The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-08-23
NEWSPAPERS ARE MAKING
 MOST OF OPPORTUNITY

most of their opportunities and despte the almost total absence of real news are publishing frequent war editions Even the most sane of the papers are not proof against the temptation and an almost laughable feature of the past three weeks (if one can laugh in such circumstances, has been the publication of false news II begins about noontime each day and the budget of stories accumulates and grows until 1t reaches it's climax at about n;30 at night just as the theatres are emptying Take up almost anyone of these late editions and one cannot get away from the impression that the en- tlre German army has either been ami inflated or is in danger. all the Zeppe- lins have been destroyed, a company of hundred Belgians are holding at bay sQ,000 of the Kaiser's picked troops. Italv. has repudiated her obligations under the triple alliance and is invading Austria While one of the British cabinet, with strong German sympathies. is in dan ger of yielding to the temptation to sell his country to the fatherland Next morn ing one buys paper in the hopes of getting fresh details of all these vic tories and disasters only to discover that there is no mention of any or e1sa an official denial
 The papers have not hesitated to use the guillibilty of the public unscrupulous- ". 50 anxious were a certain group of liberal ment Into war with Germany that on tbe day when a decision was known to he hanging in the balance and when if was opVlous that the whole question hinged on the maintenance of the neutrality of belslum py Germany, those papers con taineu columns of detailed reports of fhe crossing of the Belgian frontier hv tha Kafser's troops. This was dan;eS the following day by the Belgian legation put public opinion had been forced around ana the damage done. Of course the 1ermans did eventually tear up the treaty mat guaranteed the neutrality of Belgium 1ul .ne point Is that up to the particular "a ,i question no move had been made oy the Kaiser and many liberals feel that had it not been for the hardenino UT Engfsh public opinion as a conse. quence Of these false rumors some wax out might have been found At least ,ndt IS said to be the view of Lord Nor ley ana John Burns. who resigned from was vse sa,stsn san. cabinet when. the ultimatum CONFIDENT THE WAR
 CANNOT LAST LONG
 IS felt on all sides that. what me issue, the war cannot last iong. A war on such a ,,niversaI sosIa v protracted beyond a certain tin,a
 means absolute ruin for the countrIss ihVoiVeu and actual starvation for b,,, ureos or thousands of people. Although IS Ieit-that what has become known as Norman Angellism" has received severe setback as the consao,,aro, e the outbreak of this "impossibIe wal, nevertheless the theory will ba nroyoa at ieast to a large and growing de- ends. 'hc war
 hle no man can foretell the con sequences or this gigantic war some SDeGulAf1nnQ pn o1.. Germany should win an overwbeI,,;n. victory against the tremendous odds she has piled up against rerseIf if seems agreed that Belgium and Franco Will lose large part of their col onlal possessions. Russia will lose much oI her yelled dominion in the Balkans and will have to abandon for manv years to come. all her hopes of Cor, staht1nopie and the opening of inc Dardanelles. It is probable. too >tba+ Germany will ask for a readtustment or the country that skirts the Baltic sea and possibly will insist upon driv- ing wedge between France and Rel gium at the expense of tho territory of both. providing Germany with 2 naval base at England's very door. Oh viously Germany is taking Tremendous and frightfu1 risk and we know foo much of the Kaiser and his advisers to believe that they have entered upon
 
 chances to the very ultimate penny If Is equally obvious that the Kaiser is playing for world wide stakes and wiI1 not be content. if victorious. unti1 all the problems that now beset Germanv's foreign policy are wiped off the siats to Germany's advantage.
 If Germany Should Lose
 And If Germany should lose? Alsace- Lorraine would be restored to Franco Russia would demand immense tracts of Baltic country. England would nroh. ably demand the surrender If tha h,,,r or the kaiser's fleet if it were still afloat' Germany's colonial possessio ons would be divided among the allies. Russ sia would have more or less of free hana m the Balkans and might, if Eng ,and were not strong enough to oppose ner' force her way into Constantinople But on the other hand a defeat world propaply not be altogether to the dis aovantage of Germany. It would carry With 1t the defeat of Austria Hungary ana very possibly the breakup of the oual monarchy. As consequence of