Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1918-06-26
CERMANY'S
CONFESSION

tVNrENNlUN
The Lichnow.ky Memorandum
Ussued by the Committee Of Public
Information Composed of the Secre
taries of State, War and Navy and
| George Creel.)
It has come at last. After protest
ing innocence and brazenly denying
guilt for nearly four years, Germany
has admitted her crime against civil
iZation.
She has done it through her former
ambassador in England, Prince Lich
nowsky He has been cOrroborated by
former director of the great Krupl
gun factory, DR.. Muhlon. And the
truth OF their testimony has been sub
stantially admitted by the man who
was Gernany's foreign minister when
Prince LichnOWsky was German am
bassador in London-namely, Herr Won
JagOW.
The documents in the case have
been obtained by the State Department
at Washington and translated. They
are complete and convincing.
After setting forth all the damning
evidence against Germany, Prince
Lichnowsky sums it up:
"First. We encouraged Count Berch-
told (the Austrian foreign minister) to
attack Serbia, although no German in
terest was involved and the danger
of world war must have been known
to us. Whether or not we knew the
text Of the Austrian ultimatum to
Serbia makes no difference whatever.
Second. We rejected Great Brit
aims plan of mediation in the days be-
tween the 23d and Goth of July, 1914.
We did this after Mr.. Sasanof (the
Russian foreign minister) had empha-
tically declared he could not tolerate
an attack on Serbia; after Serbia,
upon pressure from Russia and Eng
land, had accepted nearly the whole
of the ultimatum, all but two points,
in themselves not hard to adjust; and
even after Count Berchtold (the Aus
trian foreign minister) was ready to
be satisfied with the Serbian answer.
Third. On the 30th of July, with
Count Berchtold willing to listen to
reason, before Austria was touched,
on the mere mobilization of Russia, we
sent our ultimatum to Russia and on
the 31st OF July we declared war on
Russia, although the Car had pledged
his word that as long as negotiations
were going on not one man would be
sent on the march We thus deliber-
ately destroyed every chance CT a
peaceful settlement.
1T is no wonder that in the pres
ence of these indisputable facts the
whole civilized world outside of Ger
many lays the entire blame for the
world war at our dorr. Is it not nat
ural that our foes declare they will not
rest until they have destroyed a sys-
tenn which is a perpetual menace to
it's neighbors? Must they not other
wise fear that in few years they will
again be compelled to take up arms
and see their provinces overrun, their
cities and villages laid waste?"
Dr.. MuhIon's Evidence.
DR.. Muhlon, Of the board of Krupps
directors, does not make summing
up. He merely gives evidence that in
the middle Of July, 1914, he had a bust
ness conversation with a director OF
the Deutsche Bank in Berlin, who ad-
vised him that the bank would not
assist Krupps in certain large trans
actions in Bulgaria and Turkey" be-
cause the political situation had "be-
come very menacing" and the Deut-
sche Bank would have to wait "before
entering into any further engagements
abroad" This director of the Deuts-
che Bank was DR.. Helfferich, since vice
chancellor of Germany. He explained:
"TheAustrians have just been with
the Kaiser. In a weeks time Vienna
will send a very severe ultimatum to
Serbia, with very short interval for
an answer. ~ A whole series OF
definite satisfactions will be demanded
at once; otherwise Austria-Hungary
will declare war on Serbia"
This is the ultimatum about which
the German authorities have insisted
they were not consulted.
DR.. Muhlon continues: CDR. Helffer-
ich added that the Kaiser had express
ed his decided approval of this pro-
cedure on the part of Austria-Hungary.
He had said that he regarded a con-
f1ict with Serbia as an internal affair
between these two countries, in which
he would permit no other state to in
terfere. If Russia modified, he would
mobilize also But in his case mobil-
ization meant immediate war;.
"This uncanny communication" DR..
Muhlon says, Converted my fears of
world war, which were already
strong, into absolute certainty" He
consulted with Herr Krupp Won Bohlen
himself, in Berlin. And Krupp con-
firmed the news. He said that the
Kaiser had told him (Krupp) that he
would declare war Immediately if Rus.
STA modified, and that this time peo'
pie would see that he did not turn
about. The Kaiser's repeated insist
ence that this time nobody would be
able to accuse him of indicision had
he said, been almost comic in its
| effect"
On the day when the Austrian ulti
matum to Serbia was delivered the
Kaiser was on yachting trip in the
North Sea. That fact has often been
advanced as a proof of German limo
cence. But when DR.. Muhlon read the
ultimatum to Serbia he had another
interview, with Helfferich, and he ties
titles that "Helfferich said to me thai
the Kaiser had gone on his northern
! cruise only as blind; he had noc ar
ranged the cruise on the usual extern
| sive scale, but was remaining close a
hand and keeping inconstant touch
Won Jasow's Admissions.
| And finally Herr Won Jagow, Ger
many's foreign minister at the out
break Of the war, in replying to Primo
Lichnowsky's evidence, makes thi