Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1914-10-06
ENGLAND is TO BLAME
Well Known British Author Says
Country Has Been Smitten With

Blindness.
Houston Stewart Chamberlain, the
well known English author, who mar
ried a daughter Of Richard Wagner
and who has lived many years in Ger
MANY and Austria, is deeply disap-
pointed with England because OF lts
declaration Of war upon Germany. In
letter which has appeared in the
German press, he says he holds Eng
land chiefly responsible for the ter
rible disaster that has broken upon
Europe" and he can only explain the
action of England by assuming that 1t
has been smitten with blindness.
In answer to a correspondent who
had suggested that he write a pro-
test against England's course and
have it published in England, he FUR
ther wrote: THE moment for such
protest has not yet arrived. the
English must first bear the conse-
ouences of their disgusting course IN
the form of heavy blows; after that
thew can be reasoned with. May God
protect the glorious cause Of the Ger
mans; there is no other hope for the
future of the human race
German professors and men or SCI
ence have made a strong protest
against England's course by renounc-
ing all the honorary degrees, titles
and other marks of distinction con-
ferred upon them by English uniVer-
stiles. academies and other bodies or
English scholars. They have publish
ed a declaration on the subject, as fol-
lows:
England has declared war upon us
under a hollow preteXt which is least
of all justified in view Of English his
tory. and the true character Of which
is laid bare by numerous documents.
Although England is related to us by
blood and race, it has, out OF a con-
temptible envy Of Germany's economic
success, melted other peoples against
us for years, and, in particular, 1t mas
allied itself with France and Russia to
crush us as a orld-power and to en-
danger our cultural achievements.
1T was only because they were able
to reckon upon England's cooperation
that Russia, France, Belgium and ia
nan threw down to us the gauntlet OF
war. England bears, foremost OF all,
the moral responsibility for this con-
fiagration Of the nations, which Will
result in frightful suffering for mil
lions of men and will demand unheard
of sacrifices Of blood and treasure
England's brutal national selfishness
has placed an indelible blot upon its
name.
I'VE are we'll aware that very emf
nent English scholars, with whom Ger
man men Of science have for years
been on friendly and fruitful relations,
were opposed to this war, so wantonly
begun, and spoke against 1t.
Nevertheless, those Of us who have
received marks Of distinction from
English universities, academies ana
societies Of scholars do renounce as
matter Of national feeling, all such
honors and rights attached to them.
This declaration was published with
some thirty signatures, and other sig
natures are coming in daily. Among
the signers are many men with world
wide regulations. They include such
medical men as Won Behring of Mar
burg, Paul Ehrlich Of Frankfort, Ger
ny Of Heidelberg, August Bier of Ber-
lin, and Otto Won Schjerning Of the
general staff of the army; philosophers
like Rudolf Eucken Of Jena and Will
helm Wundt of Leipzig; biologists
like Haeckel Of Jena and Weissmann
of Freiburg; law professors like Paul
I.aband Of Strasburg, Josef Kohler and
Franz Won Liszt of Berlin; the politi-
cal economist Adolf Wagner Of Ber-
lin, and Jacob Reisser, the specialist
in the science of banking; the COM
poser Humperdinck and the painters
Won Werner and Liebermann.