Evening star., 1934-01-13
''Fiirst World War" Pictures
To Start IN Star Tomorrow
Catastrophe Burst Upon Nations as
People Believed 1t Impossible-Explo-
sion FOreshadOued for Al Years.
FORT MYER TROOPS
BY JAMES WALDO FAWCETT.

BY JAMES =" "ALDO r fAhSEII.
The Star tomorrow begins publication
Of a remarkable series Of photographs
Of the first world war and the oc-
casion prompts recollection of the man
ner in which the news OF the opening
of that great conflict came TO Wash
ington.
But there are relatively few persons
now living who can recall effectively
the rise Of the curtain on the premier
tragedy Of modern history" The United
States Census Bureau estimates that
the present population OF the Nation
is approximately 1875 693 coo. Of which
about $4,000 900 are bracketed in the
classification "2l years OF age or
younger" and about 20000000 more in
the classification between q and 80
wears of age" Thus. only about 3d.
0000 900 men and women. or roughly
a. per cent. OF the total population
properly may be described as surviving
witnesses of the drama whose prelude
was the assassination OF the Austrian
Archduke Francis Ferdinand and his
wife. the Duchess of Hohenberg, at
Serajevo, Bosnia. June %, 1914. And
it is reasonable to suppose that not all
Of these have clear or accurate mem-
ories of how the earliest news of the
murder and its earth shaking sequel
was reported on this side OF the At
lantic.
Many Omens of Danger.
To the average person the war was
a sudden and utterly unexpected olSaS-
ter The commonest phrase employed
to describe its beginning implies that
it burst out" without warning. Actually.
however. that was not the case. 1t
was a fact in 1914 as on other occasions
that coming events cast their shadows
before" There had been many omenS
OF danger Swords had been rattling
for long time.
There had been incidents" like the
German defeat OF Napoleon Ill III 1870
and the revanche movement which
aimed at the return Of Alsace and Lor-
raine to France: the KaiSer'S dismissal
of Prince Bismarck in 1890; the German
seizure of Kiaochao. China. in 1897;
the KaiSer'S notorious telegram to
President Kruger of the Boer Republic,
South Africa, at the time Of the jameson
Raid in 1898. the Anglo-French agree
| ment of 1904 and the Anglo-Russian
agreement of 1907; Austria's annexation
of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1908: the
French occupation OF Fez and the Ger
man protest at Agadir In 1911, the
! Turkish and Balkan Wars in 1912 and
| 1913 and other clashes. Men close to
| the problem believed that a modern
Armagedon was inevitable. That was
why they advocated increased military
/ and naval establishments. The leaders
| of each nation desired to be ready
when the denouement arrived. If the
common people did not understand the
| peril it was not the fault of either
statesmen or the press.
Story in Star June 20, 1914.
But no one was aware of the exact
| hour or place of the explosion. The
! heir apparent of the Dual Monarchy
NAV have guessed his risk-he had his
Wlfe's life and his own insured for Sl8,-
! 900. .OOO-but the only individuals who
| had positive knowledge of what was to
! happen were the members of a fanatical
patriotic group in Serbia to which the
| murderer PrinZip belonged. 1t later was
said that his weapon was presented to
him by an officer in the Serbian army.
Be that as it may, the plotters. many
| or few. kept their secret well.
| The story was told in The Star June
90. 1914, under headlines which read:
Dual Tragedy in Bosnia Followed by
Martial Law. Staying of Archduke
Francis Ferndinand and Duchess of
Hohenberg Stirs World. Death Masks
Are Taken of ASsasSinated Pair. Bomb
| Throwing Causes Anti-Servian Out
break-Suppressed by Troops. Sorrow
Is Generally Felt. Act Is Bound to
Have Momentous Political Effect on
Monarchy Is Belief in Vienna. Late
Archduke Popular" An editorial in the
same issue of the paper said: The
Staying of the Archduke Ferdinand and
his wife is politically important as
sign of the sad condition in the Austro-
Hungarian realm and its subordinate
and associated countries. E. The crime
| is a portent of the sething discomfort
| felt in all parts of the empire. an index
of the insecurity of affairs in the
| Balkan region"
Three Weeks Of Calm Follow.
On June 80 The Stars "follow-up"
| was headed: Peoples Tribute Paid
Royal Dead. Bodies of Murdered Arch
duke and Duchess Borne Home on War
| ship City Where They Died Is Draped
in Mourning Crowds Parade the
Streets, Attesting Their Loyalty to
Reigning Family of Austria On July
g a dispatch from Vienna reported:
'Throngs of Mourners Express Their
| Grief. People Pay Tribute to Murdered
| Archduke and Duchess" And on July
4 cable from Artstetten was printed
under the caption: Burial OF Royal
Couple Beneath Castle Chapel. Simple
| Ceremony at Funeral of Archduke Fer
dinand and His Consort."
| The prologue was over. Three weeks
of unnatural calm ensued before the
storm. The Kaiser ordered the dis
bandment of the Atlantic squadron,
July 3, and started on cruise in Nor
wegian waters. July 7, not returning to
Berlin until July 81. The Czar made
hurried visit to Rumania. July 3.
then hastened back to st. Petersburg
to receive President Poincare of France,
July I5-his guest departed for Paris,
July %. King George went on tour
in Scotland, July 5, and reviewed the
home fleet, July 90. President Wilson
spoke at Independence Hall. Philadel-