New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-09-23
Mr.. John Burns's UnSpoken Speech.

A world tragedy should have its comic relief We
suppose. The great pro-German speech which Mr..
John Burns delivered in the "Frankfurter Zetung'
and other German newspapers of August 50 has
the same artistic excuse the gravediggers'
in Hamlet"
This great effort was stated to have been deliv-
cred in Albert Hall to "spellbound audience
Except that as the London papers make clear it
was never delivered anywhere, and that Mr. John
Burns never said or thought anything of the kind
and that if he had uttered such thoughts any
English audience would have mobbed him. the Ger.
man version is impeccabe. The speech is notable
especially for the naive admiration of everything
Germanic. 1t is, in short, exactly the sort Of
speech which Germans would like to hear froiI
English lips. That fact explains the success Of the
hoax. we presume; when you are bushing with
praise your critical faculties are somewhat numbed
For instance:
What if the news of Engand's defeat and Eng
lands weakness leaks out to the colonies, which
have really nothing in common with the mother
country and perhaps waiting for some opportu-
nifty to fall away from her? What if France does
not win? Enormous possessions are then lost, and
British loss Of influence on the policy of the CONT
nent cannot for centuries be recovered because the
influence of Germany, in association with her Aus
trian ally, would become so immense that Germany
would let no power earth interfere further with
the construction of her navy.
A people so powerful and conscious of its
strength the German people can be bound in no
letters that can be forged With unparalleled self
sacrfce-even if the poorest laborer had to produce
the last penny from his pocket-lf we destroyed the
German navy, Germany would create navy twice,
nay thrice, as strong
Why such preposterous fake? We'll, there was
some method in the production after all The
speech was promptly handed on to Constantinople,
where it received much enthusiastic attention by
reason of a certain passage concerning Mahomet-
ans. These choice sentences give the essence Of
this not altogether innocuous invention:
The present situation compels the Turks to range
themselves at the side of Germany. Any influence
that we NAV have possessed in the Orient is now
DESTROYED, and with it rule over many, many
millions Of Mahometans who will rise like devas-
tatng hurricane when the Sultan unfurs the flag of
the Caliphate and summons all Moslems to the holy
The flag Of Mahomet will be raised in triumph
when the flames of revolt shoot high IN India. They
will take the sacred carpet from the kaabe and
carry it on before them when second Mahdl arises
and over the corpses of the British troops IN Egypt
inspires the Egyptians with hopes Oh rea"akeh-
ing Of the people of Mahomet
Thus no small amount of craft was comoheh
with humor in this product of Kultur 1t is, in
fact. rather difficult TO take amusedly such a
maleyolen. effort to fan the flames Of Il holy war.
AS some consolation aud further slight contribu-
ton to the comic aspect of the piece, let it be re-
corded that the impulsive Hidder seized the nn-
sIoken speech aud printed II mt length IN his organ
A