing liberal institutions in a higher or lower +degree, I am perfectly willing to admit England's superior claims in +that respect, but I am not at all inclined to recognize such superiority +in modern France, republic though she calls herself. The omnipresence +and omnipotence of an obtruding bureaucratic officialism is just what it +has been under the old monarchy; religious oppression has only changed +sides, but it still flourishes as before. In former times the Roman +Catholic religion was considered as a State religion and in her name +were dissent and Freemasonry oppressed; today atheism is the official +creed, and on its behalf are Catholic believers oppressed. + +Separation of Church and State, honestly planned and loyally fulfilled +in America has been perverted in modern France into a network of +vexations and unfair measures against the Church and her faithful +servants; the same term is used and this misleads you to cover widely +different meanings. In a word, it is a perfect mistake to consider +modern France as the "sweet land of liberty" which America is. A German +citizen, with less show of political rights, enjoys more personal +freedom than is granted to a French one, if he happens to differ from +the ruling mentality. + +So stand things in the western area of conflict. But how about the east? +You are kind enough to admit in your letter that "from this (the +aforementioned) standpoint of course the appearance of Russia among the +allies is an anomaly and must be explained on other grounds." Anomaly is +a rather tame word to characterize the meaning of this appearance of +Russia. I should hardly designate it by this term. + +She does not "appear among the allies." She is the leading power among +them; it is her war, as Mr. Tsvolski, the Russian Ambassador to Paris, +very properly remarked: "C'est ma guerre." She planned it, she gave +Austria-Hungary no chance to live on peaceful terms with her neighbors, +she forced it upon us, she drew France into it by offering her a bait +which that poor country could not resist, she created the situation +which England considered as her best opportunity for crushing Germany. I +must repeat it over and over again: it is in its origin a Russian war, +with a clearly outlined Russian program of conquest. + +Here, then, you have a real clash between two principles; not shades of +principles as these may subsist between Germany and her western foes, +but principles in all their essential features; not between different +tints of gray, but between black and white, between affirmation and +negation; affirmation of the principle of human dignity, liberty, +safety, and negation of the same; western evolution and eastern +reaction. + +I wonder why those prominent Americans who are so deeply impressed by +the comparatively slight shades of liberalism differentiating Germany +from England and France are not struck by the absolute contrast existing +between Muscovitism and western civilized rule as represented by +Austria-Hungary and Germany; that they overlook the outstanding fact +that while in the western area the conflict has nothing whatever to do +with the principles embodied in the home policy of the belligerents, in +the east, on the other hand, these principles will in truth be affected +by the results of war, since a Russian victory, followed by a Russian +conquest, would mean the retrogression of western institutions and the +corresponding expansion of eastern ones over a large area and large +numbers of men. + +It is the consciousness of fighting in this war which has been forced +upon us, against the direst calamity threatening our kind and on behalf +of the most precious conquests of progress and civilization, which +enhances our moral force so as to make it unconquerable. The hope which +I expressed in my first letter, that Serbia's doom would soon be +fulfilled, has been prostrated by the mistakes of an over-confident +Commander in Chief; but that means postponement only and does not alter +the prospects of war in their essentials. + +Good progress is achieved in the campaign against Russia; a chapter of +it may be brought to a happy close before long. The spirit of the +country shows no symptom of weakening; it is really wonderful what a +firm resolve pervades our whole people, though every man between twenty +and forty-two stands in the field, and though the losses are frightful. +Economically we hold out easily; the expenses of war are defrayed by +inner loans, which give unexpected results; every bit of arable land is +tilled as in time of peace, the old, the women and the half-grown youths +doing the work of their absent supporters, neighbors assisting each +other in a spirit of brotherhood truly admirable. In cases of urgent +need we have the prisoners of war, whose number increased to nearly +300,000 (in Austria-Hungary alone) and to whom it is a real boon to find +employment in the sort of work they are accustomed to. + +The manufacturing interest, of course, suffers severe losses; but the +number of the unemployed is rather less than usual, since a greater part +of the "hands" is absorbed by the army. In a word, though the sufferings +of war are keenly felt, they are less severe than had been expected, and +there is not the smallest indication of a break-down. The area of +Germany, Austria, and Hungary taken as a whole is self-supporting with +regard to foodstuffs. The English scheme of starving us is quite as +silly as it is abominable. England can, of course, inflict severe losses +on our manufacturers by closing the seas against their imports and +exports; but this is not a matter of life and death, such as the first +reprisals of Germany, if successful, may prove to England. + +Generally speaking, it seems likely that England will be caught in the +net of her own intrigue. She did not scruple to enlist the services of +Japan against her white enemies, but this act of treachery will be +revenged upon herself. The latest proceedings of Japan against China can +have one meaning only--the wholesale expulsion of the white man from +Eastern Asia. The Japs do not care one straw who wins in Europe; they +seized upon their own opportunity for their own purposes. England only +gets her deserts; but how do Americans feel about it? Can America be +absolved from a certain amount of responsibility for what may soon prove +imminent danger to herself? Has not her partiality for England given +encouragement to methods of warfare unprecedented in the history of +civilized nations and fruitful of evil consequences to neutral nations? + +To us, in our continental position, all this means much less than it +means to you. It does not endanger our prospects. We feel comparatively +stronger every day. Our losses, though enormous, are only one-half of +those of the Entente armies, according to the Geneva Red Cross Bureau's +calculation. The astounding number of unwounded prisoners of war which +Russia loses at every encounter, and even in spaces of time between two +encounters, shows that the moral force of her army is slowly giving way, +while the vigor of our troops is constantly increasing. After six months +of severe fighting our military position is certainly stronger than the +position of the Entente powers, though the latter represent a population +of 250,000,000, (English colonies and Japan not included,) against the +140,000,000 of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Turkey. Who can doubt on +which side superior moral power fights? Who can doubt, therefore, what +the ultimate result promises to be? + +If it takes more time to bring matters to a decision--and a decision +must be obtained at any price, if there is to follow a period of +permanent peace--part, at least, of the responsibility for the horrors +of the protracted war, for the slaughter of many hundred thousands more +of human beings, rests on America. But for the American transports of +guns and ammunition, the power of Russia would give way in a shorter +time, considering her enormous losses in that respect and her inability +to supplement them from her own workshops. + +It is very edifying that American pacifists are exerting themselves +against the current of militarism which appears to spread in their +country; but wouldn't it be better still, more to the purpose and +certainly practically more urgent, to insist upon a truly neutral +attitude of the great republic, to protest against her feeding the war +by providing one belligerent side with its implements? Do American +pacifists really fail to see that their country by such proceedings +disables herself from being the peacemaker of the future? Do they think +it immaterial from the standpoint of her moral power, as well as of her +material interests, how central Europe, a mass of 120,000,000, think of +her, feel about her? + +I hope my readers will not find fault with me for using such plain +language. My well-known enthusiastic regard for the great American +commonwealth makes it unnecessary that I should protest against the +charge of meaning disrespect or anything else whatever but a sincere +desire to state with absolute sincerity how we feel about these matters, +in what light they appear to us. I think America must know this, because +it is part of the general situation she has to reckon with when shaping +her policies. I fervently hope these policies will remain in concordance +with the great principles on which the commonwealth is built and with +the teaching embodied in that farewell address which is read once a year +in Congress and in which the greatest American emphatically warns his +countrymen from becoming entangled in the conflicts of European nations. + +A few words more about the future of Europe may be said on this +occasion. I have read with the keenest interest your own and Mr. +Carnegie's statements concerning a future organization of Europe on the +pattern of the United States. My personal views concerning this +magnificent idea have been expressed in anticipation in my America +lectures of the year 1911. Allow me to quote my own words: + + Analogies are often misleading, the most obvious ones + especially so. Nothing seems more obvious than to draw + conclusions from the existing union of American States to a + possible union of European nations; but no fancied analogy is + to be applied with greater caution than this one. The American + Union's origin was the common struggle of several English + colonies, now States, for their emancipation; unity of purpose + was the main principle of their growth, union its natural + result. + + Europe, on the other hand, is, in her origin and in her + present state, a compound of conflicting interests and + struggling potentialities. Mutual antagonism remained the + principle of growth embodied in the several national lives. + The juridical formula of this system is the principle of + national sovereignty in its most uncompromising interpretation + and most limitless conception. As such it is the natural + result of a historical growth mainly filled with antagonism; + in the consciousness of (European) nations it lives as + synonymous with national honor, as something above doubt and + discussion. + +Let me add to this the following remarks: + +1. Any sort of union among the nations of Europe appears impossible if +it is meant to include Russia. Russia represents eastern mentality, +which implies an unadmissible spirit of aggression and of conquest. It +seems to be a law of nature on the old Continent that eastern nations +should wish to expand to the west as long as they are powerful. Not to +mention the great migration of nations which gave birth to mediaeval +organizations, you may follow this law in the history of the Tartars, of +the Turks, and of Russia herself. The spirit of aggressiveness vanishes +only when decay sets in, which is still far from being the case of +Russia, or when a nation is gradually converted to Occidental mentality, +which, I hope, will some day be her happy lot. But till then, and that +may mean a century or two, any sort of union including Russia would mean +a herd of sheep including a wolf. + +2. What I hope then, for the present, as the most desirable result of +the war, is a thorough understanding between the nations of the Western +European Continent, construction of a powerful political block, +corresponding to the area of western mentality, in close connection with +America; such a block would discourage aggression from the east; it +would urge Russia on the path of reform and home improvement. England +would be welcome to join it, on condition of renouncing those +pretensions to monopolizing the seas which are as constant a menace to +peace as Russian aggressiveness is. So we should have, if not "the +United States of Europe," which at present lies beyond the boundary +lines of possibilities, a strong peace union of the homogeneous western +nations. Alas! this result can be reached only by destroying the present +unnatural connections, which mean the continuance of war till a crushing +decision is obtained. + +3. The American colonies of England did not think of union as of a peace +scheme; they had been compelled into it by war, by the necessity of +self-defense. It is only such an overpowering motive which has force +enough to blot out petty rivalries and minor antagonisms. If union +between States belonging to the same race and not divided either by +history or by serious conflicting interests could be effected only under +the pressure of a common peril, we must infer "a minori ad majus" that +such a powerful incentive will be more necessary still to persuade into +union nations of different races, each cherishing memories of mutual +collisions and actually aware of not unimportant clashing interests. + +The menace of aggression from the east has been brought home to us by +the present war; gradually it will be understood even by those +Occidentals who at present unhappily lend their support to that +aggression. On this perception of the higher common interests of +self-defense do I build the possibilities of a western coalition. But a +time may come when Russia will be compelled to join it and to complete +thereby the union of the whole of Europe; it may come sooner than the +conversion of Russia to western ideas could be effected by natural +evolution; it may come through the yellow peril, the menace of which has +been brought nearer to us by the accursed policy of England. + +Let Japan organize the dormant forces of China, as it seems bent upon +doing, and the same law of eastern aggressiveness which is at the bottom +of the present war will push the yellow mass toward Europe. Russia, as +comparatively western, will have to bear their first onset; for this she +will require Occidental assistance, and in the turmoil of that direful +conflict--or, let us hope, in order to avoid it--she will readily give +up all designs against her western neighbors, and she may become really +western by the necessities which impel her to lean on the west. + +But this may or may not happen. What I see before me as a tangible +possibility is the great western block. It is the only principle of +reconstruction after war that contains a guarantee of a permanent peace; +it is the one, therefore, which the pacifists of all nations should +strive for, once they get rid of the passing mentality of conflict that +now obscures the judgment of the best among us. + +[Illustration] + + + + +Neutral Spirit of the Swiss + +An Interview With President Motta of the Swiss Confederation + +[From The London Times, Jan. 30, 1915.] + + +BERNE, Jan. 20. + +The President of the Swiss Confederation is the symbol of a democracy so +perfect that the man in the street is not quite sure who the President +is. He knows that he is one of a council of seven, and that he is +elected for one year, and that is all. In the Federal Palace, the Berne +Westminster and Downing Street, the anonymity is almost as complete. +Officers pass and repass in the corridors--one of the signs, like the +waiting military motor cars at the door, of mobilization--but this does +not change the spirit, simple and civilian, of the interior. + +M. Motta, Chief of State for this year, is a man of early middle life. +He is the best type of Swiss, a lawyer by profession, whose limpid +French seems to express culture as well as candor. Nor could one doubt +for a moment the sincerity of his speech. Speaking on the Swiss position +in the war, M. Motta was anxious to remove the impression that it was +colored, dominated by the existence of the German-speaking cantons, more +numerous than the French. "Of course," he said, "we have our private +sympathies, which incline us one way or the other, and there is the +language tie--though here we are greatly attached to our Bernese +patois--but I would have you believe the Swiss are essentially just and +impartial, they look at the war objectively. + +"We have good-will toward all the nations. Need I say that we respect +and esteem England? Have you not found that you are well received? There +is no antagonistic feeling against any one. Our neutrality is imposed +upon us by our position, a neutrality that is threefold in its effects, +for it is political, financial, and economic. Italy, France, Germany, +Austria, are our neighbors; we send them goods, and we receive supplies +from them in return." + +We then talked of the army, of that wonderful little army which, at this +moment, is watching the snowy passes of the Alps. Two years ago it is +said to have impressed the Kaiser on manoeuvres; perhaps for that reason +he has refrained to pass that way. Outside, in the slippery streets, +over which the red-capped children passed with shouts of glee, I had +seen something of the preparations; the men, steel-like and stolid, +marching by, the officers, stiff and martial-looking, saluting right and +left under the quaint arcades of this charming city. Colored photographs +of corps commanders adorned the windows and seemed to find a ready sale. +These things pointed in the same direction. Switzerland, posted on her +crests, was watching the issue of the terrific struggle in the plains. + +"We must defend our neutrality," the President said, "our 600 years of +freedom. There is not a single man in the country who thinks +differently. I am an Italian-Swiss, one of the least numerous of our +nationalities, but there is only one voice here as elsewhere--only one +voice from Ticino to Geneva. That we shall defend our neutrality is +proved by the great expenditure on our army; otherwise, it would be the +height of folly." + +The President spoke of army expenditure, of the simple army system, of +the reorganization which had been carried out some years before. +Switzerland was spending L20,000 a day, a large sum for a small country. +Since the day when the general mobilization had been decreed--some +classes have now been liberated--Switzerland had spent L4,500,000. It +was a lot of money. + +The army, of course, was a militia; some few officers were professional +soldiers, others were drawn from a civil career and were doctors, +lawyers, engineers, and merchants. In 1907 the country had consented to +lengthen the periods of training in what are quaintly called the +"recruits' schools" and "rehearsal schools." In the former category the +men do sixty-five days' training a year, in the latter forty-five. + +"I assure you," continued M. Motta, "whatever sympathy the German-Swiss +may feel toward Germany, the French-Swiss toward France, or the Italian +toward Italy, it is nothing like as warm and as intimate as that which +each Swiss feels toward his fellow-Swiss." + +This was the national note which dominated everything. At first there +was a little difficulty in the councils of the nation. Some showed a +tendency to lose their balance, but that phase had passed, and each day, +I gathered, purely Swiss interests were coming uppermost. + +"And the press, M. le President?" + +M. Motta admitted that some writers had been excessive in their +language and had been lacking in good taste; but, on the whole, he +thought the newspapers had impartially printed news from both sides, and +he cited a list of leading organs--Switzerland is amazingly full of +papers--which had been conspicuous for their moderation. + +And then there was the question of contraband. Orders were very precise +on the subject; the Cabinet had limitless power since the opening of the +war; if there was any smuggling it was infinitesimal, and, as to +foodstuffs, Switzerland regretted she could not import more for her own +needs. The Government had established a monopoly and forbidden +re-exportation, but supplies were not up to the normal. The route by the +Rhine was closed. + +Finally came the phrase, concluding the conversation: "Whoever violates +our neutrality will force us to become the allies of his enemy." There +could be nothing more categorical. + + + + +TO KING AND PEOPLE. + +By WALTER SICHEL. + +[From King Albert's Book.] + + + _All the great things have been done by the little + peoples._--DISRAELI. + + Sire, King of men, disdainer of the mean, + Belgium's inspirer, well thou stand'st for all + She bodes to generations yet unseen, + Freedom and fealty--Kingship's coronal. + + Nation of miracles, how swift you start + To super-stature of heroic deeds + So brave, so silent beats your bleeding heart + That ours, e'en in the flush of welcome, bleeds. + + No sound of wailing. Look, above, afar, + Throbs in the darkness with triumphant ray + A little yet an all-commanding star, + The morning star that heralds forth the day. + + + + +A Swiss View of Germany + +By Maurice Millioud + + + M. Maurice Millioud, an eminent member of the Faculty of the + University of Lausanne, Switzerland, has written an article of + marked breadth and penetration in which he presents a quite + novel view of the forces which, in combination, have brought + Germany to its actual position. These forces are political, + social, and economic; beneath and through them works the + subtle impulsion of a national conception of right and might + which the author sums up as the "ideology of caste." Want of + space forbids the publication of the entire article. We give + its most significant parts with such summary of those portions + which it was necessary to omit as, we trust, will enable our + readers to follow the general argument. + +Humanitarians the most deeply buried in dreams yield with stupefaction +to the evidence of fact. European war was possible, since here it is, +and even a world war, for all continents are represented in the melee. +Millions of men on the one side or the other are ranged along battle +fronts of from 500 to 1,000 kilometers. We are witnessing a displacement +of human masses to which there is nothing comparable except the +formidable convulsions of geologic ages. + +The world then was in formation. Will a new Europe, a new society, a new +humanity, take form from the prodigious shock by which our imagination +is confounded? + +We can at least seek to understand what we cannot hinder. + +This war was not a matter of blind fate, but had been foreseen for a +long time. What are the forces that have set the nations in movement? I +do not seek to establish responsibility. Whosoever it may be, those who +have let loose the conflict have behind them peoples of one mind. That, +perhaps, is the most surprising feature in an epoch when economic, +social, and moral interests are so interwoven from one end of the earth +to the other that the conqueror himself must suffer cruelly from the +ruin of the conquered. + +The Governments have determined the day and the hour. They could not +have done it in opposition to the manifest will of the nations. Public +sentiment has seconded them. What is it then which rouses man from his +repose, impels him to desert his gains, his home, the security of a +regular life, and sends him in eager search for bloody adventures? + +This problem involves different solutions because it embraces a number +of cases. Between the Russians, the French, the English, the Germans +there is a similarity of will, but not, it seems, an analogy of +sentiment. I shall undertake to analyze the case of Germany. It has +peculiar interest on account of its importance, of its definiteness, of +the comparisons to which it leads, and the reflections which it +suggests. Numerous facts easy to verify and in part recent permit us to +throw some light upon it and offer us a guarantee against hazardous +conjectures. + +_Defining a caste as "a group of men bound to each other by solidarity +of functions in society," such as the Brahmins of India and the feudal +nobility, Prof. Millioud says that he will use the terms as equivalent +or nearly equivalent to a "directing class." Quoting the article from +Vorwaerts which led to the suspension of that Socialist organ and which +"admits by implication that responsibility for the war falls on +Germany," he proceeds to examine the origins of the influence of the war +party and the interests it served._ + +Here we must have recourse to history. In Germany the dominant class is +composed in part of an aristocracy by birth and of bourgeois +capitalists, more or less of them ennobled. The interior policy of +Germany since 1871 and even since 1866 is explained by the relations, +sometimes kindly, sometimes hostile, of these two categories of persons, +by the opposition or the conjunction of these two influences, and not +by a struggle of the dominant class against the socialistic mass. That +struggle, which is in France and is becoming in England a fact of +essential gravity, has been in Germany only a phenomenon of secondary +importance. It has determined neither the profound evolution of the +national life nor the chief decisions of the Government. + +In Germany, as is known, the abolition of the ancien regime did not take +place brusquely as in France. After the revolution and the French +occupation, the noble caste recovered all its privileges. It has lost +them little by little, but not yet entirely. Even the liquidation of the +property of the feudal regime was not completed until toward 1850. +Napoleon made some sad cuts in the little sovereignties, but from 1813 +to 1815 the princely families did their utmost to recover their +independence. The greater part were mediatized, but their tenacity +offered a serious obstacle up to 1871 to the establishment of German +unity. + +That unity was accomplished in despite of them, by sword and fire, as +Bismarck said, that is to say, by the wars of 1866 and 1870. Care was +taken, however, not to abase them more than was strictly necessary, for +it was intended to maintain the hierarchy. What was wanted was a +monarchical unity, made from above down, and not a democratic unity +brought about by popular impulsion. + +On the other hand, the smaller nobles formed, after 1820, a vast +association for the defense of their rights, the Adelskette. Moreover, +they could not be sacrificed, in the first place, because they had +rendered invaluable services in the wars of independence, they had +arisen as one man, and they had ruined themselves in sacrifices for the +national cause, they had organized the people and led it to victory, +finally because they served to restrain the high nobility whose +domination was feared. They sustained the throne against the princes, +the higher nobility against the democracy, the lesser nobility against +the higher, the two forming an intermediary class between the monarch +and the nation. That was the social conception which prevailed with +those who were working to realize the unity of Germany, so that the +nobility, lesser or higher, in default of its privileges retained its +functions. + +Treitschke, in his last lessons, about 1890, called it "a political +class." For the bourgeois, he said, wealth, instruction, letters, arts. +Their part is fine enough. The nobility is apt at governing. That is its +special distinction. For a long time, in fact, the nobility has filled +alone or almost alone the great administrative, governmental, and +military posts. + +Bismarck was the finished type, the representative par excellence of +this class of men. He had their intellectual and moral qualities carried +to the highest degree of superiority. But he underwent evolution after +1871, and his caste with him, under the pressure of general +circumstances. + +Bismarck was a Junker, a Prussian rustic, monarchist, particularist, +agrarian and militarist. Each of his qualities is an attribute of a +mentality of caste, a very curious one, not lacking in grandeur, but +very narrow and not always adequate to the conduct of affairs. + +Monarchist means anti-Parliamentarian. The fine scorn of rhetoric and +even of public discussion, a conviction that democracy will not lead to +anything beyond a display of mediocrity, that is one of the salient +features of his mind. Patriotism conceived as an attachment to personal +relations, as the service of one man, the subject, to another man, the +King, and not the service of an anonymous person, the functionary, to an +abstraction, the State, the republic, this was formerly designated by +the word faithful, (feal,) which has disappeared from our vocabulary +because it is without meaning in our present moral state. + +The Junker is particularist, at least he was. The political and +administrative centralization which the Jacobins achieved in France +inspires him with horror. For him it is disorder. He sees in it nothing +but a dust heap of individuals crushed beneath a formula. Even today, +when the German accuses France of anarchy, that is what he means. He +figures to himself the nation as a vast hierarchy of liberties, an +autonomy of States within the empire, of provinces within the State, of +communes within the province, of proprietors within the commune. +Equality is equality of rank, of worth, of wealth, of force, but +impersonal equality before the law is for him an unnatural thing, an +invention of the professors which at heart he despises. + +He is agrarian and militarist, that is to say, conservative and enamored +of force. In 1830 four-fifths of the population lived by agriculture and +the landlord governed his peasants patriarchally. He kept the +conservatist spirit of a rustic, a very lively sense of authority and +the military instinct. He had scant liking for distant enterprises or +adventures. He was at once religious, warlike, and realist, knowing how +to nurse his ambitions and to confine his view to what was within reach. + +Bismarck for a long time was the decided opponent of naval armaments and +colonial policy, in short, of imperialism. Even his projects for social +reform--insurance against sickness, against old age--which have been +accepted as concessions to modern ideas, were due entirely to his +monarchical and patriarchal conception of the State. He copied the +ancient decrees of Colbert as to naval personnel. He would have gone as +far as assurance against non-employment. In the dominion of the King, he +said, no one should die of hunger. + +The Junker made a force of Prussia; he made Prussia itself. It was due +to him that she passed after 1815 from the form of a Polizeistaat to the +form of Kulturstaat, the latter only an expansion of the former. In +place of a watchful, regulating, and vexatious State she became an +organized State, the instructor of youth, the protector of religion, the +source of inspiration for agricultural reforms, and all great commercial +and industrial enterprises. This State was not an emanation from the +national will, but the creator of a nation, the living and moving +self-incarnation of the Hegelian "idea," that is to say, the Divine +thought. + +Of all the German aristocracy the noble of Pomerania or Brandenburg, the +Prussian Junker, represented this social type most definitely. In the +south the liberal tendencies--to be exact, the memories of the French +Revolution--persisted far into the nineteenth century. But it is well +known that German unity was accomplished by military force and against +liberalism. + +After 1871, and even after Sadowa, the problem of interior policy which +presented itself was that of the "Prussianization" of Germany. At one +time it seemed that Bismarck was on the point of succeeding in it. What +was that national liberal party upon which he depended for so long? It +was the old liberal party, with advanced tendencies tainted with +democratic liberalism and even with cosmopolitanism, keeping up its +relations with the intellectuals, the university men, who made so much +noise with pen and voice about 1848 and later. They dreamed of the unity +of Germany in the democratic liberty and moral hegemony of their nation, +having become in Europe the sobered heir of the French Revolution. + +Under the influence of Bismarck they sacrificed to their dream of unity, +to their national dream, their liberal dream, and they secured for the +Chancellor the support of the upper bourgeoisie. + +It was indeed the Prussianization of Germany, but in that spirit and in +that system contemporary German militarism would never have fructified. +It was contrary to the characteristic tendencies of a monarchical State +supported by a conservative caste, which was also particularist, +military, and agricultural. A State of this kind tends to become a +closed State. + +What then happened? An event of capital importance which everybody +knows, but of which we only now begin to see the consequences. It was +the radical transformation of Germany from an agricultural to an +industrial nation. In its origin this phenomenon dates from before the +nineteenth century. By 1848 it had become perceptible. Since 1866, and +especially since 1871, it has dominated the entire social evolution of +the empire. Here, in fact, is the revolution. It partakes of the +character of a tragedy, it has overturned the conditions of life +throughout the entire German territory. + +At the close of the War of Independence, four out of five Germans lived +on the land, two out of three were engaged in agriculture. By 1895 the +agricultural population was only 35.7 per cent. That, supported by +industry and commerce, kept continually increasing. In 1895 it was 50.6 +per cent. + +This progress of industry and trade indicates the rise of a new class of +the population, that of the capitalists. It seemed at first that their +arrival would result in a dispossession of the nobility. For example, +under the ancien regime the bourgeois could not acquire the property of +the nobles. Toward 1880, for Eastern Prussia only, 7,086 estates of +11,065 belonged to non-nobles. They could have been acquired only with +money. Capital was supplanting birth. Today even, in Prussia, five +members of the Ministry, a little more than one-third, are bourgeois not +enjoying the particle von. + +The new dominant class encroached upon the ancient in two ways, by +depriving it of its clientele and by acquiring a considerable weight in +the State. "The weight of a social class" is the totality of its means +of action, which it possesses on account of its numbers, its personal +influence, its wealth, and the importance of the interests which it +represents. The clientele of the agrarian nobility was essentially the +peasants, who have continually diminished in number, the attraction of +industrial and commercial employments having caused a great migration to +the interior, to the factories, and the cities. + +For many years this phenomenon has been disclosed by statistics and +pointed out by economists and sociologists, but no remedy has been +found. Today, although emigration abroad has much moderated, Germany has +not labor for its tillage. It is obliged to import farm hands and even +cereals. It no longer produces foodstuffs sufficient for its own +support. + +Moreover, the peasant who remains upon the soil is freed +from the landlord, and agricultural production has become +specialized--industrialized. There is the case, for instance, of that +peasant woman who declared that she had not the time to wash her linen +and who sent it to the steam laundry at Karlsruhe. Here is not merely an +economic transformation, but a moral evolution. The agriculturist who no +longer produces in order to consume but in order to sell, and who must +live from the product of his sales, tries to produce as much as +possible. He hires foreign labor to get from it all that he can. The +impersonal relations of employer and employed replace the patriarchal +traditions. Thus the land owner finds himself caught in the mechanism of +the capitalistic system. + +As to the "weight" of the new class, it increased prodigiously during +the years following the war of 1870, thanks to the millions which the +empire could invest in its industries and which allowed it to endow its +commerce and its merchant marine, to complete the network of its roads, +canals, and railways. + +The law of concentration of capital was verified on this occasion in a +striking manner. In the famous years 1871 to 1874, which the Germans +call the Gruendejahre, the foundation years, gigantic industrial and +commercial enterprises took a spring which seemed irresistible. A +Director of the Deutsche Bank, of the Dresdener Bank, the President of a +company for transatlantic commerce, such as the Hamburg-American Line, +or of the committee of great electric establishments, enjoyed an +influence in the councils of the State far greater than that of a Baron, +a Count, or a little mediatized Prince. + +What was the aristocracy of birth going to do about it? Struggle +desperately? It took that tack at first. Bismarck ranged himself in its +support for some time. He was himself an agrarian. But he was not long +in installing paper mills on his estates at Varzin. It is said that the +Emperor himself possesses porcelain factories. A part of the nobility +for a long time tried to adapt itself to the new method of production. +It took to it awkwardly and often ended in ruin. + +Freytag has described this phenomenon at its beginnings in a romance +which is a chef d'oeuvre. A part of the nobility yielded, fell into the +hands of the financiers, the money lenders, the managers of agricultural +enterprises, sold their lands, and took refuge in the great civil, +administrative and military posts. The remainder resisted as well as +they could. There was antagonism between their interests and those of +the capitalists, between the religious and particularist tendencies on +one hand and free thought and cosmopolitanism on the other. The +agrarians demanded tariff duties on agricultural products to raise the +price of their foodstuffs. The industrials wanted a low cost of living +in order to avoid the rise of wages and to compete with better advantage +for foreign markets. + +Bismarck was the target for vehement opposition when he inclined toward +the party of the traders and the industrials in his colonial and tariff +policy. This evolution came about 1879. For a while the great Chancellor +was looked upon almost as a traitor. + +Nevertheless, his view was just. Balancing the forces on the one hand by +those on the other, ceding protective duties first to one side and then +to the other, offsetting the advantages which he offered to one side by +the prerogatives which he accorded to the other, he finally succeeded in +reconciling them. + +From this reconciliation of the two dominant classes has resulted the +extraordinary power of Germany. The bourgeois parties have from time to +time grumbled over the military appropriations, but they have always +voted them. And militarism, which is the support of the aristocracy, has +been placed at the service of capitalistic ambition. By the prestige of +force, awakening hopes here and inspiring fears there, more than once by +the help of manoeuvres of intimidation, it has become an instrument of +economic conquest. + +Other combinations, other reciprocal interlacings, have taken place +which have given an exceptional and unique character to contemporary +Germany. It is a case of social psychology of extreme interest. To +describe it would require long detail. The combination of the +aristocratic and military tendency with the industrial and plutocratic +tendency, the tendency of the police spirit, the regularizing spirit of +the Kulturstaat with the individual initiative of the capitalist +_entrepreneur_, methodical habits of administration with the love of +risk characteristic of the speculator, all this constitutes imperialism, +German imperialism, distinct from every other, because to a definite +object, economic conquest, it adds another, less precise, in which the +moral satisfaction dear to aristocracy, the pleasure of dominating, the +love of displaying force, the tendency to prove one's own superiority to +one's self, play a large part. + +Economic conquest has become a necessity for Germany. Transformed into +an industrial State, it no longer produces its own food. Since 1885 its +imports have exceeded its exports by 1,353,000,000 marks. Whence did +Germany derive these 1,300,000,000 marks which were needed, good year +and bad, to meet its balance of trade? It owes them to its maritime +commerce and the revenue of its capital invested abroad. Its maritime +commerce then must augment and must triumph over all competition. At +every cost it must open for itself outlets for its industrial products +in order to buy foodstuffs which it does not produce sufficiently. If +not, famine. + +Let us see now how the complicated play of all these social forces and +the effect of this economic situation have been embodied in formulas, +what has been its intellectual expression. + +This is no idle question, for men have always claimed to be guided by +ideas, and generally they are, but they rarely know where their ideas +come from or in what they consist. Without intellectual expression +imperialism would not have extended to all the classes of society. The +passion of economic conquest did not prevail throughout the whole of +Germany. The bourgeois in the Liberal provinces, the corps of officers, +the corps of teachers, the clergy were refractory to it. This direct +form of imperialism does not seduce them. Not everybody can see his +country and the universe through the eyes of an oligarch of high +finance. A doctrine works with power when it appeals to instincts, when +it awakens collective emotions, diverse enough in themselves, and joins +them to each other with an appearance of logical deduction. It is not +indispensable, but it is useful that it should borrow the language of +the day. In the mediaeval epoch this language was religious. Beginning +with the seventeenth century it was metaphysical. In our own time it is +a scientific language set off by Greek words. + +If the German philosophies of the second half of the nineteenth century +are considered, there are not many of them that pass beyond the limit of +the school. They are honest, scholarly productions elaborated by men who +have read much, of whom some, like Wundt, are eminent specialists, but +who have not conquered either their subjects or their readers. One feels +that they are not of their century. + +It is not from them, it is not from Eucken, the pleasant popularizer, it +is not from Windelbund or Ostwald that the cultivated public sought the +direction for its thought. To satisfy the need of general ideas which +was everywhere felt, associations were formed, churches with or without +God, of which a very important one was the "Monistenbund," in which +Haeckel exploited his materialism transformed into a sort of biological +pantheism. + +But it was outside of the associations and outside of the school that +the flame of creative genius burned brightly. The man of the last +generation was Nietzsche. That his thought has been perverted by his +interpreters there is no doubt. They have taken this eagle who gazed +unblinded at the sun and exhibited him to the young people in all sorts +of philosophic roles for the benefit of the industrial and military +coalition. Nietzsche depicted in lines of fire the resurrection of +heroism, his vision of the superman was that of an ardent soul, steeled +by sufferings, meditating a tragic conception of life with serenity, +and in his solitary individualism surmounting the infirmity of man and +his own by the insistent will to eternal ascension. + +He was made the apostle of brute force, a sort of Messiah of the +"struggle for life." Moreover, he was soon put one side and Gobineau was +revived. He also, who if he did not have genius had wit, would have been +surprised and hardly flattered perhaps by the role which they made him +play. The dolichocephalic (long-skulled) blonde whom he celebrated was +not exactly the one whom we are now judging by his works, but at least +he proclaimed the superiority of the German race. + +His doctrine was the centre around which were gathered a complete +ensemble of dogmas and of very diverse theories, whose connected thread +it is not easy to discover when it is searched for logically, but +appears quite distinctly when not reason, but reasons, are demanded. The +reasons are found in the need of justifying in theory the economic and +military imperialism, born as we have seen from conditions of fact and +from very practical motives. + +I do not pretend that it was calculated, nor that the optimates made +express requisition of the naturalists, economists, and historians and +sociologists and moralists to provide an imperialistic philosophy for +the use of adult and normal dolichocephalous blondes. But there +certainly was a coincidence. It may have been due to the influence of +what is called a _milieu ambiant_, that of the commercial and military +party. The authors of the doctrine lived in a special atmosphere. Their +intellect was there formed--or deformed--their work consisted in +gathering facts, inventing reasonings, elaborating formulas, so as to +subject natural science, history and morality to the service of that +keen will for hegemony which was in Germany the common characteristic +and was the connecting link between the ancient and the new directing +class. + +To convince one that this is so, it is enough to arrange the works of +the pan-Germanists in a series passing from the simplest to the most +complicated. The dates are of no importance. We might put at one of the +extremes the works of the Prussian General, von Bernhardi, and at the +other the gigantic lucubration of a famous pan-German zealot, a +neophite, a convert, almost a deserter, Mr. Houston Stewart Chamberlain. + +_Prof. Millioud examines at some length and acutely the tendencies and +teachings of von Bernhardi, now familiar to American readers, sums up +the work of the philosophers of minor rank and turns to Mr. +Chamberlain._ + +With Mr. Chamberlain the thesis of vital competition, the morality of +force, the judgment of history against little nations, the civilizing +mission imposed upon greater Germany by its very greatness, by its +economic, scientific and artistic superiority, everything tends to the +glorification of the German, to his duty to govern the whole world which +he feels so imperatively and which he accepts with such a noble +simplicity. His work is not easily summarized, not only because it +counts 1,379 pages and two appendices, but because all is in everything, +and everything in the universe is also in Mr. Chamberlain's book. And +the German has made everything. Not indeed the world; that he has only +remade and is about to remake. But he has a way of remaking so creative +that one might say that without him the Creator Himself would be a bit +embarrassed. He has gathered to himself alone the heritage of Greece and +Rome as far as it was worth anything. From the year 1200 to the year +1800 he founded, ripened, and saved a new civilization several times +over. The mother of our sciences and our arts, Italy, is Germanic; the +great architecture of the Middle Ages is Germanic; the true +interpretation of Christianity, the true conception of art, the true +social economy, the love of nature, the sense of individuality, the +exploration of the world and of the soul, the great reawakenings of +conscience, all the great flashes of thought are Germanic; everything is +Germanic, except you and me, perhaps; so much the worse for me and so +much the worse for you. After this book, the success of which has been +prodigious, it would truly seem that there is nothing more to say. +Germanic thought has appropriated the universe to itself. It only +remained for the German sword to complete the work. It is drawn! + +I have tried to describe the modifications, or rather the successive +additions, by which the elementary themes disclosing economic, +political, and military appetites in the directing class have been +disguised as theories of biology, history, political economy, sociology, +and morality. It would take another study or another article to show how +science was perverted to such ends. The severity of methods, rigor in +the determination of facts, precision in reasoning, prudence in +generalization, serene impartiality and objectivity in verification, in +a word the scientific spirit, cannot be bent to so many pleasant +compromises without sacrificing a great part of its dignity and its +title to respect. + +This has been a singular and melancholy event for those of us who have +been raised in respect for German science and in admiration for its +methods, as well as for its discoveries. Certainly, from Liebig to +Roentgen and to Behring, from Kant to Wundt, Germany has counted many +distinguished pioneers. In the matter of fecund originality, however, +and creative inspiration, Italy and France have always equaled, if not +surpassed, her. She has had no Marconi, no Pasteur or Poincare, no +Carrel. + +What we have received from her so long that it has become almost a +matter of instinct is less dazzling flashes than an equal and constant +light. And the savants, the university men who bring to us +anthropological romances, history stuffed with legends and personal +prejudices, sociology constructed in contempt of the facts! + +In these later days we have seen all these joining under the guidance of +their most illustrious members to address the civilized nations in an +appeal in which by virtue of their quality as savants they undertook to +pronounce upon facts which they don't understand, to deny those which +they cannot help understanding, and solemnly to declare that it is not +true that Germany has violated the neutrality of the territory of +Belgium. For proof of this, nothing but their word of honor. Do they +take us for those young gentlemen who said to Monge, "Professor, give us +your word of honor that this theorem is true and we will excuse you from +the demonstration of it"? + +Fully to explain the role of the intellectual savants and university men +in the formation of the ideology of caste which prevails among the +Germans it would be necessary to recite the history of instruction in +Germany, not such as Davis and Paulson have written it, but such as it +actually is under the influence of institutions and programmes--I mean +the moral history of instruction. + +The great Frederick was wont to cry, "I commence by taking; afterward I +shall always have pedants enough to establish my rights." Pedants or +not, the members of the teaching corps of every grade in Germany are a +wheel of the State, their mission is to form not men, but Germans, to +inculcate the national idea. Their views have penetrated even to the +common people. + +Germany receives a double education--that of the school and that of the +barracks. The spirit of these two institutions is the same, and their +influence, which has been exercised since 1848 in opposition to +humanitarian and internationalist ideas, has encountered no serious +obstacles, for it went readily with certain old instincts which it was +not difficult to reawaken and which general circumstances favored. + +"Latrocinia nullam habent infamiam," said Caesar, speaking of the +Germans. Pillage brings no shame. This desire of gain, this positive and +realistic tendency is one of the motives which the brusque and +prodigious economic expansion of Germany has promoted in the most +efficient manner. + +This total assimilation of a people of 70,000,000 of souls by an +aristocratic, almost a feudal, directing class, a combination of +plutocrats and militarists, is in reality a most curious phenomenon, +more than curious, in a sense grandiose, and in any case full of +suggestions and menaces. + +Surrender of body and soul, confidence almost religious, enthusiastic +faith, the directing class has conquered everything within in order to +conquer everything without. Now it stakes everything upon the cast of +the dice. I have not undertaken to decide whether it is just or not. The +event will determine whether it is genius or madness. + + + + +THE LAND OF MAETERLINCK + +By Alfred Sutro + +[From King Albert's Book.] + + +I have translated many books of Maeterlinck's; I have wandered with him +among the canals of Bruges and the fragrant gardens of Ghent; I have +seen the places where he dreamed of Pelleas and Melisande, and the hives +of the bees he loved. Through him I learned to know Belgium, today all +the world knows. Her cities are laid waste now and her people scattered, +but her people will return and rebuild the cities, and the enemy will be +dust. The day will come when the war will be far distant, a thing of the +past, remote, forgotten, but never, while men endure or heroism counts, +will it be forgotten what the Belgians did for Liberty's sake and for +the sake of Albert, their King. + + + + +America and Prohibition Russia + +Two Mustard Seeds of Reform Carried From This Land to the Steppes + +By Isabel F. Hapgood + + +When Russia recently abolished the sale of liquor, first in the shops +run as a Government monopoly, and, after a brief experience of the +beneficent results, in the restaurants and clubs as well, an astonished +and admiring world recognized the measure as one of the greatest events +in the moral history of a nation. It takes rank with the reforms of +Peter the Great. It almost casts into the shade the emancipation of the +serfs. + +There has always existed in Russia a strong party which severely +disapproved of Peter precisely because he forced "Western" ideas upon +them. Their idea has always been that Russia would have developed a far +higher degree of genuine culture and far more precious spiritual +qualities had she been left to the promptings of her own genius and its +"healthy, natural" development. And there are, indubitably, persons +scattered through the vast Russian Empire who entertain parallel +opinions with regard to the total prohibition of liquor just effected, +and with regard to the projected change in the calendar now assumed to +be imminent. I trust that I shall not increase their numbers to +dangerous proportions if I call attention to the fact that these reforms +have also, like Peter the Great's ideas, been imported from the +West--from the Far West, the United States. I am sure my +fellow-countrymen will be gratified to learn the truth, and I cheerfully +accept the risk, and assume that Russia will, in all probability, remain +ignorant of my interference! + +It is true that we do not have actual, effective prohibition anywhere +here in America, and that we do not seem to be within measurable +distance of such an achievement; that Russia has distanced us again in +this, just as she distanced us by emancipating her serfs, without a +war, before we emancipated our slaves, with the aid of a war. But we +have supplied the scriptural mustard seed in the case of prohibition in +Russia, and have either furnished the seed for the change in the +calendar, or, at any rate, have provided elements that have hastened its +growth to a very remarkable degree. + +Mustard seed No. 1 was carried over from the United States in the Autumn +of 1887 and sown on the good ground of the late Count Tolstoy, and other +noble men, whence--as results show--it spread abroad with a swiftness +suggestive rather of the proverbial weed than of the fair flower its +blossoming has shown it to be. + +In the Autumn of 1886 Dr. Peter Semyonovitch Alexyeeff of Moscow, +accompanied by his wife, sailed for Canada and the United States for the +purpose of inspecting the hospitals, prisons, and elementary schools; +and they came for the Winter because some parts of Canada during that +season possess a climate similar to that of Central Russia, while in +other parts the climates are identical. In fact, Canada is the only +country in the world where the climatic conditions are at all analogous. +The construction of new hospitals, the adaptation of already existing +buildings for hospital use, the internal arrangement, and the perfection +of their internal machinery had long been matters of deep interest to +Dr. Alexyeeff. + +Germany and France, with climates so different from that of Russia, +could not furnish him with the information available in North America, +where, in his opinion, the habits and conditions of existence--such +important factors in matters connected with hospitals and invalids--also +differ less from those of Russia than do the general surroundings in the +countries of the Continent. After visiting the principal cities of +Canada and the United States from Quebec to Vancouver, and from Boston +to Washington, (some of them more than once,) Dr. Alexyeeff arrived at +the conclusion that the hospitals of the United States were better built +and much better administered than those of London, Paris, Berlin, and +Vienna. + +Naturally, no one could spend nine months in investigating hospitals and +prisons in this country without coming in contact with the liquor +problem. Moreover, Dr. Alexyeeff was a wideawake man, who took an +interest not only in all matters connected with his profession, but in +very many outside of it. He was, also, a man of very lofty character. +His wife once wrote me concerning him somewhat as follows: "He walks, +habitually, on such moral heights, in such a rarefied spiritual +atmosphere, that I, the daughter of an English clergyman, reared +accordingly, and myself (as you know) deeply in sympathy with it, find +difficulty in following him." Obviously, he was precisely the man to +appreciate the temperance movement, and to carry it to its logical +conclusion. In the preface to a volume, "About America," which he +published in Moscow in 1888, he writes: + + Neither the wonders of wild nature in the Rocky Mountains nor + the menacing might and grandeur of Niagara produce such an + impression on a Russian as the success of the fight with + drunkenness--the temperance movement--and the successful + development, in all classes of society, of morality and the + strict application of practical morals. + +He did not confine himself to this brief, general statement. He wrote in +praise of temperance, of prohibition, for learned Russian societies. +Then he wrote a book entitled "Concerning Drunkenness." The Censor's +permit to publish is dated March 29, (April 10,) 1887. It was published +by the management of the magazine, Russkaya Mysl, (Russian Thought,) +which may indicate that it had first appeared in that monthly as a +series of articles, though I have not been able to verify the fact. The +book may have been published promptly, or at least the article from the +medical magazine may have been published in the cheap form (costing two +or three cents) used by the semi-commercial, semi-philanthropic firm +"Posrednik," which may be rendered "Middleman" or "Mediator," designed +for the dissemination of good and useful reading among the masses. + +At any rate, "Concerning Drunkenness" appeared at the price of one ruble +(about fifty cents) in 1891, prefaced by a dissertation by Count +Tolstoy, "Why Do People Stupefy Themselves?" specially written for this +occasion, as Dr. Alexyeeff told me. (It has been translated under the +title of "Alcohol and Tobacco," London, and published without any +indication that Dr. Alexyeeff inspired it.) + +In 1896 a second edition, revised and enlarged, was published, also in +Moscow; and to this the author added a list of helpful publications and +a summary bibliography, which included books issued in various foreign +countries, ranging in number from 705 for Great Britain and Colonies, +142 for the United States, 247 for Germany, 124 for ten other countries +combined, (up to 1885 in all these cases,) to ten for Russia. Of these +ten, four are in Latin, four in German, one is in Swedish and one in +Russian--the latter, evidently, an article republished from The Medical +News. On the whole, a list practically non-existent, so far as Russia +was concerned! + +Dr. Alexyeeff had discovered a field of endeavor as virgin as the +unplowed steppe. Only scientists desperately hard up for an unusual +topic for a strictly academic discussion and recklessly willing to risk +incurring universal unpopularity would have dreamed of unearthing those +volumes. He promptly aroused Count Tolstoy's interest in the subject of +temperance, which in this case signified prohibition, since the Count in +his preface to Dr. Alexyeeff's book (dated July 10-22, 1890,) treated +liquor on the same basis as tobacco, which he had totally abjured at +least two years previously. With Tolstoy, to become convinced that a +reform was desirable was, as all the world knows, to become an ardent +propagandist of that reform. Thanks to the efforts of Dr. Alexyeeff, +seconded by those of Tolstoy, temperance began to attract attention in +Russia, temperance societies were formed, and have been steadily +increasing ever since in numbers and activity. + +Eventually Mr. Tchelisheff arrived on the scene with his splendid vital +force and practical solutions of the financial and other problems (or +suggestions for them) that arise from prohibition, (especially when a +Government monopoly and revenue are concerned,) which he most +strenuously advocated when Mayor of Samara, as representative in the +Duma--everywhere, in fact, where he could obtain a hearing, willing or +unwilling, up to the Emperor Nicholas himself. And the Emperor showed +that he was equal to the magnificent opportunity, and joined hands with +the former peasant in aiding his country. + +In an interview published by THE TIMES a while ago Mr. Tchelisheff +mentions that his attention was first drawn to the subject of the evils +of drunkenness by a book which he saw a muzhik reading. Judging from the +point at which he inserts that mention into his outline sketch of his +career (previous to the great famine which he--erroneously--assigns to +the "end of the '80s," but which came in 1891) his interest was aroused +precisely at the time when Dr. Alexyeeff's first utterances may be +assumed to have seen the light of print. At any rate, it is an admitted +fact that Dr. Alexyeeff carried to Russia and to Tolstoy from the United +States the idea and inspiration which has borne such wonderful fruit in +the abolition of the liquor traffic "forever," as the Imperial ukase +runs. + +Mr. Tchelisheff is a noteworthy figure in history accordingly, but Dr. +Alexyeeff should not be forgotten. When I made his acquaintance at Count +Tolstoy's, in Moscow, he had just requested (and obtained) a detail of +service in Tchita, Trans-Baikal Province, Siberia, as physician to the +political exiles there, thinking the region would repay study from many +points of view, in his leisure hours. The preface to the first edition +of his book "Concerning Drunkenness" is dated "July, 1899, Tchita," and +from Tchita I received my copy from him. In that preface he states the +scope of his book in a way which confirms my conviction that Mr. +Tchelisheff was first stirred to interest, and in the end aroused to +action, by the United States, via Dr. Alexyeeff. He writes: + + The battle which in all ages has been waged against + drunkenness has been confined hitherto almost exclusively to + the realms of medicine and ethics; the social part of the + question is only just beginning to be worked out, and has + hardly as yet won the rights of citizenship, and down to our + own day there have been no serious legal measures adopted for + the battle with drunkenness. + +Therefore, he omits the legal aspects of the matter in his book and +confines himself to an attempt at popularizing the information scattered +in divers individual books, "borrowing everything which can lead to the +ultimate goal--the extermination of the evil caused by the use of +spirituous drinks." He continues: + + Public opinion has nowhere as yet, even in the lands where + considerable success has attended the war on drunkenness, + ripened sufficiently a desire to give, even incompletely, a + summary of the information about that battle, and make my + fellow-countrymen acquainted with a matter still little known + in Russia, so I am prompted to write what follows. + +The second edition of this book, with the surprising list of Russian +treatises on drunkenness to which I have already alluded, is dated +"June, 1895, Riga," where he lived after his return from Siberia, as an +official of the Government medical service, until his death in August, +1913. During the stay in Tchita of the Alexyeeffs, the present Emperor +(then the heir,) passed through it, on his way home (from the trip to +India and Japan which came so near terminating fatally in the latter +country) after having officially opened work upon the construction of +the Trans-Siberian Railway, on the shores of the Pacific Ocean. A formal +reception and ceremonies were organized in Tchita; and I allude to the +matter because of a curious detail mentioned in a letter to me by Mrs. +Alexyeeff. Foreigners have very queer ideas, she said, as to the +position and treatment of the political exiles in Siberia; some of the +Tchita exiles served as heads of the committees for welcoming the heir, +and he shook hands with them and treated them exactly as he treated the +Governor General of the Province. + +Whether it was his admiration for the American temperance movement which +influenced Dr. Alexyeeff's views on everything American, I cannot say. +But, assuredly, not many foreign visitors have pronounced upon our +country such a panegyric as is contained in the preface to his "Across +America." He writes: + + Conscientious fulfillment of every duty, industry, energy, and + moral purity are the typical qualities of the genuine + American. It is difficult to form any idea of the wide + development of philanthropy, the significance of religion, and + the practical application to life of ethical principles, the + application of moral obligations in business, the upright, + God-fearing life of the Americans, unless one has lived among + them. They have neither prostitution, foundling hospitals, nor + hospitals for venereal diseases. A European is not accustomed + to see empty prisons and hospitals in densely settled + localities--to come upon cities where there is nothing for the + police, the Judges, and the doctors to do he finds startling. + They have attained the height where priests, pastors, + preachers, and teachers are rarely obliged to contend with + indifference.... + + After a trip to America it would be difficult to return an + atheist--you are more likely to come back in a religious frame + of mind.... Idleness and luxury are not among the + distinguishing characteristics of the descendants of the + Puritans.... In the light, transparent atmosphere of the + States, simplicity, the cheerful, alert spirit infects the + foreigner, makes him a more frank, trustful, optimistic + warrior for the truth, and causes him to forget what it means + to be downcast in spirit, or what spleen and hypochondria are. + +Until he died, in Siberia, in Russia, everywhere, Dr. Alexyeeff worked +for temperance. He was enthusiastic about it when I saw him and his wife +in England, in 1907. + +Mr. Tchelisheff having been aroused to interest, theoretically, by +America, via Dr. Alexyeeff, as is fairly proven, it was only natural +that he should proceed to make the personal observations on the +practical, social side of drunkenness which he mentions in his Times +interview. He noticed, during the great famine of 1891, that it was the +drunkards who had squandered their grain and pawned their possessions +to the keepers of the dramshops who robbed other men's granaries and +houses, burned, rioted, and murdered; while the men who did not drink +had plenty of food and grain to hold out. We are informed from Russia +that even during its still brief reign prohibition has resulted in +remarkable improvement in health, living conditions, and bank accounts. + +Mr. Tchelisheff is, as I have said, a noteworthy figure in history. He +would be a remarkable figure in any land; but for those who are not +acquainted with Russia, the rise of a man born a peasant, educated +solely by his own efforts on stray newspapers and books which fell in +his way in his schoolless village, and absolutely lacking in money or +influence, ("svyazi"--connections, is the Russian version of "pull,") to +the position of multi-millionaire and co-worker with the Emperor, is +amazing almost beyond belief. In reality, it is as simple as the rise of +an American newsboy, of an Edison or a Carnegie to a position of power +in the United States. Fate, circumstances, as well as their own +personality are the factors in all these cases; and in every similar +case. + +Moreover, there is in Russia no eternally impassable barrier of caste, +but there is a genuine democracy which is not easy to define, but is +very easily felt. For instance, the title of "Prince," (to which, unlike +that of "Count" or "Baron"--conferrable--one must be born, runs the +rule, with exceptions for such national heroes as Suvaroff,) counts for +nothing or approximately that, unless its owner possesses, in addition, +the wealth, character, learning or other characteristics which would +render him a man of mark without it. + +There are other interesting instances of peasants who have risen high in +Russia, and Mr. Tchelisheff is their worthy successor. The founder of +the great silversmiths' firm of Ovtchinnikoff was a serf. His successors +have made it their rule, "out of gratitude to God," to maintain and +educate a certain number of poor boys, who, when their intellectual and +technical training is completed, are free to remain with the firm as +valued artists or to go forth independently. When the Emperor Alexander +II. celebrated the twenty-fifth anniversary of his accession to the +throne, all the Sovereigns of Europe sent him magnificent presents. +These are assembled in his library, at the Winter Palace, Petrograd; and +in the centre--accorded that place by the Russians with equal good +feeling, good taste, and justice--is a large group in solid silver, +representing a huge mass of rock upon whose pinnacles stand figures +representing the different parts of the empire--Little Russia, Siberia, +and so forth. The inscription reads: "To the Tzar-Liberator from the +Liberated Serf." It was made by the Ovtchinnikoffs and presented by +another ex-serf, who had become a millionaire railway magnate. + +Mustard Seed No. 2 from America to Russia falls into a somewhat +different category. It more nearly resembles one of those grains of +antique wheat found in a tomb and sprouting vigorously when finally +planted in congenial, helpful soil. I trust that my comparison may not +be regarded as disrespectful. One could not, willingly, be disrespectful +to the calendar, any more than to the thermometer! + +Russia, by adhering to the Julian Calendar and refusing to adopt the +Gregorian, has now fallen thirteen days behind the rest of the world. It +falls behind about a day for every century. There are several reasons +why Russia has not, up to now, remedied the serious inconvenience caused +by this conflict of dates. One is--the Gregorian Calendar is Roman +Catholic, and named after a Pope. It is, also, inaccurate. Worst of all, +the rectification might--almost infallibly would, under ordinary +circumstances--cause trouble at the outset, especially in one +incalculably important direction. + +Russian scientists long ago worked out a new calendar far more accurate +than the Gregorian for thousands of years, and when the change is made +that calendar will be adopted. The fundamental difficulty lies in the +fact that all the people whose saints' days must inevitably be skipped +for the first year in the process of rectification will inevitably feel +that they are being robbed of their guardian angels, that they are +"orphans"--a mournful word greatly beloved of the Russian masses under +multiform circumstances, both material and spiritual--and orphaned in a +peculiarly distressing and irrevocable way. They might even feel when +their saints' days came around quite correctly the next year that some +spurious adventurer--Angel of Darkness--was being foisted upon them. + +Fanatics and professional mischief-makers would certainly seize with +avidity upon such a godsend of a chance, unparalleled since the days of +Peter the Great's father, when the Patriarch Nikon had the errors of the +copyists in the Scriptures and church service books corrected. But the +present war has fused all parties, united all hearts in patriotism, +loyalty to, and confidence in their Emperor and created a fervid +inclination amounting to enthusiasm to accept even the most drastic +reforms he may make cheerfully, unquestionably, as for the good of the +fatherland. + +On the matter of the calendar reform America has for many years past +been exerting a steadily increasing influence. During the past twenty +years the steady flow of immigrants from Russia and other countries +belonging to the Orthodox Catholic Church of the East, (Greco-Russian,) +has increased to a great volume, and it seems destined to attain still +greater proportions when the war is over. These people are obliged to +work and keep holiday by the Gregorian calendar and to worship by the +Julian. This entails hardships. + +For example, a devout Russian who has been forced to remain idle on our +Christmas and New Year's Days must sacrifice his pay--sometimes risk or +lose his job--if he wishes to observe the feasts of his own church. A +reform of the calendar would be hailed with joy by innumerable such +immigrants, who have been over here long enough to consider calmly the +practical aspects of a temporary dislocation of saints' days. The +ecclesiastical authorities in this country have frequently protested, +in print, both here and in Russia, and I have been informed that the +Holy Synod has been appealed to, more than once, to induce it to cast +its influence into the balance with that of the scientists and the +governmental authorities, who have been discussing the matter for years +past, and hesitating over the probable consequences of action--a case of +peasant joining hands with the rulers of Russia, once more like Mr. +Tchelisheff and the Emperor Nicholas--or the people of the United States +and the President--to secure a needed reform! + +And these same peasant-immigrants in America have, without the shadow of +a doubt, already written back to their relatives and friends in the old +country--and very frequently--about the difficulties of the antiquated +Julian calendar, and these, in turn, can disseminate common sense about +the change in a way which the Government, aided by the Holy Synod and +the explanations of home-staying parish priests, unaided, could never +effect. When the fitting time arrives, perhaps the Russian Government +will avail itself of just this argument, among others--the welfare of +friends in distant America. There has never been a propitious time in +Russia to make that calendar reform since the reign of Peter the Great +until now. And America may fairly be said to have brought from its dark +hiding place the mustard seed which has been trying so long to +germinate, and imparted to it a vivifying impulse. + + + + +THE MOTHER'S SONG. + +By CECILIA REYNOLDS ROBERTSON. + + + Hush, oh, my baby, your father's a soldier, + He's off to the war, and we've nothing to eat. + And the glory is neither for you nor for me, + With the cockleburr crushing the wheat. + + Little boy baby, look well on your mother; + Some day you may ask why she bore you at all; + For the trenches are foul with the blood and the wallow, + And the bayonet is sharp for your fall. + + Rest, rosy limbs, and blue eyes and gold lashes-- + Made in the mold of the Saviour, they say! + Drink deep of my bosom, my starved, meagre bosom, + That--keeps you alive for the fray. + + Sleep, oh, my man child, and smile in your sleeping, + But the gun has been fashioned to lay in your hand, + And your life blood flows smooth in your fair little body + The better to water and plenish the land! + + + + +Pan-American Relations As Affected by the War + +Consequences of the European Conflict on Future Commerce Between the +United States and Latin America + +By Huntington Wilson, + +_Formerly Assistant Secretary of State_. + + +I. + +A study of the effects of the war upon our relations with the other +republics of this hemisphere involves political, commercial, financial +and strategic elements of far-reaching scope and much complexity. The +situation presents an opportunity. It offers a lesson even more vital +than the opportunity. The political considerations are most relevant to +the lesson; and the final text of the lesson will be the result of the +war. The economic opportunity is already upon us, definite and clear. It +will not wait. It must be grasped without delay and may therefore be +first discussed. + +There is something repellent in counting our advantages under the shadow +of so great a tragedy but we must try to be as practical as those who +are fond of accusing us of materialism. Does any one think that the +steam-roller of admirably organized and Government-fostered German +competition would pause if we lay in the road; that if we received a +check, Anglo-Saxon cousinship and fair play would always mitigate +British competition; or that then not a single European merchant in +South America would ever again use scorn and detraction against our +goods, or encourage, through influence with the press, prejudice due to +"Yankee peril" nonsense? In short, is it likely that all our +competitors would suddenly love us just because we were in trouble? No, +things are not as they should be and meanwhile must be dealt with as +they are. + +There used to be apparently very little hope of our shaking the tree and +gathering the golden fruit of foreign enterprise unless forced to it by +the collapse, through dire hard times, of the wonderful home market +which has made spoiled children of our manufacturers. Now comes this +war. It forces upon us a wonderful, a unique opportunity to gain and +hold our proper place in the finance, trade, and enterprise of Latin +America. The richness of the field is often exaggerated, but its +cultivation is certainly worth the effort of men of foresight. + +What are we going to do about it? This is the question; for if American +business men do not do their part the ultimate effect of the war upon +our economic interests in this part of the world will be unimportant. We +must not be like the young gold miners who were looking exclusively for +large nuggets with handles. We must go at it seriously and +scientifically and solidly, not superficially, casually, and +opportunistically. We must begin with the earnest intention of +continuing our efforts for all time. + +An enthusiastic commercial spasm will be worth nothing. There have got +to be real efforts, real hard work, the expenditure of money for future +and not merely immediate profits, a cheerful readiness to discard old +and cherished methods, a new adaptability, a new painstaking attention +to details. There has got to be serious study of foreign countries and +keen interest in our relations to them. Without all this, mailing +catalogues, (usually in English,) banquets and speeches and +organizations will take us nowhere. + +American business men are bestirring themselves. They know that we need +ships to carry our goods advantageously, and banks for the favorable +financing of our trade. They should be able to compel our Government's +support where needful, as in a ship subsidy or a limited guarantee of +reasonable profit to American investment in ships. In connection with +our efforts at Caribbean commerce, as another instance, they should be +able to get a flexible sliding scale tariff provision passed by +Congress, so that, in dealing with the countries whose coffee or other +special products we buy, we could induce them to give us for our exports +reciprocal advantages over our competitors. Indeed, a kind of Caribbean +tariff union might well be feasible and desirable. + +So long ago as last August the British Government sent all over the +world for samples and specifications of German goods which their +manufacturers might contrive to displace. We should take corresponding +action in regard to the goods of our competitors. Our manufacturers +should be reconciled to sending to find out what each market wants +instead of asking a population to take or leave what we make. Our +commercial campaign should include the effort to replace goods from one +belligerent country formerly handled by local merchants from another +belligerent country, such as British goods previously sold through the +German houses which so abound in these countries. + +Good men from small countries without political significance in +world-politics already make their influence felt as employes of foreign +Governments and as merchants in foreign countries. The war may set free +many more men and send them about the world to work for their own +interests, for the country they most believe in, and perhaps ultimately +for an adopted country. International commerce must have its courtiers, +and the good will of all such men should also be reckoned with. They +spread friendship or prejudice against us. Many of them are importers +and will push our goods or some one else's according to the manner in +which we deal with them. + +American manufacturers are doubtless weary of being told that they pack +badly, that they are niggardly about credits, that they do not send +enough or sufficiently qualified representatives, that they are careless +of details, and so on. Still, before mentioning some further particular +steps that should be taken, it is necessary to emphasize the fact that +these same old faults are, and until corrected must remain, the chief +detriments to our foreign trade. + +In some of the republics there is a real disposition to deal with us; in +others there is a preference for Europe. Now, as to many goods, they +must deal with us or go without, although I am informed that a German +firm, for example, has got word to its clients in these countries that +it is prepared to fill orders via Copenhagen. If we think that our +competitors have gone entirely or permanently out of business we shall +be ridiculously and sadly disappointed. We shall be on trial, and if our +exporters make good they will find a conservative disposition to +continue to buy from us. + +In the effort it is important to remember that there is much to live +down in criticism of methods of the past. One Latin-American gentleman, +an enthusiast for American commerce, exclaimed to me in despair: "Son +hombres capazes de poner una hacha Collins con vidrios para ventanas," +which means: "they (the American exporters) are capable of packing a +Collins hatchet with window glass." Others told me how leading firms +always stamped their letters for domestic and not foreign postage. The +office boy simply would not learn geography. Nobody minded paying the +deficit, but through local red tape this seeming trifle sometimes caused +two or even three weeks' delay in the delivery of important letters. + +Certain of our strongest firms have been calmly ignoring shipping +directions. What did they care if the packages had to cross the Andes on +mule back, and if mules could only carry packages of a certain size and +weight? What did they care if the duty remission for materials on some +Government contract, or the customs classification of a shipment, +depended on adherence to specific directions? I could multiply examples +of the most amazing casualness and careless disregard, of bad packing, +of ungenerous credit, which have enraged the importer. + +A European merchant, many years established in a South American city, +and knowing the community, has been selling pianos in this way: The +manufacturer would quote him a price and deliver the piano, giving him +long credit at an ordinary rate of interest. The merchant would finally +sell the piano on the installment plan, receiving interest at a higher +rate on the deferred payments, the merchant trusting the buyer, the +manufacturer trusting the merchant, both thus making good profits, and +the purchaser being accommodated. This man found the American +manufacturer entirely unwilling to deal in this way. + +European houses on the spot, whether independent or financed by large +home houses, give credits for as long, sometimes, as a year. They would +not continue to do so if they lost by doing it. Often this fits the +customs of the local domestic trade. In one country the local retailer +is expected to be paid within eighteen months. Naturally, our exporters' +demand for "cash down on receipt of documents," even when the customer +is well vouched for, does not appeal to him. + +He prefers to get long credit from a European house, and pay interest +for it, rather than to borrow from his bank at high interest or sink his +own capital to pay for American goods, long before he gets them, their +price plus the profit of a commission house. Indeed, he is generally +dissatisfied with the methods of American export trade as now conducted, +which is almost exclusively through commission houses. These, it seems, +might become more efficient through organization and more aggressive and +scientific methods. + +On the other hand, the export trade of certain of the big combinations +is beginning to be pushed with commendable zeal and efficiency. Trade at +large, to reach its greatest volume, must include the pushing of smaller +lines of goods. These smaller lines, in the aggregate, would reach +considerable sums, and it does not appear that there have hitherto +existed efficient agencies for their marketing. To hold Latin-American +trade we must equal our competitors in liberality of credits, in +representation on the spot, and in other facilities. + +There is no doubt that more American merchants resident in the trade +centres would give valuable impetus to our commerce. Even our commission +houses operating on the spot are so few that in handling many lines +there is the greatest danger of their sacrificing the building up of a +steady trade to the opportunities of unduly heavy profits now and then, +and so damaging our general commercial interests. Then we must send many +commercial travelers. + +Just here, however, it cannot be too strongly emphasized that Americans +sent to these countries to do business must above all be men of +agreeable manners. In these countries many quite unworthy people have +these: so a good man who lacks them is likely to be badly misjudged. +They should have sympathetic personality and sufficient education, +besides being men of sobriety and good character, and should be able to +speak the language of the country. + +All this will be expensive, but non-competing firms might join in +sending men, or competing firms might, it is hoped, be guaranteed +against the terrors of the Sherman law in order to join in sending a +corps of representatives upon some basis of division of the field or +the profits. Combination is even more necessary abroad to put forth the +nation's strength in world competition than it is for efficiency at +home. These men would be students and salesmen, and perhaps future +merchants who would settle in these countries and emulate the patriotic +groups of resident foreigners who in so many places help to form an +atmosphere favorable to their countries' interests. + +They would work to replace with our goods those now shut off by the war, +but also to introduce dozens of lines of American products which are now +comparatively hard to find in these markets. A number of strong firms +might join to establish commercial houses or selling agencies in trade +centres of certain groups of countries. Commission houses might do the +same if they carried samples and instructed their clients in packing, +credits, &c., but in each case there should be American houses on the +spot which would carry general lines and supply to the eye that visible +evidence of the goods themselves which is such a valuable form of +advertisement. + +In the establishment of American houses in these countries, as in many +other respects, much may be learned from the Germans. They bring out +carefully selected young men. These, if efficient, have sure promotion. +The partners retire before old age to make room for those who work up. +The inefficient are dropped. It is a little like the principle of a good +foreign service. + +I think the most minute study should be given, first, to the nearer +countries, say those north of the Equator, including the republics of +the Caribbean. Each country must be separately studied. Primarily, there +will be found a cry, sometimes desperate, for capital. Public works, +concessionary and otherwise, have stopped for lack of funds from Europe. +New developments in railroad building, mining, harbor works, +plantations, are arrested. Where European credits have been customarily +used to handle crops, there is distress, and no less so in cases in +which such credit has previously been given by ostensibly American +houses operating really with European capital. + +American capital may come to the rescue by advances upon good security +through local banks. It can establish banks or buy controlling interests +in existing banks, many of which pay their stockholders 15 per cent. or +more. It can relieve the stagnation and make profitable investment by an +active campaign for public and private contracts and for sound and fair +concessions, not visionary or get-rich-too-quick schemes. + +Supposably, the repairing of the destruction brought by the war will +make European capital scarce for some years, but an effort will +doubtless be made to retain for it its former preponderance in these +countries; and so it is important that, whatever the war's effects upon +our own money markets, use should be made of such an opportunity as does +not come more than once. + +To be sure, the scarcity of money in the United States makes this +difficult, but the same worldwide money scarcity will secure an +especially high rate of interest in Latin America, where even in normal +times money can often be placed on excellent security in some of the +countries, and at a rate very high indeed compared to that prevailing +now in the United States. For safe investments with such a margin of +profit, it is to be hoped that money, even if dear at home, will be +forthcoming. + +Undoubtedly the purchasing power of these republics has been hard hit by +the cutting off of credits and markets by the war, as their Governments +have been hard hit through the falling off of revenues from import +duties. Some of the Governments will require foreign loans. Capital, I +repeat--and I mean really American capital--is the urgent need. We are +not asked to make them a present of capital to buy our goods with, but +if we do not help finance them and buy their products they will have +nothing with which to buy our goods. + +The situation invites us to give capital and credit to take the place of +the European supply which has failed. One need not fear that the returns +will be uninviting, for Europe would hardly have been supplying credit +and capital to Latin America as a mere matter of amiability. Thus our +capital must regenerate Latin-American prosperity, while our bankers, +merchants, and manufacturers are engaged in making solid, permanent +arrangements, not opportunistic ones, to take possession of a great +share in the present and still more in the growing future development +and commerce of these countries. Capital, then, and credit are the first +requisites. + +The war has had the effect of making the Latin-American countries +realize for once the economic importance to them of the United States. +The products of some, like the tin of Bolivia and the nitrates of Chile, +have been going almost entirely to Europe. Several republics suffer the +more acutely in proportion to their previous failure to cultivate +financial and commercial relations with the United States. + +They now feel this and are compelled to a mood receptive to our +advances. More, they are forced to seek new markets for their goods just +as they are forced to buy some of ours. In this way there should come +about new exports to the United States, and there should spring up there +the corresponding new industries and habits of consumption, to the +ultimate benefit of all the countries concerned. + +Meanwhile, the United States is the only present economic hope of a +number of the republics. It is to be hoped that our capitalists and +business men will realize the responsibilities as well as the +opportunities of profit in the role they are asked to play, and that +their response to their new opportunities will be one of courage, +thoroughness and intelligence, and one also of quiet patriotism. + + +II. + +POLITICAL POTENTIALITIES. + +Turning from the opportunity to the lesson, from the commercial and +economic aspects of this question to those that are political in the +large sense, one's imagination is appalled at the potentialities of the +yet unknown results of so vast an upheaval. Yet we must envisage some of +these if we are to be prepared for their effect upon us. We must be +ready for the impact of the resultant forces of these great dynamics. We +must be ready everywhere, but nowhere more than in our relations with +Latin America, in the zone of the Caribbean, and wherever the Monroe +Doctrine as still interpreted gives us a varying degree of +responsibility. + +The war's first effect upon our Latin-American relations is to compel +through commercial and financial rapprochement a larger measure of +material interdependence, more contact, and, we may hope, a substitution +of knowledge for the former reciprocity of ignorance. All this makes for +better social and intellectual relations, good understanding and +friendship, and so for political relations much more substantial in the +case of many of the republics than the rather flimsy Pan-Americanism +celebrated in eloquent speeches and futile international conferences. + +There is little in Pan-Americanism of that kind. The "raza Latina" of +eloquence is not itself homogeneous; still less so is the population of +the whole hemisphere. And with Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, and +Santiago we have, of course, far less propinquity than we have with the +capitals of Europe. But what we really can do is to build up, especially +with the nearer republics, real ties of common interest and good +neighborhood, and with the distant ones ties of commerce and esteem. + +The war may tend to cure certain rather self-centred countries of +affecting the morbid view that the people of the United States are lying +awake nights contriving to devour them, when, in fact, it would be hard +to find in a crowded street in the United States one in a thousand of +the passersby who knew more than the name, at most, of one of those very +few countries referred to. + +Europe's preoccupation with the war temporarily deprives such a country +and its few misguided prophets whose monomania is dread of that chimera, +the "Colossus of the North," of the pastime of nestling up to Europe in +the hope of annoying us. It postpones, too, the hope of the morbid ones +that we shall come to war with a powerful enemy. Now, perhaps, even +these will appreciate the remark of a diplomatist of a certain weak +country in contact with European powers, who once said: "If we only had +the United States for a neighbor! What I can't understand is that your +neighbors do not realize their good luck." Turning from these +exceptional phenomena, the very fact of the war leaves the United States +in a general position of greater political prestige. + +Whatever the upshot of the European tragedy, its political and +psychological consequences are likely to be great. If it result in new +national divisions upon racial lines of more reality, who knows but that +the awakened spirits of nationality will germinate fresh military +ambitions? Or will the horrors of the war force political reforms and +the search for assurance in more democratic institutions against any +repetition of those horrors? And is popular government an assurance +against useless war while men remain warlike even when not military? + +Except from the successful countries or from those where disaster has +brought such sobering change that men can return to work heartened with +new hope, when the war is over there is likely to be a heavy emigration +of disgusted people. Possibly even victory will be so dear that men will +emigrate from a country half prostrate in its triumph. Many will come as +the Puritans came, and as the bulk of our own excellent Germanic element +came, and will cast in their lot with a new nation. We shall get a good +share, but doubtless some will go to the republics of the far South, and +some to the highlands of the tropics and through the canal to the West +Coast. If so, this will tend gradually toward increased production and +purchasing power, as well as toward a leavening of social, political, +and economic conditions of life. + +If the war were indecisive or left all the combatants more or less +prostrated, peaceful immigration might give a big impulse to the +gradual growing up of powerful States in the temperate zone of the +extreme South. The situation there, and the evolution of our own power, +make it perhaps even now fair to consider the question of regarding as +optional in any given case the assertion by us of the Monroe Doctrine +much below the equator, let us say, beyond which it may possibly be +doubtful whether we have nowadays much reason for special interest. + +But, even so, our relations to South America and our obligations under +the Monroe Doctrine, in spite of the blessed fortifications of the +Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, leave us where it is tempting fate to be +without a navy of the first magnitude, and a big merchant marine. We +have seen what happened to Belgium and Luxemburg. We have seen how even +some of the most enlightened nations can still make force their god. +Nations learn slowly, and there are perhaps some new big ones coming on, +like China. + +If the war is a fight to a finish, and the Allies triumph, we can +imagine Russia, with its teeming millions of people, occupied for a +while in the Near East; Japan consolidating her position in the Far +East, an increasingly powerful neighbor to us in the Philippines, the +Hawaiian Islands, and the Pacific Ocean; France still a great power; and +England as a world power of uncomfortably ubiquitous strength, able to +challenge the Monroe Doctrine at will. + +Or, let us suppose that Germany should triumph and that German +emigration should swarm into the Caribbean countries, or into Brazil or +some other country where there is already a large German colony--elated, +triumphant Germans, not Germans disgusted by a disastrous war. Would +Germany be likely to heed the Monroe Doctrine, or would it be only +another "scrap of paper"? + +In the present stage of civilization the safety of America should not be +left dependent upon the forbearance of any power that may emerge +dangerously strong from the war or that may otherwise arise. The +obligations and rights of our Latin-American relations, under the Monroe +Doctrine and otherwise, like our security and our efficiency as a force +for peace and good in the world, demand a big navy, a merchant marine, +and the self-discipline and safeguard of adequate military preparedness. +The need of these and of a diplomacy of intelligent self-interest, +continuity, and intense nationalism is the lesson brought home to us by +the European war in its effects upon our Latin-American relations as +well as upon our general position as a great power. + + + + +AN EASTER MESSAGE + +By BEATRICE BARRY. + + + Into what depths of misery thou art hurled, + Belgium, thou second Saviour of the World! + Thou who hast died + For all of Europe, lo, we bathe thy feet + So cruelly pierced, and find the service sweet, + Thou crucified. + + But though we mourn thy agony and loss, + And weep beneath the shadow of thy cross-- + We know the day + That brings the resurrection and the life + Shall dawn for thee when war and all its strife + Hath passed away. + + Then, out of all her travail and her pain, + Belgium, though crushed to earth, shall rise again; + And on the sod + Whence sprang a race so strong, so free from guile, + Men shall behold, in just a little while, + The smile of God. + + Land of the brave--soon, by God's grace, the free-- + Thy woe is transient; joy shall come to thee; + It cannot fail. + The darkest night gives way to rosy dawn, + And thou, perchance, shalt see on Easter morn, + The Holy Grail. + + + + +An Interview on the War With Henry James + +By Preston Lockwood + +[From THE NEW YORK TIMES, March 21, 1915.] + + +One of the compensations of the war, which we ought to take advantage +of, is the chance given the general public to approach on the personal +side some of the distinguished men who have not hitherto lived much in +the glare of the footlights. Henry James has probably done this as +little as any one; he has enjoyed for upward of forty years a reputation +not confined to his own country, has published a long succession of +novels, tales, and critical papers, and yet has apparently so delighted +in reticence as well as in expression that he has passed his seventieth +year without having responsibly "talked" for publication or figured for +it otherwise than pen in hand. + +Shortly after the outbreak of the war Mr. James found himself, to his +professed great surprise, Chairman of the American Volunteer Motor +Ambulance Corps, now at work in France, and today, at the end of three +months of bringing himself to the point, has granted me, as a +representative of THE NEW YORK TIMES, an interview. What this departure +from the habit of a lifetime means to him he expressed at the outset: + +"I can't put," Mr. James said, speaking with much consideration and +asking that his punctuation as well as his words should be noted, "my +devotion and sympathy for the cause of our corps more strongly than in +permitting it thus to overcome my dread of the assault of the +interviewer, whom I have deprecated, all these years, with all the force +of my preference for saying myself and without superfluous aid, without +interference in the guise of encouragement and cheer, anything I may +think worth my saying. Nothing is worth my saying that I cannot help +myself out with better, I hold, than even the most suggestive young +gentleman with a notebook can help me. It may be fatuous of me, but, +believing myself possessed of some means of expression, I feel as if I +were sadly giving it away when, with the use of it urgent, I don't +gratefully employ it, but appeal instead to the art of somebody else." + +It was impossible to be that "somebody else," or, in other words, the +person privileged to talk with Mr. James, to sit in presence of his fine +courtesy and earnestness, without understanding the sacrifice he was +making, and making only because he had finally consented to believe that +it would help the noble work of relief which a group of young Americans, +mostly graduates of Harvard, Yale, and Princeton, are carrying on along +their stretch of the fighting line in Northern France. + +Mr. James frankly desired his remarks to bear only on the merits of the +American Volunteer Motor Ambulance Corps. It enjoys today the fullest +measure of his appreciation and attention; it appeals deeply to his +benevolent instincts, and he gives it sympathy and support as one who +has long believed, and believes more than ever, in spite of everything, +at this international crisis, in the possible development of "closer +communities and finer intimacies" between America and Great Britain, +between the country of his birth and the country, as he puts it, of his +"shameless frequentation." + +There are many people who are eloquent about the war, who are +authorities on the part played in it by the motor ambulance and who take +an interest in the good relations of Great Britain and the United +States; but there is nobody who can tell us, as Mr. James can, about +style and the structure of sentences, and all that appertains to the +aspect and value of words. Now and then in what here follows he speaks +familiarly of these things for the first time in his life, not by any +means because he jumped at the chance, but because his native kindness, +whether consciously or unconsciously, seemed so ready to humor the +insisting inquirer. + +"It is very difficult," he said, seeking to diminish the tension so +often felt by a journalist, even at the moment of a highly appreciated +occasion, "to break into graceful license after so long a life of +decorum; therefore you must excuse me if my egotism doesn't run very +free or my complacency find quite the right turns." + +He had received me in the offices of the corps, businesslike rooms, +modern for London, low-ceiled and sparely furnished. It was not by any +means the sort of setting in which as a reader of Henry James I had +expected to run to earth the author of "The Golden Bowl," but the place +is, nevertheless, today, in the tension of war time, one of the few +approaches to a social resort outside his Chelsea home where he can be +counted on. Even that delightful Old World retreat, Lamb House, Rye, now +claims little of his time. + +The interviewer spoke of the waterside Chelsea and Mr. James's long +knowledge of it, but, sitting not overmuch at his ease and laying a +friendly hand on the shoulder of his tormentor, he spoke, instead, of +motor ambulances, making the point, in the interest of clearness, that +the American Ambulance Corps of Neuilly, though an organization with +which Richard Norton's corps is in the fullest sympathy, does not come +within the scope of his remarks. + +"I find myself Chairman of our Corps Committee for no great reason that +I can discover save my being the oldest American resident here +interested in its work; at the same time that if I render a scrap of +help by putting on record my joy even in the rather ineffectual +connection so far as 'doing' anything is concerned, I needn't say how +welcome you are to my testimony. What I mainly seem to grasp, I should +say, is that in regard to testifying at all unlimitedly by the aid of +the newspapers, I have to reckon with a certain awkwardness in our +position. Here comes up, you see, the question of our reconciling a +rather indispensable degree of reserve as to the detail of our activity +with the general American demand for publicity at any price. There are +ways in which the close presence of war challenges the whole claim for +publicity; and I need hardly say that this general claim has been +challenged, practically, by the present horrific complexity of things at +the front, as neither the Allies themselves nor watching neutrals have +ever seen it challenged before. The American public is, of course, +little used to not being able to hear, and hear as an absolute right, +about anything that the press may suggest that it ought to hear about; +so that nothing may be said ever to happen anywhere that it doesn't +count on having reported to it, hot and hot, as the phrase is, several +times a day. We were the first American ambulance corps in the field, +and we have a record of more than four months' continuous service with +one of the French armies, but the rigor of the objection to our taking +the world into our intimate confidence is not only shown by our still +unbroken inability to report in lively installments, but receives also a +sidelight from the fact that numerous like private corps maintained by +donations on this side of the sea are working at the front without the +least commemoration of their deeds--that is, without a word of +journalistic notice. + +"I hope that by the time these possibly too futile remarks of mine come +to such light as may await them Mr. Norton's report of our general case +may have been published, and nothing would give the committee greater +pleasure than that some such controlled statement on our behalf, best +proceeding from the scene of action itself, should occasionally appear. +The ideal would, of course, be that exactly the right man, at exactly +the right moment, should report exactly the right facts, in exactly the +right manner, and when that happy consummation becomes possible we shall +doubtless revel in funds." + +Mr. James had expressed himself with such deliberation and hesitation +that I was reminded of what I had heard of all the verbal alterations +made by him in novels and tales long since published; to the point, we +are perhaps incorrectly told of replacing a "she answered" by a "she +indefinitely responded." + +I should, indeed, mention that on my venturing to put to Mr. James a +question or two about his theory of such changes he replied that no +theory could be stated, at any rate in the off-hand manner that I seemed +to invite, without childish injustice to the various considerations by +which a writer is moved. These determinant reasons differ with the +context and the relations of parts to parts and to the total sense in a +way of which no a priori account can be given. + +"I dare say I strike you," he went on, "as rather bewilderedly weighing +my words; but I may perhaps explain my so doing very much as I the other +day heard a more interesting fact explained. A distinguished English +naval expert happened to say to me that the comparative non-production +of airships in this country indicated, in addition to other causes, a +possible limitation of the British genius in that direction, and then on +my asking him why that class of craft shouldn't be within the compass of +the greatest makers of sea-ships, replied, after brief reflection: +'Because the airship is essentially a bad ship, and we English can't +make a bad ship well enough.' Can you pardon," Mr. James asked, "my +making an application of this to the question of one's amenability or +plasticity to the interview? The airship of the interview is for me a +bad ship, and I can't make a bad ship well enough." + +Catching Mr. James's words as they came was not very difficult; but +there was that in the manner of his speech that cannot be put on paper, +the delicate difference between the word recalled and the word allowed +to stand, the earnestness of the massive face and alert eye, tempered by +the genial "comment of the body," as R.L. Stevenson has it. + +Henry James does not look his seventy years. He has a finely shaped +head, and a face, at once strong and serene, which the painter and the +sculptor may well have liked to interpret. Indeed, in fine appreciation +they have so wrought. Derwent Wood's admirable bust, purchased from last +year's Royal Academy, shown by the Chantrey Fund, will be permanently +placed in the Tate Gallery, and those who fortunately know Sargent's +fine portrait, to be exhibited in the Sargent Room at the San Francisco +Exhibition, will recall its having been slashed into last year by the +militant suffragettes, though now happily restored to such effect that +no trace of the outrage remains. + +Mr. James has a mobile mouth, a straight nose, a forehead which has +thrust back the hair from the top of his commanding head, although it is +thick at the sides over the ears, and repeats in its soft gray the color +of his kindly eyes. Before taking in these physical facts one receives +an impression of benignity and amenity not often conveyed, even by the +most distinguished. And, taking advantage of this amiability, I asked if +certain words just used should be followed by a dash, and even boldly +added: "Are you not famous, Mr. James, for the use of dashes?" + +"Dash my fame!" he impatiently replied. "And remember, please, that +dogmatizing about punctuation is exactly as foolish as dogmatizing about +any other form of communication with the reader. All such forms depend +on the kind of thing one is doing and the kind of effect one intends to +produce. Dashes, it seems almost platitudinous to say, have their +particular representative virtue, their quickening force, and, to put it +roughly, strike both the familiar and the emphatic note, when those are +the notes required, with a felicity beyond either the comma or the +semicolon; though indeed a fine sense for the semicolon, like any sort +of sense at all for the pluperfect tense and the subjunctive mood, on +which the whole perspective in a sentence may depend, seems anything but +common. Does nobody ever notice the calculated use by French writers of +a short series of suggestive points in the current of their prose? I +confess to a certain shame for my not employing frankly that shade of +indication, a finer shade still than the dash.... But what on earth are +we talking about?" And the Chairman of the Corps Committee pulled +himself up in deprecation of our frivolity, which I recognized by +acknowledging that we might indeed hear more about the work done and +doing at the front by Richard Norton and his energetic and devoted +co-workers. Then I plunged recklessly to draw my victim. + +"May not a large part of the spirit which animates these young men be a +healthy love of adventure?" I asked. + +The question seemed to open up such depths that Mr. James considered a +moment and began: + +"I, of course, don't personally know many of our active associates, who +naturally waste very little time in London. But, since you ask me, I +prefer to think of them as moved, first and foremost, not by the idea of +the fun or the sport they may have, or of the good thing they may make +of the job for themselves, but by that of the altogether exceptional +chance opened to them of acting blessedly and savingly for others, +though indeed if we come to that there is no such sport in the world as +so acting when anything in the nature of risk or exposure is attached. +The horrors, the miseries, the monstrosities they are in presence of are +so great surely as not to leave much of any other attitude over when +intelligent sympathy has done its best. + +"Personally I feel so strongly on everything that the war has brought +into question for the Anglo-Saxon peoples that humorous detachment or +any other thinness or tepidity of mind on the subject affects me as +vulgar impiety, not to say as rank blasphemy; our whole race tension +became for me a sublimely conscious thing from the moment Germany flung +at us all her explanation of her pounce upon Belgium for massacre and +ravage in the form of the most insolent, 'Because I choose to, damn you +all!' recorded in history. + +"The pretension to smashing world rule by a single people, in virtue of +a monopoly of every title, every gift and every right, ought perhaps to +confound us more by its grotesqueness than to alarm us by its energy; +but never do cherished possessions, whether of the hand or of the +spirit, become so dear to us as when overshadowed by vociferous +aggression. How can one help seeing that such aggression, if hideously +successful in Europe, would, with as little loss of time as possible, +proceed to apply itself to the American side of the world, and how can +one, therefore, not feel that the Allies are fighting to the death for +the soul and the purpose and the future that are in _us_, for the +defense of every ideal that has most guided our growth and that most +assures our unity? + +"Of course, since you ask me, my many years of exhibited attachment to +the conditions of French and of English life, with whatever fond play of +reflection and reaction may have been involved in it, make it inevitable +that these countries should peculiarly appeal to me at the hour of their +peril, their need and their heroism, and I am glad to declare that, +though I had supposed I knew what that attachment was, I find I have any +number of things more to learn about it. English life, wound up to the +heroic pitch, is at present most immediately before me, and I can +scarcely tell you what a privilege I feel it to share the inspiration +and see further revealed the character of this decent and dauntless +people. + +"However, I am indeed as far as you may suppose from assuming that what +you speak to me of as the 'political' bias is the only ground on which +the work of our corps for the Allies should appeal to the American +public. Political, I confess, has become for me in all this a loose and +question-begging term, but if we must resign ourselves to it as +explaining some people's indifference, let us use a much better one for +inviting their confidence. It will do beautifully well if givers and +workers and helpers are moved by intelligent human pity, and they are +with us abundantly enough if they feel themselves simply roused by, and +respond to, the most awful exhibition of physical and moral anguish the +world has ever faced, and which it is the strange fate of our actual +generations to see unrolled before them. We welcome any lapse of logic +that may connect inward vagueness with outward zeal, if it be the zeal +of subscribers, presenters or drivers of cars, or both at once, +stretcher-bearers, lifters, healers, consolers, handy Anglo-French +interpreters, (these extremely precious,) smoothers of the way; in +short, after whatever fashion. We ask of nobody any waste of moral or of +theoretic energy, nor any conviction of any sort, but that the job is +inspiring and the honest, educated man a match for it. + +"If I seem to cast doubt on any very driving intelligence of the great +issue as a source of sympathy with us, I think this is because I have +been struck, whenever I have returned to my native land, by the +indifference of Americans at large to the concerns and preoccupations of +Europe. This indifference has again and again seemed to me quite beyond +measure or description, though it may be in a degree suggested by the +absence throughout the many-paged American newspaper of the least +mention of a European circumstance unless some not-to-be-blinked war or +revolution, or earthquake or other cataclysm has happened to apply the +lash to curiosity. The most comprehensive journalistic formula that I +have found myself, under that observation, reading into the general case +is the principle that the first duty of the truly appealing sheet in a +given community is to teach every individual reached by it--every man, +woman and child--to count on appearing there, in their habit as they +live, if they will only wait for their turn. + +"However," he continued, "my point is simply my plea for patience with +our enterprise even at the times when we can't send home sensational +figures. 'They also serve who only stand and wait,' and the essence of +our utility, as of that of any ambulance corps, is just to be there, on +any and every contingency, including the blessed contingency of a +temporary drop in the supply of the wounded turned out and taken +on--since such comparative intermissions occur. Ask our friends, I beg +you, to rid themselves of the image of our working on schedule time or +on guarantee of a maximum delivery; we are dependent on the humors of +battle, on incalculable rushes and lapses, on violent outbreaks of +energy which rage and pass and are expressly designed to bewilder. It is +not for the poor wounded to oblige us by making us showy, but for us to +let them count on our open arms and open lap as troubled children count +on those of their mother. It is now to be said, moreover, that our +opportunity of service threatens inordinately to grow; such things may +any day begin to occur at the front as will make what we have up to now +been able to do mere child's play, though some of our help has been +rendered when casualties were occurring at the rate, say, of 5,000 in +twenty minutes, which ought, on the whole, to satisfy us. In face of +such enormous facts of destruction--" + +Here Mr. James broke off as if these facts were, in their horror, too +many and too much for him. But after another moment he explained his +pause. + +"One finds it in the midst of all this as hard to apply one's words as +to endure one's thoughts. The war has used up words; they have weakened, +they have deteriorated like motor car tires; they have, like millions of +other things, been more overstrained and knocked about and voided of the +happy semblance during the last six months than in all the long ages +before, and we are now confronted with a depreciation of all our terms, +or, otherwise speaking, with a loss of expression through increase of +limpness, that may well make us wonder what ghosts will be left to +walk." + +This sounded rather desperate, yet the incorrigible interviewer, +conscious of the wane of his only chance, ventured to glance at the +possibility of a word or two on the subject of Mr. James's present +literary intentions. But the kindly hand here again was raised, and the +mild voice became impatient. + +"Pardon my not touching on any such irrelevance. All I want is to invite +the public, as unblushingly as possible, to take all the interest in us +it can; which may be helped by knowing that our bankers are Messrs. +Brown Brothers & Co., 59 Wall Street, New York City, and that checks +should be made payable to the American Volunteer Motor Ambulance Corps." + + + + +A Talk With Belgium's Governor + +By Edward Lyall Fox + +[From THE NEW YORK TIMES, April 11, 1915.] + +Copyright, 1915, by the Wildman News Service. + + +"It would have been a very grave mistake not to have invaded Belgium. +It would have been an unforgivable military blunder. I justify the +invading of Belgium on absolute military grounds. What other grounds are +there worth while talking about when a nation is in a war for its +existence?" + +It is the ruler of German Belgium speaking. The stern, serious-faced +Governor General von Bissing, whom they call "Iron Fist," the man who +crushes out sedition. Returning, I had just come up from the front +around Lille, and almost the only clothes I had were those on my back; +and the mud of the trenches still clung to my boots and puttees in +yellow cakes. They were not the most proper clothes in which to meet +King Albert's successor, but in field gray I had to go. + +The Governor General received me in a dainty Louis Quinze room done in +rose and French gray, and filled incongruously with delicate chairs and +heavy brocaded curtains, a background which instantly you felt precisely +suited his Excellency. In the English newspapers, which, by the way, are +not barred from Berlin cafes, I had read of his Excellency as the "Iron +Fist," or the "Heavy Heel," and I rather expected to see a heavy, +domineering man. Instead, a slender, stealthy man in the uniform of a +General rose from behind a tapestry topped table, revealing, as he did, +a slight stoop in his back, perhaps a trifle foppish. He held out a +long-fingered hand. + +General von Bissing spoke no English. Somehow I imagined him to be one +of those old German patriots who did not learn the language simply +because it was English. Through Lieut. Herrmann I asked the Governor +General what Germany was doing toward the reconstruction of Belgium. I +told him America, when I had left, was under the impression that +Belgium was a land utterly laid waste by the German armies. I frankly +told him that in America the common belief was that the German military +Government meant tyranny; what was Germany doing for Belgium? + +"I think," replied Governor General von Bissing, "that we are doing +everything that can be done under the circumstances. Those farm lands +which you saw, coming up from Lille to Brussels, were planted by German +soldiers and in the Spring they will be harvested by our soldiers. +Belgium has not been devastated, and its condition has been grievously +misstated, as you have seen. You must remember that the armies have +passed back and forth across it--German, Belgian, English, and +French--but I think you have seen that only in the paths of these armies +has the countryside suffered. Where engagements were not fought or shots +fired, Belgium is as it was. + +"There has been no systematic devastation for the purpose of +intimidating the people. You will learn this if you go all over Belgium. +As for the cities, we are doing the best we can to encourage business. +Of course, with things the way they are now, it is difficult. I can only +ask you to go down one of the principal business streets here, the Rue +de la Neuf, for instance, and price the articles that you find in the +shops and compare them with the Berlin prices. The merchants of Brussels +are not having to sacrifice their stock by cutting prices, and, equally +important, there are people buying. I can unhesitatingly say that things +are progressing favorably in Belgium." + +The conversation turned upon Belgian and English relations before this +war. The Governor General mentioned documentary evidence found in the +archives in Brussels, proving an understanding between these countries +against Germany. He spoke briefly about the point that the subjects of +King Albert had been betrayed into the hands of English financiers and +then laconically said: "The people of Belgium are politically +undisciplined children. + +"They are the victims of subtle propaganda that generally takes the form +of articles in French and neutral newspapers," and General von Bissing +looked me straight in the eyes, as though to emphasize that by neutral +he meant the newspapers of the United States. "I can understand the +French doing this," he said, "because they always use the Belgians and +do not care what happens to them. It is beyond my comprehension, though, +how the Government of any neutral country permits the publication of +newspaper articles that can have but one effect, and that is to +encourage revolt in a captured people. A country likes to call itself +humanitarian, and yet it persists in allowing the publication of +articles that only excite an ignorant, undisciplined people and lead +them to acts of violence that must be wiped out by force," and the +Governor General's mouth closed with a click. + +"Do you know that the people of Brussels, whenever a strong wind carries +the booming of heavy guns miles in from the front, think that French and +English are going to recapture the city? Any day that we can hear the +guns faintly, we know that there is an undercurrent of nervous +expectancy running through the whole city. It goes down alleys and +avenues and fills the cafes. You can see Belgians standing together, +whispering. Twice they actually set the date when King Albert would +return. + +"This excitement and unrest, and the feeling of the English coming in, +is fostered and encouraged by the articles in French and neutral +newspapers that are smuggled in. I do not anticipate any uprising among +the Belgians, although the thoughtless among them have encouraged it. An +uprising is not a topic of worry in our councils. It could do us no +harm. We would crush it out like that," and von Bissing snapped his thin +fingers, "but if only for the sake of these misled and betrayed people, +all seditious influences should cease." + +I asked the Governor General the attitude of officials of the Belgian +Government who were being used by the Germans in directing affairs. + +"My predecessor, General von der Goltz," he replied, "informed me that +the municipal officials in Brussels and most Belgian cities showed a +good co-operative spirit from the start. The higher officials were +divided, some refusing flatly to deal with the German administration. I +do not blame these men, especially the railway officials, for I can see +their viewpoint. In these days railway roads and troop trains were +inseparable, and if those Belgian railway officials had helped us, they +would have committed treason against their country. There was no need, +though, for the Post Office officials to hold out, and only lately they +have come around. Realizing, however, that without their department the +country would be in chaos, the officials of the Department of Justice +immediately co-operated with us. Today the Belgian Civil Courts try all +ordinary misdemeanors and felonies. Belgian penal law still exists and +is administered by Belgians. However, all other cases are tried by a +military tribunal, the Feld Gericht." + +I asked General von Bissing if there was much need for this military +tribunal. I shall not forget his reply. + +"We have a few serious cases," he said. "Occasionally there is a little +sedition but for the most part it is only needle pricks. They are quiet +now. They know why," and, slowly shaking his head, von Bissing, who is +known as the sternest disciplinarian in the entire German Army, smiled. + +We talked about the situation in America. + +"The truth will come out," said von Bissing slowly. "Your country is +renowned for fair play. You will be fair to Germany, I know. Your +American Relief Commission is doing excellent work. It is in the highest +degree necessary. At first the German Army had to use the food they +could get by foraging in Belgium, for the country does not begin to +produce the food it needs for its own consumption, and there were no +great reserves that our troops could use. But the German Army is not +using any of the Belgian food now." + +[Illustration: H.M. MOHAMMED V. + +Sultan of Turkey. + +_(Photo from P.S. Rogers.)_] + +[Illustration: H.M. VITTORIO EMANUELE III. + +King of Italy.] + +I asked the Governor General if the Germans had not been very glad that +America was sending over food. + +"It is most important," he said, "that America regularly sends +provisions to Belgium. Your country should feel very proud of the good +it has done here. I welcome the American Relief Committee; we are +working in perfect harmony. Despite reports to the contrary, we never +have had any misunderstanding. Through the American press, please thank +your people for their kindness to Belgium. + +"But," he continued impressively, referring back to the justification of +Germany's occupation and speaking with quiet force, "if we had not sent +our troops into Belgium, the English would have landed their entire +expeditionary army at Antwerp, and cut our line of communication. How do +I know that? Simply because England would have been guilty of the +grossest blunder if she had not done that, and the man who is in charge +of England's Army has never been known as a blunderer." + + + + +A CHARGE IN THE DARK + +By O.C.A. CHILD. + + + Out of the trenches lively, lads! + Steady, steady there, number two! + Step like your feet were tiger's pads-- + Crawl when crawling's the thing to do! + + Column left, through the sunken road! + Keep in touch as you move by feel! + Empty rifles--no need to load-- + Night work's close work, stick to steel! + + Wait for shadows and watch the clouds, + When it's moonshine, down you go! + Quiet, quiet, as men in shrouds, + Cats a-prowl in the dark go slow. + + Curse you, there, did you have to fall? + Damn your feet and your blind-bat eyes! + Caught in the open, caught--that's all! + Searchlights! slaughter--we meant surprise! + + Shrapnel fire a bit too low-- + Gets us though on the ricochet! + Open order and in we go, + Steel, cold steel, and we'll make 'em pay. + + God above, not there to win? + Left, while my men go on to die! + Take them in, Sergeant, take them in! + Go on, fellows, good luck--good-bye! + + + + +A New Poland + +By Gustave Herve + + + Gustave Herve, author of the article translated below, which + appears in a recent number of his paper, La Guerre + Sociale--suppressed, it is reported, by the French + authorities--has been described as "the man who fights all + France." He is 44 years old, and has spent one-fourth of his + life in prison, on account of Socialistic articles against the + French flag and Government. He used to continue writing such + articles from prison and thus get his sentences lengthened. + + Herve has always opposed everything savoring of militarism and + conquest. From his article on Poland it will be seen that, + although he says nothing anti-French or antagonistic to the + Allies in general, he desires a Russian triumph over Germany + not for his own sake, but as a preliminary to a reconstruction + of the Polish Nation out of the lands wrested from Poland by + Russia, Germany, and Austria. + +In spite of its vagueness, the Grand Duke Nicholas's proclamation +justifies the most sanguine hopes. This has been recognized not only by +all the Poles whom it has reached, those of Russian Poland, and the +three million Polish refugees who live in America, but moreover, all the +Allies have interpreted it as a genuine promise that Poland would be +territorially and politically reconstructed. + +What would it be right to include in a reconstructed Poland, if the +great principle of nationality is to be respected? + +First, such a Poland would naturally include all of the Russian Poland +of today--by that I mean all the districts where Poles are in a large +majority. This forms a preliminary nucleus of 12,000,000 inhabitants, +among whom are about 2,000,000 Jews. This great proportion of Jews is +accounted for by the fact that Poland is in the zone where Jews are +allowed to live in Russia. + +Our new Poland would not comprise the ancient Lithuania--the districts +of Wilno, Kovno, and Grodno--although Lithuania formerly was part of +Poland and still has about one million Polish inhabitants who form the +aristocracy and bourgeoisie. Lithuania, which is really the region of +the Niemen, is peopled by Letts, who have their own language, resembling +neither Polish nor Russian, and they likewise hope to obtain some day a +measure of autonomy in the Russian Empire, with the right to use their +language in schools, churches, and civil proceedings. One thing is +certain: they would protest, and rightly, against actual incorporation +into the new Poland. + +The 125,000 square kilometers and 12,000,000 inhabitants of Russian +Poland, lying around Warsaw, would constitute the nucleus of +reconstructed Poland. + +Must we add to this the 79,000 square kilometers and 8,000,000 +inhabitants of Galicia, which was Austria's share in the spoils of old +Poland? Certainly, so far as western Galicia around Cracow is concerned, +for this is a wholly Polish region, the Poles there numbering 2,500,000. + +As for eastern Galicia, of which the principal city is Lemberg, (Lvov in +Polish,) the question is more delicate. Though Eastern Galicia has over +1,500,000 Poles and 600,000 Jews, most of the population is Ruthenian. +Now these Ruthenians, who are natives, subjugated in former times by the +conquering Poles, and who still own much of the big estates, are related +to the "Little Russians," the southerners of Russia, and speak a dialect +which is to Russian what Provencal is to French. + +Besides, whereas the Poles are Catholics, the Ruthenians are Greek +Orthodox Christians like the Russians, but differ from the latter in +that they are connected with the Roman Church, and are thus schismatics +in the eyes of the Russian priests. + +Should these Ruthenians be annexed to Russia along with the 1,500,000 +Poles and 500,000 Jews, among whom they have lived for centuries, they +would scarcely look upon this as acceptable unless they were certain of +having under Russian rule at least equal political liberty and respect +for their dialect and religion as they have under Austrian rule. + +Should they be incorporated with the rest of Polish Galicia into the new +Poland? It is hardly probable that they desire this, having enjoyed +under Austria a considerable measure of autonomy as regards their +language and schools. Would not the best solution be to make of Eastern +Galicia an autonomous province of the reconstructed Poland, guaranteeing +to it its local privileges? + +That leaves for consideration the portion of Poland now forming part of +Prussia. + +There can be no question as to what should be done with the districts of +Posen and Thorn. These are the parts of Poland stolen by Prussia, which +the Prussians, a century and a quarter after the theft, have not +succeeded in Germanizing. + +North of the Posen district is Western Prussia, whose principal city is +Dantzic; that too is a Polish district, stolen in 1772. Since then +Dantzic has been Germanized and there are numerous German officials and +employes in the other towns of the region. All the rural districts and a +part of the towns, however, have remained Polish in spite of attempts to +Germanize them as brutal as those applied to Posnania. But, if united +Poland should include Western Prussia, as she has the right to do--there +being no rule against what is right--Eastern Prussia, including +Koenigsberg, will be cut off from the rest of Germany. + +Now, Eastern Prussia, with the exception of the southern part about the +Masurian Lakes, which has remained Polish, has been German from early +mediaeval times. It is the home of the most reactionary junkers of all +Prussia, a cradle of Prussian royalty and of the Hohenzollerns. Despite +our hatred for these birds of prey, could we wish that the new Poland +should absorb these 2,000,000 genuine Germans? + +If the region of Koenigsberg remains Prussian and the Masurian Lakes +region is added to Poland, why not leave to Germany the strip of land +along the coast, including Dantzic, in order that Eastern Prussia may +thus be joined to Germany at one end? + +Another question: There is in Prussian Upper Silesia a district, that of +Oppeln, rich in iron ore, which was severed in the Middle Ages from +Poland, but which has remained mostly Polish and which adjoins Poland. +If the majority of Polish residents there demand it, would it not be +well to join it once more to Poland, which would become, by this +addition, contiguous to the Czechs of Bohemia? + +To sum up: + +Without laying hands on the German district of Koenigsberg, united +Poland, by absorbing all the territory at present held by Prussia, in +which the majority of the inhabitants are Poles, will take from the +latter 70,000 square kilometers and 5,700,000 inhabitants. With these, +the new Poland would have 24,000,000 inhabitants, including Eastern +Galicia. + +If Russia gave to this Poland in lieu of actual independence the most +liberal autonomy and reconstructed a Polish kingdom under the suzerainty +of the Czar--a Poland with its Diet, language, schools and army--would +not the present war seem to us a genuine war of liberation and Nicholas +II. a sort of Czar-liberator? + +And if resuscitated Poland, taught by misfortune, compassionate toward +the persecuted and proscribed because she herself has been persecuted +and proscribed, should try to cure herself of her anti-Semitism, which +has saddened her best friends in France, would not you say that she +indeed deserved to be resuscitated from among the dead? + + + + +"With the Honors of War" + +By Wythe Williams + +[From THE NEW YORK TIMES, April, 1915.] + + +It was just at the dawn of a March morning when I got off a train at +Gerbeviller, the little "Martyr City" that hides its desolation as it +hid its existence in the foothills of the Vosges. + +There was a dense fog. At 6 A.M. fog usually covers the valleys of the +Meurthe and Moselle. From the station I could see only a building across +the road. A gendarme demanded my credentials. I handed him the +laisser-passer from the Quartier General of the "First French Army," +which controls all coming and going, all activity in that region. The +gendarme demanded to know the hour when I proposed to leave. I told him. +He said it would be necessary to have the permit "vised for departure" +at the headquarters of the gendarmerie. He pointed to the hazy outlines +of another building just distinguishable through the fog. + +This was proof that the town contained buildings--not just a building. +The place was not entirely destroyed, as I had supposed. I went down the +main street from the station, the fog enveloping me. I had letters to +the town officials, but it was too early in the morning to present them. +I would first get my own impressions of the wreck and the ruin. But I +could see nothing on either hand as I stumbled along in the mud. So I +commented to myself that this was not as bad as some places I had seen. +I thought of the substantial station and the buildings across the +road--untouched by war. I compared Gerbeviller with places where there +is not even a station--where not one simple house remains as the result +of "the day when the Germans came." + +The road was winding and steep, dipping down to the swift little stream +that twists a turbulent passage through the town. The day was coming +fast but the fog remained white and impenetrable. After a few minutes I +began to see dark shapes on either side of the road. Tall, thin, +irregular shapes, some high, some low, but with outlines all softened, +toned down by the banks of white vapor. + +I started across the road to investigate and fell into a pile of jagged +masonry on the sidewalk. Through the nearness of the fog I could see +tumbled piles of bricks. The shapes still remained--spectres that seemed +to move in the light wind from the valley. An odor that was not of the +freshness of the morning assailed me. I climbed across the walk. No wall +of buildings barred my path, but I mounted higher on the piles of brick +and stones. A heavy black shape was now at my left hand. I looked up and +in the shadow there was no fog. I could see a crumbled swaying side wall +of a house that was. The odor I noticed was that caused by fire. +Sticking from the wall I could see the charred wood joists that once +supported the floor of the second story. Higher, the lifting fog +permitted me to see the waving boughs of a tree that hung over the house +that was, outlined against a clear sky. At my feet, sticking out of the +pile of bricks and stones, was the twisted iron fragments that was once +the frame of a child's bed. I climbed out into the sunshine. + +I was standing in the midst of a desolation and a silence that was +profound. There was nothing there that lived, except a few fire-blacked +trees that stuck up here and there in the shelter of broken walls. Now I +understood the meaning of the spectral shapes. They were nothing but the +broken walls of the other houses that were. They were all that remained +of nine-tenths of Gerbeviller. + +I wandered along to where the street turned abruptly. There the ground +pitched more sharply to the little river. There stood an entire half of +a house unscathed by fire; it was one of those unexplainable freaks that +often occur in great catastrophes. Even the window glass was intact. +Smoke was coming from the chimney. I went to the opposite side and there +stood an old woman looking out toward the river, brooding over the ruin +stretching below her. + +"You are lucky," I said. "You still have your home." + +She threw out her hands and turned a toothless countenance toward me. I +judged her to be well over seventy. It wasn't her home, she explained. +Her home was "la-bas"--pointing vaguely in the distance. She had lived +there fifty years--now it was burned. Her son's house for which he had +saved thirty years to be able to call it his own, was also gone; but +then her son was dead, so what did it matter? Yes, he was shot on the +day the Germans came. He was ill, but they killed him. Oh, yes, she saw +him killed. When the Germans went away she came to this house and built +a fire in the stove. It was very cold. + +And why were the houses burned? No; it was not the result of +bombardment. Gerbeviller was not bombarded until after the houses were +burned. They were burned by the Germans systematically. They went from +house to house with their torches and oil and pitch. They did not +explain why they burned the houses, but it was because they were angry. + +The old woman paused a moment, and a faint flicker of a smile showed in +the wrinkles about her eyes. I asked her to continue her story. + +"You said because they were angry," I prompted. The smile broadened. Oh, +yes, they were very angry, she explained. They did not even make the +excuse that the villagers fired upon them. They were just angry through +and through. And it was all because of those seventy-five French +chasseurs who held the bridge. Some one called to her from the house. +She hobbled to the door. "Anyone can tell you about the seventy-five +chasseurs," she said, disappearing within. + +I went on down the road and stood upon the bridge over the swift little +river. It was a narrow little bridge only wide enough for one wagon to +pass. Two roads from the town converged there, the one over which I had +passed and another which formed a letter "V" at the juncture with the +bridge. Across the river only one road led away from the bridge and it +ran straight up a hill, when it turned suddenly into the broad national +highway to Luneville about five miles away. + +One house remained standing almost at the entrance to the bridge, at the +end nearest the town. Its roof was gone, and its walls bore the marks of +hundreds of bullets, but it was inhabited by a little old man of fifty, +who came out to talk with me. He was the village carpenter. His house +was burned, so he had taken refuge in the little house at the bridge. +During the time the Germans were there he had been a prisoner, but they +forgot him the morning the French army arrived. Everybody was in such a +hurry, he explained. + +I asked him about the seventy-five chasseurs at the bridge. Ah, yes, we +were then standing on the site of their barricade. He would tell me +about it, for he had seen it all from his house half way up the hill. + +The chasseurs were first posted across the river on the road to +Luneville, and when the Germans approached, early in the morning, they +fell back to the bridge, which they had barricaded the night before. It +was the only way into Gerbeviller, so the chasseurs determined to fight. +They had torn up the street and thrown great earthworks across one end +of the bridge. Additional barricades were thrown up on the two +converging streets, part way up the hill, behind which they had +mitrailleuses which could sweep the road at the other end of the bridge. + +About a half mile to the south a narrow footbridge crossed the river, +only wide enough for one man. It was a little rustic affair that ran +through the grounds of the Chateau de Gerbeviller that faced the river +only a few hundred yards below the main bridge. It was a very ancient +chateau, built in the twelfth century and restored in the seventeenth +century. It was a royal chateau of the Bourbons. In it once lived the +great Francois de Montmorency, Duc de Luxembourg and Marshal of France. +Now it belonged to the Marquise de Lamberty, a cousin of the King of +Spain. + +I interrupted, for I wanted to hear about the chasseurs. I gave the +little old man a cigarette. He seized it eagerly--so eagerly that I also +handed him a cigar. He just sort of fondled that cigar for a moment and +then placed it in an inside pocket. It was a very cheap and very bad +French cigar, for I was in a part of the country that has never heard of +Havanas, but to the little old man it was something precious. "I will +keep it for Sunday," he said. + +I then got him back to the seventy-five chasseurs. It was just eight +o'clock in the morning--a beautiful sunshiny morning--when the German +column appeared around the bend in the road which we could see across +the bridge, and which joined the highway from Luneville. There were +twelve thousand in that first column. One hundred and fifty thousand +more came later. A band was playing "Deutschland ueber alles" and the men +were singing. The closely packed front ranks of infantry broke into the +goose step as they came in sight of the town. It was a wonderful sight; +the sun glistened on their helmets; they marched as though on parade +right down almost to the opposite end of the bridge. + +Then came the command to halt. For a moment there was a complete +silence. The Germans, only a couple of hundred yards from the barricade, +seemed slowly to consider the situation. The Captain of the chasseurs, +from a shelter behind the very little house that is still standing--and +where his men up the two roads could see him--softly waved his hand. + +Crack-crack-crack--crack-crack-crack-crack--crack-crack-crack! The +bullets from the mitrailleuses whistled across the bridge into the front +ranks of the "Deutchland ueber alles" singers, while the men behind the +bridge barricade began a deadly rifle fire. + +Have you ever heard a mitrailleuse? It is just like a telegraph +instrument, with its insistant clickety click-click-click, only it is a +hundred times as loud. Indeed I have been told by French officers that +it has sometimes been used as a telegraph instrument, so accurately can +its operator reel out its hundred and sixty shots a minute. + +On that morning at the Gerbeviller barricade, however, it went faster +than the telegraph. These men on the converging roads just shifted their +range slightly and poured bullets into the next ranks of infantry and so +on back along the line, until Germans were dropping by the dozen at the +sides of the little straight road. Then the column broke ranks wildly +and fled back into the shelter of the road from Luneville. + +A half hour later a detachment of cavalry suddenly rounded the corner +and charged straight for the barricade. The seventy-five were ready for +them. Some of them got half way across the bridge and then tumbled into +the river. Not one got back around the corner of the road to Luneville. + +There was another half hour of quiet, and then from the Luneville road a +battery of artillery got into action. Their range was bad, so far as any +achievement against the seventy-five was concerned, so they turned their +attention to the chateau, which they could easily see from their +position across the river. The first shell struck the majestic tower of +the building and shattered it. The next smashed the roof, the third hit +the chapel--and so continued the bombardment until flames broke out to +complete the destruction. + +Of course the Germans could not know that the chateau was empty, that +its owner was in Paris and both her sons fighting in the French Army. +But they had secured the military advantage of demolishing one of the +finest country houses in France, with its priceless tapestries, ancient +marbles and heirlooms of the Bourbons. A howl of German glee was heard +by the seventy-five chasseurs crouching behind their barricades. So +pleased were the invaders with their achievement, that next they bravely +swung out a battery into the road leading to the bridge, intending to +shell the barricades. The Captain of chasseurs again waved his hand. +Every man of the battery was killed before the guns were in position. It +took an entire company of infantry--half of them being killed in the +action--to haul those guns back into the Luneville road, thus to clear +the way for another advance. + +From then on until 1 o'clock in the afternoon there were three more +infantry attacks, all failing as lamentably as the first. The +seventy-five were holding off the 12,000. At the last attack they let +the Germans advance to the entrance of the bridge. They invited them +with taunts to "avancez." Then they poured in their deadly fire, and as +the Germans broke and fled they permitted themselves a cheer. Up to this +time not one chasseur was killed. Only four were wounded. + +Shortly after 1 o'clock the German artillery wasted a few more shells on +the ruined chateau and the chasseurs could see a detachment crawling +along the river bank in the direction of the narrow footbridge that +crossed through the chateau park a half mile below. The Captain of the +chasseurs sent one man with a mitrailleuse to hold the bridge. He posted +himself in the shelter of a large tree at one end. In a few minutes +about fifty Germans appeared. They advanced cautiously on the bridge. +The chasseur let them get half way over before he raked them with his +fire. The water below ran red with blood. + +The Germans retreated for help and made another attack an hour later +with the same result. By 4 o'clock, when the lone chasseur's ammunition +was exhausted, it is estimated that he had killed 175 Germans, who made +five desperate rushes to take the position, which would have enabled +them to make a flank attack on the seventy-four still holding the main +bridge. When his ammunition was gone--which occurred at the same time as +the ammunition at the main bridge was exhausted--this chasseur with the +others succeeded in effecting a retreat to a main body of cavalry. If he +still lives--this modern Horatius at the bridge--he remains an unnamed +hero in the ranks of the French Army, unhonored except in the hearts of +those few of his countrymen who know. + +During the late hours of the afternoon aeroplanes flew over the +chasseurs' position, thus discovering to the Germans how really weak +were the defenses of the town, how few its defenders. Besides, the +ammunition was gone. But for eight hours--from 8 in the morning until 4 +in the afternoon--the seventy-five had held the 12,000. General Joffre +has said in one of his reports that the defense of the bridge at +Gerbeviller had an important bearing on the battle of the Marne, which +was just beginning, for it gave Castelnau's Army of the East time to dig +its trenches a few miles back of Gerbeviller before the Germans got +through. + +Had that body of 12,000 succeeded earlier the 150,000 Germans that +advanced the next day might have been able to fall on the French right +flank during the most critical and decisive battle of the war. The total +casualties of the chasseurs were three killed, three captured, and six +wounded. + +The little old man and I had walked to the entrance of the chateau park +before he finished his story. It was still too early for breakfast. I +thanked him and told him to return to his work in the little house by +the bridge. I wanted to explore the chateau at leisure. + +I entered the place--what was left of it. Most of the walls were +standing. Walls built in the twelfth century do not break easily, even +with modern artillery. But the modern roof and seventeenth century inner +walls were all demolished. Not a single article of furniture or +decoration remained. But the destruction showed some of the same +freaks--similar to that little house left untouched by fire on the +summit of the hill. + +For instance, the Bourbon coat of arms above the grand staircase was +untouched, while the staircase itself was just splintered bits of +marble. On another fragment of a wall there still hung a magnificent +stag's antlers. Strewed about in the corners I saw fragments of vases +that had been priceless. Even the remnants were valuable. In the ruined +music room I found a piece of fresh, clean music, (an Alsatian waltz,) +lying on the mantelpiece. I went out to the front of the building, where +the great park sweeps down to the edge of the river. An old gardener in +one of the side paths saw me. We immediately established cordial +relations with a cigarette. + +He told me how, after the chasseurs retreated beyond the town, the +Germans--reduced over a thousand of their original number by the +activities of the day--swept over the barricades of the bridge and into +the town. Yes, the old woman I had talked with was right about it. They +were very angry. They were ferociously angry at being held eight hours +at that bridge by a force so ridiculously small. + +The first civilians they met they killed, and then they began to fire +the houses. One young man, half witted, came out of one of the houses +near the bridge. They hanged him in the garden behind the house. Then +they called his mother to see. A mob came piling into the chateau headed +by four officers. All the furniture and valuables that were not +destroyed they piled into a wagon and sent back to Luneville. Of the +gardener who was telling me the story they demanded the keys of the wine +cellars. No; they did not injure him. They just held him by the arms +while several dozen of the soldiers spat in his face. + +While the drunken crew were reeling about the place, one of them +accidentally stumbled upon the secret underground passage leading to the +famous grottoes. These grottoes and the underground connection from the +chateau were built in the fifteenth century. They are a half mile away, +situated only half above ground, the entrance looking out on a smooth +lawn that extends to the edge of the river. Several giant trees, the +trunks of which are covered with vines, semi-shelter the entrance, which +is also obscured by climbing ivy. The interior was one of the treasures +of France. The vaulted ceilings were done in wonderful mosaic. The walls +decorated with marbles and rare sea shells. In every nook were marble +pedestals and antique statuary, while the fountain in the centre, +supplied from an underground stream, was of porphyry inlaid with mosaic. + +The Germans looked upon it with appreciative eyes and cultured minds. +But it did not please them. They were still very angry. Its destruction +was a necessity of war. It could not be destroyed by artillery because +it was half underground and screened by the giant trees. But it could be +destroyed by picks and axes. A squad of soldiers was detailed to the +job. They did it thoroughly. The gardener took me there to see. Not a +scrap of the mosaic remained. The fountain was smashed to bits. A +headless Venus and a smashed and battered Adonis were lying prone upon +the ground. + +The visitors to the chateau and environs afterward joined their comrades +in firing the town. Night had come. Also across the bridge waited the +hundred and fifty thousand reinforcements come from Luneville. The five +hundred of the two thousand inhabitants who remained were herded to the +upper end of the town near the station. That portion was not to be +destroyed because the German General would make his headquarters there. + +The inhabitants were to be given a treat. They were to witness the +entrance of the hundred and fifty thousand--the power and might of +Germany was to be exhibited to them. So while the flames leaped high +from the burning city, reddening the sky for miles, while old men +prayed, while women wept, while little children whimpered, the sound of +martial music was heard down the street near the bridge. The infantry +packed in close formation, the red light from the fire shining on their +helmets, were doing the goose step up the main street to the +station--the great German army had entered the city of Gerbeviller with +the honors of war. + + + + +General Foch, the Man of Ypres + +An Account of France's New Master of War + +[From THE NEW YORK TIMES, April, 1915.] + + +"Find out the weak point of your enemy and deliver your blow there," +said the Commander of the Twentieth French Army Corps at Nancy at a +staff banquet in 1913. + +"But suppose, General," said an artillery officer, "that the enemy has +no weak point?" + +"If the enemy has no weak point," returned the commander, with a gleam +of the eye and an aggressive tilt of the chin, "make one." + +The commander was Foch--Ferdinand Foch--who has suddenly flashed before +the world as the greatest leader in the French Army after Joffre, and +who in that remark at Nancy gave the index to the basic quality of his +character as a General. General Foch is today in command of the northern +armies of France, besides being the chief Lieutenant and confidant of +Joffre. Joffre conceives; Foch, master tactician, executes. He finds the +weak point; if there is no weak point, he creates or seeks to create +one. + +When King George of England was at the front in France recently he +conferred the Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath--the highest military +distinction in the form of an order within the gift of the British +Crown--on two Frenchmen. Joffre was one. The other was Foch. + +"Foch? Foch? Who is Foch?" asked the British public, perplexed, when the +newspapers printed the news of the granting of this signal honor. + +"Foch is the General who was at the head of the French military mission +which followed our army manoeuvres three years ago," replied a few men +who happened to have been intimately acquainted with those manoeuvres. + +"But what has that to do with the Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath?" +asked John Bull. And the manoeuvre experts not being able to reply, the +English newspapers demanded from their correspondents in France an +answer to the query, "Who is Foch? Why the Grand Cross?" + +And the main features of the answers to that query were these: + +Foch is the "greatest strategist in Europe and the humblest," in the +words of Joffre. + +Foch is the hero of the Marne, the man who perceived on Sept. 9 that +there must be a gap between the Prussian Guard and the Saxon Army, and +who gathered enough artillery to crush the guard in the St. Gond marshes +and forced both the Prussians and the Saxons, now separated, to retreat. + +Foch is the man of Ypres, the commander who was in general control of +the successful fight made by the French and the British, aided by the +Belgians, to prevent the Germans from breaking through to Calais. + +Foch, in short, is one of the military geniuses of the war, so record +observers at the front. He is a General who has something of the +Napoleonic in his composition; the dramatic in war is for him--secrecy +and suddenness, gigantic and daring movements; fiery, yet coldly +calculated attacks; vast strategic conceptions carried out by swift, +unfaltering tactics. Foch has a tendency to the impetuous, but he is +impetuous scientifically. He has, however, taken all in all, much more +of the dash and nervousness and warmth of the Southern Latin than has +Joffre--cool, cautious, taciturn Joffre. Yet both men are from the south +of France. They were born within a few miles of one another, within +three months of one another, Foch being born on Oct. 2, 1851, and Joffre +on Jan. 12, 1852. + +Most writers who have dealt with Foch agree on this as one of his +paramount characteristics--the Napoleonic mode of military thought. +When Foch was director of the Ecole de Guerre, where he had much to do +with shaping the military views of many of the men who are now +commanding units of the French Armies, he was considered to be possessed +of almost an obsession on the subject of Napoleon. He studied Napoleon's +campaigns, and restudied them. He went back much further, however, in +his choice of a master, and gave intense application to the campaigns of +Caesar. Napoleon and Caesar--these were the minds from which the mind of +the Marne and Ypres has learned some of its lessons of success. + +Here Foch invites comparison with another of the dominant figures of the +war--General French. For French is described by his biographer as "a +worshipper of Napoleon," regarding him as the world's greatest +strategist, and in following out and studying Napoleon's campaigns +French personally covered and studied much of the ground in Belgium over +which he has been fighting. French is a year younger than Foch. They are +old friends, as are French and Joffre, and Joffre and Foch. + +The inclination of Foch to something of the Napoleonic is shown beyond +the realm of strategy and tactics. Foch is credited with knowing the +French soldier, his heart, his mind, his capabilities, and the method of +getting the most out of those capabilities, in a way reminiscent of the +winner of Jena. And Foch knows not only the privates, but the officers. +When he went to the front he visited each commander; the Colonels he +called by name; the corps commanders, without exception, had attended +his lectures at the Ecole de Guerre. + +As for the men, Foch makes it his business to get into personal contact +with them, as Napoleon used to do. Foch does not hobnob with them, there +is no joking or familiarity, but he goes into the trenches and the +occupied villages and looks the men over informally, inspects food or +equipment, makes a useful comment or two, drops a phrase that is worth +repeating, and leaves behind him enthusiasm and respect. The Paris +Figaro says that he has the gift of setting souls afire, of arousing +that elan in the French fighter which made that fighter perform military +miracles when the "sun of Austerlitz" was high. It has been declared by +a French writer that Foch knows the human element in the French Army +better than any other man living. + +With all his knowledge of men, his power of inspiring them, Foch is +quiet, retiring, non-communicative, with no taste for meeting people in +social intercourse. His life has been monotonous--work and work and +work. He has the reputation of being a driver; he used to be +particularly severe on shirkers in the war college, and such, no matter +what their influence, had no chance of getting a diploma leading to an +attractive staff position when Foch was Director. When he was in command +at Nancy and elsewhere he used to work his staffs hard, and they had to +share much of the monotony of work which has been chiefly Foch's life. +He did not go in for society, merely making the formal calls required by +the etiquette of garrison towns on the chief garrison hostesses, and +giving dinners two or three times a year to his staff. + +Foch, indeed, with his quiet ways and his hard work and his studying of +Napoleon and Caesar, was characterized by some of the officers of the +army as a pedant, a theorist, and these held that Foch had small chance +of doing anything important in such a practical realm as that of real +war. + +Because of his Directorship of the Ecole de Guerre he was known to many +officers, but as far as France at large was concerned his name was +scarcely known at all last August. Yet officers knew him in other lands +besides his own. His two great books, "Principles of War" and "Conduct +of War," have been translated into English, German, and Italian, and are +highly regarded by military men. He has been ranked by the +Militaer-Wochenblatt, organ of the German General Staff, as one of the +few strategists of first class ability among the Allies. + +Foch is a slim man, with a great deal of nervous energy in his actions, +being so quick and graceful in movement, indeed, that a recent English +observer declares he carries himself more like a man of 40 than one of +64. His gray blue eyes are particularly to be noticed, so keen are they. +His speech is quick, precise, logical. + +So little has Foch been known to the French public that it has been +stated time and again that he is an Alsatian. He is not, but comes of a +Basque family which has lived for many generations in the territory +which is now the Department of the Hautes-Pyrenees, directly on the +border of Spain. Foch was born in the town of Tarbes in that department. +Joffre was born in the Department Pyrenees-Orientales, on the Spanish +border to the east. Foch's father, Napoleon Foch, was a Bonapartist and +Secretary of the Prefecture at Tarbes under Napoleon III. One of his two +brothers, a lawyer, is also called Napoleon. The other is a Jesuit +priest. Foch and these brothers attended the local college, and then +turned to their professions. + +In 1870 Foch served as a subaltern against the Germans, as did Joffre. +After the war Foch began to win recognition as a man of brains, and at +26 he was given a commission as artillery Captain. Later he became +Professor of Tactics in the Ecole de Guerre, with the title of +Commandant, where he remained for five years, and then returned to +regimental work. It was when Foch reached the grade of Brigadier General +that he went back to the War College, this time as Director, one of the +most confidential positions in the War Department. From this post he +went to the command of the Thirteenth Division, thence to the command of +the Eighth Corps at Bourges, and thence to the command of the Twentieth +Corps at Nancy. + +At the time that Foch was appointed Director of the Ecole de Guerre, +Clemenceau was Premier, and upon the latter fell the task of choosing an +officer for the important Directorship. There was keen competition for +the position, many influential Generals desiring the appointment, and in +consequence much wire-pulling went on. The story goes that Clemenceau, +a man of action, became impatient of the intrigues for the post, and +determined to make his own choice unhampered. + +According to the story, Clemenceau, after a conference one day upon +routine business with Foch, asked the latter to dine. The Ecole de +Guerre was not mentioned during the meal, the men chatting upon general +topics. But as the coffee was being brought on, the Premier turned +suddenly to the General and said, brusquely: + +"By the way, I've a good bit of news for you. You're nominated Director +of the Ecole de Guerre." + +"Director of the Ecole de Guerre! But I'm not a candidate for the post." + +"That is possible. But you're appointed all the same, and I know you +will do excellent work in the position." + +Foch thanked the Premier, but he still had some doubts, and added: + +"I fear you don't know all my family connections. I have a brother who +is a Jesuit." + +"Jesuit be d-----!" the Premier is reported to have roared in reply. +"Oh, I beg your pardon, Mr. Director! You are the Director of the Ecole +de Guerre. All the Jesuits in creation won't alter that--it is a fait +accompli." + +Among the confidential bits of work worthy of note that Foch has done +for the War Department is the report he made upon the larger guns of the +French field artillery, which have done such execution in the present +war. For many weeks Foch went around the great Creusot gun works in the +blouse of a workman, testing, watching, experimenting, analyzing. + +Foch was one of the high officers in France who was not in the least +surprised by the war and who had personally been holding himself in +readiness for it for years. He felt, and often said, that a great war +was inevitable; so much used he to dwell upon the certainty of war that +some persons regarded him as an alarmist when he kept declaring that +French officers should take every step within their power to get +themselves and the troops ready for active service at an instant's +notice. He also held that France as a nation should prepare to the +utmost of her power for the assured conflict. + +In a recent issue of The London Times there was a description of Foch by +a Times correspondent who had been at Foch's headquarters in the north +of France. The correspondent's remarks are prefaced by the statement +that in a late dispatch General French mentions General Foch as one of +those whose help he has "once more gratefully to acknowledge." The +correspondent writes in part: + + What Ernest Lavisse has clone for civilian New France in his + direction of the Ecole Normale General Foch has done in a + large measure for the officers of New France by his teaching + of strategy and tactics at the Ecole de Guerre. He left his + mark upon the whole teaching of general tactics. + + I had the honor of being received recently by General Foch at + his headquarters in the north of France--a house built for + very different purposes many years ago, when Flemish civil + architecture was in its flower. The quiet atmosphere of + Flemish ease and burgomaster comfort has completely vanished. + The building hums with activity, as does the whole town. A + fleet of motor cars is ready for instant action. Officers and + orderlies hurry constantly to and fro. There is an occasional + British uniform, a naval airman's armored car, and above all + the noise of this bustle, though lower in tone, the sound of + guns in the distance from Ypres. + + The director of all this activity is General Foch. There in + the north he is putting his theories of war to the test with + as much success as he did at the outbreak of hostilities in + Lorraine and later in the centre during the battle of the + Marne. Although born with the brain of a mathematician, + General Foch's ideas upon war are by no means purely + scientific. He refuses, indeed, to regard war, and more + especially modern war, as an exact science. The developments + of science have, indeed, but increased the mental and moral + effort required of each participant, and it is only in the + passions aroused in each man by the conflict of conception of + life that the combatant finds the strength of will to + withstand the horrors of modern warfare. + + General Foch is a philosopher as well as a fighter. He is one + of the rare philosophers who have proved the accuracy of their + ideas in the fire of battle. A typical instance of this is + given by "Miles" in a recent number of the Correspondant. + During the battle of the Marne the Germans made repeated + efforts to cut through the centre where General Foch commanded + between Sezanne and Mailly. On three consecutive days General + Foch was forced to retire. Every morning he resumed the + offensive, with the result that his obstinacy won the day. He + was able to profit by a false step by the enemy to take him in + the flank and defeat him. + + General Foch's whole life and teaching were proved true in + those days. He has resolved the art of war into three + fundamental ideas--preparation, the formation of a mass, and + the multiplication of this mass in its use. In order to derive + the full benefit of the mass created it is necessary to have + freedom of action, and that is only obtained by intellectual + discipline. General Foch has written: + + "Discipline for a leader does not mean the execution of orders + received in so far as they seem suitable, just reasonable, or + even possible. It means that you have entirely grasped the + ideas of the leader who has given the order and that you take + every possible means of satisfying him. Discipline does not + mean silence, abstention, only doing what appears to you + possible without compromising yourself; it is not the practice + of the art of avoiding responsibilities. On the contrary, it + is action in the sense of orders received." + + Fifteen years ago at the Ecole de Guerre General Foch was fond + of quoting Joseph de Maistre's remark, "A battle lost is a + battle which one believes to have lost, for battles are not + lost materially," and of adding, "Battles are therefore lost + morally, and it is therefore morally that they are won." The + aphorism can be extended by this one: "A battle won is a + battle in which one will not admit one's self vanquished." As + "Miles" remarks, "He did as he had said." + +Ernest Dimnet in The London Saturday Review has this to say in part +about Foch and his two widely known books: + + During his two terms of service at the Ecole de Guerre he + produced two considerable works, "Principes de la Guerre" and + "De la Conduite de La Guerre," which give a high idea of their + author's character and talent. There is nothing in them that + ought to scare away the average reader. Their style has the + geometrical lucidity which is the polytechnician's birthright, + but in spite of the deliberate impersonality generally + attached to that style of writing, there emanates from it a + curious quality which gradually shows us the author as a + living person. + + We have the impression of a vast mental capacity turned to the + lifelong study of a fascinating subject and acquiring in it + the dignity of attitude and the naturalness which mastery + inevitably produces. War has been the constant meditation of + this powerful brain. In "La Conduite de la Guerre" this + meditation is the minute historical examination of the battles + of the First Empire and 1870. "Nothing can replace the + experience of war," writes the author, "except the history of + war," and it is clear that he understands the word "history" + as all those who go to the past for a lesson in greatness + understand it. + + "Les Principes de la Guerre" is more immediately technical, + yet it strikes one as being less a speculation than a + visualizing of what modern war was sure to be. If the reader + did not feel that he lacks the background which only the + contemplation a million times repeated of concrete details can + create, he would be tempted to marvel at the extraordinary + simplicity of these views. But a good judge who was very near + the General until a wound removed him for a while from the--to + him--fascinating scene tells me that this simplicity and + directness--which marked the action of Foch at the battle of + the Marne as they formerly marked his teaching--are the + perfection to which only a few can aspire. + + + + +THE UNREMEMBERED DEAD + +By ELLA A. FANNING. + + + "For those who die in war, and have none to pray for + them."--Litany. + + We lay a wreath of laurel on the sward, + Where rest our loved ones in a deep repose + Unvexed by dreams of any earthly care, + And, checking not our tears, we breathe a prayer, + Grateful for even the comfort which is ours-- + That we may kneel and sob our sorrow there, + And place the deathless leaf, the rarest flowers. + + Though Winter's cruel fingers brown the sod, + It's dearer far than all the world beside! + Forms live again--we gaze in love and pride + On youthful faces prest close to our own. + Eyes smile to ours; we hear each tender tone, + Grief's smart is softened--less the sense of loss. + This grave we have, at least; we're not alone! + + And they must know of our unchanging love-- + Our tender thought--our memory--our prayers! + And in our constancy, ah! each one shares + To whom death comes on distant battlefields, + When life's last breath not even the solace yields-- + "There's one who'll mourn for me--whose tears will flow!"-- + Not even a grave is theirs, unnamed, unwept! + God rest their souls--the dead we do not know! + + + + +Canada and Britain's War Union + +By Edward W. Thomson, F.R.S.L., F.R.S.C. + +[From THE NEW YORK TIMES, April, 1915.] + + +Canada's political relation to Great Britain, and, indeed, to all other +countries, has been essentially altered by Canada's quite voluntary +engagement in the war. Were feudal terms not largely inapplicable, one +might aver that the vassal has become the suzerain's ally, political +equality connoted. + +But, indeed, Canadians were never vassals. They have ever been Britons, +whatever their individual origins, retaining the liberties of their +political birthright. While in a certain tutelage to their own monarchs' +immediate Ministries, they have continually, slowly, consciously, +expanded their freedom from such tutelage, substituting for it +self-government or rule by their own representatives, without forsaking +but rather enhancing their allegiance to the common Crown. This has long +been the symbol of their self-government, even as it is to old country +kinsmen the symbol of rule by themselves. + +The alteration manifested by Canada's active, voluntary engagement in +the European war is the change from Canadians holding, as they formerly +did, that Great Britain was bound to defend Canada, while Canadians were +not bound to defend Great Britain outside Canada. The "dependency" has +not been now dragged in; it acted as an independency; it recognized its +participation with Great Britain in a common danger; it proceeded quite +voluntarily, quite independently, to recruit, organize, dispatch, and +maintain large forces for the common cause. Canada's course has become +that of a partner in respect of acceptance of risks and of contribution +to expenses. + +This partner has no formally specified share in gains, or in authority, +or in future policy of the concern. Canada has no obvious, distinct, +admitted way or voice as to the conduct of war or making of peace. She +appears, with the other self-governing Dominions of the Crown, as an +ally having no vote in settlements, none of the prerogatives of an ally. +Hence some observers in Great Britain, in Canada, in other realms of the +Crown contend that the old, expressed relations between Great Britain, +Canada, and the other Dominions must inevitably be extensively changed +formally as well as actually in consequence of the war. + +Some say imperial federation cannot but ensue. Others argue that formal +independence must arrive if such federation come not speedily. Others +contend for an Empire League of sister States. Nobody ventures to +mention what was often talked publicly by Canadians from thirty to fifty +years ago, and later by Goldwin Smith, viz., Canada's entrance to the +United States as a new tier of sovereign States. The idea of severance +from Great Britain has vanished. Discussion of the other alternatives is +not inactive, but it is forced. It engages the quidnuncs. They are +talkers who must say something for the delight of hearing themselves; +or they are writers who live under the exigency of needing to get +"something different" daily into print. They are mostly either +"Jingoes" or Centralizationists, as contra to Nationalists or +Decentralizationists, long-standing opponents. + +Each set perceives their notions liable to be profoundly affected by +Canada's fighting in Europe. Each affects belief that their own +political designs cannot but be thereby served; each is afflicted with +qualms of doubt. They alike appreciate the factors that make for their +opponent's cause. Both know the strength of popular attachment to Great +Britain; both know the traditional and inbred loathing of the +industrious masses for the horrible bloodshed and insensate waste of +treasure in war. Both sets balance inwardly the chances that sentiments +seemingly irreconcilable and about equally respectable may, after the +war, urge Canadians either to draw politically closer to their +world-scattered kin, or to cut ligaments that might pull them again and +again, time without end, into the immemorial European shambles. + +But is the Canadian public excitedly interested in the discussion? Not +at all. Spokesmen and penmen of the two contentious factions are +victimized by their own perfervid imaginations. The electorate, the +masses, are not so swayed. The Canadian people, essentially British no +matter what their origins, are mainly, like all English-speaking +democracies, of straight, primitive, uncomplicated emotions, and of +essentially conservative mind. They "plug" along. The hour and the day +hold their attention. It is given to the necessary private works of the +moment, as to the necessary public conduct of the time. + +They did not, as a public, spin themselves any reasons or excuses for +their hearty approval of Canada's engagement in the war. Her or their +contributions of men and money to its fields of slaughter and waste +appeared and appear to them natural, proper, inevitable. They applauded +seriously the country's being "put in for it" by agreement of the two +sets of party politicians, and without any direct consultation of the +electorate in this, the most important departure Canada ever made, +because prompt action seemed the only way, and time was lacking for +debate about what seemed the next thing that had to be done. In fact, +the Canadian people, regarded collectively, felt and acted in this case +with as much ingenuousness as did those Tyrolese mountaineers, bred, +according to Heine, to know nothing of politics save that they had an +Emperor who wore a white coat and red breeches. + + When the patriots climbed up to them, and told them with + oratory that they now had a Prince who wore a blue coat and + white breeches, they grasped their rifles, and kissed wife and + children, and went down the mountain and offered their lives + in defense of the white coat and the dear old red breeches. + +But did they forsake their relish of and devotion to their customary, +legendary Tyrolese liberties? No more will the Canadian masses, by +reason of their hearty participation in the war, incline to yield jot or +tittle of their usual, long-struggled-for, gradually acquired, valuable +and valued British self-governing rights. Can the Jingoes or +Centralizationists scare them backward? Or the Decentralizationists or +Separatists hurry them forward? Won't they just continue to "plug along" +as their forefathers did in the old country and in the new, gaining a +bit more freedom to do well or ill at their own collective choice--that +is, if the war result "as usual" in British security, according to +confident British expectation. + +Such is the Canadian political situation. It has been essentially +similar any time within living memory. The people approve in politics +what they feel, instinctively, to be the profitable or the decent and +reasonable necessary next thing to do. Which signifies that those +controversialists are probably wrong who conceive that a result of the +war, if it be a win for the Allies, will cause any great formal change +in Canada's political relation to Great Britain. + +The truly valuable change in such relations is already secured; it +cannot but become more notably established by future discussion; it is +and will be a change by reason of greatly increased influence on Great +Britain by Canada and the other Dominions. And it appears highly +probable that such inevitable change in influence or weight of the new +countries is sufficient for all sentiments concerned, and for all useful +purposes on behalf of which formal changes are advocated by doctrinaires +and idealists. + +The British peoples have acquired by long practice in very various +politics a way of making existing arrangements "do" with some slight +patching. They are instinctively seized of the truth of Edmund Burke's +maxim, "Innovation is not improvement." They have "muddled along" into +precisely the institutions that suit any exigency, their sanest +political philosophers recognizing that the exigency must always be +most amenable to the most flexible system. + +It is because the existing arrangements between London and the several +Dominion capitals don't suit logicians that they do suit experienced +statesmen pretty well. Because these institutions can be patched as +occasion may require, they are retained for patching on occasion. +Because the loose, go-as-you-please organization of the so-called +"empire" has revealed almost incredible unity of sentiment and purpose, +practiced statesmen regard it as a prodigious success. They are mighty +shy of affiliating with any of the well-meaning doctrinaires who have +been explaining any time within the last century that the system is +essentially incoherent and absurd and urgently needs profound change +with doctrinaire improvements. + +Sir Robert Borden, for instance. Some days ago he most amiably gave me a +little private talk on these matters, of course on the tacit +understanding that he was not to be "interviewed" as for close reporting +of his informal sentences. He was, by the way, apparently in robust +health, as if, like Mr. Asquith, of a temperament to flourish under the +heaviest responsibilities ever laid on a Prime Minister in his own +country. No statesman could be of aspect and utterance less hurried, nor +more pleasant, lucid, cautious, disposed to give a friendly caller large +and accurate information briefly, while disclosing nothing at variance +with or unfindable in his published speeches. Of some of them he +repeated apposite slices; to others he referred for further +enlightenment as to his views on imperial federation. Really he was +neither secretive nor newly informative. The Premier of Canada at any +time is governed, much as I have endeavored to show how the electors +are, by that natural, instinctive course of the general loyal Canadian +mind, which constitutes "the situation" and controls Governmental +proceedings on behalf of the public. + +Well meaning persons who allege Sir Robert to have either favored or +disfavored imperial federation have been inaccurate. Precisely what +imperial federation may be nobody knows, for the simple and sufficient +reason that nobody has ever sketched or elaborated a scheme in that +regard which appeared or appears desirable as a change from the +all-compelling situation. What has never been adopted as desirable +cannot be termed practicable in statesmen's language. To declare an +untried scheme impracticable might be an error of rashness. + +The idea of federating the empire has long attracted Sir Robert, with +many other admirable Canadians and Britons, since it connotes or +involves the concept of British Union for all worthy and necessary +purposes, including maintenance of local autonomy or self-government, +surely a most praiseworthy design. Discussion of that idea is unlikely +to be harmful; it may be useful; something may come of it that may seem +desirable and practicable to substantially all interests and people +concerned. A consummation devoutly to be wished, but not to be rushed! +One point, frequently specified in Sir Robert's public speeches, was +stated as follows in a recent report, pamphleted for distribution by his +own side: + + It is impossible to believe that the existing status, so far + as it concerns the control of foreign policy and + extra-imperial relations, can remain as it is today. All are + conscious of the complexity of the problem thus presented; and + no one need despair of a satisfactory solution, and no one can + doubt the profound influence which the tremendous events of + the past few months and of those in the immediate future must + exercise upon one of the most interesting and far-reaching + questions ever presented for the consideration of statesmen. + +There Sir Robert was recommending no particular solution. A little +earlier in the same speech he illustrated the deep sense of all +experienced British statesmen that there never is or can be in the +British system any final solution of any grave problem, the vital +essence of the system being flux and change to suit ever-changing +circumstance. + + In so far as this empire may be said to possess a + Constitution, it is of modern growth and is still in the stage + of development. One can hardly conceive that it will ever + distinctly emerge from that state or attain a status in + which constitutional development is no longer to be + anticipated. Indeed, the genius of the British people and all + our past history lead us to believe the contrary. The steps in + advance have been usually gradual and always practical; and + they have been taken on instinct rather than upon any + carefully considered theory. + +[Illustration: YUAN SHIH-KAI + +President of the Chinese Republic. + +_(Photo by Rio V. De Sieux.)_] + +[Illustration: PRINCE VON BUELOW + +German Ambassador to Italy.] + +Which was admonition at once of the Centralizationists and their +opponents, the Nationalists. + +Whatever alteration of existing British inter-arrangements may come +after the war will be done on instinct in view of circumstances that +cannot now be foreseen. Wherefore clamorers for this or that, their +favorite scheme, are now inopportunists. Hence they are neglected by the +public as unimpressive, futile wasters of breath or ink. Indeed Canada, +Great Britain, the whole race of mankind are now swept on the crest of a +huge wave of Fate. When it casts them ashore, recedes, leaves men to +consider what may best be done for the future, then will have come the +time to rearrange political fabrics, if need be. Then Sir Robert Borden +will probably continue in his often clearly specified opinion that +Canada, if remaining liable as now to be drawn into Great Britain's more +perilous wars--a liability which must ever urge Canada to strong +participation in order that the peril may be the sooner ended--ought to +have a share in controlling Great Britain's foreign policy. Which +sharing Mr. Asquith declared last year impracticable, in that sense +inadmissible. + +Westminster must retain freedom to move, act, strike quickly. Her course +toward Germany had to be decided last August within a few hours. +Obviously her freedom, her power for promptitude would be hindered in +proportion to need for such consultation with and approval by councilors +of many distant countries as is presupposed by advocates of imperial +federation. Why establish control by cumbersome, superfluous machinery +when the war has made it clear as the sun at high noon that the +essential desideratum, British Union, exists now? All the notable +communities of the King's realms have demonstrated that they are in the +mind, the condition of a voluntary empire. What more can be desired +save by such as desire old country domination of all the concerned +countries, and who really long for a formal and subservient Empire? + +Sir Richard Jebb, a deep student of the Empire problem, declared clearly +last November the meaning of that general voluntary British war union +which is a wonder of mankind, and in the course to teach a profound, +general political lesson. He wrote: + + That the war will in any event change the external relations + is evident. But why, if we win, should it change the political + relations between the parts, except to the extent of + encouraging us to conserve and develop the existing system + which has given so signal an example of effective imperial + unity in time of need? Continually talking of imperial unity, + we fail to recognize it when we have got it. There is never + going to be a moment when one might say "Yesterday we were not + united; today the Grand Act (of Imperial Federation + understood) has been signed; henceforth we are united." + + The cult of the Grand Act is a snare and a delusion. Whatever + may happen hereafter--even the Grand Act itself--posterity is + likely to look back upon August, 1914, as the moment when the + British Empire reached the zenith of its unity. Let us + remember that the existing system is not stationary, though + its principle (voluntary union) may be final. It has been + developing steadily since 1902. + + The Australian fleet unit, the first of the Dominion navies, + which enables each to exert upon foreign policy the full + weight of its importance in the empire, was not begun until + 1910. The corollary, that any Dominion Minister appointed to + reside in London should have free and constant access to the + British Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary, was only + conceded in January, 1912, and has not yet been taken + advantage of, even by Australia. + + But the development is all true to principle. What principle? + Voluntary co-operation, as opposed to central compulsion. In + war, as in peace, each of the Britannic nations is free to do + or not to do. But we have invoked naval and military + co-ordination, with results which the Australian Navy has + already exemplified (on the Emden, &c.) + + Has this system of the free Commonwealth, as distinguished + from the German principle of a centralized empire organized + primarily for war, broken down under the supreme test, as so + many of our prophets predicted? On the contrary, it has alone + saved South Africa to the empire, besides eliciting + unrestricted military aid from each part. Why change it for + something diametrically opposed to its spirit, substituting + compulsion for liberty, provinces for nation-States? + +Sir Richard Jebb's sentence, specifying the nature of the Australian +influence on foreign policy, seems apt reply to Sir Robert Borden's +oft-repeated specification that a share in control of foreign policy +should accrue to the Dominions by reason of their participation in or +liability to war. This liability really compels them to engage with all +their strength, lest they comfort an enemy by abstention, or by +confining their armaments to self-defense, which might and would be read +as disapproval of Britain's course, if the war were one of magnitude +endangering her. A system more powerfully requiring Great Britain to +take heed that her quarrel be just, lest she be not thrice armed by +approving children, can scarcely be imagined. + +On this matter I have had the pleasure and benefit, during the last +twelve years, of talking with Sir Wilfrid Laurier often. In the quoted +Jebb view he agreed closely when I saw him a few days ago. He remarked, +with special regard to this article for THE NEW YORK TIMES, that his +point of insistence at the Imperial Conferences of 1902, 1907, 1911, and +on all proper occasions, has been that local autonomy--that is, complete +self-government for each of the Dominions--is not only consistent with +British unity but necessary thereto as promoting and conserving that +unity. + +When Mr. Asquith's denial of the practicability of giving the Dominions +a direct share in control of Great Britain's foreign policy is +considered, the Jebb-Laurier view would appear one to which Sir Robert +Borden, cautious statesman, must be led by recognition that potent +influence on foreign policy cannot but come to Dominions energetically +providing at once for their own defense and for their power to aid Great +Britain all along the line. + +As to imperial federation, Sir Wilfrid remarked that he has ever been +openly attracted by that aspiration toward permanent British union, on +which advocacy of the vague project has ever been bottomed. He is, as he +said to me, and as all his long series of political actions have +manifested, British in heart and way of political thinking, as indeed +substantially all his French-Canadian compatriots are. British +liberality, not to say liberalism, has attached them to the British +system as firmly as any community originating from the United Kingdom. +It was a French-Canadian statesman who asserted, some fifty years ago, +when many British-Canadians seemed tending toward union with the United +States, "The last shot fired in Canada for British connection will be +from a French-Canadian." That was before the civil war abolished +slavery. + +But, even as the Britishism of Old Country liberals is strongly +tinctured by devotion to ideals which Americans are wont to regard as +theirs--ideals making for settled peace, industry, the uplift of the +"common people," fair room and reward for those abilities which +conspicuously serve the general welfare--so Sir Wilfrid and his +compatriots acknowledge their Britishism to be acutely conscious of +political kinship with the American people. The French-Canadian +yearning, like that of many Canadians of British origin, is rather for +English-speaking union--a union of at least thorough understanding and +common designs with the American people--than for the narrower exclusive +British union sought by Canadian imperial federationists. + +Sir Wilfrid said, in effect, (I do not profess to report his very +words,) that federation of those British communities widely separated by +geography, but alike in race, language, laws, principles, has always +attracted him as a project of excellent intentions. It is at worst a +noble dream. That dream has become less impracticable than it was +formerly, he thinks, by reason of the essential diminution of the world, +diminution of distances and of time by latter-day inventions. + +Against the idea of general representation in a central Parliament at +London, Sir Wilfrid pointed out that Edmund Burke objected "opposuit +natura"--nature forbade it. The wisest of political philosophers could +not foresee the telegraph, wireless, steam, airships. These have made a +useful central imperial Parliament at least conceivable. Could it be +more useful than the advisory council, or Imperial Conference which has +become quadrennial, and might possibly become annual? That is matter for +discussion. Sir Wilfrid said that such is the political genius of the +British race that he would be rash who alleged any design impracticable +toward which the race may tend so generally as to put it under +discussion for arrangement of details. Conservation of local +self-government, prime essential to agreement for union on common +purposes, might prove reconcilable with federated defense. + +But there is, to Sir Wilfrid's way of thinking, one large objection +against now attempting imperial federation. Its agitators contemplate a +scheme immense, yet not sufficiently inclusive. They do not contemplate +English-speaking solidarity. They purpose leaving out the majority of +English-speakers--the American people. In this they do not follow Cecil +Rhodes, a chief propagandist of their main design. It is true that the +idea of getting Americans to participate in any formal union with all +the rest of their brethren by race and tongue seems now impractical. But +time works wonders. Mr. Gladstone foresaw the United States a people of +six hundred comfortable millions, living in union before the end of the +next century. The hegemony of the English-speaking nations seems likely +to be within attainment by that one of them which appears destined to +become far the most powerful of all in numbers, in wealth, and in +security of environment. Time may show to our successors in this world +some effective method of establishing agreements amounting to that +solidarity for English-speaking action which has been acclaimed as +existent for English-speaking thinking by a mind so eminently reasonable +as that of Lord Haldane. + +It would be hasty, thinks Sir Wilfrid, and it might be injurious for the +British countries to move toward any sort of formal union ostensibly +tending to set them collectively apart from the United States. Give +great beneficent ideas time to develop. Britons can well afford to take +their time, since the war has shown existent among them an almost +perfect union of sentiment and purpose. And this, apparently, with the +blessed effect of enhancing general American good-will to Britons. From +so much good understanding more may ensue, Sir Wilfrid concluded. + +Such Canadians as hold Edmund Burke to have been a spokesman of +consummate political wisdom are apt to regard the busy stir of +doctrinaires, who scream for closer political junction of the British +peoples, even as Burke regarded the hurry of some of the same kidney in +his time. Resolute to bind the thirteen colonies forever to England, +they proceeded to offend, outrage, and drive those colonies to +independence. Be it remembered that these colonies had contributed so +loyally, so liberally to England's armaments and wars that grateful +London Parliaments had insisted on voting back to them the subsidies +they had granted, holding the contributions too generous. To later +proposals of foolish henchmen of George III., proposals that the +colonies, since they had revealed themselves as strong and rich, should +be dragged into some formal political subordination by which, as by +latter-day Imperial Federation, they might be involuntarily mustered and +taxed for imperial purposes, Burke said: + + Our hold on the colonies is the close affection which grows + from common names, from kindred blood, from similar + privileges, and equal protection. These are the ties which, + though light as air, are strong as links of iron. Let the + colonies always keep the idea of their civil rights associated + with your Government; they will cling and grapple to you, and + no force under heaven will be of power to tear them from their + allegiance.... + + As long as you have the wisdom to keep the sovereign authority + of this country as the sanctuary of liberty, the sacred temple + consecrated to our common faith, wherever the chosen race and + sons of England worship freedom, they will turn their faces + toward you. The more they multiply, the more friends you will + have. The more ardently they love liberty, the more perfect + will be their obedience. Slavery they can have anywhere. It is + a weed that grows on every soil. They may have it from Spain; + they may have it from Prussia; but until you become lost to + all feeling of your true interest and your natural dignity, + freedom they can have from none but you. + + This is the commodity of price, of which you have the + monopoly.... Do not entertain so weak an imagination as that + your registers and your bonds, your affidavits and your + sufferances, ... your letters of office and your instructions + and your suspending clauses are the things that hold together + the great contexture of this mysterious whole. These things do + not make your Government. Dead instruments, passive tools as + they are, it is the spirit of the English communion that gives + all their life and efficacy to them. It is the spirit of the + English Constitution which, infused through the mighty mass, + pervades, feeds, unites, invigorates, vivifies every part of + the empire, even to the minutest member. + +And the doctrinaires of Centralization, vociferating their fad of +Imperial Federation, would have that Constitution, in the moment of its +supreme triumph for unity, cast away! Cast away for a new and written +one by which Great Britain and all her children alike would chain +themselves together! Well may practical statesmen view the doctrinaires +with some disdain, not unmindful of Burke's immortal scorn of such +formalists: + +"A sort of people who think that nothing exists but what is gross and +material, and who, therefore, far from being qualified to be directors +of the great movement of empire, are not fit to turn a wheel in the +machine. To men truly initiated and rightly taught, those ruling and +master principles which, in the opinion of such men as I have mentioned, +have no substantial existence, are in truth everything and all in all. +Magnanimity in politics is not seldom the truest wisdom; and a great +empire and little minds go ill together." + + + + +ENGLAND. + +By JOHN E. DOLSON. + + + Birth land of statesmen, bards, heroes, and sages; + Mother of nations--the homes of the free; + Builder of work that will last through the ages, + Hope for Humanity centres in thee. + + Now that thy bugles their clear calls are shrilling, + Now that thy battle voice echoes worldwide, + O'er the long reaches of sea rush the willing + Sons of thy children to fight by thy side. + + Eager to aid thee with treasure and tissue, + Other leal millions will come to thy call. + Civilization is staked on the issue-- + Woe to Mankind if thy lion should fall! + + Fall he will never, till English force slacken + In the great soul of thy dominant race, + Now, as of old, do the Destinies beckon + Thee to be highest in power and place. + + Conflicts now raging will pass into story, + Nations may sink in defeat or disgrace; + Long be thy future resplendent with glory, + Long be thy triumphs the pride of our race! + + + + +American Aid of France + +By Eugene Brieux + +[From THE NEW YORK TIMES, April, 1915.] + + + M. Eugene Brieux, the celebrated French poet and playwright, + who is in this country as the official representative of the + French Academy--the "Forty Immortals"--has written a + remarkable tribute to American aid of France during the + present war. The address, which is herewith presented, was + read by M. Brieux at the residence of Mrs. John Henry Hammond + of New York City recently before a gathering of two hundred + men and women who have been interested in the work of the + American Ambulance Hospital in Paris. + +Miss Marie Van Vorst, who nursed the wounded at the American Ambulance +in Paris, will speak to you of it as an eyewitness. From her you will +receive direct news of your splendid work of humanity. While she was +caring for wounded French, English, and German I was attached to another +hospital at Chartres. It happens, therefore, that I have never seen the +American Military Hospital created by you, but I am not in ignorance +concerning it any more than any other Parisian, any more, indeed, than +the majority of the French people. I know that the American Ambulance is +the most remarkable hospital that the world has seen. I know that you, +since the beginning of the war, have brought the aid of medical science +to wounded men and that you have given not only money, but an +institution, all ready, complete and of the most modern type, and, even +more, that you have sent there your best surgeons and a small army of +orderlies and nurses. + +I know that at first one could not find a place; that there was +available only a building in course of construction, intended to be the +Pasteur School at Neuilly. This building was far from completion; it +lacked doors and there were no stairs. I know that in three weeks your +generosity, your energy, and your quick intelligence has made of this +uncertain shell a modern military hospital, with white walls, electric +light, baths, rooms for administering anaesthetics, operating rooms, +sterilizing plants, apparatus for X-rays, and a dental clinic. I know +that automobiles, admirably adapted to the service, carried the wounded. +And yet I do not know all. I know only by instinct of the devotion of +your young girls, of your women, and of your young men, belonging often +to prominent families, who served as stretcher bearers and orderlies. + +I am not ignorant of the fact that they count by the hundreds those who +have been cured at the American Ambulance at Neuilly, nor of the further +fact that the rate of mortality is extremely low, although they have +sent you those most gravely injured. I know that it is all free; that +there are no charges made for the expenses of administration; that for +the service rendered by your people there is no claim, and that every +cent of every dollar subscribed goes entirely and directly to the care +of the wounded. I know also that the expenses at the hospital are $4,000 +a day, and that ever since the beginning your charity has met this +demand. + +Such splendid effort has not been ignored or misunderstood. The +President of the French Republic has cabled to President Wilson his +appreciation and his gratitude; General Fevier, Inspector General of +Hospitals of the French Army, has publicly expressed his admiration; the +English physicians and public men have shared their sentiments. + +As to the people of Paris, as to the French nation, they have been +touched to the depths of their being. And yet in France we have found +all this quite natural. I shall tell you why. We have so high a regard +for you that when you do anything well no one is surprised. I believe +that if a wounded soldier arriving at your hospital exclaimed, "This is +wonderful!" his comrade who had been ahead of him would answer in a tone +of admonition: "That surprises you? You do not know then that it is done +by the Americans, by the people from the United States?" In this refusal +to be astonished in the face of remarkable achievements, when they come +from you, there is a tribute, a praise of high quality which your +feelings and your patriotism will know how to appreciate. + +I have said that all that comes from you which is good and great seems +natural to us, and I have given you a reason; but there is another. In +France we are accustomed to consider the Republic of the United States +as an affectionate, distant sister. When one receives a gift from a +stranger one is astonished and cries out his thanks, but when the gift +comes from a brother or from some one who, on similar occasions, has +never failed, the thanks are not so outspoken but more profound. One +says: "Ah, it is you, my brother. I suffer. I expected you. I knew that +you would come, for I should have gone to you had you needed me. I thank +you." + +And, indeed, we are closely bound together, you and we. Without doubt, +common interest and an absence of possible competition helps to that +end, but there is something more which unites us--it is our kindred +sentiments. It is this kinship which has created our attraction for each +other and which has cemented it; it is our common ground of affections, +of hatreds, of hopes; our ideals rest upon the same high plane. To +mention but one point, one of you has said: "The United States and +France are the only two nations which have fought for an ideal." And it +is that which separates us, you and us, from a certain other nation, and +which has served to bring us two close together. + +We love you and we are grateful for what you are doing for us. When the +day came for my departure from France to represent here the French +Academy I asked of Mr. Poincare, who had visited the American Ambulance +at Neuilly, if duty did not forbid me to go. "No," he said to me. "Go to +the United States. Carry greetings to the great nation of America." And +he gave to me, for your President, the letter with which you are +familiar, where he expressed the admiration and the sympathy that he has +for you. + +I have been traveling North and South in the Eastern part of the United +States. I have had many opportunities to admire your power and the +extent of your efforts. Today, in thinking of the American Ambulance +Hospital in Paris, I admire your persistence in labor. You have +established this hospital. That was good. But it costs a thousand +dollars a day, and yet you keep on with the work. That is doubly good. +Indeed, one can understand that you have not been willing, after having +created this model hospital, that some day through lack of support its +doors should close and the wounded you have taken in be turned over to +others; certainly those first subscribers undertook a sort of moral +obligation to themselves not to permit the work to fail. But, none the +less, it is admirable that it should be so. To give once is something, +but it is little if one compares the value of the first gift to those +which follow. + +The first charity is easily understood. Suddenly war is at hand. Its +horrors can be imagined and every one feels that he can in some measure +lessen them, and he opens his purse. Then time passes, the war +continues, and one becomes accustomed to the thoughts that were at first +unbearable--it is so far away and so long. Others in this way were +checked after their first impulse. + +But you, you have thought that, if it is good to establish a hospital, +that alone was not enough, and that each day would bring new wounded to +replace those who, cured, took up their guns again and returned to the +field of battle. And since at the American Ambulance the wounded are +cured quickly, the very excellence of your organization, the science of +your surgeons, and the greatness of your sacrifices all bring upon you +other and new sacrifices to be made. + +But the word "sacrifice" is badly chosen. You do not make sacrifices, +for you are strong and you are good. When you decide upon some new +generous act you have only to appeal to your national pride, which will +never allow an American undertaking to fail. You have the knowledge of +the good that you are doing, and that, for you, is sufficient. You know +that, thanks to your generosity, suffering is relieved, and you know +that, thanks to the science of your surgeons, this relief is not merely +momentary, but that the wounded man who would have remained a cripple if +he had been less ably cared for, will be, thanks to you, completely +cured, and that, instead of dragging out a miserable existence, he will +be able to live a normal life and support a family which will bless +you. Such men will owe it all to the persistence of your generosity. + +I return always to that point, and it is essential. To give once is a +common impulse, common to nearly all the world. It means freeing one's +self from the suffering which good souls feel when they see others +suffer. But to give again after having given is a proof of reflection, +of an understanding of the meaning of life; it is to work intelligently; +it is to insure the value of the first effort; it means the possession +of goodness which is lasting and far-seeing. That is a rare virtue. You +have it. And that is why I express a three-fold thanks, for the past, +for the present, and for the future--thanks that come from the bottom of +the heart of a Frenchman. + + + + +A FAREWELL. + +By EDNA MEAD. + + + Look, Love! I lay my wistful hands in thine + A little while before you seek the dark, + Untraversed ways of War and its Reward, + I cannot bear to lift my gaze and mark + The gloried light of hopeful, high emprise + That, like a bird already poised for flight, + Has waked within your eyes. + For me no proud illusions point the road, + No fancied flowers strew the paths of strife: + War only wears a horrid, hydra face, + Mocking at strength and courage, youth and life. + If you were going forth to cross your sword + In fair and open, man-to-man affray, + One might be even reconciled and say, + "This is not murder; only passion bent + On pouring out its poison"--one could pray + That the day's end might see the madness done + And saner souls rise with the morrow's sun. + But this incarnate hell that yawns before + Your bright, brave soul keyed to the fighter's clench-- + This purgatory that men call the "trench"-- + This modern "Black Hole" of a modern war! + Yea, Love! yet naught I say can save you, so + I lay my heart in yours and let you go. + + + + +Stories of French Courage + +By Edwin L. Shuman + +[From THE NEW YORK TIMES, April, 1915.] + + +There has just appeared in Paris a book called "La Guerre Vue d'Une +Ambulance," which brings the war closer to the eye and heart than +anything else I have read. It is written by Abbe Felix Klein, Chaplain +of the American Ambulance Hospital at Neuilly, a suburb of Paris, and +has the added merit of describing the noble work which American money +and American Red Cross nurses are doing there for the French wounded. +The abbe, by the way, has twice visited the United States in recent +years, has many warm friends here, and has written several enthusiastic +books about the "Land of the Strenuous Life." + +When the war broke out this large-hearted priest and busy author dropped +all his literary and other plans to minister to the wounded soldiers +brought to the war hospital established by Americans in the fine new +building of the Lycee Pasteur, which was to have received its first +medical students a few weeks later. There were 250 beds at first, and +later 500, with more than a hundred American automobiles carrying the +wounded to it, often direct from the front. + +Through all these months Abbe Klein has labored day and night among +these sufferers, cheering some to recovery, easing the dying moments of +others with spiritual solace, and, hardest of all, breaking the news of +bereavement to parents. + +From day to day, through those terrible weeks of fighting on the Aisne +and the Marne, with Paris itself in danger, the good abbe wrote brief +records of his hopes and fears regarding his wounded friends, and set +down in living words the more heroic or touching phases of their simple +stories. Let me translate a few of them for the reader. + +Take, for instance, the case of Charles Maree, a blue-eyed, red-bearded +hero of thirty years, an only son who had taken the place of his invalid +father at the head of their factory, and who had responded to the first +call to arms. During his months of suffering his parents were held in +territory occupied by the enemy and could not be reached. The abbe goes +on to tell his story: + + Let us not be deceived by the calm smile on his face. For six + weeks Charles Maree has been undergoing an almost continual + martyrdom, his pelvis fractured, with all the consequences one + divines, weakened by hemorrhage, his back broken, capable only + of moving his head and arms.... He is one of our most fervent + Christians: I bring him the communion twice a week, and he + never complains of suffering. He is also one of our bravest + soldiers; he has received the military medal, and when I asked + him how it came about he told me the following in a firm tone + and with his hand in mine, for we are great friends: + + "It was given to me the 8th of October. I had to fulfill a + mission that was a little difficult. It was at Mazingarbe, + between Bethune and Lens, and 9 o'clock in the evening. Two of + the enemy's armored auto-machine guns had just been discovered + approaching our lines. I was ordered to go and meet them with + a Pugeot of twenty-five or thirty horse power--I was + automobilist in the Thirtieth Dragoons. + + "I left by the little road from Vermelles on which the two + hostile machines were reported to be approaching. After twenty + minutes I stopped, put out my lights, and waited. A quarter of + an hour of profound silence followed, and then I caught the + sound of the first mitrailleuse. With one spin of the wheel I + threw my machine across the middle of the road. That of the + enemy struck us squarely in the centre. The moment the shock + was past I rose from my seat with my revolver and killed the + chauffeur and the mechanician. + + "But almost immediately the second machine gun arrived. The + two men on it comprehended what had happened. While one of + them stopped the machine, the other aimed at me under his seat + and fired a revolver ball that pierced both thighs; then they + turned their machine and retreated. My companion, happily, was + not hurt, so he could take me to Vermelles, where the + ambulance service was. The same evening they gave me the + military medal, for which I had already been proposed three + times." + +After three months of suffering, borne without complaint, this man died +without having been able to get a word to his parents. The abbe had +become deeply attached to him, and the whole hospital corps felt the +loss of his courageous presence. + +Some of the horror of war is in these pages, as where the author says: + + The doctors worked till 3 o'clock this morning. They had to + amputate arms and legs affected with gangrene. The operating + room was a sea of blood. + +Some of the pathos of war is here, and even a little of its humor, but +most of all its courage. Both of the latter are mingled in the case of +an English soldier who was brought in wounded from the field of +Soissons. + + "I fought until such a day, when I was wounded." + + "And since then?" + + "Since then I have traveled." + +An English infantry officer, a six-footer, brought to the hospital with +his head bandaged in red rather than white, showed the abbe his cap and +the bullet hole in it. + +"A narrow escape," said the abbe in English, and then learned that the +escape was narrower than the wounded forehead indicated. Another bullet, +without touching the officer, had pierced the sole of his shoe under his +foot, and a third had perforated his coat between the body and the arm +without breaking the skin. + +The author's attitude toward the Germans, always free from bitterness, +is sufficiently indicated in such a paragraph as this: + + This afternoon I gave absolution and extreme unction to an + Irishman, who has not regained consciousness since he was + brought here. He had in his portfolio a letter addressed to + his mother. The nurse is going to add a word to say that he + received the last sacraments. A Christian hope will soften the + frightful news. Emperors of Austria and Germany, if you were + present when the death is announced in that poor Irish home, + and in thousands, hundreds of thousands of others, in England, + in France, in Russia, in Servia, in Belgium, in your own + countries, in all Europe, and even in Africa and Asia!... May + God enlighten your consciences! + +The French wounded in the hospital at Neuilly--during the period when +the German right wing was being beaten back from Paris--frequently +accused the German regulars of wanton cruelty, but testified to the +humanity of the reservists. The author relates several episodes +illustrating both points. Here are two: + + "The regulars are no good," said a brave peasant reservist. + "They struck me with the butts of their rifles on my wound. + They broke and threw away all that I had. The reserves arrive, + and it is different; they take care of me. My comrade, wounded + in the breast, was dying of thirst; he actually died of it a + little while afterward. I dragged myself up to go and seek + water for him; the young fellows aimed their guns at me. I was + obliged to make a half-turn and lie down again." + +Another, who also begins by praising the German field officers, saw +soldiers of the active army stripping perfectly nude one of our men who +had a perforated lung, and whom they had made prisoner after his wound: + + "When they saw that they would have to abandon him, they took + away everything from him, even his shirt, and it was done in + pure wickedness, since they carried nothing away." + +One of the most amazing escapes is that of a soldier from Bordeaux, told +partly in his own racy idiom, and fully vouched for by the author. After +relating how he left the railway at Nanteuil and traversed a hamlet +pillaged by the Germans he continues: + + We form ourselves into a skirmish line. The shells come. The + dirt flies: holes to bury an ox? One can see them coming: + zzz--boom! There is time to get out of the way. + + Arrived at the edge of the woods, we separate as scouts. We + are ordered to advance. But, mind you, they already have our + range. The artillery makes things hum. My bugler, near me, is + killed instantly; he has not said a word, poor boy! I am + wounded in the leg. It is about two o'clock. As I cannot drag + myself further, a comrade, before leaving, hides me under + three sheaves of straw with my head under my knapsack. The + shells have peppered it full of holes, that poor sack. Without + it--ten yards away a comrade, who had his leg broken and a + piece of shell in his arm, received seven or eight more + wounds. + + I stayed there all day. In the evening the soldiers of the + 101st took me into the woods, where there were several French + wounded and a German Captain, wounded the evening before. He + was suffering too, poor wretch. About midnight the French + soldiers came to seek those who were transportable. They left + only my comrade, myself and the German Captain. There were + other wounded further along, and we heard their cries. It was + dreary. + +These wounded men passed two whole days there without help. On the third +day the Germans arrived and the narrator gave himself up for lost. But +the German Captain, with whom the Frenchmen had divided their food and +drink, begged that they be cared for. Ultimately they were taken to the +German camp and their wounds attended to. But in a few minutes the camp +became the centre of a violent attack, and again it looked as if the +last day of the wounded prisoners had come. + +Suddenly the Germans ran away and left everything. An hour later, when +the firing ceased, they returned, carried away the wounded of both +nationalities on stretchers, crowded about twenty-five of them into one +wagon (the narrator's broken leg was not stretched out, and he +suffered,) and all the way the wagon gave forth the odor of death. All +day they rode without a bite to eat. At 1 o'clock at night they reached +the village of Cuvergnon, where their wounds were well attended to. The +following day the Germans departed without saying a word, but the +villagers cared for the wounded, both friends and enemies, and in time +the American automobiles carried them to Neuilly. + + It is a paradise [added the wounded man.] Now we are saved. + But what things I have seen! I have seen an officer with his + brain hanging here, over his eye. And black corpses, and + bloated horses! The saddest time is the night. One hears + cries: "Help!" There are some who call their mothers. No one + answers. + +All these recitals of soldiers are stamped with the red badge of +courage. A priest serving as an Adjutant was superintending the digging +of trenches close to the firing line on the Aisne. He had to expose +himself for a space of three feet in going from one trench to another. +In that instant a Mauser bullet struck him under the left eye, traversed +the nostril, the top of the palate, the cheek bone and came out under +the right ear. He felt the bullet only where it came out, but soon he +fell, covered with blood and believed he was wounded to death. Then his +courage returned, and he crawled into the trench. Comrades carried him +to the ambulance at Ambleny, with bullets and "saucepans" raining about +them from every direction. In time he was transferred to the American +Hospital at Neuilly. "I'm only a little disfigured and condemned to +liquids," he told his friend the abbe. "In a few weeks I shall be cured +and will return to the front." + +Abbe Klein tells the curious story of a Zouave and his faithful dog. In +one of the zigzag corridors connecting the trenches near Arras the man +was terribly wounded by a shell that killed all his companions and left +him three-quarters buried in the earth. With only the dead around him, +he "felt himself going to discouragement," to use the author's mild +phrase, when his dog, which had never left him since the beginning of +the war, arrived and began showing every sign of distress and affection. +The wounded man told the author: + + It is not true that he dug me out, but he roused my courage. I + commenced to free my arms, my head, the rest of my body. + Seeing this, he began scratching-with all his might around me, + and then caressed me, licking my wounds. The lower part of my + right leg was torn off, the left wounded in the calf, a piece + of shell in the back, two fingers cut off, and the right arm + burned. I dragged myself bleeding to the trench, where I + waited an hour for the litter carriers. They brought me to the + ambulance post at Roclincourt, where my foot was taken off, + shoe and all; it hung only by a tendon. From there I was + carried on a stretcher to Anzin, then in a carriage to another + ambulance post, where they carved me some more.... My dog was + present at the first operation. An hour after my departure he + escaped and came to me at Anzin. + +But when the Zouave was sent to Neuilly the two friends had to separate. +At the railway station he begged to take his dog along, and told his +story; but the field officer, touched though he was, could not take it +upon himself to send a dog on a military train. The distress of both man +and beast was so evident that more than one nurse had tears in her eyes +as the train pulled out. + +They tried to pet the dog, dubbed him Tue-Boches, offered him dog +delicacies of all sorts, but in vain. He refused all food and remained +for two days "sad to death." Then some one went to the American +Hospital, told how the dog had saved the Zouave, and the upshot of it +was that the faithful animal, duly combed and passed through the +disinfecting room, was admitted to the hospital and recovered his master +and his appetite. But at last accounts his master was still very weak, +and "in the short visit which the dog is allowed to make each day, he +knows perfectly, after a tender and discreet good morning, how to hold +himself very wisely at the foot of the bed, his eyes fixed upon his +patient." + +Thanks to modern science, the cases of tetanus are few in this war, but +there are many deaths from gangrene, because, with no truce for the +removal of the wounded, so many lie for days before receiving medical +aid. Abbe Klein tells of one Breton boy, as gentle a soul as his +sister--"my little Breton," he always calls him, affectionately--and +comments again and again upon the boy's patient courage amid sufferings +that could have but one end. The infection spread in spite of all that +science could do, and even amputation could not save him. At last he +ceased to live, "like a poor little bird," as his French attendant, +herself a mother with three boys in the army, said with tears. + +Saddest of all are the bereaved wives and mothers. The reader will find +many of them in the good Chaplain's book, and they will bring the war +closer than anything else. Sometimes they stand mute under the blow, +looking on the dead face without a sound, and then dropping unconscious +to the floor. Sometimes they cry wild things to heaven. The Chaplain's +work in either case is not easy, and some of his most touching pages +depict such scenes. + +There was a boy of twenty years, who was slowly but surely dying of +gangrene. Let the abbe tell the end of the story: + + At 9 o'clock the parents arrive. Frightened at first by the + change, they are reassured to see that he is suffering so + little, and soon leave him, as they think, to rest. When they + return at 10, suddenly called, their child is dead. Their + grief is terrible. The father still masters himself, but the + mother utters cries. They are led to the chapel, while some + one comes to look for me. The poor woman, who was wandering + about stamping and wringing her hands, rushes to me and cries, + no, it is not possible that her son is dead, a child like + that, so healthy, so beautiful, so lovable; she wishes me to + reassure her, to say it is as she says. Before my silence and + the tears that come to my eyes her groans redouble, and + nothing can calm her: "But what will become of us? We had only + him." + + Nothing quiets her. My words of Christian hope have no more + effect than what the father tries to say to her. For a moment + she listens to my account of the poor boy's words of faith, of + the communion yesterday, of his prayer this morning. But soon + she falls back into her distraction, and I suggest to the + husband that he try to occupy her mind, to make a diversion of + some kind; the more so, I add, as I must leave to attend a + burial. She hears this word: "I don't want him to be taken + from me. You are not going to bury him at once!" I explain + softly that no one is thinking of such a thing; that on the + contrary I am going to take her to those who will let her see + her boy. We go then to the office, and I hurry away to + commence the funeral of another. + + I learn on my return that they have seen their son, such as + death has made him, and that on hearing the cries of the + mother, three other women, already agitated by the visit to + their own wounded and by the funeral preparations, have fallen + in a faint. + +One day last Fall President Poincare, accompanied by M. Viviani and +General Gallieni, was received at the American Hospital by Mr. Herrick, +the American Ambassador, and by the members of the Hospital Committee. +Abbe Klein has words of praise not only for Mr. Herrick, but also for +his predecessor, Mr. Bacon, and for his successor, Mr. Sharp. His +admiration for the devoted American women who are serving as nurses in +the hospital is expressed frequently in his pages. He says the labors of +the American nurses and those of the French nurses complement each other +admirably. Of the founding and maintenance of the hospital at Neuilly, +he says: + + The resources are provided wholly by the charity of Americans. + From the beginning of the war the administrative council of + their Paris hospital took the initiative in the movement. The + American colony in France, almost unaided, gave the + half-million francs that was subscribed the first month. New + York and other cities of the United States followed their + lead, and, in spite of the financial crisis that grips there + as elsewhere, one may be sure that the funds will not be + wanting. America has its Red Cross, which, justly enough, aids + the wounded of all nations; but, among the belligerents, it + has chosen to distinguish the compatriots of Lafayette and + Rochambeau; our field hospital is the witness of their + faithful gratitude. France will not forget. + +Later the abbe recorded in his diary that the 500 beds would soon be +filled, but added that the generous activity of the Americans would not +end there. They would establish branch hospitals. Large sums had been +placed at the disposal of the committee to found an "ambulance" in +Belgium and another in France as near the front as prudence permitted. +Toward the end of January he recorded the gift of $200,000 from Mrs. +Harry Payne Whitney, and its use by the committee to establish an +affiliated hospital at the College of Juilly, in the Department of +Seine-et-Marne. He added that still other branches were about to be +founded with American funds. + +Abbe Klein writes out of a full and sincere heart, whether as a priest, +a patriot, or a man who loves his fellowmen; and, without seeking it, he +writes as a master of phrase. His new book probably will soon be +translated and published in the United States. + + + + +A TROOPER'S SOLILOQUY + +By O.C.A. CHILD + + + 'Tis very peaceful by our place the now! + Aye, Mary's home from school--the little toad-- + And Jeck is likely bringing in the cow, + Away from pasture, down the hillside road. + + Now Nancy, I'll be bound, is brewing tea! + She's humming at her work the way she will, + And, happen so, she maybe thinks of me + And wishes she'd another cup to fill. + + 'Tis very queer to sit here on this nag + And swing this bit o' blade within my hand-- + To keep my eye upon that German flag + And wonder will they run or will they stand; + + To watch their Uhlans forming up below, + And feel a queersome way that's like to fear; + To hope to God that I won't make a show, + And that my throat is not too dry to cheer; + + To close my eyes a breath and say "God bless + And keep all safe at home, and aid us win," + Then straighten as the bugle sounds "Right, Dress...." + Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah! We're going in! + + + + +American Unfriendliness + +By Maximilian Harden + +[From THE NEW YORK TIMES, April, 1915.] + + + Maximilian Harden, author of the article of which the + following is a translation, is the widely known German + journalist and publicist who has been termed "the German + George Bernard Shaw." The article was published in the second + February number of Die Zukunft. + +_Japan and the United States are being wooed. Ever since the Western +powers' hope of speedy decisive blows on the part of Russia have +shriveled up, they would like to lure the Japanese Army, two to four +hundred thousand men, to the Continent. What was scoffed at as a whim of +Pinchon and Clemenceau now is unveiled as a yearning of those at the +head of the Governments._ + +_The sentimental wish to see Germany's collapse completed by the +activities of the allied European powers now ventures only shyly into +the light of day. The ultimate wearing down of the German Army assures +us of victory; but a speedy termination of the war under which the whole +hemisphere suffers would be preferable. The Trans-Siberian Railway could +bring the Japanese to Poland and East Prussia. The greatness of the +expenditures therefor cannot frighten him who knows what tremendous sums +each week of the war costs the Allies. Where it is a question of our +life, of the existence of all free lands, every consideration must +vanish. Public opinion desires an agreement with the Government of the +Mikado._ + +These sentences I found in the Temps. England will not apply the brakes. +Mr. Winston Churchill, to be sure, lauds the care-free fortune of his +fatherland, which even after Trafalgar, he says, did not command the +seas as freely as today; but in his inmost heart even this "savior of +Calais" does not cheat himself concerning the fact that it is a matter +of life and death. In order not to succumb in such a conflict, England +will sacrifice its prosperous comfort and the lordly pride of the white +man just as willingly as it would, if necessary, Gibraltar and Egypt, +(which might be within the reach of German armies in the Spring.) + +Will Japan follow the luring cry? Any price will be paid for it. What is +Indo-China to the Frenchmen, whose immense colonial empire is exploited +by strangers, if thereby they can purchase the bliss of no longer being +"the victims of 1870"? And the yellow race that co-operated on Europe's +soil in the most momentous decision of all history would live in +splendor such as had never before been seen, and could keep China, the +confused, reeling republic, for at least a generation in its +guardianship. + +The land of the Stars and Stripes is only being asked to give its +neutrality the color of good-will. It is, for the time being, unlikely +that the United States would stand beside our opponents with army and +navy, as has been urgently counseled by Mr. Roosevelt, (who received the +honorary doctor's title in Berlin and as a private citizen reviewed a +brigade drill at the Kaiser's side.) Nevertheless, experience warns us +to be prepared for every change of weather, from the distant West, as +well as the distant East, (and to guard ourselves alike against abuse +and against flattery.) + +The sentiment of the Americans is unfriendly to us. In spite of Princes' +travels, Fritz monuments, exchanges of professors, Kiel Week, and cable +compliments? Yes, in spite of all that. We can't change it. And should +avoid impetuous wooing. + +The missionaries of the Foreign Office brought along with them in trunks +and bundles across the sea the prettiest eagerness; but in many cases +they selected useless and in some cases even injurious methods. +Lectures, pamphlets, defensive writings--the number of the defenders +and the abundance of their implements and talk only nursed suspicion. +Whatever could be done for the explanation of the German conduct was +done by Germania's active children, who know the country and the people. + +The American business man never likes to climb mountains of paper. He +has grown up in a different emotional zone, accustomed to a different +standard of values than the Middle European. To feel his way into +foreign points of view, finally to become, in ordinary daily relations, +a psychologist, that will be one of the chief duties of the German of +tomorrow. He may no longer demand that the stranger shall be like him; +no longer denounce essential differences of temperament as a sin. The +North American, among whose ancestors are Britons and Spaniards, Celts +and Dutchmen, South Frenchmen and Low Germans, does not easily +understand the Englishman, despite the common language; calls him surly, +stiff, cold; charges him with selfishness and presumption, and has +never, as a glance backward will show, shirked battle with him for great +issues. For the most part, to be sure, it remains the scolding of +relatives, who wish to tug at and tousel each other, not to murder each +other. + +Only before the comrade of Japan did the brow of Jonathan wrinkle more +deeply. But every Briton swore that his kinsman would bar the yellow +man's way to Hawaii, California, and the Philippines, and put him in the +fields of Asia only as a terror to the Russians or a scarecrow to the +Germans. A doubt remained, nevertheless; and we missed the chance of a +strong insurance against Japanese encroachment. Stroked caressingly +yesterday and boxed ears today: + + Over there the dollar alone rules, and all diplomacy is a + pestilential swamp; decency is an infrequent guest, with scorn + grinning ever over its shoulder; the entrepreneur is a rogue, + the official a purchasable puppet, the lady a + cold-cream-covered lady-peacock. + +The stubborn idealism, the cheerful ability of the American, his joy in +giving, his achievements in and for art, science, culture--all that was +scarcely noticed. Such a caricature could not be erased by compliments. + +Before Mr. Roosevelt bared his set of stallion's teeth (Hengstgebiss) to +the Berliners, he had spoken cheerfully to Admirals Dewey and Beresford +concerning the possibilities of a war of the Star-Spangled Banner +against Germany. And gentler fellow-countrymen of the billboard man +said: + + You're amazing. Yourselves devilishly greedy for profits, yet + you scoff at us because we go chasing after business. You + fetch heaps of money across the sea, and then turn up your + sublimely snuffing noses as if it stinks. + +To reach an understanding would have been difficult even in times of +peace. The American is unwilling to be either stiff or subservient. He +does not wish to be accounted of less value as a merchant than the +officer or official; wishes to do what he likes and to call the +President an ox outright if he pleases. Leave him as he is; and do not +continually hurt the empire and its swarms of emigrant children by the +attempt to force strangers into the shell of your will and your opinion. + +Is it not possible that the American is analyzing the origin of the war +in his own way? That he looks upon Belgium's fate with other eyes than +the German? That he groans over "the army as an end in itself" and over +"militarism"? That he does not understand us any quicker than the German +Michel understands him? And that he puffs furiously when, after a long +period of drought, the war, a European one, now spoils his trade? + +Only for months at the worst, Sam; then it will spring up again in +splendor such as has never been seen before. No matter how the dice fall +for us, the chief winnings are going to you. The cost of the war +(expense without increment, devastation, loss of business) amounts to a +hundred thousand million marks or more for old Europa; she will be +loaded down with loans and taxes. Even to the gaze of the victor, +customers will sink away that were yesterday capable of buying and +paying. Extraordinary risks cannot be undertaken for many a year on our +soil. But everybody will drift over to you--Ministers of Finance, +artists, inventors, and those who scent profits. You will merely have to +free yourselves from dross (and from the trust thought that cannot be +stifled) and to weed out the tares of demagogy; then you will be the +effective lords of the world and will travel to Europe like a great +Nuernberg that teaches people subsequently to feel how once upon a time +it felt to operate in the Narrows. + +The scope of your planning and of your accomplishment, the very rank +luxuriance of your life, will be marveled at as a fairy wonder. We, +victors and conquered and neutrals, will alike be confined by duty to +austere simplicity of living. Your complaint is unfounded; only gird +yourselves for a wee short time in patience. Whether the business deals +which you grab in the wartime smell good or bad, we shall not now +publicly investigate. If law and custom permit them, what do you care +for alien heartache? If the statutes of international law prohibit them, +the Governments must insure the effectiveness thereof. Scolding does +not help. Until the battle has been fought out to the finish, until the +book of its genesis has been exalted above every doubt, your opinion +weighs as heavy as a little chicken's feather to us. Let writer and +talker rave till they are exhausted--not a syllable yet in defense. + +We do not feel hurt, (haven't spare time for it;) indeed, we are glad +that you gave ten millions each month for Belgium, that you intend to +help care for Poland, that you are opening the savings banks of your +children. But, seriously, we beg you not to howl if American ships are +damaged by the attack of German submarines. England wishes to shut off +our imports of foodstuffs and raw materials, and we wish to shut off +England's. You do not attempt to land on our coast; keep away also from +that of Britain. You were warned early. What is now to take place is +commanded by merciless necessity; must be. + +And let no woeful cries, no threats, crowd into Germany's ears. + + + + +ENDOWED WITH A NOBLE FIRE OF BLOOD + +By A. Kouprine + +[From King Albert's Book.] + + +Not applause, not admiration, but the deep, eternal gratitude of the +whole civilized world is now due to the self-denying Belgian people and +their noble young sovereign. They first threw themselves before the +savage beast, foaming with pride, maddened with blood. They thought not +of their own safety, nor of the prosperity of their houses, nor of the +fate of the high culture of their country, nor of the vast numbers and +cruelty of the enemy. They have saved not only their fatherland, but all +Europe--the cradle of intellect, taste, science, creative art, and +beauty--they have saved from the fury of the barbarians trampling, in +their insolence, the best roses in the holy garden of God. Compared with +their modest heroism the deed of Leonidas and his Spartans, who fought +in the Pass of Thermopylae, falls into the shade. And the hearts of all +the noble and the good beat in accord with their great hearts.... + +No, never shall die or lose its power a people endowed with such a noble +fire of blood, with such feelings that inspire it to confront +bereavement, sorrow, sickness, wounds; to march as friends, hand in +hand, adored King and simple cottager, man and woman, poor and rich, +weak and strong, aristocrat and laborer. Salutation and humblest +reverence to them! + + + + +Chronology of the War + +Showing Progress of Campaigns on All Fronts and Collateral Events from +Feb. 28, 1915, Up To and Including March 31, 1915 + +[Continued from the March Number] + + +CAMPAIGN IN EASTERN EUROPE + +March 1--Two German army corps are defeated in struggle for Przasnysz; +Germans bombard Ossowetz. + +March 2--Russians win Dukla Pass; 10,000 Germans taken prisoner at +Przasnysz; Russians reinforced on both flanks in Poland; Austrians meet +reverse near Stanislau; Austrians make progress in the Carpathians; +Russians shell Czernowitz. + +March 3--Russians press forward from the Niemen and the Dniester; +Austro-German army driven back in Galicia; Germans demolish two Ossowetz +forts. + +March 4--Russians are pressing four armies through the mountain passes +into Hungary; they have checked a new Bukowina drive on the part of the +Austrians. + +March 5--Russians are taking the offensive from the Baltic Sea to the +Rumanian frontier; German armies in the north have been split into +isolated columns; Russians report the recapture of Stanislau and +Czernowitz; snow is retarding the invasion of Hungary. + +March 6--Russian centre takes up attack; Russians are gaining in North +Poland; Austrians give ground in East Galicia. + +March 7--Germans start another drive in region of Pilica River; +Austrians retreat in Bukowina. + +March 8--Russians silence two batteries of German siege artillery at +Ossowetz; Austrians gain ground in the Carpathians and Galicia; it is +reported that German troops in Northern Poland and Galicia are +exhausted. + +March 9--Germans are raising the siege of Ossowetz and are retreating in +Northern Poland; Russians claim that the Austrian offensive in Eastern +Galicia is a complete failure. + +March 10--Germans attempt to break through Russian line in Northern +Poland; General Eichorn's army, retreating from the Niemen, is being +harried by Russian cavalry and has been pierced at one point; Austrians +have successes in the Carpathians and Western Galicia. + +March 11--One million men are engaged in a series of battles in Northern +Poland, the front being eighty miles long. + +March 12--In the Carpathians the Russians capture the villages of Lupkow +and Smolnik and the surrounding heights. + +March 13--Russians check German offensive against Przasnysz; fighting in +progress along Orzyc River; Austrians repulse Russian attack near Cisna +in the Carpathians. + +March 14--Russians check German advance in Mlawa region. + +March 15--Russians capture the chief eastern defense of Przemysl, three +miles from the heart of the defense system, Austrian troops which held +the position leaving many guns in the snow; the siege ring is now drawn +tighter; battle is on in Bukowina; there is fighting among the ice +fields of the Carpathians. + +March 16--Russians take vigorous offensive and drive back army that was +marching on Przasnysz; 100,000 men have been buried in a triangle a few +miles in area between Warsaw and Skierniewice; Germans are making use of +fireworks at night to locate Russian guns; Austrian Archduke Frederick +suggests to Emperor Francis Joseph the abandonment of the campaign +against Serbia, all troops to be diverted to the Carpathians. + +March 17--Przemysl is in peril; Russians have recrossed the German +frontier in two places; there is fighting on a 600-mile front; it is +reported that the Austrian Army in East Galicia has been flanked; a +battle is being fought in the snow for the possession of Tarnowice. + +March 18--Germans threaten severe reprisals on Russians for devastation +in East Prussia; German offensive in much of Poland is reported to be +broken. + +March 19--Memel, German port on the Baltic, is occupied by the Russians; +Tilsit is menaced; Von Hindenburg starts a new offensive in Central +Poland; the Germans have lost heavily along the Pilica; Austrians claim +that they have halted the Russian advance in the Carpathians. + +March 20--Russians win battle in streets of Memel; battle line extends +to Rumanian border; sortie by Przemysl garrison is driven back; +statistics published in Petrograd show that 95 towns and 4,500 villages +in Russian Poland have been devastated as result of German invasion; +damage estimated at $500,000,000. + +March 21--Austrians renew operations against Serbia and are defeated in +artillery duel near Belgrade; Russians are advancing on Tilsit; another +Przemysl sortie is repelled. + +March 22--After a siege which began on Sept. 2, the longest siege in +modern history, the great Galician fortress of Przemysl is surrendered +to the Russians, who capture 9 Austrian Generals, 300 officers, and +125,000 men, according to Russian statements; the strategic value of +Przemysl is considered great, as it guarded the way to Cracow and to +important Carpathian passes; Germans retake Memel; Russians are +preparing for vigorous offensive in the Carpathians; Austrians are +shelling the Montenegrin front. + +March 23--Demonstrations are held in Russia over fall of Przemysl; +Germans say that the capture of the place cannot influence general +situation. + +March 24--Battle is being fought in the Carpathians; Russians march on +Hungary and pursue strong column that had been seeking to relieve +Przemysl; Germans withdraw big guns from Ossowetz. + +March 25--Russians carry Austrian position on crest of Beskid Mountains +in Lupkow Pass region and win victory in Bukowina; fighting in Southern +Poland is resumed. + +March 26--It is reported that the Austro-German armies in the +Carpathians are withdrawing into Hungary; Germans retreat in the north. + +March 27--Violent fighting in the Carpathians; Austrians make gains in +Bukowina. + +March 28--Russians break into Hungary and carry on offensive operations +against Uszok and Lupkow Passes. + +March 29--Austrians make gains at several points; Russians say that the +Memel dash was a mere raid. + +March 30--Russians storm crests in the Carpathians; Austrians are in a +big drive across Bukowina; 160,000 Germans are reported as being rushed +to Austria. + +March 31--Russians are making their way down the southern slopes of the +Carpathians into Hungary; German army corps reported trapped and cut to +pieces in Northern Poland; Pola is preparing for a siege. + + +CAMPAIGN IN WESTERN EUROPE. + +March 2--Germans are pouring reinforcements into Belgium; British gain +ground near La Bassee. + +March 4--Hard fighting in the Vosges; Germans spray burning oil and +chemicals upon French advancing in Malancourt woods. + +March 5--Germans checked at Rheims; report of Sir John French says +situation is unchanged in Belgium; Germans are holding reserves in +Alsace. + +March 9--Floods hamper campaign in Alsace; it is reported that Germans +are shelling factories in France which they cannot capture. + +March 10--Germans declare that the French have failed in the Champagne +district and have lost 45,000 men. + +March 11--After several days of severe fighting the British capture +Neuve Chapelle, the German loss being estimated by British at 18,000; +the British also have lost heavily, particularly in officers; British +believe they will now be able to threaten seriously the German position +at La Bassee; French War Office says operations in Champagne have aided +Russians by preventing Germans from reinforcing eastern armies. + +March 12--British are pressing on toward Lille; they gain near +Armentieres, occupy Epinette, and advance toward La Bassee; Germans are +intrenched in Aubers; the new drive is expected by Allies to prevent +Germans in the west from sending reinforcements to the east. + +March 13--Sir John French reports further gains in Neuve Chapelle +region. + +March 14--French occupy Vauquois, the key to a wide area of the Argonne; +they capture trenches and occupy Embermenil; Belgians gain on the Yser; +British repel German attack on Neuve Chapelle; it is announced that the +French recently won a victory at Reichackerkopf in Alsace. + +March 15--French capture trenches north of Arras; Germans drive back +British south of Ypres; Germans meet reverse at Neuve Chapelle; it is +announced that the French recently won a victory at Combres; French and +British are preparing for a general offensive; the first installment is +given out from French official sources of a historical review of the +war, from the French viewpoint, covering the first six months. + +March 16--Belgians cross the Yser; they drive Germans from trenches +south of Nieuport; British retake St. Eloi; barbed wire fence, ten feet +high, encompasses entire zone of German military operations in Alsace; +British still hold Neuve Chapelle after several spirited attempts to +retake it. + +March 17--Westende bombarded; Belgians carry two positions in Yser +region. + +March 18--Belgian Army continues to advance on the Yser; French continue +to hold the heights near Notre Dame de Lorette despite repeated shelling +of their position; Germans are fortifying towns in Alsace. + +March 19--Belgians and Germans are fighting a battle in the underground +passages of a monastery in front of Ramscappelle; official British +report tells of new German repulse at St. Eloi. + +March 21--Germans take a hill in the Vosges. + +March 24--New battle begins along the Yser. + +March 26--Belgians make progress on road from Dixmude to Ypres. + +March 27--French capture summit of Hartmanns-Weilerkopf Mountain. + +March 29--French are pressing the Germans hard at various points in +Champagne; as an offset, the Germans renew activity against Rheims with +lively bombardments; sapping and mining operations are stated to be the +only means of gaining ground in the Argonne. + + +TURKISH AND EGYPTIAN CAMPAIGN. + +March 1--Turkish forces mass on Asiatic side of the Dardanelles under +Essad Pasha, defender of Janina; Russians have completed the expulsion +of Turks from Transcaucasus region and dominate the Black Sea. + +March 3--Russians, after three days' battle, stop reinforcements for +Turks in the Caucasus. + +March 5--Turks abandon for the time the campaign against Egypt and +recall troops. + +March 7--British drive Turks back from the Persian Gulf, with +considerable losses on both sides; it is reported that the Germans +killed 300 Turks in a conflict between these allies after the Egyptian +retreat. + +March 9--Germans report that British were routed recently in Southern +Mesopotamia. + +March 12--General d'Amaade, commander of the French forces in Morocco, +has been put in command of a force which is to aid the allied fleets in +operations against Constantinople. + +March 13--Turks are driven back in Armenia and Northwestern Persia. + +March 16--Russians rout Turks in Armenia and threaten Turks in the +Caucasus. + +March 18--Turkish soldiers kill several civilians in the Urumiah +district of Persia; Turks are massing large forces near Constantinople +and on Asiatic side of the Dardanelles. + +March 19--Russians occupy Archawa. + +March 20--Turks reported to be four days' march from Suez Canal. + +March 23--Turkish force operating against town of Suez is routed. + + +CAMPAIGN IN FAR EAST. + +March 12--It is reported from Peking that nine Germans, among them the +German Military Attache at Peking, who is leading the party, escaped +from Tsing-tao when it fell, and have made their way 1,000 miles into +Manchuria, where they are trying to blow up tunnels along the +Trans-Siberian railway; Russian troops are pursuing them. + + +CAMPAIGN IN AFRICA. + +March 21--Official announcement is made that General Botha, Commander in +Chief of the Army of the Union of South Africa, has captured 200 +Germans and two field guns at Swakopmund, German Southwest Africa. + + +NAVAL RECORD--GENERAL. + +March 1--Norwegian steamer reports ramming a submarine off English +coast. + +March 2--Bulgaria protests to Austria, Russia, and Serbia against mines +in the Danube; diligent inquiry in England fails to produce any evidence +supporting report that British superdreadnought Audacious, wrecked by +mine or torpedo on Oct. 27, is about to be restored to the fighting +line. + +March 3--Allied fleet silences three inner forts on the Asiatic side of +the Dardanelles; Berlin report says British cruiser Zephyr was damaged. + +March 4--Attack on Dardanelles continues; French ships bombard Bulair +forts and destroy Kavak Bridge; Field Marshal von der Goltz has asked +for German artillery officers to aid in defending Dardanelles, but it is +reported that Germans cannot spare any; German submarine U-8 is sunk by +destroyers of the Dover flotilla; German submarine chases hospital ship +St. Andrew. + +March 5--Allies report that six, possibly seven, German submarines have +been sunk since beginning of the war; two Captains of British merchant +ships claim prize for sinking German submarines; British Admiralty +informs shipping interests that a new mine field has been laid in the +North Sea; Germans report a French ammunition ship sunk at Ostend; +Japanese report that the schooner Aysha, manned by part of the crew of +the Emden, is still roving the Indian Ocean; there is despair in +Constantinople as Dardanelles bombardment continues; Russian Black Sea +fleet is steaming toward the Bosporus; allied fleet is bombarding +Smyrna. + +March 6--British ships Queen Elizabeth and Prince George attack strong +Dardanelles forts, they blow up one and damage two; allied landing party +suffers loss; Asia Minor ports are being shelled; one-third of the +Dardanelles reported clear of Turkish mines; concentration of Turkish +fleet reported; Germans state that a submarine, reported by the Captain +of British merchantman Thordis to have been sunk by his vessel, escaped; +German Embassy at Washington expresses regret over torpedo attack on +British hospital ship Asturias in February, stating that the attack, +which did no harm, was due to mistake. + +March 7--Queen Elizabeth and other ships continue bombardment of +Dardanelles forts. + +March 8--Allied fleet forces its way further into Dardanelles, British +ships opening direct fire on main Turkish positions; more forts are +silenced; most of the Allies' ships are hit, but little damage is done; +effective fire at 21,000 yards against batteries on the Asiatic side; +seaplanes are being much used for locating concealed guns; it is +reported from Petrograd that when the allied fleets began the forcing of +the Dardanelles a Russian ship was invited to head the column, and did +so; ports on the Black Sea are destroyed by Russians; British Admiralty +announces that prisoners from U-8 will be segregated under special +restrictions, and they may be put on trial after the war because of +German submarine methods; British collier Bengrove sunk in Bristol +Channel by torpedo or mine. + +March 9--German submarines sink three British merchantmen, thirty-seven +men going down with one ship; Military Governor of Smyrna says that +British have bombarded unfortified villages; another British +superdreadnought joins allied fleet at Dardanelles; French transports +are on way with troops; Turks lose coal supply by Russian bombardment of +Zunguldiak; report from Berlin that German submarine U-16 has sunk five +merchantmen; British Admiralty states that German submarines, from Jan. +21 to March 3, sank fifteen British steamships out of a total of 8,734 +vessels above 300 tons arriving at or departing from British ports in +that period; more mines planted near Denmark. + +March 10--German auxiliary cruiser Prince Eitel Friedrich anchors at +Newport News for repairs and supplies; she brings passengers and crews +of eleven merchant ships sunk by her in a cruise of 30,000 miles, +including crew of American sailing ship William P. Frye, bound from +Seattle to Queenstown with wheat, sunk on Jan. 28, despite protests of +the Frye's Captain; more Dardanelles forts are reduced; batteries on +Eren-Keui Heights silenced; British sink German submarine U-12; British +collier Beethoven sunk. + +March 11--President Wilson states that there will be "a most searching +inquiry" into the sinking of the William P. Frye by the Prinz Eitel +Friedrich, "and whatever action is taken will be based on the result of +that inquiry"; Commander Thierichens of the Eitel defends sinking of the +Frye, claiming her cargo was contraband; British warships are ordered to +the entrance to the Capes of the Chesapeake to prevent escape of the +Eitel; Eitel goes into drydock for repairs; more Dardanelles forts are +damaged; mine sweeping is being conducted by the Allies at night; allied +fleet before Smyrna gives Turkish commander twenty-four hours to +surrender, otherwise bombardment will go on; it is reported from The +Hague that twelve German submarines are missing; Germans talk of +reprisals if British do not treat submarine crews as prisoners of war. + +March 12--Dardanus batteries on the Dardanelles are silenced; Germans +are fortifying Constantinople; Allies' Consuls demand establishment of a +neutral zone at Smyrna; British auxiliary cruiser Bayano sunk off coast +of Scotland, probably by a submarine, with loss of 200; it is learned +that British bark Conway Castle was sunk on Feb. 27 off the Chilean +coast by the German cruiser Dresden; it is learned that French steamer +Guadeloupe has been sunk off Brazil by the German auxiliary cruiser +Kronprinz Wilhelm; it is reported from Berlin that Germans have sunk 111 +merchant steamships, with tonnage of 400,000, since war began; British +cotton ship Indian Prince is reported sunk. + +March 13--England has lost 90 merchant ships and 47 fishing vessels, +sunk or captured, since the war began; Vice Admiral Carden is stated to +have predicted the forcing of the Dardanelles by Easter; fog delays +Allies' operations in Dardanelles; five British warships wait for Eitel +off Virginia Capes. + +March 14--Three British cruisers sink German cruiser Dresden near Juan +Fernandez Island; no damage to British ships; French steamer Auguste +Conseil sunk by German submarine; German submarine U-29 is reported to +have sunk five British merchantmen in the last few days; citizen of +Leipsic offers reward to crew of submarine that sinks a British +transport. + +March 15--It is reported from Rio Janeiro that Kronprinz Wilhelm has +sunk thirteen ships since she began her attack on Allies' commerce. + +March 16--Officers of the Dresden at Valparaiso say their ship was sunk +in neutral waters; British say she was sunk ten miles off shore; German +liner Macedonia, interned at Las Palmas, Canary Islands, slips out of +port; British cruiser Amethyst is reported to have made a dash to the +further end of the Dardanelles and back; a mine sweeper of the Allies is +blown up; Vice Admiral Carden, "incapacitated by illness," in words of +British Admiralty, is succeeded in chief command in the Dardanelles by +Vice Admiral De Robeck; Germany protests to England against promised +harsh treatment of submarine crews; British and French warships again +appear off coast of Belgium. + +March 17--It is reported from Denmark that the German cruiser Karlsruhe +has been sunk; it is reported from Spain that the Macedonia has been +captured by a British cruiser; two British steamers are sunk and one is +damaged by German submarines; German steamer Sierra Cordoba, which +aided the Dresden, is detained by Peruvian authorities until end of the +war; British lose three mine sweepers and one sailing vessel in the +Dardanelles. + +March 18--British battleships Irresistible and Ocean and French +battleship Bouvet are sunk by floating mines in the Dardanelles while +bombarding forts; 600 men lost with the Bouvet, but almost all of the +British escape; British battle-cruiser Inflexible and French battleship +Gaulois are badly damaged by shells from the forts; most of the forts +suffer severely from the fleet fire; French submarine is sunk in the +Dardanelles; there is a lull in bombardment of Dardanelles and of +Smyrna; German submarine sinks British steamer Glenartney in English +Channel; Copenhagen report says a German sea Captain states that the +Karlsruhe was sunk in December. + +March 19--Negotiations are being carried on, with American Embassy at +Constantinople as intermediary, to try to avert shelling of Pera when +allied fleet forces the Dardanelles; British steamers Hyndford and +Bluejacket torpedoed in English Channel. + +March 20--One French and two British battleships are on their way to +Dardanelles to take place of vessels sunk; new attack is planned by +Allies, with Russia co-operating; Turks say that the ships sunk on March +18 were torpedoed; Chilean seamen say Dresden was sunk in Chilean +waters; Smyrna garrison is reinforced; dummy war fleet, composed of +disguised merchantmen, is reported to be ready in England for use in +strategy against the Germans. + +March 21--German submarine sinks British collier Cairntorr off Beachy +Head. + +March 22--British steamer Concord is torpedoed by a German submarine, +but is stated not to have been sunk. + +March 23--Dutch steamer is fired on by a German trawler; Turks send +reinforcements to Dardanelles forts. + +March 24--German vessels shell Russian positions near Memel; allied +fleet resumes bombardment of Dardanelles forts; Allies land troops on +Gallipoli Peninsula to help in a general attack on the forts which is +planned on arrival of more British and French ships; many Europeans are +leaving Constantinople. + +March 27--U.S. battleship Alabama is ordered to proceed to Norfolk at +once to guard American neutrality should Prinz Eitel Friedrich leave +port. + +March 28--British African liner Falaba is torpedoed and sunk by German +submarine in St. George's Channel; she carried 160 passengers and crew +of 90, of which total 140 were saved; many were killed by the torpedo +explosion; British steamer Aguila is sunk by German submarine U-28 off +Pembrokeshire coast; she carried three passengers and crew of forty-two, +all passengers and twenty-three of crew being lost; Russian Black Sea +fleet attacks Bosporus forts; Dardanelles forts again bombarded; German +Government, in official statement, says that Dresden was sunk in neutral +Chilean waters. + +March 29--Dutch steamer Amstel is blown up by a mine; Russians renew +Bosporus attack; allied fleet shells Dardanelles forts at long range; +reinforced Russian fleet is showing activity in the Baltic; German +Baltic fleet is out. + +March 31--London reports that three fleets and three armies will combine +in attack on Dardanelles forts; the forts are again bombarded; British +steamers Flaminian and Crown of Castile are sunk by German submarines; +Prinz Eitel Friedrich coals under guard of American sailors and +soldiers; Germans shell Libau. + + +NAVAL RECORD--EMBARGO AND WAR ZONE. + +March 1--Premier Asquith announces in the House of Commons the purpose +of England and France to cut Germany off from all trade with the rest of +the world; "the British and French Governments will, therefore, hold +themselves free to detain and take into port ships carrying goods of +presumed enemy destination, ownership, or origin"; officials in +Washington think this attitude of the Allies disregards American rights. + +March 3--Germany alters relief ship rules; vessels may pass through the +English Channel unmolested, but because of mines Germany cannot grant +safe conduct for relief ships to and from England. + +March 4--Secretary Bryan makes public the text of German reply to +American note suggesting modifications of war zone decree; Germany +expresses willingness to make modifications if England will allow +foodstuffs and raw materials to go to German civilians, and if England +will make other modifications in her sea policy; German reply is +forwarded to Ambassador Page to be submitted to the British Foreign +Office for information of English Government; American State Department +makes public part of a recent dispatch from Ambassador Gerard stating +that German Government refuses to accept responsibility for routes +followed by neutral steamers outside German waters; Henry van Dyke, +American Minister at The Hague, advises the State Department that +Germany is anxious to give every possible support to the work of +American Relief Commission for Belgium, and will facilitate the passage +of ships as much as possible. + +March 5--Holland-America Line steamer Noorderdijk, bound for New York, +returns to Rotterdam badly disabled, it being reported that she was +torpedoed in English Channel. + +March 6--Passenger service from Holland to England is to be extended. + +March 8--Germany includes in the war zone the waters surrounding the +Orkney and Shetland Islands, but navigation on both sides of the Faroe +Islands is not endangered. + +March 9--It is announced at Washington that identical notes of inquiry +have been sent to the British and French Governments asking for +particulars as to how embargo on shipments to and from Germany is to be +enforced. + +March 18--Submarine blows up Swedish steamer Hanna, flying her own flag, +off east coast of England; six of crew lost. + +March 15--Text made public of British Order in Council cutting off trade +to and from Germany; British Government, replying to American note, +refuses to permit foodstuffs to enter Germany for civilian population as +suggested; British Government also replies to American note of inquiry +as to particulars of embargo, Sir Edward Grey saying that object of +Allies is, "succinctly stated, to establish a blockade to prevent +vessels from carrying goods for or coming from Germany." + +March 17--Secretary Bryan makes public full text of six recent notes +exchanged between the United States and the Allies and Germany regarding +the embargo and the war zone; Allies contend German war methods compel +the new means of reprisal. + +March 18--Denmark, Norway and Sweden make an identical representation to +the Allies against the embargo decree on trade to and from Germany. + +March 20--Holland protests to Allies against embargo. + +March 21--German submarine U-28 seizes Dutch steamers Batavier V. and +Zaanstroom and their cargoes. + +March 22--Holland asks explanation from Germany of seizure of Batavier +V. and Zaanstroom. + +March 25--Submarine U-28 sinks Dutch steamer Medea. + +March 26--Dutch press is aroused over the sinking of the Medea; Ministry +holds extraordinary council. + +March 27--Germany tells Holland that investigation into seizure of the +Batavier V. and Zaanstroom has not been concluded. + + +AERIAL RECORD. + +March 2--It is learned that in a recent air raid German aviators killed +two women and a child at La Panne, a bathing town on Belgian coast. + +March 3--German aviator bombards Warsaw. + +March 4--French bombard German powder magazine at Rottweil. + +March 5--Zeppelin raid over Calais fails; Pegoud receives French +military medal for his services. + +March 7--French official statement shows that French airmen during the +war have made 10,000 aerial reconnoissances, consuming 18,000 hours in +the air, and have traveled more than 1,116,000 miles; Zeppelin reported +captured by allied airmen near Bethune. + +March 9--British seaplanes drop bombs on Ostend; Lieut. von Hidelen, who +dropped bombs on Paris in September, is at Toulon as a prisoner of war. + +March 12--German airmen bombard Ossowetz. + +March 14--Strassburg is threatened by a fire started by French airman's +bomb; allied aeroplanes said to have wrecked Zeppelin near Tirlemont. + +March 17--German airman unsuccessfully aims five bombs at British +coasting steamer Blonde in the North Sea. + +March 18--Bombs from Zeppelin kill seven in Calais. + +March 20--German airmen drop bombs near Deal, but all fall into the sea; +one bomb narrowly misses American bark Manga Reva. + +March 21--Two Zeppelins drop bombs on Paris, but damage is slight; eight +persons are injured; Zeppelin drops bombs on Calais, with slight damage, +and is driven off by guns. + +March 22--Rotterdam reports that German aviators are aiming bombs +indiscriminately at ships in the North Sea, one Taube dropping five +bombs near a Belgian relief ship; airmen of Allies drop bombs on +Mulheim, injuring three German soldiers. + +March 23--German aeroplane aims seven bombs at British steamer Pandion, +all missing; Paris Temps says that authorities plan hereafter to fight +Zeppelins by aeroplanes over Paris, something which had hitherto been +avoided because of danger to Parisians. + +March 24--British airmen, in dash on Antwerp shipyards, destroy one +German submarine and damage another; German aviators aim bombs and +arrows at British freighter Teal, doing little damage. + +March 26--French drop bombs on Metz, killing three soldiers; little +damage to property. + +March 27--German aviators drop bombs on Calais and Dunkirk; little +damage. + +March 28--German aviator drops bombs on Calais; little damage. + +March 29--Germans state that during recent raid on Strassburg, bombs +dropped by allied aviators killed two children and wounded seven others +and one woman. + +March 30--Copenhagen reports that two Zeppelins have been badly damaged +by a storm while manoeuvering for a raid on England; Turkish seaplane +drops bombs on British warship outside Dardanelles. + +March 31--Thirty German soldiers are killed and sixty wounded near +Thourout, Belgium, by bombs dropped by airmen of Allies; fifteen German +aeroplanes drop 100 bombs at Ostrolenka, Russia; German aeroplane aims +bomb at Dutch trawler in North Sea, but misses her. + + +AUSTRIA. + +March 1--Two Czech regiments revolt. + +March 2--It is learned that the troops executed 200 civilians in +Stanislau. + +March 17--Conviction is stated to prevail in Vienna that war with Italy +is inevitable in the near future; many Austrians are declared to be +indignant that Germany is trying to force the nation to cede territory +to Italy. + +March 18--Russian prisoners and Galician refugees are working on +defensive fortifications in the Trentino, which are being prepared in +event of war with Italy; heavy guns are being mounted in the mountain +passes; fleet is again concentrated at Pola; Austria and Serbia agree to +exchange interned men under 18 or over 50, and also women. + +March 22--Men up to 52 are now being trained for active service; men +formerly rejected as unfit are being called to the colors. + +March 24--Five hundred thousand troops are massed in Southern Tyrol and +the Trentino; many villages near the Italian frontier have been +evacuated and many houses destroyed by dynamite, so as to afford better +range for the big guns. + +March 26--Army contract frauds are discovered in Hungary; rich +manufacturers jailed. + + +BELGIUM. + +March 2--Gen. von Bissing, German Governor General, says the tax +recently ordered imposed on Belgians who do not return to their homes +was suggested by Belgians themselves. + +March 8--Belgian Press Bureau announces that King Albert now has an army +of 140,000 men, a larger force than that which began the war. + +March 9--As a result of new royal decrees calling refugee youths to the +colors the number of recruits is increasing daily; a few days ago King +Albert presented a number of recruits to two veteran regiments in a +speech; Belgian officials are arrested by Germans on charge that they +induced Belgian customs officials to go through Holland to join Belgian +Army. + +March 17--Government issues protest against the German allegation that +documents found in Brussels show that Belgium and England had a secret +understanding before the war of such a nature as to constitute a +violation of Belgium's neutrality; the Government declares that +conversations which took place between Belgian and British military +officers in 1906 and 1912 had reference only to the situation that would +be created if Belgium's neutrality had already been violated by a third +party; it is declared that the documents found by Germans, "provided no +part of them is either garbled or suppressed," will prove the innocent +nature of negotiations between Belgium and England. + +March 18--Firm of Henri Leten is fined $5,000 for violating order of +German Governor General prohibiting payments to creditors in England. + +March 20--One million pigs owned by Germans are billeted on the civilian +population of Belgium, the Belgians being required to feed and care for +the animals. + +March 21--Germans are relaxing iron regulations to some extent in +attempt to get the normal life of Belgium moving again. + +March 23--Seventeen Belgian men are shot in Ghent barracks after having +been found guilty by German court-martial of espionage in the interests +of the Allies. + +March 28--Belgian Legation at Washington issues official response to +statement made by Herr von Jagow, the Imperial German Secretary of +State, that "Belgium was dragged into the war by England"; response says +that it was Germany, not England, that drew the nation into war. + + +BULGARIA. + +March 6--Mobilization is now completed of three divisions of troops near +Tirnova. + +March 12--Heavy artillery is being transported to Janthe, near the Greek +frontier. + +March 20--Three Bulgarian soldiers are killed and several Greek soldiers +are wounded in a fight which followed an attempted movement by strong +Bulgarian force into the region of Demir-Hissar, formerly Turkish +territory, now Greek. + +March 26--Opposition leaders are demanding an interview with the King +with a view of bringing about a change of policy favoring the +Anglo-Franco-Russian alliance; Field Marshal von der Goltz is in Sofia. + +March 30--Bulgaria is holding up shipments of German artillery and large +quantities of ammunition destined for Constantinople. + + +CANADA. + +March 5--Three transports arrive in England with 4,000 Canadian troops. + +March 14--Second contingent is now in camp in England; it is expected +that these troops will soon go to the front. + +March 26--Publication of first account by Official Canadian Recorder +with troops in the field of contingent's experiences; he states that +there have been but few casualties so far; the infantry was held in +reserve in the Neuve Chapelle fight, but the artillery was engaged. + +March 27--There is made public in Ottawa the address delivered by +General Alderon, commanding the Canadian Division, just before the men +first entered the trenches; he warns against taking needless risks and +tells the men he expects them to win, when they meet the Germans with +the bayonet, because of their physique. + + +ENGLAND. + +March 2--Order in Council promulgated providing for prize money for +crews of British ships which capture or destroy enemy vessels to be +distributed among officers and men at rate calculated at $25 for each +person aboard the enemy vessel at beginning of engagement; British spy +system has been so perfected that it is said in some respects to excel +the German; Embassy in Washington denies that women or children are +interned in civilian camps. + +March 4--Government appeals to aviators of British nationality in United +States and Canada to join the Royal Flying Corps. + +March 8--Shipowner offers $2,000 apiece to next four merchant ships +which sink German submarines. + +March 9--House of Commons authorizes Government to take over control of +engineering trade of country in order to increase output of war +munitions. + +March 14--John E. Redmond, leader of the Irish Nationalist Party, +declares in speech that Ireland is now firmly united in England's cause, +and that 250,000 Irishmen are fighting for Britain. + +March 15--Kitchener discusses the war situation in House of Lords, he +expresses anxiety over supply of war materials and blames labor unions +and dram shops in part for the slow output; he praises the Canadian and +Indian troops and the French Army; passport rules for persons going to +France are made more stringent. + +March 16--Heavy losses among officers cause anxiety; T.P. O'Connor says +Irish are with the Allies; stringent passport rules are extended to +persons going into Holland. + +March 19--In six days 511 officers have been lost in killed, wounded, +and missing; newspapers hint at conscription. + +March 20--Officers lost since beginning of the war, in killed, wounded, +and missing, now total 5,476, of which 1,783 have been killed. + +March 23--It is reported that a second German spy was shot in the Tower +of London on March 5, that a third spy is under sentence, and that a +fourth man, a suspect, is under arrest. + +March 24--Earl Percy is acting as Official Observer with the +expeditionary force; warships are ordered not to get supplies from +neutral nations in Western Hemisphere. + +March 26--Field Marshal French says that "the protraction of the war +depends entirely upon the supply of men and munitions," and if this +supply is unsatisfactory the war will be prolonged; German newspapers +charge British atrocities at Neuve Chapelle; Colonial Premiers may meet +for consultation before terms of peace are arranged. + +March 27--Storm of protest is aroused by suggestions of Dr. Lyttelton, +Headmaster of Eton, that concessions should be made to Germany. + +March 28--Premier Asquith is attacked by the Unionist press for alleged +lack of vigor in direction of the war. + +March 30--Three of the nine prison ships on which prisoners have been +kept are vacated, and it is planned to empty the others by the end of +April, prisoners being cared for on shore. + +March 31--King George announces that he is ready to give up use of +liquor in the royal household as an example to the working classes, it +being stated that slowness of output of munitions of war is partly due +to drink; Lord Derby announces that Liverpool dock workers are to be +organized into a battalion, enlisted under military law, as a means of +preventing delays in making war supplies. + + +FRANCE. + +March 1--Official note issued in Paris states that there are 2,080,000 +Germans and Austrians on the Russian and Serbian front, and 1,800,000 +Germans on the French and Belgian front. + +March 5--War Minister introduces bill in Chamber of Deputies giving +authorization to call to the colors the recruits of 1915 and to start +training those of 1916. + +March 6--French Press Bureau estimates the total German losses since the +beginning of the war, in killed, wounded, sick, and prisoners, at +3,000,000. + +March 10--Foreign Office issues report on treatment of French civilian +prisoners by the Germans, charging many instances of cruelty. + +March 11--Eight thousand German and Austrian houses have been +sequestered to date; bill introduced into Chamber of Deputies provides +for burning of soldiers' bodies as a precaution against possible +epidemic of disease; Mi-Careme festivities omitted because of the war. + +March 12--Fine of $100,000, to be paid before March 20, is imposed on +inhabitants of Lille, in hands of the Germans, because of a +demonstration over a group of French prisoners of war brought into the +city. + +March 14--Copenhagen report states that there has been a revolt in +Lille. + +March 25--War Ministry denies General von Bernhardi's charge that France +and England had an arrangement for violation of the neutrality of +Belgium. + +March 28--A cannon is mentioned in the orders of the day for gallantry +in action; General Joffre decorates thirty men for gallantry in action +in the Champagne district. + +March 31--Intense indignation is expressed by the French press over +sinking of British passenger steamer Falaba by German submarine. + + +GERMANY. + +March 5--Interned French civilians are sent to Switzerland for exchange +for German civilians held by the French. + +March 6--Government asks the United States to care for German diplomatic +interests in Constantinople if Allies occupy the Turkish capital; two +British prisoners of war are punished for refusing to obey their own +officers. + +March 7--Copenhagen reports that men up to 55 have been called out; it +is stated that there are now 781,000 war prisoners interned in Germany. + +March 8--British charge that German dumdum bullets were found after a +recent battle in Egypt. + +March 10--Reichstag is informed that the budget is $3,250,000,000--four +times greater than any estimates ever before presented; a further war +credit is asked of $2,500,000,000, to insure financing the war until the +late Autumn; Landsturm classes of 1869-1873 are summoned to the colors +in the Rhine provinces. + +March 15--Prussian losses to date (excluding Bavarian, Wuerttemberg, +Saxon, and naval losses) are 1,050,029 in killed, wounded, and missing. + +March 16--German committee is planning to send Americans to the United +States as propagandists to lay German case before the American people; +20,000 high school boys have volunteered for service. + +March 18--Copenhagen reports that Emperor William and General von +Falkenhayn, Chief of the German General Staff, arrived today at the +German Army Headquarters near Lille to participate in a council of war; +Chief President of the Province of East Prussia states that 80,000 +houses have been entirely destroyed by the Russians and that 300,000 +refugees have left the province; German War Department states that for +every German village burned by the Russians three Russian villages will +be burned by the Germans. + +March 21--Archbishop of Cologne asks children for prayers and offerings, +and suggests that they do without new clothes at confirmation. + +March 22--Lieut. Colonel Kaden urges teachers and parents to foster +hatred of England. + +March 23--English women and children allowed to leave Belgium. + +March 30--It is reported that Emperor William is holding an important +war council in Berlin with military chiefs. + +March 31--Much enthusiasm over sinking of British passenger steamer +Falaba; official statistics of second war loan show that $2,265,000,000 +was subscribed, of which $17,750,000 came from 452,113 persons in sums +of $50 or less; local option is permitted by German Federal Council. + + +GREECE. + +March 3--Crown Council meets at the palace in Athens under Presidency of +the King; among the eminent statesmen present are five ex-Premiers; +deliberations deal with question whether Greece should take part in the +war; further conferences of the Council are planned, and Parliament has +been summoned to meet, after the deliberations are finished. + +March 4--Crown Council meets again. + +March 10--M. Ghounaris completes formation of a new Cabinet; Ministerial +statement declares that the observance of neutrality is imperative on +Greece if she is to protect her national interests. + +March 14--M. Venizelos, former Premier, says that Greece will soon be +forced by course of events to abandon neutrality and join with Allies in +operations against Constantinople and Smyrna; by so doing, he says, the +Government can quadruple the area of Greece. + +March 17--M. Venizelos is quoted by an Italian newspaper correspondent +as saying that the Allies have twice asked Greece since the outbreak of +the war to help Serbia, but attitude of Bulgaria prevented Greece from +doing so; Venizelos resigned, according to this correspondent, because +Crown Council overruled his plan to send 50,000 men to aid Allies. + + +HOLLAND. + +March 2--Semi-official circles deny persistent reports that country is +to enter the war; American Minister van Dyke says that he sees no signs +of any change in the attitude of Holland. + + +ITALY. + +March 2--Much Italian comment caused by introduction in Chamber of +Deputies of bills against espionage, contraband, and publication in +newspapers of news of military movements; Italy is hiring hulks of ships +for grain storage. + +March 3--General Zupelli, Minister of War, speaks in Chamber of Deputies +in favor of a bill authorizing a recall to the colors of reserve +officers; Government asks Chamber for authorization to take control of +every industry connected with the defense of the country, including +wireless telegraphy and aviation. + +March 8--Premier Salandra hints at war at inauguration of new military +harbor at Gaeta. + +March 10--Garibaldians in the French Foreign Legion are allowed by +French Government to return to Italy in response to call of certain +categories of reservists by Italian Government. + +March 11--Military preparations are being pushed with much vigor. + +March 12--Soldiers near Austro-Italian frontier are drilling daily; new +cannon is being tested; fleet is in readiness under Duke of the Abruzzi; +Prince von Buelow is reported to have failed in his efforts to satisfy +Italian demands for Austrian territory as the price of continued +neutrality; it is said that Italy was asked to be satisfied with the +Trentino, while nothing was said as to Trieste. + +March 14--Rome reports that Emperor Francis Joseph, despite urgent +solicitations of Emperor William, refuses to sanction any cession of +territory to Italy and insists that von Buelow's negotiations with the +Italian Government be stopped; Premier Salandra's personal organ, the +Giornale d'Italia, says Italy must obtain territorial expansion; +National League meets at Milan and demands, through intervention in the +war, the liberation of all Italians from Austrian rule. + +March 15--Exchange of telegraphic money orders with Austria is +suspended; the traveling Post Offices on trains bound for the Austrian +frontier are also stopped; it is denied that Austria has refused to cede +any territory whatever, but that what she is willing to cede is far too +little from the Italian viewpoint. + +March 16--Report from Rome states that an authoritative outline of the +territorial demands of Italy shows that she wishes a sweep of territory +to the north and east which would extend her boundary around northern +end of the Adriatic as far south as Fiume on the eastern coast; this +would include Austrian naval base at Pola and the provinces of Trent and +Trieste; von Buelow is said to have assured Italian Government that +concessions will be made. + +March 18--Germans are leaving the Riviera. + +March 20--Identification cards for use in active service are distributed +among soldiers. + +March 21--King signs the decree promulgating a national defense law, +which will become operative tomorrow; the law gives the Government +various powers necessary for efficient war preparations; Parliament +adjourns until the middle of May, leaving military preparations in hands +of the Government. + +March 22--Austrians and Germans are advised by their Consuls to leave +Italy as quickly as possible. + +March 23--Crowds in streets of Venice clamor for war; Government orders +seizure of twenty-nine freight cars with material destined for Krupp gun +works in Germany. + +March 26--All is ready for general mobilization; seven complete classes +are already under the colors; Austrian and German families are leaving. + +March 27--Italian Consul at Buenos Aires calls a meeting of agents of +Italian steamship lines and warns them to be in readiness for possible +transportation of 60,000 reservists. + +March 28--Report from Berne that Emperor William in person has persuaded +Emperor Francis Joseph to cede the territory to Italy which the latter +desires; it is also said that negotiations are being conducted with Rome +directly and solely by Berlin. + + +PERSIA. + +March 18--India Office of British Government says that documents have +reached London showing that German Consular officers and business men +have been engaged in intrigues with the object of facilitating a Turkish +invasion of Persia. + +March 20--Persian Government calls upon Russia to evacuate the Province +of Azerbijan, Northwest Persia. + +March 25--Kurds and Turks are massacring Christians at Urumiah, +Northwestern Persia; situation of American Presbyterian Mission there is +described as desperate; Dr. Harry P. Packard, doctor of the American +missionary station, risks his life to unfurl American flag and save +Persian Christians at Geogtopa; 15,000 Christians are under protection +of American Mission and 2,000 under protection of French Mission at +Urumiah; it is learned that at Gulpashan, the last of 103 villages to be +taken after resistance, the Kurds shot the male citizens in groups of +five, while the younger women were taken as slaves; 20,000 Persian +Christians are dead or missing, while 12,000 are refugees in the +Caucasus; disease is raging among the refugees. + +March 26--Turks force their way into the compound of the American +Mission at Urumiah, seize some Assyrian Christian refugees and kill +them; Turks beat and insult American missionaries; American and British +Consuls at Tabriz, near Urumiah, have joined in appeal to General +commanding Russian forces at Tabriz to go to relief of American Mission +at Urumiah, which is described as practically besieged by Turks and +Kurds; United States State Department is active and asks Ambassador +Morgenthau at Constantinople to urge the Turkish Government to send +protection; Persian War Relief Committee cables funds to American Consul +at Tabriz for relief at Urumiah. + +March 27--Turkish Grand Vizier issues orders that Christians in +disturbed Persian regions be protected and uprisings be suppressed. + +March 28--Turkish regulars are due to arrive at Urumiah to protect +Christians and suppress disorder; Turkish War Office says that "no acts +of violence had been committed at Urumiah"; Grand Vizier states that +reported atrocities are "grossly exaggerated." + +March 30--Turkish Government gives renewed assurances to Ambassador +Morgenthau that protection will be given to Christians at Urumiah. + + +RUMANIA. + +March 6--Parliament passes a law empowering Government to proclaim a +state of siege until the end of the war, if such a step is thought +necessary; military representatives of the Government are seeking to +place large orders for arms and ammunition with American firms. + +March 12--Prime Minister Jonesco is quoted in a newspaper interview as +saying that he is sure the Allies will force the Dardanelles, the result +of which will be that Rumania will join the war. + +March 15--Rumania's war preparations are causing uneasiness in +Austria-Hungary. + +March 18--Government seizes a large quantity of shells in transit from +Germany for Turkish troops. + + +RUSSIA. + +March 1--Paris Temps says that the Allies have reached an agreement by +which Russia will have free passage through the Dardanelles. + +March 4--Village women capture and bind a detachment of German soldiers. + +March 24--Congress of Representatives of the Nobility, in annual session +at Petrograd, passes resolutions stating that "the vital interests of +Russia require full possession of Constantinople, and both shores of the +Bosporus and the Dardanelles and the adjacent islands." + + +TURKEY. + +March 9--American missionaries, arriving in New York from Jerusalem, say +that the fall of the Dardanelles will probably mean a massacre of Jews +and Gentiles in the Holy Land. + +March 11--There is a panic in Constantinople and many foreigners are +leaving. + +March 15--All Serbs and Montenegrins have been ordered to leave +Constantinople within twenty-four hours. + +March 18--The rich are leaving Constantinople; Germans from the +provinces are concentrating there. + +March 19--Appalling conditions prevail in Armenia, following massacres +by Turks and Kurds. + + +UNITED STATES. + +March 1--Indictments are returned by the Federal Grand Jury in New York +against the Hamburg-American Steamship Company and against officials of +the line on the charge of conspiring against the United States by making +out false clearance papers and false manifests in connection with +voyages made by four steamships to supply German cruiser Karlsruhe and +auxiliary cruiser Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse with coal and provisions; +indictments are returned by the Federal Grand Jury in New York against +Richard P. Stegler, a German, Gustave Cook and Richard Madden on the +charge of conspiracy to defraud the Government in obtaining a passport. + +March 2--Three indictments charging the illegal transportation of +dynamite in interstate commerce are returned by the Federal Grand Jury +in Boston against Warner Horn, a German, who tried to destroy the +international railway bridge at Vanceboro, Me., last month; extradition +proceedings by Canada, officials state, will probably have to be halted +until this indictment is disposed of. + +March 7--Horn is made a Federal prisoner in Maine. + +March 8--Carl Ruroede, who was arrested in January with four Germans to +whom he had issued spurious American passports, pleads guilty in the +Federal District Court to charge of conspiring to defraud the United +States Government, and is sentenced to three years' imprisonment; the +four Germans who bought passports are fined $200 each; the Department of +Justice is still investigating in belief there are other conspirators. + +March 16--Stegler turns State's evidence and testifies against Cook and +Madden in the Federal District Court. + +March 18--Cook and Madden are found guilty, the jury making a strong +recommendation for mercy; before the United States Commissioner at +Bangor, Me., Horn claims that his act was an act of war and contests +right of the courts to try him. + +March 19--Stegler is sentenced to sixty days' imprisonment, and Cook and +Madden to ten months; United States Commissioner at Bangor decides that +Horn must stand trial in Boston. + +March 24--Major General Hughes, Minister of Militia and Defense for +Canada, states in the Canadian Parliament that two dozen Americans with +the first Canadian contingent have fallen in battle, and that "hundreds +more are in the Canadian regiments fighting bravely." + +March 25--Horn is taken to Boston from Portland, after two unsuccessful +attempts to obtain a writ of habeas corpus. + +March 31--Leon C. Thrasher of Hardwick, Mass., an American by birth, +was among the passengers lost on the Falaba; American Embassy in London +and the State Department are investigating; the Thrasher family appeals +to Washington for information about his death; Raymond Swoboda, +American, a passenger on the French liner Touraine, which was imperiled +by fire at sea on March 6, has been arrested in Paris charged with +causing the fire. + + +RELIEF WORK. + +March 1--Herbert C. Hoover, Chairman of the American Belgian Relief +Committee, issues statement in London that the Germans have scrupulously +kept their promise, given in December, not to make further requisitions +of foodstuffs in the occupied zone of Belgium for use by the German +Army; he says the Germans have never interfered with foodstuffs imported +by the commission and that all these foodstuffs have gone to the Belgian +civil population; Mr. Hoover further states that "every Belgian is today +on a ration from this commission"; every State in the Union contributes +to the fund for the Easter Argosy, the ship which it is planned the +children of the United States will send with a cargo to Belgium in the +name of Princess Marie Jose, the little daughter of the King and Queen +of the Belgians; plans are made for the sending of two ships with +cargoes supplied by the people of the State of New York. + +March 2--American Red Cross sends large shipments of supplies to Serbia +and Germany; four American Red Cross nurses sail for Germany; Serbian +Agricultural Relief Committee asks for farming implements. + +March 5--Mississippi, Ohio, and Nebraska form organizations to send +relief ships; American Red Cross is sending large consignments of +supplies to the American Relief Clearing House in Paris. + +March 8--Report from London states that it has just become known in +Budapest that Countess Szechenyi, formerly Miss Gladys Vanderbilt, +contracted smallpox while nursing in a Budapest military hospital and +has been dangerously ill for a fortnight; a hospital, exclusively for +the care of wounded soldiers whose cases require delicate surgical +operations, is ready for work at Compiegne under the direction of Dr. +Alexis Carrel of the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research. + +March 9--In gratitude for American help, the municipal authorities of +Louvain inform the American Commission for Relief in Belgium that, when +Louvain is rebuilt, squares or streets will be named Washington, Wilson, +and American Nation. + +March 11--American Red Cross announces plan to send two units for +service with the Belgian Army. + +March 12--Philadelphians give $15,000 for establishment of a +Philadelphia ward in the American Ambulance Hospital in Paris; other +wards bear the names of New York, Providence, New Haven, and Buffalo. + +March 14--Letter to the British Red Cross from Sir Thomas Lipton says +that typhus is threatening Serbia. + +March 16--Mrs. John Hays Hammond, National Chairman of the War +Children's Christmas Fund, has received letters from Princess Mary of +England, and the Russian Ambassador to the United States, writing in +behalf of the Empress of Russia, expressing thanks for the Christmas +supplies sent from the United States. + +March 17--Mme. Vandervelde, wife of the Belgian Minister of State, has +collected nearly $300,000 in the United States for Belgian relief, and +plans to sail for Europe in a few days. + +March 20--Serbian Legation in London sends appeal to United States for +aid for Serbia from the Archbishop of Belgrade. + +March 22--General Kamoroff, as special emissary of the Czar, visits the +American Hospital in Petrograd and thanks the Americans for their help +in caring for Russian wounded. + +March 23--Contributions for the Easter Argosy reach $125,000; letter to +Belgian Relief Committee brings the thanks of King Albert for American +help; American Red Cross sends twenty-seven tons of supplies to Belgian +Red Cross. + +March 24--General Joffre cables thanks to the Lafayette Fund, which is +sending comfort kits to the French soldiers in the trenches. + +March 25--American Commission for Relief in Belgium announces that +arrangements have been completed for feeding 2,500,000 French in the +north of France, behind the German lines; for the past month the +commission has fed more than 500,000 French; it is planned that the +Easter Argosy will sail on May 1. + +March 26--Financial report issued in London by the American Commission +for Relief in Belgium states that foodstuffs of a total value of +$20,000,000 have been delivered to Belgium since the commission began +work, and $19,000,000 worth of foodstuffs is in transit or stored for +future shipments; $8,500,000 has been provided by benevolent +contributions, and the remaining $30,500,000 through banking +arrangements set up by the commission; of the benevolent contributions +the United States has provided $4,700,000; United Kingdom, $1,200,000; +Canada, $900,000; Australasia, $900,000; clothing which has been +distributed is estimated to have been worth an additional $1,000,000; it +is announced that Queen Alexandra, as President of the English Red Cross +Society, has written an autograph note to Mrs. Whitelaw Reid in London +expressing gratitude for the aid given by the American Red Cross. + +March 30--The cash collected by the Belgian Relief Fund, New York, now +totals $1,004,000, said to be the largest amount ever raised in the +United States for relief of distress in a foreign country. + + + + +THE DAY + +By HENRY CHAPPELL. + + + _[The author of this poem is Mr. Henry Chappell, a railway + porter at Bath, England. Mr. Chappell is known to his comrades + as the "Bath Railway Poet."]_ + + You boasted the Day, and you toasted the Day, + And now the Day has come. + Blasphemer, braggart and coward all, + Little you reck of the numbing ball, + The blasting shell, or the "white arm's" fall, + As they speed poor humans home. + + You spied for the Day, you lied for the Day, + And woke the Day's red spleen, + Monster, who asked God's aid Divine, + Then strewed His seas with the ghastly mine; + Not all the waters of all the Rhine + Can wash thy foul hands clean. + + You dreamed for the Day, you schemed for the Day; + Watch how the Day will go. + Slayer of age and youth and prime + (Defenseless slain for never a crime) + Thou art steeped in blood as a hog in slime, + False friend and cowardly foe. + + You have sown for the Day, you have grown for the Day; + Yours is the Harvest red. + Can you hear the groans and the awful cries? + Can you see the heap of slain that lies, + And sightless turned to the flame-split skies + The glassy eyes of the dead? + + You have wronged for the Day, you have longed for the Day + That lit the awful flame. + 'Tis nothing to you that hill and plain + Yield sheaves of dead men amid the grain; + That widows mourn for their loved ones slain, + And mothers curse thy name. + + But after the Day there's a price to pay + For the sleepers under the sod, + And Him you have mocked for many a day-- + Listen, and hear what He has to say: + _"Vengeance is mine, I will repay."_ + What can you say to God? + +Reprinted from _The London Daily Express_ (Copyright). + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NEW YORK TIMES CURRENT HISTORY; THE +EUROPEAN WAR, VOL 2, NO. 2, MAY, 1915*** + + +******* This file should be named 15479.txt or 15479.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/5/4/7/15479 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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