Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1915-10-29


prophesied worldwide war, and as the
years rolled by and Europe's peace re-
NAMED unbroken, many persons be-
lieved that the heralded Armageddon
was a DOGGY and that the war would
never happen. Though I was In those
years either attached to embassies or
actually minister or ambassador, my
self believed that the threatened con-
flict might be postponed for a genera
ton.
It was not until the year 1909, when
Austria seized the provinces Of Bosnia
and Herzegovina from the decrepit
hands Of Turkey and Germany threat
ened Russia with instant war should
she intervene on behalf Of Serbia, Bos-
MAS neighbor and champion-it was
not until then that realized the great
war to be imminent.
When the Kaiser planned to make
war on France over Morocco in 1911,
and only recoiled before the firm atti-
tude of Great Britain, all students OF
contemporary politics were aware that
the war had practically begun. Hence
IOTWdIu IL WdS d uudAOufOA LA POoA7
ton, and England armed secretly, but
furiously.
Month by month the tension in
creased. How strong it was will be in
stanced by the incident which l am
now to relate. The date Of this was
January, 1914, and it shows that, seven
months before the present conflict be-
gan, Europe was a powder magazine,
awaiting the spark which was to blow
up the old order.
My mission for the British govern
ment had been to discover the under
lying causes of the latent unrest and
to report whether Germany could be
satisfied with any reasonable compro-
misses. had discovered these causes
and had warned Sir Edward Grey, the
British foreign minister, that the
forces making for war were ire
sistible. Nothing appeared on the sur
face to disturb the ordinary current
Of business and social life, but among
those who knew the deeper waters of
diplomacy nothing was more certain
than that war of unheard-Of magni-
tude was likely to break out at any
time.
While / was visiting some friends In
Dresden in January last / received a
cipher telegram from an agent In Ber-
lin. informing me that Count Berch-
told, the Austrian chancellor, had
been spending two days in the German
capital incognito, and was leaving on
certain train for Vienna.
This news was of serious import, but
within a couple of hours l received
three other messages. One said that
Herr Thyssen was leaving Munich for
Vienna. Another stated that Herr Won
Gwinner had left Leipzig for Vienna.
The third informed me that Ernst Won
Heydebrand, a personal friend of the
kaiser and the emperor Franz Josef,
was expected at Vienna on the follow
ing day.
Evidently the concentration of these
men upon the Austrian capital, the
pivot capital of European politics, In
dicated the preparation of some coup
of enormous Importance.
consulted maps and time tables,
and soon discovered that the train on
which Count Berchtold had left Ber-
lin halted for four hours at Brunn be-
fore resuming the journey toward VI
emma, and that the trains from Munich
and Leipzig would arrive at Brunn dur
ing this period.
There was now no further doubt In
my mind that Thyssen and Won Gwln-
ner planned to meet the Austrian
chancellor at Brunn and to proceed to
Vienna in his company, no doubt with
the purpose of discussing tn cir scheme
on the journey. True, it might mean
only some financial enterprise. But it
might mean much more. sent warn
ing dispatch to the British foreign Of
fee. l learned afterward that my COM
munication was considered important
enough for the home fleet, which had
been coaling at Davenport, to be or
dered to assemble off Dover.
That, too, was the time Of Frances
experimental mid-winter mobilization
in the east, of which little is known.
But into these facts need not go. Suf-
fee it that Europe had an acute at
tack of nerves-and all because two
elderly gentlemen planned to meet a
middle-aged one in train in the Aus
trian city of Brunn.
At Prague, the Bohemian capital, my
own train connected with that contain
ing Count Berchtold. walked along
the carriages in binding snowstorm
and soon spotted the man who has
been called the most charming of all
European diplomatists. was satisfied
that he did not know me, since had
only met him once, many years be-
fore, and then for moment, at time
when he was young officer of Hussars
on duty at the palace. A placid
looking gentleman, appearing con-
siderably under fifty, he sat in
one corner of his reserved compart-