The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1917-10-18
FINANcIERs DEMANDED DE.
LAY OF TWO WEEKS.

A still more remarkable confrma-
ton came to me from Baron Wangen-
helm, the German ambassador at Con-
stantinople. In an outburst OF
enthusiasm after the arrival of the
Goeben and the Breslau in the
Dardenelles, he having directed their
movements by wireless while they
were endeayoring to escape from the
British fleet the German ambassador
informed me that a conference had
been held in Berlin in the early
part Of July at which the date OF the
war was fixed.
This conference was presided over
by the Kaiser; the Baron Wangen-
helm was present to report on condi-
tions in Turkey. Moltke, the chief of
staff, was there and so was Grand
Admiral Won Tirpitz. With them
were the leaders of German finance,
the directors of the railroads and the
captains of industry whose aid was
essential to the Kaiser in putting his
vast military 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 govern
ments dreamed of war as q result or
the Sarajevo assassinations. They
took good care that no suspicion
should be aroused. The Kaiser went
straightway to Norway on his yacht.
The chancellor left Berlin for a rest.
DIPLOMATIC CORPS HAD
NO INTENTION OF 1T.
The diplomatic corps had no
intimation 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 vaca-
ton.
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
whether he had any news OF what
was going on in Vienna in regard to
Serbia. Many days before the Brit
ish 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
CHASTITY drama of history.
From the date of this conference
the German financiers were busy
with their part while the army mark
ed time. All the great stock ex-
changes experienced an acute
financial depression as German own
ed stocks were quietly pushed into
the markets. In New York, as
found afterward, there were astonish-
ing sIumps in quotations. Between
july 10 and July %, which was two
DAVIS before the ultimatum was sent
to Serbia, Union Pacific dropped from
16Ia to 125L. Baltimore e. Ohio
went from s0A to 7SA, and United
States steel slumped with the railroad
stocks.
No adequate explanation was Of
fered and in the absence of anything
better there were bitter complaints
against the Simmons Underwood
tariff as the source of all economic
evil. The tariff had as little to do
with IL as the federal reserve act,
which was not yet enacted into law;
There was financial depression and
q, general decline in market quota
because the German financiers
were carrying out their~ part of the
Kaiser's war plans.
IT was not to me alone that Baron
WanRenheim told the story of this
Berlin conference. Only recently
the Marquis Garroni. the Italian
ambassador at Constantinople, ah-
nounced that Baron Wangenheim
said the same thing to him, Italy at
that time being a member Of the
Triple Alliance. My diary shows that
the conversation with the German
ambassador took place on Aug, rs.
This was about six weeks after the
fatefuI council in Berlin in which the
Kaiser gave civilization over to fire
and sword, and all the details Of the
meetine still were fresh in Baron
VVanRenheim's mind.
eElRAA ANS PLANNED WAR
FoR QUARTER CENTURY.
The decision for war which the