The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1914-09-18
THE WAR SITUATION
FROM DAY TO DAY.
Bv HERMAN RIDDER.

1 . .. . -~-~- .
BY HERMAN RIDDEa.
The commission sent by the Bel
cian government to lay before the
president of the United States its al
LEGGED proof of German atrocities
lin belgium arrived in New York on
Friday. It will undoubtedly be re-
ceived by President Wilson today or
tomorrow and will then present the
Autograph letter which it bears from
King Albert, together with such doc
uments in support of the Belgian
charges MS it has brought with It.
The conduct Of the commissioners
during the few hours which they
.lilave already spent on American soil
is not calculated to further the sue
cess of their mission, which is to sub
nit the Belgian lease to the fair
mind of the American people" aud to
Irest content with their Judgment. 1t
Ewould have been much better for
their cause had the commissioners
religiously observed their advertised
| determination not to discuss the
proofs which they bear until these
had been laid before the president
and had refrained fro mall attempt
Ito Influence American opinion o
the side" They were entrusted with
one duty and they seem to have taxi
en- 1t upon themselves to execute an
other. ,.,
Scarcely had the ship on which
they came dropped anchor when a
statement was issued in which ap-
pearcd the following sentence. 1T
is permitted to say, however; that
our proofs of German atrocities are
infdtsputable." If I have read the
object of the mission correctly it Is
To lay certain documentary cyl
dence" before President Wilson, With
the purpose, among other things OF
securing not alone the presidents
sympathy, but also that of the Amer
lean people 81 am not at liberty to
say" remarked q member or the COIL
mission, what our government hopes
To accomplish by the interview with
the president Of the United States
Whatever it's hopes may be, taey
must depend for f~ulffllmentNto a very
great extent on the estimation which
the president places upon the "docu-
mcntary evidence submitted to MN.
Under these circumstances 1t Is per-
|haps no more than fair that the
president should have been permit
ted to inspect this evidence" before
It was widely proclaimed as "tndis-
pntable." The best Judge of its in
disputability would have bcen the
president himself. The statement is
sued by the Belgian commissioners
leaves him now no choice in the mat
ter.
1t appears, too, that on the way
across the Atlantic the commissioners
did not feel compelled to maintain
that silence in regard to the charges
with which their mission was con
cerncd, which they assumed upon ar
irving in New York. A very consid-
cradle number of these alleged atroc-
tiles became the common property Of
the passeuger-list, and upon arrival
in New York of the American press
al well. They have already gone
from one end of the land to the 9TH
or. and although no more serious. IN
their nature than similar calumntes
"a hled from England and France
heretofore, it was not within the
province Of the Belgian commission
ers to flood the American press with
|unsubstantiated tales of horrors. u
would have been better If these per
l,aps we'll intentioned gentlemen had
come to a proper realization OF the
limits Of their mission sooner. It
will be well If they learn a lesson
from their past ilndiscretions. we
want to know the truth in this coun-
try, but we want no more Comets.
So many unkind, unjust IN
truthful things have been said in the
American papers of late about the
German Emperor that n might al
most believe that a copy of THE
Evening T%elegramb" or the. Louis
Vile Courier-Journal" must have
been sent aboard the Celtic" at
quarantine. 81 wonder how it is
possible for any mar to lie on SO
grand a SCALE" remarked a commits
%sioner, when told that the Emperor
had protested to President Wilson
against the violation of the laws q
civilized warfare by the Belgians. It
this gentlemen and his colleagues
continue to learn the language OF
the country as successfully as he
seems to have begun, to the depths
of what unknown wells Of truth may
they not yet lead us? Seriously,
would it not have been wiser for
Count dc Lechtervelde to have waited
until he knew, what he was talking
about, before he talked?
"Tlere is never a last word be-
tween friends" says Marse Henry.
Herman Ridder filings japan at
Us. Then he adduces Russia. What
does he think now Of Turkey? How
can he reconcile the Kaiser's osten-
tatious appeal to the Children Of
Christ and his p%retentious partner
ship with God-"Meinself and Gott''
with his calling the hordes of Ma
81 ~ at ~ -# HHMN "a .-