The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1918-08-08
TIE POTSDAM CONFERENCE.
JHIy 4, 1914, Memorable as ihG Day
Xhsn Il Was Decided 10 Launch
The Great War.

Kaiser decided on war, was told
to the United States Ambassador
Henry Morgeuthau by a German
who was present at the Kaiser's
command. This man was Baron
Won Wangenheim, the German
ambassador at Constantinople
when the war began Mr.. Nor
gentbau tells the story in the
June issue Of the Worlds Work.
He says:
The German ambassador left
for Berlin soon after the assag-
siDation of the Grand Duke, ard
he now revealed the cause of his
sudden disappearance. Z e
Kaiser, he told me, had sum-
moned him to Berlin for an in
perial conference. This meeting
took place at Potsdam on July 8.
The Kaiser presided; nearly all
the ambassadors attended; Wan
genheim came to tell Of Turkey
and enlighten his associates on
the situation in Constantinople.
Moltke, then chief Of Staff, was
there, representing the army, and
tle Admiral Won Tirpitz spoke
for the navy. The great bank
ers, railroad directors. and the
captains of German industry, all
Of whom were as necessary to
German war preparations IS the
army itself, also attended.
"Wangenheim now told me
that the Kaiser solemnly put the
question to each man in turn:
Was he ready for war? All re-
piled Yes except the fnanciers.
They said that they must have
two weeks to sell their foreign
securities and to make loans. AT
that time few people had looked
upon the Sarajeyo tragedy as
something that was likely 10
cause war. This conference
took all precautions that no such
suspicion should be aroused. 1t
decided to give the bankers time
to readjust their finances for the
coming war, and then the several
members went quietly back to
their work or started on vaca-
tions. The Kaiser went to Nor
way on his yacht, Won Bethmann-
Hollweg left for a rest, and Wan
genheim returned to Constantin-
ople.
In telling me about this con-
ference, Wangenheim, Of course,
admitted that Germany had pre-
cipitated the war. think chat
he was rather proud of the whole
performance; proud that Ger
many had gone about the matter
in so methodical and far-seeing a
way; especially proud that he
himself had been invited to par
ticipate in so momentous a gath
ering. The several blue, Red,
yellow books which flooded Eu-
rope the few months following
the outbreak, and the hundreds
Of documents which were issued
by German propaganda attempt
ing to establish Germany's inno-
cence, never made any impress
sion on me. For my conclu-
sions as to the responsibility are
not based on suspicious or be-
lief or the study Of circumstan-
tiaI data. | do not have to rea-
son or argue about the matter. /
know.
The conspiracy hat has
caused this greatest of human
tragedies was hatched by the
Kaiser and his imperial crew at
this Potsdam Conference of July
a, 1914. One of the chief partic-
ipants, flushed with his triumph
at the apparent success Of the
plot, told me the details with his
own mouth. Whenever | hear
people arguing about the respons.
ibility for this war or read the
clumsy and lying EXCUSES put
forth by Germany, | simply re-
call the burly figure Of Wangen-
helm as he appeared that August
afternoon putting away at a huge
black cigar, and giving me his
account of his historic meeting.
Why waste any time discussing
the matter after that?
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