The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-02-14


 The book characterizes as fa1iacy the belief that the assassination of Arch duke Francis at Serajevo was stage managed affair."" but it is asserted from knowledge gained from official docu- ments that if the assassination had not occnrred the war certainly would have been started very soon.
 The famous Potsdam conference of July D. 1914, according to the book, was not what has been generally accepted The meeting took place but it was not for mai conference as has been declared repeatedly. It is asserted that many persons who were supposed to have been there were not present. Emperor William and members of the German imperial staff were present, however, and at this conference, Germany definitely decided for war.
 The book was written by Prof. Charles W. c Oman, president of the Royal His torical society and professor of history 1 at Oxford university. British Foreign Secretary Balfour and Earl Curzon, gov ernment leader in the House of Lords are understood to have taken an active i interest in it's compilation.
 "One of the damning revelations,' as Prof. Oman calls tfem, is his statement 1 that from a close study of Munich news ! 1 timatum from the Vienna government to 1 the Serbian government was deliberately timed when President Poincare and Pre- ] lnier Viviani of France were at sea after | their departure from Petrograd, in order | to make it difficult for the entente to reach an understanding Prof. Oman gives what he calls a complete analysis | of these revelation.
 1 A series Of hitherto unpublished com l i,at nal Edward ", 1 British foreign secretary in 1914, and ! Prince Lichnowsi<y, German ambassador l in London at the outbreak of the war, l goes to prove, Prof. Oman says, that the British foreign office believed that lichnowsky was absolutely honest The book says:
 LICHNOWSkY BETRAYED ! "They emphasize the personal anxiety of Lichuowsky and show that he was actually and literally betrayed by hiS sovernment--n other words, that he was the unwilling tool of the Kaiser
 On July 29, 1914, Prince Llchno"sky wrote privately as follows to SIT ho""i' Grey:
 .I begin to hope that it once more has been possible owing to Anglo-Ger- man colla to save the peace oi l Europe. i On July 90, Sir W. E. Gosehen, BriusA 1 anbassad dor ig Berlin. wrote 10 SIT Ed ward Grey, saving:
 ..Fhe chancellor told me last night tha' he was pressing the button with view to forming a mcderating influence on Vienna" ,.op
 Information contained ia the beoV 1 shows the opposite was taking pace and that Chancellor Von Bethmann- tfoll-
 ,veg was doing everything possible te
 get the German war machine going.
 The book refers to JournallSte ny .. terv-the publication by the Westhllislei lGazette on August l. 1911, of a dlspatcr dated in Berlin giving the text Of 3 pur
 norted telegram addressed on July > , bv Von Bcthnrann- H. Hollweg' to- the Ger man arnbassador in Vienna. sayihs:
 eve must refuse to be drawn mo
 world confederation through austrla
 Hungary not respecting our adNlce'
 sOrRCE NEVER REVEALED
 Prof Oman says the newspaper never
 revealed the source of the dispatch ahc
 it was never included in the German
 ybite hook or in any official pupllea tjon. vet the document was dragged ou
 two and one-half years later by chan
 celIor Michaelis and cited as proof Una
 Germany was holding back untll Russll
 mohilized, which mobilization Ierhlan' gives as the cause of the war.
 The book goes into detail of the iate
 f,,I night during which the order or Elm neror Nicholas countermandlnS tne nus
 Sian de,nobilization was ignored oy th
 Russfan war minister and the chlei
 tba Russian general staff. II IS snow