Denver labor bulletin., 1917-10-27

pROlIAM NJ OF RUSSIAN I'M
Since my return from France, where
/ visited the front and had many
frank conferences with French states
men and generals, and with British
commanders as well, it has been more
and more impress sed on me that every
American who has had opportunities
to peed behind the scenes and see for
himself how this terrible tragedy was
staged owes it to his fellow-country-
men to give them all the information
in his possession which will enable
them to visualize the menace that has
been hanging over the great Republic
and still hangs over it because of this
Prussian mania for world power. The
premeditation is now proved, and any
American who withholds evidence be-
comes an accessory after the fact to
Germany's crime.
Whenever the question of peace is
raised, the kaiser solemnly asserts
that he did not will this war, but that,
he will see it thru to the end. HE
with the help of the good German God,
did will this war; he brought it about
when it suited his purposes and his
preparations. The Serbian incident
was more than an excuse. 1t was an
opportunity.
On Aug. 1S, 1914, as American am
bassador at Constantinople, l called
on the Marquis of Pallavicini, the
Austro-Hungarian ambassador, to con-
graduate him on the emperor's eighty
fourth birthday. After exchanging the
usual diplomatic compliments suitable
to such an occasion, he spoke of the
condition of the emperor's health and
his great physical and mental activity
in spite of the strain to which he was
subjected. The conversation then
turned to the war, which was in it's
third week, and his excellency told
me that when he visited the emperor
in May his imperial majesty had said
that war was inevitable because of
conditions in the Balkans.
The Austrian crown prince was
murdered at Sarajevo on June %; -et
weeks before that the Austrian en-
peror had confided to his ambassador
to Turkey that war was inevitable.
War Date Fixed in Advance
A still more remarkable confirma-
ton came to me from Baron Wangen-
helm, the German ambassador at Con-
stantinople. In an outburst of en-
thusiasm after the arrival of the Goe-
ben and the Breslau in the Dardanel-
les, he having directed their move
ments by wireless while they were en-
deavoring to escape from the British
fleet, the German Ambassador in
formed me that conference had been
held in Berlin in this early part of
July at which the date of the war was
fixed.
This conference was presided over
by the kaiser; the Baron Wangenheim
was present to report on conditions
in Turkey. Moltke, the chief of staff,
was there and so was Grand Marshal
Won Tirpitz. With them were the
leaders of German finance, the direct
ors of the railroads and the captains
of industry whose aid was essential
to the kaiser in putting his vast mill
tary machine into operation. Each
was asked if he was ready for war.
All replied in the affirmative except
the financiers, who insisted that they
must have two weeks in which to sell
foreign securities and arrange their
loans.
At the time this conference was
held, nobody outside the inner circles
of the Berlin and Vienna governments
dreamed of war as a result of the
Sarajevo assassinations. They took
good care that no suspicion should be
aroused. The kaiser went straight
way to Norway on his yacht. The
chancellor left Berlin for a rest.
The diplomatic corps had no intima-
ton of the impending calamity, and
the British ambassador went away
leaving the embassy to the charge
d'affaires. The same drug was used
in Vienna, and even when the blow fell
the Russian ambassador was absent
from his post on vacation.
Raid on World Markets.
AS the British White Book shows,
it was not until July 20 that Sir Ed
ward Grey, the British secretary of
state for foreign affairs, asked the
German ambassador in London wheth-
er he had any news of what was go
ing on in Vienna in regard to Serbia.
Many days before the British foreign
secretary asked this question war had
been formally decided upon in Berlin
and Vienna and everything was being
made ready to raise the curtain upon
the most ghastly drama of history.
From the date of this conference the
German financiers were busy with
their part while the army marked
time. All the great stock exchanges
experienced an acute financial depres-
sion as German-owned stocks were
quietly pushed into the market. In
New York, as / found afterward
there were astonishing slumps in quo
tations. Between July 10 and July 25
which was two days before the ulti
matum was sent to Serbia, Union Pa.
cific dropped from 154A to 1854
Baltimore & Ohio went from 90A t.
1914, and United States Steel slump
ed with the railroad stocks.
No adequate explanation was of
fered, and in the absence of anything
better there was bitter complaints
against the Simmons Underwood tar
iff as the source of all economic evil