Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1918-05-17
STUDY OF THE GREAT WAR
Latest Pamphlet Issued by the Com
mittee on Public Information
Gives Quotations and Read
ing References

ciSiye factor" Such is the conclusion
to which Pro. Samuel B. Harding, OF
Indiana University comes in the thlrd
chapter of his ninety-siX page pamph-
LET entitled "The Study of the Great
Var" just issued by the Committee on
'uhlic Information, and distributed
roe upon application to 10 Jackson
lace, Washington, d. G..
The fact that in 1913, before the MUIR
'cr of. the Archduke Franz Ferdinand
III the fateful 2Sth of June, 1914, Aus
ria notified Italy that she proposed
hen to attack Serbia, is one bit OF evil
dence relied upon by Professor Hard
ing. Also secret military report OF
the German army which fell into the
possession of the French government
shows that Germany was making eX-
traOrdinary preparations in 1918 Tor an
immediate war. In an interview with
King Albert of Belgium in November
of the same year, the German kaiser
gave the impression that war with
France was certain, and sought to win
Belgium to Germany's side. Various
practical measures looking to war were
also taken before the SarajevO MUIR
ders. The military laws Of 1911, 1871
and1913 greatly increased the German
army. The reconstruction OF the klel
Canal was hurried to completion early
in 1914 Steps were taken to stir up
revolt i'm South Africa and in British
India. Secret coaling orders dated
June IA, 1914, two weeks before the
assinatiOns. were issued to the Ger
man cruiser Eber at Cape Town which
contemplated an immediate outbreak
of war.
There is much evidence, too, relat-
ing to accumulation of war materials,
the transfer of bank balances, etc, and
circular dated June 9, 1914, is cited,
ordering all owners of factories to open
the mobilization envelopes in their pos
session.
Finally, the evidence is presented
showing that a secret conference OF
German and Austrian generals and
officials was held at Potsdam, near
Berlin. on July s. 1914, and that it was
at this council that the actual steps
leading up to the war were agreed
upon.
The following is quoted from Maxi
milan Harden in Die Zukunft for
August 1, 1914:
I'm the Viennese note to Serbia,
whose braZen arrogance has no prece-
dent in history, each phrase bears wit
ness that Austria Hungary desired the
war Only the war, or which the best
minds of the army were thirsting,
could cure the fundamental ills of the
two halves of the Austrian Empire,
and of the monarchy. Only the re-
fusal and not the acceptance of the
claims put forward in the note could
have profited Vienna.
1.-THE question has been asked {:
Where was the plan Of the campaign
elaborated-in Vienna OF Berlin?''
And some hasten to reply: In Vienna.
Why do people tolerate the propaga-
ton of such dangerous fables? Why
not say the thing that is because it
!,
derstanding in all matters existed be-
tween Berlin and Vienna?'
Other chapters of the study deal with
the following subjects: Fundamental
causes of the war, its historical back
ground, the AustrO-Serbian contrO-
versy. the failure of diplomacy to avert
the war between Germany-Austria and
Russia France, the entrance of Great
Britain as result of the violation of
Be'gium's neutrality, the spread of the
war and it's character, entrance of the
United States, the course of the war
from 1914 to April 3rd, 1913, and the
various peace proposals. including the
Brest-LitOvsk treaty imposed by Ger
many and Austria upon deluded Rus
STA.
Space is also given the final chapter
to brief consideration of the questions
whether this will be the last great war;
The requirements are sketched both for
a League to enforce peace and for
world federation, and the triumph OF
the United States and the Allies over
militariSt and despOtic Germany is re-
garded as giving the best assurance
of the establishment of league of
peace and the practical ending of war"
The subtitle as the study describes
it as "a topical outline with extensive
quotations and reading references" In
each chapter the material is presented
under Systematically arranged head
ings. and each Of these is illustrated by
one or more quotations of evidence ia
ken usually from the original sources.
Frequent reading references are ap-
pended to the topics, many of them re-
ferring to the WAR CyclOpedia" pub
lished by the Committee on Public In
formation, of which Professor Hard
ing is one of the authors. In addition,
selected list of books and magazine
articles for more general reading is
given at the close of each chapter.
Many of the quotations of evidence
are from sources not easily accessible
to the general reader. The following
illustrate the German plans of world
dominion and reliance upon brute
force:
God has called us to civilize the