Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1918-03-19
g,,su'as'9e gvsn,ns %es,efday ersay 1434O
Living German Diplomacy.

Ever since won Bethmann-Holweg's
insolent and fiippant remark TO Sir
Edward Grey. before the breaking out
of the Great War, about = treaty being
only a scrap of paper er"-having direct
reference to the Belgian Treaty-the
world has had little faith in German
diplomacy II has received all German
official professions with 4 decided reserva-
tion-the belief that At any time II
suited German interests the pllghtcd
word would be broken as carelessly as
though national honor was trlfic, not
worth considering
Recently. convincing proofs OF the
talsitv that ever attends German di-
plomacv have come 10 light They are
contained in a copy Of a secret communi-
cation sent from Berlin bv MIchaells.
then German Chancellor, 10 Vienna, re-
~pccting Germany real aims IN the war.
They felt into the hands Of Herr Haase.
an independent Socialist member OF the
RelrhStae. and bv him wer read 10
committee Of that body They are most
illuminating few comparisons viii
serve 10 reveal the character Of the fraud
To the Reichs,aC on July 10, 1917.
NichaeliS said: The concentration Of
the Russian army compelled Germany to
seize the sword There was no choice
left to us, and what is true Of the war
itself is true also Of our weapons. particu-
larlv the submarine This was in sup
port of the absurd contention that the
war was forced on Germany
But In his secret communication TO
Vienna Michaelis said. 'TThe motive Of
all of Germanv's acts is the lack OF terri
tory, both for the development Of com
merce and colonization Germany has
TO solve two problems freedom Of
the seas and the opening of s. route 10 the
southeast. And these two problems can
only be solved by the destruction Of
England" This IS radically different
from his public deliverance Il shows
Gernhnv's real object in the war
Again, said Michaelis, publicly. 10
the Reichstag: Germany dld not de
sire the war in order to make violent
C,onquests. and therefore will not continue
the war a dav longer merely for the sake
of such conqueets, if it could obtain an
honorable peace But this declaration
came after Germany had been beaten
back on the western war front and began
10 see defeat staring her in the face.
To Vienna, however Michaelis SAID
Our object Is the permanent securing
of the German Empire in Central Europe
and the extension OF its territory No
one who understands the significance Of
this war can doubt that in spite Of our
wish TO be moderate, we shall not allow
ourselves 10 be deferred from extending
the borders Of the Empire and from,
under all circumstances, anneMng such
territories as a re fitted for colonization,
and are not subjected to the influence of
the sea power Here we have a frank
admission OF GerInanys war aims the
acquisition of territory by force.
Much more information of the same
now displayed to the light of day. Mi
chaelis referred to the weakening OF
Russia 'by taking away her border terri
tories, the Balkan provinces They
could, he said easily be Germanized;
they will be settled with Germans and
their population will double itself Also
The lakes, which We shall not leave in
the hands of the Russians at any price.
will be included within our borders
Further testimony would be super
fiuouS Indeed. this secret document was
not essential. but il affords incontestible
proof, and il was revealed by German
d member OF the Reichstag II cannot be
belittled or set aside The proofs Of
Germany's peridy and lying diplomacy
are clearly established.