CAUSES OF GREAT WAR

Press, Volume LXIX, Issue 20956, 9 September 1933, Page 14

CAUSES OF GREAT WAR

SCHOOL HISTORY BOOKS CRITICISED EMPHASIS ON GERMANY'S GUILT 1 ITnE TKESS Special Serrlce.] * ■ < WELLINGTON, September 3. j "A wrong impression of the causes \ that led directly to the Great War is ■ given in the history book used in primary schools by Standard V. classes, too much stress being laid upon Germany's guilt and on the 'scrap of ■ paper' incident," said Mr R. M. ■ Laing at the annual conference in Wellington of the League of Nations Union. Mr Laing spoke in favour of a request from Christchurch, that a sub-committee be appointed to consider the teaching of history and the books used in primary schools, particularly with reference ■ to the Great War and the League of Nations. A book that came, in for special discussion was Our Nation's Story, and the council of the Christchurch branch was appointed a special committee to make a written report on the book and to bring the matter to the notice of the Government. Among the true causes of the war had been Russia's desire to attain Constantinople and France's determination to get back Alsace-Lor-raine, Mr Laing said. After the Morocco incident of 1908, European statesmen had recognised the danger of a general European war, which became certain about 1911. It was Russia, too, that actually started the war by her order for a general mobilisation. Next in order were Austria and France, Germany following. , ~ , Manv other speakers agreed that the main aggressor was Russia; but the general agreement of the conference was that although Germany was the last of the Continental Powers to declare war, it did not thereby follow that a large measure of war guilt did not attach to her. The most important fact, however, was that war had been made inevitable b v the race in armaments before 1914. DANGER OF INCREASING ARMAMENTS RESOLUTION BY CONFERENCE [THE PRESS Special Service.] WELLINGTON, September 3. Competition among armament firms was one of the most potent causes of the dangerous increase of armaments at the present day, stated delegates at the annual conference of the League of Nations Union, which was held in Wellington. The danger was referred to explicitly in the covenant of the League, it was stated, and since the war several occasions had arisen where armament firms had deliberately attempted to foment trouble. One of the most scandalous was revealed by the W. B. Shearer investigation in 1929, when it was admitted, delegates said, that one of the most prominent supporters of a big navy for the United States had been reported to have received large sums for fomenting discord between Britain and the United States in 1927, and preventing any reductions in naval armaments at the Geneva naval disarmament conference. A resolution was passed urging the Government to use all its influence to have the manufacture of armaments and trade in them nationally regulated and internationally supervised.