Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1918-07-03
Continued from last week.
EnQland's Guilt Fiction,

Continued from last week.
England's Guilt a Fiction.
Won Jagow's reply to the Prince
only served to make matters worse
His admission that England had not
brought on the war enraged the Pan
German press. 1t was seized upon
triumphantly by the Socialists The
Socialist organ, Vorwaerts, says:
LET us establish the facts. The
war was not popular in England; it
also was not popular in Russia and
France. But it has become popular
The whole world-right away across
the Atlantic and the Pacific-is united
in hatred against us. We, however,
have for almost four years been inoc-
ulated with the view that England
laid all the mines which caused the
war'-a view which the Secretary of
State won Jagow), in accordance
with the evidence of the ambassador
prince Lichnowsky), has now de-
clared to be false! 1t is, however,
policy of the German Empire has
been directed the declaration
of unrestricted submarine warfare,
which brought us war with America,
down to those chancellor speeches which
say that Belgium must not again be-
come England's area of military con-
centration. If all the parties con-
cerned were convinced that the belief
in England's guilt is a fiction, why
did they feed this belief, and why did
they pursue policy which was based
upon it?" And the paper concluded:
1.-THE German people can not be salts
fed with the methods Of governing
exercised before and during the war.
The German people can only
endure after the war as a peace-lov-
ing nation that governs itself"
Germany's Place in the Sun.
most important part of Prince Lich-
nOwsky's exposure is not his cOnclu
sion that Germany forced declara
ton of war We have long believed
that Our German sympathizers have
largely admitted it. But they have
pleaded that the Kaiser declared war
only because war was inevita BILE;
that Germany was denied her "place
in the sun; that a conspiracy OF
France, Russia, and Great Britain
prevented her from obtaining colonies
and extending her trade; and that,
consequently, Germany had either to
take up arms or be throttled to death
by Great Britain's trade enmity. Many
of us have been persuaded that these
excuses are true excuses; that the
British policy compelled Germany's
appeal to the sword, and that Brit
aims allies are merely pulling Brit
aims chestnuts out of the fire." as the
German propagandists are continu-
ally charging.
| OF those procured lies, Prince Lich-
nowsky's memoirs give very happy
disproof
It has been pleaded that the policy
of France and England in Morocco
was anti-German. Prince Lichnowsky
writes: "Our obscure policy in M0roc-
co had repeatedly caused distrust of
our peaceful intention, or, at least,
had raised doubts as to whittier we
knew what we wanted, or whether our
intention was to keep Europe in a
state of suspension, and, on occasion.
to humiliate the French. An Austrian
colleague, who was a long time in
Paris, said to me, The French had
begun to forget "la revanche" (their
desire to avenge Alsace1Lorraine
You have regularly reminded them Of
it by trampling on their toes After
we had declined Delcasse's (the
French minister's) offer to come to an
agreement regarding Morocco and then
solemnly declared that we had no
;v,fo c,11Aonly
discovered in Abdul AZiZ second
Kruger To him also, as to the Beers,
we promised the protection of the
mighty German Empire, and with the
same result. Both manifestations con-
cluded, as they were bound to con-
clude, with retraction, if we were
not prepared to start world
war. Our attitude furthered
the Russian-Japanese and the Russian
British alliances. In the face of the
| German peril all other considerations
faded into the background. The pos
sibility of another war between France
and Germany had been evident, and
such a war could not leave out Rus
STA or England, as in 1870. II + Be-
fore Delcasse's fall, and before the
Algeciras conference, we could have
obtained harbors and bases on the
west coast of Africa, but that was
no longer possible"
| In other words, according to Ger
many's ambassador, it was Germany's
threat of war that united the Euro
pean nations against her in Africa
1t was not their union that led to the
German threat
EngIand's Attempt at Friendship.
Nevertheless, Lichnowsky goes on
to say, London "quieted down on the
Moroccan affair" The Haldane mis-
sion had gone to Berlin to come to
an understanding with Germany, and
that mission failed, Lichnowsky con-
fesses, because we demanded a prom
Use of neutrality" from Great Britain
| in the event of a European war,
instead of being satisfied with a
treaty which secured us against Brit
ish attack or against any attack with
British support" He continues:
However,, Sir Edward Grey had not
given up the idea of coming to an
| understanding with us, and his first
attempts in that direction were in
connection with matters relating to
| trade and colonies = y After reach
| ing a settlement with France and
Russia on the old questions in dis.
| pute, the British statesmen intended
| to come to similar agreements with
| us. What he aimed at was not tc
| isolate us, but rather to have us, as
much as possible, take share in the
existing partnerships. Having sue
ceeded in bridging over the differences
which existed between England and
France and between England and
Russia, he also wanted to remove,
as we'll as might be, the differences
between England and Germany, and
| to insure the Deace Of the world nv