The sun., 1918-08-04
when Germany Lost the War.

when Germany Lost the War.
No man knows exactly when and
where the three and twenty allies
will win the war, but all men know
when and where Germany lost it. 1t
was four years ago this morning, Mt
a point near Gemmenich, village
southwest Of Aix-la-Chapelle. 1t was
then and there that the first gray
uniform crossed the frontier from
Germany into Belgium.
An hour before and 1t was not too
late for Germany to win the war, or
at least to lose Il with honor. An
hour afterward, and Germany was
doomed. What has befallen her since
that 4th Of August, what will be-
fall her in the future, were prede-
termined from the fatal instant OF
that summer morning when the first
German soldier trod where Prussia
had promised he should never go.
There Is not German killed to-day
in the flight to the Nesle whose fate
was not written at Gemmenich.
It was not merely that the inva-
sion of a land guaranteed perpetual
neutrality brought Great Britain into
the fight and turned into world war
what Germany had hoped would be n
small, swift and easy campaign. 1t
was the exposure Of Germany her
self. Know Of her what we may to-
day, we thought Of her otherwise
four years ago yesterday. She had
thrown about herself mantle which
hid the sword and the thick, studded
boots. She worked at science and
played, in grotesque way, at art,
She sang and thumped the piano.
She cleaned her streets and washed
her children's faces. Many persons
in America and England believed that
she was efficient and that her very
verboten signs were guides to the
ideal life. Even as the Kaiser re-
viewed his armies he babbled Of peace ;
peace, to believe him, was the first
object of his life.
Gemmenich showed us that what
We thought was a fat, moral lady
playing the plano was really a hes.
tial male Prussian, coward as well
as a liar and pervert. We do not
know of any writer who has con-
densed the proof of Germany's false
hood and cowardlce into 80 few words
as VoN BETHMANN-HoLLwEe, who, as
Chancellor of the empire, spoke as
follows to the Reichstag four years
ago this afternoon:
gentlemen. We are now acting in
self-defence. Necessity knows no law.
Our troops have occupied Luxembourg
and have possibly already entered on
Belgian soil 1.-THE speaker knew that
the invasion had begun.l
Gentlemen. that is q breach OF In
ternational law.
The French Government has notified
Brussels that It would respect Belgian
neutrality as long as the adversary re-
spected It. But we know that France
stood ready for an invasion. France
could wait, we could not. A French in
vasion on our flank and the lower Rhine
might have been disastrous. Thus we
were forced to ignore the rightfm pro-
tests Of the Governments Of Luxembourg
and Belgium. The Injustice speak
openly-the injustice We thereby COM
nit We will try to make good as soon
as our military aims have been attained
He who is menaced as We are and Is
fighting for his all can only consider
the one and best way to strike"
There stood the great German En-.
pire, intensively trained in the arts
of war for forty years. pleading cow.
ardice in extenuation of her broken
word. France could wait, we could
notw A brave man, BETHMANN'
HoLLwEG, unless he knew before he
spoke that the whole nation had sunk
to the immoral level of the towards
who invaded Belgium because they
feared that on a fair field France
would have beaten them! 1t Is curl
GUS that in the whole record of Ger
man statecraft In the war the Chan
cellor's confession OF his empires
degradation stands out almost like g
clean thing.
The Chancellor Md not DECEIVE the
people except in his implication that
France would have struck through
Belgium II Germany had not. He
did not deceive himself, either. He
knew the cowardice Of Germany. II
Is probable that he believed, MS the
Junkers believed. that England, too
was coward. Prince LIcHNowsK,
had told them the truth about Eng
land, but they had not believed. II
III" years Of kuitur they had forgot
ton what honor was like. They chos,