The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-08-16

6erlying, which brought about the clash of arms in Europe which will result, it is believed generally, in the greatest war in the history of the world, it is interesting to have the views of German member of the press, a man not only posted in the events of this country by his long connection as a newspaper man at our capital, but who Is posted on the politics of Europe the knowledge ofswhich has come to him through long experience in newspaper work in his home country.
 Dr. George Barthelme, who represents in Washington the Cologne Gazette, is not only a student of things political in Eu- rope but he is thoughtful and able man of high education and dttainments; While he is intensely German and keenly pa- triotic he is also liberal and broad in his views. and man who counts his Ameri- can friends at the capital by the hun dreds.
 In discussion of the causes of the great war now in progress in Europe pr. Bartheme places the blame heavily on Servia. He severely arraigns the ambi- tions of the pan-Savic combinations and puts the responsibility of the titanic struggle for supremacy which now chal= lenges the attention of the world in Eu- rope upon the bad faith and greedy hopes l of the Slavs.
 There are those who say tlat Aus | tria has used the murder of the heir ap- | parent as an ostensible cloak to cover l her designs to destroy Servia, as she has longed planned to do." said pr. Barthel- me "On the other hand there are those | who view, and with far greater right, 1 the assassination at Serajevo as the last blow that aroused a patient nation, and who look upon Austria's ultimatum to | her neighbor as the command to halt a movement that for decades has sought l to deal a death blow to the dual mon archy.
 "The first group views the murder only as the deed of a maniac or criminal, | but always the deed of a single individ- ual, while Austria sees in it the result of a long planned and far reaching plot of the pan-Slavic movement that seeks in the unification of all Slavic nationali- ties to build a single Slavic empire, and | which found in Austria it's chief oppor- | tunity and saw in tue murdered crown | prince it's most powerful opponent.
 Austria knows that her existence is l threatened, for economic reasons, al- though these are carefully hidden behind l the mask of questions of nationality ana | religion For more than generation ...-. propaganda of conspiracy has been Kept i up within her borders. And if the out | side world has looked forward to the day when the dual monarchy would collapse, | it has based this prospect upon the belief | that the day would come when this pam Slavic movement would make it impossi-
 ble for Austria longer to hold the loy- alty of the dozen natiopalities that con- | stitute her citizenship.
 l unfortunately Austria has strength- | ened this belief in that she has been all | too patient with the forces of sedition | that have been at work within her do- minons. The Slavic races looked upon all leniency and compromise as a weak ness of the Austrian government. so that l the latter made it's own position more | difficult, while the Slavic propaganda be- came more aggressive until it eliminated
 in the murder on the fateful 18th of June. "Then Austra's patience snapped. She demanded that the Servian government, | by participation in the investigation of | the crime, free herself from the suspicion
 that she was a participant But the Ser
 vian government failed to respond In- stead, she silently permitted Servian | newspapers and Servian speakers to | glorify this crime at which the whole
 world shuddered. So abhorrent became | these Servian orgies that Austria must have sacrificed every vestige of her dig
 nifty had she remained longer quiet'' | In his interview or rather his article, | Dr. Barthelme' does not go further and | explain the political significance of the German empires entry into the conflict | with Austria and Servia. Germany's att ttude as explained by other Washington | Germans has been brought about entirely
 by the actions of Russia and France. Be- cause of her alliance with Austria, Ger
 many could not permit that country to be crushed by Russia, who gave every evil dence of going to the support of her sis
 ter Slav state, Servia.
 In discussing Servia and the figure that country will cut in the great war, military
 critics everywhere admit that in disci- pline, leadership and spirit there is no
 army of it's size in the world that can make a better showing than that of little
 Servia. In statement issued by the National Geographic society, Servia' s
 army is mentioned in the following eulo- \ gfstic terms:
 If the United States should call to the
 colors as many men in proportion to it's
 population as Servia has done, it would
 mean an army of 100000 men, nor does
 this take into account the fact that recent
 wars have greatly depleted the male pop ulation.
 Compulsory service in Servia is per
 sonal for all able-bodied men, and pe-
 cuniary for all who are incapable for
 service. These latter must pay an indi.
 rect tax of 30 per cent additional" | FAVOR REVTVAITN