Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1914-11-27
HISTORY OF MAR
By DR.. r. II. DABhEY,
Cause Of Present Conflict Dates
Back 1000 Years Declares
Speaker.

Swell head" arrogance.
philosophical ambition and evo-
luton of more than one thousand
years among the German people
are the causes of the present
bloody European war, according
to DIR. R. Heath Dabney, profess
sor of history at the University
OF Virginia, who delivered an
address at the high school audi
forum last night to a large audi
ence on 1.-The Historical Back
ground of the Present European
War"
Professor Dabrey spent three
years in Germany as a student
and was in a class under Helm
rich Won Treitschke, professor OF
history and politics at the Berlin
University, who has become 4
prominent figure since the out
break of the war and many at
tribute the immediate cause Of
of the war to the teachings of
Treitschke. DR.. Dabney deliver
ed his address in a frank and de-
liberate manner and was highly
interesting.
He was introduced by Owen
R. Easley. Mr.. Easley stated
shat DR.. Dabney had been brought
to Lynchburg By the Lynchburg
Teachers Club and the Lynch
burg High School faculty. He
stated that DR.. Dabney was a
scholar of wide repute and was
thoroughly familiar with his
topic.
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DR.. Dabney opened his address
by stating that although Austria
actually started the war, Ger
many was closely behind and
was the real cause of the conflict.
On account of this, he stated, he
would confne his speech solely
to Germany.
Many people are inclined to
believe that it is just the Kaiser's
war. but this is gross error" he
stated. Behind him was the
dominant element of the German
people, but the Kaiser also had
his full share in bringing it on.
Certain elements did not want
the war, bat they were impelled
by the common element and did
not enter reluctantly.
THE Germans were kind and
lovable when l was over there
and / have the strongest affec-
ton for some of them, especially
those in the south, but forces
were at work then and the forces
changed these people from
contented populace to people
longing to make themselves fit
to conquer the world"
What has changed the Ger
mans?" DR.. Dabney asked. He
states that in order to show what
had, it would be necessary to go
back to the distant past. The
war is the result of an evolution
of more than one thousand years,
he declared. The first great
event was the overthrow of the
Roma world empire. The his
torical event was drilled into the
minds of every school boy, he
said. The second event, he stated
was on Christmas of 800 when
the German king became the Ro-
man emperor. This made the
Germans ambitious.
GERMANY DOMINATED would.
From 800 to 1906 Germany
dominated the world, but it final
Is played out under the weight
of the Roman Empire, he stated.
This was caused, he said, by the
German kings becoming so am
bilious to rule the world that the
home affairs were neglected an
Germany gradually went to
pieces. 1t became chaos of petit,
but left the Germans ex-
tremely idealistic.
One of the German States was
Prussia. In the year 100 the
ruler of Prussia called himself |
king, and Prussia began to de-
velop and the king did nothing |
but build up strong army. The |
Prussians became an intensly |
military people, and they sue
ceeded in building up the stronz
st military organization in tie
world, the speaker stated.
In the nineteenth century |
Prussia began to- dicate and
loaainate Germany Nth the adj
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