Bisbee daily review., 1915-08-15

on political subjects, returned recent
ly from Europe where hr spent sew
eral months studying the war His
war articles have been eagerly read,
and his new book, What is Back OF
the War; bids fair to be one of the
most popular books dealins with the
European great conflict In this arti-
Gle. Senator Beverage Interestingly
sets down some Of his Impressions
The Editor)
When the editor of Golfers pro
posed to me that go to Europe and
write series of articles in that mag
azine, on the real conditions in the
warning countries, ! accepted because
! thought it was a great opportunity
TO witness at least one phase of this
greatest conflict in the history Of the
world Also. it seemed to me to be
quite certain that this war was so
great as To affect profoundly in a per
manent way every country in the
world including our own country
The wars of Alexander fundament-
ally changed conditions throughout
the then known world; the wars OF
Caesar gave a new direction To- ciyili-
zation the ways OF Napolean put an
end to old governmental and social
systems and ushered in new ones.
Yet. it IFS a startling fact that all OF
these wars of Alexander Caesar and
Napolean rolled into one, do not at
all equal the presentday conflict ev-
en- up to the present stage
SO, to study conditions on the
ground and report what actually was
seen and heard, was q big and worth
while undertaking.
1t is only human nature that one
who already has formed an opinion
should entertain a feryent and yet
honest desire that reports from the
field of action confirm and encourage
his views. Thus il was that the jour
ney was undertaken under the handi-
cap OF choosing between writing the
truth or offending cherished opinions
of the American public.
The average American wishes to
know the truth of any such matter
which interests him and to make his
decision only upon the facts; yet it is
natural that he receives, with reluc-
tanCe, a report which is contrary to
his wishes But history must be
written according to the facts. rather
than to carefully planned and mis-.
leading design.
Had To Revise Beliefs.
In nearly every step of my inyesti-
cation l was struck in the face by
facts which dazed me, so completely
were they the reverse of what l had
read.
For example, at the time / went to
Europe it was published broadcast
and repeated time and time again
that the Germans were almost starv-
ing; hundreds Of our papers gave de-
tailed accounts Of bread riots in Ber.
lin and other German cities. But /
found that food was abundant and
prices very cheap. When ! so stated
in my articles, many close friends
could not at first believe it.
Again, it was said that Germany
was woefully short Of ammunition,
that her copper supply had given out,
that she had no oil, and. therefore,
that she soon would be forced to sue
cumb. A review of the newspapers
of last November and December show
how widely this impression had been
circulated. On the evening before 1
sailed / diued with one of the most
carefully informed men in the United
States or perhaps in any country-a
man whose business II is to be widely
and accurately informed. He told me
that the shortage of war munitions
i'm Germany, especially oil and cop
per would end the war in a short
time, So when / found that these
carefully calculated reports were un-
founded and wrote the exact facts,
they were received at first with in
credulity
Still another example We had
been told that Bernhardi's war book
was the great popular German book,
that everybody in Germany had read
it and that it expressed German pur-
poses, spirit and philosophy. ] found
on the contrary that comparatively
few Germans in Germany had read
this book or even heard of II; that
only six thousand copies had been
printed in that country and that not
all Of these had been sold; and finally
that cholars and business men in Ger.
many had heard Of the book for the
first time after the beginning of the
war, from English newspapers. Yet
So profoundly had the American pub.
lie been impressed with the statement
about Bernhardi's book that the real
facts were received at first with re
luctance.
Finds Emperor's Health Good.
One more striking illustration