TaÌˆgliche Omaha tribuÌˆne. [volume] (Omaha, Nebr.) 1912-1926, 1914-11-02

the road who seemed TO be ia earnest
conversation. Suddenly one OF this
mon struck one Of the others. In.
atinctlyely = felt that he was the
agsressor-that he wished a night
But the fnets, had / been rear enough
to see and hear, might have been
different. That first blow as saw
Il may have been In aelf-dofense;
was not near enough 10 see the
others clenched Asst. II may have
been deserved; | was not near
enough 10 hear tie p%royoeation. What
Is the only thing visible to one at q
distance may not have been the fact
at all as seen by those upon the
spot.
American public opinion means 10
be fair. But We IN America saw the
beginnings OF this war only from a
distance. Il looked 10 us as II Ger
many struck first. Was that the act
Of an aggTesser wishing Nor a tight,
or the act OF one who believes he was
justified In what he did2 AT FIRST !
thought Germany the aggressor wish.
ing for war. The reading OF the
English White Paper-gettlng the
facts from those near the scene
conyinoes me that the Kaiser and his
councillors did not do what they have
done out Of desire for war. And
while II does not convince me that
war was unavoidable, ii reveals that
responsibility for it, whether 1t was
avoidabley or not, Is on Russia
primarily, and as much at least on
England and France s~econdarily as
on the Kaiser and his councillors.
Before going to thar, however, 4
couple OF collateral considerations
must be noticed.
The first OF these is. How-eame II
about that Germany was so ready for
war at the moment she declared war,
IL she did not desire war? Is not
readiness" an evidence or desire?
Yes and No. That depends on other
facts-for instance, how long has that
readiness existed. One ready and
wishing for war would strike quickly
= would not wait forty years. Ger
many has been ready" for forty
three years. Her situation, both on
the west and east. has compelled her
TO be always ready. But while within
the last sixteen years Of that forty
three England has made war on the
T%ransvaal, the United States on
Spain, Japan on Russia, and Italy
on Turkey, Germany, always ready,
has remained at peace. Does that
count for nothing in the enquiry OF
whether readiness is evidence Of
"desire?p The Kaiser rame to the
throne in his twentieg. ne is now
In his hfties; durint nat period.
usually the fighting pei in a mans
life, he has not sci a German
soldier against an enemy; of the mil
lions Of soldiers in the field today a
German army alone is without a
private soldier who has yer before
seen actual service in battle. Does
that count for nothing? Who al
believe. satisfactorily to himself, that
readiness Of that kind is evidence Of
desire?
The second of these collateral mat
tiers Is: How came 1t about that Ger
many invaded Belgium If she did not
desire war? The White Paper shows
that Germany told England she would
not mobilize agai. st France II Eng
land would assure the neutrality Of
France In Germany's affair with Rus
Ella. That shows she was not seeking
war even with France, her old enemy,
much less with little Belgium that
lay between them. The White Paper
shows also that Germany asked Eng
land If she (England) would remain
neutral II Germany, in the event OF
war with France, would stay III OF
Belgium. England protested to treat
This as the offer Of a bride and de-
clined to commit herself. The White
Paper shows also that when Germany
could get none of these assurances
she asked for peaceful transit across
the Belgian territory, offering to
compensate for any losses that might
This Belgium refused. One
other fact in this conneetlon-the
geography of the country. A look
at that will show that for Germany
10 swing her forces. solely on the
sputherly bend through Alsace and
Lorraine would leave her northern
flank at the mercy OF c. northern
army from either England or France.
To keep out of Belgium, therefore,
with England a possible enemy, would
been military madness. Now
With all these facts In mind what
was, not the technical but the moral
obligation Of Germany to BelgiumI
By going across Belgium she wac
not forcing war on Belgium; for
although Belgium was under no duty
to Germany to grant her transit, she
under no duty TO England or
France to resist 1t by force. She
could have remained neutral by re.
naming passive, as China Is remain
az passive, while Japan, called out
BY England. is going across her
.erritory toward Germany's Chinese
port. China has not given permission;
She protests; but no one believes,
much less anyone In England, that as
/ neutral she is obliged to take up
lrms against the country whose army
8 crossing. Indeed Belgium's right
lot to be molested, aYen by troops
a transit, was not that Of guar
lnteed neutrality. at all, resting on
treaty, but Of territorial i~nviolabllity,
resting on the fact that she was an
Independent natIon-the same right
hat / have to exclude you from my
aouse, not because you have agreed
someone else to lei me alone,