The Robesonian., 1918-01-21
WHO STARTED II AND WHY
How the Trouble Started and Ger
msny's Share in the Starting.

Booth Harrington.
Now, as any boy understands that
the most important question about
any fight is, "Who started it,? so
any boy also understands that the
question next in order and next IN
importance is, "Why did he start it,"
Any boy understands that just
peace cannot be made unless it takes
these two questions into vital ac-
count, and that disciplinary measures
not founded upon them are arbitra-
ry and unjust and vicious. Any boy
understands that peacemaker or
disciplinarian who places both bel
ligerents upon the same plane is not
only unjust but, in effect, stupidly
partial to the cause of the guilty
belligerent-for one belligerent IS
guilty.
People who do not understand these
fundamental matters are not as wise
as boys and every man has but to
turn back in memory to his boyhood
to know that the important questions
in regard to any fight are "Who start
ed it,? and "Why"?
When the war began in August,
1914, all those reutrals who wished
to understand the right and wrong
of the matter, that their opinions
might not be unjust, began to seek
every source of information which
might help them to learn who start
ed it and why. At first-as the sourc-
es of information we're not immedl-
ately at hand-there seemed room for
argument, though on the face Of
things it was apparent that Austria
first declared war upon Serbia and
Germany then declared war on Russia
and France. We saw plainly that
Serbia had been begging and squirm-
ing to avoid war, and that Russia
had been working for peace. Austria
and Germany were the countries that
declared war, and, of course, until
somebody did actually make war.
there was a chance for peace.
As soon as the diplomatic docu
ments we're published we all saw
any person who could read was able
to see-that Austria had been bent
upon war with Serbia and that Ger
many had wanted Austria to make
such war, and, under rather care
less pretext of wishing to preserve
the peace, had actually prevented
peacmaking on the part of other gov
ernments. 1t was clear, too, that Rus
from Austria, and that Germany url-
derst9od this and knew that Austria's
attack on Serbia meant war between
Austria and Russia which also meant,
of course, war between Germany and
Russia and between Germany and
France, since the latter Was Russia's
ally.
Nothing could have been more sig
nificant than this, that Germany, be
ing herself already prepared-down|
to the last buckle-for immediate war,
declared war on Russia for the alleg-
ed reason that Russia was getting
prepared for war. We know this sort
of talk of old in a thousand trials for !
cold-blooded murder in our own coun- !
try. "Self-defense"! shouts the mur- !
derer's attorney. "The deceased made !
a motion toward his hip-pocket" Ger-i
many stood with a bright, new auto
matte revolver in her hand, and Rus
sia made motion toward the hip;
pocket-where there was later found i
a penknife with two blades broken.
.'Self-defense", Germany claimed loud
ly through her attorneys "He made
a motion toward his pocket; SO !
had to shoot him."
The German chancellor declared in
the Reichstag that Russia made this
fatal motion toward the hip-pocket in
spite of England's effort to keep
peace. Russia 'began it,, said the
'Chancellor-and then few days lat
er all Germany began shouting that
England "began it,! This was when
England fulfilled her pledge to Bel
;glum and Germany broke her own
Turned Belgium Into Slaughterhouse.
The evidence went more adm more
against Germany, and there were
some vicious sidelights which made
the case stronger against her. The
full little country of Belgium, which
it turned into slaughterhouse, with |
the owners for victims, and the Ger
man government sadi that the German
army did this because it would help
Germany to conquer France. At the
same time the Germans in authority |
told great number Of lies to excuse
themselves. They said that they
knew they were doing wrong thing, |
and that they were breaking the law
and violating their oath; and never
theless they claimed that they were
justified because the Belgians were
a wicked people and France intended
soon to behave Tin respect to Belgi-
um) as Germany was behaving. Al
together, the thickness and cruelty
of Germany in the Belgian matter
caused our opinions of the German
government Concerning who began
it) to become much darker So far as
Belgium went, the Germans were fin
ally and absolutely convicted in the
plain sight Of all men; convicted Of
HES as odious as they were stupid;
convicted of the most abominable,
cold-blooded plotting; convicted of a
selfishness not seen on earth since the
seventeenth century and of a cruelty
not known since the sixteenth.
OF course, men who were capable
of these things in regard to Belgium
were Of character distinctly capa-
BILE of having plotted the great war;
and, as they lied about Belgium, they
would lie about the rest Of it.
Since the evidence has piled up
evidence not circumstantial, but SO
direct that it leaves no doubt. This
evidence is colossal and conclusive