AMERICAN VERDICT ON THE WAR.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLIX, Issue 11, 14 January 1915, Page 6

AMERICAN VERDICT ON THE WAR.

A REPLY TO GERMAN PRO-

FESSORS

SPIRITED INDICTMENT

v Ninety-fcTiree of the most prominent men of Germany, distinguished in various branches of science, ant, education, and' literature, have recently circulated broadcast throughout America a letter, entitled "An Appeal to the Civilised World," in which they attempt to change public opinion in the United States on the subject of the war. Mr Church, president of the Carnegie Institute, at Pittsburg, and, author of "The Life of Oliver Cromwell," has made reply to the German appeal, which is addressed to Dr Fritz &ehaper, of Berlin. He ' sdys i— ■.-■■'■■ .-'":. It gives me a feeling of pity to note the importunity with which the people of Germany are seeking the good opinion of America in this strife. It is greatly to their credit that they wish to stand right in the judgment of this nation. But Germany need have no fear t;h|fc American public opinion will be-preverted by. the lies and calumnies of Her enemies. We are all, going deeper than the surface in our search for the truth. Your letter speaks of Germany as being in a struggle "which has been forced upon her." That is the whole question; all others are subsidiary. If the struggle was forced upon Germany, then, indeed, she stands in a position of mighty dignity and honor, and the whole world should acclaim her and succor her, to the utter confusion and punishment of the foes who have-at-tacked her. But if this outrageous war was not forced upon her, would it not follow in the course of reason that her position is without dignity and honor and that it is her foes who should be acclaimed and supported to the extreme limit of human sympathy? I believe, dear Dr. Schaper, that the judgment on this paramount question has been formed. That judgment is not.'based upon the lies and calumnies of the; enemies of Germany, nor upon the .careless .publications cdatained in the newspapers,1 but upon a profound study of the official correspondence in itne case. What do the official documents prove ? After reviewing the evidence, Mr Church concludes:—

Who began it? Was it England? Scarcely so, for England, in so far as her army is concerntd, had yielded to the popular plea for arbitration; she was not ready for war and will not be ready for another six months. Was it France? Was it Russia? Not one of the 93 distinguished men who have sent mf this letter, if they will read the evidence, will say so. It was Austria, who. by her unreasonable and inexorable attack on Servia, began the war, supported at every .step by Germany, .who, in her turn, gave notice to the -Powers of Europe (that j any interference with Austria would ; be resented by Germany to the full j limit of war. THE CRIME AGAINST BELGIUM. Mr Church proceeds:— The next point in your letter reads thus:—"lt is not true thait we trespassed in neutral Belgium." Have these 93 men studied well the letter they have signed Could intellects so superbly trained deliberately certify -to .siteh an unwarranted declaration? Has any one of my 93 honored corres- s pondents read the appeal to the | American: people by Imperial Chancellor yon Bethmann-Hollweg, pub- | lislied in the American newspapers on August lo? I fear not, for in that statement the Chancellor said:—-"We were compelled to over-ride the just protests of the Luxemburg and Belgian Governments. The wrong—l speak frankly—that we are committing we will endeavor to make good as soon as our military goal has been readied." What will the good Conscience of I the- German people say when, in spae of its passion in the rage of war, it grasps the awful significance of the ■confession of its Imperial Chancellor? "The wrong that we are. committing." The wreck and ruin of a country that has done you no injury, the slaughter of her sons, the expulsion of her King and Government, the j blackmail of her substance, the de- ! struction of her cities, with their j happy homes, their beautiful rnonu- j meats of historic times, and the price- 1 less works of human genius! "'The! wrong that we are committing." I Worst of all, when the desperate and j maddened populace, seeing their sons ~< slain and their homes in flames, fired from their windows in the last instinct of nature, your troops, with barb.-iric ferocity, put them to tho s',vor, : l .-(!in,,t dintiiK-tjn>i of ase or ■rv7.! Tim wrong! Qh 3 Doctor t

Schaper, if these1 condition* should ever be reversed and these foreign soldiers should march throfi'gh the : streets of Berlin, would not you, j would not all of my 93 correspondents, if they saw their homes bettered in ruins and" their sons dead in the streets, wotild they, too, not fire from then-".windows upon the merciless invaders? I ;im sure I won Id do so! ;

GERMAN MILITARISM

Your reference to German militarism brings itfp in my mind the conviction that this war began potentially 25 years ago, when Emperor Wilhelm 11. ascended the? throne, declared hintself Supreme War Lord, and proceeded to prepare Ms nation for war. His own children were raised from their babyhood to consider themselves soldiers, and to look forward to adestiny of slaughter; and here in America we know: even his daughter only by her photograph in a colonel'suniform. And as with his own Xihil-" dren, so all the ymitli of his empirewere brought up. Going far away from your great" philosopher, Kant., wire, in his Categorical Imperative, has taught us _ all' a new golden rule, the national spirit of Germany has been fed on the sensual materialism of Nietzsche, on the undisguised bloodthirsit of General yon Bernhardi, on the wicked war dreams of Trietschke, and on the weak morality ofV yon Buelow; and we behold in every scrap of evidence thai? we can gather from your Emperor, his -children, his soldiers, his statesmen, and his professors, that Germany held herself a nation apart from the rest of the world and superior to it, and predestined to maintain that superiority by war. In contrast to this narrow and destructive ' spirit of nationalism, we in America have learned the value of humanity above the race, so that we cherish all mankind in the bosom of our country. Therefore we can do nothing but execrate the conduct of your Emperor, who has driven his troops to slaughter their brethren and be slaugthered by them in this bloody and unspeakable conflict. And so, at last, my dear Dr. Schaper, we find ourselves shocked, ashamed, and outraged that a Christian nation should be guilty of this,, criminal war There was no justification for it. Armed and defended as you were, the whole world could never have broken into your borders. And while German culture still has something to gain, from her neighbors, yet the intellectual progress which Germany was making seemed to be lifting up her own people to better things for themselves and to an altruistic service to mankind. Your great natiou floated its ships in every ocean, sold its wares in the uttermost parts of the earth, and enjoyed the good favor of humanity, because it was trusted as a humane State. But now all this achievement has vanished, all this good opinion has been destroyed. You cannot in half a century regain the spiritual, and material benefits which you have lost. Oh, that we might have again a Germany that we could respect, a Germany of true peace, • of true progress, of true culture, modest and not boastful, for ever rid of her war lords and her armed hosts, and turning once more to the , uplifting influence of such leaders as Luther, Goethe, Beethoven, and Kant! But Germany, whether you win or lose in this war, has fallen, and the once glorious nation must continue to pursue its course in darkness and murder until conscience at last bids it withdraw its armies, back to its own boundaries, there to hope for the world's pardon ttpon this inexpiable damnation.