Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1914-10-23

To the Editor Of the Telegraph:
Dear Sir: / have received letter
ldirectly from Germany giving the Ger
man side of the war question and I
would very much like to see 1t publish
in the Telegraph.
The letter is signed by hundred or
more of the best known men of Ger
many, including university professors,
directors of educational institutions,
and others of the highest standing
throughout Germany and the world
Some of the signers are as follows:
Emil Won Behring, professor of
medicine, Marburg; Wilhelm Won
Bode, general director of the Royal
! Museums, Berlin; Professor Adolf Won
| Harnack, general director of the Royal
library, Berlin; August Schmidlin, pro-
fessor of sacred history, Munster;
Wilhelm Herman, professor of pro-
testant theology, Marburg; Anton
Koch, professor of Roman Catholic
theology Munster.
The letter in full is as follows:
ITO the Civilized World!"
| LAS representatives of German
science and art, we hereby protest to
| the civilized world against the lies
and calumnies which our enemies are
endeavoring to stain the honor of Ger
many in her hard struggle for exist
ence-in struggle which has been
| forced upon her.
THE iron mouth of events has
| proved the untruth of the fictitious
| German defeats, consequently mis-
| representation and calumny are all
the more eagerly at work AS heralds
of truth we raise our voices against
these
1T is not true that Germany is
| guilty of having caused this war;
Neither the people, the government,
nor the Kaiser wanted war. Germany
did her utmost to prevent it: for this
assertion the world has documental
proof. Often enough during the TWEEN
ty-siX years of his reign has Wilhelm
| II. shown himself to be the upholder
of peace, and often enough has this
fact been acknowledged by our oppon-
ents. Nay, even the Kaiser, they now
dare to call an Attila, has been ridi-
culed by them for years, because of
| his steadfast endeavorers to maintain
universal peace. Not till a numerical
superiority. which had been lying in
wait on the frontiers. assailed us, did
| the whole nation rise to a man.
ut is not true that we trespassed in
neutral Belgium. 1t has been proved
that France and England had resolved
on such trespass. and it has likewise
been proved that Belgium had agreed
to their doing so. 1t would have been
suicide on our part not to have been
beforehand.
"It is not true that the life and
property of a single Belgian citizen
was injured ~ our soldiers without
the bitterest self-defense having made
lit necessary; for again, and again, not
withstanding repeated threats, the
| citizens lay in ambush, shooting at the
troops out of the house, mutilating the
wounded, and numbering in cold blood
the medical men while they were do
ling their Samaritan work. There can
be no baser abuse than the suppress
ar-tVN xnrft !, he via If
letting the Germans appear to be Grim
inals, only for having justly punished
these assassins for their wicked deeds.
'It is not true that our troops treat
ed Louvan brutally. Furious inhabi-
ltants having treacherously fallen up
on them In their quarters, our troops
with aching hearts, were Obliged to
lire a part of the town, as a punish
lment The greatest part of Louvain
has been preserved. The famous
lTown Hall stands quite intact; for at
great seIf-sacrifice our soldiers saved it
from destruction by the flames Every
| German would of course greatly re-
Ieret, If in the course of this terrible
lwar any works of art should already
Ihave been destroyed or be destroyed
lat some future time, but inasmuch as
lin our love for art we can not be sur
lpassed by any other nation, in the
same degree we must decidedly refuse
to buy German defeat at the cost OF
saving a work of art.
1T is not true that our warfare pays
no respect to international laws. 1t
knows no indisciplined cruelty. But
lin the east. the earth is satured with
1.-THE blood of women and children un-
lmercifu1ly butchered by the wild Rus
sian troops. and in the west, Rum-
Dunn bullets mutilate the breasts of
OF soldiers. Those who have allied
themselves with Russians and Serv-
Iians and present such shameful
scene to the world as that of melting
lMongolians and negroes against the