The Washington herald., 1919-07-06

fects and zigzag moods, because all
had been talked into believing that
conspiracy lowered roundabout
and on the choice of the most favor
able war-hour counted to save us,
therefore in August. 1914, even the
Social-Demoorats, even Liebnecht
and Efsner, believed in necessity of
war.
Germany Did Not Want War.
Only militarism had consciously
wanted and longed for it. Not even
Admiral Won Tirpitz. who emphAtically
warned against it, not the government
and, above all. not the captains Of in
dustry and finance, who at that time
could not suspect what enormous
profits a modern. technical and indus
trial war would offer, wanted it The
Baltic and North Sea canal had not
been completely rebuilt. The MAXI
mum strength OF the feet, which, as
Sea Loard Admiral John Fisher recog-
inized. urged England's adoption of our
dreadnought type. first made US a
dangerous foe, had not been reached.
Nor had the necessary raw materials
for a long war nor provisions for the
fortresses. nor food for the nation
been provided. For in July grain was
exported. not imported. from every
where obtainable.
The war was not wanted" here, but
here was the blame for the outbreak.
The fault Is politically undeniable. and
because II Is stubbornly denied 1t Is
booked by an understandable error of
the world as moral blame. The press
during the war was shackled, and since
revolution. which should have confined
itself to democratic demands, has ac-
quired the flame codor of communism.
The press has become so sacred that
1t shuns sharp criticism of the ancient
regime like poison.
The Masses Kept Ignorant
Thus is comes about that the broad
masses still do not know the happen
ings of July. 1914: do not know that
on July Is Serbia's complete inno~
cence was known in Vienna and that
the contents of the Vienna ultima tllm
were unknown In Berlin; that Austru-
Hungarian mobilization preceded Rus
sian, and accordingly they are con-
be sought on the political blame, is 20
be sought on the other side of the
German border.
Compulsion to the confession OF a
fault whose justification one does not
Is as a ne cure
against this delusion is only the dis
semination of the truth. 1t can only
bring a non-partisan. full exposition
of the genesis OF the war within the
intellectual reach of the poorest
A stronger means will be necessar.
to allay the anger about compulsion
to surrender the suspect. 1t has all
ready brought the Kaiser, whose de-
sertion had almost everywhere u,.-
rooted respect. more sympathy than
his enemies aught to wish. The Kali
ser. living forever in self-deception in
a perpetual brain theatre. might, per-
haps. md himself in this role. too.
OF the accused before the terrestrial
world tribunal and might, In the end,
be proud to boast of the most SOL
emn judicial character which the case
against him shall have.
Stupid to Martyrfxe Kaiser.
But what IL he flies from the longer
into shorter torment, what II the
always vacillating one wrings from
his nerves the decision to take poison
before surrender?
The decapitation of the English
Charles Stuart was necessary to man.
ifest to still too Theoretically, mo-
Inarchically credulous Europe, in the
light OF a cleaning axe, the power
to punish and the sovereignty Of the
will OF the people.
Can common-sense today, however,
advise elevating a has-been on the
ladder of sympathy to the sanctity
of martyrdom? Only the monarchists,
not the honest democrats of Germany,