The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1914-08-13
HOW TIE GREAT WAR STARTED.
Assassination of Archduke OIL
Austria Primary Cause.

Assassination OIL Arcnduke Oi
Austria Primary Cause.
The assassin of Archduke Franz
Ferdinand of Austria and his wife
fired a shot heard round the world.
His deed, the elimination of anti
Austrian plots for which Servia has
been a constant hotbed and itself
involving so many accessories before
and after the fact as to bear rep
resentative national character, natu-
rally aroused the utmost Indignation
in Austria-Hungary. The latter
country felt that Servian intrigue,
on the plan of the anarchist secret
society and extending into the high
est circles of rulers who themselves
held power by assassination, had be-
come intolerable. Austria deter
mined to abate the nuisance next
door at any hazard. She must have
known we'll that the hazard was
great. Servia had the biggest broth
er,from a military standpoint. in the
world. But, just as even a small boy
cannot be permitted unlimited mis-
conduct through consideration for
his smallness, so the small boy with
the biggest brother cannot always be
granted immunity because of his pro-
tector. Austria went summary
ahead. No doubt, she did not give
prudential motives enough thought.
She was hazarding her ally. whom
she apparently took by surprise or
ran away with, more than herself.
That ally, however privately perturb-
ed by her course, was loyal. Ger
many told other nations that she
could not take any action which
would amount to coercion of Aus
tria. She would earnestly second
counsels for moderation and paciti-
cation, but she could join no diplo-
matte alignment that would place
her on the opposite side from her
ally. 1t looked as though Austria
were headstrong under the influence
of her acute grievances and as though
Servia were presuming upon Rus
sia's support no less than Austria
was presuming upon Germany's.
But the time has come when we
can say that neither Austria nor
Servia, nor the two of them, made
the great war now under way. Eu-
rope has adjusted difficulties quite
as serious many time before, and
the diplomatic resources of the next
friends of these belligerents were
fully adequate to the task. There
was due to be a little blood-letting
on the Austro-Servian border and
nothing more. Russia made the big
war. She began taking no ordinary
precautions but acting as though
war had become or were about to
become an accomplished fact. Her
diplomacy showed itself utterly in
different. In vain the German En-
peror moved the heavens and earth
in efforts for peace, finally sending
the Cars brother-in-law on the
heels of personal kilograms to St Pc
tersburg after Russia's diplomatic
representatives had turned only deaf
ears. The fact was, the Gar and his
advisers had seen a welcome oppor-
tunity for war wherein they had
much to gain and-since they would
not rate the lives of their soldiers
high-comparatively little to lose.
This, they evidently believed, was 4
most favorable juncture for the war
whose waging century-long national
ambition had dictated. 1t was es-
pecially attractive under its particu-
lar circumstances as means of ex-
plotting Russian national and Slavic
racial feeling in the interest Of the
Car and his Government. So Russia
forced hostilities, dragging in France
as her ally and inviting England to
jump on Germany when the latter
should be more than fully engaged.
The Servian assassin started the
whole train of circumstances leading
to the great war, but this was posi-
BILE in the last resort only because
Russia willed it so.-CharlOtte o.
Serrer.