New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-08-31
An Open Forum for
Public Debate.

Failure to make friends with Ger
many, with whom the British had kept
peace a thousand years, as they made
friends with their old enemy. France,
tipped the balance in favor of the most
powerful retroerade nation on the
globe the nation OF bureaucracy, ig-
norance, superstition, the Cossack and
the knout.
Norman Angel, whose "Great lllu-
sion" and whose addresses IN different
lands have made him a world figure.
with an energy born of desperation,
raised thousands of dollars and set
himself for the first time 20 do polltI-
cal work and organize a Neutrality
League. The very morning that Mr..
Asquiths fervid speech called England
to arms he published in various papers
a full-page paid advertisement in large
black type, from which | quote certain
pregnant passages that some day may
20 into the records of the Needless
War. though now too late TO serve In
preventing 1t:
"Why should we go to war?
"The war party say we must main
tain the balance of power, because If
Germany were to annex Holland or
/ Belgium she would be so powerful as
to threaten US; or because we are
bound by treaty TO fight for the neu-
trality of Belgium, or because we are
bound by our agreements with France
TO fight for her.
"All these reasons are false.
"The war party does not tell the
truth.
THE facts are these:
"l If we took sides with Russia and
- Il. g.F tFlI "a
unset as it has never been before. It
would make the military Russian En-
pire Of l60,000,000 the dominant power
of Europe You know the kind Of
country Russia is.
"2. We are not bound 70 join in a
general European war to defend the
neutrality of Belgium. Our treaties
expressly stipulate that our obligations
under them shall not compel us TO take
part i'm a general European war IN
order TO fulfil them. And if we are TO
fight for the neutrality of Belgium we
must be prepared to fight France as
well as Germany.
"3. The Prime Minister and Sir Ed
ward Grey have both emphatically and
solemnly declared in the House Of
Commons that we have no undertaking
.
war for France. We discharged our
obligations in the Morocco affair.
~. If Germany did attempt to annex
any part of Belgium. Holland or Nor
mandy and there is no reason TO sup
pose that she would attempt such 4
thing she would be weaker than she
is now. for she would have TO use all
her forces for holding her conquests
down. She would have so many dith-
culties like those arising out OF Al
SAGE that she would have TO leave other
nations alone as much as possible.
But we do not know in the least that
she would do these things. IL would
be monstrous 70 drag this country into
war on so vague suspicion.
At this moment. when public opinion
in America is crystalliZing, II is OF SUI
preme importance that we have all
the facts, and not crown this horror b.
deducing the wrong lesson from It..
Remember that not one of the peoples
now at war. aside, perhaps, from Aus
trians and Servians, wants war. This
is war of fear. for which the mill
tarists and the war-traders, with their
monstrous ornaments, are responsible.
In time of peace they have prepared
prodig' ously for war, and naturall>
they have got what they prepared for.
Would that the real war-makers had
been on the firing line and not those
hapless German youths whom 1 just
passed along the Rhine and who now
fill four deep the CORY trenches around
Liege. LUCIA AMES MEAD.
London, Aug. II, 1914.