Arizona republican., 1914-10-08
Legation at Washington Presents Some Facts Con- corning Belgium's Atti- tude, Responding to Many Inquiries on the Subject
LAYS STRESS ON
 ITS NEUTRALITY
Explanation is Made Under Treaty of 1889 Belgium is Forbidden in War to Take the Part of Any Bellig- crentS
ASSOCIATED PRESS DIsPATCHl

WASHINGTON, Oct 7.-The Bel gian legation has compiled the fol- lowing statement of the Belgian case in the present European war to ln- swer the many inquiries that have been received on the subject:
 By the treaty of April 19, 1S59. Prussia. France. England, Austria and Russia declared themselves guar antors of the treaty concluded on the same day between the king of the Belgians and the king of the Netherlands. This treaty provides:
 Belgium forms an independent state of perpetual neutrality.
 That is to say, Belgium was for bidden, in case of war, to take the part of any of the belligerents.
 Since then Belgium has fulfilled all her neutrality obligations; she has acted in a spirit of meticulous inn partiality She has left nothing un- done to maintain and make respect ed her neutrality Germanys obliga- ton to respect Belgian neutrality was even more emphatically affirmed by one of Germany's greatest men,
 
 then count, Bismarck wrote in let tel to Baron Nothomb, Belgian min ister to Berlin. on the 22d of July, 1870, as follows:
 Tn confirmation of my verbal as- surances 1 have the honor to give in writing a declaration which, i1 view of the treaties in force, $ quite superfluous. that the confeder- ation of the north and it's allies will respect the neutrality of Belgium on the understanding, of course, that it is respected by the other belligeT- ent.
 (Signed) WON BISMARCK.
 on August last, in the course of the day. the German minister to Brussels, M De Below Saleske, gave an interview to the reporters of the newspaper Le Soir and declared to them that Belgium had nothing to fear from Germany. He went so far as to employ this expression: "YoI will see, perhaps. your neighbor's house on fire. but your house will remain intact" The same day. at o'clock in the evening, he communi- cated the following note to the Bel gian government:
 "The German government has re- ceived unimpeachable news to the ef- feet that the French forces have the intention of marching on the Mouse by Givet and Namur. This news leaves no doubt as to the intention of France to march upon Germany from Belgian territory.
 The imperial government of Ger many cannot help fearing that Bel gium. in spite of the best of inten- tions, will not be able to repulse without help an incursion of the French of such magnitude. In this case it is sufficiently certain that Germany is seriously threatened. It is the urgent business of Germany tc forestall this attack on the part of the enemy. The German govern ment would be filled with lively "e- gret if Belgium were to regard as an act of hostility against her the ia t that her precautionary measures oblige her to violate on her side Bel gian territory"
 In order to avoid the possibility Of misunderstanding, the German gov ernment made the following com ment:
 "First-Germany contemplates no act of hostility to Belgium. If Bel gium consents to assume in the war which is about to commence the atti- tude of friendly neutrality toward Germany, the German government,
 (Coptipuad ou para Thrpol