Project Gutenberg's Current History, Vol. VIII, No. 3, June 1918, by Various
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Title: Current History, Vol. VIII, No. 3, June 1918
A Monthly Magazine of the New York Times
Author: Various
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Language: English
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[Illustration: VISCOUNT MILNER
The new British War Secretary in succession to Lord Derby. He had been a
member of the War Cabinet since its creation in December, 1916
(_Central News_)]
[Illustration: GENERAL SIR W. R. MARSHALL
Commander in Chief of the British forces in Mesopotamia
(_Central News_)]
[Illustration]
CURRENT HISTORY
_A Monthly Magazine of The New York Times_
Published by The New York Times Company, Times Square, New York, N. Y.
Vol. VIII.
Part I.
No. 3
June, 1918
25 Cents a Copy
$3.00 a Year
[Illustration]
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE
CURRENT HISTORY CHRONICLED 381
BATTLES IN PICARDY AND FLANDERS 389
THE GREATEST BATTLE OF THE WAR, By Philip Gibbs 398
America's Sacrifice, By Harold Begbie 410
AMERICAN SOLDIERS IN BATTLE 411
Overseas Forces More Than Half a Million 413
American Troops in Central France, By Laurence Jerrold 415
American Shipbuilders Break All Records 418
THIRD LIBERTY LOAN OVERSUBSCRIBED 419
Former War Loans of the United States 421
AMERICAN LABOR MISSION IN EUROPE 424
PROGRESS OF THE WAR 426
GERMAN LOSSES ON ALL FRONTS 431
GREAT BRITAIN'S FINANCES 432
TRADE AFTER THE WAR 434
FINLAND UNDER GERMAN CONTROL 438
Peace Treaty Between Finland and Germany 445
GERMAN AGGRESSION IN RUSSIA 449
MORE BOLSHEVIST LEGISLATION, By Abraham Yarmolinsky 455
LITHUANIA'S EFFORTS TOWARD AUTONOMY, By A. M. Martus 458
THE RAID ON ZEEBRUGGE AND OSTEND 460
GERMAN U-BOAT CLAIMS: Address by Admiral von Capelle 467
The Admiral's Statements Attacked 469
The Month's Submarine Record 470
A Secret Chapter of U-Boat History 471
SEA-RAIDER WOLF AND ITS VICTIMS 473
Career and Fate of the Raider Seeadler 476
TREATMENT OF BRITISH PRISONERS: Official Report 479
American Prisoners Exploited 484
THE TOTAL DESTRUCTION OF RHEIMS, By G. H. Perris 485
The Abomination of Desolation, By Dr. Norman Maclean 486
LLOYD GEORGE AND GENERAL MAURICE 488
THE NEW BRITISH SERVICE ACT 491
British Aid to Italy: General Plumer's Report 492
EMPEROR CHARLES'S "DEAR SIXTUS" LETTER 494
THE ISSUES IN IRELAND: Report of the Irish Convention 496
Greatest Gas Attack of the War 504
PLUCKY DUNKIRK By Anna Milo Upjohn 505
GERMANY'S ATTEMPT TO DIVIDE BELGIUM 511
STRIPPING BELGIAN INDUSTRIES: The Rathenau Plan 516
Spoliation of Belgian Churches: Cardinal Mercier's Protest 523
Belgium's Appeal to the Bolsheviki 525
SERBIA'S HOPES AND RUSSIA'S DEFECTION By Nicholas Pashitch 526
RUMANIA'S PEACE TREATY 529
Summary of the Peace of Bucharest 531
Bessarabia Voluntarily United to Rumania 535
THE WAR AND THE BAGDAD RAILWAY By Dr. Morris Jastrow 536
LICHNOWSKY'S MEMORANDUM 539
Full Text of von Jagow's Reply 541
German Comments on von Jagow's Views 545
Germany's Long Plotting for Domination By H. Charles Woods 548
THE EUROPEAN WAR AS SEEN BY CARTOONISTS: 31 Cartoons 551
ROTOGRAVURE ILLUSTRATIONS
VISCOUNT MILNER _Frontis_
GENERAL SIR W. R. MARSHALL "
CHARLES M. SCHWAB 394
JOHN D. RYAN 395
STAFF OFFICERS WITH PERSHING 410
LEADERS IN WAR ACTIVITIES 411
BARON STEPHAN BURIAN 426
LEADERS IN IRISH CONTROVERSY 427
BRITISH WAR LEADERS 458
FRENCH AND AMERICAN TANKS 459
AMERICAN REGIMENT IN FRANCE 474
FRENCH CHATEAU IN RUINS 475
MARCHING TO THE FRONT 506
HARVARD REGIMENT IN BOSTON 507
TRAFALGAR SQUARE IN WARTIME 522
TYPICAL SCENE IN FLANDERS 523
CURRENT HISTORY CHRONICLED
[PERIOD ENDED MAY 19, 1918.]
SUMMARY OF WAR ACTIVITIES
Four weeks of comparative calm on the western front intervened after the
furious fighting that had continued throughout the preceding month. The
Germans made several desperate efforts to smash their way through the
British lines to the channel ports, but they failed. The British and
French lines stood firm as granite, and the enemy suffered frightful
losses. The battle lines remained practically unchanged.
From the English Channel to the Adriatic there was complete union of the
British, French, American, and Italian forces under a single command;
these forces, including reserves, were estimated at 6,000,000 men. No
military event of importance occurred on the other fronts, though the
British made some further advances in Palestine and Mesopotamia.
In political matters the month brought events of more importance, chief
of which was the renewal of an alliance between Germany and Austria;
this was accomplished at a meeting of the Emperors.
The acceleration of troop movements from the United States to France was
a feature of the month, the estimate for the four weeks running as high
as 150,000; it was semi-officially stated that in April, 1918, more than
500,000 American soldiers were in France, and that by Jan. 1, 1919,
there would be 1,500,000 of our fighting men at the front, with 500,000
more at transportation, supply, and civil work; the speeding up of
shipbuilding and other war work was significant. The Third Liberty Loan
aggregated more than $4,000,000,000, with 17,000,000 subscribers,
proving a brilliant success. The President by proclamation extended
enemy alien restrictions to women also. A bill was passed enabling the
President to consolidate and co-ordinate executive bureaus, thus giving
him extraordinary executive powers. The sedition law was strengthened. A
new commercial agreement was made with Norway.
In Great Britain the chief event was the triumph of the Premier over a
military group that tried to overthrow his Ministry. There was a
recrudescence of the spirit of rebellion in Ireland. In France the
conviction of the Bonnet Rouge editors on a charge of treason deepened
confidence in the stability of the Government. The German penetration of
Russia continued, and all the evidence indicated that the country was
coming under Teutonic control, economically, industrially, and
financially. The humiliating peace forced on Rumania was ratified, and
the country passed practically under German and Austrian domination.
The month's record of enemy U-boat losses strengthened faith that this
menace was being eliminated and that new allied tonnage would exceed
losses in increasing ratio from May 1, 1918.
The chief naval event was the daring British raid on the German
submarine bases at Zeebrugge and Ostend; the channel at the first named
port was blocked, and the harbor entrance at Ostend, by means of a
second raid, was partially blocked, resulting in a serious hampering of
submarine operations. The Italians penetrated Pola Harbor, May 14, with
a small torpedo boat and sank a 20,000-ton Austrian dreadnought.
SINN FEIN PLOT FRUSTRATED
During the night of May 18 the British authorities in Ireland suddenly
arrested at their homes about 500 of the leading Sinn Feiners on the
charge of having treasonable communication with the German enemy. Among
those arrested were the Sinn Fein members of Parliament, also the
conspicuous Irish agitators and irreconcilables, both men and women. A
proclamation was issued by the Lord Lieutenant declaring that a
conspiracy with Germany had been discovered, calling upon all loyal
Irishmen to assist in suppressing it, and urging voluntary enlistments.
It was believed that this prompt action had prevented a contemplated
uprising, which was being aided by German spies. Comparative calm
followed the arrests.
FOCH'S ARMY COMPRISES ALL RACES OF EARTH
It seems certain that never in the world's history were so many
different races, peoples, and tongues united under the command of a
single man as are now gathered together in the army of Generalissimo
Foch. If we divide the human races into White, Yellow, Red, and Black,
all four are largely represented. Among the white races there are
Frenchmen, Italians, Portuguese, English, Scottish, Welsh, Irish,
Canadians, Australians, South Africans, (of both British and Dutch
descent,) New Zealanders; in the American Army, probably every other
European nation is represented, with additional contingents from those
already named, so that every branch of the white race figures in the
ethnological total. There are representatives of many Asiatic races,
including not only the volunteers from the native States of India, but
elements from the French colony in Cochin China, with Annam, Cambodia,
Tonkin, Laos, and Kwang Chau Wan. England and France both contribute
many African tribes, including Arabs from Algeria and Tunis, Senegalese,
Saharans, and many of the South African races. The red races of North
America are represented in the armies of both Canada and the United
States, while the Maoris, Samoans, and other Polynesian races are
likewise represented. And as, in the American Army, there are men of
German, Austrian, and Hungarian descent, and, in all probability,
contingents also of Bulgarian and Turkish blood, it may be said that
Foch commands an army representing the whole human race, united in
defense of the ideals of the Allies. The presence, among Foch's
strategic reserves, of 250,000 Italian soldiers is peculiarly
interesting, as no Italian force at all comparable to this in numbers
seems ever to have operated on French soil, though French armies have
again and again fought in Italy. During the early wars of Napoleon this
was the case, and again in 1859, when the battles of Magenta and
Solferino gave names to two new shades of red. In 1870 also there were
French troops in Rome; their withdrawal, in the Summer of that year,
opened the way for the final union of Italy.
MEETING OF THE GERMAN AND AUSTRIAN EMPERORS
The German and Austrian Emperors held a consultation at German Great
Headquarters on May 12 to discuss future relations between the two
empires. Emperor Karl was accompanied by Foreign Minister Burian, Field
Marshal von Arz, Chief of the General Staff, and Prince Hohenlohe,
Austrian Ambassador at Berlin. Germany was represented by Imperial
Chancellor von Hertling, Field Marshal von Hindenburg, General
Ludendorff, Foreign Secretary von Kuehlmann, and Count von Wedel,
Ambassador at Vienna.
According to an official statement issued in Berlin, all the fundamental
political, economic, and military questions affecting present and future
relations were thoroughly discussed, and "there was complete accord on
all these questions, tending to deepen the existing alliance." In many
quarters the impression prevailed that the result of the meeting
was to define and recognize formally the subservient relations of
Austria-Hungary toward the German Empire. The State Department at
Washington made public a report based upon indications given by the
Berlin newspapers that the agreement made at the meeting concerned three
points:
1. The duration of the alliance was fixed for twenty-five years.
2. Germany and Austria-Hungary are to sign a military convention
imposing upon each much stricter military obligations than did the
preceding treaty.
3. The economic relations will be regulated so as to realize the
plan of Mitteleuropa.
A solution of the Polish question was also arrived at, according to a
newspaper statement published in Berlin, on the lines of complete union
between Austria-Hungary and Poland. Another message said that the German
and Austrian Emperors had selected monarchs for Poland, Lithuania,
Courland, and Esthonia. It was officially stated that no actual treaty
was signed.
One of the most interesting subsequent revelations was that King Ludwig
of Bavaria and King Frederick August of Saxony were also present at the
meeting at German Great Headquarters. Some of the reports represented
these two monarchs as having been present uninvited.
THE PRINCE SIXTUS LETTER
Arthur J. Balfour, British Secretary of Foreign Affairs, replying to
inquiries in the House of Commons, May 16, stated that Emperor Karl's
peace letter to Prince Sixtus, which had been received while Mr. Balfour
was in America, was
a private letter written by Emperor Charles to a relative (Prince
Sixtus of Bourbon) and conveyed by him to President Poincaré and the
French Premier under seal of the strictest secrecy, but with no
permission to communicate it to any one except the Sovereign and
Premier of this country, [Great Britain.] The letter was
communicated to the French and English Premiers under these pledges.
He stated that he had no secrets from President Wilson, and added:
"Every thought I have on the war or on the diplomacy connected with the
war is as open to President Wilson as to any other human being." He
declared that he regarded the Sixtus letter as not a peace effort, but a
manoeuvre to divide the Allies. He declared that they were not fighting
for "a bigger Alsace-Lorraine than in 1870," and added:
If any representative of any belligerent country desires seriously
to lay before us any proposals we are ready to listen to them.
Lord Robert Cecil, Minister of Blockade, in the same debate, after
indorsing the preceding statement of Mr. Balfour, added this reference
to Russia:
We have no quarrel with Russia at all. On the contrary, with the
Russian people we have always desired to be on the closest possible
terms of friendship. We are anxious to do all we can to support and
assist the Russian people to preserve Russia as a great country, not
only now, but in the period after the war.
Lord Robert denied that Great Britain had any quarrel with the
Bolsheviki over their domestic policy, saying:
That is a matter for Russia, and Russia alone; we have no other
desire than to see Russia great, powerful, and non-German.
ATTACKS ON HOSPITAL SHIPS
The British Admiralty issued an official announcement on May 1, stating
that it was considered proved conclusively that the British hospital
ship Guildford Castle was attacked by a German submarine in the Bristol
Channel, March 10, and narrowly escaped destruction. At the time the
Guilford Castle was carrying 438 wounded soldiers and flying a Red
Cross flag of the largest size with distinguishing marks distinctly
illuminated. The attack occurred at 5:35 P. M., in clear weather. Two
torpedoes were fired. In evidence of attacks on hospital ships the
British Admiralty quotes the following extracts from the German official
message, sent through the German wireless stations on April 24, 1918:
With respect to the results of the submarine war for the month of
march, the Deutsche Tageszeitung says: "Lloyd George and Geddes
falsify the losses of ships plying in the military service (?
ignoring) so-called naval losses, auxiliary cruisers, guard ships,
_hospital ships_, and very probably also troop transports and
munition steamers, that is to say, precisely that shipping space
_which is particularly exposed to and attacked by the U-boats_.
TWO MORE LATIN-AMERICAN REPUBLICS ALIGNED AGAINST GERMANY
On April 22, 1918, the National Assembly of Guatemala declared that that
republic occupied the same position toward the European belligerents as
did the United States. Guatemala had broken off diplomatic relations
with Germany in April, 1917. On May 7 Nicaragua declared war against
Germany and her allies. The declaration was in the form of a
recommendation of President Chamorro, which the Nicaraguan Congress
adopted with only four dissenting votes. A further declaration was
adopted of solidarity with the United States and the other American
republics at war with Germany and Austria-Hungary. Nicaragua was the
twentieth nation to declare war against Germany. Uruguay remains a
neutral at this writing. On April 12 the Government asked Berlin,
through Switzerland, whether Germany considered that a state of war
existed with Uruguay, as stated by the commander of a submarine who had
captured a Uruguayan military commission bound for France. The German
Government replied on May 16 that it did not consider that a state of
war existed. Chile refused to ask free passage of Spain for a commission
of Chileans who sought to reach Germany, thereby indicating partiality
to the Germans. Argentina in the President's message, delivered May 18,
1918, reaffirmed its neutrality.
FRANCE'S SECOND TREASON TRIAL.
Duval, who was director of the suppressed Germanophile newspaper, Bonnet
Rouge, was condemned to death May 15 by court-martial for treason, and
six other defendants were sentenced to imprisonment: Marion, assistant
manager, for ten years; Landau, a reporter, eight years; Goldsky, a
reporter, eight years; Joucla, a reporter, five years; Vercasson, two
years and $1,000 fine; Leymarie, former director of the Ministry of the
Interior, two years' imprisonment and $200 fine.
The Bonnet Rouge was an evening paper of decided pacifist tendency,
which lost no occasion of belittling the military and political leaders
and policy, not only of France, but also of England. The attention of
the Government was drawn to it early in 1917, and its editor, Almeyreda,
and its manager, Duval, were under lock and key by August, 1917.
The police investigations showed that the Bonnet Rouge was to a great
extent dependent for its capital upon men whose ardor in the allied
cause had not been notable, and revealed the astonishing fact that M.
Malvy, as Minister of the Interior, had thought fit to subsidize the
paper to the extent of $1,200 a month and to encourage it in other ways.
It also became known to the public that Almeyreda before the war had
been in the closest contact with M. Caillaux and that he had received
from that politician, at the moment when Mme. Caillaux was being tried
for the murder of M. Calmette, the editor of the Figaro, the sum of
$8,000.
Duval, whose journeys to Switzerland had aroused the misgivings of the
Government, was detained at the French frontier station, searched, and
found to be in possession of a check for $32,800 drawn to the order of a
Mannheim banking firm, the business relations of which will appear in
subsequent trials. This check was photographed and was handed back to
Duval by some one of the French military or civil secret service
officials.
Almeyreda had hardly reached prison when he fell seriously ill and was
removed to the infirmary prison at Fresnes. There he died. The official
doctors first of all declared that he had been strangled, and then gave
it as their opinion that he had committed suicide.
Louis J. Malvy, who was at the time Under Secretary of the Interior, and
was Minister of the Interior under Ribot, will be tried by a
parliamentary court on the charge of having been in personal relations
with Duval and of having delivered to the Germans the scheme of the
abruptly ended French offensive in the Champagne in April, 1917.
THE CITY OF AMIENS.
Amiens, the old capital city of Picardy, goes far back into the military
history of Europe. Probably deriving its name from the Belgic tribe of
Ambiani, it was the centre of Julius Caesar's campaigns against those
warlike tribes. Several Roman Emperors had military headquarters there,
and it early gained importance as a bishopric. Evrard de Fouilloy, the
forty-fifth Bishop, began the great Gothic cathedral of Amiens, one of
the finest in the world, in the year 1220, the plans being made by René
de Luzarches, while the work was completed by Thomas de Cormont and his
son Renault in the year 1288, though the two great towers were not
finished until a century later. Because it is intersected by eleven
canals Louis XI. called Amiens "the little Venice."
Only second to the great cathedral in fame is the Hôtel de Ville, built
between 1660 and 1760, in which, on May 25, 1802, was signed the famous
treaty of Amiens, Napoleon's brother, Joseph Bonaparte, being
plenipotentiary for France. The parties to the Peace of Amiens were
France, England, Holland, and Spain. To Holland were restored the Cape
of Good Hope, Guiana, and other colonies; France received Martinique and
Guadeloupe; Spain received Minorca; Malta went to the Knights of Saint
John of Jerusalem, while Egypt was restored to Turkey. England was
secured in the control of India, and received Ceylon, (which had been
first Portuguese and later Dutch,) and the island of Trinidad. But many
of these dispositions were greatly modified thirteen years later, at the
close of the Napoleonic wars.
In Amiens there is a famous Napoleonic Museum, which has many fine
paintings by Puvis de Chavannes, including "War," "Peace," "Work," and
"Rest." When, on Nov. 28, 1876, Amiens was captured by the army of the
Prussians all religious monuments, including the cathedral, were
scrupulously guarded against any possible damage, and the rights of
private property were respected. Another of the titles of Amiens to fame
is the fact that Peter the Hermit, leader of the First Crusade, was born
there in 1050.
THE RUMANIAN NATION
Of the Emperor Hadrian's colony of Roman veterans at the mouth of the
Danube there remain many architectural monuments, including parts of two
fine bridges across the great river, a language largely Latin in
substance, and the name Romania. The Roman colony spread through the
Carpathians along the Roman road into Transylvania. It was in part
submerged by Hun and Magyar waves of invasion, and the western part of
the Rumanian people, west of the Carpathians, is still under Magyar
rule, while a small number of Rumanians inhabit the Austrian crownland
of Bukowina, once Rumanian soil. The Turks, following in the track of
the Huns and Magyars, once more swept over Rumania and on toward Vienna
and Russia, completely submerging the Balkan Peninsula, with the
exception of the Black Mountain, Montenegro, held by Serbs.
In the nineteenth century the Balkan nations began to extricate
themselves: Greece, with the aid of France, England, and Russia; Serbia,
with the aid of Russia; and the two principalities of Wallachia and
Moldavia, which were later to become Rumania. In the wars of Catherine
the Great and Suvoroff, which Byron has embodied in his comedy epic,
making Don Juan take part in the siege of Ismail, Russia took from
Turkey the Province of Bessarabia, named from an old Rumanian princely
house and largely populated by Rumanians.
The western half of Bessarabia was taken back from Russia and restored
to Turkey after the Crimean War, immediately after which, in 1861, the
two principalities were united in the single principality of Rumania,
under Colonel Cuza, a Rumanian, as Hospodar, or Lord, Turkish suzerainty
being acknowledged. In this way the strip of Bessarabia which had been
Russian for half a century became not Turkish, but Rumanian. When Russia
declared war against Turkey in 1877 she announced to Rumania that she
sought the restoration of her strip of Bessarabian land; and, knowing
this, Rumania became Russia's ally in the war against Turkey, with
Prince Carol as commander of her forces, he being of the Roman Catholic
branch of the Hohenzollerns. In 1881 he took the title of King, to which
his nephew Ferdinand succeeded in 1914.
THE HETMAN OF THE UKRAINE
Writing in 1818, Byron described Mazeppa as "the Ukraine Hetman, calm
and bold," and it is to the period of Mazeppa and even earlier that this
title and office goes back. The word Hetman is of uncertain origin, but
is probably derived from the Bohemian Heitman, a modification of
Hauptmann or Headman. When the Ukraine, the "borderland," was under
Polish suzerainty, in the period from 1592 to 1654, the epoch of "Fire
and Sword," "Pan Michael," and "The Deluge," the Hetman of the
Cossacks, (a Tartar word, kazak, meaning warrior,) was a
semi-independent viceroy.
After the acceptance of Russian suzerainty by the Ukraine under the
great Hetman, Khmelnitski, in 1654, the title and authority of the
Hetman were at first continued, but his power and privileges were
gradually curtailed and finally abolished. It is not certain whether the
word Ataman is a modification of Hetman or a Tartar title; at any rate,
we find the title, "Ataman of all the Cossacks," coming into use as an
appanage of the Czarevitch, or heir apparent of Russia, somewhat as the
title of Prince of Wales is an appanage of the heir apparent of England.
The Czarevitch was represented by Hetmans by delegation, for each
division of the Cossacks, these divisions being military colonies
westward as far as the Caspian, like that described by Tolstoy in his
novel, "The Cossacks."
Writing in 1799, W. Tooke, in his "View of the Russian Empire,"
described the insignia of the Hetman as being the truncheon, the
national standard, the horsetail, kettledrums and signet, a group of
emblems strongly suggesting Tartar influence; the dress of the Cossacks
was, likewise, borrowed from that of the Caucasus Mohammedan tribes, and
in this Caucasian dress the new Hetman of the Ukraine, Skoropadski, took
office at Kiev. His name indicates that he is not a Ruthenian, (Little
Russian,) but a Pole. It has been a consistent element of Austrian
policy to favor the Poles at the expense of the Ruthenians, with the
result that many Poles are strongly pro-Austrian, and hold high office
under the Austrian crown.
PRECEDENTS FOR A SEPARATE ULSTER.
When the Dominion of Canada was formed by the British North America act
of 1867, it included only four provinces, Upper and Lower Canada,
(Ontario and Quebec,) Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Provision was made
in the act for the voluntary admission of Prince Edward's Island, the
Northwest Territories and Newfoundland into the Dominion. While the
Northwest Territories took advantage of this provision, and are now
organized as the Provinces of Manitoba, British Columbia, Alberta,
Saskatchewan, Yukon and the Northwest Territories, Newfoundland, with
Labrador, the latter 120,000 square miles in area, preferred to remain
outside the Dominion of Canada, and has a wholly distinct Constitution
and administration, as independent of Canada as is that, for example, of
British Guiana. Compulsion was never suggested to bring Newfoundland and
Labrador within the Dominion of Canada, though Labrador is
geographically a part of the Canadian mainland.
In Australia likewise the union of the colonies was entirely voluntary.
Five of these, New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia,
and Tasmania, by legislative enactments, approved by the direct vote of
the electors, declared their desire for a federal union, and the
Imperial Parliament gave effect to this by the act of July 9, 1900. This
act provided for the inclusion of Western Australia in the Australian
Commonwealth, if that colony so desired; and Western Australia shortly
expressed and carried out that desire.
The population of Ulster in 1911 was 1,581,696, (that of Belfast being
386,947;) the population of Newfoundland with Labrador in 1914 was
251,726; the population of Western Australia when it exercised the
option of inclusion in the Commonwealth of Australia was 184,114; it has
since nearly doubled. A similar case of separate treatment, this time
within the United States, is that of West Virginia, which, in 1862,
determined to remain within the Union when the rest of Virginia seceded.
West Virginia became a State on Dec. 31, 1862, and was not re-integrated
in the Old Dominion at the close of the civil war.
COURT-MARTIAL IN ITALY.
Four principal Directors of the Genoese Electrical Power Company, named
Königsheim, Ampt, Martelli, and Hess, early in April were sentenced to
death by court-martial at Milan by being "shot in the spine," and a
decoy girl was doomed to twenty years' imprisonment, while three
associates were relegated to the galleys for life. It was proved that
the condemned men received from Germany wireless messages, to be
forwarded to North and South America for the purposes of its underseas
campaign, and incriminating letters of their treasonable acts were
discovered. Ampt and his three co-Directors received a decoration from
the Imperial Government, but were so successful in deceiving the Italian
Government that they were subsequently decorated as Cavalieres of the
Crown of Italy.
AMERICAN TRADE PACT WITH NORWAY.
The signing of a general commercial agreement between the United States
and Norway--the first agreement of the kind to be entered into by
America with one of the North European neutrals--was announced by the
War Trade Board on May 3, 1918. It was signed by Vance McCormick,
Chairman of the War Trade Board, and Dr. Fridtjof Nansen, the famous
explorer, who was sent to the United States at the head of a special
mission.
Under the agreement Norway is assured of supplies to cover her estimated
needs so far as they can be furnished without detriment to the war needs
of the United States and its allies, and Norway, on her part, agrees to
permit the exportation to America and its allies of all Norwegian
products not needed for home consumption. It is provided that none of
the supplies imported from the United States or its allies or forwarded
with the aid of American bunker coal shall go directly or indirectly to
the Central Powers or be used to replace commodities exported to those
countries. This applies to anything produced by any auxiliaries to
production obtained under the agreement. In consequence of the agreement
the War Trade Board announced on May 9 that exports to Norway were about
to be resumed.
Another result of the improved relations between the two countries was
the chartering by the United States Shipping Board of 400,000 tons of
Norwegian sailing ships, to be put in non-hazardous trades, thereby
releasing other ships for traffic in the danger zones. This was one of
the most substantial increases which the American-controlled merchant
fleet has received since its inception.
BRITISH SHIPPING LOSSES
In the May issue of the Fortnightly Review of London appears the
following analysis of the gains and losses of the British merchant navy
since the outbreak of the war:
1914 (August to December.)
Tons. Tons.
Built 675,010? Total losses 468,728
Captured from
enemy 753,500 Total gains 1,429,110
--------- ---------
Total gains. 1,429,110 Balance +960,382
1915.
Built 650,919 Total losses 1,103,379
Captured from Total gains 662,419
enemy 11,500 ---------
------- Balance in
Total gains. 662,419 1915 -440,000
Brought down
from 1914 +960,382
---------
Balance at
end of 1915 +519,422
1916.
Built 541,552 Total losses 1,497,848
Captured from Total gains 545,052
enemy 3,500 ---------
------- Balance in
Total gains. 545,052 1916 -952,796
Brought down
from 1915 +519,422
---------
Balance at
end of 1916 -433,374
1917.
Built 1,163,474 Total losses 4,000,537
Captured from Total gains 1,174,974
enemy 11,500 ---------
--------- Balance in
Total gains 1,174,974 1917 -2,834,563
Brought down
from 1916 -433,374
---------
Balance at
end of 1917 -3,267,937
During the first three months of 1918 the net losses were 367,296 tons;
320,280 tons were built and 687,576 were lost, bringing the adverse
balance on April 1, 1918, to 3,635,233 tons.
GREAT BRITAIN'S WAR EXPENSES
The British Government has issued a White Paper estimating the cost of
the war for Great Britain in the year ending March 31, 1919, at
$12,750,000,000, of which $9,305,000,000 is allocated to navy, army, air
service, munition and ordnance factories, $205,000,000 to pensions,
$750,000 to National War Aims Committee; services not specified,
(presumed to include shipping,) $500,000,000; Treasury loans,
$1,750,000,000; Board of Trade, $265,000,000; wheat supplies,
$230,000,000, of which $200,000,000 is the estimated loss on the sale of
the 18-cent loaf of bread. Subsidies toward the sale of potatoes are
estimated at $25,000,000; purchases of wool and other raw materials are
put at $40,000,000, payment to railways at $175,000,000, and $25,000,000
for timber.
HATRED BETWEEN ITALIANS AND AUSTRIANS
THE implacable hatred which has developed between Italians and Austrians
is illustrated by the following Italian _communiqué_, issued in Rome on
Feb. 11, in reply to the Austrian Supreme Command's denial that the
Austro-Germans were first to bombard cities from airplanes. It points
out that the Austro-Germans first bombarded Udine, Treviso, Padua,
Verona, Venice, Ravenna, &c., massacring defenseless and innocent
populations and ruining valuable art treasures, and adds:
The Italians went to Trieste not to bombard citizens and private
houses, but the hydroplane stations in which are sheltered the
assassins of Venice, and the two vessels of the Monarch type which
were kept by the Imperial and Royal Navy behind the dyke, in the
hope that the Italian elements of the city would help to protect
them and afterward enable them to set out on some heroic enterprise
against the defenseless localities on the Adriatic Coast.
Immediately the hydroplanes, yielding to the indignation of the
whole world, ceased bombarding Venice, and immediately the two
vessels of the Monarch type were removed from Trieste, our aerial
raids ceased, since an understanding was proposed.
We wage war against the enemy's armed forces, and not against women,
children, monuments, and hospitals. In spite of the most solemn
denial issued by the Austrians of the acts which, after the first
bombardments of Padua, Treviso, and Vicenza at the end of December
and the beginning of January, they declared to be a question of
reprisals for bombardments, carried out by Franco-British aviators
on
German towns, the Germans, in substance, gave to be understood what
the Austrians hypocritically wished to hide, that is, that the
pretext of reprisals enabled them to persevere with their nameless
atrocities, which had been imposed upon them by some of their
leaders having yielded to the impulses of a criminal mentality. Thus
it happened that the Austrian Catholic command, bowing to the orders
of the German Lutheran pastors, bombarded Catholic churches in the
Italian cities. And so we see the Austro-Hungarian Government--so
solicitous for peace and love between nations--sowing hatred which
nothing can quench.
THE ORIGIN OF THE IRISH
Perhaps some light may be shed on the internal divisions which make the
solution of the Irish question so nearly impossible by a realization of
the fact that the population of Ireland consists of an unassimilated
congeries of races, every element of which except one represents foreign
invasion and conquest.
The earliest race, short, round-headed, dark, appears to be akin to the
Ligurian race of the Mediterranean; this race hunted the huge Irish elks
with flint arrows and axes, and may claim to be the real indigenous
stock, still surviving in the west. The second race, tall, dark,
long-headed, was akin to the Iberians (Basques) of Spain, who also
invaded Western France, and who probably built the cromlechs and stone
circles, since these are also found in Iberian Spain and Western France,
as at Carnac in Brittany. The third race, tall, golden-haired,
blue-eyed, came from the Baltic, bringing amber beads, and building
chambered pyramids, such as are also found in Denmark. The fourth race
to arrive included the Gaels, tall, round-headed, with red hair and gray
eyes; they came from Central Europe, probably by way of France.
Each new arrival was followed by wars of conquest, the Gaels finally
making themselves predominant, but not exterminating the older
races, examples of whom may still be found, with unchanged race
characteristics. In 1169 Norman French and Welsh came, as mercenaries in
the army of the King of Leinster. The Burkes are descended from the
Normans, the Fitzgeralds from the Welsh.
Battles in Picardy and Flanders
Military Review of All Fronts from April 17 to May 18, 1918.
In order to obtain a view of the situation of the German offensive on
April 17, which forms a background for the events to be related in this
review, it is necessary to point out a few controlling facts and
conditions--some long obvious, some recently revealed.
Ludendorff's major plan, based on the assumed shortness of vision on the
part of the Allies, to separate the British from the French and, by
isolating the former in the north and driving the latter toward their
bases in the south, thereby reach the mouth of the Somme, had failed. It
had failed, just as did the plan of Napoleon at Charleroi in 1815 to
separate the English from the Prussians. It failed because the military
genius of the British General Carey and the French General Fayolle on
two separate occasions had closed up gaps in the line of the Allies, and
because the vast masses of German troops were incapable, on account of
their demoralization, of making the fractures permanent.
It is now evident that the demoralization of General Gough's 5th Army,
which began on March 23, not only threatened his junction with Byng's 3d
Army, by forming an eight-mile gap between the two--into which, as has
already been related, Carey moved his hastily gathered nondescript
detachment--but as the 5th Army retreated another gap, gradually
lengthening to nearly thirty miles, was opened between its right wing
and the 6th French Army. Here General Fayolle, who had just appeared on
the field from Italy, did with organized divisions what Carey had done
with his scratch volunteers further north.
From statements made before the Reichstag Main Committee, but more
especially from letters and diaries found on captured German officers,
it appears that both Carey and Fayolle stopped an armed mob, utterly
incapable of taking advantage of the situation it had created as a
disciplined force. Regiments thrown together, officers separated from
their commands, detachments without control, all due to the impetuous
rush forward, could not recover in time to prevent Carey and Fayolle
from completing their work.
[Illustration: DIAGRAM SHOWING 8-MILE GAP, MARCH 23, WHICH WAS FILLED BY
CAREY'S "SCRATCH DIVISION," WHO HELD THE BREACH FOR SIX DAYS]
But Ludendorff's major plan, having failed in the first month of his
offensive, could not be repeated in the second. Since April 30 there has
been no French, British, Belgian, Portuguese, or American front in
Flanders or Picardy--only the front of the Allies, with the troops of
their several nations used wherever needed by the supreme commander,
Foch.
During the first month of the offensive two angles had been developed by
Ludendorff: The first, the great one, in the south, from a base of sixty
miles with a forty-mile perpendicular and its vertex near the Somme; the
second in the north, from a base of twenty miles with a fifteen-mile
perpendicular and its vertex on the edge of the Forest of Nieppe.
Between these two angles the original front of Lens, from Bailleul north
to Givenchy, still held, fifteen miles in length. There had been
voluntary or forced changes made by the Allies east of Ypres and east of
Arras.
[Illustration: DIAGRAM OF CRITICAL SITUATION, MARCH 24, 1918, WHERE
GENERAL FAYOLLE SAVED THE DAY BY THROWING HIS DIVISIONS INTO THE
THIRTY-MILE GAP LEFT BY RETIREMENT OF BRITISH 5TH ARMY]
The corollary in Flanders, unless it could be demonstrated, would be
as great a failure as the main proposition in Picardy. And the still
possible successful issue of the latter depended absolutely, as we shall
see, on a complete demonstration of the former. Both have been so far
handicapped by the augmenting mobility of the Allies, their growing
numbers, their centralized command, and their successful insistence to
control the air.
Such was the situation in Flanders and Picardy which confronted
Ludendorff at the dawn of the second month of the German offensive. The
whole problem to be solved was just as apparent to the Allies as it was
to him--to gain the barriers which threatened his angles of penetration,
in order again to utilize his preponderant forces of men and guns on a
broad front. To attempt to extend the vertices without broadening the
sides would mean to court danger, even destruction, at their weakest
points.
His frontal attacks upon Ypres and Arras, respectively from the
Passchendaele Ridge and against the Vimy Ridge, having failed, it became
necessary to attempt to flank the Allies by the occupation of their
defensive ridges. This explains his successful assaults upon Mont
Kemmel, 325 feet high, and his desire to envelop Mont Rouge, 423 feet
high, and his persistent attacks along the La Bassée Canal against the
heights of Béthune, 141 feet, all preceded by diversions between the
Somme and Avre, with concentrations at Villers-Bretonneux, Hangard, and
elsewhere.
[Illustration: PERSPECTIVE MAP SHOWING LOCATION OF OPPOSING FORCES IN
PICARDY AND FLANDERS. THE BLACK ARROW LINE ON THE RIGHT SHOULD NOT BE
MISTAKEN FOR THE OLD BATTLELINE, WHICH IS NOT INDICATED AT ALL. GENERAL
SIXT VON ARNIM'S FORCE, EAST OF YPRES, WAS INADVERTENTLY OMITTED]
On April 18 the French made a feint on both banks of the Avre River
south of Hangard, drove in a mile, and picked up some prisoners;
simultaneously the Germans, with a force of 137,000, made a heavy
assault upon the allied front lying across the La Bassée Canal, with a
diversion on the Lys River near St. Venant. Before the day was done
they had switched their attack to the Kemmel sector. In all three places
the Germans suffered repulse, with the loss of a few hundred prisoners.
Four days later the British advanced their lines on the Lys, just as the
French had on the Avre. Then on the 24th came the great enemy diversion
at Villers-Bretonneux, nine miles southeast of Amiens. Here the Germans
used tanks for the first time. The village, lost to the British on the
first day, was recovered on the second, when just to the south the
French and American troops were hotly contesting with the Germans the
possession of Hangard. The sharp salient at this place made it difficult
for the Allies to hold, while its retention, except as a site from which
losses could be inflicted on the Germans, was unnecessary. Consequently
it was evacuated, after the attacking detachment of the Prussian Guards
had been annihilated.
[Illustration: SCENE OF THE MONTH'S HEAVIEST FIGHTING IN FLANDERS,
ESPECIALLY ABOUT MOUNT KEMMEL]
BATTLE FOR MONT KEMMEL
Meanwhile the Germans had been preparing for a decisive assault against
Mont Kemmel with ever-augmenting artillery fire and with the
concentration of vast numbers of troops on the sidings of the railroad
between the villages of Messines and Wytschaete. These troops numbered
nine divisions, or about 120,000 men. From the 24th till the 27th they
incessantly swung around Mont Kemmel in massed front and flank attacks,
until the French and British were forced to give up the height, together
with the village of the same name and the village of Dranoutre, retiring
on La Clytte and Scherpenberg.
The occupation of Mont Kemmel, however, did not, as Ludendorff had
anticipated, force the British out of the Ypres salient, for their
voluntary retirement from part of the Passchendaele Ridge on April 17-19
had strengthened the salient, which could hold as long as the line of
hills west of Kemmel held--Mont Rouge, Mont Diviagne, Mont des Cats, &c.
The Berlin publicity bureau advertised the fact that a direct thrust at
Ypres had brought the Germans to within three miles of the town--an
achievement of no particular military value--while it quite ignored the
capture of Mont Kemmel, for the simple reason that its value was now
discovered to repose in their ability to carry their occupation
throughout the entire range.
[Illustration: REGION OF HANGARD AND VILLERS-BRETONNEUX, WHERE GERMANS
USED TANKS FOR THE FIRST TIME]
This they have since been vainly, except for local advances, trying to
do, often employing great forces of men in mass for two or three days at
a time--striving vainly to broaden the salient in three places: between
Dickebusch and Voormezeele, due south from Ypres; by an envelopment of
Mont Rouge to the southwest; on the south by an advance in the direction
of Béthune.
VON ARNIM'S EFFORTS
In the northern part of the salient the attacks reached their climax on
Monday, April 29, when General Sixt von Arnim's army was hurled in wave
after wave between Voormezeele and Scherpenberg and on the latter and
Mont Rouge, only to end in a repulse, which, on account of the number of
men believed to have been lost by the enemy, may be considered a
disastrous defeat. All this time a heavy bombardment had been going on
in the Béthune region in preparation for an infantry attack there; yet
on account of the defeat further north, it could not be delivered.
Henceforth, until May 16, von Arnim was obviously placed on the
defensive, whereas the Allies were locally on the offensive, either
recovering lost strategic points or consolidating their lines. On May 5,
between Locre and Dranoutre, the Franco-British forces advanced on a
1,000-yard front to the depth of 500 yards. On the 8th the Germans made
a half-hearted attack on the sector south of Dickebusch Lake and
entered British trenches, only to be repulsed with heavy loss. A similar
attack the next day between La Clytte and Voormezeele not only met with
a similar repulse, but was followed up by a strong British counterattack
which won considerable ground. On the 12th the French captured Hill 44
on the north flank of Kemmel, between La Clytte and Vierstraat.
On May 13 renewed enemy artillery activity on the lines back of Béthune
seemed to presage that an infantry attack was intended there. Nothing of
this nature ensued, however. On the 15th the Germans made a sudden
attack against Hill 44 but were hurled back by the French. On the
16th-17th they maintained a concentrated fire north of Kemmel.
GERMAN ATTACKS ON THE LYS
All these operations on the German northern salient, which is gradually
coming to be called the Lys salient, have shown no indication of being
intended to pave the way for a renewal of the general offensive in
Flanders. Their success might, and probably would, have forced the
evacuation of Ypres and affected the Picardy salient with its vertex
near Amiens, forcing the evacuation of Arras. But, as we have seen, the
operations on the Lys salient, meeting with an overwhelming obstruction
on April 29, did not achieve these results. Throughout the next three
weeks the manoeuvres of the enemy in Picardy afforded excellent
opportunities for counterattacks on the part of the Allies, whose object
here has been to punish the enemy as much as possible and to consolidate
every strategic position on a broad front in anticipation of a renewal
of Germany's original scheme to isolate the allied armies north of the
Somme by a dash to the mouth of that river via Amiens.
In these circumstances, the enemy on April 30 launched heavy attacks on
the French lines in the region of Hangard and Noyon. These fell down,
and on May 2 the French made distinct gains in Hangard Wood and near
Mailly-Raineval. The next day the French advanced their lines between
Hailles and Castel, south of the Avre, and captured Hill 82. On the 6th
the British advanced their lines between the Somme and the Ancre,
southwest of Morlancourt, and in the neighborhood of Locon and the Lawe
River, taking prisoners in both places. On the 11th skirmishes southwest
of Mailly-Raineval, between Hangard and Montdidier, developed into a
pitched battle, in which the French at first lost ground and then
recovered it. On May 14 the Germans, after an intense local bombardment,
delivered a spirited attack on a mile front of the British southwest of
Morlancourt, gaining a footing in their first trenches. Instantly some
Australian troops counterattacked and completely re-established the
British positions. On the 16th and 17th the enemy showed impressive and
portentous artillery activity along the Avre and at Rollott, on the
Abbéville road, south of Montdidier, similar in character to that
observed north of Kemmel, on the Lys salient.
There are now believed to be over half a million American rifles on the
western front, either at definite places or available as reserves. On
April 20 a battalion of Germans made a raid on our eight-mile sector
south of the Woeuvre, and succeeded in reaching the front-line trenches
and taking the village of Seicheprey. Our losses were between 200 and
300; 300 German dead were counted. A detachment of our army, principally
artillery, holds a sector of five miles with the French infantry east of
Montdidier, on the Picardy front, protecting the Beauvais-Amiens road.
Here their fire is principally employed in breaking up German
concentrations and transport in and around Montdidier.
THE ZEEBRUGGE RAID
The German submarine bases at Zeebrugge and Ostend on the Belgian coast
have been repeatedly bombed from the sea and shelled by British monitors
with indifferent results. With the adding of super-U-boats to the German
submarine fleet and the increased transatlantic traffic of the Allies
the necessity for effectually sealing these bases has long been
apparent. Theoretically the nature of the entrance to the harbors of
both places, resembling the neck of a bottle, about 250 feet wide, made
such a task easy by the sinking of block ships. Practically it was most
difficult, on account of both sea obstructions and the shore batteries.
On the night of April 22-23 British naval forces, commanded by Vice
Admiral Keyes, with the co-operation of French destroyers, and hidden by
a newly devised smoke-screen, invented and here employed by
Wing-Commander Brock, attempted to seal up the harbors. At Zeebrugge the
enterprise was entirely successful. The Intrepid and Iphigenia were sunk
well within and across the narrow channel, the Thetis at the entrance.
All three were loaded with cement, which became solid concrete after
contact with the water and can be removed only by submarine blasting. A
detachment of troops was also landed on the mole from the Vindictive and
engaged the crews of the German machine gun batteries stationed there.
An old submarine was placed under the bridge of the mole and detonated.
A German destroyer and some small craft were sunk. Before the blockships
were placed a torpedo had been driven against the lock gates which lead
from the channel into the inner harbors. The expedition retired with the
loss of fifty officers and 538 men, of whom sixteen officers and 144 men
had been killed.
At Ostend, the entrance to whose harbor is protected by no mole, the
block ships Sirius and Brilliant were not effectively placed. Against
this port the experiment was, therefore, repeated on the night of May
9-10. The Vindictive, with a cargo of concrete, was planted and sunk at
the entrance to the channel, but not entirely blocking it.
ITALIAN RAID AT POLA
Another naval exploit of the month worthy of record was the sinking in
the Austrian Harbor of Pola of a dreadnought of the Viribus Unitis class
(20,000 tons) by Italian naval forces, in the morning of May 15. The
achievement was similar to that performed by the President of the
Anaconda Copper Company, who has been appointed Director of Aircraft
Production for the United States Army] Italians on the night of Dec.
9-10, when a destroyer sawed her way through the steel net protecting
the Harbor of Trieste and torpedoed the predreadnoughts Wien and
Monarch, (5,000 tons each,) sinking the former. The Harbor of Pola,
however, is much more difficult to penetrate. It is three miles deep and
entered by a two-mile channel, at certain places less than half a mile
wide, and protected along its entire course by strong defenses. A mole
covers its mouth, making the channel here less than 1,000 yards wide.
Forts Cristo and Musil guard the entrance.
[Illustration: CHARLES M. SCHWAB
Head of the Bethlehem Steel Works, who has been appointed Director
General of the Emergency Fleet Corporation to carry out the Government's
shipbuilding program
(© _Harris & Ewing_)]
[Illustration: JOHN D. RYAN
TEUTONIZING THE BLACK SEA]
Save for the reports which have come to hand denoting the steady
progress of the British forces in Palestine and Mesopotamia, little of
importance has occurred in the Near East. Still the Teutonizing of the
Black Sea goes steadily on. On May 2 it was announced that a German
force had occupied the great Russian fortress of Sebastopol, famous for
its protracted siege by the British and French in 1855, and until then
considered impregnable. On May 12 part of the Russian Black Sea fleet
was taken possession of by the Germans at that place, while the
remainder escaped to Novorossysk. Among the captured vessels only the
battleship Volga and the protected cruiser Pamiat Merkuria were in
serviceable condition. At Odessa a new dreadnought and two protected
cruisers had already been seized by the Germans as they lay in their
slips.
In Macedonia the huge allied forces under the French General,
Guillaumat, are still waiting on events. The Greek Army is still in
process of reconstruction under the Venizelos Administration. The month,
however, has not been barren of engagements on this battleline. On April
28 the Serbians beat back attempts of the Bulgars to capture fortified
positions in the Vetrenik region; the French and British did the same in
regard to German attacks aimed at points west of Makovo and south of
Lake Doiran. So it has been all the month, the monotony only varied on
April 27, when there was intense artillery fire by the allied guns in
the neighborhood of Monastir, on the Cerna, and, in the Vetrenik region,
a Serbian assault annihilated a Bulgar section.
[Illustration: MAP OF PALESTINE AND MESOPOTAMIA, WHERE TWO BRITISH
ARMIES ARE AIMING AT BAGDAD RAILWAY]
IN THE NEAR EAST
There has been no serious attempt on the part of the Turks during the
month to oppose the expansion of General Allenby's front beyond
Jerusalem or the triumphant march of General Marshall up the Euphrates
and the Tigris--on the latter river now sixty miles below Mosul,
Marshall's obvious objective. The objective of Allenby is Aleppo, where
there is said to be a single division of German troops in addition to
the Turks, who have been forced north from Jerusalem. Allenby and
Marshall are advancing along parallel lines with a desert space of about
400 miles between. The Turks and their ally still have possession of the
caravan trail and the partly built and entirely surveyed Bagdad Railway,
which intersect the prospective parallel paths of Allenby and Marshall,
whose lines of communication already reach hundreds of miles to the
rear. But while Allenby has a lateral sea communication with Syrian
ports, no such advantage is enjoyed by Marshall, who must get all his
supplies from the head of the Persian Gulf, 450 miles to the south.
Whatever be the force at the disposition of the enemy, it is evident
that he will continue to possess a predominating tactical and strategic
advantage until he has been decisively defeated at both Aleppo and Mosul
or a junction has been established between Allenby and Marshall, or
both.
[Illustration: SCENE OF LATEST ITALIAN FIGHTING IN THE ALPS]
The former's line, which is a sixty-mile front, extending from Arsuf el
Haram on the Mediterranean east to the Jordan, took Es-Salt with
thirty-three German and 317 Turkish prisoners on May 1--twenty miles
north of Jerusalem--which was first occupied by Allenby early in
December.
Marshall's advance has been much more rapid. In the week of May 1 his
cavalry, in pursuit of the fleeing Turks, advanced twenty miles and
captured 1,000 prisoners. On May 7 he was 80 miles from Mosul; on May 10
he was within 60 miles. Allenby is 300 miles from Aleppo and 110 miles
from Damascus.
ON THE ITALIAN FRONT
Without any large movements of troops taking place, several things have
occurred since April 18 to invite attention to the Italian front, and
much speculation by military men has been indulged in as to whether the
resumption of the Teutonic offensive would be from the Piave or south
from the Astico-Piave line lying across the Sette Comuni and the Brenta,
or from the west of the Adige and the Lago di Garda, in an attempt to
reach Brescia and the metallurgic centre of Italy.
And most of the things in question which have occurred have served to
restore and augment the confidence of the Italians in their position. A
new 2d Army has taken the place of the old, annihilated in the
Capporetto campaign. All the lost guns have been replaced and new
heavies added. Revolution is, at any moment, expected to break out in
Austria-Hungary, while the Congress of Jugoslavs in Rome on April 9-11
has secured the adhesion to the Allies of the subjects of the Hapsburgs
and enabled the Italian Government to make use of them as a fighting
force. There are now believed to be no German divisions on the Italian
front, where the entire enemy strength, not measurably increased since
the snows have disappeared in the north, consists of 800
Austro-Hungarian battalions, or less than 1,000,000 men.
But what has promoted most satisfaction in the Italian Government and
people was the decree issued by the Interallied Supreme Council of War
at Abbéville on May 3, giving General Foch authority to include the
Italian front under his supreme command, that front thereby becoming the
right wing of the allied battle line in Europe--now "one army, one
front, and one supreme command."
That is the way Bonaparte fought his victorious battles in the days of
the First Republic, alternately on the Rhine and the Adige. Moreau could
not win without Bonaparte, nor Bonaparte without Moreau, while Carnot,
in the centre, was the vehicle of transit.
Before the snows made manoeuvres impossible the Italians had closed two
gates which threatened the plains of Veneto from the north--one at the
junction of the front with the Piave, one at the angle of the Frenzela
Torrent and the Brenta River.
Gunfire had been steadily augmenting on the front when, on May 10, they
closed another, and on May 15 still another. The first of these was the
capture of Monte Corno, which commanded the part up the Vallarsa, the
second was a partial recovery of Monte Asolone, between the Brenta and
the Piave, sufficient to cover the path up the Val San Lorenzo. Both
mountains are really plateaus of about two square miles area each, whose
irregular summits the enemy had strongly fortified in order to clear the
valleys below. In both places subsequent Austrian counterattacks were
broken up.
Meanwhile, Italian aircraft dominate from above. On May 14 the enemy
lost eleven airplanes with no losses to the Italians and the British,
who were assisting them.
Premier Lloyd George on German Autocracy
Premier Lloyd George wrote the following preface for a volume containing
extracts from speeches he delivered during the war:
I have never believed that the war would be a short war, or that in
some mysterious way, by negotiation or compromise, we would free
Europe from the malignant military autocracy which is endeavoring to
trample it into submission and moral death. I have always believed
that the machine which has established its despotic control over the
minds and the bodies of its victims and then organized and driven
them to slaughter in order to extend that control over the rest of
the world, would only be destroyed if the free peoples proved
themselves strong and steadfast enough to defeat its attempt in
arms. The events of the last few weeks must have made it plain to
every thinking man that there is no longer room for compromise
between the ideals for which we and our enemies stood. Democracy and
autocracy have come to death grips. One or the other will fasten its
hold on mankind. It is a clear realization of this issue which will
be our strength in the trials to come. I have no doubt that freedom
will triumph. But whether it will triumph soon or late, after a
final supreme effort in the next few months or a long-drawn agony,
depends on the vigor and self-sacrifice with which the children of
liberty, and especially those behind the lines, dedicate themselves
to the struggle. There is no time for ease or delay or debate. The
call is imperative. The choice is clear. It is for each free citizen
to do his part.
The Greatest Battle of the War
Second Month of the Desperate Fighting in Flanders and Picardy
By Philip Gibbs
_Special Correspondent With the British Armies_ [Copyrighted in United
States of America]
_The May issue of Current History Magazine contained Philip Gibbs's
story of the great German offensive up to April 18, 1918. At that time
the Germans were seeking to break the British lines in front of Ypres,
as part of their drive for Amiens and the British Channel ports,
generally known as the battle of Picardy. The pages here presented are a
continuation of his eyewitness narrative of the most sanguinary battle
in history._
April 18.--The arrival of French troops on our northern front is the
most important act that has happened during the last three or four days,
and it was with deep satisfaction that we met these troops on the roads
and knew that at last our poor, tired men would get support and help
against their overwhelming odds.
Beside the khaki army of the British has grown very quickly an army in
blue, the cornflower blue of the French poilus. They are splendid men,
hard and solid fellows, who have been war-worn and weather-worn during
these three and a half years past, and look the great fighting men who
have gone many times into battle and know all that war can teach them in
endurance and cunning and quick attack.
As they came marching up the roads to the front they were like a
streaming river of blue--blue helmets and coats and blue carts and blue
lorries, all blending into one tone through these April mists as they
went winding over the countryside and through French market towns, where
their own people waved to them, and then through the villages on the
edge of the Flanders battlefields, where they waited to go into action
under shell-broken walls or under hedges above which British shellfire
traveled, or in fields where they made their bivouacs, and fragrant
steams arose to one's nostrils as cuistots lifted the lids of stewpans
and hungry men gathered around after a long march.
The attack this morning from Robecq, below St. Venant, down to Givenchy,
is a serious effort to gain La Bassée Canal and form a strong defensive
flank for the enemy while he proceeds with his battles further north and
also to get more elbow room from the salient in which he is narrowly
wedged below Merville.
For this purpose he brought up several more divisions, including the
239th, which was in the Somme fighting of March, but not heavily
engaged. This one attacked the British at Robecq and was repulsed with
heavy losses. It was at a place called La Bacquerolles Farm, near
Robecq, where after heavy shelling last night the enemy rushed one of
the outposts at 10 o'clock. In order to facilitate the attack this
morning of German divisions north and south at 4 o'clock the German guns
began a heavy bombardment of the British lines as far down as Givenchy
and maintained it for five hours, using large numbers of gas shells, on
account of the east wind, which was in their favor.
His guns shelled the bridges across the canal in the hope of preventing
the British supports going up. Then his troops came forward in waves on
a wide front. They were in immense numbers as usual, with many mixed
battalions. One of the British units today took prisoners from ten
different regiments. There were some ten German divisions facing four
British ones north of Béthune, and all along the line the troops were
much outnumbered; nevertheless, the enemy was repulsed at all but a few
points of attack and beaten back bloodily.
THE GHASTLY LOSSES
In this battle one regiment of the 42d German Division has lost over 50
per cent. of its strength, and other losses are on a similar scale.
These ghastly casualties have been piling up along this line between
Merville and Béthune since the 13th of this month, when the Germans made
a series of small attacks as a prelude to today's battle, owing, it
seems, to battalion officers taking the initiative without orders from
the High Command, in order to push forward and break the British lines
if they could find weakness there.
On the 13th and 14th some of the South Country troops were attacked by
strong forces repeatedly, and on the second day for five hours at a
stretch the enemy endeavored to come across from houses and inclosures
west of Merville toward St. Venant. For those five hours the South
Country lads fired with rifles, Lewis guns, and machine guns into solid
bodies of Germans, and their field guns tore gaps in the enemy's
formations and broke up their assemblies before the attacks could
proceed. One advance in five waves was mown down before it could make
any progress, and others were dealt with in the same way.
_Mr. Gibbs describes the German repulse between Robecq and Givenchy as a
"black day for the enemy," and continues:_
April 19.--At the end of the day all the enemy's efforts ended in bloody
failure, in spite of the daring and courage of his troops, who
sacrificed themselves under the British fire, but were only able to gain
a few bits of trench work and one or two outposts below the fortified
works at Givenchy, which are quite useless to them for immediate or
future use.
It was a big attack, for which they had prepared in a formidable way.
After the shock of their repulse by the Lancashire men of the 55th
Division they increased their strength of heavy artillery by three times
bringing up large numbers of howitzers, including eleven-inch monsters.
They were massed in divisions in front of us and determined to smash
through in the wake of a tremendous bombardment.
BRITISH UNDER FIRE
For five hours, as I said, this storm went on with high explosives and
gas, and the devoted British had to suffer this infernal thing, the
worst ordeal human beings may be called upon to bear, this standing to
while all the earth upheaved and the air was thick with shell splinters.
But when the bombardment had passed and the German infantry came forward
the British received them with blasts of machine-gun fire, incessant
volleys of rifle fire, and a trench mortar bombardment that burst with
the deadliest effect among the attacking troops.
This trench mortar barrage of the British was one of the most awful
means of slaughter yesterday, especially when the enemy tried to cross
La Bassée Canal further north, and in that sector the infantry and
gunner officers say more Germans were killed yesterday along the canal
bank than on any other day since the fighting in this neighborhood. One
battery of trench mortars did most deadly execution until their pits
were surrounded, and only two of their crews were able to escape.
The machine gunners fought out in the open after some of their positions
had been wiped out by gunfire, caught the enemy waves at fifty yards'
range, and mowed them down; but the enemy was not checked for a long
time, despite his losses, and when one body fell another came up to fill
its place and press on into any gap that had been made by their
artillery or their own machine-gun sections.
There was one such momentary gap between a body of the Black Watch, who
had been weakened by shellfire, and some of their comrades further
north, and into this the enemy tried to force a way. Other Scottish
troops were in reserve, and when it became clear that a portion of the
line was endangered by this turning movement they came forward with grim
intent, and by a fierce counterattack swept through the gap and flung
back the enemy, so that the position was restored.
Further north some Gloucesters were fighting the enemy both ways, as
once before in history, when they fought back to back, thereby winning
the honor of wearing their cap badge back and front, which they do to
this day. The Germans had worked behind them as well as in front of
them, and they were in a tight corner, but did not yield, and finally,
after hard fighting, cleared the ground about them.
Meanwhile further south some Lancashire troops on the canal lost some
parts of their front line under an intense bombardment, but still fought
on in the open, repulsing every effort to drive them back and smashing
the enemy out of their positions, so that only remnants of the German
outposts clung on until late last night, up to which time there was
savage strife on both sides.
FIGHTING FOR THE CANAL
Extraordinary scenes took place on the canal bank when the enemy tried
to cross. In the twilight of early dawn a party came out of a wood and
tried to get across the water, but was seen by the British machine
gunners and shot down.
Then another body of men advanced and carried with them a floating
bridge, but when those who were not hit reached the water's edge they
found the bridge as fixed did not reach to the other side. Some of them
walked on it, expecting perhaps to jump the gap, but were shot off, and
other men on the bank also were caught under British fire.
A Corporal went down to the canal edge and flung hand grenades at the
Germans still struggling to fix the bridge, and then a Lieutenant and a
few men rushed down and pulled the bridge on to their side of the bank.
Later this young officer saw one of the British pontoons drifting down
and swam to it and made it fast beyond the enemy's reach, but in a
position so that some of his men ran across and caught the enemy under
their fire on his side of the canal.
At 7 o'clock yesterday morning, while a handkerchief was hoisted by the
enemy, three hundred of them made signs of surrender. Some of them
changed their minds at the last moment and ran away, but 150 gave
themselves up, and some of them swam the canal in order to reach our
side for this purpose. They were shivering in their wet clothes and in
the northeast wind, which lashed over the battle lines yesterday, and
they were very miserable men.
THE BELGIAN VICTORY
_Mr. Gibbs declares that had the Germans been able to pass Givenchy or
cross the canal north of Béthune on the 18th and 19th the result would
have proved disastrous. He gives credit for the repulse to the British
and French combined lines. He thus describes the achievement of the
Belgians on April 17_:
The Germans on the 17th pressed the attack in force against the
Belgians. Besides three regiments of the 1st Landwehr Division usually
holding this sector, between the Ypres-Staden railway and Kippe, they
brought up from Dixmude--poor Dixmude, into whose flaming ruins I went
when it was first bombarded in October, 1914--two regiments of the 6th
Bavarian Division, and from the coast the 5th Matrosen Regiment of the
2d Naval Division, with a regiment of the 58th Saxons. It was a heavy
force, and they hoped to surprise and annihilate the Belgian resistance
by their weight and quickness of attack.
The Belgians were waiting for them, standing, too, in those swampy
fields which they have held against the enemy for three and a half
years, always shelled, always paying daily a toll of life and limb, not
getting much glory or recognition because of the great battles
elsewhere, but patient and enduring as when I knew them on the Yser in
the first dreadful Winter of the war, and their little regular army
fought to a finish.
Even before the battle the German marines, Saxon troops, and Landwehr
suffered misery and lost many men. They lay out in the flat, wet fields
two nights previously, and were very cold, and scared by the Belgian
gunfire which burst among them. They had no great artillery behind them,
and the Saxons and German sailors now prisoners of the Belgians curse
bitterly because they were expected to get through easily in spite of
this.
Germans Cut Off
The enemy's intention was to take Bixschoote and advance across the Yser
Canal, driving south to Poperinghe. What they did by their massed
attacks was to penetrate to a point near Hoekske, southeast of Merckem,
the main weight of their pressure being directed along the Bixschoote
road. The Belgians delivered a quick counterattack, with wonderful
enthusiasm among officers and men. They had perfect knowledge of the
country, and used this fully by striking up from a place called Luyghem
in such a way that the enemy was driven toward the swamp, where any who
went in sank up to his neck in the ice-cold water.
The Germans were cut off from their own lines and trapped. Seven hundred
of them surrendered, men of all the regiments I have mentioned, and they
seemed to think themselves lucky at getting off so cheaply, though they
quailed when they were brought back through the towns behind the lines,
and the Belgian women, remembering many things, raised a cry as these
men passed. It was not a pleasant sound. I heard it once in France when
a German officer passed through with an escort. It was a cry which made
my blood run cold. But there is gladness among the Belgian troops, for
they had long waited for their chance of striking, and made good.
Heroism of the Doctors
As heroic a story as anything in all this history of the last four weeks
is that of the medical officers, nurses, orderlies, and ambulance men
belonging to these casualty clearing stations, who were not far behind
the fighting lines when the battle began on March 21.
And then in a few hours they were on the very edge of the enemy's
advancing tide, so that they were almost caught by it and had to make
brave efforts to rescue the wounded, save their equipment, and get away
to a place where for a little while again they could go on with their
noble work until the red edge of war swept up with its fire again and
they had to retreat still further.
I used to pass very often the outer ring of those casualty clearing
stations on the right of the British line beyond Bapaume, in the Cambrai
salient, and away toward St. Quentin.
They were almost caught on that day of March 21 when the infernal
bombardment was flung over a wide belt of the British lines, and the
enemy stormed the defenses and the British fought back in heroic
rearguard actions. It became a question of only a few hours, sometimes
of the last quarter of an hour, when these brave medical officers with
the nurses and orderlies could get away.
It is always the rule of patients first, and at Ham there were 1,200
wounded, and many others in other places. The railways were choked with
military transport or destroyed by shellfire. On the roads refugees were
mixed up with the transport and guns and troops. It was a frightful
problem, but the medical staffs did not lose their nerve, and set about
the business of removal with fine skill and discipline.
Caring for the Wounded
What wounded could walk were gathered together and sent on to the roads
to make their way back as far as their strength would carry them. The
badly wounded were packed into all the available ambulances and sent
away. The equipment had sometimes to be put on any train, regardless of
its destination. It was gathered in afterward from whatever place it
went to.
A casualty clearing station of 1,000 beds needs 100 lorries to move it,
but nine lorries take a full kit for 200 beds, and always nine lorries
moved off first after the wounded to take up a new station further back
and carry on. The medical officers looked after the surgical instruments
and trundled them along the roads on wheeled stretchers. One officer
went twenty-five miles this way and another seventeen miles. The
sisters, after the wounded had left, were put on any vehicle going back
from the battleline.
During these days I saw them squeezed between drivers and men on motor
lorries, sitting among the Tommies in transport wagons, one at least on
a gun limber, and others perched on top of forage, still merry and
bright in spite of all the tragedy about them, because that is their
training and their faith.
In this retreat one poor sister was killed and another wounded. Many of
them, with the medical officers, lost their kits. At Achiet le Grand, on
March 21, a shell killed eight orderlies and blew out the back of the
operating theatre, and at another village on a second night, three
ambulances were smashed up by bombs. Two drivers, with some of their
patients, were killed, but all the wounded were brought away from the
outer ring of casualty clearing stations safely, and then from the
second ring through Roye and Marincourt, Dernacourt, and Aveluy.
At Roye there was no time to spare, owing to the enemy's rapid advance,
and seventy patients remained with a medical officer and twelve
orderlies until they could be rescued, if there was any possible
chance. There seemed at first no chance, but on the way back to
Villers-Bretonneux the medical officer in command of the first convoy
met some motor ambulances and begged the drivers to go into Roye and
rescue those who had been left behind. They went bravely and brought
away all the wounded and the staff, and had no time to spare, because
the last ambulance came under the German rifle fire.
It is a strange and wonderful thing that the patients do not seem to be
harmed in any way by this excitement and fatigue, and one of the chiefs
who made a tour of inspection of all his clearing stations at this time
tells us he found all the wounded in good condition and apparently no
worse for their experience.
Fall of Villers-Bretonneux
_ On April 24 the Germans attacked the important village of
Villers-Bretonneux, near Amiens; it is on a hill above the Somme, and
was used as a corps headquarters and administrative office by the
British. The attack was in great force, including tanks, the first time
they had been used by the Germans._
_The initial assault was a success and the Germans took the village and
advanced nearly a mile beyond--but let Mr. Gibbs tell the rest:_
During the night they were driven out by Australian troops, who, by a
most skillful and daring piece of generalship, were sent forward in the
darkness without preliminary artillery preparation, and, relying
absolutely on the weapons they carried to regain this important portion,
which gave the enemy full observation of the British positions on both
sides of the Somme Valley beyond Amiens.
The splendid courage of the Australian troops, the cunning of their
machine gunners, and the fine leadership of their officers achieved
success, and, in conjunction with English battalions, they spent the
night clearing out the enemy from the village, where he made a desperate
resistance, and brought back altogether something like 700 or 800
prisoners.
It was a complete reversal of fortune for the enemy, and in this
twenty-four hours of fighting he has lost great numbers of men, whose
bodies lie in heaps between Villers-Bretonneux and Warfusee and all
about the ruins and fields in that neighborhood.
First German Tanks
The attack on Villers-Bretonneux was made by four divisions. They were
the 4th Guards, the 77th, quite new to this phase of the war, the 228th,
and the 243d. They were in the full strength of divisions, twelve
regiments in each, and a great weight of men on such a narrow front
against one British division, whose men had already been under frightful
fire and had been living in clouds of poison gas with masks on.
An officer of the Middlesex was in a bit of a trench when the first
German tank attacked his men on the east side of the village, and it
went right over him as he lay crouched, and traveled on, accompanied by
bodies of troops.
The Middlesex and West Yorks put up a great fight but had to give ground
to superior numbers. The East Lancashires, who were the garrison of
Villers-Bretonneux, were also attacked with great odds, and after a
brave resistance fell back with the general line, which took up a
position toward the end of this first phase of the battle west of
Villers-Bretonneux and in the edge of Bois Abbé to the left of it. Into
this wood in the course of the day a German patrol of one officer and
forty men made their way and stayed there out of touch with their own
men, and were taken prisoners last night.
The Night Battle
The attack by the Australians was made after 10 o'clock at night. It was
difficult to attack suddenly like this. There was no artillery
preparation. There should have been a moon, but by bad luck it was
veiled in a thick, wet mist.
It was decided by the Australian General that his men should go straight
into the attack with bayonet and machine gun, not waiting for artillery
protection which would tell the enemy what was coming.
The plan of attack was to push forward in two bodies and to encircle
Villers-Bretonneux, while some Northamptons and others were in the
centre with the order to fight through the village from the north. This
manoeuvre was carried out owing to the magnificent courage of each
Australian soldier and the gallantry of the officers.
The Germans fought desperately when they found themselves in danger of
being trapped. They had nests of machine guns along the railway
embankment below the village, and these fired fiercely, sweeping the
attackers who tried to advance upon them.
Those who worked around north and east of the village also came under a
burst of machine-gun fire from weapons hidden among the ruins and
trenches, but they rounded up the enemy and fought him from one bit of
ruin to another in streets which used to be filled with civilian life
only a few weeks ago and crowded with staff officers and staff cars, but
now were littered with dead bodies and raked by bullets.
The Australians captured two light field guns, which the enemy had
brought up in the morning, according to his present habit of advancing
guns behind his third wave of men, and several minenwerfer and many
machine guns.
Great Piles of Dead
During the night they and the English troops seized over 500 men as
prisoners and sent them back, and several hundred seem to have been
routed out. Today, [the 25th,] judging from these I saw myself, the
living were not so many as the dead.
It was fierce fighting in Villers-Bretonneux and around it last night
and this morning the enemy fought until put out by bayonet, rifle
bullet, or machine gun. The Australian officers say that they have never
seen such piles of dead, not even outside of Bullecourt or Lagnicourt
last year, as those who lie about this village of frightful strife.
The German tanks, which were first seen in this battle, though heavier
than the British, with bigger guns, have now beaten a retreat, leaving
one of their type in No Man's Land. The tank has a high turret and thick
armor plates, and is steered and worked on a different system from the
British. One of them was "killed" by a tank of the old British class,
and then the British put in some of the newer, faster, and smaller
types, which can steer almost as easily as a motor car, as I know,
because I have traveled in one at great pace over rough ground.
These set out to attack bodies of German infantry of the 77th Division
forming up near Cachy. It was a terrible encounter, and when they
returned this morning their flanks were red with blood. They slew
Germans not by dozens nor by scores, but by platoons and companies. They
got right among the masses of men and swept them with fire, and those
they did not kill with their guns they crushed beneath them, manoeuvring
about and trampling them down as they fell. It seems to have been as
bloody a slaughter as anything in this war.
Battle for Kemmel Hill
_The furious battle for the possession of Kemmel Hill, an eminence of
strategic importance in the Ypres region, occurred April 25, 26, and 27,
and was as sanguinary as any in Flanders. Although the Germans won the
hill, their victory involved such colossal sacrifices that this deadly
thrust ended their serious offensive for the time. Mr. Gibbs's
description of this battle in part follows:_
After several attempts against Kemmel had been frustrated the enemy all
went out, April 25, to capture this position. Four divisions at least,
including the Alpine Corps, the 11th Bavarians, and the 5th, 6th, and
107th, were moved against Kemmel in the early morning fog after a
tremendous bombardment of the Franco-British positions. It was a
bombardment that begun before the first glimmer of dawn, like one of
those which the British used to arrange in the days of their great
Flanders battles last year. It came down swamping Kemmel Hill so that it
was like a volcano, and stretched away on to the British lines on the
left of the French by Maedelstede Farm and Grand Bois down to
Vierstraat.
Then the German infantry attacked in depth, battalion behind battalion,
division behind division, and their mountain troops of Alpine Corps and
Jägers and Bavarians came on first in the assault of Kemmel Hill, which
was not much more than a hillock, though it looms large in Flanders, and
in this war. The French had suffered a terrible ordeal of fire, and the
main thrust of the German strength was against them.
Foe Strikes in Two Directions
The enemy struck in two directions to encircle the hill and village of
Kemmel, one arrowhead striking to Dranoutre and the other at the point
of junction between the French and British northward.
In each case they were favored by fog and the effect of their gunfire.
They were able to drive in a wedge which they pushed forward until they
had caused gaps. The French on Kemmel Hill became isolated and there was
a gulf between the British and the French and between the French left
and right.
On the hill the French garrison fought with splendid heroism. These men,
when quite surrounded, would not yield, but served their machine guns
and rifles for many hours, determined to hold their positions at all
costs, and to the death. Small parties of them on the west of the hill
held out until midday or beyond, according to the reports of the airmen,
who flew low over them, but by 9 o'clock this morning, owing to the gaps
made by the enemy, the French main line was compelled to draw back from
Kemmel.
They inflicted severe losses on the enemy as they fell back and thwarted
his efforts to break their line on the new defensive positions.
Meanwhile a body of Scottish troops were seriously involved. Some of
their officers whom I saw today tell me the fog was so thick, as on
March 21, that after a terrific bombardment the first thing known at
some points a little way behind the line was when the Germans were all
around them.
Germans Under Von Arnim
The German army of assault upon Kemmel and the surrounding country was
under command of General Sixt von Arnim, who was the leading opponent of
the Allies in the long struggle of the first Somme battles, and whose
clear and ruthless intelligence was revealed in the famous document
summing up the first phase of that fighting, when he frankly confessed
to many failures of organization and supply, but with acute criticism
which was not that of a weak or indecisive man.
Under his command as corps commanders were Generals Seiger and von
Eberhardt, and they had picked troops, including the Alpine Corps and
strong Bavarian and Prussian divisions specially trained for assault in
such country as that of Kemmel. Their plan of attack to strike at the
points of junction between the French and British east of Kemmel, and
also at the French troops south of it, near Dranoutre, proved for the
time successful, and by driving in wedges they were able to make the
Allies fall back on the flanks and encircle Kemmel Hill after furious
and heroic fighting by the French and British troops.
The British now were in weak numbers compared with the strength brought
against them. Their withdrawal to the new lines of defense by Vierstraat
and the furious attacks across the Ypres-Comines Canal gave the enemy
some ground in the region of St. Eloi and the bluff and the spoil bank
of the canal itself. It is villainous ground there, foul with wreckage
of the old fighting.
British troops and Canadian troops were put to the supreme test of
courage to take and hold these places. The glorious old 3d Division,
commanded in those days of 1915 and 1916 by General Haldane, fought from
St. Eloi to the bluff, month in and month out, and lost many gallant
officers and men there after acts of courage which belong to history.
German storm troops made three violent attacks on Locre, which were
flung back by the French, with heavy casualties among the enemy, and it
was only at the fourth attempt with fresh reserves that they were able
to enter the ruins of the village, from which the French then fell back
in order to reorganize for a counterattack. This they launched today at
an early hour, and now Locre is in their hands after close fighting, in
which they slew numbers of the enemy.
After their success on April 25, when they captured Kemmel, the Germans
have made little progress, and, though there was fierce fighting all day
yesterday, they failed to gain their objectives, and were raked by fire
hour after hour, so that large numbers of their dead lie on the field of
battle. At 4 in the afternoon they engaged in fresh assaults upon the
positions near Ridge Wood, to which the line had fallen back, but
English and Scottish troops repulsed them and scattered their waves. It
was a bad day for them because of their great losses. The British have
broken the fighting quality of some of the enemy's most renowned
regiments.
The Country Devastated
All the roads and camps around Ypres are under a heavy, harassing fire
once more, Ypres itself being savagely bombarded by high-explosive and
gas shells, so that after some months of respite those poor ruins are
again under that black spell which makes them the most sinister place in
the world. Suicide Corner has come into its own again, and the old
unhealthy plague spots up by the canal are under fire.
The enemy's guns are reaching out to fields and villages hitherto
untouched by fire, and these harassing shots, intended, perhaps, to
catch traffic on the roads or soldiers' camps, often serve the enemy no
more than by the death of innocent women and children. A day or two ago
a monstrous shell fell just outside a little Flemish cottage tucked away
in an angle of a road which I often pass. It scooped out a deep pit in
the garden without even scarring the cottage walls, but two children
were playing in the garden and were laid dead beside a flower bed.
Yesterday a small boy I know went grubbing about this plot of earth and
brought back a great chunk of shell bigger than his head. Those are the
games children play in this merry century of ours. They are astoundingly
indifferent to the perils about them, and sleep o' nights to the thunder
of gunfire not very far away, or slip their heads under the bedclothes
when bombs fall near.
But older folk find this gradual creeping up of the war a nervous strain
and a mental agony which keeps them on the rack. It is pitiful to watch
their doubts and perplexities and their clinging on to their homes and
property. Shells smash outlying cottages to dust with their people
inside them, but still the people in the village itself stay on, hoping
against hope that the Germans' guns have reached their furthest range.
"I shall not go till the first shell falls in the middle of the square,"
said a girl.
Another woman said:
"If I go I lose all I have in life, so I will risk another day."
They take extraordinary risks, and our officers and men find some of
them on the very battlefields and in farmyards where they unlimber their
guns.
Heavy German Losses
The enemy's losses in this continual fighting have been severe. We have
been able to get actual figures of some of their casualties, which are
typical of the more general effect of the British fire. Of one company
of the 7th German Division which fought at St. Eloi on Friday only 40
men remained out of its full strength of 120.
The 4th Ersatz Division lost most heavily, and a prisoner of the 279th
Pioneer Company, which relieved the 360th Regiment of that division,
says the average company strength was fifteen men.
The entire regimental staff was killed by a direct hit of a British
shell on their headquarters dugout near Cantieux. The same thing
happened to the battalion headquarters of the 223d Regiment, which is
now in a state of low morale, having been fearfully cut up.
The 1st Guards Reserve Regiment of the 1st Guards Division, which was
much weakened in the fighting on the Somme and afterward was sent to La
Bassée, lost thirty-six officers, including a regimental commander and
one battalion commander. These losses are affecting inevitably the
outlook of the German troops on the prospects of their continued
offensive.
Prisoners from divisions which suffered most confess they have no
further enthusiasm for fighting, and that their regiments can only be
made to attack by stern discipline and the knowledge that they must
fight on or be shot for desertion.
On the other hand, the best German troops, especially those now
attacking in Flanders, like the Alpine Corps and 11th Bavarian Division,
are elated and full of warlike spirit.
Even their prisoners profess to believe they are winning the war and
will have a German peace before the year is out.
Desperate Fighting for Ypres
_The Germans vainly launched desperate attacks of unexampled fury
against the British and French lines in the Ypres region on April 29.
Mr. Gibbs in his cable dispatch of that date thus refers to these
assaults:_
It becomes clearer every hour that the enemy suffered a disastrous
defeat today. Attack after attack was smashed up by the British
artillery and infantry, and he has not made a foot of ground on the
British front.
The Border Regiment this morning repulsed four heavy assaults on the
Kemmel-La Clytte road, where there was extremely hard fighting, and
destroyed the enemy each time.
One of the enemy's main thrusts was between Scherpenberg and Mont Rouge,
where they made a wedge for a time and captured the crossroads, and it
was here that a gallant French counterattack swept them back.
The British had no more than a post or two in Voormezeele this morning,
and the enemy was there in greater strength, and sent his storm troops
through this place, but was never able to advance against the fire of
the British battalions.
His losses began yesterday, when his troops were seen massing on the
road between Zillebeke and Ypres in a dense fog, through which he
attempted to make a surprise attack. This was observed by low-flying
planes, and his assembly was shattered by gunfire. After a fierce
shelling all night, so tremendous along the whole northern front that
the countryside was shaken by its tumult, German troops again assembled
in the early morning mist, but were caught once more in the British
bombardment.
At 3 o'clock a tremendous barrage was flung down by the German gunners
from Ypres to Bailleul, and later they began the battle by launching
first an attack between Zillebeke Lake and Meteren. South of Ypres they
crossed the Yser Canal by Lock 8, near Voormezeele, which was their
direction of attack against the British, while they tried to drive up
past Locre against the French on the three hills.
The successful defense has made the day most bloody for many German
regiments.
Enemy's Attacks Futile
In order to turn them if frontal attacks failed against the French,
German storm troops--they are now called grosskampf, or great offensive
troops--were to break the British lines on the French left between Locre
and Voormezeele and on the French right near Merris and Meteren. That
obviously was the intention of the German High Command this morning,
judging from their direction of assault.
So far they have failed utterly. They failed to break or bend the
British wings on the French centre, and they failed to capture the
hills, or any one of them, defended by the French divisions.
They have attacked again and again since this morning's dawn, heavy
forces of German infantry being sent forward after their first waves
against Scherpenberg and Voormezeele, which lies to the east of
Dickebusch Lake, but these men have been slaughtered by the French and
British fire and made no important progress at any point.
For a time the situation seemed critical at one or two points, and it
was reported that the Germans had been storming the slopes of Mont Rouge
and Mont Noir, but one of the British airmen flew over these hills at
200 feet above their crests, and could see no German infantry near them.
Round about Voormezeele, North Country and other English battalions had
to sustain determined and furious efforts of Alpine and Bavarian troops
to drive through them by weight of numbers, after hours of intense
bombardment, but the men held their ground and inflicted severe
punishment upon the enemy.
All through the day the German losses have been heavy under field-gun
and machine-gun fire, and the British batteries, alongside the French
seventy-fives, swept down the enemy's advancing waves and his masses
assembled in support at short range.
There is no doubt that the French guarding the three hills have fought
with extreme valor and skill. For a brief period the Germans apparently
were able to draw near and take some of the ground near Locre, but an
immediate counterattack was organized by the French General, and the
line of French troops swung forward and swept the enemy back. Further
attacks by the Germans north of Ypres and on the Belgian front were
repulsed easily, and again the enemy lost many men.
French and British Valor
_On April 30 Mr. Gibbs confirmed the details of the disastrous German
defeats on the two preceding days and gave these further particulars:_
It was the valor of Frenchmen as well as Englishmen which yesterday
inflicted defeat upon many German divisions, and the Allies fought side
by side, and their batteries fired from the same fields and their
wounded came back along the same roads, and the khaki and blue lay out
upon the same brown earth.
I have already given an outline of yesterday's battle, how, after a
colossal bombardment, the German attack early in the morning from north
of Ypres to south of Voormezeele, where English battalions held the
lines, and from La Clytte past the three hills of Scherpenberg, Mont
Rouge, and Mont Noir, which French troops held to the north of Meteren,
where the English joined them; again, how the English Tommies held firm
against desperate assaults until late in the evening; how the enemy made
a great thrust against the French, driving in for a time between
Scherpenberg and Mont Noir until they were flung back by a French
counterattack.
In the night the French, who had now regained all the ground that had
been temporarily in the enemy's hands, made a general counterattack and
succeeded in advancing their line to a depth of about fifteen hundred
yards beyond the line of the three hills, which thereby was made more
secure against future assaults.
Deadly Machine-Gun Work
Meanwhile throughout the day the English battalions had been sustaining
heavy assaults, breaking the enemy against their front. The Leicesters,
especially, had fierce fighting about Voormezeele, where, as I told
yesterday, the enemy was in the centre of the village. German storm
troops advanced against our men here and along other parts of the line
with fixed bayonets, but in most places, except Voormezeele, where there
was close fighting, they were mowed down by Lewis-gun fire before they
could get near. Line after line of them came on, but lost heavily and
fell back.
Over the ground east of Dickebusch Lake some Yorkshire troops saw these
groups of field gray men advancing upon them, and the glint of their
bayonets, wet in the morning mist, and swept them with bullets from the
Lewis guns and rifles until heaps of bodies were lying out there on the
mud flats in the old Ypres salient. The most determined assaults were
concentrated upon the 25th Division, but it held firm and would not
budge, though the men had been under fearful fire in the night
bombardment, and their machine gunners kept their triggers pressed, and
bullets played upon the advancing Germans like a stream from a garden
hose.
The troops in the whole division yielded no yard of ground and they hold
that they killed as many Germans as any battalion in this battle. It was
a black day for Germany. More than ten German divisions, probably
thirteen, seem to have been engaged in this attempt to smash our lines
and encircle the three hills. They included some of the enemy's finest
divisions, so they lost quality as well as quantity in this futile
sacrifice of man-power--man-power which seems to mean nothing in flesh
and blood and heart and soul to men like Ludendorff, but is treated as a
material force like guns and ammunition and used as cannon fodder.
Brilliant French Fighters
_Referring to the French troops in this battle, Mr. Gibbs wrote:_
Today again I have been among the thousands of French soldiers. It is
splendid to see them because of their fine bearing. They are men in the
prime of life, not so young as some of the British and with a graver
look than one sees on British faces, when they have not yet reached the
zone of fire. They are men who have seen all that war means during these
years of agony and hope and boredom and death. They have no illusions.
They stare into the face of death unflinchingly and shrug their
shoulders at its worst menace and still have faith in victory.
So I read them, if any man may read the thoughts that lie behind those
bronzed faces with the dark eyes and upturned mustaches under the blue
painted helmets or the black Tam o' Shanters.
They are not gay or boisterous in their humor, and they do not sing like
the British as they march, but they seem to have been born to this war,
and its life is their life, and they are professionals.
The Tricolor passes along the roads of France and Flanders, and French
trumpets ring out across the flat fields below Scherpenberg, and all the
spirit of the French fighting men, who have proved themselves great
soldiers in this war, as for thousands of years of history, is mingled
with our own battalions. Together yesterday they gave the German Army a
hard knock.
The British Guards
_In his cable of May 1 Mr. Gibbs gave details of the extraordinary
heroism of the British Guards. He related incidents which had occurred
April 11 to 14, after the Germans had broken through the Portuguese in
their efforts to widen the gap between Armentières and Merville by
gaining the crossings of the Lys._
The Grenadier, Irish, and Coldstream Guards were sent forward along the
Hazebrouck-Estaires road when the situation was at its worst, when the
men of the 15th Division and other units had fought themselves out in
continual rearguard and holding actions, so that some of those still in
the line could hardly walk or stand, and when it was utterly necessary
to keep the Germans in check until a body of Australian troops had time
to arrive. The Guards were asked to hold back the enemy until those
Australians came and to fight at all costs for forty-eight hours against
the German tide of men and guns which was attempting to flow around the
other hard pressed men, and that is what the Guards did, fighting in
separate bodies with the enemy pressing in on both flanks.
Greatly outnumbered, they beat back attack after attack, and gained
precious hours, vital hours, by the most noble self-sacrifice. A party
of Grenadiers were so closely surrounded that their officer sent back a
message saying:
"My men are standing back to back and shooting on all sides."
The Germans swung around them, circling them with machine guns and
rifles and pouring a fire into them until only eighteen men were left.
Those eighteen, standing among their wounded and their dead, did not
surrender. The army wanted forty-eight hours. They fixed bayonets and
went out against the enemy and drove through him. A wounded Corporal of
Grenadiers, who afterward got back to the British lines, lay in a ditch,
and the last he saw of his comrades was when fourteen men of them were
still fighting in a swarm of Germans.
Fought Back to Back
The Coldstream Guards were surrounded in the same way and fought in the
same way. The army had asked for forty-eight hours until the Australians
could come, and many of the Coldstreamers eked out the time with their
lives. The enemy filtered in on their flanks, came crawling around them
with machine guns, sniped them from short range and raked them from
ditches and upheaved earth.
The Coldstream Guards had to fall back, but they fought back in small
groups, facing all ways and making gaps in the enemy's ranks, not firing
wildly, but using every round of small-arms ammunition to keep a German
back and gain a little more time.
Forty-eight hours is a long time in a war like this. For two days and
nights the Irish Guards, who had come up to support the Grenadiers and
Coldstreamers, tried to make a defensive flank, but the enemy worked
past their right and attacked them on two sides. The Irish Guards were
gaining time. They knew that was all they could do, just drag out the
hours by buying each minute with their blood. One man fell and then
another; but minutes were gained, and quarters of hours and hours.
Small parties of them lowered their bayonets and went out among the gray
wolves swarming around them, and killed a number of them until they also
fell. First one party and then another of these Irish Guards made those
bayonet charges against men with machine guns and volleys of rifle fire.
They bought time at a high price, but they did not stint themselves nor
stop their bidding because of its costliness.
The brigade of Guards here and near Vieux Berquin held out for those
forty-eight hours, and some of them were fighting still when the
Australians arrived, according to the timetable.
Carnage Near Locre
_Mr. Gibbs, in a dispatch dated May 3, gave these vivid descriptions of
the fighting in the Locre-Dranoutre-Kemmel region:_
On April 24 the German bombardment was intensified and spread over a
deep area, destroying villages, tearing up roads, and making a black
vomit of the harrowed fields. Dranoutre, Locre, Westoutre, and other
small towns were violently bombarded. That night the French discovered
that the Germans were preparing an attack for the next morning, to be
preceded by a gas bombardment. The officers warned all their men, and
they stood on the alert with gas masks when at 3:30 in the morning
thousands of gas shells fell over them, mixed with high explosives of
all calibres up to the monster twelve-inch, which burst like volcanic
eruptions.
In the intensity of bombardment several officers who fought at Fleury
said: "This is the most frightful thing we have seen. Verdun was nothing
to it."
All the French troops jammed on gas masks, and on one day put them on
fifty times, only removing them when the wind, which was fairly strong,
blew away the poison fumes until other storms of shells came. For nearly
a week they wore them constantly, sleeping in them, officers giving
orders in them, and the men fighting and dying in them and charging with
the bayonet in them. It was worth the trouble and suffering, for this
French regiment between Locre and Dranoutre had only twelve gas
casualties.
That morning the German attack fell first on Kemmel Hill, which they
turned from the north, and two hours later, the bombardment continuing
all along the line, they developed a strong attack against Dranoutre in
the south in order to take Locre and turn the French right. Until
evening the troops on Kemmel Hill, with a small body of British, still
held out with great devotion in isolated positions, but by 8 o'clock
that morning Kemmel Hill was entirely cut off.
Other British Units in Danger
This was a severe menace to their comrades at Locre and southward,
because both their flanks were threatened. They did heroic things to
safeguard their right and left, which again and again the enemy tried to
pass. I have already told in a previous message how a gallant French
officer and a small company of men made a counterattack at Dranoutre and
held the post there against all odds.
Up by Locre the commandant of the left battalion found machine-gun fire
sweeping his left flank, and his men had to face left to defend their
line. Small parties of Germans with machine guns kept filtering down
from the north and established themselves on the railway in order to
rake the French with an enfilade fire.
One French company, led by devoted officers, counterattacked there five
times with the bayonet into the sweep of those bullets, and by this
sacrifice saved their flank. Another company advanced to hold the
hospice. There was desperate fighting day after day, so that its ruins,
if any bits of wall are left, will be as historic as the château at
Vermelles, or other famous houses of the battlefields.
French and Germans took it turn and turn about, and although the enemy
sent great numbers of men to garrison this place they never were able to
hold it long, because always some young French Lieutenant and a handful
of men stormed it again and routed the enemy. When it was taken last on
April 29, the day of the enemy's severe defeat, the French captured 100
prisoners in the cellars there, and they belonged to fourteen battalions
of four regiments of three divisions, showing the amazing way in which
the enemy's divisions have been flung into confusion by the French fire.
Under Constant Shellfire
On the morning of April 26 French companies made six attacks, and in the
afternoon two more, and though their losses were heavy, that evening
both the village and hospice of Locre stayed in their hands. That night,
their men being exhausted for a time after so many hours under fire,
they withdrew their line a little to the Locre-Bailleul road by the
Château of Locre and west of Dranoutre in order to reorganize a stronger
defense. The German bombardment slackened on the morning of April 28
owing to fog, and those few hours on that day and one other were the
only respite these French troops had from the incessant and infernal
gunfire when, owing to open warfare, "en rase campagne," as the French
call it, as in 1914, without a complete system of trenches or dugouts or
other artificial cover, they were much exposed.
"There were ten big shells a second," one of these officers told me,
"and that lasted, with only two short pauses, for six days all through
the battle, and other shells were uncountable."
The enemy had brought up light artillery and trench mortars almost to
his front lines in Dranoutre Wood and other places and attempted to take
the French in an enfilade fire from Kemmel, but by this time many French
guns were in position, reinforcing the British artillery, and on the
28th they opened up and killed great numbers of the enemy.
Allied aviators saw long columns of Germans on the roads by Neuve Eglise
and in Dranoutre Wood, and signaled to the guns to range on these human
targets. The guns answered. Masses of Germans were smashed by the fire
and panicstricken groups were seen running out of Dranoutre Wood.
Night of Horror for Germans
That night the Germans seemed to be relieving their troops, and again
the French and British guns flung shells into them, and for the enemy it
was a night of death and horror; but the next day, the 29th, the enemy
made reply by a prolonged bombardment, more intense even than before,
and then attacked with new troops all along the line. But the French
also had many fresh troops in line--not those I met yesterday--who at 2
o'clock in the morning went forward into attack and took back the
village. This defeated the enemy's plan of turning the French left.
All through that day the enemy's desperate efforts to break through
were shattered, and that night the French held exactly the same ground
as before and had caused enormous losses to the German divisions, at
least 40 per cent. of their strength, as it is reckoned on close
evidence.
That night even the German guns stopped their drumfire, as though Sixt
von Arnim's army was in mourning for its dead. It was a night of strange
and uncanny silence after the stupendous tumult, but for those French
regiments who had been holding the line for nearly a week it had been a
day of supreme ordeal.
Preparing for Another Advance
_There were no general engagements during the preceding five days nor up
to May 18, but incessant artillery fire was kept up and raids were
constantly made. On May 5 Mr. Gibbs described the difficulties
encountered by the Germans in preparing for a new advance:_
The enemy has many divisions, both up in the Flemish fields and on the
Somme, divisions in line and divisions in reserve--divisions crowded in
reserve--and there are few roads for them down which to march. There is
not much elbow room for such masses to assemble, and not much cover in
trenches or dugouts from high explosives or shrapnel. So we pound them
to death, many of them to death and many of them to stretcher cases, and
relief comes up, gets wildly mixed with the divisions coming down, and
at night there is mad confusion in the ranks of marching men and
transport columns, which gallop past dead horses and splintered wagons
and wrecks of transport columns, and among the regimental and divisional
staffs, trying to keep order in the German way when things are being
smashed into chaos, while the Red Cross convoys are over-loaded with
wounded and unable to cope with all the bodies that lie about.
This is what is happening behind the German lines--I have not overdrawn
the picture, believe me--and it is upsetting somewhat the plans of the
high German officers who are arranging things from afar through
telephones, down which they shout their orders.
"The Drums of Death"
_In his dispatch of May 9 the following was written to describe the
difficulties of the Germans in reorganizing their battered forces:_
From many points the British have complete observation of the enemy's
positions there, as he has of theirs from the other side of the way,
and, needless to say, they are making use of this direct view by
flinging over storms of shells whenever his transport is seen crawling
along the tracks of the old Somme battlefields or his troops are seen
massing among their shell craters.
The town of Albert itself, where once until recent history the golden
Virgin used to lean downward with her babe outstretched above the ruins,
is now a death trap for the German garrisons there and for any German
gunners who try to hide their batteries among the red brick houses. By
day and night their positions are pounded with high explosives and
soaked in asphyxiating gas.
I went within 2,000 yards of it yesterday, and saw the heaviest work of
the British upon it. It was a wonderful May day, as today is, and the
sun shone through a golden haze upon the town. As I looked into Albert
and saw the shells smashing through, and then away up the Albert-Bapaume
road, past the white rim of the great mine crater of La Boiselle to the
treeless slopes of Posières, and over all that ground of hills and
ditches to the high, wooded distant right, with its few dead stumps of
trees, it was hard to believe that all this was in the area of the
German Army, that the white, winding lines freshly marked upon this
bleak landscape were new German trenches, and that the enemy's outposts
were less than 2,000 yards from where I stood.
Fritz Having a "Thin Time"
Some siege gunners were lying on their stomachs and observing the
enemy's lines for some monsters I had seen on my way up, monsters that
raised their snouts slowly, like elephants' trunks, before bellowing out
with an earthquake roar, annihilating all one's senses for a second.
Some of the men passed the remark to me that "Albert isn't the town it
was" and that "Fritz must be having a thin time there." They also
expressed the opinion that the Albert-Bapaume road was not a pleasant
walk for Germans on a sunny afternoon.
I did not dispute these points with them, for they were beyond argument.
Big shells were smashing into Albert and its neighborhood from many
heavy batteries, raising volcanic explosions there, and shrapnel was
bursting over the tracks in white splashes.
_In describing the artillery fire which broke up a threatened assault on
May 5, Mr. Gibbs wrote:_
A new German division, the 52d Reserve, and the 56th German Division
prepared an assault on Ridge Wood. All these men were crowded into
narrow assembly grounds and did not have quiet hours before the moment
of attack. They had hours of carnage in the darkness. British and French
guns were answering back the German bombardment with their heaviest
fire. French howitzers, long-muzzled fellows, which during recent weeks
I had seen crawling through Flanders with the cornflowers, as the French
soldiers call themselves, crowded about them on the gun limbers and
transport wagons and muddy horses, and which had traveled long
kilometers, were now in action from their emplacements between the
ruined villages of the Flemish war zone, and with their little
brothers, the soixante-quinzes, their blood-thirsty little brothers,
were savage in their destruction and harassing fire.
I have seen the soixante-quinze at work and have heard the rafale des
tambours de la mort--the ruffle of the drums of death--as the sound of
their fire is described by all soldier writers of France. It was that
fire, that slashing and sweeping fire, which helped to break up any big
plan of attack against the French troops yesterday morning, and from
those assembly places a great part of the German infantry never moved
all day, but spent their time, it seems, in carrying back their wounded.
Tragic Desolation of Arras
_Mr. Gibbs on May 11 described a visit to Arras, as follows:_
Since the beginning of these great battles in bleak, cold weather Spring
has come, and almost Summer, changing all the aspect of the old
battlefields and of the woods behind craterland and of the cities under
fire.
I went into one of those cities the other day, Arras, which to me and to
many of us out here is a queerly enchanted place because of its beauty,
which survives even three years of bombardment, and because of the many
great memories which it holds in its old houses and streets and the
sense of romance which lurks in its courtyards and squares, reaching
back to ancient history before its death. For Arras is dead and but the
beautiful corpse of the city that was once very fair and noble.
During the recent weeks the enemy has flung many big explosive shells
into it, so that its ruins have become more ruined and many houses
hardly touched before have now been destroyed. It was sad to see this
change, the fresh mangling of stones that had already been scarred, the
heaps of masonry that lay piled about these streets that were utterly
deserted. I walked down many of them and saw no living soul, only a few
lean cats which prowled about, slinking close to the walls and crouching
when a German shell came over with a rending noise.
Bright sunlight shone down these streets, putting a lazy glamour upon
their broken frontages and flinging back shadows from high walls, except
where shell holes let in the light. The cathedral and the great Palace
of the Bishops were unroofed, with tall pillars broken off below the
vaulting and an avalanche of white masonry about them. They were
clear-cut and dazzling under the blue sky, and one was hushed by the
tragic grandeur of these ruins.
One of the British airplanes flew low over the city, and its engine sang
loudly with a vibrant humming, and now and again the crash of a gun or a
shell loosened some stones or plaster below its wings. Other birds were
singing. Spring birds, who are not out for war but sweethearting in the
gardens of Arras.
America's Sacrifice
By Harold Begbie
[By arrangement with The London Chronicle.]
One of the finest moral actions in this war has been done by America. It
is action on a gigantic scale, and yet of a directly personal character.
Insufficient publicity, I think, has been given to this action.
Is it realized by the people of this country that America has already
saved us from capitulating to the enemy? Either we should have been
forced into this surrender (with our armies unbroken and our munitions
of war unexhausted) or we should at this moment be struggling to live
and work and fight on one-third of our present rations.
America is sending to these islands almost two-thirds of our food
supplies. Sixty-five per cent. of the essential foodstuffs eaten by the
British citizen comes to him from the American Continent. This in itself
is something which calls for our lively gratitude. But there is a
quality in the action of America which should intensify our gratitude.
For these American supplies, essential to our health and safety,
represent in very large measure the personal and voluntary
self-sacrifice of the individual American citizen. They are not crumbs
from the table of Dives. They are not the commandeered supplies of an
autocratic Government. They represent, rather, the kindly, difficult,
and entirely willing self-sacrifice of a whole nation, the vast majority
of whom are working people.
There is only one altar for this act of sacrifice--it is the table of
the American working classes. And the rite is performed by men, women,
and children, at every meal of the day, day after day, week after week.
This act of self-sacrifice, let us remember, is made in the midst of
plenty. Well might the American housewife ask why she should deprive her
children of food, why she should institute wheatless and meatless days,
when all about her there is a visible superabundance of these things.
Questions such as this are natural enough on the other side of the
Atlantic, and on the other side of the American continent, 5,000 miles
away from the battlefields of France.
But the citizens of America do not ask such questions. With a
cheerfulness and a courage which are as vigorous as their industry, and
with a moral earnestness which is by far the greatest demonstration
America has yet given to the world of American character, these people
so far away from us on the other side of the Atlantic have willingly and
with no coercion by the State denied themselves for the sake of the
Entente. They are going short, they are going hungry, for our sakes.
They are practicing an intimate self-sacrifice in order that we may hold
our own till their sons come to fight at our side. All over America the
individual American citizen is making this self-sacrifice, and making it
without a murmur. He is feeding, by his personal self-sacrifice, not
only these islands, but France, Italy, and many of the neutrals.
This great demonstration of character has had no other impetus than the
simple declaration of the facts by Herbert Hoover, the man who fed
Belgium. Hoover has told his countrymen how things stand. That is all.
The Winter of 1918, he declared to them, will prove to mankind whether
or not the American Nation "is capable of individual self-sacrifice to
save the world." His propaganda has never descended to unworthy levels.
He has appealed always to the conscience of his countrymen. He has
spoken of "a personal obligation upon every one of us toward some
individual abroad who will suffer privation to the extent of our own
individual negligence."
America has answered this appeal in a manner which marks her out as one
of the greatest moral forces in the world. It should be known out there,
in the farmhouses and cottages of the American Continent, that the
people of this country are mindful of America's self-sacrifice, and are
grateful.
GENERAL STAFF OFFICERS WITH PERSHING
[Illustration:
Brig. Gen. Benjamin Alvord,
_Adjutant_
(© _Harris & Ewing_)]
[Illustration:
Brig. Gen. Andre W. Brewster,
_Inspector_
(© _Harris & Ewing_)]
[Illustration:
Brig. Gen. Edgar Russell,
_Signal Officer_
(_Underwood from Buck_)]
[Illustration:
Brig. Gen. Harry L. Rogers,
_Quartermaster_
(© _Harris & Ewing_)]
PROMINENT IN WAR ACTIVITIES
[Illustration:
Brig. Gen. B. D. Foulois,
_Aviation Officer on Pershing's Staff_
_(Press Illustrating Service)_]
[Illustration:
Dr. F. P. Keppel,
_Recently appointed Assistant Secretary
of War_
_(© Harris & Ewing)_]
[Illustration:
W. C. Potter,
_Chief of Equipment Division of
Signal Corps_
_(© Harris & Ewing)_]
[Illustration:
Brig. Gen. C. B. Wheeler,
Ordnance Officer on Pershing's Staff
_(© Harris & Ewing)_]
American Soldiers in Battle
How They Repelled an Attack at Seicheprey and Fought in Picardy
[MONTH ENDED MAY 20, 1918]
Seicheprey, in the Toul sector, was the scene on April 20, 1918, of the
most determined attack launched against the American forces in France up
to that time. A German regiment, reinforced by storm troops, a total of
1,500, was hurled against the American positions on a one-mile front
west of Remières Forest, northwest of Toul, after a severe bombardment
of gas and high explosive shells. The Germans succeeded in penetrating
the front-line trenches and taking the village of Seicheprey, but after
furious hand-to-hand fighting the American troops recaptured the village
and most of the ground lost in the early fighting.
Next morning, after a brief bombardment, the Americans attacked and
drove the enemy out of the old outposts, which they had gained, and thus
broke down an offensive which, it was believed, was intended as the
beginning of a German plan to separate the Americans and the French. The
French lines also were attacked, but the Germans were repulsed and the
lines re-established.
The losses were the heaviest sustained by Americans since they began
active warfare in France. In a dispatch to the War Department General
Pershing indicated that the losses among his men were between 200 and
300. According to the German official statement 183 Americans were taken
prisoner, so that the American casualties apparently came mostly under
the heading of captured. Official reports of the German losses,
according to a prisoner captured later, gave 600 killed, wounded, and
missing.
IN THE PICARDY BATTLE
"Franco-American positions south of the Somme and on the Avre" were
officially mentioned for the first time in the French War Office report
of April 24, indicating that forces of the United States were there on
the battlefront resisting the great German offensive. The report stated
that an intense bombardment of the positions all along this front was
followed by an attack directed against Hangard-en-Santerre, the region
of Hailles, and Senecat Wood. The Germans were repulsed almost
everywhere.
Formal announcement that American troops sent to reinforce the allied
armies had taken part in the fighting was made by the War Department in
its weekly review of the situation issued on April 29. "Our own forces,"
the statement read, "have taken part in the battle. American units are
in the area east of Amiens. During the engagements which have raged in
this area they have acquitted themselves well."
UNDER INTENSE FIRE
Another heavy attack was launched by the Germans against the Americans
in the vicinity of Villers-Bretonneux on April 30. It was repulsed with
heavy losses for the enemy. The German bombardment opened at 5 o'clock
in the afternoon and was directed especially against the Americans, who
were supported on the north and south by the French. The fire was
intense, and at the end of two hours the German commander sent forward
three battalions of infantry. There was hand-to-hand fighting all along
the line, as a result of which the enemy was thrust back, his dead and
wounded lying on the ground in all directions. The French troops were
full of praise for the manner in which the Americans conducted
themselves under trying circumstances, especially in view of the fact
that they are fighting at one of the most difficult points on the
battlefront. The American losses were rather severe.
The gallantry of the 300 American engineers who were caught in the
opening of the German offensive on March 21 was the subject of a
dispatch from General Pershing made public by the War Department on
April 19. The engineers were among the forces hastily gathered by Major
Gen. Sanderson Carey, the British commander, who stopped the gap in the
line when General Gough's army was driven back. [See diagram on Page
389.] During the period of thirteen days covered by General Pershing's
report, the engineers were almost continuously in action. They were in
the very thick of the hardest days of the great German drive in Picardy.
General Pershing embodied in his report a communication from General
Rawlinson, commander of the British 5th Army, in which the latter
declared that "it has been largely due to your assistance that the enemy
is checked." The report covered the fighting period from March 21 to
April 3. The former date marked the beginning of the Ludendorff
offensive along the whole front from La Fère to Croisilles. It showed
that while under shellfire the American engineers destroyed material
dumps at Chaulnes, that they fell back with the British forces to
Moreuil, where the commands laid out trench work, and were then assigned
to a sector of the defensive line at Demuin, and to a position near
Warfusee-Abancourt.
During the period of thirteen days covered by the report the American
engineers had two officers killed and three wounded, while twenty men
were killed, fifty-two wounded, and forty-five reported missing.
STORY OF CAREY EPISODE
A correspondent of The Associated Press at the front gave this account
of the part played by Americans in the historic episode under General
Carey:
A disastrous-looking gap appeared In the 5th Army south of Hamel in
the later stages of the opening battle. The Germans had crossed the
Somme at Hamel and had a clear path for a sweep southwestward.
No troops were available to throw into the opening. A certain
Brigadier General was commissioned by Major Gen. Gough, commander
of the 5th Army, to gather up every man he could find and to "hold
the gap at any cost." The General called upon the American and
Canadian engineers, cooks, chauffeurs, road workmen, anybody he
could find; gave them guns, pistols, any available weapon, and
rushed them into the gap in trucks, on horseback, or on mule-drawn
limbers.
A large number of machine guns from a machine-gun school near by
were confiscated. Only a few men, however, knew how to operate the
weapons, and they had to be worked by amateurs with one "instructor"
for every ten or twelve guns. The Americans did especially well in
handling this arm.
For two days the detachment held the mile and a half gap. At the end
of the second day the commander, having gone forty-eight hours
without sleep, collapsed. The situation of the detachment looked
desperate.
While all were wondering what would happen next, a dusty automobile
came bounding along the road from the north. It contained Brig. Gen.
Carey, who had been home on leave and who was trying to find his
headquarters.
The General was commandeered by the detachment and he was found to
be just the commander needed. He is an old South African soldier of
the daredevil type. He is famous among his men for the scrapes and
escapades of his school-boy life as well as for his daring exploits
in South Africa.
Carey took the detachment in hand and led it in a series of attacks
and counterattacks which left no time for sleeping and little for
eating. He gave neither his men nor the enemy a rest, attacking
first on the north, then in the centre, then on the south--harassing
the enemy unceasingly with the idea of convincing the Germans that a
large force opposed them.
Whenever the Germans tried to feel him out with an attack at one
point, Carey parried with a thrust somewhere else, even if it took
his last available man, and threw the Germans on the defensive.
The spirit of Carey's troops was wonderful. The work they did was
almost super-natural. It would have been impossible with any body of
men not physical giants, but the Americans and Canadians gloried in
it. They crammed every hour of the day full of fighting. It was a
constantly changing battle, kaleidoscopic, free-for-all,
catch-as-catch-can. The Germans gained ground. Carey and his men
were back at them, hungry for more punishment. At the end of the
sixth day, dog-tired and battle-worn, but still full of fight, the
detachment was relieved by a fresh battalion which had come up from
the rear.
STAFF CHANGES
Major Gen. James W. McAndrew, it was announced on May 3, was appointed
Chief of Staff of the American expeditionary force in succession to
Brig. Gen. James G. Harbord, who was assigned to a command in the field.
Other changes on General Pershing's staff included the appointment of
Lieut. Col. Robert C. Davis as Adjutant General, and Colonel Merritte W.
Ireland as Surgeon General.
The General Staff of the American expeditionary forces in France, as the
result of several changes in personnel, consisted on May 14, 1918, of
the following:
Commander: General John J. Pershing
Aid de Camp: Colonel James L. Collins
Aid de Camp: Colonel Carl Boyd
Aid de Camp: Colonel M. C. Shallenberger
Chief of Staff: Major Gen. J. W. McAndrew
Adjutant: Lieut. Col. Robert C. Davis
Inspector: Brig. Gen. Andre W. Brewster
Judge Advocate: Brig. Gen. Walter A. Bethel
Quartermaster: Brig. Gen. Harry L. Rogers
Surgeon: Colonel Merritte W. Ireland
Engineer: Brig. Gen. Harry Taylor
Ordnance Officer: Brig. Gen. C. B. Wheeler
Signal Officer: Brig. Gen. Edgar Russell
Aviation Officer: Brig. Gen. B. D. Foulois
President Wilson on May 4 pardoned two soldiers of the American
expeditionary force who had been condemned to death by a military
court-martial in France for sleeping on sentry duty and commuted to
nominal prison terms the death sentences imposed on two others for
disobeying orders.
HEALTH OF THE SOLDIERS
Major Hugh H. Young, director of the work of dealing with communicable
blood diseases in our army in France, made this striking statement on
May 12 regarding the freedom of the American expeditionary force from
such diseases:
In making plans for this department of medical work in France it
had been calculated by the medical authorities in Washington to
have ten 1,000-bed hospitals, in which a million men could receive
treatment, but with 500,000 Americans in France there is not one of
the five allotted Americans in any of the hospitals now running,
and only 500 cases of this type of disease needing hospital
treatment, instead of the expected 5,000.
In other words, instead of having 1 per cent. of our soldiers in
hospitals from social diseases, as had been expected, the actual
number is only one-tenth of 1 per cent. There is no reason to doubt
that this record will be maintained. The hospitals prepared for
this special treatment are to be used for other cases.
This means that the American Army is the cleanest in the world. The
results, according to Major Young, have been achieved by preventive
steps taken by the American medical directors, coupled with the
co-operation of the men.
Overseas Forces More Than Half a Million
Preparing for an Army of 3,000,000
The overseas fighting forces of the United States have been increasing
at a much more rapid rate than the public was aware of. Early in May the
number of our men in France was in excess of 500,000. A great increase
in the ultimate size of the army was further indicated when the War
Department asked the House Military Affairs Committee for a new
appropriation of $15,000,000,000.
Mr. Baker, Secretary of War, appeared before the committee on April 23
and, after describing the results of his inspection of the army in
France, said that the size of the army that the United States would send
abroad was entirely dependent upon the shipping situation. Troops were
already moving to France at an accelerated rate.
President Wilson, through Mr. Baker, presented the House Military
Affairs Committee on May 2 with proposals for increasing the army. The
President asked that all limits be removed on the number of men to be
drafted for service. Mr. Baker said that he declined to discuss the
numbers of the proposed army "for the double reason that any number
implies a limit, and the only possible limit is our ability to equip and
transport men, which is constantly on the increase."
The Administration's plans were submitted in detail on May 3, when the
committee began the preparation of the army appropriation bill carrying
$15,000,000,000 to finance the army during the fiscal year ending June
30, 1919. Mr. Baker again refused to go into the question of figures,
but it became known at the Capitol that the estimates he submitted were
based on a force of not fewer than 3,000,000 men and 160,000 officers in
the field by July 1, 1919. The plan contemplated having 130,000 officers
and 2,168,000 men, or a total of 2,298,000, in the field and in camps by
July 1, 1918, and approximately an additional million in the field
before June 30, 1919.
Mr. Baker said that all the army camps and cantonments were to be
materially enlarged, to take care of the training of the men to be
raised in the next twelve months. The General Staff had this question
under careful consideration, and the idea was to increase the size of
existing training camps rather than to establish new camps. These camps,
it was estimated, already had facilities for training close to a million
men at one time.
The Secretary of War also made it clear that the total of
$15,000,000,000 involved in the estimates as revised for the new army
bill did not cover the whole cost of the army for the next fiscal year.
The $15,000,000,000, he explained, was in addition to the large sums
that would be carried in the Fortifications Appropriation bill, which
covers the cost of heavy ordnance both in the United States and
overseas. Nor did it include the Military Academy bill. It was
emphasized that, although estimates were submitted on the basis of an
army of a certain size, Congress was being asked for blanket authority
for the President to raise all the men needed, and the approximate
figures of $15,000,000,000 could be increased by deficiency
appropriations.
It was brought out in the committee that the transportation service had
improved and that the War Department was able to send more men to France
each month. It was estimated that if transport facilities continued to
improve, close to 1,500,000 fighting men would be on the western front
by Dec. 31, 1918. The United States had now in camp and in the field,
it was explained to the committee, the following enlisted men and
officers:
Enlisted men 1,765,000
Officers 120,000
Total 1,885,000
Provost Marshal General Crowder announced on May 8 that 1,227,000
Americans had been called to the colors under the Selective Draft act,
thereby indicating approximately the strength of the national army.
Additional calls during May for men to be in camp by June 2 affected
something like 366,600 registrants under the draft law. These men were
largely intended to fill up the camps at home, replacing the seasoned
personnel from the divisions previously training there. With the
increase of the number of divisions in France, the flow of replacement
troops was increasing proportionately.
In regard to the number of men in France, Mr. Baker on May 8 made the
following important announcement:
In January I told the Senate committee that there was strong
likelihood that early in the present year 500,000 American troops
would be dispatched to France. I cannot either now or perhaps later
discuss the number of American troops in France, but I am glad to be
able to say that the forecast I made in January has been surpassed.
This was the first official utterance indicating even indirectly the
number of men sent abroad. The first force to go was never described
except as a division, although as a matter of fact it was constituted
into two divisions soon after its arrival in France.
An Associated Press dispatch dated May 17 announced that troops of the
new American Army had arrived within the zone of the British forces in
Northern France and were completing their training in the area occupied
by the armies which were blocking the path of the Germans to the Channel
ports. The British officers who were training the Americans stated that
the men from overseas were of the finest material. The newcomers were
warmly greeted by the British troops and were reported to be full of
enthusiasm.
American Troops in Central France
By Laurence Jerrold
_This friendly British view of our soldiers in France is from the pen of
a noted war correspondent of The London Morning Post_
I have recently visited the miniature America now installed in France,
and installed in the most French part of Central France. There is
nothing more French than these ancient towns with historic castles,
moats, dungeons, and torture chambers, these old villages, where farms
are sometimes still battlemented like small castles, and this
countryside where living is easy and pleasant. On to this heart of
France has descended a whole people from across the ocean, a people that
hails from New England and California, from Virginia and Illinois. The
American Army has taken over this heart of France, and is teaching it to
"go some". Townsfolk and villagers enjoy being taught. The arrival of
the American Army is a revelation to them.
I was surprised at first to find how fresh a novelty an allied army was
in this part of France. Then I remembered that these little towns and
villages have in the last few months for the first time seen allies of
France. The ports where the American troops land have seen many other
allies; they saw, indeed, in August, 1914, some of the first British
troops land, whose reception remains in the recollection of the
inhabitants as a scene of such fervor and loving enthusiasm as had never
been known before and probably will not be known again. In fact, to put
it brutally, French ports are blasé. But this Central France for the
first time welcomes allied troops. It is true they had seen some
Russians, but the least said of them now the better. Some of the
Russians are still there, hewing wood for three francs a day per head,
and behaving quite peaceably.
These old towns and villages look upon the American Army in their midst
as the greatest miracle they have ever known, and a greater one than
they ever could have dreamed of. One motors through scores of little
towns and villages where the American soldier, in his khaki, his soft
hat, (which I am told is soon to be abolished,) and his white gaiters,
swarms. The villagers put up bunting, calico signs, flags, and have
stocks of American "canned goods" to show in their shop windows. The
children, when bold, play with the American soldiers, and the children
that are more shy just venture to go up and touch an American soldier's
leg. Very old peasant ladies put on their Sunday black and go out
walking and in some mysterious way talking with American soldiers. The
village Mayor turns out and makes a speech utterly incomprehensible to
the American soldier, whenever a fresh contingent of the latter arrives.
The 1919 class, just called up, plays bugles and shouts "Good morning"
when an American car comes by.
Vice versa, this Central France is perhaps even more of a miracle to the
American troops than the American troops are to it. To watch the
American trooper from Arkansas or Chicago being shown over a castle
which is not only older than the United States, but was in its prime
under Louis XII., and dates back to a Roman fortress now beneath it, is
a wonderful sight. Here the American soldier shows himself a charming
child. There is nothing of the "Innocents Abroad" about him. I heard
scarcely anything (except about telephones and railways) of any American
brag of modernism in this ancient part of France. On the contrary, the
soldier is learning with open eyes, and trying to learn with open ears,
all these wonders of the past among which he has been suddenly put. The
officer, too, even the educated officer, is beautifully astonished at
all this past, which he had read about, but which, quite possibly, he
didn't really believe to exist. The American officers who speak
French--and there are some of them, coming chiefly from the Southern
States--are, of course, heroes in every town, and sought after in cafés
at recreation hours by every French officer and man. Those who do not
know French are learning it, and I remember a picturesque sight, that of
a very elderly, prim French governess in black, teaching French to
American subalterns in a Y.M.C.A. canteen.
A great French preacher the other day, in his sermon in a Paris church,
said that this coming to France of millions of English troops and future
millions of American troops may mean eventually one of the greatest
changes in Continental Europe the world has ever known. His words never
seemed to me so full of meaning as they did when I was among the
Americans in the heart of France. There, of course, the contrast is
infinitely greater than it can be in the France which our own troops are
occupying and defending. These young, fresh, hustling, keen Americans,
building up numerous works of all kinds to prepare for defending France,
have brought with them Chinese labor and negro labor; and Chinese and
negroes and German and Austrian prisoners all work in these American
camps under American officers' orders. Imagine what an experience, what
a miracle, indeed, this spectacle seems to the country-folk of this old
French soil, who have always lived very quietly, who never wanted to go
anywhere else, and who knew, indeed, that France had allies fighting and
working for her, but had never seen any of them until these Americans
came across three thousand miles of ocean.
Something of a miracle, also, is what our new allies are accomplishing.
They are doing everything on a huge scale. I saw aviation camps,
training camps, aviation schools, vast tracts where barracks were being
put up, railways built, telegraphs and telephones installed by Chinese
labor, negro labor, German prisoners' labor, under the direction of
American skilled workmen, who are in France by the thousand. There are
Y.M.C.A. canteens, Red Cross canteens, clubs for officers and for men,
theatres and cinemas for the army, and a prodigious amount of food--all
come from America. The hams alone I saw strung up in one canteen would
astonish the boches. American canned goods, meat, fruit, condensed milk,
meal, &c., have arrived in France in stupendous quantities. No body of
American troops land in France until what is required for their
sustenance several weeks ahead is already stored in France. Only the
smallest necessaries are bought on the spot, and troops passing through
England on their way to France are strictly forbidden, both officers and
men, to buy any article of food whatsoever in England. As for the
quality, the American has nothing to complain of, so far as I could see.
All pastry, cakes, sweets are henceforth prohibited throughout civilian
France, but the American troops rightly have all these things in plenty.
I saw marvelous cakes and tarts, which would create a run on any Paris
or London teashop, and the lady who manages one American Red Cross
canteen (by the way, she is an Englishwoman, and is looked up to by the
American military authorities as one of the best organizers they have
met) explained to me wonderful recipes they have for making jam with
honey and preserved fruit. The bread, of course, they make themselves,
and, as is right, it is pure white flour bread, such as no civilian
knows nowadays.
One motors through scores of villages and more, and every little old
French spot swarms with American Tommies billeted in cottages and
farmhouses. Many of them marched straight to their billets from their
landing port, and the experience is as wonderful for them, just spirited
over from the wilds of America, as it is for the villagers who welcome
these almost fabulous allies. But it is the engineering, building, and
machinery works the Americans are putting up which are the most
astonishing. Gangs of workers have come over in thousands. Many of these
young chaps are college men, Harvard or Princeton graduates. They dig
and toil as efficiently as any laborer, and perhaps with more zeal. One
American Major told me with glee how a party of these young workers
arrived straight from America at 3:30 P. M., and started digging at 5
A. M. next morning. "And they liked it; it tickled them to death." Many
of these drafts, in fact, were sick and tired of inaction in ports
before their departure from America, and they welcomed work in France as
if it were some great game.
Perhaps the biggest work of all the Americans are doing is a certain
aviation camp and school. In a few months it has neared completion, and
when it is finished it will, I believe, be the biggest of its kind in
the world. There pilots are trained, and trained in numbers which I may
not say, but which are comforting. The number of airplanes they use
merely for training, which also I must not state, is in itself
remarkable. "Training pilots is the one essential thing," I was told by
the C.O. These flying men--or boys--who have, of course, already been
broken in in America, do an additional course in France, and when they
leave the aviation camp I saw they are absolutely ready for air fighting
at the front. This is the finishing school. The aviators go through
eight distinct courses in this school. They are perfected in flying, in
observation, in bombing, in machine-gun firing. On even a cloudy and
windy day the air overhead buzzes with these young American fliers, all
getting into the pink of condition to do their stunts at the front. They
seemed to me as keen as our own flying men, and as well disciplined.
They live in the camp, and it requires moving heaven and earth for one
of them to get leave to go even to the nearest little quiet old town.
The impression is the same of the American bases in France as of the
American front in France. I found there and here one distinctive
characteristic, the total absence of bluff. I was never once told that
we were going to be shown how to win the war. I was never once told that
America is going to win the war. I never heard that American men and
machines are better than ours, but I did hear almost apologies from
American soldiers because they had not come into the war sooner. They
are, I believe, spending now more money than we are--indeed, the pay of
their officers is about double that of ours. I said something about the
cost. "Yes, but you see we must make up for lost time," was all the
American General said. And he told me about the splendid training work
that is being done now in the States by British and French officers who
have gone out there knowing what war is, and who teach American officers
and men from first-hand experience. This particular General hoped that
by this means in a very short time American troops arriving in France
may be sent much more quickly to the front than is now the case.
An impression of complete, businesslike determination is what one gets
when visiting the Americans in France. A discipline even stricter than
that which applies in British and French troops is enforced. In towns,
officers, for instance, are not allowed out after 9 P. M. Some towns
where subalterns discovered the wine of the country have instantly been
put "out of bounds." No officer, on any pretext whatsoever, is allowed
to go to Paris, except on official business. From the camps they are not
even allowed to go to the neighboring towns. They have, to put it quite
frankly, a reputation of wild Americanism to live down, and they
sometimes surprise the French by their seriousness. It is a striking
sight to see American officers and men flocking into tiny little French
Protestant churches on Sundays in this Catholic heart of France. The
congregation is a handful of old French Huguenots, and the ancient,
rigid French pasteur never in his life preached to so many, and
certainly never to soldiers from so far. They come from so far, and from
such various parts, these Americans, and for France, as well as for
themselves, it is a wonderful experience. I was told that the postal
censors who read the letters of the American expeditionary force are
required to know forty-seven languages. Of these languages the two least
used are Chinese and German.
American Shipbuilders Break All Records
Charles M. Schwab Speeds the Work
[MONTH ENDED MAY 15, 1918]
All shipbuilding records have been broken by American builders in the
last month. On May 14 it was announced that the first million tons of
ships had been completed and delivered to the United States Government
under the direction of the Shipping Board. The actual figures on May 11
showed the number of ships to be 159, aggregating 1,108,621 tons. More
than half of this tonnage was delivered since Jan. 1, 1918. Most of
these ships were requisitioned on the ways or in contract form when the
United States entered the war. This result had been anticipated in the
monthly records, which showed a steady increase in the tonnage launched:
Number of
Ships Aggregate
Month. Launched. Tonnage.
January 11 91,541
February 16 123,100
March 21 166,700
The rapidity with which ships are being produced was shown by the
breaking of the world's record on April 20 and in turn the breaking of
this record on May 5. On the former date the 8,800-ton steel steamship
West Lianga was launched at Seattle, Wash., fifty-five working days from
the date the keel was laid. This was then the world's record. But on May
5 at Camden, N. J., the steel freight steamship Tuckahoe, of 5,548 tons,
was launched twenty-seven days after the keel was laid.
Ten days after this extraordinary achievement the Tuckahoe was finished
and furnished and ready for sea--another record feat.
Charles M. Schwab, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Bethlehem
Steel Corporation, was on April 16, 1918, appointed Director General of
the Emergency Fleet Corporation to speed up the Government's
shipbuilding program. He was invested with practically unlimited powers
over all construction work in shipyards producing vessels for the
Emergency Fleet Corporation. Charles Piez in consequence ceased to be
General Manager of the Corporation, remaining, however, as Vice
President to supervise administrative details of construction and
placing contracts.
Mr. Schwab, who was the fifth man to be put in charge of the
shipbuilding program, was not desirous of accepting the position when
first approached because he considered his work in producing steel of
first importance in the carrying out of the nation's war program. But
after a conference with President Wilson, Edward N. Hurley, Chairman of
the Shipping Board; Bainbridge Colby, another member of the board, and
Charles Piez, he decided to accept the new position.
Almost the first thing Mr. Schwab did was to move his headquarters to
Philadelphia as the centre of the steel-shipbuilding region, taking with
him all the division chiefs of the Fleet Corporation directly connected
with construction work and about 2,000 employes. The Shipping Board and
Mr. Piez retained their offices in Washington with 1,500 subordinates
and employes. As a further step toward decentralization it was arranged
to move the operating department, including agencies such as the
Interallied Ship Control Committee, headed by P. A. S. Franklin, to New
York City.
The original "cost-plus" contract under which the Submarine Boat
Corporation of Newark was to build 160 ships of 5,000 tons for the
Government was canceled by Mr. Schwab as an experiment to determine
whether shipyards operating under lump-sum contracts and accepting all
responsibility for providing materials could make greater speed in
construction than those operating with Government money, such as the Hog
Island yards. The result was to increase the cost of each of the 160
ships from $787,500 to $960,000.
A request for an appropriation of $2,223,835,000 for the 1919 program
was presented by Mr. Hurley and Mr. Schwab to the House Appropriations
Committee on May 8.
Of this total $1,386,100,000 was for construction of ships and
$652,000,000 for the purchasing and requisitioning of plants and
material in connection with the building program.
Third Liberty Loan Oversubscribed
Approximately 17,000,000 Buyers
When the Third Liberty Loan, raised to finance America's war needs,
closed on May 4, 1918, the subscriptions were well over $4,000,000,000,
a billion in excess of the amount called for. The total was announced on
May 17 as $4,170,019,650. Secretary McAdoo stated that he would allot
bonds in full on all subscriptions.
The loan was regarded as the most successful ever floated by any nation,
not so much because of the volume of sales, but because of the wide
distribution of the loan. Approximately 17,000,000 individuals
subscribed, that is, about one person in every six in the United States.
The number of buyers in the Third Loan exceeded those in the Second by
7,000,000 and those in the First by 12,500,000.
The campaign throughout the country was conducted with all the
thoroughness of a great political struggle, with the difference that
there were no contending parties and all forces were marshaled to make
the loan a success. Nor was the campaign merely a display of efficient
organization and vigorous propaganda. It had many features of dramatic
and picturesque interest, not only in the large cities, but in almost
every smaller centre of the nation. A noonday rally of 50,000 men and
women in Wall Street, New York, on the closing day, was typical. An
eyewitness described it thus:
The Police Department Band appeared and the band of the 15th Coast
Artillery from Fort Hamilton. Taking advantage of the occasion,
James Montgomery Flagg now appeared in his studio van on the
southern fringe of the Broad Street crowd. A girl with him played
something on the cornet. It was a good deal like a show on the
Midway at a Western county fair. But this was no faker--one of the
most famous artists in America, throwing in a signed sketch of
whoever bought Liberty bonds. Those near him began pushing and
crowding to take advantage of the offer.
And now, suddenly, a tremendous racket up the street toward
Broadway. Who comes?
Cheer on cheer, now. It is the "Anzacs." Twelve long, rangy fellows,
officers all, six or seven of them with the little brass "A" on the
shoulder, which signifies service at Gallipoli and in Flanders. They
are members of the contingent of 500 which arrived here yesterday on
its way to the battlefields of France. They run lightly up the
Sub-Treasury steps and take their stand in a group beside the
soldier band.
And now they all come--all the actors in the drama of the day.
Governor Whitman, bareheaded, solemn-faced; Rabbi Stephen Wise, with
his rugged face and his shock of blue-black hair; Mme.
Schumann-Heink, panting a little with excitement; Auguste Bouilliz,
baritone of the Royal Opera of Brussels, who later is to thrill them
all with his singing of the "Marseillaise"; Cecil Arden, in a
shining helmet and draped in the Union Jack, come to sing "God Save
the King," while the sunburned Australian officers stand like
statues at salute; Oscar Straus, and then--
"Yee-ee-ee-eee."
Oh, how they cheered! For the "Blue Devils" of France had poured out
of the door of the Sub-Treasury and, with the fitful sun shining
once more and gleaming on their bayonets, were running down the
steps in two lines, past the "Anzacs," past the soldier band, to
draw up in ranks at the bottom.
Lieutenant de Moal speaks. What does he say? Who knows? But he is
widely cheered, just the same, as he gives way to Governor Whitman.
"There are gatherings like this, though not so large, all over our
land today," cries the Governor. "In every town and city we
Americans are gathered together at this moment to demonstrate that
we are behind our army, behind our navy, behind our President."
The cheers that acclaimed his mention of the President drowned his
voice for several moments.
"Here are the Australians," he cries, pointing to the "Anzac"
officers. "They have brought us a message, but we are going to give
them a message, too."
As the Governor stepped back to cheers that rocked the street,
Lieutenant de Moal barked a sharp order, and the "Blue Devils"
shouldered their guns with fixed bayonets, the six trumpeters
ta-ra-ta-raed, and the soldiers of France moved off up the sidewalk
lane to the side door of the Stock Exchange, where all business was
suspended during the fifteen minutes of their visit on the floor.
Four of the "Anzacs" meanwhile were taken from their ranks on the
steps of the building up to the pedestal of the statue of
Washington, which was used as speaker's platform, and Captain Frank
McCallam made a brief address.
"We haven't many men left," he said simply. "And it is up to you
people to help us out to the best of your ability."
More cheers, and then Cecil Arden sang "God Save the King." The
American regular fired a blank volley over the heads of the crowd,
and the kids scrambled for the empty shells.
Following Wise and Straus, Bouilliz, the Belgian baritone, sang the
"Marseillaise," and then, after the soldier band had played "Where
Do We Go from Here, Boys?" Mme. Schumann-Heink advanced and sang the
national anthem, following it up with an appeal that was the climax
to the play.
Less exciting but more impressive was the parade on April 26, when
thousands of mothers who had sent their sons to the front marched in a
column of 35,000 men and women in the Liberty Day parade in New York
City. This day had been proclaimed as such by President Wilson for "the
people of the United States to assemble in their respective communities
and liberally pledge anew their financial support to sustain the
nation's cause, and to hold patriotic demonstrations in every city,
town, and hamlet throughout the land."
The challenge of the mothers was inscribed on one of the banners they
carried: "We give our sons--they give their lives--what do you give?"
Remarkable as was the appearance of these mothers with the little
service flags over their shoulders, many of them so old that they
marched with difficulty, the spectators who flanked the line of march
along Fifth Avenue from Washington Square to Fifty-ninth Street found it
even more thrilling to note that so very many of them, whether they were
mothers or young wives, or just young girls proud of the brothers that
had gone forth to service--so very many of them carried service flags
with three and four and five and even six stars, and occasionally a
glint of the sun would even carry the eye to a gold star, which meant,
whenever it appeared, a veil of mourning for a wooden cross somewhere in
France.
Among the minor but ingenious forms of publicity was the Liberty Loan
ball which was rolled from Buffalo to New York, a distance of 470 miles,
and which ended its journey of three weeks on May 4 at the City Hall.
The ball was a large steel shell covered with canvas.
Every community that reached or exceeded its quota to the loan was
entitled to raise a flag of honor specially designed for the purpose. At
least 32,000 communities gained the honor and raised the flag.
To strengthen the financial basis of the nation's war industries and use
monetary resources to the best advantage the War Finance Corporation
bill was passed by Congress and approved by President Wilson on April 5,
1918. The two main purposes of the act are to provide credits for
industries and enterprises necessary or contributory to the prosecution
of the war and to supervise new issues of capital. The act creates the
War Finance Corporation, consisting of the Secretary and four additional
persons, with $500,000,000 capital stock, all subscribed by the United
States. Banks and trust companies financing war industries or
enterprises may receive advances from the corporation.
Former War Loans of the United States
A Historical Retrospect
_The United States Government asked for $2,000,000,000 on the First
Liberty Loan in the Spring of 1917, and $3,034,000,000 was subscribed by
over 4,000,000 subscribers. For the Second Loan, near the end of 1917,
$3,000,000,000 was sought, and $4,617,532,300 was subscribed by
9,420,000 subscribers._
_The Guaranty Trust Company of New York in a recent brochure reviewed
the history of the various war loans of the United States, beginning
with the Revolutionary loans, as follows:_
When the patriots at Lexington "fired the shot heard 'round the world,"
the thirteen Colonies found themselves suddenly in the midst of war, but
with practically no funds in their Treasuries. The Continental Congress
was without power to raise money by taxation, and had to depend upon
credit bills and requisitions drawn against the several Colonies. France
was the first foreign country to come to the aid of struggling America,
the King of France himself advancing us our first loan. All told,
France's loan was $6,352,500; Holland loaned us $1,304,000; and Spain
assisted us with $174,017. Our loan from France was repaid between 1791
and 1795 to the Revolutionary Government of France; the Holland loan
during the same period in five annual installments, and the Spanish loan
in 1792-3.
Our first domestic war loan of £6,000 was made in 1775, and the loan was
taken at par. A year and a half later found Congress laboring under
unusual difficulties. Boston and New York were held by the enemy, the
patriot forces were retreating, and the people were as little inclined
to submit to domestic taxation as they had formerly been to "taxation
without representation." To raise funds even a lottery was attempted. In
October, 1776, Congress authorized a second loan for $5,000,000. It was
not a pronounced success, only $3,787,000 being raised in twelve months.
In 1778 fourteen issues of paper money were authorized as the only way
to meet the expenses of the army. By the end of the year 1779 Congress
had issued $200,000,000 in paper money, while a like amount had been
issued by the several States. In 1781, as a result of this financing and
of the general situation, Continental bills of credit had fallen 99 per
cent.
Then came Robert Morris, that genius of finance, who found ways to raise
the money which assured the triumph of the American cause. By straining
his personal credit, which was higher than that of the Government, he
borrowed upon his own individual security on every hand. On one occasion
he borrowed from the commander of the French fleet, securing the latter
with his personal obligation. If Morris and other patriotic citizens had
not rendered such assistance to the Government, some of the most
important campaigns of the Revolutionary War would have been impossible.
Following came the Bank of Pennsylvania, which issued its notes--in
effect, loans--to provide rations and equipment for Washington's army at
Valley Forge. These notes were secured by bills of exchange drawn
against our envoys abroad, but it was never seriously intended that they
should be presented for payment. The bank was a tremendous success in
securing the money necessary to carry out its patriotic purposes, and
was practically the first bank of issue in this country.
With the actual establishment of the United States and the adoption of
the Constitution, Alexander Hamilton came forward with a funding scheme
by which the various debts owed to foreign countries, to private
creditors, and to the several States were combined. In 1791, on a specie
basis, our total debt was $75,000,000. The paper dollar was practically
valueless and the people were forced to give the Government adequate
powers to raise money and to impose taxes. Between that date and 1812
thirteen tariff bills were passed to raise money to meet public
expenditures and pay off the national debt.
THE WAR OF 1812.
For some time previous to the actual outbreak of the War of 1812
hostilities had been predicted. In a measure, this enabled Congress to
prepare for it. And although the war did not begin until June of 1812,
as early as March of that year a loan of $11,000,000, bearing 6 per
cent. at par, to be paid off within 12 years from the beginning of 1813,
was authorized. Of this, however, only $2,150,000 was issued, and all
was redeemed by 1817. The next year a loan of $16,000,000 was authorized
and subscribed. This was followed, in August, by a loan of $7,500,000
which sold at 88-1/4 per cent.
At the end of the war the total loans negotiated by the Government
aggregated $88,000,000. The nation's public debt, as a result of this
war, was increased to $127,334,933 in 1816. By 1835, either by
redemptions or maturity, it was all paid.
MEXICAN WAR LOANS
The Mexican War net debt incurred by the United States was approximately
$49,000,000 and was financed by loans in the form of Treasury notes and
Government stock. The Treasury notes, under the act of 1846, totaled
$7,687,800 and the stock $4,999,149. The latter paid 6 per cent.
interest. By act of 1847 Treasury notes to the amount of $26,122,100
were issued, bearing interest in the discretion of the Secretary of the
Treasury, reimbursable one and two years after date, and convertible
into United States stock at 6 per cent. They were redeemable after Dec.
31, 1867. Economic developments following this war led to a period of
extraordinary industrial prosperity which lasted for several years. A
change in the fiscal policy of the Government, with overexpansion of
industry, however, resulted in a panic in 1857 and a Treasury deficit in
1858. The debt contracted in consequence of the Mexican War was redeemed
in full by 1874.
The situation had not improved to any great extent when Lincoln took
office on March 4, 1861, and by mid-November of that year a panic was
in full swing. The outbreak of the civil war found the Treasury empty
and the financial machinery of the Government seriously disorganized.
Public credit was low, the public mind was disturbed, and raising money
was difficult. In 1862 the Legal Tender act was passed, authorizing an
issue of $150,000,000 of legal-tender notes, and an issue of bonds in
the amount of $500,000,000 was authorized.
This proved to be a most popular loan. The bonds were subject to
redemption after five years and were payable in twenty years. They bore
interest at 6 per cent., payable semi-annually, and were issued in
denominations of $50, $100, $500, and $1,000. Through one agent, Jay
Cooke, a genius at distribution, who employed 2,850 sub-agents and
advertised extensively, this loan was placed directly with the people at
par in currency. Altogether the aggregate of this loan was $514,771,600.
Later in that year Congress authorized a second issue of Treasury notes
in the amount of $150,000,000 at par, with interest at 6 per cent.; in
January, 1863, a third issue of $100,000,000 was authorized, which was
increased in March to $150,000,000, at 5 per cent. interest. These
issues were referred to as the "one and two year issues of 1863."
DEFICIT IN 1862
In December, 1862, Congress had to face a deficit of $277,000,000 and
unpaid requisitions amounting to $47,000,000. By the close of 1863
nearly $400,000,000 had been raised by bond sales. A further loan act,
passed March 3, 1864, provided for an issue of $200,000,000 of 5 per
cent. bonds known as "ten-fortys," but of this total only $73,337,000
was disposed of. Subsequently, on June 30, 1864, a great public loan of
$200,000,000 was authorized. This was an issue of Treasury notes,
payable at any time not exceeding three years, and bearing interest at
7-3/10 per cent. Notes amounting to $828,800,000 were sold. The
aggregate of Government loans during the civil war footed up a total of
$2,600,700,000; and on Sept. 1, 1865, the public debt closely
approached $3,000,000,000, less than one-half of which was funded.
Civil war loans, with one exception, which sold at 89-3/10, were all
placed at par in currency, subject to commissions ranging from an eighth
to one per cent. to distributing bankers. The average interest nominally
paid by the Government on its bonds during the war was slightly under 6
per cent. Owing to payment being made in currency, however, the rate
was, in reality, much higher. With the conclusion of the war, the
reduction of the public debt was undertaken, and it has continued with
but two interruptions to date.
Heavy tax receipts for several years after the close of the war
potentially enabled the Government to reduce its debt. Indeed, from 1866
to 1891, each year's ordinary receipts exceeded disbursements, and
enabled the Government to lighten its financial burdens. In 1866 the
decrease in the net debt was $120,395,408; in 1867, $127,884,952; in
1868, $27,297,798; in 1869, $48,081,540; in 1870, $101,601,917; in 1871,
$84,175,888; in 1872, $97,213,538, and in 1873, $44,318,470.
Through refunding operations--in addition to bonds and short-time
obligations redeemed with surplus revenues--the Government paid off, up
to 1879, $535,000,000 bonds bearing interest at from 5 to 6 per cent. In
this year the credit of the Government was on a 4 per cent. basis, and a
year later on a 3-1/4 per cent. basis, against a maximum basis of 15-1/2
per cent. in 1864.
Between 1881 and 1887 the Governzment paid off, either with surplus
revenues or by conversion, $618,000,000 of interest-bearing debt. In
1891 all bonds then redeemable were retired, and on July 1, 1893, the
public debt amounted to less than one-third of the maximum outstanding
in 1865. In 1900 the Government converted $445,900,000 bonds out of an
aggregate of $839,000,000 convertible under the refunding act passed by
Congress in that year. And further conversions in 1903, 1905, and 1907
brought the grand total up to $647,250,150--a result which earned for
the Government a net annual saving in interest account of $16,551,037.
SPANISH WAR LOANS
The United States is a debt-paying nation. Hence, America's credit,
despite occasional fluctuations, has steadily risen, and our national
debt has sold on a lower income basis than that of any other nation in
the world.
Following the sinking of the Maine in Havana Harbor, in 1898, Congress
authorized an issue of $200,000,000 3 per cent. ten-twenty-year bonds.
Of this aggregate $198,792,660 were sold by the Government at par. So
popular was this loan, it was oversubscribed seven times. During the
year 1898, following the allotment to the public, this issue sold at a
premium, the price going to 107-3/4, and, during the next year, to
110-3/4. After the war ended, the Government, in accordance with its
unvarying custom, began to pay off this debt; but, despite the Secretary
of the Treasury's offer to buy these bonds, he succeeded in purchasing
only about $20,000,000 of them.
[Illustration]
American Labor Mission in Europe
War Aims of Organized Workers Conveyed to English and French Labor
Unions
An American Labor Mission visited England and France in April, 1918, to
present the views of American workingmen regarding the war. The
delegation numbered eighteen, headed by James Wilson, President of the
Patternmakers' League of North America. In his first address at London,
April 28, before the British and Foreign Press Association, Mr. Wilson
said:
We recognize as a fundamental truth that there can be no democracy
with the triumph of the Imperial German Government. The principle of
democracy or the principle of Prussian military autocracy will
prevail as a result of the world war. There can be no middle course
nor compromise. The contest must be carried on to its finality.
The Central Powers have staked everything on the result of this
struggle. Their defeat means the destruction of a machine which has
been built with remarkable efficiency and embodies the very life of
the German race.
On the other hand, every free man instinctively appreciates that if
we are to maintain the standard of civilization as worked out by the
free men of the world, and if posterity is to be guaranteed
political and industrial freedom, the war must be won by the allied
countries. Peace now would be the fulfillment of the Prussian dream,
for they have within their grasp the very heart of Continental
Europe and resources which would make sure further conquest upon the
other nations of the world.
The American labor movement, in whose behalf my colleagues and
myself have been authorized to speak, declare most emphatically that
they will not agree to a peace conference with the enemies of
civilization, irrespective of what cloak they wear, until Prussian
militarism has withdrawn within its own boundaries, and then not
until the Germans have, through proper representatives, proved to
our satisfaction that they recognize the right of peoples and
civilized nations to determine for themselves what shall be their
standard.
Unless reconstruction shall soon come from the German workers within
that country, it is now plain that the opportunity to uproot the
agencies of force will only come when democracy has defeated
autocracy in the military field and wins the right to reconstruct
the relations between nations and men.
German freedom is ultimately the problem of the German people, but
the defeat of Prussian autocracy in the field will bring the
opportunity for German liberty at home.
BRITISH SEAMEN'S ATTITUDE
J. Havelock Wilson, President of the British Seamen's Union, conferred
with the American Mission at London, April 30, and informed it of the
decision of his union to transport no pacifists to any peace conference.
He made the following statement:
On Sept. 21, 1917, we formed what we called a Merchant Seamen's
League, and declared that if German terrorism on the sea continued
we would enforce a boycott against Germany for two years after the
war, and that for every new crime from that time on we would add one
month to the length of the boycott. The length of the boycott now
stands at five years seven months. We have reliable information that
this action is making a very profound impression on German
manufacturers and shippers.
The British seamen got their first intimation of German treachery
when the international transport strike was first proposed by German
delegates ostensibly to pledge support. But the British learned
later that the German delegates had in their pockets as they talked
contracts signed with employers.
After that we watched the German Social Democrats in the Socialists'
international. But we never could get the Germans to face the issue.
Always they had excuses and evasions. We never had confidence in
them. When war came we felt it our duty to take care of the men on
our ships who could no longer sail, and also to set a good example.
Here were Germans on our ships who had been in England so long that
they had forgotten their language. On Aug. 20, 1914--you see we
acted quickly--we bought an estate of thirty-nine acres and built
the model internment camp of Great Britain. We asked the Government
to give us charge of all interned German sailors, and, let it be
known to the credit of Great Britain, that was done. The Government
allowed us all 10s. per week per man for upkeep. The camp became a
great success. There were 1,000 German sailors interned in it.
Until May, 1915, all went well. On May 1 the interned men celebrated
May Day, their international revolutionary holiday. They had their
banners, "Workers of the World, Unite," "World Brotherhood," and so
on. We had planned a great fête to be held later and I had secured
the consent of several well-known persons to attend and help make it
a success. On May 7 the Lusitania was sunk. I called the Germans in
camp together and told them the terrible thing that had happened. I
told them they were not to blame, but that the celebration could not
be held. And they made no protest to me.
Now here were 1,000 Germans not under control of the Kaiser. Some of
them had been among us twenty or thirty years. As soon as I had got
out of the place they sang and cheered and rejoiced over the
Lusitania disaster. They kept this up for four hours. They made me
conclude that the camp must be handed over to the military as soon
as possible, and this was done. Six months after that came the
U-boat campaign, and, what made that worse, the fact that the
U-boats always turned their guns on open boats.
I have got hundreds of cases of boys whose arms and legs have been
blown off by U-boat guns while trying to get away from sinking ships
in open boats. I wrote the Secretary of the International Transport
Workers' Union protesting against these crimes. His reply attempted
to justify every crime. That showed us that not only was the Kaiser
responsible, but that the organized trade union movement of Germany
was also responsible.
On June 1, 1917, a Socialist congress was convened at Leeds. It was
advertised as the greatest conference ever held. We sent two men
there to tell our story. Our men found that small bodies of only a
handful of members had been delegated, who got the floor easily for
the pacifist cause. Our men could not secure anything like a fair
chance.
In this conference MacDonald, Fairchild, and Jowett were elected
delegates to Stockholm. We at once resolved that no delegates should
leave this country. And none did.
That is the history of the seamen's determination to bottle up such
British pacifists as may desire to go abroad spreading their
doctrine. Mingled with it is the grim, sad story of 12,000 members
of the Seamen's Union who have lost their lives on merchant ships
through Germany's criminal conduct on the seas.
And while there is here and there one in England who resembles a
leader of labor who is a pacifist, the determination of the British
seamen to go through with the war to the finish is scarcely more
than a reflection of the rank-and-file spirit that is to be found
throughout the whole of British labor.
NO PARLEYS WITH ENEMY LABOR
The American delegates met the representatives of labor in London and in
Paris. In England they found the sentiment almost unanimous in approval
of their decision to favor no conferences with German labor
representatives until a victory had been achieved. In France, however,
they encountered a group that favored contact with the German and
Austrian Socialists. On May 6 there was a conference in Paris between
the American labor delegates and the members of the Confederation
Générale de Travail, the great French revolutionary labor organization.
M. Jouhaux, General Secretary of the confederation, made the proposed
international conference practically the sole note of his speech.
France, he asserted, had no hatred for the German workers themselves,
and he pointed out that if the conference took place it could have only
one of two results. Either the workers in the enemy countries would
refuse to join in the efforts of the workers of the allied countries for
the liberation of the world's peoples, in which case the war must
continue, or they would accept the allied view of what was right and
would act with the allied peoples for the good of humanity.
The American reply was in these definite words:
"We don't hate the German workers any more than you do, but to give them
our hand now would be looked upon by them only as a sign of weakness."
After reminding the congress of the hypocritical professions of the
German Socialist Party before the war, the delegation declared itself in
entire agreement with Samuel Gompers that American labor men would
refuse to meet the German delegates under any circumstances so long as
Germany was ruled by an Imperialistic Government. This declaration left
Albert Thomas, former Cabinet officer and leader of the group,
practically without a word to say. M. Thomas urged the same arguments
as Jouhaux, but all the satisfaction the French labor men got was a
promise from James Wilson, President of the American delegation, to
report the matter to the American workers when he returned home.
Chairman Wilson reaffirmed at a luncheon given at the Foreign Office May
10 that American labor would not discuss the war with representatives of
German labor until victory was won, because German labor, which was
permitting the war, must do something itself in its own country toward
ending the conflict justly before it could debate with labor
representatives of the allied countries on what ought to be.
The luncheon was given by Stephen Pichon, Foreign Minister, on behalf of
the French Government. With the exception of Premier Clemenceau, all the
members of the Cabinet were present as well as other men notable in
French public life. Ambassador Sharp was also in attendance.
The mission visited the fighting front and returned to London May 11 to
hold mass meetings at English industrial centres. The members were
received by the King and dined by the London Chamber of Commerce May
15.
Progress of the War
Recording Campaigns on All Fronts and Collateral Events From April 18,
1918, Up to and Including May 17, 1918
UNITED STATES
The campaign for the Third Liberty Loan of $3,000,000,000 ended on May
4. The total subscription was $4,170,019,650, as announced by the
Treasury Department on May 17.
On April 20 President Wilson issued a proclamation extending to women
enemy aliens the restrictions imposed on men.
The Overman bill, giving the President power to consolidate and
co-ordinate executive bureaus and agencies as a war emergency measure,
was passed by the Senate on April 28 and by the House on May 14.
The War Trade Board announced on May 3 that a general commercial
agreement with Norway had been signed. On May 12 it announced that in
order to conserve materials and labor and to add tonnage to the fleet
carrying men and munitions to Europe, arrangements had been made to have
Great Britain, France, Italy, and Belgium pass upon the advisability of
releasing proposed exports before granting licenses to shippers. On May
14 an agreement was reached between the United States and the allied
nations providing that all imports to the United States should be
forbidden unless sanctioned by the War Trade Board.
A conference report on the Sedition bill, giving the Government broad
new powers to punish disloyal acts and utterances, was adopted by the
Senate on May 4, and by the House of Representatives on May 7, and sent
to the President for his signature.
As a result of charges of graft, inefficiency, and pro-German tendencies
directed against the military aircraft administration by Gutzon Borglum,
President Wilson, on May 15, asked Charles Evans Hughes to aid Attorney
General Gregory in making a thorough investigation. Mr. Hughes accepted
the invitation. The President also wrote a letter to Senator Martin
denouncing the Chamberlain resolution for an investigation of the
conduct of the war by the Committee on Military Affairs of the Senate,
and on the same day the Senate Committee on Audit and Expenses, to which
the resolution had been referred, ordered a favorable report on it,
modifying it so as to provide for a limited inquiry.
SUBMARINE BLOCKADE
The American steamship Lake Moor was reported sunk on April 11.
Forty-four Americans were killed when the Old Dominion liner Tyler was
sunk off the French coast on May 2.
The British liner Oronsa was sunk on April 28. All on board except three
members of the crew were saved. The British sloop Cowslip was torpedoed
on April 25. Five officers and one man were missing.
The British Admiralty announced on April 24 the cessation of the weekly
return of shipping losses and the substitution of a monthly report.
In a statement made in the Chamber of Deputies on May 11, Georges
Leygues, the French Minister of Marine, declared that the total of
allied tonnage sunk by German submarines in five months was 1,648,622,
less than half the amount alleged by Germany to have been destroyed. He
announced that the number of submarines sunk by the Allies was greater
than Germany's output.
[Illustration: BARON STEPHAN BURIAN
Austro-Hungarian Foreign Minister in succession to Czernin]
LEADERS IN THE IRISH CONTROVERSY
[Illustration: John Dillon, M. P.,
_Leader of the Nationalist Party_
(_Press Illustrating Service_)]
[Illustration: Joseph Devlin,
_Nationalist M. P. for West Belfast_
(_Press Illustrating Service_)]
[Illustration: Sir Edward Carson, M. P.,
_Leader of the Ulster Unionists_
(_Central News_)]
[Illustration: Sir Horace Plunkett,
_Chairman of the Irish Convention_
(_Bain News Service_)]
Twelve German submarines were officially reported captured or sunk in
British waters by American or British destroyers during the month of
April, and two others were known to have been destroyed.
Ten passengers were killed when the French steamship Atlantique was
torpedoed in the Mediterranean early in May. The ship managed to reach
port.
CAMPAIGN IN WESTERN EUROPE
April 18--French advance on both banks of the Avre River between Thanne
and Mailly-Raineval; Germans deliver terrific assaults upon the British
front from Givenchy to the neighborhood of St. Venant.
April 19--Italian troops reach France; British beat off assaults on Mont
Kemmel and recover ground west of Robecq; bombardment of Paris resumed.
April 20--Germans hurl force against American and French troops at
Seicheprey and get a grip on the town, but are driven out; Belgians give
ground temporarily near the Passchendaele Canal, but regain it; British
re-establish their positions in Givenchy-Festubert region.
April 21--British drive Germans from some of their advanced positions
near Robecq; Americans retake Seicheprey outposts.
April 23--British gain ground east of Robecq and in the neighborhood of
Meteren.
April 24--Germans take Villers-Bretonneux, but are repulsed at other
places south of the Somme; Franco-American positions at Hangard shelled.
April 25--British recover Villers-Bretonneux; French and British lose
ground in the Lys salient before terrific German assaults from
Wytschaete to Bailleul, aiming at Mont Kemmel; Germans take Hangard.
April 26--Germans take Mont Kemmel and the villages of Kemmel and
Dranoutre and push on to St. Eloi; French recover part of Hangard.
April 27--British and French troops recover some of the ground lost in
the Bailleul-Wytschaete sector; Germans repulsed at Voormezeele after
hard fight.
April 28--Germans take Voormezeele, but are driven out by counterattack;
Locre changes hands five times.
April 29--Germans make heavy attacks upon the entire Franco-British
front from Zillebeke Lake to Meteren; British hold their line intact;
French yield some ground around Scherpenberg and Mont Rouge, but later
regain it; Belgians repulse attacks north of Ypres; Americans take over
a sector of the French line at the tip of the Somme salient.
April 30--French recover ground on the slope of Scherpenberg and
advance their line astride the Dranoutre road; positions of the allied
forces push forward between La Clytte and Kemmel.
May 1--Americans repulse attacks in the Villers-Bretonneux region;
Béthune region bombarded.
May 3--French and British improve their positions along the Somme River
southward to below the Avre; French take Hill 82, near Castel, and the
wood near by.
May 4--Germans repulsed at Locon; French make progress near Locre, and
British advance near Meteren; Americans in the Lorraine sector raid
German positions south of Halloville and penetrate to third line; French
shell disables last of German guns that have been bombarding Paris.
May 5--Franco-British forces, in operation between Locre and Dranoutre,
advance their positions on a 1,000-yard front to an average depth of 500
yards; Germans foiled in attempt to occupy former American trenches in
the Bois Brûlé.
May 6--Germans launch heavy gas attacks against American troops on the
Picardy front.
May 8--Germans gain a foothold at several points midway between La
Clytte and Voormezeele, but are repulsed at other points along the line;
Australians advance 500 yards near Sailly and 300 yards west of
Morlancourt.
May 9--British re-establish their lines and drive Germans out of British
trenches between La Clytte and Voormezeele; Germans occupy British
advanced positions at Albert on a front of about 150 yards.
May 10--British restore their line at Albert; German artillery fire
active in the Vimy and Robecq sectors of the British front, and south of
Dickebusch.
May 11--Berlin reports heavy losses inflicted on American troops
southwest of Apremont; Germans gain small portion of territory southwest
of Mailly-Raineval, but are driven out by French; French gain ground in
Mareuil Wood.
May 12--French troops north of Kemmel capture Hill 44 and an adjoining
farm; Germans bombard Albert, Loos, and Ypres sectors, and lines
southeast of Amiens, but are repulsed by the French near
Orvillers-Sorel.
May 13--Americans blow up enemy ammunition dump and start fires in
Cantigny, with explosions; Germans resume firing north of Kemmel.
May 14--Hill 44, north of Kemmel, changes hands several times; French
advance in Hangard region; British carry out successful raid near
Robecq.
May 15--Germans repulsed by the British southwest of Morlancourt and by
the French north of Kemmel. May 16--Heavy gunfire in the Lys and Avre
areas.
May 17--Official announcement that American troops have taken their
place in the British war zone in Northern France; German gunfire
increases in the Lys and Hailles region.
ITALIAN CAMPAIGN.
May 3--Heavy fighting reported along the entire front between the
Adriatic and the Giudicaria Valley.
May 5--Increase in artillery fire, notably in the Lagarina and Astico
Valleys.
May 11--Italians penetrate advanced Austrian positions on Monte Carno.
May 12--Italians wipe out a Coll dell' Orso garrison.
May 14--Austrian attempts to renew attacks on Monte Carno and to
approach Italian lines at Dosso Casina and in the Balcino and Ornic
Valleys fail.
May 16--Italians enter Austrian lines at two points on Monte Asolone;
British make successful raid at Canove.
CAMPAIGN IN ASIA MINOR.
April 21--Armenians retake Van.
April 27--British in Mesopotamia advance north of Bagdad and Kifra.
April 28--British cavalry forces a passage of the Aqsu at a point
southwest of Tuzhurmatl.
April 29--British take Tuzhurmatl.
April 30--British advance as far as the Tauk River, and occupy Mezreh.
May 1--Es-Salt taken by the British.
May 7--British enter Kerkuk.
May 12--Arabs of Hedjaz raid Jadi Jerdun station and a post on the
Hedjaz Railway, taking many prisoners and destroying tracks and bridges.
AERIAL RECORD.
Trent, Trieste, and Pola were raided by Italian scouts on May 10.
Carlshutte, Germany, was bombed by the British May 3. Saarbrucken was
bombed on May 16, and five German machines were brought down.
British aviators raided the aviation grounds at Campo Maggiore on May 4
and brought down fourteen Austrian planes.
German airmen attacked Dutch fishing vessels in the North Sea May 5.
Ostend, Westende, and Zeebrugge were attacked by British seaplanes on
May 6.
Many notable air battles occurred on the western front in connection
with the fighting in Picardy and Flanders. In one day, May 15,
fifty-five German airplanes were brought down by British and French
aviators, and on May 16 forty-six German machines were brought down by
the British.
NAVAL RECORD.
Early in the morning of April 23 British naval forces, in co-operation
with French destroyers, carried out a raid against Zeebrugge and
Ostend, with the object of bottling up German submarine bases. Five
obsolete British cruisers, which had been filled with concrete, were run
aground, blown up, and abandoned by their crews, and two old submarines
were loaded with explosives for the destruction of the Zeebrugge mole. A
German destroyer was sunk and other ships were shelled. Twenty yards of
the Zeebrugge mole were blown up, and the harbor was blocked completely.
On May 10 the obsolete cruiser Vindictive was sunk at the entrance to
Ostend Harbor, practically completing the work.
An Austrian dreadnought of the Viribus Unitis type was torpedoed by
Italian naval forces in Pola Harbor on the morning of May 14.
RUSSIA.
On April 20, Japan ordered reinforcements sent to Vladivostok, as the
Bolsheviki had directed the removal of munitions westward. On the same
day diplomatic representatives of the allied powers were formally
informed by the Siberian Provincial Duma of the formation--by
representatives of the Zemstvos and other public organizations--of the
Government of Autonomous Siberia.
The Bolshevist Foreign Minister, George Tchitcherin, on April 26,
addressed representatives in Moscow of the United States, England, and
France, requesting the speedy recall of their Consuls from Vladivostok
and the investigation of their alleged participation in negotiations
said to have been conducted between their Peking embassies and the
Siberian Autonomous Government. He also asked them to explain their
attitude toward the Soviet Government and the alleged attempts of their
representatives to interfere with the internal life of Russia. Japan was
asked to explain the participation of Japanese officials in the
counter-revolutionary movement. An official report of the demand for the
removal of John K. Caldwell, the American Consul at Vladivostok, was
received by the American State Department on May 6, from Ambassador
Francis. The State Department announced that Mr. Caldwell had done
nothing wrong and that he would not be removed. On the same day a report
was received that the Russian authorities at Irkutsk had arrested the
Japanese Vice Consul and the President of the Japanese Association on
the charge of being military spies.
At a meeting of several thousand peasants of the Ukraine, held on April
29, a resolution was passed calling for the overthrow of the Government,
the closing of the Central Rada, the cancellation of the Constituent
Assembly convoked for May 12, and the abandonment of land socialization.
General Skoropauski was proclaimed Hetman and was recognized by
Germany.
The German advance into the Ukraine continued, military rule was
established in Kiev, and several members of the Government, including
the Minister of War, were removed on the ground that the Government had
proved too weak to maintain law and order. Vice Chancellor von Payer,
speaking before the Main Committee of the German Reichstag on May 4,
attempted to justify Germany's use of the iron hand by declaring that
grain had been withheld and that prominent Ukrainians, members of the
Committee of Safety, had been caught planning the assassination of
German officers.
Rostov-on-the-Don was occupied by Germans on May 9, but was recaptured
by the Russians the next day.
M. Tchitcherin, on May 12, sent a wireless message to Ambassador Joffe,
at Berlin, instructing him to try to obtain from Berlin cessation of
every kind of hostility, and declared that captures of Russian territory
violated the terms of the treaty of peace. He also gave assurances that
the Black Sea Fleet would not attack the port of Novorossysk, which the
Germans threatened to capture. In an evasive reply the Commander in
Chief of the German troops in the East said he could only agree to the
cessation of naval operations against the Black Sea Fleet, provided that
all ships returned to Sebastopol and were retained there, thus leaving
the port of Novorossysk free for navigation.
A Swedish report of May 14 told of a German ultimatum to the Bolshevist
Government demanding the occupation of Moscow and other Russian cities,
the abolishment of armaments, and the effecting of certain financial
measures which would practically make Russia a German colony.
Professor H. C. Emery, the American who was seized when the Germans
landed in the Aland Islands, was freed from prison, but was still
detained in Germany, according to a report received on May 5.
The British Foreign Minister, A. J. Balfour, announced in Commons on May
5 that Great Britain was ready to grant temporary recognition to the
Esthonian National Council.
Transcaucasia proclaimed its independence on April 26, and a
conservative Government was formed, headed by M. Chkemkeli.
Ciscaucasia proclaimed itself an independent State on May 14.
The Caucasus proposed peace negotiations with Turkey May 10.
Russian Bolshevist troops crossed the Caspian Sea in gunboats and
recaptured Baku from the Mussulmans May 17.
Emperor William issued a proclamation, May 14, recognizing the
independence of Lithuania, allied with the German Empire, and saying
that it was assumed that Lithuania would participate in the war burdens
of Germany.
FINLAND.
Hostilities between the Finnish White Guards and the Germans and the Red
Guards continued. Germany protested to the Bolshevist Foreign Minister
on April 23 against the landing of allied troops at Murmansk, declaring
that such landing was a violation of the Brest-Litovsk treaty. Germany
also denied that Germans had participated in the raid of the Finnish
White Guards upon Kem.
The White Guards, on April 26, demanded the surrender of a fort on the
Finnish coast ceded to Russia by the Finnish Bolshevist Government,
constituting part of the Kronstadt defenses. The Kronstadt Council of
Workmen's and Soldiers' Delegates refused to comply with the demand, and
organized resistance.
Viborg was taken by the White Guards on April 30. On May 3, the Germans
in the southwest defeated the Red Guards after a five days' battle near
Lakhti and Tevastus. The Finnish flag was raised on the fortress of
Sveaborg on May 13. On May 15 the White Guards entered Helsingfors, and
on May 17 they seized Boris-Gleb on the Norwegian border from the
Russian troops, thus gaining access to the Arctic Ocean.
RUMANIA.
A peace treaty between Rumania and the Central Powers was signed May 6,
and supplementary legal, economic, and political treaties were later
concluded.
The Rumanian Parliament was dissolved on May 10 by royal decree and new
elections were ordered.
POLAND.
The Lausanne Gazette announced on May 12 that Poland was handed over to
Germany economically, politically, and militarily, according to a secret
treaty arranged at Brest-Litovsk between a Russian delegation, headed by
Trotzky, and German representatives. At a conference between the
Emperors of Germany and Austria-Hungary, Germany agreed to the solution
of the Polish question desired by Austria, in return for certain
concessions from Austria.
MISCELLANEOUS.
The Guatemalan Assembly, on April 22, declared the country to be in the
same position as the United States in the war, and the following day the
Guatemalan Minister at Washington announced that the declaration was
meant as a declaration of war against Germany and her allies.
In response to a request from Uruguay for a definition of the relations
between the two countries, Germany replied, according to an
announcement made public May 16, that she did not consider that a state
of war existed.
Nicaragua declared war on Germany and her allies on May 7.
Royal assent to the British man-power bill, providing for conscription
in Ireland, was given on April 18. An Order in Council was issued on May
1 postponing the Conscription act.
Lord Wimborne, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, and Henry E. Duke, Chief
Secretary, resigned on April 24. Edward Shortt was appointed Chief
Secretary and Viscount French succeeded Lord Wimborne as Lord
Lieutenant.
James Ian MacPherson announced in the House of Commons on May 9 that a
German submarine had recently landed an associate of Sir Roger Casement
on the Irish coast, where he was arrested by Government officials, and
that he was now in the Tower of London and would be tried by
court-martial. A dispatch dated May 15 revealed that two Germans
accompanied him, and that all three were imprisoned.
All the Sinn Fein leaders, including De Valera and the Countess
Markievicz, were arrested in Belfast, Dublin, and other cities, on May
17, as the result of the discovery of treasonable relations with
Germany. Lord Lieutenant French issued a proclamation dealing with the
situation, calling on all loyalists to aid in blocking the German plans
and asking for volunteers to provide Ireland's share of the army.
Sir Arthur Roberts, financial adviser to the British Air Minister,
resigned on April 24 as a result of a disagreement with Lord Rothermere.
The next day Lord Rothermere resigned. He was succeeded by Sir William
Weir. Baron Rhondda resigned as Food Controller and Lord Northcliffe
resigned as Chairman of London headquarters of the British Mission to
the United States and Director of Propaganda in Enemy Countries.
Representatives of the allied nations met at Versailles on May 1 and May
2.
On May 6 Major Gen. Frederick Barton Maurice, formerly Director General
of British Military Operations, addressed a letter to The London Daily
Chronicle challenging the statements made in the House of Commons by
Premier Lloyd George and Andrew Bonar Law with regard to the military
situation and demanding a Parliamentary investigation. On May 7
ex-Premier Asquith moved for an inquiry in Commons. After a speech by
Lloyd George in Commons in his own defense, May 9, the House, by a vote
of 293 to 106, upheld him and the Government and rejected Mr. Asquith's
motion.
The Austrian Premier was empowered by Emperor Charles, on May 4, to
adjourn Parliament and to inaugurate measures to render impossible the
resumption of its activities.
A growing resentment against the domination of Austria-Hungary by
Germany was manifested by Austria's Slavic peoples. A dispatch from
Switzerland dated May 8 told of serious disturbances in the fleet,
caused by seamen of Slavic and Italian stock, which resulted in several
changes in the high command. A new Hungarian Cabinet, headed by Dr.
Wekerle, was formed on May 10. On May 13 Vienna papers published a
declaration by the Czech members of the Austrian House of Lords in which
an independent State was demanded.
As a result of a conference between Emperor William and Emperor Charles
at German Headquarters on May 10, Austria-Hungary concluded a new
convention with Germany.
M. Duval, manager of the Bonnet Rouge, and his associates, Leymarie and
Marion, directors of the paper; Goldsky and Landau, journalists, and two
minor men named Joucla and Vercasson, were placed on trial in Paris on
charges of treason and espionage, on April 29. On May 15, Duval was
sentenced to death for treason, and the six other defendants were
sentenced to imprisonment for terms ranging from two to ten years.
The British Government replied to the note of the Netherlands Government
concerning the taking over of Dutch ships on May 1, and asserted the
full legality of the seizure.
A London dispatch, dated April 24, announced that Germany had sent an
ultimatum to Holland demanding the right of transit for civilian
supplies and sand and gravel. Holland yielded to these demands on April
28, with the stipulation that the sand and gravel should not be used for
war purposes. On May 5, Foreign Minister Loudon announced in the Dutch
Chamber that Germany had promised to transport no troops or military
supplies and to limit the amount of sand and gravel.
Persia informed Holland, on May 3, that it regarded as null and void all
treaties imposed upon Persia in recent years, and especially the
Russo-British treaty of 1907 regarding the spheres of influence.
[Illustration]
German Losses On All Fronts
One Estimate Reaches 5,600,000
Karl Bleibtreu, the German military statistician, writing in Das Neue
Europa of April 22, gives the German losses from Aug. 2, 1914, to Jan.
31, 1918, as 4,456,961 men. His figures deal exclusively with those
killed in action or taken prisoner. They are official from Aug. 2, 1914,
till July 31, 1917, and are then estimated to Jan. 31, 1918. His figures
and comment read:
WESTERN FRONT
1914
August 172,500 November 93,000
September 214,500 December 50,200
October 139,600
--------
Total 669,800
1915
Jan. and Feb 66,000 August 105,400
March (?)61 Sept. and Oct 119,450
April 42,500 November 57,500
May 112,500 December 57,750
June and July 152,300
--------
Total 713,461
1916
January 18,100 July 86,650
February 17,800 August 148,000
March 51,300 September 119,800
April 72,650 October 125,000
May 64,000 November 87,100
June 54,850 December 56,000
--------
Total 901,250
1917
January 48,000 April 59,000
February 39,000 May, June and
March 39,600 July 134,850
--------
Total, (7 months) 320,450
These figures give, on the western front,
from Aug. 2, 1914, to July 31, 1917, an aggregate
of 2,604,961 casualties.
EASTERN FRONT
1914 163,900 1916 359,800
1915 699,600 1917 261,200
This gives a total from Aug. 2, 1914, to July 31, 1917, of 1,484,550,
and for the two fronts combined of 4,089,511.
From Aug. 1, 1917, to Jan. 31, 1918, Herr Bleibtreu estimates the total
losses on both fronts at 367,450, making in all 4,456,961 men.
In adding those who died from illness or wounds, the losses resulting
from the colonial and maritime fighting, as well as in the noncombatant
and auxiliary services, not comprised in the preceding enumeration, the
grand total considerably exceeds 5,000,000.
Estimates of German losses from Jan. 31, 1918, to May 20, 1918, range
from 400,000 to 600,000. If the above figures are correct, the total
German loss in the forty-six months of the war exceeds 5,600,000. The
London Telegraph, in analyzing these figures, said:
With regard to the figures given by Herr Bleibtreu, it may be
remarked that they are enormously in excess over those compiled in
well-informed quarters from the official casualty lists published by
the German Government, and issued periodically. Down to July 31,
1918, these lists had contained a grand total of 4,624,256 names,
but did not include naval or Colonial troop losses. Of the above
figure the following are the permanent losses:
Killed and died of wounds 1,056,975
Died of sickness 75,988
Prisoners 335,269
Missing 267,237
---------
Total 1,735,469
These statistics are merely the names published down to July 31, 1917,
and are not to be taken as the actual total casualties, as the lists are
always at least several weeks behindhand. But even allowing for this
fact, Bleibtreu's estimate for the killed in action and prisoners alone
is considerably more than double those officially acknowledged by
Berlin, and nearly equal to the total casualties admitted in the
official lists from all causes. Of this remarkable discrepancy there can
be only two possible explanations. Either the German Government has
throughout the war systematically falsified its casualty lists--and
there is good reason to believe that this is the case--or else Bleibtreu
has been put up by the German Staff to publish a set of statistics
intended deliberately to mislead the Allies.
Great Britain's Finances
Heavy War Taxes Levied
The new British budget for 1918-19 was introduced in the House of
Commons April 23. It included some sweeping changes in taxes and gave
important data of expenses. The estimate for 1918 in round numbers is
$15,000,000,000; the estimated revenue is $4,200,000,000, leaving a
balance to be covered by loans of $10,800,000,000. The actual
expenditures in 1917-18 were $13,481,105,000; the revenue was
$3,536,175,000; the deficit met by loans was $9,944,930,000.
Under the new budget the tax on incomes is increased from $1.25 in $5 to
$1.50 in $5. Under the new rate the increased tax begins at an income of
$2,500 a year. On an income that is wholly earned--such as a salary--the
tax is as follows:
Income. Tax.
Income. Tax
$2,000 a year $157
2,500 a year 225
3,000 a year 375
4,000 a year 600
5,000 a year 750
10,000 a year 2,250
Where the income is wholly unearned the tax is as follows:
TAXES ON UNEARNED INCOME
Income. Tax
$2,000 a year $210
2,500 a year 300
3,000 a year 455
5,000 a year 947
10,000 a year 2,635
The super tax in the new law begins at an income of $13,750, and the
total taxes paid on the following incomes, including income tax and
super tax, are as follows:
TOTAL INCOME AND SUPER TAX
Income. Tax
$15,000 a year $4,802
20,000 a year 6,812
25,000 a year 8,937
30,000 a year 11,187
40,000 a year 15,937
50,000 a year 20,937
100,000 a year 47,187
500,000 a year 255,187
The tax on $500,000 incomes is a little over 50 per cent. In the case
of a tax-payer whose total income does not exceed $4,000 an allowance of
$125 is granted in respect of his wife and an allowance of a like amount
in respect of any dependent relatives whom he maintains; also an
allowance of $125 in respect of children under 16 years of age.
TAXES ON COMMODITIES
Checks require a stamp of 4 cents, also promissory notes. The
excess-profit rate remains at 80 per cent. The tax on spirits is raised
to $7.50 a gallon; on beer to $12.50 a barrel; on tobacco to $2.04 a
pound, the effect of which will increase the price 4 cents an ounce,
while the cheapest cigarette, now 6 cents for ten, will be 7 cents for
ten. The tax on matches is increased so that they will be sold at 2
cents a box instead of 1-1/2 cents. An additional duty of $3 a
hundredweight is levied on sugar, so that sugar heretofore selling at
11-1/2 cents a pound will now have to be sold at 14 cents a pound.
A tax of 16-2/3 per cent, is levied on the sale of luxuries, including
jewelry, and of articles above a certain price when they become articles
of luxury; also on hotel and restaurant bills. This tax will be
collected by means of stamps. The new postage rate is raised to 3 cents
an ounce; on book packages exceeding one ounce an extra charge of 1 cent
will be levied. Letters to the United States will cost 3 cents instead
of 2 cents. Post-cards in England will be 2 cents instead of 1 cent, and
the parcel rate, under seven pounds, 18 cents, and between seven and
eleven pounds, 25 cents.
LUXURIES HEAVILY TAXED
The tax on luxuries is a new tax in England, and is following the method
adopted in France Dec. 31, 1917. The tax on luxuries in France is levied
at the rate of 10 per cent. on the retail selling price of the scheduled
articles. All payments of less than 20 cents are exempted. The schedule
consists of two lists, one comprising articles taxed irrespective of
price at 10 per cent., and the other, articles taxed when the retail
price exceeds certain specified amounts, as follows:
_Taxed Irrespective of Price._--Photographic appliances, gold or
platinum jewelry, billiard tables, silk hosiery and underwear,
artistic bronze and iron work, horses and ponies for pleasure
purposes, curiosities and antiques, sporting guns, books, servants'
liveries, gold watches, perfumery, soaps and dentifrices, paintings
and sculpture, pianos, (other than cottage pianos,) tapestry,
truffles, pleasure boats, and yachts.
_Taxed Above Specified Prices, (approximately shown in U.S.
money.)_--Pet dogs, $8; other pets, $2; smokers' requisites, $2;
bicycles, $50; silver jewelry, $2; picture frames, $2; walking
sticks, $2; chinaware table service, $40; single pieces, 39c to $3;
men's headwear, $4; women's hats, $8; women's footwear, $8; men's
footwear, $10; chocolates, 75c per pound; corsets, $10; men's suits,
$35; women's costumes or mantles, $50; scissors, $2; lace and
embroidery machine made, 35c per yard; handmade, $1.83 per yard;
artificial flowers, $2; furs, $20; gloves, $1.58; furniture, $300
per suite; mirrors, $4; motor cycles, $400; watches, $10;
handkerchiefs, $3.66 per dozen; umbrellas, $5; feathers, $5; clocks,
$20; photographs, $8 per dozen; cottage pianos, $240; curtains, $20;
carpets, $3.62 per yard; pajamas and dressing gowns, $16; horse
carriages, $200; bird cages, $2.
Payments for goods bought before Jan. 1, 1918, are exempt from the tax.
AMERICA'S ASSISTANCE
In presenting the budget the Chancellor of the Exchequer stated that the
expenditures in the past year exceeded the estimate by $2,030,000,000.
He referred to America's assistance as follows:
The extent of the assistance of the United States and our advances
to the Allies last year amounted to $2,525,000,000. In addition to
this the United States have advanced to all the Allies no less a sum
during the year than $4,750,000,000. Of this sum approximately
$2,500,000,000 was advanced to us and $2,250,000,000 to the Allies.
The House will see, therefore, that, whereas this year we advanced
to the Allies approximately the same amount as last year,
$2,525,000,000 as against $2,700,000,000, the United States advanced
in addition $2,250,000,000; that is to say, the total advances by us
and by the Government of the United States are $4,775,000,000, as
against $2,700,000,000 by us alone last year.
The House would notice that our advances to the Allies are
approximately the same amount as the advances made to us by the
Government of the United States. This is satisfactory. It means that
it is only necessary for us to lean on the United States to the
extent that the other Allies lean upon us, or that, in other words,
after nearly four years of war we are self-supporting.
But it is almost absurd that we should be borrowing with one hand
while we are lending with the other. The result is that our accounts
are inflated apparently, and in fact to that extent our credit is
weakened. I have therefore been in communication with Mr. McAdoo,
the Financial Minister of America, and Mr. Crossley, the head of the
United States Financial Mission, and I suggested as regards advances
to the Allies a course which, if adopted, will have the effect of
lessening to a considerable extent our burden, while in no way
increasing the total obligations of the United States.
THE TOTAL BRITISH DEBT
In referring to the total debt the Chancellor of the Exchequer made the
following statement:
The national debt, on the estimates which I have submitted to the
House, will at the end of the present year, (March 31, 1919,) amount
to $39,900,000,000. Previously, in counting our liabilities, I have
deducted altogether advances to Allies and Dominions. I do not
propose to adopt that course today. We cannot ignore what is
happening in Russia; though, even yet, I do not admit--I do not
believe--that we should regard the debt of Russia as a bad debt,
because, sooner or later, in spite of what is happening now, there
will be an ordered Government in that country.
By the end of this year the total amount due by the Allies to us
will be $8,110,000,000, and I should hope that we should be able to
deduct Dominion and obligation debts, making a total of
$5,920,000,000. The amount of our national debt at the end of last
year was $29,250,000,000. The amount of our liability on the basis I
have stated is $34,280,000,000, and, taking 5 per cent. on this
amount as the rate of interest, the total comes to $1,900,000,000.
This, added to the normal expenditure, makes a total amount of
$3,400,000,000.
Now, how is that to be met? Taking the Inland Revenue taxation
alone, it amounts to $2,700,000,000. The Inland Revenue officials
have assured me that they have made a very careful and a very
conservative estimate. Taking this estimate, there remains a
deficit on the full year of $550,000,000.
To make good this $550,000,000 I shall impose new taxation which, on
the full year, will bring in $570,000,000. The Inland Revenue, in
their estimate of result of existing taxation, take no account
whatever of the excess profits duty, but that duty, as I have
pointed out, is expected to yield $1,500,000,000.
Assuming--an assumption that may last for half an hour
[laughter]--that the income tax remains at 5s, that should reach
$375,000,000. Of course, that must be supplemented. It depends upon
the state of trade and credit, but I think I am quite safe in saying
that this amount, which they have left out of their reckoning, is
more than sufficient to counter-balance any error made with regard
to existing taxation.
GERMANY'S WAR DEBT
He followed this with a statement contrasting the financial condition of
Great Britain with that of Germany, as follows:
Up to June, 1916, according to the statement of the German Financial
Minister, the monthly German expenditure was $500,000,000; it is now
admitted to be $937,500,000, which means a daily expenditure of
$31,250,000, which is almost the same as ours. But it does not
include such matters as separation allowances. As to the war debt,
the German votes of credit up to July amounted to $31,000,000,000.
Up to 1916 they imposed no new taxation at all, and in that year
they proposed a war increment levy. Assuming that their estimates
were realized, the total amount of taxation levied by the German
Government was $1,825,000,000, as against our own amount.
This amount is not enough to pay the interest of the war debt which
Germany has accumulated up to the end of the year. The German
balance sheet, reckoned on the same basis as ours, will, with
interest, sinking fund, pensions, and pre-war expenditures, be a
year hence $3,600,000,000; and with additional permanent imperial
revenue of $600,000,000 they will make their total additional
revenue $925,000,000 per annum, and this amount, added to the
pre-war revenue, makes a total of $1,675,000,000, showing a deficit
at the end of the year of $1,925,000,000.
If that were our position I should say that bankruptcy was not far
from the British Nation.
The German taxes have been almost exclusively indirect, imposed on
commodities paid for by the mass of the people and not upon the
wealthier classes, who control the Government and on whom the
Government is afraid to put extra taxation.
Trade After the War
Important Report by a Commission of British Experts and Economists
Great Britain's policy with reference to future trade is outlined in the
final report of the Committee on Commercial and Industrial Policy After
the War, of which Lord Balfour of Burleigh was Chairman, and which
included in its membership Arthur Balfour, (ex-Master Cutler of
Sheffield,) also the heads of the various Boards of Trade, the textile
trades, with representatives of the shipping and shipbuilding
industries, finance, engineering, metal trades, coal, electrical, iron
and steel associations, national transport workers, and distinguished
economists.
Shipping policy after the war is not dealt with in the report, but, in
view of the world shortage of tonnage, the committee express the
opinion that, while it may be desirable to impose for a limited period
some restriction on the use of British ports by enemy vessels, any
policy which might tend to check the use of English ports by foreign
shipping generally would be inexpedient. They, however, urge that, in
accordance with the Paris Conference resolutions, the exaction of
reparation in kind from enemy countries should, in the interests of the
reconstruction of industry and the mercantile marine, be carried out as
fully as may be practicable.
In a general survey of the position of British industry and overseas
trade in 1913, prior to the war, the committee found that the United
Kingdom had taken only a limited share in the more modern branches of
industrial production, and that certain branches had come to be
entirely, or very largely, under German control, and in numerous
branches foreign manufacturers had secured a "strong, or even
predominant, position." They found that British merchants and
manufacturers had also been encountering successful competition in
overseas trade. They believe that the knowledge gained during the war
will be a valuable asset in the development of British industry.
As to the measures which should be adopted during the transitional
period, the committee reaffirm the main recommendations of their interim
report, namely:
Transition Period
(a) The prohibition of the importation of goods from enemy origin
should be continued, subject to license in exceptional cases, for at
least twelve months after the conclusion of the war, and
subsequently for such further period as may be deemed expedient.
(b) The Paris resolutions relating to the supply of the Allies for
the restoration of their industries can be carried into effect if a
policy of joint control of certain important commodities can be
agreed upon between the British Empire and the Allies. Any measures
should aim at securing to the British Empire and the allied
countries priority for their requirements, and should be applied
only to materials which are mainly derived from those countries and
will be required by them. This policy should be applied as regards
the United Kingdom by legislation empowering the Government to
prohibit the export, except under license, of such articles as may
be deemed expedient, and, as regards the British Empire and the
allied countries, the Government should, without delay, enter into
negotiations with the various Governments concerned, with a view to
the adoption of suitable joint measures in the case of selected
commodities of importance.
The Government should consider, in consultation with the Allies, the
expediency of establishing after the war a joint organization on the
lines of Commission Internationale de Ravitaillement for dealing
with the orders of the allied Governments for reconstruction
purposes, and with such private orders as they may find it expedient
to centralize.
It is pointed out that the prolongation of the war and the entry into it
of the United States have increased the importance of a considered
policy directed toward assuring to the British Empire and the Allies
adequate supplies of essential raw materials during the period
immediately following the conclusion of peace, and that the extent to
which the Paris resolutions which bear upon this vital question can be
carried into effect depends upon the co-operation of the Governments
concerned.
PROBLEM OF RAW MATERIALS
The committee reports that it will be necessary to continue for a
considerable period after the war some portion of the control of home
and foreign trade in order to secure adequate supplies of foodstuffs and
raw material. It does not regard it as practical to attempt to make the
empire self-supporting in respect of numerous raw materials. It notes
that the Board of Trade already has set up a committee to investigate
the question of the supply of cotton and it recommends special inquiries
as regards each commodity. "The object to be kept in view should be
that the empire may be capable in an emergency of being independent in
respect of the supply of every essential commodity of any single
foreign country."
The committee advises against the exclusion of foreign (other than
present enemy) capital from sharing in the development of the empire's
resources, but recommends:
(a) Complete disclosure, as far as is practicable, of the extent of
foreign holdings in any particular case.
(b) That mineral and other properties are not secured by foreign
concerns in order to prevent the development of those properties,
and to check competition in supply; and
(c) That in the case of commodities of great imperial importance,
the local Government concerned should have some measure of control
over the working of the properties.
These principles, if accepted, should be brought to the notice of
the Governments of other parts of the empire, with a view to the
adoption of a uniform policy.
ALIENS IN BUSINESS
The committee expresses the opinion that it would not be desirable to
impose special restrictions against the participation of aliens in
commercial and industrial occupations. It recommends, however, that
such occupations as pilot and patent agent should be confined to
British-born subjects, and suggests that foreign commercial travelers
operating in the United Kingdom should be registered and hold licenses,
that the registration of title to property should be compulsory, and
that such registration should involve a declaration of the nationality
of the owner.
The committee deems it unwise to restrain the establishment or the
continuance of agencies or branches of foreign banks or insurance
companies in the United Kingdom, but foreign insurance companies should
be required to make a deposit proportionate to the business done.
Foreign banks should be required to pay the income tax.
The committee considers it necessary to impose special restrictions on
the subjects of enemy countries, and that this can best be done by means
of stringent permit and police regulations, but it does not believe that
attempts should be made to prevent enemy subjects from establishing
agencies or holding interests in commercial or industrial undertakings.
A plan for the maintenance and development of industries essential to
national safety, called "Key Industries," is proposed, as follows:
Synthetic dyes, spelter, tungsten, magnetos, optical and chemical
glass, hosiery needles, thorium nitrate, limit and screw gauges, and
certain drugs.
SPECIAL INDUSTRIES BOARD
The committee recommends the creation of a permanent special industries
board, charged with the duty of watching the course of industrial
development and recommending plans for the promotion and assistance of
the industries enumerated above. With reference to industries generally
the committee thinks that the individualist methods hitherto adopted
should be supplemented by co-operation and co-ordination of effort in
respect of
1. The securing of supplies of materials.
2. Production, in which we include standardization and scientific
and industrial research; and
3. Marketing.
The report recommends the formation of combinations of manufacturers,
strong, well organized associations and combinations, to secure supplies
of materials, especially the control of mineral deposits in foreign
countries. In order to facilitate increased production it recommends:
That an authority should be set up which should have the right,
after inquiry, to grant compulsory powers for the acquisition of
land for industrial purposes and the diversion or abolition of roads
or footpaths.
That there should be a judicial body with compulsory powers to deal
with the question of wayleaves required for the development of
mineral royalties and the economical working of collieries and
mines.
The committee believes in the formation of organizations for marketing
the manufactured products of the country and deems it inexpedient for
the Government to enter into any policy aiming at positive control of
combinations (trusts) in the United Kingdom. It recommends that
combinations be legalized, so as to be enforceable between members. It
welcomes the establishment of the British Trade Corporation to
co-ordinate and supplement existing financial facilities for trading
purposes. As a general rule the members think it would be undesirable
that the State should attempt to provide capital for industrial
purposes, but as the re-establishment of industry on a peace basis will
be profoundly affected by taxation, currency, and foreign exchanges,
they recommend that these matters be taken up by the Treasury, in
consultation with the banking and commercial interests.
TARIFF REGULATIONS
With reference to tariff the committee recommends a protective tariff
only on industries "which can show that, in spite of the adoption of the
most efficient technical methods and business organization, they cannot
maintain themselves against foreign competition, or that they are
hindered from adopting these methods by such competition."
The general fiscal policy as finally adopted by the committee is as
follows:
1. The producers of this country are entitled to require from the
Government that they should be protected in their home market
against "dumping" and against the introduction of "sweated" goods,
by which term we understand goods produced by labor which is not
paid at trade union rates of wages, where such rates exist in the
country of origin of the goods, or the current rates of that country
where there are no trade union rates. We recommend that action be
taken in regard to "dumping" on the lines (though not necessarily in
the precise form) adopted in Canada.
2. Those industries which we have described as "key" or "pivotal"
should be maintained in this country at all hazards and at any
expense.
3. As regards other industries, protection by means of customs
duties or Government assistance in other forms should be afforded
only to carefully selected branches of industry, which must be
maintained either for reasons of national safety or on the general
ground that it is undesirable that any industry of real importance
to our economic strength and well-being should be allowed to be
weakened by foreign competition or brought to any serious extent
under alien domination or control.
4. Preferential treatment should be accorded to the British oversea
dominions and possessions in respect of any customs duties now or
hereafter to be imposed in the United Kingdom, and consideration
should be given to other forms of imperial preference.
5. As regards our commercial relations with our present allies and
neutrals, the denunciation of existing commercial treaties is
unnecessary and inexpedient, but the present opportunity should be
taken to endeavor to promote our trade with our allies, and
consideration should be given to the possibility of utilizing for
purposes of negotiation with them and present neutrals any duties
which may be imposed in accordance with the principles laid down
above.
LIMITING PROTECTIVE PRINCIPLES
In view of the danger that the admission of the principle of protection,
even to a limited extent, may give rise to a widespread demand for
similar assistance from other industries, and consequently to an amount
of political pressure which it may be very difficult to resist, the
committee further recommends:
That a strong and competent board, with an independent status,
should be established to examine into all applications from
industries for State assistance, to advise his Majesty's Government
upon such applications, and, where a case is made out, to frame
proposals as to the precise nature and extent of the assistance to
be given.
Before recommending tariff protection for any particular industry it
should be the duty of the board to consider forms of State
assistance other than, or concurrent with, protective duties, such
as bounties on production, preferential treatment (subject to an
adequate standard of quality and security against price rings) in
respect of Government and other public authority contracts, State
financial assistance, and also whether the position of the industry
could not be improved by internal reorganization.
The board should also have constantly in mind the safeguarding of
the interests of consumers and of labor, and should make
recommendations as to the conditions which for these purposes should
be attached to any form of Government assistance, whether by means
of a tariff or otherwise.
The committee reports adversely on the changing of weights, measures,
and coinage to the metric system.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: BANK OF FINLAND, AT HELSINGFORS, WHERE THE RED GUARDS,
ATTEMPTING TO BREAK INTO THE BUILDING, WERE REPULSED BY THE WHITE
GUARDS]
Finland Under German Control
Events of the Period of Chaos and Foreign Invasion Preceding the Fall of
Viborg
Civil war, later complicated by the German invasion, has been the
central fact in the history of Finland since the declaration of its
independence in December, 1917. The internecine strife was precipitated
by the coup d'état which the Finnish Socialists effected in January,
1918. It so happened that the representatives of the propertied classes
had the majority in the Diet which severed the century-old connection
between Finland and Russia. As for the Government which this Diet has
set up to rule the independent republic, all its members belong to
middle-class parties. Headed by Mr. Svinhufud, a Young-Finn leader, it
includes one Svekoman, two Agrarians, three Old-Finns, and six
Young-Finns.
The dissatisfaction of the Socialist elements, which are very strong in
Finland, with this régime soon grew so intense that they decided to
overthrow it by armed force. The Red Guard, that is, detachments of
armed workmen organized by the Finnish Labor Party, seized Helsingfors,
dissolved the "bourgeois" Government, and formed a Socialist Cabinet
under the leadership of Senator Kullervo Manner. The revolutionists did
not, however, succeed in capturing Mr. Svinhufud and his associates.
These fled north and established their headquarters at Vasa,
(Nikolaystadt,) on the Gulf of Bothnia. Since then the half-starved
country has been the arena of bloody clashes between the Red troops and
the forces supporting the Vasa Government, which consist largely of
middle-class elements and are known as the White Guards.
It is an open secret that Russia rendered substantial assistance to the
Finnish revolutionists. Most of the weapons in their possession are from
Russian arsenals, and Russian soldiers who lingered on in Finland even
after the Bolsheviki had agreed to withdraw the Russian troops stationed
there have been fighting shoulder to shoulder with the Finnish Red
Guards. It is reported that on several occasions the Finnish Red Guards
were reinforced by Red Guards from Petrograd. Moreover, in its
organization the Finnish Socialist Workmen's Republic is a copy of the
Russian Soviet Republic. The Red Finns have the same hierarchy of
Soviets, and they affect the administrative terminology of the
Bolsheviki.
RED FINLAND
The Finnish Socialists should not, however, be treated as identical with
the Russian Bolsheviki. The difference between them is probably due to a
difference of civilization, for culturally the dissimilarity between a
Russian and a Finn is as great as it is linguistically and ethnically.
It is noteworthy that unlike the Bolsheviki they regard their own rule
as a transitional, provisional régime. Speaking on Feb. 14, 1918, at the
first meeting of the Finnish Central Soviet, Kullervo Manner, President
of the Commissariat of the People of Finland, said among other things:
One of the foremost aims of the great revolution of Finland's
workers is to build the proud edifice of a political democracy on
the ruins of the fallen power of the Junkers. * * * As soon as the
enemy of the people has been defeated throughout the country shall
the people of Finland be given an opportunity through referendum to
accept a new Constitution. The People's Commissariat intends shortly
to put before the Central Soviet a proposal for a fundamental law
through which will be laid the ground for a real representation by
the people and a firm foundation for the future of the working
class.
Although the Finnish Socialists are united with Russia by co-operation
and common aspirations, they do not desire to join the Russian
Federation. Finnish socialism identifies itself with the cause of
Finnish nationalism. It was the Socialists that were the stanchest
advocates of Finland's secession from Russia, and it was they that, by
calling a general strike, forced the Diet to adopt immediately the
Independence bill in November, 1917.
The notion of Finland's complete sovereignty forms the basis of the
peace concluded early in March, 1918, between the Russian Socialist
Federative Soviet Republic and the Finnish Socialist Workmen's
Republic, "in order to strengthen the friendship and fraternity between
the above-mentioned free republics." According to this pact, published
on March 10, Russia hands over to the Independent Finnish Socialist
Republic all its possessions in Finland, including real estate,
telegraphs, railways, fortresses, lighthouses, and also Finnish ships
which had been requisitioned by the Russian Government before or during
the war. Article IX. provides for "free and unimpeded access for the
merchant ships of the Russian and Finnish Socialist Republics to all
seas, lakes and rivers, harbors, anchoring places, and channels" within
their territories. The next article establishes uninterrupted
communication, without trans-shipment, between the Russian and Finnish
railways. Article XIII. contains the provision that "Finnish citizens in
Russia as well as Russian citizens in Finland shall enjoy the same
rights as the citizens of the respective countries."
[Illustration: SKETCH MAP SHOWING FINLAND'S RELATION TO SWEDEN, NORWAY,
AND RUSSIA]
GERMAN HAND IN FINLAND
If "Red" Finland has had the support of the Russian Bolsheviki, "White"
Finland has found a most enterprising ally in Germany. The Vasa
Government has been working in direct and now open contact with
Berlin. It is overwhelmingly pro-German. The relation between the two
Governments early assumed the character of vassalage on the part of the
Finns. This is evidenced by the peace agreement which official Finland
concluded with Germany on March 7. Its full text will be found elsewhere
in this issue.
[Illustration: THE OLD CASTLE OF VIBORG, FINLAND, WHICH THE WHITE GUARDS
USED AS A FORT]
Since the beginning of the war the Germans have been conducting in
Finland an active campaign of espionage and propaganda through a host of
agents and sympathizers. The propaganda found a favorable soil among the
propertied classes, and especially among the landed gentry of Swedish
extraction. On the other hand, the persecutions which the Czar's
bureaucracy inflicted upon the nation, and against which neither the
French nor the British press uttered any adequate protest, drove some of
the patriotic Finns into the arms of Russia's enemies. A number of
Finnish youths escaped to Germany and entered the ranks of the German
Army. The University of Helsingfors played a prominent part in this
movement. In 1915 an entire battalion made up exclusively of Finns
fought under the German colors, while no Finns served in the Russian
Army, exemption from military service being one of the ancient Finnish
privileges respected by the Imperial Russian Government.
After the March revolution, and especially after the fall of Riga, the
efforts of the German agents, with whom Finland now fairly swarmed, were
directed toward fomenting Finnish separatism. In fact, the Swedish press
asserted that from the very beginning of the war the Germans had spent
large sums of money in trying to fan the Finns' smoldering discontent
with Russia. At the same time Germany endeavored to enlist the
sympathies of the White Guards, (skudshär,) which the middle classes
were hastily organizing, ostensibly for the purpose of assisting the
militia and protecting the population from robbers. Berlin was so
successful in its task that as early as October, 1917, the head of the
Russian Bureau of Counterespionage in Finland spoke of the skudskär as
"the vanguard of the German Army." The Finns who served in Wilhelm's
army and were thoroughly indoctrinated with German military science and
German ideals were returned to their native country, and it was they
that took upon themselves to officer the White Guards. Some of the
weapons and munitions used by the latter were secured from Sweden, but
most of them came from Germany and were probably a part of the Russian
booty. The above-mentioned Russian official declared, in an interview
published in a Petrograd daily in October, 1917, that German submarines
appeared regularly off the Finnish coast and delivered arms and
ammunition to Finnish vessels.
ATROCITIES ON BOTH SIDES
The White Guards, commanded by General Mannerheim, fought the
revolutionists with varying success but without achieving a decisive
victory. Several towns in the south were the scene of prolonged battles
in which many lives were lost, notably Tammerfors, the important
industrial centre, where fierce fighting raged throughout the second
half of March. The factory districts in the north were also the scene of
stubborn fighting. A number of women were seen in the ranks of the Red
Guards.
The two warring factions created a reign of "Red" and "White" terror in
the country. Both committed frightful atrocities. On April 17, Oskari
Tokoi, the Commissionary for Foreign Affairs in the Socialist Cabinet,
protested to all the powers against the manner in which General
Mannerheim treated his Red Guard prisoners. He pointed out that, while
the Red Guards regarded the captured White Guards as prisoners of war,
the Government troops, having taken a number of prisoners, shot all the
officers and every fifteenth man of the rank and file. On the other
hand, the corpses of many White Guards were found unspeakably mutilated.
Immediately after the outbreak of the Socialist rebellion, the official
Government conceived the idea of appealing for foreign military aid
against the revolutionists. On Jan. 30 such an appeal was reported to
have been sent to Sweden. The cause of White Finland had many
sympathizers in that country. The Finnish White Guards had a recruiting
office in Stockholm, and a number of Swedish volunteers fought in their
ranks. A considerable portion (12 per cent.) of the Finnish population
are Swedes, mostly members of the higher classes. In addition, the two
countries have common historical memories, for Finland was a Swedish
province for six centuries, from the time of Erik VIII., King of Sweden,
till the Russian annexation in 1809.
The Swedish Government did not, however, elect to intervene. It is not
certain whether Stockholm refused its assistance because Finland refused
to cede the Aland Islands to the Swedes as a compensation for their
services, or because, as Mr. Branting asserts, Sweden was to intervene
"as the creature and ally of Germany." The only step the Swedes took was
to send a military expedition to the Aland Islands, in response to
several appeals from their population, which is mostly Swedish. This
measure was decided upon by the Swedish Parliament on Feb. 16 and was
effected two or three days later.
The Aland Archipelago, consisting of about ninety inhabited islets and
situated between Abo on the Finnish coast and Stockholm, belongs to
Finland. Its strategic importance for Sweden is aptly characterized by
an old phrase which describes it as "a revolver aimed at the heart of
Sweden." The mission of Sweden's troops was to clear the islands, by
moral suasion if possible, from the bands of Russian soldiers and
Finnish White and Red Guards which for some time had been terrorizing
the population. The Bolshevist garrison offered stubborn resistance to
the landing of the Swedish forces.
THE GERMAN INVASION
At noon on March 2 a German detachment occupied the Aland Islands. The
next day the German Minister at Stockholm informed the Swedish
Government that Germany intended to use these islands as a halting place
for the German military expedition into Finland, undertaken at the
request of the Finnish Government for the purpose of suppressing the
revolution. He gave assurances that Germany sought no territorial gains
in effecting the occupation and would not hinder the humanitarian work
of the Swedish Supervision Corps in the islands. On March 22 the Main
Committee of the Reichstag rejected, by 12 votes against 10, the motion
of the Independent Social Democrats to evacuate the Aland Islands and
cease interfering with the internal affairs of Finland.
[Illustration: VIEW OF ULEABORG, WHERE THE WHITE GUARDS FOUGHT A
SANGUINARY ENGAGEMENT WITH THE BOLSHEVIST RED GUARDS]
Mr. Branting, the Swedish political leader, denounced the talk that
Finland, deserted by Sweden, turned to Germany in despair, as "gross
hypocrisy." He is convinced that a secret agreement existed between
Finland and Germany long before the outbreak of the civil war, and that
Finland wants to be a dependency under Germany rather than a member of a
Scandinavian federation of States. Some members of the Diplomatic Corps
in Washington were also reported to believe that the civil war was
merely a specious pretext for inviting Germany to restore order in the
country, and that the negotiations which brought about the German
intervention had been going on secretly for months.
March passed in preparations for the expedition. On the morning of April
3 the Russian icebreaker Volinetz, which had been captured by the White
Guards, piloted a German naval squadron, consisting of thirty-six ships,
into the Finnish waters of Hangö, which is the extreme southwestern
point of the Finnish coast, within a few hours of Helsingfors. During
the afternoon the Germans landed on the peninsula of Hangö a force
which, according to an official German statement, comprised 40,000 men
under General Sasnitz, 300 guns, and 2,000 machine guns. The next day
the Berlin War Office issued the following statement: "Eastern
Theatre--In agreement with the Finnish Government, German troops have
landed on the Finnish mainland." Later more German detachments were
landed at Abo.
According to one report, the Germans, upon their landing, opened
negotiations with the Finnish Socialists, but their overtures were
apparently rejected. The Russian Government immediately protested to
Germany against the landing in Finland. The German Government replied by
demanding that the Russian war vessels in Finnish territorial waters
should either leave for Russian ports or disarm, according to Article 5
of the Brest-Litovsk treaty, on or before midday, April 12. The
Bolsheviki ordered the commander of the Baltic fleet to carry out this
demand. Four Russian submarines were fired upon and sunk by the Germans
at Hangö during the landing and several other Russian warships were
blown up by their own crews for fear of being captured by the Germans.
[Illustration: VIEW OF FINNISH LAKE REGION NEAR FAVASTELLIUS]
On April 13 the Finnish Official News Bureau gave out a statement to the
effect that all German troops landed in Finland had been dispatched at
the request of the Finnish Government. On April 17 the Germans landed
40,000 men at Helsingfors. Their naval squadron stationed in the harbor
of the Finnish capital consisted of twelve vessels.
FALL OF VIBORG
The Red Guards offered a stubborn resistance to the invaders, but it
soon became apparent that their cause was lost. Upon the landing of the
Germans, the Socialist Government escaped from Helsingfors and
established itself at Viborg, seventy-five miles northwest of Petrograd.
On April 13 the German troops, aided by naval detachments, entered
Helsingfors, "after a vigorous encounter with armed bands," as the
German official announcements read. According to a Reuter dispatch, a
three days' battle preceded the capture of the Finnish capital. It was
taken by storm after fierce fighting in the streets. About the same time
the City of Abo was taken by the White Guards. The Germans then
proceeded to move on Viborg. On April 23 the Finnish Socialist
Government protested to the allied representatives, including the
American Ambassador to Russia, against the German interference. It
declared that the Finnish Socialists would continue for the cause of
freedom, with "a profound hatred and contempt for the executioners of
nations and of the labor movement."
Viborg fell into the hands of the White Guards on April 30, after nearly
all its defenders, 6,000 in all, were slaughtered. Among the prisoners
taken was Kullerwo Manner, the President of the Socialist Government. On
May 4 Berlin was able to announce complete victory in Finland. The
official report follows:
Finland has been cleared of the enemy. German troops, in
co-operation with Finnish battalions, attacked the enemy between
Lakhti and Tevasthus in an encircling movement, and in a five days'
battle, in spite of a bitter defense and desperate attempts to break
through, we have overwhelmingly defeated him. The Finnish forces cut
off his retreat in a northerly direction. The enemy is closed in on
every side, and, after the heaviest losses, is laying down his arms.
We took 20,000 prisoners. Thousands of vehicles and horses were
captured.
A dispatch dated May 8 reported, however, that the country was far from
pacified, and that the Red Guards continued to offer resistance at many
points.
Speaking before the Main Committee of the Reichstag, on May 8, Friedrich
von Payer, the German Imperial Vice Chancellor, defended Germany's
intervention in Finland. The fundamental aim of this step was "to
create in North Finland a final condition of peace, both military and
political." He stated that the entire staff of the 43d Russian Army
Corps was recently captured in Finland. He denied that Germany intended
further to interfere in the inner affairs of Finland, and added that
Germany had concluded economic and political treaties with Finland
whereby both parties would profit.
UNDER GERMAN DOMINATION
While these military operations were being carried on, Finland was
becoming a German province. Late in March an American and an English
officer, visiting General Mannerheim at Vasa upon orders from their
legations, were threatened by Finnish White Guard officers with personal
violence and turned out of the dining room of the chief hotel. This
incident was described as characteristic of the feeling existing among
the majority of Finns. On April 1 Vasabladet, the chief Vasa newspaper,
wrote: "No military or other similar persons from any of the countries
at war with Germany ought to be allowed to stay within the borders of
our country so long as we, with the help of God and Germany, are
fighting our hard fight for liberty, order, and justice against the
barbarous ally of the western powers." It appears from a case reported
on April 26 that the viséing of foreign passports by Finnish officials
depends now upon the consent of the Berlin authorities.
Finland was proclaimed a republic in December, 1917. It has always been
one of the most democratic countries in Europe. It is asserted,
nevertheless, that the experiences through which the former grand duchy
has passed in the last six months have converted many classes of the
population to monarchism. A Stockholm dispatch dated May 8 declared that
a monarchy would probably be proclaimed in Finland, and that Duke Adolph
Frederick of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, uncle of the Crown Princess of
Germany, would be appointed King.
GREATER FINLAND
In the middle of April it became known that the Finnish statesmen had an
ambitious plan for the territorial aggrandizement and political
expansion of their country at the expense of Russia, and possibly also
of Norway. A Stockholm paper published a statement that Germany had
agreed to the establishment of a Greater Finland, to include the
territory of the Petrograd-Murman railway to the arctic. The newspaper
added that the Finnish railway system was to be enlarged with a view to
establishing direct connection from North Cape to Budapest and
Constantinople. Thus Finland would become the cornerstone of a
"Mitteleuropa" stretching from the arctic coast to Asia Minor and
beyond. A well-known Finnish painter stated in an interview that the
Finnish troops, co-operating with the Germans, would take Petrograd as
well as the south coast of the Gulf of Finland, which is ethnically
Finnish. An announcement was made on May 8, before the Main Committee of
the Reichstag, that no Germans were participating or would participate
in the advance of Finnish troops on Petrograd.
A movement has been set afoot among Karelians, presumably by Finns, in
favor of the Finnish annexation of Russian Karelia, on the basis of the
principle of self-determination. Karelia includes parts of the
Governments of Petrograd, Olonetz, and Archangel; its aboriginal
population belongs to the Finnish race.
[Illustration]
Peace Treaty Between Finland and Germany
Full Text of the Document
The Imperial Government of Berlin announced on March 7, 1918, that a
treaty of peace between Germany and Finland had been signed. Two days
later the full text was transmitted from Berlin to London through the
wireless stations of the German Government. This treaty with Germany was
made by the element in the Republic of Finland represented in a military
way by the White Guards, who were pro-German and co-operated with the
German army sent immediately afterward to make war in Finland against
the Red Guards, who represented the Bolshevist element of the Finnish
population. During April an armed conflict between the Reds and the
Germans raged around Helsingfors, where the Bolshevist forces fought to
annul this treaty, though with steadily diminishing prospects of
success.
The full text of the treaty follows:
The Royal German Government and the Finnish Government, inspired by
the wish, after the declaration of the independence of Finland and
its recognition through Germany, to bring about a condition of peace
and friendship between both countries on a lasting basis, have
resolved to conclude a peace, and for this purpose they have
appointed the following plenipotentiaries: For the Royal German
Government, the Chancellor of the German Empire, Dr. Count von
Hertling; for the Finnish Government, Dr. Phil Edvard Immanuel
Hjelt, State Adviser, Vice Councilor of the University of
Helsingfors, and Rafael Waldemar Erich, LL.D., Professor of State
Law and of the Law of Nations at the University of Helsingfors, who,
after the mutual setting forth in good order and form of their
plenipotentiary powers, have come to an agreement on the following
provisions:
_CHAPTER I.--Friendship Between Germany and Finland and the Assuring
of the Independence of Finland_
Article 1. The contracting parties declare that between Germany and
Finland no state of war exists and that they are resolved henceforth
to live in peace and friendship with each other. Germany will do
what she can to bring about the recognition of the independence of
Finland by all the powers. On the other hand, Finland will not cede
any part of her possessions to any foreign power nor constitute a
charge on her sovereign territory to any such power before first
having come to an understanding with Germany on the matter.
Article 2. Diplomatic and consular relations between the contracting
parties will be resumed immediately after the confirmation of the
peace treaty. The freest possible admission of Consuls on both sides
is to be provided for by arrangements in special treaties.
Article 3. Each of the contracting parties will replace the damage
which has been caused in its own territory by the war, or which the
States or populations have brought about by actions contrary to
international law, or which has been caused by the consular
officials of the other party either to life, liberty, health, or
property.
_CHAPTER II.--War Indemnities_
Article 4. The contracting parties renounce mutually the making good
of war costs; that is to say, State expenses for the carrying on of
the war as well as the payment of war indemnities; that is to say,
of those prejudices which have arisen for them and their subjects in
the war zones by reason of the military measures connected with all
the requisitions undertaken in enemy country.
_CHAPTER III.--The Re-entry Into Force of State Treaties_
Article 5. The treaties which lapsed as a consequence of the war
between Germany and Russia shall be replaced as soon as possible by
new treaties for relations between the contracting parties, and they
shall be made to correspond to the new outlook and conditions which
have now arisen. Especially the contracting parties shall at once
enter into negotiations in order to draw up a treaty for the
settlement of trade and shipping relations between the two
countries, to be signed at the same time as the peace treaty.
Article 6. Treaties in which, apart from Germany and Russia, also a
third power takes part, and in which Finland appears together with
Russia or in the place of the latter, come into force between the
contracting parties on the ratification of peace treaty or, in case
the entry takes place later, at that moment. In connection with
collective treaties of political contents, in which other
belligerent powers are also involved, the two parties reserve their
attitude until after the conclusion of a general peace.
_CHAPTER IV.--Re-establishment of Private Rights_
Article 7. All stipulations existing in the territory of either of
the contracting parties, according to which, in view of the state of
war, subjects of the other party are subjected to any special
regulation whatever in the observation of their private rights,
cease to be of force on the confirmation of this treaty. Subjects of
either of the contracting parties are such legal persons and
societies as have their domicile in the respective territories.
Furthermore, subjects of either of the parties, legal persons and
societies which do not have their domicile in the territory, must be
regarded as on the same level in so far as in the territory of the
other party they were submitted to the stipulations applying to such
subjects.
Article 8. With regard to the civil debt conditions which have been
influenced by war laws, the following has been agreed:
1. The debt conditions will be re-established in so far as the
stipulations in Articles 8 to 12 do not decide otherwise.
2. The stipulation in Paragraph 1 does not prejudice the question as
to what extent the conditions created by the war (especially the
impossibility of settlement of debt owing to the obstacles in
traffic or commercial prohibitions in the territory of either of the
contracting parties) shall be taken into account in the
determination of claims of subjects of either party in accordance
with the laws applying thereto in the respective territories. In
this connection subjects of the other party who have been prevented
by the measures of that party, are not to be dealt with more
unfavorably than the subjects of their own State, who have been
prevented by the measures of that State.
A person who by the war has been prevented from carrying out in good
time a payment shall not be obliged to make good the damage which
has occurred owing thereto.
3. Demands of money, whose payment could be refused during the war
on the strength of war laws, need not be paid until after the
expiration of three months after the confirmation of the peace
treaty. In so far as nothing else has been stipulated in the
supplementary treaty, an interest of 5 per cent. per annum must be
paid on such debts from the original date on which they were due,
for the duration of the war and the further three months, regardless
of moratoriums. Up to the day on which they were originally due, the
interests agreed upon, if any, must be paid. In the case of bills or
checks submission for payment as well as protests against nonpayment
must take place within the fourth month after the confirmation of
this treaty.
4. For the settlement of outstanding affairs and other civil
obligations, officially recognized unions for the protection of
debtors and for the examination of claims of lay and legal persons
belonging to the union, as well as their plenipotentiaries, are to
be mutually recognized and permitted.
Article 9. Each contracting party will immediately after the
confirmation of the peace treaty resume payment of its obligations,
especially the public debt duties to subjects of the other party.
The obligations which became due before the confirmation of the
treaty will be paid within three months after the confirmation.
Article 10. Copyrights, trade protective rights, concessions and
privileges, as well as similar claims on public legal foundations,
which have been influenced by war laws, shall be re-established, in
so far as nothing else has been stipulated in Article 12.
Each contracting party will grant subjects of the other party who on
account of the war have neglected the legal period in which to
undertake an action necessary for the establishment or maintenance
of a trade protective right, without prejudice to the justly
obtained rights of third parties, a period of at least one year in
which to recover the action. Trade protective rights of subjects of
one party which were in force on the outbreak of war, shall not
expire in the territory of the other party, owing to their
non-application, till after the termination of four years from the
confirmation of this treaty. If in the territory of one of the
contracting parties a trade protective right, which in accordance
with the war laws could not be applied for, is applied for by an
agent who during the war has taken protective measures in the
territory of the other party in accordance with the rules, such
right, if claimed within six months after the confirmation of the
treaty, shall, with the reservation of the rights of third parties,
have priority over all applications submitted in the meantime, and
cannot be made ineffective by facts which have arisen in the
meantime.
Article 11. Periods for the superannuation of rights shall, in the
territory of each of the contracting parties, toward subjects of the
other party, expire at the earliest one year after the confirmation
of the peace treaty in so far as they had not expired at the time of
the outbreak of war. The same applies to periods for the submission
of dividend-warrants or warrants for shares in profit, as well as to
bills which have become redeemable or have become otherwise payable.
Article 12. The activities of authorities who on the strength of war
laws have become occupied with the supervision, custody,
administration, or liquidation of property or with the receiving of
payments, are without prejudice to the stipulations of Article 13,
to be wound up in accordance with the following principles:
1. Properties under supervision, in custody or under administration,
are to be set free immediately on the demand of the parties entitled
to them. Until the moment of transfer to the entitled party care
must be taken for the safeguarding of his interests.
2. The provisions of Paragraph 1 shall not modify the properly
acquired right of a third party. Payments and other obligations of a
debtor which, as mentioned at the beginning of the article, have
been received or caused to be received at the places mentioned,
shall, in the territories of the contracting parties, have the same
effect as if the creditor himself had received them.
Civil dispositions which have been made at the places mentioned at
the instigation of the parties or by them will have full effect and
are to be maintained by the parties.
3. Regarding the operations of the places mentioned at the beginning
of this article, especially those for receipts and payments, details
shall at once be given to the authorized parties immediately upon
demand. Claims which have been lodged to be dealt with at these
places can only be dealt with in accordance with the stipulations of
Article 14.
Article 13. Land or rights in land or in mines as well as rights in
the use or exploitation of lands, or undertakings, or claims for
participation in an undertaking, especially those represented by
shares, which have been forcibly alienated from the persons entitled
to them by reason of war laws, shall be transferred to the former
owner within a period of one year after the confirmation of the
peace treaty, and there shall be returned to him any profits which
have accrued on such property during the alienation or deprivation,
and this shall be done free from all rights of third parties which
may have arisen in the meantime.
_CHAPTER VI.--Indemnity for Civil Damages_
Article 14. Subjects of one of the contracting parties resident in
the territory of the other contracting party who, by reason of war
laws, have suffered damage either by the temporary or lasting
privation of concessions, privileges, and similar claims, or by the
supervision, trusteeship, administration or alienation of property,
are to be appropriately indemnified so far as the damage by the war
cannot be replaced by the actual re-establishment of their former
conditions. This also applies to shareholders who, on account of
their character as foreign enemies, are excluded from certain
rights.
Article 15. Each of the contracting parties will indemnify the
civilian subjects of the other party for damages which have been
caused to them in its territory during the war by the State
officials or the population there through breaches of international
law and acts of violence against life, health, or property.
Article 16. Each of the contracting parties will at once pay to the
subjects of the other party their just claims so far as this has not
already been done.
Article 17. For the fixing of the damages, according to Articles 14
and 15, there shall meet in Berlin a commission immediately after
the confirmation of this treaty which shall consist of one-third of
each of the contracting parties and one-third of neutrals. The
President of the Swiss Bundesrat shall be asked to nominate the
neutral members, from whom the Chairman shall be chosen. The
commission shall fix the principles, on which it is to work, and it
shall decide as to what procedure it shall follow. Its decisions
shall be carried out by sub-commissions, which shall consist of one
representative from each of the contracting parties and a neutral
umpire. The amounts fixed by the sub-commissions are to be paid
within one month of the decision being made.
_CHAPTER VII.--The Exchange of Prisoners of War and Interned
Civilians_
Article 18. Finnish prisoners of war in Germany and German prisoners
of war in Finland shall, as soon as practicable, be exchanged within
the times fixed by a German-Finnish Commission, and subject to the
payment of the costs entailed in such exchange in so far as those
prisoners do not wish to stay in the country where they happen to
be, with its consent, or to go to another country. The commission
will also have to settle the further details of such exchange and to
supervise their execution.
Article 19. The deported or interned civilians on both sides will be
sent home as soon as practicable free of charge so far as, subject
to the consent of the country on whose territory they are staying,
they do not wish to remain there or wish to go to another country.
The settlement of the details and the supervision of their execution
shall be carried out by the commission mentioned in Article 18. The
Finnish Government will endeavor to obtain from the Russian
Government the release of those Germans who were captured in Finnish
territory and who at the present time are outside Finnish on Russian
territory.
Article 20. Subjects of one party who at the outbreak of war had
their domicile or commercial establishments in the territory of the
other party and who did not remain in that territory may return
there as soon as the other party is not in a state of war. Their
return can only be refused on the ground of the endangering of the
internal or foreign safety of the State. It would suffice that a
pass be made out by the authorities of the home Government in which
it is to be stated that the bearer is one of those persons as
stipulated in Item 1. No visé is to be necessary on these passes.
Article 21. Each of the Contracting Parties undertakes to respect
and to tend the several burial places of subjects of the other party
who fell in the war as well as those who died during internment or
deportation and the persons intrusted by each party with care and
proper decoration of the burial places may attend to these duties in
accord with the authorities of each country. Questions connected
with the care of such burial places are reserved for further
agreements.
_CHAPTER VIII.--Amnesty._
Article 22. Each of the contracting parties concedes amnesty from
penalties to the subjects of the other party who are prisoners of
war for all criminal acts committed by them and further to all
civilian interned or deported subjects of the other party for all
punishable acts committed by them during their internment or
deportation period, and lastly to all subjects of the other party
for crimes against all exceptional laws made to the disadvantage of
enemy foreigners. The amnesty will not apply to actions committed
after the confirmation of the peace treaty.
Article 23. Each party concedes complete amnesty to all its own
subjects in view of the work which they have done in the territory
of the other party as prisoners of war, interned civilians, or
deported civilians.
Article 24. The contracting parties reserve to themselves the right
to make further agreements according to which each party may grant
an amnesty of penalties decreed on account of actions committed to
its disadvantage.
_CHAPTER IX.--The Treatment of Mercantile Vessels and Cargoes Which
Have Fallen Into the Hands of the Enemy._
Article 25. Mercantile ships of one contracting party which lay in
the ports of the other contracting party on the outbreak of the war,
as well as their cargoes, are to be given back to their owners, or
in so far as this is not possible they are to be paid for in money.
For the use of such embargoed vessels during the war the usual daily
freight is to be paid.
Article 26. German mercantile ships and their cargoes which are in
the power of Finland, except in cases foreseen in Article 25 at the
signing of this treaty or which may arrive there later, are to be
given back if on the outbreak of war they were in an enemy port or
were interned in neutral waters by enemy forces.
Article 27. The mercantile vessels of either of the contracting
parties captured as prizes in the zone of power of the other party
shall be regarded as definitely confiscated if they have been
legally condemned as prizes, and if they do not come under the
provisions of Articles 25 and 26. Otherwise they are to be given
back, or, in so far as they are no longer available, they are to be
paid for. The provisions of Paragraph 1 are to apply also to ships'
cargoes taken as prizes belonging to subjects of the contracting
parties, but goods belonging to subjects of one of the contracting
parties on board ships flying enemy flags which have fallen into the
hands of the other contracting party are in all cases to be handed
over to their rightful owners, or, so far as this is not possible,
they are to be paid for.
Article 28. The carrying out of the provisions contained in Articles
25 to 27, especially the fixing of the damages to be paid, shall be
decided by a mixed commission, which shall consist of one
representative from each of the contracting parties with a neutral
umpire, and shall sit in Stettin within three months after the date
of confirmation of the peace treaty. The President of the Swiss
Bundesrat shall be requested to nominate the umpire.
Article 29. The contracting parties will do all in their power to
facilitate the free return of the mercantile ships and their cargoes
to their homes as set forth in Articles 25 to 27. The contracting
parties will also give their support to each other in the
re-establishment of the mutual commercial intercourse, after the
assuring of safe shipping routes, which had been disturbed by the
war.
_CHAPTER X.--Adjustment of the Aland Question._
Article 30. The contracting parties are agreed that the Forts put
upon the Aland Islands are to be removed as soon as possible, and
that the lasting non-fortified character of these Islands and also
their treatment in a military and technical sense for purposes of
shipping, shall be settled by agreement between Germany, Finland,
Russia and Sweden; and to these agreements, at the wish of Germany,
the other States lying in the Baltic Sea shall be invited to assent.
_CHAPTER XI.--Final Provisions._
Article 31. The Peace Treaty shall be confirmed. The confirmatory
documents shall be exchanged as soon as practicable in Berlin.
Article 32. The Peace Treaty, so far as is not otherwise stipulated,
shall come into force with its confirmation. For the making of
supplementary additions to the Treaty the representatives of the
contracting parties shall meet in Berlin within four months of its
confirmation.
German Aggression in Russia
Record of Events Placing Finland and the Ukraine More Fully Under
Teutonic Control
During the month ended May 15, 1918, the German advance in the territory
of the former Russian Empire continued uninterruptedly. While minor
military operations were conducted in the Province of Kursk, in Russia
proper, the main body of the invading army occupied the Crimea and
penetrated into the Donetz coal basin. On April 24 the German troops,
under General Kosch, reached the City of Simferopol, in the Crimea. A
week later they occupied Sebastopol, the great military and commercial
seaport, famous in Russian history. A portion of the Russian Black Sea
fleet fell into the hands of the Germans. On May 3 the invaders seized
Taganrog, on the Sea of Azov. On May 9 they took Rostov, at the mouth of
the River Don, but two days later the city was again in Russian hands.
The Germans are apparently intent on occupying the seacoast from
Bessarabia, on the west, to the Caucasus, on the east.
The Bolshevist régime gave signs of undergoing a process of
reorganization. It sought to enlist the services of officials who had
served under the Provisional Government and of Generals of the old army.
A new War Department was formed. Trotzky, the Minister of War and
Marine, advocated universal conscription of labor. The Central Executive
Committee, at his suggestion, decreed compulsory military service.
Workmen and peasants from 18 to 40 years old were to be trained for
eight consecutive weeks, for a weekly minimum of eight hours. Women were
accepted into the army as volunteers.
The Bolshevist authorities made several attempts to suppress rioting and
street looting. Early in May the Red Guards fought a pitched battle with
the Moscow anarchists, who refused to surrender their munitions, and
stamped out their organization. The Soviets passed resolutions and took
measures against the anti-Jewish massacres which occurred in numerous
cities. Disorder and mob rule, however, continued to prevail in Russia,
while hunger and unemployment were daily increasing.
INDUSTRY CRIPPLED
On April 16 M. Gukovsky, the Commissary for Finance, reported to the
Central Executive Committee of the Soviets on Russia's financial and
industrial condition. He said that the semi-yearly expenditure would
amount to 4,000,000,000 rubles, while the income expected was only
3,300,000,000 rubles. The railroads had lost 70 per cent. of their
freight capacity, and the cost of operation had increased ten times,
(120,000 against 11,600 rubles per versta.) The Central Government, he
stated, derived no revenue from taxes, as the local Soviets used the
sums they collected for their own purposes. To illustrate the industrial
conditions the Commissary cited the example of the Sormov locomotive
works, whose daily output is two locomotives, instead of eighteen as
formerly. M. Gukovsky recommended strict economy in expenditures and
urged the necessity of securing the services of financial and industrial
experts for the purpose of organizing an efficient State machinery.
Among the recent legislative measures of the Moscow Government must be
mentioned the nationalization of foreign trade, which is a part of the
general Bolshevist scheme of Socialist reforms. A special board has been
created to regulate the prices of all exports and imports.
In the middle of April hostilities were reopened between the newly
collected troops of General Korniloff, former Russian Commander in
Chief, and the Bolshevist forces. It was reported that the Bolsheviki
heavily defeated the anti-Soviet troops, capturing Novocherkask and
wounding the Cossack General. It was also stated that General Dutoff,
another anti-Bolshevist leader, was captured by the Soviet troops, and
that General Semyonov, the leader of the Cossack movement against the
Bolsheviki in Siberia, was killed.
The incident of the Japanese landing at Vladivostok was near closing,
when further interest in the Far Eastern situation was aroused in Russia
by a number of documents seized on the person of a member of the
anti-Soviet "Siberian Government." According to a note addressed on
April 26 by M. Chicherin to diplomatic representatives in Moscow, these
documents proved that the Consuls of Great Britain, France, and
America--and the diplomatic representatives of these powers in
Peking--sought to interfere in the internal affairs of Russia by
participating in the counter-revolutionary movement for an autonomous
Government in Siberia. A similar charge was laid to the Japanese
officials. The Russian Government, therefore, demanded the recall of the
allied Consular officers at Vladivostok, also asking the Allies to
define their attitude toward the Soviet Government. Neither Ambassador
Francis nor the French Ambassador, M. Noulens, made any official reply
to the Russian charges. M. Noulens had previously drawn upon himself the
wrath of the Bolsheviki by declaring that the armed intervention of the
Allies in Russia would be an act of friendly assistance. Mr. Francis
informally notified the Moscow Government that, in his opinion, the
documents failed to involve the American officials. On May 9 Secretary
Lansing instructed him to present informally to the Russian Foreign
Office a denial of its charge against the American Consul at
Vladivostok.
ENEMY PROPAGANDA
In a speech on April 27 Baron Shimpei Goto, the new Japanese Foreign
Minister, referred to the malevolent propaganda which is being conducted
in Russia with a view to creating an estrangement between Japan and
Russia. He expressed the view that "Russia is a power endeavoring to
reorganize a machine temporarily out of order," adding: "Japan must
give encouragement, assistance, and support to the work of
reorganization in Russia. We trust the sound sense of the Russian people
will not be misled by reports calculated to keep the two neighbors
apart."
Shortly after the capture of Sebastopol the Russian Government protested
to Germany against the seizure of the Black Sea fleet and the invasion
of the Crimea. The Russian note pointed out that these acts were in
contravention of the Brest treaty and that they might endanger the
peaceful relations between the two countries. The Germans did not seem
to be concerned to maintain these relations. They treated the population
of the occupied territories with harshness. Starving refugees were not
admitted into the regions under their domination. It was reported that
in the Government of Minsk able-bodied persons were seized in the
streets and sent to Germany in locked cars. Constant food requisitioning
was another feature of the German rule in Russia.
RUSSIA'S PROTEST
On April 15 M. Chicherin, Russian Commissary for Foreign Affairs,
protested to Berlin against the outrages committed by the German troops
in Russia. The text of the note follows:
The Central Soviet institutions receive many complaints with regard
to German troops burning Russian villages and using violence against
Russian inhabitants. An eyewitness well known to us and absolutely
trustworthy states that at Lepel, northwest of Mogileff, German
soldiers killed a whole family, not sparing women and children, on
the plea that one of the family belonged to a partisan detachment.
The local military authorities state that at the village of
Novoselki, Mogileff, on April 5, there appeared an officer and
soldiers of the 346th Regiment and took oats from the inhabitants by
force. The officer was killed by the peasants, and the soldiers
fled. After this the village was surrounded by the soldiers, fired
on by machine guns, and burned.
The following day the German commander sent a notice to the Russian
military authorities at Orsha saying that the inhabitants of
Novoselki had been ejected, and the village burned owing to a German
officer's being killed.
[Illustration: MAP OF THE UKRAINE AND OTHER REGIONS OF RUSSIA NOW UNDER
GERMAN DOMINATION]
Observers of Russian life agree that feelings of resentment and
animosity on the part of the Russian population for the German oppressor
are steadily growing throughout the country. At the same time good
feeling between the Russians and the Allies, especially the Americans,
is on the increase. British and French troops are co-operating with
Bolshevist forces in defending against Finns and Germans the Murman
seacoast and the railway from the interior of Russia to the arctic ports
of Alexandrovsk and Archangel, where large supplies of valuable war
materials are stored up. The War Council attached to the Murman local
Soviet consists of one Russian, one Englishman, and one Frenchman. The
landing of the allied troops at Alexandrovsk the Germans regarded as a
violation of the Brest treaty, which provides for peace with Finland,
and protested to the Moscow Government against the act.
The constant exchange of protests between Berlin and Moscow is partly
caused by the ambiguous wording of the Brest treaty. On April 24 Adolf
Joffe, the Bolshevist Ambassador in Berlin, telegraphed to Moscow that
the Russian translation of the treaty was considered by the German
authorities incorrect, and that the publication of the final draft of
the document was postponed until the receipt of an authentic version.
DISMEMBERING RUSSIA
It appears that Germany has been making further attempts to encourage
the separatist tendency in Russia, in contravention of the Brest
treaty. The German Government is reported to have inquired of the local
Crimean authorities concerning the nationalization of their flag. The
Bolsheviki interpreted this step as indicative of the German desire to
separate the Taurida Republic from the Russian Federation.
According to a communication issued by the Rumanian Chargé d'Affaires,
the National Assembly of Bessarabia voted, on April 9, the union of the
province to Rumania by 86 against 3. Thereupon, the Rumanian Premier,
amid enthusiastic acclamation, proclaimed the union to be "definitive
and indissoluble," and a delegation was sent to Jassy to present the
homage of the people of Bessarabia to the King. Rumania seems to have
acted at the suggestion of Germany. It is known that the latter proposed
to Rumania to annex a part of Bessarabia and thus compensate herself for
Rumanian territory taken by Austria-Hungary and Bulgaria. It is also
known that (on March 22?) Russia signed a treaty with Rumania regarding
Bessarabia. The province was to be evacuated by the Rumanian troops,
which had occupied it at the request of the population, and the guarding
of Bessarabia was to pass into the hands of local militia, while all
evacuated places were to be immediately occupied by Russian troops.
Russia undertook to leave Rumania the surplus of Bessarabian grain
remaining after the local population and Russian troops had been
provided for. The Ukrainian Government refused to recognize the step
taken by Bessarabia.
According to the terms of the Brest treaty the Baltic Provinces Esthonia
and Livonia were to remain under Russian sovereignty, but three weeks
later Germany began intriguing for a union of these countries with the
Kingdom of Russia. The falsity of the assertion that the people of
Esthonia favored a Baltic monarchy was exposed by the following protest
of the Esthonian Provisional Government, published April 22:
Regarding the communication from Berlin that the joint Landtag of
Esthonia, Livonia, Riga, and Oesel has decided upon the separation
of Baltic provinces from Russia and the creation of a Baltic
monarchy in personal union with Prussia, I declare, as
representative of the Esthonian Republic, that this resolution does
not constitute an expression of opinion of the Esthonian people, but
only that of a German nobility minority and its adherents.
On May 5 the British Government informally recognized the Esthonian
Provisional Government and, in the words of Mr. Balfour's communication,
"reaffirmed their readiness to grant provisional recognition to the
Esthonian National Council as a de facto independent body until the
peace conference, when the future status of Esthonia ought to be settled
as far as possible in accordance with the wishes of the population."
On April 26 Transcaucasia declared its independence under a conservative
Government, headed by M. Chkhemkeli.
Count von Mirbach, the Royal German Ambassador to Russia, accompanied by
a Turkish representative, arrived in Moscow on April 23. He was welcomed
by the Chairman of the Central Executive Committee as "a representative
of a power with which a peace treaty has been concluded at
Brest-Litovsk, as a result of which peace, so needed by the people, was
established between the two States." Pravda, the official Bolshevist
daily, greeted the Royal German Ambassador as "the plenipotentiary of an
armed band which with limitless audacity oppresses and robs wherever it
is able to thrust in with a bloody imperialistic bayonet."
ULTIMATUM ON PRISONERS
Germany has shown eagerness to obtain the release and the use of the
able-bodied German prisoners who are now in Russia. It is believed that
there are at present upward of 1,000,000 German prisoners of war in
European Russia and Siberia. It was reported on April 27 that a special
German commission had arrived in Moscow to take charge of the exchange
of prisoners with Russia, and that exchanges of invalids had already
begun. The number of Russians in German hands is estimated at 3,000,000.
An earlier official German communication explained the delay in
repatriating Russians by the lack of transportation facilities. On
April 29 the State Department at Washington gave out the following
statement:
The Department of State has learned that there will shortly leave
for Russia a German commission, consisting of 115 members, which
will take up the question of the exchange of Russian and German
prisoners. It is reported that it is the purpose of the commission
merely to present to the Russian authorities an ultimatum from
Germany requiring, first, the immediate release of all German
prisoners who are in good health; second, that those who are ill
will remain in Russia under the care of neutral physicians, and,
third, that the Germans on their side will release only those
Russian prisoners in Germany who are invalids or who are
incapacitated. In the event of a refusal on the part of Russia,
Germany will order that Petrograd be taken.
Upon the heels of this ultimatum came another one, served on the Council
of the People's Commissaries by the German Ambassador, Count von
Mirbach. According to a dispatch, the new ultimatum, too, dated May 10,
had a bearing on the prisoner question, but in addition demanded
complete cessation of arming troops and the disbandment of units already
formed. This demand produced an unusual stir in Russia. The Commissaries
held an extraordinary session at which the situation created by the
ultimatum was discussed. The Bolsheviki showed no intention of complying
with the German ultimatum.
On May 12 Foreign Minister Chicherin instructed the Russian Ambassador,
M. Joffe, at Berlin to "try to obtain from Berlin cessation of every
kind of hostility." The Germans had announced their intention to capture
Novorossiysk, on the Caucasian coast of the Black Sea, under the pretext
that the Russian warships, which had escaped seizure at Sebastopol and
which are stationed at Novorossiysk, constituted a danger for the German
vessels. The instruction added that the German invasion of Russian
territory was causing much unrest in the country.
COUP IN THE UKRAINE
On April 18 the State Department at Washington announced that, according
to an authentic report, the Teutons intended to dissolve the Ukrainian
Rada and set up a Government of their own. On April 24 a Ukrainian
financier prominent in aiding the Germans was arrested in the name of
"the Committee of Ukrainian Safety." The German Vice Chancellor,
Friedrich von Payer, in his speech before the Main Committee of the
Reichstag, said that this secret organization aimed at driving the
Germans out of the country and was even planning the assassination of
all German officers. It included a number of prominent Ukrainians,
several Ministers of State among them, and held its meetings at the
house of the Minister of War. An investigation was demanded by the
German Ambassador, but the Rada took no action.
Two days later General von Eichhorn, Commander of the German Army in the
Ukraine, proclaimed "a state of enhanced protection," making all
offenders of order subject to the jurisdiction of German court-martial.
He had previously issued a field-sowing decree, necessitated, as the
Germans explained, by the fact that the Rada had taken no measures
concerning the field sowing, without which the country could not meet
its treaty obligations relative to the delivery of grain to Germany. On
April 28, while the Rada was in session, German troops entered the hall
and arrested a number of its members, the Minister of War among them.
The next day a number of landowners and rich peasants who were holding a
convention in Kiev declared its sessions permanent, voted the
dissolution of the Rada as well as the cancellation of the order
convoking the Constituent Assembly on May 12, and proclaimed General
Skoropadsky Hetman (Supreme Military Chief) of the Ukraine.
The Rada ceased to exist. It had but scant support in the country. A
creature of the Teutons, it was supported by their armed forces. It
proved unable to secure the delivery of the promised foodstuffs to the
Central Powers. Owing to the resistance of the population only 3,000,000
poods (pood, 36 pounds) were delivered to the Teutons, instead of
30,000,000 poods, which the Rada undertook to supply. The Germans then
withdrew their support. According to various reports, the German agents
took an active part in the overthrowing of the Rada.
Speaking of the fall of the Rada, the German Vice Chancellor said that
"stubborn adherence to communistic theories that have gained no sympathy
among the peasant population, which is attached to the soil, seems to
have been principally responsible for bringing about its end." One of
the first acts of the new Government was the restoration of private
ownership of land. The new régime has many features of an autocratic
rule. The following information regarding the extent of the Hetman's
powers is furnished by the German Service of Propaganda:
The Government power in its entire capacity belongs to the Hetman
for all the territory of the State. The Hetman ratifies the laws, he
appoints the President of the Council of Ministers, he is chief
director of the relations of foreign affairs of the Ukrainian State,
he is Generalissimo of the army and of the navy, he declares war,
proclaims martial law and exceptional laws. In the administration of
justice he has the right of pardon and commutation of sentence.
It has been pointed out that, while the reconstructed Ukrainian
Government is emphatically and avowedly pro-German, some of its leading
spirits are Russian patriots and advocates of a union with Russia. Grand
Duke Dmitry Pavlovich is said to have taken an active part in the coup
d'état. A dispatch, dated May 10, announced the beginning of peace
negotiations between Russia and the Ukraine.
GERMAN PENETRATION
United States Minister Morris at Stockholm cabled to the State
Department on May 14:
Swedish press reports from Moscow state that Count von Mirbach
recently transmitted to the Commissariat of the People a note
formulated as an ultimatum and demanding the immediate effecting of
certain financial measures which would practically make Russia a
German colony. The chief points of the note were the immediate
solution of the question regarding the exchange of prisoners, the
complete abolishment of armaments, and the dissolution of units
formed recently; also the occupation of Moscow and some other large
Russian cities.
On the same date it was reported from Moscow that the Germans had
captured Rostov-on-Don, thus gaining control of the Caucasus, the grain
districts in the Donnetz Basin, and the coal, iron, and oil fields.
Northern Russia was thus cut off from the Caucasus, excepting for a
single railroad running through Tsaritsin, in the southern part of the
Government of Saratov, which the Germans were threatening.
The dispatch continued as follows:
The Governmental power in its entire Government, with which it had
made peace, is regarded by North Russia as a step toward its
occupation. Within a few weeks the future of Petrograd and Moscow
probably will be determined, as it is considered that the Soviet
Government either must submit to German domination or retreat
eastward and prepare for a defense against the invaders. Effective
resistance will be difficult without outside assistance, because of
the lack of technical experts and supplies. The bitter feeling
against Germany is intensified by the ruthless seizures in Ukraine,
and a growing disposition to accept allied aid if the Entente Allies
will recognize the Bolshevist Government is evident.
RUSSIA'S LOSSES
The Commissariat of Commerce on April 10 gave the following summary of
what Russia lost by the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk:
Inhabitants 56,000,000
(About one-third total European Russia.)
Territory 300,000 square miles
(About one-sixth total European area.)
Railways 13,000 miles
(About one-third total mileage.)
Coal 89 per cent.
Iron 73 "
Machinery 1,073 factories.
Textiles 918 "
Paper 615 "
Chemicals 244 "
Tobacco 133 "
Spirits 1,685 distilleries.
Beer 574 breweries.
Sugar 268 refineries.
The lost territories used to yield an annual revenue of nearly
$425,000,000 and boasted 1,800 savings banks.
More Bolshevist Legislation
By Abraham Yarmolinsky
Speaking on Dec. 5, 1917, before the Central Executive Committee of the
Soviets on the subject of the right of constituents to recall their
representatives, Nikolai Lenine, the head of the proletarian Government
of Russia, made the following remark: "The State is an institution for
coercion. Formerly it was a handful of money-bags that outraged the
whole nation. We, on the contrary, wish to transform the State into an
institution of coercion which must do the will of the people. We desire
to organize violence in the name of the interests of the toilers." The
April issue of CURRENT HISTORY MAGAZINE contained a general outline of
the manner in which the makers of the social revolution applied this
principle of Statehood to the solution of various problems of home
government. The present article will deal more in detail with some of
the acts of the Bolshevist legislators. There is no better way of
gaining an insight into the views and intentions of the present rulers
of Russia than to study the abundant output of their legislative
machinery.
CONTROLLING PRODUCTION
Lenine's Government has worked out an elaborate scheme of State control
over national production and distribution as a preliminary step toward
the complete socialization of the country's industry and commerce. The
semi-legislative, semi-executive organs created for that purpose form an
intricate hierarchy of affiliated elective bodies and corporations of a
large and ill-defined jurisdiction.
In the first place, there have been instituted so-called Soviets of
Workmen's Control, (decree of Nov. 27, 1917.) These are made up of
representatives of trade unions, factory committees, and productive
co-operatives, and aim at regulating the economic life of industrial
plants using hired labor, the control in each enterprise being effected
through the elective bodies of the workmen, together with the
representatives of the salaried employes. The executive organs of the
Soviets of Workmen's Control have the right to fix the minimum output
of a given firm, to determine the cost of the articles produced, to
inspect the books and accounts, and, in general, to supervise the
production and the various business transactions. Commercial secrecy,
like diplomatic secrecy, is abolished. The owners and controlling
agencies are responsible to the State for the safety of the property and
for the strictest order and discipline within the precincts of the
establishments. The local Soviets are subordinated to provincial Soviets
of Workmen's Control, which issue local regulations, take up the
complaints of the owners against the controlling agencies, and settle
the conflicts between the latter.
The Central All-Russian Soviet of Workmen's Control issues general
instructions and co-ordinates the activities of this controlling system
with the efforts of the other administrative organs regulating the
economic life of the country.
The members of this central institution of control, together with
representatives from each Commissariat (Ministry of State) and also
expert advisers, form the Supreme Soviet (Council) of National Economy,
instituted by the decree of Dec. 18, 1917. This body directs and unifies
the work of regulating the national economy and the State finances. It
is empowered to confiscate, requisition, sequestrate, and syndicate
various establishments in the field of production, distribution, and
State finances. The Supreme Council is divided into several sections,
each of which deals with a separate economic phase. Among other tasks
devolving upon these sections is the drafting of the law projects for
the respective Commissariats. Bills affecting national economy in its
entirety are brought before the Council of the People's Commissaries
through the Supreme Council of National Economy.
ECONOMIC REGULATION
On Jan. 5, 1918, the Institute of Local Soviets of National Economy was
created, "for the purpose of organizing and regulating the economic life
of each industrial section in accordance with the national and local
interests." Affiliated with the local Soviets of Workmen's and Soldiers'
Delegates, they are subject to the authority of the Supreme Council of
National Economy. They are made up of representatives from trade unions,
factory committees, workmen's co-operatives, land committees, and the
technical personnel of industrial and commercial establishments. The
inner organization of these bodies is elaborate. There are sections,
divisions, (of organization, supply and distribution, labor, and
statistics,) and business offices.
Here are some of the functions of these Soviets. They must:
1. Manage the private enterprises confiscated by the State and given
over to the workmen, such as, for instance, a number of factories in
the Ural mining district.
2. Determine the amount of fuel, raw materials, machinery, means of
transportation, labor, &c., needed by the given industrial section,
and the amount available in it.
3. Provide for the economic needs of the section.
4. Distribute the orders for goods among the individual enterprises
and work out the basis for the distribution of labor, raw material,
machinery, &c.
5. Regulate transportation in the section.
6. See to it that all the productive forces should be fully utilized
both in industry and agriculture.
7. Improve the sanitary conditions of labor.
LAND COMMITTEES
The activity of the Soviets of National Economy is restricted to the
field of industry. Their counterpart in agriculture are the so-called
land committees.
The decree relating to agrarian socialization, voted by the Bolsheviki
at 2 A. M., Nov. 8, 1917, recommends the use of a certain _nakaz_,
(mandate,) based on 242 resolutions passed by village communities, as a
guide in putting the land reform into practice. Article 8 of this
_nakaz_, which is a paraphrase of the agrarian program of the Social
Revolutionists, reads thus: "All the land, upon confiscation, forms a
national agrarian fund. The distribution of the land among the toilers
is taken care of by local and central self-governing bodies. * * * The
land is periodically redistributed, with the growth of population and
the rise of the productivity of agricultural labor."
For the purpose of putting this program into operation and regulating
the economic life of the village generally there have been instituted
land committees, (decree of Nov. 16,) one for each volost, (rural
district including several villages.) They are to be elected by the
population of the district and exist as separate institutions, or
function as an organ of the volost zemstvo, wherever this is found. The
duties of a land committee are many and complex. It takes inventory of
all the land in the district and allots to each village its share of
plow land, meadows, and pastures, seeing to it that the land should be
equitably distributed among the individual toilers and correctly tilled.
It grants lease of lands and waters, not subject to distribution,
receives the rent and turns it over to the national fund. It regulates
the supply and demand of agricultural labor, takes charge of the
forests, fixes prices of timber, receives and fills orders for fuel from
the State, and takes the necessary measures to preserve the large,
scientifically conducted agricultural establishments.
The delegates of a number of volost land committees, together with
representatives of the local zemstvo and the Soviet of Workmen's and
Soldier's Delegates, form a county committee. The latter, in its turn,
sends a delegate to the Provincial Land Committee. The Main Land
Committee, which heads the whole system, is an independent institution
on a par with the central State organizations. It is a large group of
people, consisting of the Commissariat of Agriculture, together with
representatives from the following bodies: The Commissariats of Finance,
Justice, and Internal Affairs, the provincial Land Committees, the
All-Russian Soviet of Peasants' Deputies, the All-Russian Soviet of
Workmen's and Soldiers' Delegates, and the political parties.
NO MORE LANDLORDS
The Bolsheviki have been careful to extend the abolition of private land
ownership to city real estate. By a special decree they abrogated the
property rights in city land and in those of the city buildings whose
value, together with that of the ground they occupy, exceeds a certain
minimum, fixed in each municipality by the local authorities, or which
are regularly let for rent, although their value does not exceed the
minimum. The land and the buildings are declared public property. The
dispossessed owners retain the right to use the apartment they occupy in
their former property, provided the apartment is worth no more than 800
rubles of rent per annum. In case the value of the apartment exceeds
this maximum the former owner pays the difference to the local Soviet of
Workmen's and Soldiers' Delegates. All the rent which formerly went to
the landlord is now paid to that institution or to the Municipal
Council. Not more than one-third of the sum thus collected is to be used
to meet the various needs of the community; 10 per cent. of it goes to
the national housing fund; the rest forms the local housing fund for
erecting new buildings, laying out streets, and making other
improvements.
COMPULSORY INSURANCE
Municipal socialization of land values, while manifestly intended to
benefit the poorer classes, directly affects all the elements of the
city population. Other measures enacted by the Bolsheviki are restricted
to the proletariat, and properly belong to the field of specific labor
legislation. Thus, a law has been passed limiting the working day in
both industrial and commercial establishments to eight hours, and
further regulating the work of women and children. Furthermore, a
minimum wage of the hired workers has been fixed in each section of the
country. But by far the most radical and characteristic innovations
launched by the Bolshevist Government in this line of legislation are
those relating to compulsory insurance of workmen.
On Dec. 29 there was created the Institute of Insurance Soviets, with an
executive organ in the form of a Chamber of Insurance. It is the
intention of the Government to introduce compulsory insurance for
laborers against sickness, unemployment, invalidism, and accidents. The
regulations published so far relate only to the first two forms of
insurance. The respective decrees rule that throughout the territory of
the Russian Republic all hired workers, without distinction of sex, age,
religion, nationality, race, and allegiance, are to be insured against
sickness and unemployment, irrespective of the character and duration of
their work. Salaried employes and members of liberal professions are not
subject to this regulation.
At the moment the workman is hired by the employer he automatically
becomes a member of two fraternities. In the event of his illness, one
furnishes him free medical aid and a weekly allowance equal to his
wages; the other assures him the equivalent of his wages if he loses his
employment and becomes an unemployed workman. The latter term the law
defines as "any able-bodied person depending for subsistence chiefly
upon the wages of his (or her) labor, who is unable to find work at the
normal rate of remuneration fixed by the proper trade union, and who is
registered in a local labor exchange or trade union." The workmen
contribute no dues to the fraternities. The income of the latter
consists mainly of the payments made by the employers. The owner of an
establishment using hired labor must contribute each week to the health
insurance fraternity 10 per cent. of the sum he pays out as wages, and
at least 3 per cent. of the same sum to the unemployment insurance
fraternity. The administrative machinery of this novel form of insurance
is worked out with much detail.
It is natural to ask how the various institutions described above are
working, if they are functioning at all. It is clear that the smooth
working of a great number of cumbersome and wholly novel administrative
agencies in a body politic torn by an unprecedented social upheaval amid
the horrors of a twofold war would be little short of a miracle.
Moreover, it appears that the Bolsheviki have already grown disappointed
in some of their political dogmas, notably in the unrestrained and
ubiquitous application of the elective principle. Nevertheless, the
query, in its entirety, can hardly be adequately answered at present.
The time is not far off, however, when it will be possible to say
whether the measures decreed in the name of the dictatorial will of the
Russian proletariat have taken root or--and this alternative is more
probable--whether they have remained merely codified day-dreams.
Lithuania's Efforts Toward Autonomy
By A. M. Martus
In the press of the United States on May 4, 1918, there appeared a
notice that President Wilson had given audience to the Lithuanian
delegation, recognizing the Lithuanians as a distinctively separate race
having rights of self-determination.
At the time of the upheavals in Russia, during the Russo-Japanese war in
1905, Lithuanians, irrespective of political affiliations, held a
convention in their capital, Vilna, over 2,000 delegates participating,
where they unanimously asserted their right of self-government; also
expressing a strong desire to form one political body with their
half-brothers, the Letts.
Again in October, 1917, a convention was held in Vilna with about 250
delegates from those parts of Lithuania occupied by German forces, to
press their claim of independence for Lithuania. In January, 1918,
representative Lithuanians assembled in the same city proclaimed
independent Lithuania. Another convention of Lithuanian representatives
from Russia and from Lithuanian communities in the United States,
England, and Argentina, held in the same month in Stockholm, Sweden,
approved the act of their countrymen under German domination. On March
13 and 14 American Lithuanians held a convention in New York City,
giving their unanimous approval to the proclaiming of an Independent
Lithuanian Republic; here a unanimous resolution was passed protesting
against any Polish aspirations or claims to Lithuania, and demanding
the inclusion of the Lithuanian part of East Prussia, with the old
Lithuanian city of Karaliauchus (Königsberg,) in the Lithuanian
Republic.
Lithuanians claim those parts of the neighboring provinces where their
language is spoken and where the inhabitants consider themselves
Lithuanians. They claim the eastern part of East Prussia--about 13,500
square miles, with 700,000 or 800,000 inhabitants--and parts of the
provinces of Minsk and Vitebsk; thus the Lithuanian-Lettish Republic
would stretch over 131,000 square miles and have a population of over
11,500,000, inhabiting five centres--Karaliauchus, (Königsberg,)
Klaipeda, (Memel,) Libau, Windau, and Riga.
The country is very rich for agriculture, though it contains much
undeveloped land, with many rivers, lakes, and large forests. Along the
River Nieman in Druskeniki, Government of Goodns, and in Birchtany,
Government of Vilna, there are salt springs of high healing qualities,
but on account of a corrupt Russian Government they remain undeveloped
and unexploited. The seabeach around Palanga, a little distance above
Germany's border on the Baltic, could be turned into another Atlantic
City, according to the opinion of experts, but the place remains
neglected. Lithuania's soil is very rich in aluminium and in material
for manufacturing glass. During my last visit to Lithuania, in 1914, the
discovery of radium was reported in the vicinity of the mineral springs
at Birchtany, but the war came on very soon and nothing further was
heard of it.
BRITISH LEADERS ON LAND AND SEA
[Illustration: Gen. F. B. Maurice
_Formerly Director of Operations at the British War Office, now holding
a high position abroad_
(_Press Illustrating Service_)]
[Illustration: Maj. Gen. S. C. Mewburn,
_Canadian Minister of Militia and Defense_
(_Press Illustrating Service_)]
[Illustration: Vice Admiral Roger Keyes
_Who directed the British attack on Zeebrugge_
(_Central News_)]
[Illustration: Brig. Gen. Sandeman Carey,
_Who stopped the gap in the British line before Amiens_ (©
_Underwood_)]
[Illustration: A new type of tank made for the French Army
(© _Underwood_)]
[Illustration: First American tank just completed at Boston
(_Paul Thompson_)]
In March, 1918, Lithuanians demanded that Germany recognize their
Provisional Government. The Tevyne of New York, official organ of the
Lithuanian Alliance of America, received the following from its
correspondent in Russia, relayed from Yokohama, March 26:
In Lithuania there has been formed a Provisional Government
consisting of the following: A. Smetona, Premier; P. Dovydailis,
Minister of Education; J. Shaulys, Minister of Foreign Affairs; M.
Smilgevichus, Minister of Finances; M. Birzhishka, Minister of
Justice; J. Vileishis, Minister of Public Works; D. Malinauskas,
Minister of Public Safety. Dr. J. Shlupas, well known among American
Lithuanians, has been appointed Envoy Plenipotentiary to the United
States; J. Aukshtuolis, President of the Lithuanian Committee in
Stockholm, is made Ambassador to the Scandinavian countries; M.
Ychas, member of the last Russian Duma, Ambassador to England and
France; J. Gabrys, manager of the Lithuanian Information Bureau in
Switzerland, Ambassador to the Central Powers. A national army is
being organized. Lithuania's absolute neutrality was proclaimed.
Drafted a political and economic treaty with Sweden.
Lithuanians fought in the Russian Army against the Germans, and now
large numbers of them are joining the military and naval forces of the
United States to fight the common foe; some are already in the English
Army. Lithuania has suffered not for her own faults, but because she was
situated between two belligerents. In the Government of Suvalki the
German and Russian Armies chased each other nine times backward and
forward; one may imagine how much is left there. Nothing but
excavations, trenches, heaps of ruins, crumbling chimneys indicate where
previously were large and prosperous villages. The world is yet to hear
more about German requisitions, German devastations, and German rapine
in Lithuania. Not only forests were denuded, but even fruit trees on the
farms were cut down and shipped to Germany. The remaining inhabitants
are forced to raise crops for the invaders, and for their various
products they must accept, under penalty, specially printed money for
local use--money that Germans themselves would not accept.
Notwithstanding reports to the contrary, the Lithuanians were with the
Allies all the time, and will stand by them to the end. They have faith
that the Allies, when the proper time comes, will recognize their just
claims.
Germany to Impose "War Burdens" on Lithuania
Emperor William on May 12, 1918, issued the following proclamation
regarding Lithuania:
We, Wilhelm, by God's grace German Emperor, King of Prussia, &c.,
hereby make known that, whereas the Lithuanian Landsrat, as the
recognized representative of the Lithuanian people, on Dec. 12
announced the restoration of Lithuania as an independent State
allied to the German Empire by an eternal, steadfast alliance, and
by conventions chiefly regarding military matters, traffic, customs,
and coinage, and solicited the help of the German Empire; and,
Whereas, further, Previous political connections in Lithuania are
dissolved, we command our Imperial Chancellor to declare Lithuania
on the basis of the aforementioned declarations of the Lithuanian
Landsrat, in the name of the German Empire, as a free and
independent State, and we are prepared to accord the Lithuanian
State the solicited help and assistance in its restoration.
We assume that the conventions to be concluded will take the
interests of the German Empire into account equally with those of
Lithuania, and that Lithuania will participate in the war burdens of
Germany, which secured her liberation.
The Lithuanian National Council, with headquarters at Washington,
replied to the foregoing proclamation on May 14 as follows:
The assumption that Lithuania "will participate in the war burdens
of Germany" means a contribution of three things: Money, munitions,
and men. The first we have not, as Germany has already impoverished
us; the second, we have no means of supplying, because we lack the
first. Therefore, Germany can have reference only to men. Men from a
self-declared democracy to fight in the ranks of autocracy?
Unthinkable. Lithuania would not consent. Are her citizens to be
dragooned into the ranks of the Kaiser? This would be an abridgment
of the sovereignty which Germany has already recognized, for
Chancellor von Hertling's reply stated, "We hereby recognize
Lithuania as free and independent."
Germany knows that ultimate defeat is unavoidable, but she would
compensate losses in the west with gains in the east, among which
Lithuania is gambled on as an asset. No recognition of Lithuanian
independence can be sincere when coupled with the von Hertling
terms, but if this sop will add to Prussian man power it may
postpone somewhat the inevitable day of reckoning and give her more
time to Germanize in the east with a view of confederating the new
republics under Junker rule.
[Illustration: THE BRITISH CRUISER VINDICTIVE AS IT LOOKED AFTER THE
FIGHT AT ZEEBRUGGE; LATER IT WAS SUNK IN THE HARBOR AT OSTEND TO BLOCK
THE CHANNEL]
The Raid on Zeebrugge and Ostend
British Naval Exploit That Damaged Two German U-Boat Bases on the North
Sea Coast
The little Belgian port of Zeebrugge fell into German hands in the
Autumn of 1914, and, with the neighboring port of Ostend, became a thorn
in the side of the Entente by reason of its increasing use as a base for
enemy destroyers, submarines, and aircraft. The Germans, having seized
the shipbuilding plants at Antwerp, began building submarines and small
war craft, which could be sent by way of Bruges down the canals that
connect the latter city with Zeebrugge and Ostend. Especially useful to
them was the maritime canal whose mouth at Zeebrugge was protected by a
crescent-shaped mole, thirty feet high, inclosing the harbor.
On the night of April 22-23, 1918, a British naval expedition under Vice
Admiral Sir Roger Keyes, commanding at Dover, aided by French
destroyers, undertook to wreck the stone mole at Zeebrugge and to block
the entrances to the canals both at Zeebrugge and at Ostend by sinking
the hulks of old ships in the channels. The episode, marked as it was by
heroic fighting, proved to be one of the most thrilling and picturesque
in the naval operations of the war. To Americans it recalled Hobson's
exploit with the Merrimac at Santiago, while to Englishmen it brought
back memories of Sir Francis Drake and his fireships in the Harbor of
Cadiz.
Though the fighting at Zeebrugge lasted only an hour, the British lost
588 men, officially reported as follows: Officers--Killed, 16; died of
wounds, 3; missing, 2; wounded, 29. Men--Killed, 144; died of wounds,
25; missing, 14; wounded, 355.
Six obsolete British cruisers took part in the attack. They were the
Brilliant, Iphigenia, Sirius, Intrepid, Thetis, and Vindictive. The
first five of these were filled with concrete and were to be sunk in the
entrances of the two ports. The Vindictive, working with the two Mersey
ferryboats Daffodil and Iris, carried storming and demolition parties to
the Zeebrugge mole. The object was to attack the enemy forces and guns
on the mole, along with the destroyer and submarine depots and the large
seaplane base upon it, and thus to divert the enemy's attention from the
work of the block ships. As the attack on the mole accomplished this,
the main object of the operation was successful.
The attacking forces were composed of bluejackets and Royal Marines
picked from the Grand Fleet and from naval and marine depots. Sir Eric
Geddes stated in Parliament the next morning that light forces belonging
to the Dover command and Harwich forces under Admiral Tyrwhitte covered
the operation from the south. A large force of monitors, together with
many motor launches and small, fast craft took part. One of the
essentials of success was the creation of a heavy veil of artificial fog
or smoke. The officer who developed this phase of the attack was killed
in action. The general plan was to attack the guns and works on the
Zeebrugge mole with storming parties, while the concrete-laden cruisers
were being sunk in the channel. Two old and valueless submarines filled
with explosives were to be blown up against the viaduct connecting the
mole with the shore.
STORY OF THE FIGHTING
A detailed narrative of the affair was issued by the British Admiralty
on the 25th, the essential passages of which are as follows:
The night was overcast and there was a drifting haze. Down the coast
a great searchlight swung its beam to and fro in the small wind and
short sea. From the Vindictive's bridge, as she headed in toward
the mole, with the faithful ferryboats at her heels, there was
scarcely a glimmer of light to be seen shoreward. Ahead, as she
drove through the water, rolled the smoke screen, her cloak of
invisibility, wrapped about her by small craft. This was the device
of Wing Commander Brock, without which, acknowledges the Admiral in
command, the operation could not have been conducted.
A northeast wind moved the volume of it shoreward ahead of the
ships. Beyond it was the distant town, its defenders unsuspicious.
It was not until the Vindictive, with bluejackets and marines
standing ready for landing, was close upon the mole that the wind
lulled and came away again from the southeast, sweeping back the
smoke screen and laying her bare to eyes that looked seaward.
There was a moment immediately afterward when it seemed to those on
the ships as if the dim, coast-hidden harbor exploded into light. A
star shell soared aloft, then a score of star shells. The wavering
beams of the searchlights swung around and settled into a glare. A
wild fire of gun flashes leaped against the sky, strings of luminous
green beads shot aloft, hung and sank. The darkness of the night was
supplemented by a nightmare daylight of battle-fired guns and
machine guns along the mole. The batteries ashore awoke to life.
Landing on the Mole
It was in a gale of shelling that the Vindictive laid her nose
against the thirty-foot high concrete side of the mole, let go her
anchor and signaled to the Daffodil to shove her stern in.
The Iris went ahead and endeavored to get alongside likewise. The
fire was intense, while the ships plunged and rolled beside the mole
in the seas, the Vindictive with her greater draught jarring against
the foundations of the mole with every lunge. They were swept
diagonally by machine-gun fire from both ends of the mole and by the
heavy batteries on shore.
Commander (now Captain) Carpenter conned the Vindictive from the
open bridge until her stern was laid in, when he took up his
position in the flame thrower hut on the port side. It is marvelous
that any occupant should have survived a minute in this hut, so
riddled and shattered is it.
The officers of the Iris, which was in trouble ahead of the
Vindictive, describe Captain Carpenter as handling her like a picket
boat. The Vindictive was fitted along her port side with a high
false deck, from which ran eighteen brows or gangways by which the
storming and demolition parties were to land.
[Illustration: MAP SHOWING RELATION OF ZEEBRUGGE AND OSTEND TO THE
ENGLISH COAST]
The men gathered in readiness on the main lower decks, while
Colonel Elliott, who was to lead the marines, waited on the false
deck just abaft the bridge. Captain Halahan, who commanded the
bluejackets, was amidships. The gangways were lowered, and they
scraped and rebounded upon the high parapet of the mole as the
Vindictive rolled in the sea-way.
The word for the assault had not yet been given when both leaders
were killed, Colonel Elliott by a shell and Captain Halahan by
machine-gun fire which swept the decks. The same shell that killed
Colonel Elliott also did fearful execution in the forward Stokes
mortar battery. The men were magnificent; every officer bears the
same testimony.
The mere landing on the mole was a perilous business. It involved a
passage across the crashing and splintering gangways, a drop over
the parapet into the field of fire of the German machine guns which
swept its length, and a further drop of some sixteen feet to the
surface of the mole itself. Many were killed and more wounded as
they crowded up the gangways, but nothing hindered the orderly and
speedy landing by every gangway.
Lieutenant H. T. C. Walker had his arm shot away by shell on the
upper deck, and lay in darkness while the storming parties trod him
under. He was recognized and dragged aside by the commander. He
raised his remaining arm in greetings. "Good luck to you," he called
as the rest of the stormers hastened by. "Good luck."
The lower deck was a shambles as the commander made the rounds of
the ship, yet those wounded and dying raised themselves to cheer as
he made his tour. * * *
Heroic Work on the Iris
The Iris had troubles of her own. Her first attempts to make fast to
the mole ahead of the Vindictive failed, as her grapnels were not
large enough to span the parapet. Two officers, Lieut. Commander
Bradford and Lieutenant Hawkins, climbed ashore and sat astride the
parapet trying to make the grapnels fast till each was killed and
fell down between the ship and the wall. Commander Valentine Gibbs
had both legs shot away and died next morning. Lieutenant Spencer,
though wounded, took command and refused to be relieved.
The Iris was obliged at last to change her position and fall in
astern of the Vindictive, and suffered very heavily from fire. A
single big shell plunged through the upper deck and burst below at a
point where fifty-six marines were waiting for the order to go to
the gangways. Forty-nine were killed. The remaining seven were
wounded. Another shell in the ward-room, which was serving as a sick
bay, killed four officers and twenty-six men. Her total casualties
were eight officers and sixty-nine men killed and three officers and
103 men wounded.
Storming and demolition parties upon the mole met with no resistance
from the Germans other than intense and unremitting fire. One after
another buildings burst into flame or split and crumbled as dynamite
went off. A bombing party working up toward the mole extension in
search of the enemy destroyed several machine-gun emplacements, but
not a single prisoner rewarded them. It appears that upon the
approach of the ships and with the opening of fire the enemy simply
retired and contented themselves with bringing machine guns to the
short end of the mole.
BLOCKING THE CANAL
Describing operations of the three
block ships, the official narrative says:
The Thetis came first, steaming into a tornado of shells from great
batteries ashore. All her crew, save a remnant who remained to
steam her in and sink her, already had been taken off her by a
ubiquitous motor launch, but the remnant spared hands enough to keep
her four guns going. It was hers to show the road to the Intrepid
and the Iphigenia, which followed. She cleared a string of armed
barges which defends the channel from the tip of the mole, but had
the ill-fortune to foul one of her propellers upon a net defense
which flanks it on the shore side.
[Illustration: PLAN ILLUSTRATING THE FIGHT AT THE ZEEBRUGGE MOLE, THE
BLOCKING OF THE BRUGES CANAL, AND THE LOCATION OF SUNKEN SHIPS]
The propeller gathered in the net, and it rendered her practically
unmanageable. Shore batteries found her and pounded her
unremittingly. She bumped into the bank, edged off, and found
herself in the channel again still some hundreds of yards from the
mouth of the canal in practically a sinking condition. As she lay
she signaled invaluable directions to others, and her commander, R.
S. Sneyd, also accordingly blew charges and sank her. Motor launches
under Lieutenant H. Littleton raced alongside and took off her crew.
Her losses were five killed and five wounded.
The Intrepid, smoking like a volcano and with all her guns blazing,
followed. Her motor launch had failed to get alongside outside the
harbor, and she had men enough for anything. Straight into the canal
she steered, her smoke blowing back from her into the Iphigenia's
eyes, so that the latter was blinded, and, going a little wild,
rammed a dredger, with her barge moored beside it, which lay at the
western arm of the canal. She was not clear, though, and entered the
canal pushing the barge before her. It was then that a shell hit the
steam connections of her whistle, and the escape of steam which
followed drove off some of the smoke and let her see what she was
doing.
[Illustration: PERSPECTIVE MAP OF OSTEND HARBOR, WITH ZEEBRUGGE IN THE
DISTANCE]
Main Object Attained
Lieutenant Stuart Bonham Carter, commanding the Intrepid, placed the
nose of his ship neatly on the mud of the western bank, ordered his
crew away, and blew up his ship by switches in the chart room. Four
dull bumps were all that could be heard, and immediately afterward
there arrived on deck the engineer, who had been in the engine room
during the explosion, and reported that all was as it should be.
Lieutenant E. W. Bullyard Leake, commanding the Iphigenia, beached
her according to arrangement on the eastern side, blew her up, saw
her drop nicely across the canal, and left her with her engines
still going, to hold her in position till she should have bedded
well down on the bottom. According to the latest reports from air
observation, two old ships, with their holds full of concrete, are
lying across the canal in a V position, and it is probable that the
work they set out to do has been accomplished and that the canal is
effectively blocked. A motor launch, under Lieutenant P. T. Deane,
had followed them in to bring away the crews and waited further up
the canal toward the mouth against the western bank.
Lieutenant Bonham Carter, having sent away his boats, was reduced to
a Carley float, an apparatus like an exaggerated lifebuoy with the
floor of a grating. Upon contact with the water it ignited a calcium
flare and he was adrift in the uncanny illumination with a German
machine gun a few hundred yards away giving him its undivided
attention. What saved him was possibly the fact that the defunct
Intrepid still was emitting huge clouds of smoke which it had been
worth nobody's while to turn. He managed to catch a rope, as the
motor launch started, and was towed for awhile till he was observed
and taken on board.
THE VINDICTIVE'S STORY
Commander Alfred F. B. Carpenter, who commanded the Vindictive and who
was made Captain for his successful work, gave an Associated Press
correspondent an interesting description of the episode. During the
attack he was at the end of the bridge in a small steel box or cabin
which had been specially constructed to house a flame thrower. The
Captain, with his arm in a sling, standing on the shell-battered deck of
the Vindictive, said:
Exactly according to plan we ran alongside the mole, approached it
on the port side, where we were equipped with specially built
buffers of wood two feet wide. As there was nothing for us to tie up
to, we merely dropped anchor there, while the Daffodil kept us
against the mole with her nose against the opposite side of our
ship. In the fairly heavy sea two of our three gangways were
smashed, but the third held, and 500 men swarmed up this on to the
mole. This gangway was two feet wide and thirty feet long. The men
who went up it included 300 marines and 150 storming seamen from the
Vindictive, and fifty or so from the Daffodil. They swarmed up the
steel gangway, carrying hand grenades and Lewis guns. No Germans
succeeded in approaching the gangway, but a hard hand-to-hand fight
took place about 200 yards up the mole toward the shore.
The Vindictive's bow was pointed toward the shore, so the bridge got
the full effect of enemy fire from the shore batteries. One shell
exploded against the pilot house, killing nearly all its ten
occupants. Another burst in the fighting top, killing a Lieutenant
and eight men, who were doing excellent work with two pompoms and
four machine guns.
The battery of eleven-inch guns at the end of the mole was only 300
yards away, and it kept trying to reach us. The shore batteries also
were diligent. Only a few German shells hit our hull, because it was
well protected by the wall of the mole, but the upper structure,
mast, stacks, and ventilators showed above the wall and were
riddled. A considerable proportion of our casualties were caused by
splinters from these upper works.
Meanwhile the Daffodil continued to push us against the wall as if
no battle was on, and if she had failed to do this none of the
members of the landing party would have been able to return to the
ship.
Twenty-five minutes after the Vindictive had reached the wall the
first block ship passed in and headed for the canal. Two others
followed in leisurely fashion while we kept up the fight on the
mole. One of the block ships stranded outside of the canal, but the
two others got two or three hundred yards inside, where they were
successfully sunk across the entrance.
Fifteen minutes after the Vindictive arrived alongside the mole our
submarine exploded under the viaduct connecting the mole with the
mainland. The Germans had sent a considerable force to this viaduct
as soon as the submarine arrived, and these men were gathered on the
viaduct, attacking our submersible with machine guns. When the
explosion occurred the viaduct and Germans were blown up together.
The crew of the submarine, consisting of six men, escaped on board a
dinghy to a motor launch.
Early in the fighting a German shell knocked out our howitzer, which
had been getting in some good shots on a big German seaplane station
on the mole half a mile away. This is the largest seaplane station
in Belgium. Unfortunately, our other guns could not be brought to
bear effectively upon it. The shell which disabled the howitzer
killed all the members of the gun crew. Many men were also killed by
a German shell which hit the mole close to our ship and scattered
fragments of steel and stone among the marines assembling on the
deck around the gangway.
Half an hour after the block ships went in, we received the signal
to withdraw. The Vindictive's siren was blown, and the men returned
from all parts of the mole and thronged down the gangway. We put off
after having lain alongside just about an hour. The Germans made no
effort to interfere with our getaway other than to continue their
heavy firing.
RESCUE FROM BLOCK SHIPS
One of the most thrilling incidents was the rescue by two American-built
motor launches of nearly 200 members of the crews of two block ships
sunk at the entrance to the Bruges Canal. The feat was accomplished
under a heavy fire and the actual transfer was made in less than five
minutes. One launch delivered ninety-nine men to the destroyer.
The dead and wounded could not all be brought away, but the loss of
personnel in this way was declared to be remarkably small.
Stoker Bendall of the submarine which blew up the Zeebrugge mole said:
It was silent and heavy business. We were going full tilt when we
hit the viaduct. It was a good jolt, and we ran right into the
middle of the viaduct and stuck there, as we intended to do. I don't
think anybody said anything except, "Well, we are here all right."
We lowered a skiff and stood by while the commander touched off the
fuse and then tumbled into the skiff and pushed off. By bad luck the
propeller fouled the exhaust pipe and left us with only two oars and
two minutes to get away. The enemy lights were on us, and the
machine guns were firing from the shore.
Before we made 200 yards the submarine went up, and there was a
tremendous flash and roar, and lots of concrete from the mole fell
around us. Luckily, we were not struck.
Photographs taken from an airplane a few days later showed that the
effort to block the canal entrance had been successful. The Intrepid and
Iphigenia had reached the precise positions in which they were intended
to be sunk, while the exploded submarine had blown a gap of sixty to a
hundred feet in the shore end of the mole. The Frankfurter Zeitung, in
commenting on the affair, said: "It would be foolish to deny that the
British fleet scored a great success through a fantastically audacious
stroke in penetrating into one of the most important strongholds over
which the German flag floats."
ATTACKS AT OSTEND
At Ostend the operations on the same night were unsuccessful, largely
owing to a shift of wind. Small craft with smoke apparatus ran in
according to program, set up a screen, and lit two large flares to mark
the entrance to the harbor for the two concrete-laden cruisers that were
to be sunk in the channel. Before the cruisers could arrive, however,
the wind shifted and blew away the smoke screen, after which the German
gunfire quickly destroyed the flares. The cruisers tried to proceed by
guesswork under heavy fire, but their efforts were in vain. One of the
block ships was sunk, but not in a position to obstruct the channel.
A second attempt to close the Ostend harbor was made on the night of
May 9-10, when the battered old Vindictive, which had borne the brunt of
the shellfire at the Zeebrugge mole, was sunk in the channel with her
inside full of concrete. A member of the expedition gave this account:
As the Vindictive neared Ostend it became apparent that the Germans
had got wind of our presence, for suddenly there was a regular
pyrotechnic display of star shells. The effect was brilliant, but
quite undesirable from our point of view. Immediately guns of all
sizes opened fire on us, and there was a terrific din.
The Vindictive and one or two other vessels received hits, and a few
casualties were caused by this gunfire. The firing was heavily
returned by our ships. Most of the crew of the Vindictive were taken
off when the ship was at a little distance from the Ostend piers,
only a few officers and men being left to navigate her between the
piers and sink her there. A motor launch which was assisting in
picking up the crew was hit several times by shellfire, and was in a
sinking condition when it came alongside the Admiral's vessel, the
destroyer Warwick, to which they were transferred. The motor launch
had extensive damage in the fore part, and by order of the Admiral
was sunk, as it was apparent that it could not get back to Dover.
There was a heavy explosion when the Vindictive sank between the
piers.
The casualties in the second Ostend raid were forty-seven, of whom
eighteen were killed or missing, the rest wounded.
* * * * *
The British Admiralty, in its official report of the second Ostend
action, issued May 14, stated that the Vindictive was "lying at an angle
of about 40 degrees to the pier, and seemed to be hard fast." Commander
Godsal, who was on deck during the critical moments, was missing and was
believed to have been killed; Lieutenant Crutchley blew up the auxiliary
charges in the forward 6-inch magazine from the conning tower. Lieut.
Commander William A. Bury, who blew up the main charges by a switch
installed aft, was severely wounded. The Admiralty reported that the
sunken ship would make the harbor impracticable for any but small craft
and difficult for dredging operations.
German U-Boat Claims
Address by Admiral von Capelle
_German Naval Secretary_
Admiral Von Capelle, the German Secretary of the Navy, delivered an
address before the Reichstag, April 17, 1918, in which he asserted that
the submarine warfare of Germany was a success. In the course of his
speech he said:
"The main question is, What do the western powers need for the carrying
on of the war and the supply of their homelands, and what amount of
tonnage is still at their disposal for that purpose? All statistical
calculations regarding tonnage are today almost superfluous, as the
visible successes of the U-boat war speak clearly enough. The robbery of
Dutch tonnage, by which the Anglo-Saxons have incurred odium of the
worst kind for decades to come, is the best proof of how far the
shipping shortage has already been felt by our opponents. In addition to
the sinkings there must be added a great amount of wear and tear of
ships and an enormous increase of marine accidents, which Sir J.
Ellerman, speaking in the Chamber of Shipping recently, calculated at
three times the peace losses. Will the position of the western powers
improve or deteriorate? That depends upon their military achievements
and the replacing of sunken ships by new construction."
Dealing briefly with Sir Eric Geddes's recent speech on the occasion of
the debate on the naval estimates, Admiral von Capelle declared:
"The assertion of the First Lord of the Admiralty that an unwillingness
to put to sea prevailed among the German U-boat crews is a base
calumny."
LOSSES AND CONSTRUCTION
As regards the assertions of British statesmen concerning the
extraordinarily great losses of U-boats, Admiral von Capelle said:
"The statements in the foreign press are very greatly exaggerated. Now,
as before, our new construction surpasses our losses. The number of
U-boats, both from the point of view of quality and quantity, is
constantly rising. We can also continue absolutely to reckon on our
military achievements hitherto attained. Whether Lloyd George can
continue the naval war with prospects of success depends, not upon his
will but upon the position of the U-boats as against shipbuilding.
According to Lloyd's Register, something over 22,000,000 gross register
tons were built in the last ten years before the war in the whole
world--that is, inclusive of the construction of ourselves, our allies,
and foreign countries. The entire output today can in no case be more,
for difficulties of all kinds and the shortage of workmen and material
have grown during the war. In the last ten years--that is, in peace
time--800,000 gross register tons of the world's shipping was destroyed
annually by natural causes. Now in wartime the losses, as already
mentioned, are considerably greater. Thus, 1,400,000 gross register tons
was the annual net increase for the entire world. That gives, at any
rate, a standard for the present position. America's and Japan's new
construction is to a certain extent destined for the necessities of
these countries.
"In the main, therefore, only the figures of British shipbuilding come
into question. About the middle of 1917 there was talk of 3,000,000 tons
in official quarters in Great Britain. Then Lloyd George dropped to
2,000,000, and now, according to Bonar Law's statement, the output is
1,160,000 tons. As against, therefore, about 100,000 tons monthly put
into service there are sinkings amounting to 600,000 tons, or six times
as much. In brief, if the figures given are regarded as too favorable
and new construction at the rate of 150,000 tons monthly--that is, 50
per cent. higher--be assumed, and the sinkings be reduced to 450,000
tons, then the sinkings are still three times as large as the amount of
new construction.
THE COMING MONTHS
"One other thing must especially be taken into consideration for the
coming months. Today every ship sunk strikes at the vital nerve of our
opponents. Today, when only the absolutely necessary cargoes of
foodstuffs and war necessities can still be transported, the sinking of
even one small ship has quite a different significance as compared with
the beginning of the U-boat war. Moreover, the loss of one ship means a
falling out of four to five cargoes. In these circumstances even the
greatest pessimist must say that the position of our opponents is
deteriorating in a considerably increasing extent and with rapid
strides, and that any doubt regarding the final success of the U-boat
war is unjustified."
Replying to a question of the reporter, Admiral von Capelle said:
"Our opponents have been busily endeavoring to strengthen their
anti-submarine measures by all the means at their disposal, and,
naturally, they have attained a certain success. But they have at no
time had any decisive influence on the U-boat war, and, according to
human reckoning, they will not do so in the future. The American
submarine destroyers which have been so much talked about have failed.
The convoy system, which, it is true, offers ships a certain measure of
protection, has, on the other hand, also the great disadvantage of
reducing their transport capabilities. The statements oscillate from 25
to 60 per cent.
"For the rest, our commanders are specially trained for attacks on
convoys, and no day goes by when one or more ships are not struck out of
convoys. Experienced commanders manage to sink three to four ships in
succession belonging to the same convoy."
THE STEEL QUESTION
Admiral von Capelle then dealt with the steel question as regards
shipbuilding, which, he said, "is practically the determinative factor
for shipbuilding." He continued:
"Great Britain's steel imports in 1916 amounted to 763,000 tons, and in
1917 only amounted to 497,000 tons. That means that already a reduction
of 37 per cent. has been effected, a reduction which will presumably be
further considerably increased during 1918. Restriction of imports of
ore from other countries, such as America, caused by the U-boat war will
also have a hampering effect on shipbuilding in Great Britain. It is
true that Sir Eric Geddes denied that there was a lack of material, but
expert circles in England give the scarcity of steel as the main reason
for the small shipbuilding output.
"American help in men and airplanes and American participation in the
war are comparatively small. If later on America wants to maintain
500,000 troops in France, shipping to the amount of about 2,000,000 tons
would be permanently needed. This shipping would have to be withdrawn
from the supply service of the Allies.
"Moreover, according to statements made in the United States and Great
Britain, the intervention in the present campaign of such a big army no
longer comes into consideration. After America's entry into the war
material help for the Entente has not only not increased, but has even
decreased considerably. President Wilson's gigantic armament program has
brought about such economic difficulties that America, the export
country, must now begin to ration instead of, as it was hoped,
increasingly to help the Entente. To sum up, it can be stated that the
economic difficulties of our enemies have been increased by America's
entry into the war."
"ENGLAND'S DANGER POINT"
Later in the debate Admiral von Capelle said: "The salient point of the
discussion is the economic internal and political results of the U-boat
war during the coming months. The danger point for England has already
been reached, and the situation of the western powers grows worse from
day to day."
Admiral von Capelle then briefly dealt with that calculation of the
world tonnage made by a Deputy which received some attention in the
Summer of last year. "This calculation," he said, "shows a difference of
9,000,000 tons from the calculation of the Admiralty Staff. In my
opinion, the calculation of the Admiralty Staff is correct. Whence
otherwise comes the Entente's lack of tonnage, which, in view of the
facts, cannot be argued away? The Admiralty Staff in its calculation
adapted itself to the fluctuating situation of the world shipping. At
first each of the enemy States looked after itself. Later, under Great
Britain's leadership, common control of tonnage was established."
Admiral von Capelle quoted the calculation of the American Shipping
Department, according to which the world tonnage in the Autumn of 1917
amounted to 32,000,000, of which 21,000,000 were given as transoceanic.
He insisted, however, that so much attention must not be paid to all
these calculations, but exhorted the people rather to dwell on the
joyful fact that the danger point for the western powers had been
reached.
At the close of the sitting Admiral von Capelle stated that all orders
for the construction of U-boats had been given independently by the
Naval Department and that the Naval Administration had never been
instructed to give orders for more U-boats by the Chancellor or the
Supreme Army Command. Every possible means, he said, for the development
of U-boat warfare had been done by the Naval Department.
Admiral von Capelle in a supplemental statement before the Reichstag,
May 11, in discussing the naval estimates, said:
The reports for April are favorable. Naturally, losses occur, but
the main thing is that the increase in submarines exceeds the
losses. Our naval offensive is stronger today than at the beginning
of unrestricted submarine warfare. That gives us an assured prospect
of final success.
The submarine war is developing more and more into a struggle
between U-boat action and new construction of ships. Thus far the
monthly figures of destruction have continued to be several times as
large as those of new construction. Even the British Ministry and
the entire British press admit that.
The latest appeal to British shipyard workers appears to be
especially significant. For the present the appeal does not appear
to have had great success. According to the latest statements
British shipbuilding fell from 192,000 tons in March to 112,000 in
April; or, reckoned in ships, from 32 to 22. That means a decline of
80,000 tons, or about 40 per cent. [The British Admiralty stated
that the April new tonnage was reduced on account of the vast amount
of repairing to merchantmen.--Editor.]
America thus far has built little, and has fallen far below
expectations. Even if an increase is to be reckoned with in the
future, it will be used up completely by America herself.
In addition to the sinkings by U-boats, there is a large decline in
cargo space owing to marine losses and to ships becoming
unserviceable. One of the best-known big British ship owners
declared at a meeting of shipping men that the losses of the British
merchant fleet through marine accidents, owing to conditions created
by the war, were three times as large as in peace.
The Admiral's Statements Attacked
The British authorities asserted that Admiral von Capelle's figures were
misleading and untrue. The losses published in the White Paper include
marine risk and all losses by enemy action. They include all losses, and
not merely the losses of food ships, as suggested in the German wireless
message dated April 16. Even in the figures of the world's output of
shipbuilding von Capelle seems to have been misled. He states that
"something over 2,000,000 gross tons were built annually in the last ten
years, including allied and enemy countries." The actual figures are
2,530,351 gross tons. He further states that the entire output today can
in no case be more, owing to difficulties in regard to labor and
material. The actual world's output, as shown in the Parliamentary White
Paper, excluding enemy countries, amounted to 2,703,000 gross tons, and
the output is rapidly rising. Von Capelle tried to raise confusion with
regard to the figures 3,000,000 and 2,000,000 tons and the actual output
for 1917. The Admiralty says no forecast was ever given that 3,000,000
tons, or even 2,000,000 tons, would be completed in that year. Three
million tons is the ultimate rate of production, which, as the First
Lord stated in the House of Commons, is well within the present and
prospective capacity of United Kingdom shipyards and marine engineering
works. The exaggerated figures of losses are still relied on by the
enemy. The average loss per month of British ships during 1917,
including marine risk, was 333,000 gross tons, whereas Secretary von
Capelle in his statement bases his argument on an average loss from
submarine attacks alone of 600,000 tons per month. The figures for the
quarter ended March 31, 1918, showed British losses to be 687,576 tons,
and for the month of March 216,003 tons, the lowest during any month,
with one exception, since January, 1917. With regard to steel, the First
Lord has already assured the House of Commons that arrangements have
been made for the supply of steel to give the output aimed at, and at
the present time the shipyards are in every case fully supplied with the
material.
The American production of new tonnage reached its stride in May, and
the estimate of over 4,000,000 tons per annum was regarded as
conservative. It was estimated that the total British and American new
tonnage in the year ending May, 1919, would exceed 6,000,000, as against
total U-boat sinkings, based on the record of the first quarter of 1918,
of 4,500,000.
OFFICIAL RETURNS OF LOSSES
The following was the official report of losses of British, allied, and
neutral merchant tonnage due to enemy action and marine risk:
Allied
Period. British. and Neutral. Total.
1917. Month. Month. Month.
January 193,045 216,787 409,832
February 343,486 231,370 574,856
March 375,309 259,376 634,685
-------- -------- ----------
Quarter 911,840 707,533 1,619,373
April 555,056 338,821 893,877
May 374,419 255,917 630,336
June 432,395 280,326 712,721
-------- -------- ----------
Quarter 1,361,870 875,064 2,236,934
July 383,430 192,519 575,949
August 360,296 189,067 519,363
September 209,212 159,949 369,161
-------- -------- ---------
Quarter 952,938 541,535 1,494,473
October 289,973 197,364 487,337
November 196,560 136,883 333,443
December 296,356 155,707 452,063
-------- -------- ---------
Quarter 782,889 489,954 1,272,843
1918.
January 217,270 136,187 353,457
February 254,303 134,119 388,422
March 216,003 165,628 381,631
-------- -------- ---------
Quarter 687,576 435,934 1,123,510
The Secretary of the Ministry of Shipping stated that the tonnage of
steamships of 500 gross tons and over entering and clearing United
Kingdom ports from and to ports overseas was as under:
Period. Period.
1917. Gross Tons. 1918. Gross Tons.
October 6,908,189 January 6,336,663
November 6,818,564 February 6,326,965
December 6,665,413 March 7,295,620
This statement embraces all United Kingdom seaborne traffic other
than coastwise and cross Channel.
The Month's Submarine Record
The British Admiralty, in April, 1918, discontinued its weekly report of
merchant ships destroyed by submarines or mines, and announced that it
would publish a monthly report in terms of tonnage. These figures are
shown in the table above. The last weekly report was for the period
ended April 14, and showed that eleven merchantmen over 1,600 tons, four
under 1,600 tons, and one fishing vessel had been sunk.
In regard to the sinkings in April, French official figures showed that
the total losses of allied and neutral ships, including those from
accidents at sea during the month, aggregated 381,631 tons.
Norway's losses from the beginning of the war to the end of April, 1918,
amounted to 755 vessels, aggregating 1,115,519 tons, and the lives of
1,006 seamen, in addition to about 700 men on fifty-three vessels
missing, two-thirds of which were declared to be war losses.
The American steamship Lake Moor, manned by naval reserves, was sunk by
a German submarine in European waters about midnight on April 11, with a
loss of five officers and thirty-nine men. Five officers and twelve
enlisted men were landed at an English port. Eleven men, including five
navy gunners, were lost when the Old Dominion liner Tyler was sunk off
the French coast on May 3. The Canadian Pacific Company's steamer Medora
also was sunk off the French coast. The Florence H. was wrecked in a
French port by an internal explosion on the night of April 17. Out of
the crew of fifty-six men, twenty-nine were listed as dead or missing,
twelve were sent to hospital badly burned, two were slightly injured,
and only thirteen escaped injury. Of the twenty-three men of the naval
guard only six were reported as survivors.
Six officers and thirteen men were reported missing as the result of two
naval disasters reported on May 1 by the British Admiralty. They formed
part of the crews of the sloop Cowslip, which was torpedoed and sunk on
April 25, and of Torpedo Boat 90, which foundered.
According to Archibald Hurd, a British authority on naval matters, the
area in the North Sea which was proclaimed by the British Government as
dangerous to shipping and therefore prohibited after May 15 is the
greatest mine field ever laid for the special purpose of foiling
submarines. It embraces 121,782 square miles, the base forming a line
between Norway and Scotland, and the peak extending northward into the
Arctic Circle.
A Secret Chapter of U-Boat History
How Ruthless Policy Was Adopted
_The causes that led to Germany's adoption of the policy of unrestricted
submarine warfare on Feb. 1, 1917, were revealed a year later by the
Handelsblad, an Amsterdam newspaper, whose correspondent had secured
secret access to "a number of highly interesting and important
documents" long enough to read them and make notes of their contents.
The Dutch paper vouched for the accuracy of the following information:_
At the close of the year 1915 the German Admiralty Staff prepared a
semi-official memorandum to prove that an unrestricted submarine
campaign would compel Great Britain to sue for peace "in six months at
the most." The character of the argument conveys the impression that the
chiefs of the German Admiralty Staff had already made up their minds to
adopt the most drastic measures in regard to submarine warfare, but that
they wished to convince the Kaiser, the Imperial Chancellor, and the
German diplomatists of the certainty of good results on economic and
general, rather than merely military, grounds. To this end the
memorandum based its arguments on statistics of food prices, freight,
and insurance rates in Great Britain. It pointed out that the effects on
the prices of essential commodities, on the balance of trade, and,
above all, on the morale of the chief enemy, had been such, even with
the restricted submarine campaign of 1915, that, if an unrestricted
submarine war were decided upon, England could not possibly hold out for
more than a short period.
The memorandum was submitted to the Imperial Chancellor, who passed it
on to Dr. Helfferich, the Secretary of State for Finance. He, however,
rejected the document on the ground that, in the absence of authentic
estimates of stocks, it was impossible to set a time-limit to England's
staying power, and also that he was exceedingly doubtful as to what line
would be taken by neutrals, especially the United States. Dr. Helfferich
maintained that so desperate a remedy should only be employed as a last
resource. The authors of the memorandum then sent a reply, in which they
developed their former arguments, and pointed to the gravity of the
internal situation in Germany. They emphasized the importance of using
the nearest and sharpest weapons of offense if a national collapse was
to be avoided. They reinforced their argument by adducing the evidence
of ten experts, representing finance, commerce, the mining industry, and
agriculture. They were Herr Waldemar Müller, the President of the
Dresdner Bank; Dr. Salomonsohn of the Disconto Gesellschaft; Dr. Paul
Reusch of Oberhausen, Royal Prussian Councilor of Commerce; Dr.
Springorum of Dortmund, Chancellor of Commerce, member of the Prussian
Upper House, (Herren Haus,) General Director of Railways and Tramways at
Hoesch, an ironmaster, and a great expert in railways; Herr Max Schinkel
of Hamburg, President of the Norddeutsche Bank in Hamburg and of the
Disconto Gesellschaft in Berlin; Herr Zuckschwerdt of Madgeburg,
Councilor of Commerce, late member of the Prussian Upper House; Herr
Wilhelm von Finck of Munich, Privy Councilor, chief of the banking house
of Merck, Finck & Co., Munich; Councilor of Economics R. Schmidt of
Platzhof, member of the Württemberg Upper Chamber and of the German
Agricultural Council; Herr Engelhard of Mannheim, Councilor of Commerce,
President of the Chamber of Commerce and member of the Baden Upper
Chamber.
These experts were invited to send answers in writing to the three
following questions: (1) What would be the effect on England of
unrestricted submarine warfare? (2) What would be its effect on
Germany's relations with the United States and other neutrals? (3) To
what extent does the internal situation in Germany demand the use of
this drastic weapon?
The reader will do well to remember that the replies were written in
February, 1916--nearly two years ago. All agreed on the first point--the
effect on Great Britain. The effect of unrestricted submarine warfare on
England would be that she would have to sue for peace in six months at
the most. Herr Müller, who seemed to be in a position to confirm the
statistics given in the memorandum, pointed out that the supply of
indispensable foodstuffs was, at the time of writing, less than the
normal supply in peace time. He held that the submarine war, if
relentlessly and vigorously pursued, would accomplish its purpose in
less time than calculated in the memorandum--in fact, three months
should do it. Dr. Salomonsohn also thought that six months was an
excessive estimate, and that less time would suffice.
On the question of the effect on neutrals the experts were divided. Dr.
Reusch suggested that the neutrals despised the restricted submarine
warfare of 1915, and held that every ship in British waters, whether
enemy or neutral, should be torpedoed without warning. According to him,
the world only respects those who, in a great crisis, know how to make
the most unscrupulous use of their power.
Herr Müller predicted that ruthless submarine war would cause a
wholesale flight of neutrals from the war zone. Their newspapers might
abuse Germany at first, but they would soon get tired. The danger was
from the United States, but that would become less in proportion as
Germany operated more decisively and ruthlessly. Dr. Salomonsohn adopted
the same attitude. He recognized the possibility of war with the United
States, but was loath to throw away so desirable a weapon on that
account.
As to the third point, all the experts agreed that the internal
situation in Germany demanded that the most drastic methods of submarine
warfare should be employed. Herr Zuckschwerdt urged the advisability of
the most drastic measures owing to the feeling of the nation. The nation
would stand by the Government, but not if it yielded to threats from
America. Such weakness would lead to serious consequences. Herr Schmidt
admitted the possibility of Germany not being able to hold out, and
emphasized the importance of taking drastic steps before disorder and
unrest arose in the agricultural districts.
Sea-Raider Wolf and Its Victims
Story of Its Operations
_A third chapter of sea-raider history similar to those of the Möwe and
Seeadler was revealed when the Spanish steamship Igotz Mendi, navigated
by a German prize crew, ran aground on the Danish coast, Feb. 24, 1918,
while trying to reach the Kiel Canal with a cargo of prisoners and
booty. The next day the German Government announced that the sea-raider
Wolf, which had captured the Igotz Mendi and ten other merchant vessels,
with 400 prisoners, had successfully returned after fifteen months in
the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans. The story of the Wolf's
operations, as gleaned by Danish and English correspondents from the
narratives of released prisoners, is told below. Some of the most
interesting passages were furnished by Australian medical officers who
had been captured on the British steamer Matunga:_
The Wolf, a vessel of about 6,000 gross tonnage, armed with several guns
and torpedo tubes, carried a seaplane, known as the Wolfchen, which was
frequently used in the operations of the sea raider. On some days the
seaplane made as many as three flights. The Wolf, apparently, proceeded
from Germany to the Indian Ocean, laying minefields off the Cape,
Bombay, and Colombo. Early in February, 1917, she captured the British
steamship Turritella, taking off all the officers and putting on board a
prize crew which worked the vessel with her own men. In every case of
capture, when the vessel was not sunk at once, this procedure was
adopted.
The Wolf transferred a number of mines to the Turritella, with
instructions that they should be laid off Aden. A few days later the
Turritella encountered a British warship, whereupon the prize crew,
numbering twenty-seven, sank the Turritella, and were themselves taken
prisoner.
Three weeks later the Wolf overhauled the British steamer Jumna. The
Wolf thought that the British vessel was about to ram her, and the port
after-gun was fired before it was properly trained, killing five of the
raider's crew and wounding about twenty-three others. The Jumna remained
with the Wolf for several days, after which her coal and stores were
transferred to the raider, and she was sunk with bombs. The next vessels
to be captured and sunk were the British steamships Wordsworth and Dee.
Early in June the Wolf, while at anchor under the lee of an island in
the Pacific, sighted the British steamship Wairuna, bound from Auckland,
N. Z., to San Francisco with coal, Kauri gum, pelts, and copra. The Wolf
sent over the seaplane which, flying low, dropped a canvas bag on the
Wairuna's deck, containing the message, "Stop immediately; take orders
from German cruiser. Do not use your wireless or I will bomb you." The
Wairuna eased down, but did not stop until the seaplane dropped a bomb
just ahead of her. By this time the Wolf had weighed anchor and
proceeded to head off the Wairuna. A prize crew was put on board with
orders to bring the ship under the lee of the island and anchor. All the
officers, except the master, were sent on board the Wolf. The following
day possibly a thousand tons of cargo were transferred.
CAPTURE OF THE MATUNGA
While the two vessels were anchored, the chief officer and second
engineer of the Turritella let themselves over the side of the Wolf with
the intention of swimming ashore. Later, the Wairuna was taken out and
sunk by gunfire, the bombs which had been placed on board having failed
to accomplish their purpose. The next captures were the American
vessels, Winslow, Beluga, and Encore, which were either burned or sunk.
For nearly a week following this the Wolf hove to, sending the seaplane
up several times each day for scouting purposes. Apparently she had
picked up some information by her wireless apparatus and was on the
lookout for a vessel. On the third day the Wolfchen went up three times,
and, on returning from its last flight, dropped lights. Early the next
morning none of the prisoners was allowed on deck. A gun was fired by
the Wolf, and it was afterward found that it was to stop the British
steamer Matunga, with general cargo and passengers, including a number
of military officers and men.
BETRAYED BY WIRELESS
It was on the morning of Aug. 5, when the Matunga was nearing the coast
of the territory formerly known as German New Guinea, that she fell in
with the Wolf, which was mistaken for an ordinary tramp steamer, as the
two vessels ran parallel to each other for about two miles. Then the
Wolf suddenly revealed her true character by running up the German flag,
dropping a portion of her forward bulwarks, exposing the muzzles of her
guns, and firing a shot across the bows of the Matunga. At the same time
the Wolf sent a seaplane to circle over the Matunga at a low altitude
for the obvious purpose of ascertaining whether the latter was armed.
Apparently satisfied with the seaplane's report, the German Captain sent
a prize crew, armed with bayonets and pistols, to take possession of the
British ship. Before their arrival, however, all the Matunga's code
books, log books, and other papers were thrown overboard. During the
time the prize crew, all of whom spoke English well, were overhauling
the Matunga, it was learned that the Germans had been lying in wait for
her for five days, as they had somehow learned that she was carrying 500
tons of coal, which they needed badly, and that the German wireless
operator had been following her course from the time of her departure
from Sydney toward the end of July.
The two ships, now both under German command, proceeded together to a
very secluded natural harbor on the north coast of Dutch New Guinea, the
entrance to which was watched by two German guard boats, while a
wireless plant was set up on a neighboring hill and the Wolf's seaplane
patrolled the sea around for about 100 miles on the lookout for any
threatened danger. The two ships remained in the Dutch harbor for nearly
a fortnight, during which time the Wolf was careened and her hull
scraped of barnacles and weeds in the most thorough and methodical
manner, after which the coal was transferred from the Matunga's bunkers.
The latter vessel was then taken ten miles out to sea, where everything
lying loose was thrown into the hold and the hatches battened down to
obviate the possibility of any floating wreckage remaining after she was
sunk. Bombs were then placed on board and exploded, and the Matunga went
down in five or six minutes without leaving a trace.
Before the Matunga was sunk all her crew and passengers were transferred
to the Wolf, which then pursued a zigzag course across the Pacific Ocean
and through the China Sea to the vicinity of Singapore, where she sowed
her last remaining mines. According to stories told by the crew, they
had sown most of their mines off Cape Town, Bombay, Colombo, the
Australian coast, and in the Tasman Sea, between Australia and New
Zealand. They also boasted that on one occasion, when off the coast of
New South Wales, their seaplane made an early morning expedition over
Sydney Harbor (the headquarters of the British Navy in the Pacific) and
noted the disposition of the shipping in that port. They also claimed
that the seaplane was the means of saving the Wolf from capture off the
Australian coast on one occasion, when she was successful in sighting a
warship in sufficient time to enable the Wolf to make good her escape.
A week or more was spent by the Wolf in the China Sea and off Singapore,
whence she worked her way to the Indian Ocean for the supposed purpose
of picking up wireless instructions from Berlin and Constantinople.
[Illustration: An American regiment marching through a French village
(_American Official Photograph_)]
[Illustration: American troops, with full equipment, on parade in London
(© _Western Newspaper Union_)]
[Illustration: A French château shelled by the Germans after they had
been driven from the village by Canadians
(© _Western Newspaper Union_)]
On Sept. 26, while still dodging about in the Indian Ocean, the Wolf
met and captured a Japanese ship, the Hitachi-maru, with thirty
passengers, a crew of about 100, and a valuable cargo of silk, copper,
rubber, and other goods, for Colombo. During the previous day the
Germans had been boasting that they were about to take a big prize, and
it afterward transpired that they based their anticipations on the terms
of a wireless message which they had intercepted on that day. When first
called upon by signal to stop, the Japanese commander took no notice of
the order, and held on his way even after a shot had been fired across
his ship's bow. Thereupon the Wolf deliberately shelled her, destroying
the wireless apparatus, which had been sending out S O S signals, and
killing several members of the crew. While the shelling was going on, a
rush was made by the Japanese to lower the boats, and a number of both
crew and passengers jumped into the sea to escape the gunfire. The
Germans afterward admitted to the slaughter of fifteen, but the Matunga
people assert that the death roll must have been much heavier. The
steamer's funnels were shot away, the poop was riddled with shot, and
the decks were like a shambles. All this time the Wolf's seaplane
hovered over the Japanese ship ready to drop bombs upon her and sink her
in the event of any hostile ship coming in sight.
After transferring the passengers and crew and as much of the cargo as
they could conveniently remove from the Hitachi-maru to the Wolf, her
decks were cleared of the wreckage their gunfire had caused, and a prize
crew was put in charge of her with a view of taking her to Germany. Some
weeks later, however, that intention was abandoned for reasons known
only to the Germans themselves, and on Nov. 5 the Hitachi-maru was sunk.
IGOTZ MENDI TAKEN
The Wolf then proceeded on her voyage, and on Nov. 10 captured the
Spanish steamship Igotz Mendi, with a cargo of 5,500 tons of coal, of
which the Wolf was in sore need. The raider returned with this steamer
to the island off which the Hitachi-maru had been sunk, and one evening
all the married people, a few neutrals and others, and some sick men
were transferred from the Wolf to the Igotz Mendi. The raider took
aboard a large quantity of coal, and, after the Spanish vessel had been
painted gray, the two vessels parted company. The Wolf reappeared on
several occasions and reported that she had captured and sunk the
American sailing vessel John H. Kirby and the French sailing vessel
Maréchal Davout. On Boxing Day the Wolf attempted to coal from the Igotz
Mendi in mid-Atlantic, but, owing to a heavy swell, the vessels bumped
badly. It was afterward stated that the Wolf had been so badly damaged
that she was making water.
A few days later two large steamships were sighted, and both the Wolf
and the Igotz Mendi hastily made preparations to escape. The officers
and crew changed their clothes to ordinary seamen's attire, packed up
their kitbags, and sent all the prisoners below.
Among the latter was the first officer of the Spanish ship, who saw a
German lay a number of bombs between the decks of the Igotz Mendi ready
to be exploded if it became necessary to sink that ship with all her
prisoners while the Wolf looked after her own safety. These bombs were
temporarily left in the charge of the German wireless operator to whom
the Spanish officer found an opportunity of communicating a message to
the effect that he was wanted immediately on the bridge. The ruse was
successful, for the operator promptly obeyed the instruction, and in his
temporary absence all the bombs were thrown overboard. The German
commander, Lieutenant Rose, was furious. He held an investigation next
day and asked each prisoner if he knew anything about the bombs. When
the Spanish Chief Officer's turn came he answered:
"Yes; I threw them overboard. I'll tell you why. It was not for me,
Captain Rose, but for the women and little children. I am not afraid of
you. You can shoot me if you want to, but you can't drown the little
children."
Rose confined him to his room, and the next time the Igotz Mendi met the
Wolf, Commander Nerger sentenced him to three years in a German military
prison.
Coaling having finished, the vessels proceeded north in company. During
the first week of January the Wolf sank the Norwegian bark Storkbror, on
the ground that the vessel had been British-owned before the war. This
was the Wolf's last prize. The last time the two raiders were together
was on Feb. 6, when the Wolf was supplied with coal and other
requirements from the Igotz Mendi. Thereafter, each pursued her own
course to Germany.
RAIDER MEETS DISASTER
About Feb. 7 the Igotz Mendi crossed the Arctic Circle, and,
encountering much ice, was forced back. Two attempts were made at the
Northern Passage, but as the ship was bumping badly against the ice
floes a course was shaped between Iceland and the Faroes for the
Norwegian coast. On the night of the 18th a wireless from Berlin
announced that the Wolf had arrived safely. At 3:30 P. M. on Feb. 24 the
Igotz Mendi ran aground near the Skaw, having mistaken the lighthouse
for the lightship in the foggy weather. Three hours later a boat came
off from the shore. The Igotz Mendi was boarded at 8 o'clock by the
commander of a Danish gunboat, who discovered the true character of the
ship, which the Germans were endeavoring to conceal.
Next day twenty-two persons, including nine women, two children, and two
Americans, were landed in lifeboats and were cared for by the British
Consul. Many of them had suffered from inadequate nourishment in the
last five weeks. There had been an epidemic of beri-beri and scurvy on
board the vessel.
The Danish authorities interned the German commander of the Igotz Mendi.
The German prize crew refused to leave the ship.
The Berlin authorities on Feb. 25, 1918, issued an official announcement
containing these statements:
The auxiliary cruiser Wolf has returned home after fifteen months in
the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans. The Kaiser has telegraphed
his welcome to the commander and conferred the Order Pour le Mérite,
together with a number of iron crosses, on the officers and crew.
The Wolf was commanded by Frigate Captain Nerger and inflicted the
greatest damage on the enemy's shipping by the destruction of cargo
space and cargo. She brought home more than four hundred members of
crews of sunken ships of various nationalities, especially numerous
colored and white British soldiers, besides several guns captured
from armed steamers and great quantities of valuable raw materials,
including rubber, copper, brass, zinc, cocoa beans, copra, &c., to
the value of many million marks.
Career and Fate of the Raider Seeadler
A German Adventure in the Pacific
_Fitted out as a motor schooner under command of Count von Luckner, with
a crew of sixty-eight men, half of whom spoke Norwegian, the German
commerce raider Seeadler (Sea Eagle) slipped out from Bremerhaven in
December, 1916, encountered a British cruiser, passed inspection, and
later proceeded, with the aid of two four-inch guns that had been hidden
under a cargo of lumber, to capture and destroy thirteen merchant
vessels in the Atlantic before rounding the Horn into the Pacific and
there sinking three American schooners before meeting a picturesque fate
in the South Sea Islands. The narrative of the Seeadler's career as here
told by CURRENT HISTORY MAGAZINE is believed to be the most complete yet
published._
On Christmas Day, 1916, the British patrol vessel Highland Scot met and
hailed a sailing vessel which declared itself without ceremony to be the
three-masted Norwegian schooner Irma, bound from Christiania to Sydney
with a cargo of lumber. As nothing was more natural, the vessel was
allowed to pass, and soon disappeared on the horizon.
A few days later, in the Atlantic, running before a northerly gale, this
neat-looking, long-distance freighter threw its deck load of planks
and beams into the ocean, brought from their hiding places two four-inch
guns, six machine guns, two gasoline launches, and a motor powerful
enough to propel the vessel without the use of sails on occasion. Then a
wireless dispatch sent in cipher from aerials concealed in the rigging
announced that the German raider Seeadler was ready for business. On the
bow the legend, "Irma, Christiania," and at the masthead the flag of
Norway remained to lure the raider's victims to destruction.
The Seeadler had formerly been the American ship Pass of Balmaha, 2,800
tons, belonging to the Boston Lumber Company. In August, 1915, while on
its way from New York to Archangel, it was captured by a German's
submarine and sent to Bremen, where it was fitted out as a raider. Under
the name of the Seeadler it left Bremerhaven on Dec. 21, 1916, in
company with the Möwe, ran the British blockade by the ruse indicated
above, and began its career of destruction on two oceans. While the Möwe
waylaid its twenty-two victims along the African coast, the Seeadler
turned southwest and preyed on South American trade.
One by one the Seeadler sent to the bottom the British ships Gladis
Royle, Lady Island, British Yeoman, Pinmore, Perse, Horngarth; the
French vessels Dupleix, Antonin, La Rochefoucauld, Charles Gounod, and
the Italian ship Buenos Aires. On March 7, 1917, it encountered the
French bark Cambronne two-thirds of the way between Rio de Janeiro and
the African coast and forced it to take on board 277 men from the crews
of the eleven vessels previously captured. The Cambronne was compelled
to carry these to Rio de Janeiro, where it landed them on March 20, thus
first revealing the work of the Seeadler to the world. On March 22 the
German Government announced the safe completion of the second voyage of
the Möwe. (See CURRENT HISTORY MAGAZINE for May, 1917, p. 298.)
Having thus ended its operations in the Atlantic, the Seeadler rounded
Cape Horn with the intention of scouring the Pacific. In June it
sank two American schooners in that ocean, the A. B. Johnson and R. C.
Slade, adding another, the Manila, on July 8, and making prisoners of
all the crews. Captain Smith of the Slade afterward told the story of
his experiences. His ship had been attacked on June 17, and he had at
first tried to escape by outsailing the raider; but after the ninth
shell dropped near his ship he surrendered. He continued:
They took all our men aboard the raider except the cook. Next
morning I went back on board with all my men and packed up. We left
the ship with our belongings June 18. We were put on board the
raider again. Shortly after I saw from the raider that they cut
holes in the masts and placed dynamite bombs in each mast, and put
fire to both ends of the ship and left her. I saw the masts go over
the side and the ship was burning from end to end, and the raider
steamed away.
After six months of hard life at sea the raider was in need of repairs
and the crew longed for a rest on solid land. Casting about for an
island sufficiently isolated for his purpose, the Captain, Count von
Luckner, decided upon the French atoll of Mopeha, 265 miles west of
Tahiti; he believed the little island to be uninhabited. The Seeadler
dropped anchor near its jagged coral reefs July 31, 1917. On Aug. 1
Captain von Luckner took possession of the islet and raised the German
flag over what he called the Kaiser's last colony. But the next day,
during a picnic which he had organized "to entertain his crew and
prisoners," leaving only a few men on board the Seeadler, a heavy swell
dropped the ship across an uncharted blade of the reef, breaking the
vessel's back. The Germans were prisoners themselves on their own
conquered islet!
Von Luckner had been incorrect in believing the island entirely
uninhabited. Three Tahitians lived there to make copra (dried cocoanut)
and to raise pigs and chickens for the firm of Grand, Miller & Co. of
Papeete; this firm was shortly to send a vessel to take away its
employes, a fact which the Germans learned with mixed emotions.
They brought ashore everything they could from their wrecked ship,
including planks and beams, of which they constructed barracks; also
provisions, machine guns, and wireless apparatus. The heavy guns were
put out of commission--likewise the ship's motor. The wireless plant, a
very powerful one, was set up between two cocoanut trees. It was
equipped with sending and receiving apparatus, and without difficulty
its operator could hear Pago-Pago, Tahiti, and Honolulu.
On Aug. 23 Count von Luckner and five men set out in an armed motor
sloop for the Cook Islands, which they reached in seven days. There they
succeeded in deceiving the local authorities, but a few days later they
and their boat were captured in the Fiji Islands by the local
constabulary and handed over to the British authorities. Thus ended the
Captain's hope of seizing an American ship and returning to Mopeha for
his crew.
On Sept. 5 the French schooner Lutece from Papeete arrived at Mopeha to
get the three Tahitians and their crops. First Lieutenant Kling took a
motor boat and a machine gun and captured the schooner, which had a
large cargo of flour, salmon, and beef, with a supply of fresh water.
Kling and the rest of the Germans, after dismantling the wireless, left
the island that night, abandoning forty-eight prisoners, including the
Americans, the crew of the Lutece, and four natives. Before going they
destroyed what they could not take with them, cut down many trees to get
the cocoanuts more easily, and left to the prisoners very scant
provisions, and bad at that. The few cocoanuts that remained were
largely destroyed by the great number of rats on the island. There was
plenty of fish and turtles.
After the flight of the Germans the French flag was hoisted on the
island and the twentieth-century Robinson Crusoes organized themselves
under Captain Southard of the Manila and M. Fain, one of the owners of
the Lutece. The camp was rebuilt, the supplies rationed out, the
catching of fish and turtles arranged, and the question of going in
search of help discussed. On Sept. 8 Pedro Miller, one of the owners of
the Lutece, set sail in an open boat with Captains Southard and Porutu,
a mate, Captain Williams, and three sailors, hoping to reach the Island
of Maupiti, eighty-five miles to the east; but after struggling eight
days against head winds and a high sea he returned to Mopeha with his
exhausted companions. Two days later, Sept. 19, Captain Smith of the
Slade, with two mates and a sailor, left the island in a leaky whaleboat
dubbed the Deliverer of Mopeha and shaped their course toward the west;
in ten days they covered 1,080 miles and landed at Tutuila, one of the
Samoan Islands, where the American authorities informed Tahiti by
wireless of the serious plight of the men marooned on Mopeha. The
British Governor at Apia--Robert Louis Stevenson's last home--also
offered to send a relief ship; but the Governor of the French
Establishments of Oceania, declining this offer with thanks, dispatched
the French schooner Tiare-Taporo from Papeete on Oct. 4.
Two days later the relief expedition sighted Mopeha by means of a column
of smoke that rose from the island, for the Robinson Crusoes had
organized a permanent signal system to attract the attention of passing
vessels. The arrival of the rescuers was greeted with frantic
acclamations. By evening the last boatload of refugees was aboard the
Tiare-Taporo, and on the morning of Oct. 10 the schooner reached
Papeete, where the prisoners at last were free.
The fate of the Lutece with the main body of the Seeadler's crew was
indicated, though not fully explained, by a cable dispatch from
Valparaiso, Chile, March 5, 1918, stating that the Chilean schooner
Falcon had arrived there from the Easter Islands with fifty-eight
sailors formerly belonging to the crew of the Seeadler. The sailors were
interned by the Chilean Government. Count Felix von Luckner, commander
of the Seeadler, who, with five of his men, had been captured by the
local constabulary of the Fiji Islands, was interned by the British in a
camp near Auckland, New Zealand. In December he and other interned
Germans escaped to sea in an open boat and traveled nearly 500 miles,
suffering from lack of food and water, but were recaptured after a two
weeks' chase.
Treatment of British Prisoners
Shocking Brutalities in German War Prisons Revealed in an Official
Report
A report issued by an official British Investigating Committee, known as
the Justice Younger Committee, appointed to investigate the treatment of
British soldiers by their German captors, made public in April, 1918,
presents a shocking record of barbarities. The commission reported as
follows:
There is now no doubt in the minds of the committee that as early,
at the latest, as the month of August, 1916, the German Command were
systematically employing their British as well as other prisoners in
forced labor close behind the western firing line, thereby
deliberately exposing them to the fire of the guns of their own and
allied armies. This fact has never been acknowledged by the German
Government. On the contrary, it has always been studiously
concealed. But that the Germans are chargeable, even from that early
date, with inflicting the physical cruelty and the mental torture
inherent in such a practice can no longer be doubted.
Characteristically the excuse put forward was that this treatment,
not apparently suggested to be otherwise defensible, was forced upon
the German Command as a reprisal for what was asserted to be the
fact, namely, that German prisoners in British hands had at some
time or other been kept less than thirty kilometers (how much less
does not appear) behind the British firing line in France. This
statement was quite unfounded.
Furthermore, at the end of April, 1917, an agreement was definitely
concluded between the British and German Governments that prisoners
of war should not on either side be employed within thirty
kilometers of the firing line. Nevertheless, the German Command
continued without intermission so to employ their British prisoners,
under the inhuman conditions stated in the report. And that
certainly until the end of 1917--it may be even until now--although
it has never even been suggested by the German authorities, so far
as the committee are aware, that the thirty kilometers limit agreed
upon has not been scrupulously observed by the British Command in
the letter as well as in the spirit.
"Prisoners of Respite"
The German excuse is embodied in different official documents, some
of which enter into detailed descriptions of the reprisals alleged
to be in contemplation because of it. These descriptions are in
substantial accord with treatment which the committee, from the
information in their possession, now know to have been in regular
operation for months before either the threat or the so-called
excuse for it, and to have continued in regular operation after the
solemn promise of April that it should cease. These documents
definitely commit the German Command to at least a threatened
course of conduct for which the committee would have been slow to
fix them with conscious responsibility. Incidentally they
corroborate in advance the accuracy, in its incidents, of the
information, appalling as it is, which has independently reached
the committee from so many sides.
As a typical example, the committee set forth a transcript in
German-English of one of these pronouncements, of which extensive
use was made. It is a notice, entitled, "Conditions of Respite to
German Prisoners." As here given, it was handed to a British
noncommissioned officer to read out, and it was read out to his
fellow-prisoners at Lille on April 15, 1917:
Upon the German request to withdraw the German prisoners of war to
a distance of not less than thirty kilometers from the front line,
the British Government has not replied; therefore it has been
decided that all prisoners of war who are captured in future will
be kept as prisoners of respite. Very short of food, bad lighting,
bad lodgings, no beds, and hard work beside the German guns, under
heavy shellfire. No pay, no soap for washing or shaving, no towels
or boots, &c. The English prisoners of respite are all to write to
their relations or persons of influence in England how badly they
are treated, and that no alteration in the ill-treatment will occur
until the English Government has consented to the German request;
it is therefore in the interest of all English prisoners of respite
to do their best to enable the German Government to remove all
English prisoners of respite to camps in Germany, where they will
be properly treated, with good food, good clothing, and you will
succeed by writing as mentioned above, and then surely the English
Government will consent to Germany's request, for the sake of their
own countrymen. You will be supplied with postcard, note paper, and
envelope, and all this correspondence in which you will explain
your hardships will be sent as express mail to England.
Starved to Death
It seems that the prisoners, from as early as August, 1916, were
kept in large numbers at certain places in the west--Cambrai and
Lille are frequently referred to in the evidence--but in smaller
numbers they were placed all along the line. Their normal work was
making roads, repairing railways, constructing light railways,
digging trenches, erecting wire entanglements, making gun-pits,
loading ammunition, filling munition wagons, carrying trench
mortars, and doing general fatigue work, which under the pain of
death the noncommissioned officers were compelled to supervise.
This work was not only forbidden by the laws of war, it was also
excessively hard. In many cases it lasted from eight to nine hours a
day, with long walks to and fro, sometimes of ten kilometers in each
direction, and for long periods was carried on within range of the
shellfire of the allied armies. One witness was for nine months kept
at work within the range of British guns; another for many months;
others for shorter periods. Many were killed by these guns; more
were wounded; deaths from starvation and overwork were constant. One
instance of the allied shellfire may be given. In May, 1917, a
British or French shell burst among a number of British and French
prisoners working behind the lines in Belgium. Seven were killed;
four were wounded.
But there is much more to tell. The men were half starved. Two
instances are given in the evidence of men who weighed 180 pounds
when captured. One was sent back from the firing line too weak to
walk, weighing only 112 pounds; the other escaped to the British
lines weighing no more. Another man lost twenty-eight pounds in six
weeks. Parcels did not reach these prisoners. In consequence they
were famished. Such was their hunger, indeed, that we hear of them
picking up for food potato peelings that had been trampled under
foot. One instance is given of an Australian private who, starving,
had fallen out to pick up a piece of bread left on the roadside by
Belgian women for the prisoners. He was shot and killed by the guard
for so doing.
Some Merciful Guards
It was considered, so it would seem, to be no less than a stroke of
luck for prisoners to chance upon guards who were more merciful. For
instance, one of them speaking of food at Cambrai says:
If it had not been for the French civilians giving us food as we
went along the roads to and from work we should most certainly have
starved. If the sentries saw us make a movement out of the ranks to
get food they would immediately make a jab at us with their rifles,
but conditions here were not so bad as at Moretz, where if a man
stepped out of the ranks he was immediately shot. I heard about
this from men who had themselves been working at Moretz, and had
with their own eyes seen comrades of theirs shot for moving from
the ranks.
At Ervillers in February, 1917, a prisoner's allowance for the day
consisted of a quarter of a loaf of German black bread, (about a
quarter of a pound,) with coffee in the morning; then soup at
midday, and at 4:30 coffee again, without sugar or milk. On this a
man had to carry on heavy work for over nine hours. The ration of
the German soldier at the same time and place consisted of a whole
loaf of bread per day, good, thick soup, with beans and meat in it,
coffee, jam, and sugar; two cigars and three cigarettes. The food
conditions at Marquion a little later are thus described:
We used to beg the sentries to allow us to pick stinging nettles
and dandelions to eat, we were so hungry; in fact, we were always
hungry, and I should say we were semi-starved all the time. While
we were here our Sergeants put in for more rations, but the answer
they got was that we were prisoners of war now "and had no rights
of any kind; that the Germans could work us right up behind their
front lines if they liked, and put us on half the rations we were
then getting."
Flogged with Dog Whip
The ration was coffee and a slice of bread at 4:45 A. M., soup of
barley and horseflesh at 2 P. M., eight pounds of barley and ten
pounds of meat between 240 men. And they were compelled to work hard
for eight or nine hours a day on this diet. The frequent cruelty of
the guards generally is a matter constantly referred to:
The German Sergeant in charge at Ervillers (says one prisoner) was
very harsh. Twice I saw him (this prisoner was there for a month
only) using a dog whip, and heard of him doing so on another
occasion. He used it mostly on men who were slow in getting out to
work owing to weakness.
The description by a body of these men on their arrival at a camp in
Germany, after being withdrawn from the front, may be taken as
another example of this:
We were forced to work; we were given hardly any food, and when we
fell down from sheer exhaustion we were kicked until we got up
again, and it was not until we absolutely could not get about that
we were sent back.
To add to their miseries, the accommodation provided for these
prisoners was in many cases pathetically inadequate. The witnesses
recur to this again and again. One sleeping place, for instance, for
a large party was a barn with no roof. The rain poured in upon the
men. They had to sleep in their wet clothes and work in the same
clothes. They had no change of any kind. And some of these
prisoners, if they survived so long, were kept behind these enemy
lines for over a year. Their quarters at Cambrai are thus described
by two of the men:
our uniforms, without either greatcoats or blankets. There was no
fire, and it was very cold. We lay on loose straw, which was full
of vermin, and we consequently became verminous. We could only
wash in a bucket of cold water, without either soap or towels.
The Germans did not supply us with any clothing, and as we had to
work in all weathers, conditions were very hard. Our clothes used
to get drenched through, but still we had to go back to barracks
and sleep in them. It was terribly cold also, especially without
our fur coats. We asked for clothing, but never got any.
No Parcels or Letters
But, added to all these hardships, it was the total absence of
parcels and the fact that letters or communications from their
friends rarely reached them that placed these prisoners, for misery,
in a class apart. Instances are on record where the very existence
of some of them was undisclosed by their captors for many months. In
March, 1917, for example, a body of these prisoners who had been
captured as long before as August, 1916, and had been kept at work
by the Germans behind their lines ever since, were returned to a
parent camp in Germany weak and emaciated. On arrival there they
found a number of their own names in the lists of missing men that
had been sent from our War Office through Switzerland and posted in
the camp. * * *
It seems almost incredible, but the committee do not doubt it to be
the fact, that as late as November, 1917, there were at
Limburg-am-Lahn undelivered between 18,000 and 20,000 parcels for
British prisoners on the German western front. In July, 1917, the
German delegates at The Hague plainly recognized that no distinction
in respect of the receipt of parcels could be properly made between
prisoners of war in occupied territories and others. The agreement
then concluded contains provisions on that subject. Having regard to
the condition of things at Limburg as late as November, 1917, the
committee can only regret that the effect of that agreement was
certainly at that date not so manifest as it ought to have been. The
matter, they add, is of tragic importance to the prisoners
concerned. It made and makes just the difference between starvation
and existence to the unfortunate sufferers.
Extracts from Evidence
The committee extract from the great mass of evidence now in their
possession statements as to the impression produced upon those who
actually saw our men upon their escape to the British lines or after
their transfer to camps in Germany. These statements, they believe,
must convince every impartial mind that it is impossible in terms of
exaggeration to describe the sufferings these prisoners had
undergone.
In April, 1917, three of them escaped over "No Man's Land." They
were received by a British General Staff officer, a Major in the 1st
Anzac Corps. This is what he says of them, under date April 18,
1917:
Three men escaped from behind the German lines to us the other day.
They had been prisoners three months, and were literally nearly dead
with ill-treatment and starvation. One of them could hardly walk,
and was just a skeleton. He had gone down from 182 pounds to less
than 112 pounds in three months. I fetched him back from the line,
and it almost made me cry. All that awful January and February out
all day in the wet and cold; no overcoat, and at night no blanket,
in a shelter where the clothes froze stiff on him; no change of
underclothing in three months, and he was one mass of vermin, no
chance of washing. The bodies of all of them were covered with
sores. "Beaten and starved," one of them said, "sooner than go
through it again I'd just put my head under the first railway."
The following is the substance of statements by two witnesses from a
German camp:
About June, 1917, a party of about twenty English soldiers came in
who had been working behind the German lines on the western front. I
became friends with one of them. He was so weak that I have several
times seen him faint on parade. Another of them told me that he was
one of a party of 100 working behind the lines on the western front
digging trenches and carrying up supplies. He said they were all
very badly treated and starved. They were knocked about by the
Germans if they did not march as fast as they wanted them to,
although they were all so weak. He was only sent to Germany when he
became so weak as to be useless for work. When I left he did not
look as if he could lift a shovelful of sand. There was another whom
I knew. He had also been working behind the lines. They had to work
in clogs and no socks. He said they used to tie rags round their
feet. He was employed on road making. I never could have believed
the things I was told but for the terrible state the men were in,
which caused me to feel that no horror I was told was impossible.
Many were brought into the camp who had returned from working behind
the lines; they were in a shocking state, literally skin and bones,
hardly able to walk, and quite worn out physically and mentally;
their clothes threadbare and in rags, without boots, wearing old rag
slippers. They told me that the conditions of work behind the lines,
where some of them had been for months, were terrible; they had to
work eight hours a day, and generally were made to walk ten
kilometers out to their work, and the only food they were given was
one cup of coffee, a slice of bread, and some soup a day--a day's
ration.
"Shot at Sight"
From another camp comes the following testimony:
In May of this year a large party of British came into the camp, who
had returned from behind the German lines. They were ravenous
through being starved, and half savages. I spoke to several of them.
* * * Men were shot at sight for a slight cause, such as dropping
out to get bread from Belgian civilians. The state in which they
returned was the worst sight I have seen in my life. Their clothes
were ragged, they were half shaven, verminous, suffering from skin
diseases, and were half savage with hunger and bad treatment. After
their arrival the commandant in the camp issued an order (which I
saw) that no more of these parties should be taken through the main
street of the town, but should go by the byways on account of the
feeling that had been caused among the population. I am told that
the population showed a great deal of sympathy, tears, &c.
About May 1, 1917, about 300 prisoners of all nationalities were
brought from behind the western lines. I spoke to those who came
into the lazaret. All were starving, and had been kept there until
they collapsed from overwork. Fifteen Russians died as soon as they
were brought in. One man told me that on a march of eleven
kilometers a man fell out ill, the guard gave him so many minutes to
fall in again, and told him he would shoot him if he was not up by
then; he could not go on, and the guard shot him.
From a third camp:
I knew two of our men who had been working behind the German lines
in the west for five months. One was 29 years old, the other 25. The
first weighed 180 pounds when captured. He left the firing line too
weak to walk, and weighed 110 pounds. He was badly treated and
knocked about. When I saw him in camp he was black and blue. The
other man had the same treatment. They were both starved, and both
were gray-headed with the five months' treatment. These men said our
men were dying there every day through hardship and exposure. The
food behind the lines was about half the camp rations.
"Worked to the Bone"
From a fourth camp:
In September, 1917, seventy-five noncommissioned officers, who had
been behind the lines, were brought into our camp. They were in a
bad physical condition, hungry, lousy, and worked out. One month
after, a large body, all privates from behind the lines, captured
since May, came in. They were in a terrible condition, famished
beyond words. They had been worked to the bone, and were in a filthy
condition. They made our camp lousy. The camp doctor said they were
the worst cases he had seen, and said they could stay in bed for a
week. They were so famished that two died of eating the food we gave
them. They had been working on the Hindenburg line, and the railway
Cambrai to Lille, and repairing it under fire. They said they were
on very small rations and compelled to work. They told us that
Frenchwomen who out of compassion gave them any trifling gift of
fruit were knocked down by the sentries.
From the same camp:
I spoke to men who had been kept at work behind the German lines on
the western front. The majority of these were there about twelve
months, and they came into camp about the end of November or the
beginning of December, 1917. They told me that they had been
employed close up to the lines. They had been employed cutting
trees, and had been under our own shellfire. They were half starved
and in a terrible condition. On one occasion about 300 came in,
about forty of whom had British clothes, the rest being dressed in
odds and ends of French and German clothing--in fact, anything they
could get hold of. We collected bread for them and cut it up in
readiness for their arrival so as to save all possible time, but
their hunger was so great they could not help raiding us and
fighting for it. It was terrible to see them. I do not think many of
them had been wounded, but their condition was so terrible that I
cannot describe it.
They were absolutely the worst bunch of men I had ever seen. They
were terribly thin and weak, and fell down as soon as they started
to eat, as they were in an absolutely exhausted state. Their
underclothing was in a dreadful state, and they were covered with
vermin, and had been like that for about twelve months. This is the
party which I mentioned as coming to the camp about the end of
November or the beginning of December, 1917. About a fortnight after
their arrival, and after their clothes had been fumigated and they
had baths two or three times a week, they picked up wonderfully.
From a fifth camp:
In March, 1917, I saw fifty English prisoners come in to camp who
had been working behind the lines near Cambrai digging trenches;
they had been there three or four months. All of them were in a
shocking condition, absolutely starved, with boils and sores all
over them. We used to share our parcels with these men. During the
whole time I was in camp--that is, up to December last--men were
drifting in who had been working behind the lines on the western
front; they always arrived in the same shocking condition. I
remember particularly one, in November, 1917, coming back from
Cambrai district. He was very bad and starved; he told me they had
been very badly treated; all huddled together in barns, no sanitary
arrangements, no blankets, and he said he had seen a native woman
shot for giving them food; that they were well within range of guns,
and within six kilometers of the lines, shells frequently falling
about them, and that he had seen many of his own comrades wounded
while working, that they were knocked about by their guards, and,
generally, his account of their treatment was appalling. To my
knowledge from conversation with them, men were coming in who had
been working close up behind the lines right down to the time I left
Germany in December, 1917.
From an army Chaplain:
On Feb. 16, 1917, there arrived in Minden Hospital sixteen men who
had been working behind the western front, attached to Camp E.K. 5.
The thermometer registered 10 degrees, Fahrenheit, below zero. They
had walked seven kilometers from the station. Their clothing
consisted of tunic, trousers, and thin shirt, boots and socks, and
an old hat--no coat and no underclothes. They had been two days and
two nights in the cold train with very little to eat. * * * Two of
these men died later of consumption in Minden. They had all been
captured in November (this was February) and their relatives did not
know that they were even alive. These men report, too, that they are
brutally treated; human life is not worth so much as horseflesh,
because the latter can be eaten. They are worked until they either
die or so completely collapse that they are useless. I believe this
was the first party that arrived from the western front. I had the
names of the men in a notebook, but it was taken from me. They said
it was nothing to wake up in the morning and find the man sleeping
beside you dead. I got the names of several who had died, and wrote
to their people to inform them.
Lives Made Unbearable
The committee close these statements with the following striking
extract from the evidence of a young wounded British officer who was
placed in a ward in a German hospital in France, filled with
prisoners of all nationalities:
The German in charge of the ward was a
university professor, and, seeing several of our men, also Russians
and Rumanians, come on to the hospital in an emaciated condition, I
asked him the cause, and where they came from, when, without giving
me details, he told me they came from working camps behind the
lines. There, he said, the conditions were frightful, so much so
that he himself was ashamed of them--the men were overworked, under
shellfire, very much underfed, had not much clothing, and slept in
sheds and shelters in the snow under filthy conditions. I
ascertained from him and from some of our own men that many died
behind the lines; all were thoroughly ill-treated by the Germans,
and the lives of those who did not die were made quite unbearable.
I am sure the German who informed me had no personal grounds which
made him complain against the system, it was merely on humanitarian
grounds that he told me he was shocked; and the independent stories
I received from our own soldiers simply bore out the fact that the
Germans were ill-treating their prisoners behind the lines at this
time. While I was in hospital the German I have mentioned above did
his best to get the men from the hospital marked unfit for work
behind the lines; and I must in fairness add that as a result very
few, if any, went back to work there once they had been sent to
hospital, and they seemed to be marked for camps in Germany
instead.
The report concludes: "The committee in their survey of the evidence
dealt with in this report have failed to find a trace even of lip
service either to the obligations so solemnly undertaken by the
German Government in time of peace for regulating their conduct in
time of war or to these principles from their War Book which that
Government professed as their own. Further comment appears to the
committee to be superfluous. The facts speak for themselves."
American Prisoners Exploited
_A correspondent sent the following from The Hague, April 20, 1918,
regarding the German treatment of American prisoners:_
From irrefutable evidence obtained by your correspondent, it is
impossible to close one's eyes to what is going on in the hospitals and
prisoners' camps in Germany. It is a mistake to believe that the
treatment of prisoners and wounded in Germany has improved. On the
contrary, it is as bad as it ever was, even worse.
The punishments inflicted are cruel and inhuman. As is well known,
prisoners are absolutely dependent upon parcels for food and clothing. A
favorite punishment is to withhold these from a whole camp or from large
bodies of prisoners. It has been established beyond doubt that prisoners
are employed behind the front and are under shellfire, in defiance of
The Hague agreement of 1917.
Some prisoners never reach a camp in Germany for six months, meanwhile
receiving no parcels of food. Their condition on arrival at camp, broken
down and starving, is pitiable.
The evidence doesn't tend to show that American prisoners are receiving
any preferential treatment. It is reported that the first American
prisoners taken were hawked about the country, presumably to show them
off to the populace. At Giessen, where, it would seem, American
prisoners were kept on two separate occasions, they were prohibited any
intercourse, even by sign language, with other prisoners and were not
allowed to receive parcels or gifts from them.
British prisoners at Giessen asked if they could give parcels to
Americans, and finally received permission to do so the following day.
But the next day the American prisoners were moved away early in the
morning.
British prisoners were able to detect Americans who had been captured
any length of time by their appearance and by the state of their
clothes. Until parcels for them arrived from Berne their state was
deplorable.
A British noncommissioned officer recently obtained the signatures of
the first ten Americans captured and talked with them. These men signed
the scrap of paper in the hope that some news of them would reach the
outside world. They were in poor physical health and somewhat
despondent.
A few recent examples from a large amount of sworn evidence follow:
In February, 1918, 4,000 men were sent from a Westphalian camp to within
thirty kilometers behind the front. Their guards ran away to escape the
British shrapnel fire.
The state of prisoners coming from the big Somme battle in the first
week of the present month was deplorable. Their wounds had not been
dressed in many cases for more than ten days. Owing to the lack of
dressing, British comrades bandaged their wounds with old towels and
shirts.
It was formally announced by the German authorities in Camp Bonn on
April 13 last that two British soldiers, R. and B., had been shot near
Minden for not stopping talking when ordered to do so.
In November, 1917, men were brought into the hospital at M. continually,
having been wounded by shrapnel from behind the lines. Wounded men lay
for three or four weeks unattended and grossly neglected.
Much of the sworn evidence is so repugnant that it could not be
published. There has been talk of reprisals on American prisoners, and
even foreigners born in America are included in these threatened
reprisals.
Total Destruction of Rheims
By G. H. Perris
_With the French Armies, April 20, 1918_
The great fire at Rheims has nearly burned itself out. Having thrown in
a week 50,000 explosive and an unknown number of incendiary and gas
shells, the German gunners ceased as suddenly and inexplicably as they
had begun, and when I entered the city this morning the silence of death
brooded over it.
The written word is powerless to describe such a spectacle, and it is no
more adequate for being unmeasured. But when men of faith, men who love
the old and beautiful, write under the fresh, stunning impression of
such a sight, is it strange that some loose phrases escape them?
I am very familiar with the ruins of Rheims. From the first bombardment,
which destroyed the exquisite sculptures of the north tower and the
façade of the cathedral three and a half years ago, I have been able to
watch the mischief extending step by cruel step. At first, with normal
British reluctance to credit the outrageous or incomprehensible, one was
chiefly concerned to find out whether, after all, there was not some
sort of military excuse. I severely cross-examined every one who could
be supposed to know anything about the matter. There never was any
shadow of excuse.
It remained only to record from time to time the progress of a crime as
deliberate as any in the annals of the war, and in its own kind
particularly damnable--a blackhearted crime such as a Comanche chief or
a Congo cannibal would not have had the wickedness to conceive.
And if there be still any rationalist obstinate enough to ask for the
reason why of this last outburst of vandalism, I can only hazard the
guess that it may have been planned, like the long-distance bombardments
of Paris, as a terroristic accompaniment of the Hindenburg offensive. It
may have been supposed that the tales of the refugees would help to
demoralize Paris and the rest of the country. So little after these
terrible years has the boche learned of the people he set out to
conquer.
Well, the Cathedral of St. Louis is not falling. Wonderful was the work
of the builders. More buttresses, pinnacles, gargoyles, and stone
railings have been shattered, more statues chipped, and rain, entering
freely by a large rent in the roof, has worked invisible damage since my
last visit in November. The cathedral has been struck again. The
uplifted sword of Joan of Arc in the bronze equestrian statue before the
cathedral has been cut in half.
If this were all, we should have after the war at least a worthy
memorial to leave to posterity. It is said that it would now cost a
million sterling to restore the finest Gothic fane in France. I hope
nothing of the kind will be attempted, nothing more, that is, than the
construction of a new roof, new windows, doors, and furnishings, and the
necessary strengthening of the structure.
For as it stands, gashed and discolored, the vast shell has a strange
magnificence and a piteous loveliness like that of some of the broken
splendors that remain to us from the ancient world. Let Rheims speak to
the future generations as the ruins of the Acropolis and the Forum have
spoken to our fathers and us.
But the city itself raises a different and a more difficult problem. It
is now no exaggeration to say that as a whole it is destroyed beyond
hope. Till a fortnight ago large parts of it were not beyond the
possibility of repair. Remember that Rheims was not a small town like
Ypres or Arras, but a wealthy and dignified community of 120,000 souls,
occupying a space equal to one-fifth of that of Paris.
There is now from end to end probably not a single house whose walls are
not more or less broken. The northern and eastern quarters were already
in ruins. Now the centre of the city is gutted. Of the public buildings
the central squares built in the time or after the Counts of Champagne,
the cloth warehouses and workshops, the private residences, bazaars and
shops, nothing stands but rows of smoking walls, half buried in fallen
rafters and masonry.
The Abomination of Desolation
An Episode in France
_Dr. Norman Maclean, an eminent Scottish scholar, whose articles from
the front have appeared in The Scotsman of Edinburgh, penned this
touching picture of the war-devastated Somme region a few days before
the Germans again swept over it in March, 1918:_
They stood side by side on a heap of rubbish inside the door of the
ruined church in the midst of the ruined town--a man and woman garbed in
humble, rusty black. The survivors of the erstwhile population were
being brought back as shelters were prepared and work provided for them;
these had obviously just returned, and had come straight to the church.
When they fled before the flood of death, the church stood scatheless,
built immovably upon the rock of the centuries. It was a shrine of
beauty and a haunt of peace. But as they now stood on the mound of
fallen masonwork inside the west door, what they saw was this--the roof
lying in an undulating ridge piled on the floor, the sacred pictures
torn and tattered; the pillars shattered; the altar buried under a great
mass of débris, and a figure of the Christ, uninjured, looking out
through the broken arches on the dead town, and on the land beyond,
where the white crosses gleam o'er the multitudinous dead.
The man stood motionless, with a face like a mask. But in a moment the
woman shook as if stricken by an ague. She turned and stumbled toward
the doorway, where there is no door, the tears coursing down her cheeks
and a sob in her throat. The man turned and followed her. He took her
hand in his, and they walked away with bowed heads in silence. It is
strange how the human heart is moved. It was the tremulous face of that
black-robed woman, and the lifting of her hands as if to hide the
abomination of desolation from her sight, and the stumbling flight from
a scene intolerable, that made me feel the horror spread before me. For
I saw it with her eyes.
What she saw was infinitely more than what I could see. She had
experienced in her own soul that this was holy ground. In happy days of
childhood heaven seemed to lie here; she had come hither to be received,
in white, into the holy fellowship; hither to be married; hither to
dedicate her children at the sacred font. And when the burden of life
was heavier than could be borne, how often had she come hither; and as
she fell on her knees at the elevation of the Host, the very God seemed
to fold her in the Eternal Embrace, and her troubles fled as morning
mists before the sun.
And when the war came, and the men went forth, and with them her sons,
how often did she come softly to this sanctuary and dip her hand in the
holy water at the door and cross herself, and bow toward the altar, and
kneel and pray that they might be saved. In and out all day they came
then, men and women, and they prayed for their own, and for France, and
their prayers were as the moaning of the winds. * * * And now this!
Nothing is left. Home and town and children and sanctuary are all
overwhelmed in the one flood. And the Christ from the broken pillar
gazes upon a perishing world. It is with her as with those of old, who
fell under the heel of the oppressor and who cried: "Zion is a
wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation; our holy and our beautiful house
where our fathers praised Thee is burned with fire, and all our pleasant
things are laid waste."
There is that in man which enables him to meet every blow of fate with
unblanched face--save one. When the blow is aimed at his soul, then he
shrivels. It was in her soul that this woman was smitten, as she saw the
house of her God thus. And that is why there in the land of death the
churches and cathedrals are all in ruins. To make the altars of Arras
gaze on the clouds and the stars, and make the winds wail through the
colonnades of Rheims, was deemed the surest and swiftest way of
spreading terror and affright. So the devotées of Odin declared war upon
God. For a little while the tribal deity and the belligerent dynast
reign supreme. The homeless and bereft, the great multitude who are as
those standing on the rubble-heap, are verily left with nothing but
their eyes to weep with.
It is amazing how soon one gets assimilated to the most horrifying
environment. In a few days one can walk through a town which has been
turned into heaps without even a shock of wonder, just as at home one
reads the war news and the list of the dead without any realization. In
these days we need to be stung broad awake now and then. A city in ruins
becomes deadly monotonous--until one is wakened.
One day, when the sun broke forth heralding the Spring, the promise of
green on a clump of tangled rose bushes tempted me to turn into the
garden of a shattered villa. It was as thousands of others: the
hearthstones looked upward to the clouds, and the household goods lay
piled tier on tier of rotting lumber as floor fell on floor. In the
centre of the green a shell hole took my eye, and I picked my way toward
it. Out of the earth at the bottom of the hole there obtruded the bones
of a man's arm. In haste, the dead had been thrown into the shell hole
and lightly covered. And the rains had washed so much of the earth away.
And that bone brought the realization that I stood in the midst of one
vast cemetery.
Everywhere and all around under the feet are the nameless dead--men,
women, and little children. These last are the nightmare of this horror.
Formerly nations recovered from war swiftly; the cradles filled up the
gaps. But here the children are dead. To the eye of faith the Star of
the East shines still with splendor over every spot where a babe lies.
But that Star has been extinguished in this region of doom. The altar is
buried, the hearthstone is in the rain, and amid the welter of rubbish
you can see the children's cots twisted and rusting and woeful. A woman
breaking into sobs inside a ruined church door; a body in a shell hole
in a garden, a child's cot rusting on a rubbish heap--these open the
eyes and make them see.
These things did not come by the arbitrament of war. It wasn't shrapnel
and high explosives that wrought the desolation. From the battlements of
the old citadel one can see the dead town lie spread, and the houses hit
by shells are few and far between. The houses destroyed wantonly by the
enemy ere they retreated are easily recognized, for the walls fell
outward by the internal explosions. Ninety-five per cent. have fallen
outward, and the wall of the church is likewise. This ancient sanctuary
was wantonly destroyed by the retreating enemy. What amazes one is the
appalling stupidity of such a crime. If the Germans destroyed the town,
that was their right, the might of the sword, and their act could
perhaps be justified. But to destroy the church is to destroy what even
Attila spared, and so outrage the conscience and instinct of the world.
There is never an excuse to seek when an outrage is perpetrated by the
enemy. A hospital ship is sunk--but, of course, it is carrying
munitions! A church is turned into a ruin, but its towers are used as
observation posts! Poor little towers in a land of airplanes and captive
balloons! If the churches had been spared, as they were spared in the
world's darkest ages, humanity would know that the German soul was still
alive. But now the world knows that it is up against an enemy that
threatens body and soul alike--an enemy that not only kills the body,
but destroys the soul! What an amazing stupidity!--but it is through
such stupidity that God lays up judgment against the day of wrath.
Lloyd George and General Maurice
A Speech in Which the Premier Routed His Enemies and Revealed Some
Inside Facts
A flurry arose in British Parliamentary circles early in May which for a
day or so threatened to wreck the Lloyd George Government, but which
resulted in a new triumph for the Premier and a humiliating defeat for
those who had intrigued against him. It was precipitated by Major Gen.
Sir Frederick Barton Maurice, who had been Director of Military
Operations until April, 1918, when he was succeeded by Brig. Gen.
Radcliffe. His removal had been due to a public utterance in which he
had criticised General Foch for not coming sooner to the assistance of
the British after the beginning of the German offensive.
On May 7 General Maurice published a letter in which he definitely
asserted that the Premier had made a misleading statement to the House
of Commons April 9, when he asserted that the British Army in France on
Jan. 1, 1918, was considerably stronger than on Jan. 1, 1917; that he
misstated the facts regarding the number of white divisions in Egypt and
Palestine; also that Bonar Law, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, had
made a misstatement in denying that the extension of the British front
in France had been ordered by the Versailles War Council.
A resolution was introduced by former Premier Asquith for the
appointment of a committee to investigate the charges. The Lloyd George
Government accepted the challenge and announced that they would regard
the passage of the resolution as a vote of censure and would resign if
it was carried. The debate on the resolution occurred May 9 and resulted
in an overwhelming victory for the Government, the vote to uphold the
Lloyd George Ministry being 293 to 106; the Irish members were not
present.
In his address the Premier took up the charges in detail. Regarding the
figures of the British strength he quoted from a report from General
Maurice's own department, initialed by his deputy, dated April 27,
1918, which concluded with these words:
From the statement included, it will be seen that the combatant
strength of the British Army was greater on Jan. 1, 1918, than on
Jan. 1, 1917.
He also showed that his statements regarding the relative strength of
the opposing forces in France and the number of white divisions in Egypt
were based on figures furnished by General Maurice's department.
Regarding the extension of the British front in France the Premier made
some interesting disclosures showing that the extension was made by
agreement of Field Marshal Haig and General Pétain, and not by the
Versailles Council. He said:
Before the council had met it had been agreed between Field Marshal
Haig and General Pétain, and the extension was an accomplished fact.
Field Marshal Haig reported to the council that the extension had
taken place. There was not a single yard taken over as a result of
the Versailles conference--not a single yard of extension.
In discussing this phase Lloyd George proceeded as follows:
Extending the British Line
Of course, the Field Marshal was not anxious to extend his line. No
one would be, having regard to the great accumulation of strength
against him, and the War Cabinet were just as reluctant.
There was not a single meeting between the French Generals and
ourselves when we did not state facts against the extension, but the
pressure from the French Government and French Army was enormous,
and what was done was not done in response to pressure from the War
Cabinet. It was done in response to very great pressure which Sir
Douglas Haig could not resist and which we could not resist. We are
not suggesting that our French allies are asking unfairly. That is
certainly not my intention.
There was a considerable ferment in France on the subject of the
length of the line held by the French Army as compared with our
army. The French losses had been enormous. They had practically
borne the brunt of the fighting for three years. There was a larger
proportion of their young manhood put into the line than in any
belligerent country in the world. They held 336 miles. We held a
front of 100 miles.
That is not the whole statement, because the Germans were much more
densely massed in front of ourselves. Not only that, but the line we
held was much more vulnerable. Practically the defense of Paris was
left to us, and the defense of some of the most important centres,
but there was the fact that you had this enormous front held by the
French Army, as compared with what looked like the comparatively
small front of ours.
Shortage of Farm Labor
In addition to that, the French Army at that time was holding, I
think, a two-division front on our line in order to enable us to
accumulate the necessary reserves for the purposes of the attack in
Flanders. That was part of the line which, I believe, was held
before by the British and French.
The French were pressing in order to withdraw men from the army for
purposes of agriculture. I ought to explain that their agricultural
output had fallen enormously, owing to the fact that they had
withdrawn a very large proportion of their men from the cultivation
of the fields, and they felt it essential that they should withdraw
part of their army for the purpose of cultivating the soil, and they
were pressing us upon these topics.
The Chief of the Imperial General Staff, Sir William Robertson, and
the Cabinet felt that it was inevitable that during the Winter
months there should be some extension, and we acknowledged that
something had to be done to meet the French demands, and to that
extent we accepted the principle that there must be some extension
of the line.
At that time the Field Marshal was under the impression that the
Cabinet had taken a decision without his consent. The Chief of the
Imperial Staff upon that sent the following memorandum to the War
Cabinet. I will read it, but first, with reference to the Boulogne
Conference, I may, perhaps, say that that was the first time we had
a discussion with the French Ministers. The subject of discussion
was a rather important foreign office. It was not summoned in the
least to discuss an extension of the lines. We never knew that was
to be raised. Sir William Robertson and I represented the British
Government, and M. Painlevé, the Prime Minister, and General Foch
represented the French Government.
When Sir William Robertson discovered that the Field Marshal was
under the impression that we had come to a decision without his
consent he sent the War Cabinet a memorandum, in which he says:
"At the recent Boulogne Conference the question of extending our
front was raised by the French representatives. The reply given was
that, while in principle we were, of course, ready to do whatever
could be done, the matter was one which could not be discussed in
the absence of Sir Douglas Haig, or during the continuance of the
present operations, and that due regard must also be had to the plan
of operations for next year.
"It was suggested that it would be best for the Field Marshal to
come to an arrangement with General Pétain, when this could be done.
So far as I am aware no formal discussion has taken place, and the
matter cannot be regarded as decided. Further, I feel sure that the
War Cabinet would not think of deciding such a question without
first obtaining Sir Douglas Haig's views. I am replying to him in
the above sense."
That, I think, was on the 19th of October. The War Cabinet fully
approved of the communication. Sir Douglas Haig communicated, and
said that it threw a new light on the Boulogne position. I think
that we have a right to complain of the way in which it has been
rumored about that Sir Douglas Haig protested.
The War Cabinet's Decision
The fact that Sir William Robertson had explained and Sir Douglas
Haig had stated that the explanation threw new light has never been
repeated. That is how mischief is done.
On Oct. 24 this question was first formally discussed by the War
Cabinet. There was further pressure from the French Government, and
Sir William Robertson gave his views as to the time which the
British Government ought to take, and this conclusion is recorded in
the minutes of the War Cabinet as follows:
"The War Cabinet approve of the suggestion of the Chief of the
Imperial Staff that he should reply to Field Marshal Sir Douglas
Haig in the following sense: The War Cabinet are of the opinion that
in deciding to what extent the British troops can take over the line
from the French regard must be had to the necessity of giving them a
reasonable opportunity for leave, rest, and training during the
Winter months and to the plan of operations for the next year, and,
further, while the present offensive continues it will not be
possible to commence taking over more line.
"Under these circumstances the War Cabinet fear that until this
policy is settled it will be premature to decide finally whether the
British front is to be extended by four divisions or to greater or
lesser extent."
The resolution was communicated to Sir Douglas Haig by Sir William
Robertson, and we never departed from it. After that came the
Cambrai incident and the Italian disaster, which necessitated our
sending troops to Italy. That made it difficult for the Field
Marshal to carry out the promise he made to General Pétain for a
certain extension of the front. Then the present French Prime
Minister came in, and he is not a very easy gentleman to refuse. He
was very insistent that the British Army should take over the line.
Clemenceau Suggested Versailles
We stood by the position that that was a matter to be discussed by
the two Commanders in Chief. We never swerved from that position. At
last M. Clemenceau suggested that the question should be discussed
by the military representatives at Versailles, and that the
Versailles Council should decide if there was any difference of
opinion. The military representatives discussed the question, and
the only interference of the War Cabinet was to this extent. We
communicated with the Chief of Staff, who was then in France, and
with Sir Douglas Haig to urge on them the importance of preparing
their case for the other side so as to make the strongest possible
case for the British view.
The military representatives at Versailles suggested a compromise,
but coupled with it recommendations as to steps which ought to be
taken by the French Army to assist the British if they were
attacked, and by the British to assist the French if they were
attacked, which was even a more important question than the
extension of the front.
That recommendation came up for discussion at the Versailles Council
of Feb. 1. Before that meeting Sir Douglas Haig and General Pétain
met and entered into an agreement as to the extension of the front
to Brissy, and Sir Douglas Haig reported that to the Versailles
Council. When the discussion took place there no further extension
of the line was taken at all as a result of the discussion.
That is the whole story. I was to make it perfectly clear that in
the action Sir Douglas Haig took for the extension of the line he
had the full approval of the British Cabinet, having regard to the
pressure of the French Government and military authorities. Sir
Douglas Haig had no option except to make the extension. He was in
our judgment absolutely right in the course he took. Naturally, he
would have preferred not to have done it, but the British Government
fully approved of the action he took.
The real lesson of the discussion is the importance of unity of
command. It would never have arisen if you had had that. Instead of
one army and one commander responsible for one part of the line, and
another army and another commander responsible for another part of
the line, we have one united command responsible for the whole and
every part. It was the only method of safety, and I am glad we have
it at last.
It was not so much a question of the length of the line held by one
force or the length held by another. It was a question of reserves
massed behind.
The Premier ended with a plea for a truce to political "sniping." On May
13 it was announced that as a disciplinary measure General Maurice had
been placed on "the retired list."
[Illustration]
The New British Service Act
Provisions of Law Which Raises Military Age
The new British Military Service act became effective in April, 1918,
having passed both houses of Parliament by large majorities; it
immediately received the royal assent. The provision applying
conscription to Ireland was suspended temporarily, on the assumption
that it would not be enforced until a measure of home rule for Ireland
was agreed upon. The main provisions of the new service measure are as
follows, as analyzed by The London Times:
RAISING OF MILITARY AGE
Men Up to 50.--Obligation to military service imposed upon every
male British subject:
1. Who has at any time since Aug. 14, 1915, or who for the time
being is in Great Britain, and
2. Who on April 18, 1918, had attained the age of 18 years and had
not attained the age of 51 years or who at any subsequent date
attains the age of 18 years.
Men Up to 55.--If it appears necessary at any time for the defense
of the realm, his Majesty may, by Order in Council, declare the
extension of the obligation to military service to men generally or
to any class of men up to any age not exceeding 56 years. The draft
of any such order is to be presented to each house of Parliament,
and will not be submitted to his Majesty in Council unless each
house presents an address, praying that the order may be made.
Doctors.--Duly qualified medical practitioners, who have not
attained the age of 56 years, are made immediately liable to
military service.
FORMER PRISONERS OF WAR
The clause in the act of May, 1916, excepting from military service
any person who has been "a prisoner of war, captured or interned by
the enemy, and has been released or exchanged," is to cease to have
effect. It is, however, provided that the change shall be without
prejudice to any undertaking, recognized by the Government, and for
the time being in force, that any released or exchanged prisoner of
war shall not serve in his Majesty's forces during the present war.
TIME-EXPIRED MEN
The act of May, 1916, provided that the service should not be
prolonged of men who, when their times for discharge occurred, had
served a period of twelve years or more and had attained the age of
41 years. This section is to cease to have effect.
EXTENSION TO IRELAND
Method of Procedure.--His Majesty may, by Order in Council, extend
the act to Ireland, with the necessary modifications and
adaptations.
Legal Proceedings.--An Order in Council may be issued to make
special provision for the constitution of the civil court before
which proceedings for any offenses punishable on summary conviction
under the Reserve Forces act, the Army act, and the Military Service
acts are to be brought in Ireland. The order may also assign any
such proceedings to a specified civil court or courts.
WITHDRAWAL OF EXEMPTIONS
His Majesty may, by proclamation declaring that a national emergency
has arisen, direct that any certificates of exemption other than
those granted on the grounds of ill-health or of conscientious
objection shall cease to have effect.
THE TRIBUNALS
The Local Government Board or the Secretary for Scotland may make
regulations for the following purposes:
1. For providing for applications for certificates of exemption,
including appeals, being made to such tribunals, constituted in such
manner and for such areas as may be authorized.
2. For establishing special tribunals, committees, or panels for
dealing with particular classes of cases.
3. For regulating and limiting the making of applications.
4. For making other provision to secure the expeditious making and
disposal of applications.
It is provided that such regulations shall not alter the four
grounds for applications for certificates of exemption--the
expediency, in the national interests, that a man should be engaged
in other work, business or domestic reasons, ill-health, and
conscientious objection.
PENALTIES
Any person making a false statement with a view to preventing or
postponing the calling up of himself or any other person, or for any
medical examination, is to be liable to six months' imprisonment.
It is to be the duty of any man whose certificate has been
withdrawn, or who no longer satisfies the conditions on which it was
granted, to transmit it forthwith to the local office of the
Ministry of National Service. If he fails without reasonable cause
to do so, he will be liable to a fine of £50.
MEDICAL EXAMINATION
Any man holding a certificate of exemption (other than one from
combatant service only) or applying for its renewal may at any time
be required to present himself for medical examination or
re-examination.
VOLUNTEER OBLIGATION
Every man granted a certificate of exemption is to join the
Volunteer Force for the perid of the war, unless the tribunal
dealing with the case orders to the contrary.
CONVENTIONS WITH ALLIED STATES
The act is to be read with previous acts in relation to the act of
1917, which confirmed conventions with allied States making subjects
of those States in this country liable for military service. That
act is also to apply to Ireland, if the act is extended to Ireland.
EXCEPTIONS
The exceptions from the act are the following:
1. Men ordinarily resident in the Dominions.
2. Members of the regular or reserve forces or of the Dominion
forces, and territorials liable to foreign service.
3. Men serving in the navy, the Royal Marines, or the air force.
4. Certain categories of officers and men who have left or been
discharged from the forces in consequence of disablement or
ill-health; and men medically rejected, if, on further medical
examination after April 5, 1917, they have been certified to be
totally and permanently unfit for any form of military service.
5. Men in holy orders or regular ministers of any religious
denomination.
British Aid to Italy
General Plumer's Dispatch
The report was published May 10, 1918, that 250,000 Italian troops had
been concentrated in France to swell the reserves of the allied armies
against the German offensive, and that this had been accomplished
without weakening the Italian front, which was preparing for a
threatened Austrian attack. No statement was made regarding the British
troops that had gone to Italy's aid during the disaster to the Italian
armies in 1917.
General Sir Herbert Plumer, who took over the command of the British
troops in Italy after their arrival there, Nov. 10, 1917, submitted his
official report March 9, 1918. He stated that he found on his arrival
that the situation in Italy was disquieting, the Italian Army having
received a severe blow, and the aid that the British and French might
give could not be immediate owing to difficulties of transport. As it
was then uncertain whether the Italians could hold the Piave line, it
was arranged that two British divisions in conjunction with the French
should move to the hills north and south of Vicenza. By the time the
troops had reached this position the situation had improved and an offer
was made by the British in conjunction with the French to take over a
sector of the foothills of the Asiago Plateau. But as snow was imminent
and special mountain equipment was difficult to provide, the suggestion
was made by the Italians that the British should take over the Montsello
sector, with the French on their left. This was agreed to.
Sir Herbert considers that the entrance of the French and British had an
excellent moral effect and enabled the Italians to withdraw and
reorganize. The Montsello sector, which was taken over on Dec. 4 and
work immediately begun on its defense, is described by Sir Herbert as a
hinge to the whole Italian line, joining the mountain portion facing
north, from Mount Tomba to Lake Garda, to the Piave line held by the 3d
Italian Army.
December was an anxious month. Several German divisions were east of the
Piave, and an attempt to force the river and capture Venice was
considered likely. Local attacks grew more and more severe, and, though
the progress of the enemy was not great and Italian counterattacks were
constantly made, the danger of a break-through increased. The Austrians
were being encouraged to persevere in the hope of getting down to
the plains for the Winter.
Rear lines of defense were constructed, and as time passed and the
preparations were well forward the feeling of security grew, and was
further increased by the recapture by the Italians of the slopes of
Monte Asolone on Dec. 22. The following day Mount Melago and Col del
Rosso, on the Asiago Plateau, were lost, but the Italians regained the
former by a counterattack. Though Christmas Day found the situation
still serious, especially on the Asiago, where the Italians, while
fighting stubbornly, suffered from strain and cold, the situation showed
signs of improvement. This outlook was brightened still further by the
capture of Mount Tomba, with 1,500 prisoners, by the French. In this
action British artillery assisted.
"During all this period," the dispatch continues, "we had carried out
continuous patrol work across the River Piave and much successful
counterbattery work. The Piave is a very serious obstacle, especially at
this season of the year, the breadth opposite the British front being
considerably over 1,000 yards, and the current 14 knots. Every form of
raft and boat has been used, but wading has proved the most successful,
though the icy cold water made the difficulties even greater. In spite
of this there has never been any lack of volunteers for these
enterprises.
"On Jan. 1 our biggest raid was carried out by the Middlesex Regiment.
This was a most difficult and well-planned operation, which had for its
objective the capture and surrounding of several buildings held by the
enemy to a depth of 2,000 yards inland, provided a surprise could be
effected. Two hundred and fifty men were passed across by wading and
some prisoners were captured, but, unfortunately, the alarm was given by
a party of fifty of the enemy that was encountered in an advanced post,
and the progress inland had therefore, in accordance with orders, to be
curtailed. The recrossing of the river was successfully effected, and
our casualties were very few. An operation of this nature requires much
forethought and arrangement, even to wrapping every man in hot blankets
immediately on emerging from the icy water.
"The 3d Italian Army also opened the year well by clearing the Austrians
from the west bank of the Piave about Zenson. This was followed on Jan.
14 by the attack of the 4th Italian Army on Mount Asolone, which,
although not entirely successful, resulted in capturing over 400
Austrian prisoners. The situation had by this time so far improved that
I offered to take over another sector of defense on my right in order to
assist the Italians. This was agreed to, and was completed by Jan. 28.
On this day and the following the 1st Italian Army carried out
successful operations on the Col del Rosso--Mont Val Bella front, on the
Asiago Plateau. The infantry attacked with great spirit, and captured
2,500 Austrians. British artillery took part in the above operation."
General Plumer states that in February the weather was bad, much snow
having fallen, and operations were hampered. Although the British had
not taken part in serious fighting, yet they had some share in the
improvement which, he says, had taken place.
The work of the R. F. C., under Brig. Gen. Webb-Bowen, during the period
under review (says Sir Herbert) has been quite brilliant. From the
moment of arrival they made their presence felt, and very soon overcame
the difficulties of the mountains. They have taken part in all
operations, and rendered much assistance to the Italians in the air.
They have carried out a large number of successful raids on enemy
aerodromes, railway junctions, &c., and have during the period destroyed
sixty-four hostile machines, a large proportion of which were German,
and nine balloons, our losses to the enemy during the period being
twelve machines and three balloons.
A comparison of the photographs of hostile battery positions when our
artillery entered the line with the positions now occupied shows that
the enemy batteries have been successfully forced back almost throughout
the whole front. Some British artillery assisted both in French and
Italian operations, and a frequent interchange of British and Italian
batteries was made, together with counterbattery staff officers, in
order that experience of each other's methods might be gained. Every
effort was made to illustrate the value of counterbattery work, the
value of which we had learned by experience in France, but which the
Italians had not hitherto fully appreciated.
"The Italians were only too anxious to profit by any experience we could
give them, and this was done not only by frequent interchange of visits
of commanders and staffs to the various sectors of defense, but by the
establishment of schools of instruction, at which a large number of
Italian officers actually underwent the courses. About 100 Italian
officers attended the courses at the various schools, together with some
French officers. Similarly, British officers underwent courses at French
and Italian schools."
Sir Herbert thanks the Italian authorities for their assistance,
especially General Diaz, Chief of the Staff, and expresses indebtedness
to Generals Fayolle and Maistre, in command of the French troops.
Emperor Charles's "Dear Sixtus" Letter
French Supplemental Statement Corroborates Its Authenticity
The publication of the letter of Emperor Charles of Austria to his
brother-in-law, Prince Sixtus, in which he sought a separate peace with
France, referring to the "just claims" of France to Alsace-Lorraine, and
which caused the downfall of Count Czernin, the Austrian Foreign
Secretary, was followed by this official denial by the Austrian
Government:
The letter by his Apostolic Majesty, published by the French Premier
in his communiqué of April 12, 1918, is falsified, (verfaelscht.)
First of all, it may be declared that the personality of far higher
rank than the Foreign Minister, who, as admitted in the official
statement of April 7, undertook peace efforts in the Spring of 1917,
must be understood to be not his Apostolic Majesty but Prince Sixte
of Bourbon, who in the Spring of 1917 was occupied with bringing
about a rapprochement between the belligerent States. As regards the
text of the letter published by M. Clemenceau, the Foreign Minister
declares by All Highest command that his Apostolic Majesty wrote a
purely personal private letter in the Spring of 1917 to his
brother-in-law, Prince Sixte of Bourbon, which contained no
instructions to the Prince to initiate mediation with the President
of the French Republic or any one else, to hand on communications
which might be made to him, or to evoke and receive replies. This
letter, moreover, made no mention of the Belgian question, and
contained, relative to Alsace-Lorraine, the following-passage: "I
would have used all my personal influence in favor of the French
claims for the return of Alsace-Lorraine, if these claims were just.
They are not, however." The second letter of the Emperor mentioned
in the French Premier's communique of April 9, in which his
Apostolic Majesty is said to have declared that he was "in accord
with his Minister," is significantly not mentioned by the French
communiqué.
This statement drew forth from the French Government the following
reply:
There are rotten consciences. The Emperor Charles, finding it
impossible to save his face, falls into the stammerings of a man
confounded. He is now reduced to accusing his brother-in-law of
forgery, by fabricating with his own hand a lying text. The original
document, the text of which has been published by the French
Government, was communicated in the presence of M. Jules Cambon,
Secretary General of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, and delegated
for this purpose by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, to the
President of the Republic, who, with the authorization of the
Prince, handed a copy of it to the President of the Council.
The Prince spoke of the matter to M. Ribot himself in terms which
would have been devoid of sense if the text had not been that
published by the French Government, is it not evidence that no
conversation could have been opened, and that the President of the
Republic would not even have received the Prince a second time, if
the latter, at Austria's instance, had been the bearer of a document
which contested our rights instead of affirming them?
The Emperor Charles's letter, as we have quoted it, was shown by
Prince Sixte himself to the Chief of State. Moreover, two friends of
the Prince can attest the authenticity of the letter, especially the
one who received it from the Prince to copy it.
The Serbian Government, moreover, gave the lie direct to Count Czernin's
statement in reference to offering peace to Serbia. Premier Pashitch was
asked in the Skupshtina at Corfu by Deputy Marco Trifcovitch whether
Count Czernin's statement was true. He replied that he had denied Count
Czernin's statements as soon as he had received the text of the speech
from Amsterdam, and that he welcomed this fresh opportunity of declaring
before Parliament that, so far as Serbia was concerned, the statements
were totally inaccurate. (Exclamations from the right, "Czernin lied!")
The Premier then proceeded to say that Count Czernin had never made
peace overtures to Serbia, and that, if he had, such proposals would not
have been accepted. "All the statements of Count Czernin," continued M.
Pashitch, "are only the result of Austro-Hungarian intrigues."
Premier Clemenceau explained in detail before three committees of the
French Chamber, the Committees on Foreign Affairs, the Army, and the
Navy, which represented practically one-fourth of the total membership,
the circumstances connected with the letters; it was unanimously agreed
that there was nothing in the situation to justify any further
consideration than had been given them. The Paris Temps gave the
following details concerning their receipt:
The Emperor's two letters, and the conversations arising out of
them, will form an essential part of the proceedings before the
committees today. The letter from the Emperor to Prince Sixte of
Bourbon-Parma was communicated to M. Poincaré on March 31 last year,
but it remained in the possession of the Prince, who gave a copy of
it to M. Ribot, by whom it was placed in the archives of the French
Foreign Office. "Let us add," says the Temps, "that in the course
of the interview which he had with Lloyd George at Folkestone a few
days after the copy of the letter came into his possession that M.
Ribot handed a copy of this copy to the British Premier. A little
later in the interview which took place at St. Jean de Maurienne, in
Savoy, between the chiefs of the British, French, and Italian
Cabinets the question was raised as to what should be done in case
the Austro-Hungarian Cabinet took steps toward peace negotiations.
An agreement was come to without difficulty between the Allies as to
the line of conduct to be adopted in such an eventuality. Let us add
that this first letter sent to Prince Sixte had determined the
Allies to ask for further explanations, as the result of which
Prince Sixte received from his imperial brother-in-law a second
letter, which was also communicated to M. Poincaré and M. Ribot. We
have no right to give any indication on this subject, but we believe
we can state that this second letter was regarded unanimously by the
Allies as of such a nature that it would not permit them to pursue
the conversations further."
Kaiser Wilhelm in the following telegram accepted without reserve
Emperor Charles's statement that the Sixtus letter had been distorted:
Accept my heartiest thanks for your telegram, in which you repudiate
as entirely baseless the assertion of the French Premier regarding
your attitude toward French claims to Alsace-Lorraine, and in which
you once again accentuate the solidarity of interest existing
between us and our respective empires. I hasten to inform you that
in my eyes there was no need whatever for any such assurance on your
part, for I was not for a moment in doubt that you have made our
cause your own, in the same measure as we stand for the rights of
your monarchy. The heavy but successful battles of these years have
clearly demonstrated this fact to every one who wants to see. They
have only drawn the bonds close together. Our enemies, who are
unable to do anything against us in honorable warfare, do not recoil
from the most sordid and the lowest methods. We must, therefore, put
up with it, but all the more is it our duty ruthlessly to grapple
with and beat the enemy in all the theatres of war. In true
friendship, WILHELM.
As a sequel to the matter it was reported from Vienna that the mother of
Empress Zita and Prince Sixtus had been compelled to leave Vienna and
live in retirement at her estates, remote from the Austrian capital.
THE ISSUES IN IRELAND
Official Report of the Irish Convention--Full Text of the Chairman's
Summary of the Proceedings
The Irish home-rule question, in consequence of the failure of the Irish
Convention to agree, became an important war issue in the Spring of 1918
on account of its effect upon Great Britain's man-power measures.
Premier Lloyd George, on May 21, 1917, announced the Government's
decision to summon a convention of Irishmen representing all parties and
interests to endeavor to reach an agreement on the home-rule question.
The Sinn Feiners refused to send representatives, but all other factions
were represented in the convention, which met July 25, 1917, at Dublin
and elected Sir Horace Plunkett Chairman. The report of its
recommendations was made public April 13, 1918, in three separate
documents--the proposals for a scheme of Irish self-government, adopted
by vote of 44 to 29 in a total membership of 90; a protest by the Ulster
Unionist delegates, who dissented from any agreement, and the report of
22 Nationalist delegates, who were unable to agree to the fiscal
proposals. The majority proposals were accepted by practically all the
Nationalists, all the Southern Unionists, and 5 out of 7 of the Labor
representatives.
The summary of the proceedings, presented by Sir Horace Plunkett, and
the scheme of government as agreed upon by the majority, are of
importance historically for a comparison with subsequent measures of
home rule, which the British Government announces it intends to
introduce before putting into force conscription in Ireland.
THE CHAIRMAN'S SUMMARY
Sir Horace Plunkett's letter reads:
Sir: I have the honor to transmit herewith the report of the
proceedings of the Irish Convention. For the immediate object of the
Government the report tells all that needs to be told:
It shows that in the convention, while it was not found possible to
overcome the objections of the Ulster Unionists, a majority of
Nationalists, all the Southern Unionists, and five out of the seven
Labor representatives were agreed that the scheme of Irish
self-government set out in Paragraph 42 of the report should be
immediately passed into law. A minority of Nationalists propose a
scheme which differs in only one important particular from that of
the majority. The convention has, therefore, laid a foundation of
Irish agreement unprecedented in history.
I recognize that action in Parliament upon the result of our
deliberations must largely depend upon public opinion. Without a
knowledge of the circumstances which, at the termination of our
proceedings, compelled us to adopt an unusual method of presenting
the results of our deliberations, the public might be misled as to
what has actually been achieved. It is, therefore, necessary to
explain our procedure.
Adopting the Report
We had every reason to believe that the Government contemplated
immediate legislation upon the results of our labors. The work of an
Irish settlement, suspended at the outbreak of the war, is now felt
to admit of no further postponement. In the dominions and in the
United States, as well as in other allied countries, the unsettled
Irish question is a disturbing factor both in regard to war effort
and peace aims. Nevertheless, urgent as our task was, we could not
complete it until every possibility of agreement had been explored.
The moment this point was reached--and you will not be surprised
that it took us eight months to reach it--we decided to issue our
report with the least possible delay. To do this we had to avoid
further controversy and protracted debate. I was, therefore, on
March 22, instructed to draft a report which should be a mere
narrative of the convention's proceedings, with a statement, for the
information of the Government, of the conclusions adopted, whether
unanimously or by majorities.
It was hoped that this report might be unanimously signed; and it
was understood that any groups or individuals would be free to
append to it such statements as they deemed necessary to give
expression to their views. The draft report was circulated on March
30, and discussed and amended on April 4 and 5. The accuracy of the
narrative was not challenged, though there was considerable
difference of opinion as to the relative prominence which should be
given to some parts of the proceedings. As time pressed, it was
decided not to have any discussion upon a majority report, nor upon
any minority reports or other statements which might be submitted.
The draft report was adopted by a majority, and the Chairman and
Secretary were ordered to sign it and forward it to the Government.
A limit of twenty-four hours was, by agreement, put upon the
reception of any other reports or statements, and in the afternoon
of April 5 the convention adjourned sine die.
The public is thus provided with no majority report, in the sense of
a reasoned statement in favor of the conclusions upon which the
majority are agreed, but is left to gather from the narrative of
proceedings what the contents of such a report would have been. On
the other hand, both the Ulster Unionists and a minority of the
Nationalists have presented minority reports covering the whole
field of the convention's inquiry. The result of this procedure is
to minimize the agreement reached, and to emphasize the
disagreement. In these circumstances I conceive it to be my duty as
Chairman to submit such explanatory observations as are required to
enable the reader of the report and the accompanying documents to
gain a clear idea of the real effect and significance of the
convention's achievement.
I may assume a knowledge of the broad facts of the Irish question.
It will be agreed that of recent years the greatest obstacle to its
settlement has been the Ulster difficulty. There seemed to be two
possible issues to our deliberations. If a scheme of Irish
self-government could be framed to which the Ulster Unionists would
give their adherence, then the convention might produce a unanimous
report. Failing such a consummation, we might secure agreement,
either complete or substantial, between the Nationalist, the
Southern Unionist, and the Labor representatives. Many entertained
the hope that the effect of such a striking and wholly new
development would be to induce Ulster to reconsider its position.
Ulster Issue Unsolved
Perhaps unanimity was too much to expect. Be this as it may, neither
time nor effort was spared in striving for that goal, and there were
moments when its attainment seemed possible. There was, however, a
portion of Ulster where a majority claimed that, if Ireland had the
right to separate herself from the rest of the United Kingdom, they
had the same right to separation from the rest of Ireland. But the
time had gone by when any other section of the Irish people would
accept the partition of their country, even as a temporary
expedient. Hence, the Ulster Unionist members in the convention
remained there only in the hope that some form of home rule would be
proposed which might modify the determination of those they
represented to have neither part nor lot in an Irish Parliament. The
Nationalists strove to win them by concessions, but they found
themselves unable to accept any of the schemes discussed, and the
only scheme of Irish government they presented to the convention was
confined to the exclusion of their entire province.
Long before the hope of complete unanimity had passed, the majority
of the convention were considering the possibilities of agreement
between the Nationalists and the Southern Unionists. Lord Midleton
was the first to make a concrete proposal to this end. The report
shows that in November he outlined to the Grand Committee and in
December brought before the convention what looked like a workable
compromise. It accepted self-government for Ireland. In return for
special minority representation in the Irish Parliament, already
conceded by the Nationalists, it offered to that Parliament complete
power over internal legislation and administration, and, in matters
of finance, over direct taxation and excise. But, although they
agreed that the customs revenue should be paid in to the Irish
Exchequer, the Southern Unionists insisted upon the permanent
reservation to the Imperial Parliament of the power to fix the rates
of customs duties. By far the greater part of our time and attention
was occupied by this one question, whether the imposition of customs
duties should or should not be under the control of the Irish
Parliament. The difficulties of the Irish Convention may be summed
up in two words--Ulster and Customs.
Customs and Excise Problem
The Ulster difficulty the whole world knows; but how the customs
question came to be one of vital principle, upon the decision of
which depended the amount of agreement that could be reached in the
convention, needs to be told. The tendency of recent political
thought among constitutional Nationalists has been toward a form of
government resembling as closely as possible that of the dominions,
and, since the geographical position of Ireland imposes obvious
restrictions in respect of naval and military affairs, the claim for
dominion home rule was concentrated upon a demand for unrestricted
fiscal powers. Without separate customs and excise Ireland would,
according to this view, fail to attain a national status like that
enjoyed by the dominions.
Upon this issue the Nationalists made a strong case, and were able
to prove that a considerable number of leading commercial men had
come to favor fiscal autonomy as part of an Irish settlement. In the
present state of public opinion in Ireland it was feared that
without customs no scheme the convention recommended would receive a
sufficient measure of popular support to secure legislation. To
obviate any serious disturbance of the trade of the United Kingdom
the Nationalists were prepared to agree to a free-trade arrangement
between the two countries. But this did not overcome the
difficulties of the Southern Unionists, who on this point agreed
with the Ulster Unionists. They were apprehensive that a separate
system of customs control, however guarded, might impair the
authority of the United Kingdom over its external trade policy.
Neither could they consent to any settlement which was, in their
judgment, incompatible with Ireland's full participation in a scheme
of United Kingdom federation, should that come to pass.
It was clear that by means of mutual concessions agreement between
the Nationalists and the Southern Unionists could be reached on all
other points. On this important point, however, a section of the
Nationalists, who have embodied their views in a separate report,
held that no compromise was possible. On the other hand, a majority
of the Nationalists and the whole body of Southern Unionists felt
that nothing effective could result from their work in the
convention unless some understanding was reached upon customs which
would render an agreement on a complete scheme attainable. Neither
side was willing to surrender the principle; but both sides were
willing, in order that a Parliament should be at once established,
to postpone a legislative decision upon the ultimate control of
customs and excise. At the same time each party has put on record,
in separate notes subjoined to the report, its claim respecting the
final settlement of this question. A decision having been reached
upon the cardinal issue, the majority of the convention carried a
series of resolutions which together form a complete scheme of
self-government.
Parliament for All Ireland
This scheme provides for the establishment of a Parliament for the
whole of Ireland, with an Executive responsible to it, and with full
powers over all internal legislation, administration, and direct
taxation. Pending a decision of the fiscal question, it is provided
that the imposition of duties of customs and excise shall remain
with the Imperial Parliament, but that the whole of the proceeds of
these taxes shall be paid into the Irish Exchequer. A joint
Exchequer Board is to be set up to determine the Irish true revenue,
and Ireland is to be represented upon the Board of Customs and
Excise of the United Kingdom.
The principle of representation in the Imperial Parliament was
insisted upon from the first by the Southern Unionists, and the
Nationalists conceded it. It was felt, however, that there were
strong reasons for providing that the Irish representatives at
Westminster should be elected by the Irish Parliament rather than
directly by the constituencies, and this was the arrangement
adopted.
It was accepted in principle that there should be an Irish
contribution to the cost of imperial services, but owing to lack of
data it was not found possible in the convention to fix any definite
sum.
It was agreed that the Irish Parliament should consist of two
houses--a Senate of sixty-four members and a House of Commons of
200. The principle underlying the composition of the Senate is the
representation of interests. This is effected by giving
representation to commerce, industry, and labor, the County
Councils, the Churches, learned institutions, and the peerage. In
constituting the House of Commons the Nationalists offered to
guarantee 40 per cent. of its membership to the Unionists. It was
agreed that, in the south, adequate representation for Unionists
could only be secured by nomination; but, as the Ulster
representatives had informed the convention that those for whom they
spoke could not accept the principle of nomination, provision was
made in the scheme for an extra representation of Ulster by direct
election.
The majority of the Labor representatives associated themselves with
the Nationalists and Southern Unionists in building up the
Constitution, with the provisions of which they found themselves in
general agreement. They frankly objected, however, to the principle
of nomination and to what they regarded as the inadequate
representation of Labor in the upper house. Throughout our
proceedings they helped in every way toward the attainment of
agreement. Nor did they press their own special claims in such a
manner as to make more difficult the work, already difficult enough,
of agreeing upon a Constitution.
Knottiest Question in History
I trust I have said enough to enable the reader of this report and
the accompanying documents to form an accurate judgment upon the
nature and difficulties of the task before the convention and upon
its actual achievement. While, technically, it was our function to
draft a Constitution for our country, it would be more correct to
say that we had to find a way out of the most complex and anomalous
political situation to be found in history--I might almost say in
fiction. We are living under a system of government which survives
only because the act abolishing it cannot, consistently with
Ministerial pledges, be put into operation without further
legislation no less difficult and controversial than that which it
has to amend. While the responsibility for a solution to our problem
rests primarily with the Government, the convention found itself in
full accord with your insistence that the most hopeful path to a
settlement was to be found in Irish agreement. In seeking this--in
attempting to find a compromise which Ireland might accept and
Parliament pass into law--it has been recognized that the full
program of no party could be adopted. The convention was also bound
to give due weight to your opinion that to press for a settlement
at Westminster, during the war, of the question which, as I have
shown, had been a formidable obstacle to agreement would be to
imperil the prospect of the early establishment of self-government
in Ireland.
Notwithstanding the difficulties with which we were surrounded, a
larger measure of agreement has been reached upon the principle and
details of Irish self-government than has yet been attained. Is it
too much to hope that the scheme embodying this agreement will
forthwith be brought to fruition by those to whose call the Irish
Convention has now responded? I have the honor to be, Sir, your
obedient servant,
HORACE PLUNKETT.
April 8, 1918.
THE MAJORITY REPORT
The proposed scheme of Irish self-government referred to in Sir Horace
Plunkett's letter is set out below, the majorities by which each section
or subsection was carried being indicated in parentheses:
THE IRISH PARLIAMENT. (51 votes to 18.)
(1) The Irish Parliament to consist of the King, an Irish Senate,
and an Irish House of Commons.
(2) Notwithstanding the establishment of the Irish Parliament or
anything contained in the Government of Ireland act, the supreme
power and authority of the Parliament of the United Kingdom shall
remain unaffected and undiminished over all persons, matters, and
things in Ireland and every part thereof.
POWERS OF THE IRISH PARLIAMENT. The Irish Parliament to have the
general power to make laws for the peace, order, and good government
of Ireland, subject to the exclusions and restrictions specified in
3 and 4 below. (51 to 19.)
EXCLUSIONS FROM POWER OF IRISH PARLIAMENT. (49 to 16.) The Irish
Parliament to have no power to make laws on the following matters:
(1) Crown and succession.
(2) Making of peace and war, (including conduct as neutrals.)
(3) The army and navy.
(4) Treaties and foreign relations, (including extradition.)
(5) Dignities and titles of honor.
(6) Any necessary control of harbors for naval and military
purposes, and certain powers as regards lighthouses, buoys, beacons,
cables, wireless terminals, to be settled with reference to the
requirements of the military and naval forces of his Majesty in
various contingencies. (41 to 13.)
(7) Coinage; legal tender; or any change in the standard of weights
and measures.
(8) Copyright or patent rights.
TEMPORARY AND PARTIAL RESERVATION. The Imperial and Irish
Governments shall jointly arrange, subject to imperial exigencies,
for the unified control of the Irish police and postal services
during the war, provided that as soon as possible after the
cessation of hostilities the administration of these two services
shall become automatically subject to the Irish Parliament. (37 to
21.)
RESTRICTION ON POWER OF IRISH PARLIAMENT ON MATTERS WITHIN ITS
COMPETENCE. (46 to 15.)
(1) Prohibition of laws interfering with religious equality. N.
B.--A subsection should be framed to annul any existing legal
penalty, disadvantage, or disability on account of religious belief.
Certain restrictions still remain under the act of 1829.
(2) Special provision protecting the position of Freemasons.
(3) Safeguard for Trinity College and Queen's University similar to
Section 42 of act.
(4) Money bills to be founded only on Vice-regal message.
(5) Privileges, qualifications, &c., of members of Irish Parliament
to be limited as in act.
(6) Rights of existing Irish officers to be safeguarded.
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS. Section 9 (4) of the act of 1914 to apply
to the House of Commons with the substitution of "ten years" for
"three years." The constitution of the Senate to be subject to
alteration after ten years, provided the bill is agreed to by
two-thirds of the total number of members of both houses sitting
together. (46 to 15.)
EXECUTIVE AUTHORITY. The executive power in Ireland to continue
vested in the King, but exercisable through the Lord Lieutenant on
the advice of an Irish Executive Committee in the manner set out in
act. (45 to 15.)
DISSOLUTION OF IRISH PARLIAMENT. The Irish Parliament to be
summoned, prorogued, and dissolved as set out in act. (45 to 15.)
ASSENT TO BILLS. Royal assent to be given or withheld as set out in
act with the substitution of "reservation" for "postponement." (45
to 15.)
CONSTITUTION OF THE SENATE. (48 votes to 19.) Lord Chancellor, 1;
four Archbishops or Bishops of the Roman Catholic Church, 4; two
Archbishops or Bishops of the Church of Ireland, 2; a representative
of the General Assembly, 1; the Lord Mayors of Dublin, Belfast, and
Cork, 3; peers resident in Ireland, elected by peers resident in
Ireland, 15; nominated by Lord Lieutenant--Irish Privy Councilors of
at least two years' standing 4, representatives of learned
institutions 3, other persons 4; representatives of commerce and
industry, 15; representatives of labor, one for each province, 4;
representatives of County Councils, two for each province, 8--64.
On the disappearance of any nominated element in the House of
Commons an addition shall be made to the numbers of the Senate.
CONSTITUTION OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS. (45 to 20.)
(1) The ordinary elected members of the House of Commons shall
number 160.
(2) The University of Dublin, the University of Belfast, and the
National University shall each return two members. The graduates of
each university shall form the constituency.
(3) Special representation shall be given to urban and industrial
areas by grouping the smaller towns and applying to them a lower
electoral quota than that applicable to the rest of the country.
(4) The principle of proportional representation, with the single
transferable vote, shall be observed wherever a constituency returns
three or more members. (47 to 22.)
(5) The convention accept the principle that 40 per cent. of the
membership of the House of Commons shall be guaranteed to Unionists.
In pursuance of this, they suggest that, for a period, there shall
be summoned to the Irish House of Commons twenty members nominated
by the Lord Lieutenant, with a view to the due representation of
interests not otherwise adequately represented in the provinces of
Leinster, Munster, and Connaught, and that twenty additional members
shall be elected by Ulster constituencies, to represent commercial,
industrial, and agricultural interests.
(6) The Lord Lieutenant's power of nomination shall be exercised
subject to any instructions that may be given by his Majesty the
King.
(7) The nominated members shall disappear in whole or in part after
fifteen years, and not earlier, notwithstanding anything contained
in Clause 5.
(8) The extra representation in Ulster not to cease except on an
adverse decision by a three-fourths majority of both houses sitting
together. (27 to 20.)
(9) The House of Commons shall continue for five years unless
previously dissolved.
(10) Nominated members shall vacate their seats on a dissolution but
shall be eligible for renomination. Any vacancy among the nominated
members shall be filled by nomination.
MONEY BILLS. (45 to 22.)
(1) Money bills to originate only in the House of Commons, and not
to be amended by the Senate. (Act, Section 10.)
(2) The Senate is, however, to have power to bring about a joint
sitting over money bills in the same session of Parliament.
(3) The Senate to have power to suggest amendments, which the House
of Commons may accept or reject as it pleases.
DISAGREEMENT BETWEEN HOUSES. Disagreements between the two houses to
be solved by joint sittings as set out in act, with the proviso that
if the Senate fail to pass a money bill such joint sitting shall be
held in the same session of Parliament. (45 to 22.)
REPRESENTATION AT WESTMINSTER.
(1) Representation in Parliament of the United Kingdom to continue.
Irish representatives to have the right of deliberating and voting
on all matters.
(2) Forty-two Irish representatives shall be elected to the Commons
House of the Parliament of the United Kingdom in the following
manner:
A panel shall be formed in each of the four provinces of Ireland,
consisting of the members for that province in the Irish House of
Commons, and one other panel shall be formed consisting of members
nominated to the Irish House of Commons. The number of
representatives to be elected to the Commons House of the Imperial
Parliament shall be proportionate to the numbers of each panel and
the election shall be on the principle of proportional
representation. (42 to 24.)
(3) The Irish representation in the House of Lords shall continue as
at present unless and until that chamber be remodeled, when the
matter shall be reconsidered by the Imperial and Irish Parliaments.
(44 to 22.)
FINANCE. (51 to 18.)
(1) An Irish Exchequer and Consolidated Fund to be established and
an Irish Controller and Auditor General to be appointed as set out
in act.
(2) If necessary, it should be declared that all taxes at present
leviable in Ireland should continue to be levied and collected until
the Irish Parliament otherwise decides.
(3) The necessary adjustments of revenue as between Great Britain
and Ireland during the transition period should be made.
FINANCIAL POWERS OF THE IRISH PARLIAMENT.
(1) The control of customs and excise by an Irish Parliament is to
be postponed for further consideration until after the war, provided
that the question of such control shall be considered and decided by
the Parliament of the United Kingdom within seven years after the
conclusion of peace. For the purpose of deciding in the Parliament
of the United Kingdom the question of the future control of Irish
customs and excise, a number of Irish representatives proportioned
to the population of Ireland shall be called to the Parliament of
the United Kingdom. (38 to 34.)
(2) On the creation of an Irish Parliament, and until the question
of the ultimate control of the Irish customs and excise services
shall have been decided, the Board of Customs and Excise of the
United Kingdom shall include a person or persons nominated by the
Irish Treasury. (39 to 33.)
(3) A Joint Exchequer Board, consisting of two members nominated by
the Imperial Treasury, and two members nominated by the Irish
Treasury, with a Chairman appointed by the King, shall be set up to
secure the determination of the true income of Ireland. (39 to 33.)
(4) Until the question of the ultimate control of the Irish customs
and excise services shall have been decided, the revenue due to
Ireland from customs and excise, as determined by the Joint
Exchequer Board, shall be paid into the Irish Exchequer. (38 to 30.)
(5) All branches of taxation, other than customs and excise, shall
be under the control of the Irish Parliament. (38 to 30.)
IMPERIAL CONTRIBUTION. The principle of such a contribution is
approved. (Unanimously.)
LAND PURCHASE. The convention accept the recommendations of the
Sub-Committee on Land Purchase. (Unanimously.)
JUDICIAL POWER. (43 to 17.) The following provisions of the
Government of Ireland act to be adopted:
(_a_) Safeguarding position of existing Irish Judges.
(_b_) Leaving appointment of future Judges to the Irish Government
and their removal to the Crown on address from both houses of
Parliament.
(_c_) Transferring appeals from the House of Lords to the Judicial
Committee, strengthened by Irish Judges.
(_d_) Extending right of appeal to this court.
(_e_) Provision as to reference of questions of validity to Judicial
Committee.
The Lord Chancellor is not to be a political officer.
LORD LIEUTENANT. The Lord Lieutenant is not to be a political
officer. He shall hold office for six years, and neither he nor the
Lords Justices shall be subject to any religious disqualification.
His salary shall be sufficient to throw the post open to men of
moderate means. (43 to 17.)
CIVIL SERVICE. (42 to 18.)
(1) There shall be a Civil Service Commission consisting of
representatives of Irish universities which shall formulate a scheme
of competitive examinations for admission to the public service,
including statutory administrative bodies, and no person shall be
admitted to such service unless he holds the certificate of the
Civil Service Commission.
(2) A scheme of appointments in the public service, with
recommendations as to scales of salary for the same, shall be
prepared by a commission consisting of an independent Chairman of
outstanding position in Irish public life, and two colleagues, one
of whom shall represent Unionist interests.
(3) No appointments to positions shall be made before the scheme of
this commission has been approved.
DEFERRING TAKING OVER CERTAIN IRISH SERVICES.
Arrangements to be made to permit the Irish Government, if they so
desire, to defer taking over the services relating to Old-Age
Pensions, National Insurance, Labor Exchanges, Post Office Trustee
Savings Banks, and Friendly Societies. (43 to 18.)
The final division on the question of the adoption of the report as a
whole was as follows:
FOR (44)
E. H. Andrews
M. K. Barry
J. Bolger
W. Broderick
J. Butler
J. J. Clancy
J. J. Coen
D. Condren
P. Dempsey
Earl of Desart
J. Dooly
Captain Doran
Archbishop of Dublin
Lord Mayor of Dublin
T. Fallon
J. Fitzgibbon
Sir W. Goulding
M. Governey
Earl of Granard
Captain Gwynn
T. Halligan
A. Jameson
W. Kavanagh
Alderman McCarron
M. McDonogh
J. McDonnell
C. McKay
A. R. MacMullen
Viscount Midleton
J. Murphy
J. O'Dowd
C. P. O'Neill
Lord Oranmore and Browne
Dr. O'Sullivan
J. B. Powell
T. Power
Provost of Trinity College
Sir S. B. Quin
D. Reilly
M. Slattery
G. F. Stewart
R. Waugh
H. T. Whitley
Sir B. Windle
AGAINST (29)
Duke of Abercorn
Sir R. N. Anderson
H. B. Armstrong
H. T. Barrie
Lord Mayor of Belfast
Archbishop of Cashel
Sir G. Clark
Colonel J. J. Clark
Lord Mayor of Cork
Colonel Sharman-Crawford
Bishop of Down and Connor
T. Duggan
H. Garahan
J. Hanna
M. E. Knight
Marquis of Londonderry
J. S. McCance
Sir C. McCullagh
J. McGarry
H. G. MacGeagh
J. McHugh
Moderator General Assembly
W. M. Murphy
P. O'H. Peters
H. M. Pollock
Bishop of Raphoe
T. Toal
Colonel Wallace
Sir W. Whitla
ULSTER UNIONISTS' REPORT
Nineteen Ulster Unionists signed a dissenting report in which they
declared that it had soon become evident to them that no real approach
to agreement was possible, as the Nationalists put it beyond doubt that
what they wanted was "full national independence," or a Parliament
possessing co-equal powers with those of the Imperial Parliament. If the
Ulster Unionists had anticipated this at the outset, their report
explained, they "could not have agreed to enter the convention."
Objection was taken to the Nationalist scheme, which aimed at denying
the right of the Imperial Parliament to impose military service in
Ireland "unless with the consent of the proposed Irish Parliament."
Dr. Mahaffy, Provost of Trinity College, Dublin, and the Archbishop of
Armagh, in a separate note, stated that they found it impossible to vote
for the majority proposals, since these involved, in their opinion,
either the coercion of Ulster, which was unthinkable, or the partition
of Ireland, which would be disastrous.
Twenty-two Nationalists, including Joseph Devlin, M. P., the Archbishop
of Cashel, the Bishop of Raphoe, the Bishop of Down and Connor, and the
Lord Mayors of Dublin and Cork, signed a report favoring a subordinate
Irish Parliament with immediate full powers of taxation.
The majority of the Nationalists also signed a note explaining that for
the sake of reaching an agreement with the Unionists they did not press
their claim for full fiscal autonomy.
The Southern Unionists, who for "high considerations of allied and
imperial interests" signed the majority report, also added a note. They
insisted that all imperial questions and services, including the levying
of customs duties, be left in the hands of the Parliament of the United
Kingdom; that Ireland send representatives to Westminster; and that the
whole of Ireland participate in any Irish Parliament.
THE FINANCIAL ISSUE
Apart from the main question whether an Irish Parliament with an
Executive responsible to it should be established, debate chiefly
centred on the question of fiscal autonomy. By January, 1918, it became
apparent that on the financial issue there were three clearly defined
bodies of opinion:
First--The Ulster Unionists favoring the maintenance of the fiscal unity
of the United Kingdom;
Second--A section of Nationalists insisting upon complete fiscal
autonomy for Ireland;
Third--The Southern Unionists, supported by other Nationalists, and the
majority of the Labor representatives, favoring a compromise which left
to Ireland the proceeds of all sources of revenue and the imposition of
all taxes other than customs.
It was to overcome these and other differences that Premier Lloyd George
invited representatives of the convention to London to confer with the
Cabinet. The Premier's letter, dated Feb. 25, 1918, is published in the
report. It discloses the fact that some of the Nationalists had been
willing to set up an Ulster Committee in the Irish Parliament to veto
the application of certain legislation to that province, to make Belfast
the headquarters of the Irish Ministry of Commerce, and to let the Irish
Parliament meet alternately in Dublin and Belfast.
GOVERNMENT'S ATTITUDE
Dealing with "the difficult question of customs and excise," Lloyd
George wrote:
The Government are aware of the serious objections which can be
raised against the transfer of these services to an Irish
Legislature. It would be practically impossible to make such a
disturbance of the fiscal and financial relations of Great Britain
and Ireland in the midst of a great war. It might also be
incompatible with that federal reorganization of the United Kingdom
in favor of which there is a growing body of opinion. On the other
hand, the Government recognize the strong claim that can be made
that an Irish Legislature should have some control over indirect
taxation as the only form of taxation which touches the great
majority of the people, and which in the past has represented the
greater part of Irish revenue.
The Government feel that this is a matter which cannot be finally
settled at the present time. They therefore suggest for the
consideration of the convention that, during the period of the war
and for a period of two years thereafter, the control of customs and
excise should be reserved to the United Kingdom Parliament; that, as
soon as possible after the Irish Parliament has been established, a
Joint Exchequer Board should be set up to secure the determination
of the true revenue of Ireland--a provision which is essential to a
system of responsible Irish government--and to the making of a
national balance sheet, and that, at the end of the war, a royal
commission should be established to re-examine impartially and
thoroughly the financial relations of Great Britain and Ireland, to
report on the contribution of Ireland to imperial expenditure, and
to submit proposals as to the best means of adjusting the economic
and fiscal relations of the two countries.
The Government consider that during the period of the war the
control of all taxation other than customs and excise could be
handed over to the Irish Parliament; that for the period of the war
and two years thereafter an agreed proportion of the annual imperial
expenditure should be fixed as the Irish contribution; and that all
Irish revenue from customs and excise as determined by the Joint
Exchequer Board, after deduction of the agreed Irish contribution to
imperial expenditure, should be paid into the Irish Exchequer. For
administrative reasons, during the period of the war it is necessary
that the police should remain under imperial control, and it seems
to the Government to be desirable that for the same period the
postal service should be a reserved service.
CONSCRIPTION IN IRELAND
The announcement of the British Government's twofold plan of home rule
and conscription for Ireland caused an outpouring of protests from the
whole of the Nationalist population. Preparations for resistance were
begun, a great anti-conscription fund was opened, resolutions from
public bodies began pouring in, and the Sinn Fein clubs renewed their
activities.
The most striking feature of the opposition to conscription was that it
welded together all the Irish elements represented by the Nationalist
Party, the Independent Home Rulers, led by William O'Brien and Timothy
Healy; the Sinn Fein, and the Labor organizations, which in recent years
had not been very friendly to the Nationalists. Representatives of all
these parties were present at a conference in Dublin, held, under the
Chairmanship of the Lord Mayor, on April 18. The Catholic Bishops, at a
meeting in Maynooth the same day, adopted a declaration against
conscription. This meeting was attended by five representatives from the
Dublin conference--John Dillon, Edward de Valere, Timothy Healy, a Labor
delegate, and the Lord Mayor of Dublin.
A majority of the Nationalist members of the House of Commons decided
to abstain from attendance in Parliament during the crisis, thus
adopting the attitude of the Sinn Feiners who were elected to the House
but have never attended. Fifty-five of the Nationalist members met in
Dublin on April 20, with John Dillon presiding, and passed a resolution
in which they declared that the enforcement of compulsory military
service on a nation without its assent constituted "one of the most
brutal acts of tyranny and oppression of which any Government can be
guilty."
Fifteen hundred delegates of labor unions met at the Mansion House,
Dublin, on April 20, and pledged their resistance to conscription. They
also fixed April 23 for the stoppage of all work as an earnest of this
resolve and to enable all workers to sign the pledge of resistance. The
complete stoppage of work was duly observed on the day mentioned, and
passed off for the most part in a quiet and orderly manner.
Sunday, April 21, was observed throughout Catholic Ireland as the day
for the administration by the priests of the anti-conscription covenant.
From every Catholic pulpit conscription was the subject of discourse,
and the action of the Bishops and political leaders was explained. The
assemblies where the pledge was taken were generally outside the
churches, sometimes in the open air, sometimes in a hall. The practice
followed in many cases was for the priest to read the pledge, sentence
by sentence, the people reciting after him. In other cases the pledge
was given by the raising of hands or the signing of a paper. The Bishops
took part with the inferior clergy in administering the pledge,
addressing the people and generally warning them against isolated and
unconsidered action. They urged obedience to the orders of the
recognized leaders, who act in co-operation. All classes, including
lawyers, bankers, and merchants, as well as farmers and workmen, took
the pledge.
On May 1 an Order in Council was issued by the British Government
postponing the operation of the National Service, or conscription, act
in Ireland beyond that date, to which it had been previously postponed.
Premier Lloyd George, commenting on the new attitude of the Irish Home
Rulers in a letter addressed on May 2 to Irish workers on the Tyneside
in England, wrote:
The difficulties have not been rendered easier of settlement by the
challenge to supremacy of the United Kingdom Parliament in that
sphere, which always has been regarded as properly belonging to it
by all advocates of home rule, which recently was issued by the
Nationalist Party and the Roman Catholic Hierarchy in concert with
the leaders of the Sinn Fein.
While Nationalist and Catholic Ireland had already begun its campaign of
resistance to conscription, the Ulster Unionists, under the leadership
of Sir Edward Carson, prepared to oppose home rule. Sir Edward Carson
declared that the Government had broken its pledges to Ulster by
undertaking to pass a Home Rule bill, and on April 24 he advised the
Ulster Unionist Council to reorganize its machinery for the impending
struggle.
The appointment of Field Marshal Viscount French as Lord Lieutenant of
Ireland and of Edward Shortt, member of the House of Commons for
Newcastle-on-Tyne, as Chief Secretary for Ireland was officially
announced on May 5.
Lord French, before his new appointment, was Commander in Chief of the
forces in the United Kingdom and had gone to Ireland in that capacity a
few days before he became Viceroy. Edward Shortt, in addition to being a
Home Ruler, had voted against the extension of conscription to Ireland
until an Irish Government had been established.
Greatest Gas Attack of the War
_W. A. Willison, Canadian correspondent, cabled from the Picardy front
on March 22, 1918:_
While British and German troops were struggling far to the south in the
opening clash of the Spring campaign, the greatest projector gas
bombardment in the world's history was carried out by the Canadians
tonight against the enemy positions between Lens and Hill 70. Sharply at
11 o'clock the signal rocket gave notice of the beginning. A moment
later over 5,000 drums of lethal gas were simultaneously released from
projectors, and were hurled into the enemy territory from the outskirts
of Lens, and northward to Cité St. Auguste and the Bois de Dix-Huit.
From his front lines and strong points favoring winds carried the
poisonous clouds back upon the enemy's supports, reserves, and assembly
areas. The whole of the front was lit up with enemy flares, dimly seen
through the heavy mist, while the men in our lines could hear the
enemy's gas alarms and cries of distress from the hostile trenches.
Nine minutes later our field artillery, supported by heavy guns and
heavy trench mortars, opened up with a slow bombardment, which gradually
increased in intensity, until, forty minutes later, the enemy positions
were swept with a short, intensive, creeping barrage, which raked his
forward and rear areas with high explosive. Caught by our gas without a
moment's warning, caught again as he was emerging from his shelters by
our artillery, the enemy's casualties must have been very heavy, for the
effectiveness of our smaller gas operations has been emphatically proved
by the evidence of prisoners.
Tonight's bombardment was three times greater than anything of its kind
ever attempted by us on the Western front, and much greater than
anything ever launched by the Germans, though the score of the second
battle of Ypres and other reckonings are still to be settled, and will
be settled.
Plucky Dunkirk
By Anna Milo Upjohn
_Inspector in Paris for the Fraternité Americaine_
[Since this article was written Dunkirk has faced a new peril from the
blow struck in her direction by the powerful German armies around Ypres,
to the southeast; but the author's vivid and sympathetic description of
the daily life of the little city remains as true as in the Winter days
when it was penned for CURRENT HISTORY MAGAZINE.
In the track of the wind stands the plucky little City of Dunkirk, still
flapping the flags of courage and constancy in the face of an
increasingly rabid enemy. It is the only city of France that is
subjected to bombardment from land and sea and sky.
What is the every-day life in a town near enough to the front to be
never free from the menace of a triple bombardment? That is what I went
to find out, traveling by way of Calais in stygian darkness, for the
train was without lights to avoid the danger of bombs.
A little before dawn the train drew into the black station of Dunkirk,
through whose roofing the sky showed dimly in spots where air-raid
shells had spattered. The silent crowd jostled through the darkness, the
soldiers separating themselves from it at the military exit. Inside,
only a ray from a dark lantern, held by the officer who scanned the
passports one by one, made a spot of light among the overlapping
shadows. The wind sighed through the draughty place, the snow entered
freely, the floor was sloppy with mud. Outside in the empty square not a
vehicle, not a porter, in sight. The street cars had stopped running.
My hotel lay beyond the centre of the town. In the driving storm,
through unknown streets, I knew it would be foolish to attempt to find
it. An officer passed and to him I appealed. "To the right, in the
middle of the square," he said, with outstretched arm, "is the Lion de
Flandre. If they can't put you up there, come back and we will see."
Not a point of light indicated the identity of the Lion de Flandre. On
nearer approach all the houses appeared boarded up, as though long since
abandoned. In the middle of the square was an oblong hump, like the
roofed-over foundation of a demolished building. I learned later that
this was a public refuge built for the inhabitants of the section.
HOTEL IN DANGER ZONE
As I turned irresolutely in the direction of the dark façades, the
silhouette of a man in casque and puttees passed across the snow. A
crack of light gleamed from a hidden doorway, and through it he
disappeared. I followed hard after him and stepped into a lighted room
full of smoke and soldiers, a _man's_ place, with sand-strewn floor and
bottles conspicuously in evidence. Nevertheless, the comfortable woman
behind the bar received me without surprise. A room she could give me,
but as for food, that was a different matter. The boches had the habit
of coming at about dinner time, and it had become a nuisance to abandon
the untasted meal every night and to dive into the cave--it really had!
So she had given up trying to have anything hot at night and let the
fires go out at 6. But if I would like a sandwich and some beer--?
After the long, starved journey this was not alluring.
"Not a cup of tea with the sandwich?" I pleaded. A collaborator was
called, a plump, dark woman, and after a hurried conference I was asked
to wait in the room behind the café. Nothing could be more dismal than
this compartment. It was high for its floor space, like a deep box with
a lid, and had no outside windows, being wedged between the café and the
kitchen. The ornate glass divisions were gone or clinging in fragments,
the walls pierced in many places, the plaster down. A tiny point of gas
burned high above the table.
They were very good to me, these warbound women, one of whom, I
discovered, had an ulcerated tooth, the other two little boys captive in
Belgium.
FIRST NIGHT'S EXPERIENCES
In a short time a small bit of steak and a potato cut in quarters and
fried were placed before me, and simultaneously a large black dog with
wistful eyes but determined manner stationed himself at my side. The
steak was followed by a chilly little salad, bread and cheese, and more
butter than I had seen for many a month in Paris--and a cup of tea
which, for its grateful warmth, I drank without challenge.
Snatches of honest English, mingled with French, filtered in from the
café, where the fire was not quite extinct and where beer was served
until 9 o'clock. Before that hour I was fumbling upstairs guided by the
patronne, who carried a two-inch stub of candle between her fingers.
"This is the way to the cave," she explained, pointing to a doorway
under the stairs. "In case of an alarm you have only to rush down there.
There will be a light burning at the entrance." Passing through the
hallway she indicated the spot where a man had recently been killed. "If
he had stayed where he was, at the table where you have just eaten,
Madame, he would have been all right, but as he ran to the refuge a bomb
exploded outside in the square, burst open the front door, traversed the
length of the corridor, passed through the kitchen wall and into the
garden beyond. But you can rest assured that nothing will happen
tonight, Madame," continued the patronne, who seemed as familiar with
the habits of Gothas as a farmer's wife is with those of fowls--"Not in
this wind, oh, no!"
After that first night I groped my way alone to bed, the candle stub
having come to an end, feeling my way along the pitch dark passageways
to the room with the linoleum mat, the room which had not known fire for
three years and a half, whose paneless windows were boarded up, the one
room in the house which had not lost a ceiling or floor or whose walls
were not clipped through with shells. The regular inmates of the hotel
slept nightly in the cellar. It saved time and was warmer.
Notwithstanding the reassurances of the patronne I confess to going to
bed with half my clothes on. But under the wing of the storm Dunkirk
slept tranquilly for three successive nights. Of course, there was
always the soft bum-bum of the cannon on the northern horizon, strange
tremors shook the bed, and the night was full of weird sounds, the
rattling skeletons of dead houses.
BRAVE LITTLE DUNKIRK
Like an arm held up to protect the face, the coast between Calais and
Dunkirk bears the brunt of storm from the North Sea. A dark sea, sombre
and brooding, girdled by lowering clouds; on the snow-driven plain a few
detached towers, etched as though in sepia against the gray sky and
rising abruptly above the low line of roof--this is Dunkirk on a
Winter's day. A homely little town with a deep fringe of docks and
waterways on its seaward side and a girdle of fortifications built by
Vauban encircling the rest. The whole set in a ring of dark water which
fills the moat. It is thoroughly Flemish in character, and, seen from
the water, must resemble a city on a delft tile. The moral attitude of
the town has always been one of robust activity. Even its patron saints
are among the most industrious and enterprising in the calendar--notably
St. Eloi, who brought Christianity to the Dunkerquois and to whom the
original Dunkirk (church on the dunes) was dedicated.
All the history of the town is tinged with a vigor which has blown in to
it from the sea. Here the crusading ships of Baldwin of Flanders, and
later those of St. Louis of France, were fitted out. After the momentous
marriage of Marie of Burgundy had thrown the city for a time under the
dominion of Spain it played a brilliant part in the game of the
period--piracy.
The quaint tower on the quay--called Lugenhaer, the Liar--was used at
that epoch to give false signals to ships at sea. But it dates from a
much earlier period, and was one of twenty-eight towers with which
Baldwin of Flanders bound together the wall with which he surrounded
the city. The Liar and the belfry of the recently ruined Cathedral of
St. Eloi were the only interesting architectural bits left in Dunkirk.
The thirteenth century tower, dark and strong at its base, rises to a
great height, flowering into restrained tracery at the top and
shepherding under its shadow the heart of the town, which lies below it.
This is the lodestone. Toward it I turned after leaving the battered
hotel that first morning at Dunkirk.
[Illustration: A photograph, full of human interest, showing Americans,
headed by a regimental band, marching to the front in France
(_American Official Photograph_)]
[Illustration: The Harvard University Regiment marching through the
streets of Boston
(© _Underwood_)]
CITY OF SHATTERED HOMES
From the snowy Place de la Gare the street cars started regularly in
divergent directions, but oh, the gloom of those dead streets which they
passed! Wide streets, winding between rows of low houses, plain and
solid, but built on a neighborly plan. Their desolation is the more
marked because of this innate, homelike quality. In almost all of them
the window and door spaces were boarded up, and the first impression was
rather that of a deserted city than of a demolished one. But a second
glance showed that destruction had come from the sky, tearing away the
roof, annihilating the interior, and rendering the house uninhabitable,
perhaps irreparable, though the walls might to a certain extent be left
standing. Often the havoc was more apparent, exposing the bare skeleton
of a home and the shattered remnants of household comforts in shocking
nudity.
The freakishness of destruction by bombardment is proverbial. It is this
which creates in the timid an intense anxiety and in the hardy the
willingness to take a chance. The 8-year-old son of the chief surgeon at
the Military Hospital, stretching out his hand during a bombardment,
said calmly, "Of course it _may_ fall on _that_, but there is plenty of
room on each side." And this rather sums up the spirit of the
Dunkerquois who remain.
Of a population of 40,000, about 5,000 are left, and most of these have
become modern cave men. To be thoroughly up to date one must live in a
"casemate." In every quarter of the town posters announce the locality
of these public refuges. They are either cellars reinforced overhead,
or dugouts in the public squares, strongly roofed with corrugated iron,
which is covered with wood and sandbags. Often there is extra trench
work inside, always a tight little stove with a pipe running the length
of the cave, plank benches along the sides, and usually beds with army
blankets.
DODGING THE BOMBS
Into these refuges the Dunkerquois has learned to precipitate himself
with extraordinary celerity. He considers a minute and a half sufficient
time in which to gain safety, no matter where he may be when the
"alerte" is given. When there is a bombardment from the land side the
alarm is sounded as the obus leaves the gun at the front. It takes 90
seconds for its flight to Dunkirk. So accurately is this calculated that
casualties seldom result from a land bombardment. The inhabitants
scuttle into safety, and the damage is limited to bricks and mortar. The
peppering from sea is also taken lightly. The firing is very rapid, but
it is soon over, and the shots are comparatively small, passing clean
through the walls without shattering them. It is the air raids which are
dreaded, and these are increasingly frequent and destructive. Often the
chugging of the motors can be heard in the thick darkness for a quarter
of an hour or more before there is an explosion, and this is a
nerve-racking experience.
A striking feature of the streets in Dunkirk is the incumbrance of the
sidewalks by boxes filled with stones and sandbags. These cover the
windows and approaches to the cellars and serve as shock absorbers
against flying pieces of shell.
And why does any one stay in so precarious an outpost on the verge of
the fighting line? Some perhaps because to set forth alone or with a
brood of children into an unknown world already trampled by countless
refugees seems an equally perilous outlook. Others because their
maintenance still depends upon the docks and shipyards, though the 6,000
longshoremen usually employed about the piers have disappeared. Then
there are those whose interests are bound up in a shop or other
investment in the town, and business is brisk in Dunkirk, owing to the
presence of two armies. A few there are who are not only _of_ Dunkirk
but who _are_ Dunkirk itself, upon whose presence depends the prosperity
of the town and its usefulness to the State.
STILL A LIVELY PORT
For if the picturesque landmarks have disappeared, Dunkirk has by no
means lost its sea prestige. It is the third port of France, and though
its position is singularly exposed it is largely through its harbor that
the British Army has been revictualed since the beginning of the war.
This renders still more remarkable the fact that not one ship has been
lost between Dunkirk and the English port of clearing. One does not
appreciate at first glance all that this implies. It means for one thing
that some one must sit tight at Dunkirk. Traffic by sea has gone on
uninterruptedly and until recently has been quite that of normal times.
Now, owing to the recent restrictions on imports and exports, it is
greatly reduced, though still regular. The sailings and dockings take
place on schedule time.
One of those largely responsible for the order of the port is the
Consular Agent of the United States, M. Morel, also President of the
Chamber of Commerce of Dunkirk. His house, a mere skeleton, has long
since been abandoned for the superior comforts and safety of the cellar.
Attached to the jamb of the almost equally ruined office building his
small sign in black and gold makes a brave showing. The front of the
building had been largely torn away and with it a part of the roof.
Looking up one saw a dizzy arrangement of laths and rafters, suggestive
of the underside of a heap of jackstraws. But the staircase was firm and
led to a small back room, where a bright fire burned and where business
was transacted as usual; not only the business of the port, for while I
was there an American Red Cross doctor and a bevy of nurses came in to
have their passports renewed.
Another home which I had the privilege of entering, that of Commandant
Boultheel, had been more fortunate, for it stood as yet untouched by
disaster. Here in an atmosphere of warm charm, a serene and gracious
hostess dispensed hospitality to her friends. Pewter and old china on
the walls and a great fire of logs dispelled the depression of the
outside world. Around the table were men of war and men of the world,
who represented the finest qualities of the French. Among them was a
valiant Préfet du Nord, who had spent ten months as hostage in a German
prison, using his time to study English and reread Horace. In fact, I
felt, as I had on the train, that the further I got from Paris the
nearer I came to the heart of France.
A glimpse of "cave life" I had in the pharmacie maintained by the
Sisters of the Sacré Coeur in the basement of the Hôtel de Ville, where
it had been temporarily installed by the city, its own quarters being
untenable. This was a large space lighted by electricity and crowded
with bottles and jars, bundles of herbs and bandages, and made cheerful
by the bright faces of the sisters. In another portion of the cellar
they sleep, living entirely underground.
Families are large in Dunkirk, and children troop unconcernedly to and
fro between home and school. To them the nightly flight to the casemate
is no longer a wild adventure.
BUSINESS UNDER DIFFICULTIES
The business part of the town has not the sad aspect of the residence
streets, for it is full of life. The decrepit shops, half boarded up,
many of them resembling a face with a bandage over one eye, are doing a
lively business. With the demands of a large floating population of two
armies, Dunkirk is not suffering commercially. Department stores, book
shops, shoe stores, provision shops of all kinds, make the most of a
short day. Oranges, figs, dates, nuts, and conserved food of all kinds
are much in evidence, also warm clothing, blankets, boots, and novels.
The restaurant of the Hôtel Chapeau Rouge was filled with French and
English officers, and an excellent meal was served much as it would be
in Paris. At 4:30 everything is closed. Lights are extinguished, windows
and doors are sealed with their householders behind them, unless the
latter are among those who seek the comparative safety of the suburbs at
nightfall. For though the entire surrounding country is subject to
bombardment, the town is the centre of attack. In the twilight of the
unlighted streets scarce a footfall is heard. Only the occasional rumble
of a heavy cannon shakes the air. Behind the wall of darkness pulses a
full life undismayed by the terrors of the approaching night or the
possibilities of the tomorrow.
A STAG AT BAY
In the heart of the forest I once saw a stag leading his herd to the
shelter of a rock in the rush of an oncoming storm. Having urged them
into crouching positions around him, he turned and with a simple gesture
lifted his head to the storm. There was that in his attitude which
compelled reverence. One mentally saluted, though one might think "poor,
silly beast, in what way could he mitigate the lash of the tempest?" But
instinctively he had obeyed the highest for which he had been created,
the protection of the weak. And his calm presence caught away all panic
from those around him. Often while in Dunkirk this scene came back to
me, recalled by the simple matter-of-courseness with which these brave
men and equally brave women stayed on because it was the place for them
to be.
At the Military Hospital of Rosendael, with the exception of the
intrepid surgeon and the almoner, it is the women who hold the position.
Originally the city hospital, it was taken over by the army at the
beginning of the war. An immense building with modern equipment and a
capacity for 700 patients, it has been necessary of late to evacuate
many of the sections because of the increasing frequency of the
bombardments. The hospital has been struck many times and one ward
completely destroyed. As it happened there were no soldiers in that
section, it being used as a maternity hospital for the city. Several
women and little children were killed and also the sister in charge,
Sister St. Etienne, so dear to her co-workers that she is never spoken
of without tears. She had just finished her rounds for the night when
the alarm came. Her one thought was to save her ward from panic. A bomb
crashing through the roof hurled a beam across the sister, killing her
instantly and wrecking the entire wing.
"FOR ALL AMERICAN WOMEN"
In spite of this tragedy and of recurring attacks, the other sisters and
the head nurse, Mlle. Guyot, have held their posts with quiet heroism
and have never lost an hour's duty. The patients now are mostly
convalescent, because fresh cases are no longer brought there.
The supplies of shirts, pajamas, and bandages sent from America were
gratefully commented upon by Mlle. Guyot, and I was touched by similar
expressions from the men. One poor aviator, terribly burned, but
recovering, put up a bandaged hand and saluted me "for all American
women." Another poilu wove for me a table mat of red, white, and blue
cord. All were fervent in their good wishes.
Everywhere warmth and order prevailed, from the wards where the bandaged
soldiers sat about with their pipes and their knitting to the big bakery
where the fragrant brown bread is baked and to the kitchens with their
caldrons of broth and crisp roasts of meat.
Dry, well ventilated "abris" or bomb shelters have been built in
connection with each section of the hospital. The surgeon, who sleeps in
a cellar near the centre, is the first to assist his patients to shelter
in case of an alarm. There, underground, long games of cards are played
on the brink of the unknown. This is not callousness, but is done with
deliberate intent by the clever surgeon, (a refugee from Lille,) knowing
that by this means his men may be saved a nervous strain which might
prove fatal.
Mlle. Guyot, who has been at the hospital since the beginning of the
war, knows as well as any one what the city has endured. It was she who
said to me:
"I shall never forget that Dunkirk has borne the weight of the war from
the first day; that she has seen the exodus of the Belgian population,
to whom she has given refuge as well as to the people of the Department
du Nord; that she has known the passing of innumerable armies going and
coming from the Yser; that in October, 1914, she began to be bombarded,
having at the same time to fulfill the immense duty of bringing in and
caring for the wounded from that immortal battlefield; and through it
all I have seen Dunkirk living and working and saving with a smile!"
The military position of Dunkirk is sometimes confusing because it has
been alternately on the French and English fronts. The English are now
retiring, but sentinels of three nationalities still guard the city
gates; English Tommy and French poilu stand with their arms across each
other's shoulders, the Belgian stands apart.
On the sands of Malo, which is but a prolongation of Dunkirk, with a
sweeping beach toward the North Sea, strange men from Tonquin were
digging trenches--dark men branded by the sun and the mark of the East,
with warm dabs of color on their high cheekbones, and small opaque eyes
under rising brows. The uniform of the French Colonial is often a
medley. He looks as though he had begun "dressing up" like children in
the attic, and as though his mind had fallen short of his expectations.
Out on those bleak sands his touches of rich blue, crimson, and green
had almost the fervor of stained glass set against the dark and sinister
sea. To the north the Belgian coast cut the background with a livid
streak of sand.
In spite of the moving figures, the loneliness was as of the ends of the
earth. The silence was accentuated rather than broken by the purr of the
cannon and the mewing of a stray gull slapped sidewise by the wind. But
it is thus that I like to think of Dunkirk--scourged by the wind,
blotted out by the storm, knowing that for the time being her stout
hearts are safe.
As the sea has been the life of Dunkirk in the past, so it will be its
resurrection. The city cannot be struck a deathblow from the land side
as has many another less favorably situated. But what a unique protégé
for some god-mothering American city to help re-establish through her
sympathy and aid!
Is it any wonder that France has just included in the arms of Dunkirk
the following legend in addition to the one gained by the naval battle
of 1793: "Ville heroique, sert d'exemple à toute la nation"?
Brutal Treatment of Italian Prisoners
Sworn statements from British soldiers returned from German prison camps
and hospitals received by Reuter's Agency (the Associated Press of Great
Britain) indicate that systematic brutality is practiced there upon
Italian prisoners. Lance Corporal Horace Hills, 7th Suffolk Regiment,
made the following statement under oath:
Five or six thousand Italians came in. They had traveled three or
four days, and had had nothing at all to eat. After they arrived
soup was brought in, and, as they were starving, they rushed at it.
The Germans then dashed forward and stabbed them with their swords
and bayonets, and killed and wounded a lot. Seven or eight Italians
were dying every day in the camp of starvation. They had no parcels.
I saw an Englishmen give an Italian bread, and the Italian went down
on his knees and kissed his hands.
Private J. F. Jackson, King's Liverpool Regiment, swore:
One Italian told me they had been fifteen days on the journey and
had only three meals all the time. Our hospital lager was separated
from the camp by barbed wire; we took some bread and threw it over
the wire to the Italians; they all began to grab for it, but a lot
of Germans rushed up and drew their bayonets and flourished them in
the air in a threatening manner, and kicked and threw the Italians
about, and got the bread for themselves.
At Friedrichsfeld the treatment of the Italians was equally barbarous,
the sentries shooting them for trying to get food from the British.
Equally revolting stories come from Ohrdrup, Nammelburgh, Stendal,
Soltau, Limburg, and Hamburg.
Germany's Attempt to Divide Belgium
Official Summary of Recent Political Events in Flanders, Issued by the
Belgian Foreign Office
_Germany's plan to divide Belgium by organizing a small group of
"activists" to establish a so-called Council of Flanders for the purpose
of separating the Flemish from the Walloon Provinces, was described in
the April issue of CURRENT HISTORY MAGAZINE, pp. 91-96, along with the
fearless opposition which the attempt created. The following summary of
the case, with a fuller array of dates and details, has since been
prepared by the Belgian Foreign Office at St. Adresse, France, the seat
of King Albert's Government in exile:_
The semi-official Wolff Agency in Berlin announced on Jan. 20, 1918,
that the so-called Council of Flanders had proclaimed the autonomy of
Flanders Dec. 22, 1917. Soon after that action, which had passed
unnoticed and had left Belgian opinion indifferent and scornful, Herr
von Walraff, German Secretary of the Interior, had judged the time
opportune for a trip to Belgium, (Jan. 1, 1918.) The "council," after
getting into close relations with him, had taken up the decree which the
Landtag had intrusted to him on the 4th of February preceding, and had
declared that it would submit itself to a popular referendum.
At length a commission of executive officials was created; it included
heads for the Departments of the Interior, Agriculture, Public Works,
Arts and Sciences, Justice, Finance, Labor, National Defense, Posts and
Telegraph, and the Navy. The German telegraphic agencies sent out this
news in all directions to spread the idea that Flanders was showing an
intention of detaching itself from Belgium, and to give the impression
of a spontaneous popular movement for political separation.
The thought that inspired this intrigue dates back to a period almost
two years earlier. On April 5, 1916, the German Chancellor, in defining
the war aims of Germany before the Reichstag, had outlined the imperial
policy of establishing a protectorate over the Flemings. Later there
were found in Belgium some obscure and discredited citizens who,
betraying their sacred duty, placed themselves in the pay of the
enemy and consented to make themselves the agents and accomplices of the
invaders.
GERMAN ACT OF SEPARATION
On Feb. 4, 1917, an assembly composed of 200 Belgians speaking the
Flemish language met and voted for the creation of a "Council of
Flanders." On March 3 this body sent a deputation to Berlin, and the
Chancellor announced to it that "the policy tending toward the
administrative separation would be pursued with all the vigor possible
during the occupation," and that "during the negotiations and after the
conclusion of peace the empire would not cease to watch over the
development of the Flemish race." The German decrees dividing Belgium
into two administrative regions followed close upon these declarations,
(March 21, 1917.)
At the end of 1917 the German authorities believed that the moment had
come to consummate the enterprise by completing the administrative
separation with a political separation. Thus the end would be attained:
Belgium would be dismembered; one part of the country would fall under
vassalage to Germany, and, in case there were no annexation, would
become in a way a sphere of influence for the empire.
The intrigues of the "Council of Flanders" are merely a comedy intended
to mask this policy. The policy rests upon a clever juggling with the
question of languages. Under cover of the principle of free
self-determination of peoples, it seeks to internationalize an internal
problem in the hope of dislocating the Belgian nationality. Perhaps
it also aims at the creation of a fictitious Government which shall
furnish the German Government with the means for opening fallacious
peace negotiations to deceive the world and weaken the cohesion of the
Allies. Many German newspapers have allowed these aims to appear, and
some have boldly unveiled them.
ALL BELGIUM PROTESTS
But the strong protests of Flemish communities and of the entire Belgian
Nation have foiled these plans, and the news coming from the occupied
region enables us to determine with precision the character of the rôle
played by the "Council of Flanders." At the same time it attests the
determination of the Belgian people to repel all foreign interference
and to maintain its unity unshaken.
What is this "Council of Flanders"? It has no representative character.
It was created by a private assembly which had no mandate from the
people. It now pretends to seek popular sanction through an election.
This is only a subterfuge. There has been no election. There has been no
consultation of the people. The promoters have limited themselves to
assembling groups of adherents in theatres or restaurants, and causing
gatherings composed of their proselytes, with an admixture of the
curious and the idle, to vote on lists of candidates previously arranged
in the private offices of those who are directing the work.
The Deputies and Senators, in a protest to the Chancellor, thus
denounced the pretense of an election that was organized in Brussels:
A meeting was called at a day's notice in an exhibition hall.
Everybody entered who wished to, Belgians or strangers, men, women,
and children. There were in all 600 or 700 persons. It was these
unknown persons, come together by chance, without control or
guarantee, that in a few moments, as an interlude in a speech,
proclaimed the election of twenty-two Deputies to the "Council of
Flanders" and fifty-two Provincial Councilors, Such was the
expression--without the knowledge of the people--of the will of the
Municipality of Brussels, which has 200,000 electors and almost
1,000,000 inhabitants.
PROTESTS OF CITY COUNCILS
Foreign occupation has not wholly destroyed legitimate and regular
representation in Belgium. The Provincial Councils and the City Councils
are still functioning. The administrative framework of the country
survives. The municipal organization, so solidly rooted, has not ceased
to exercise power. The Provincial and Municipal Councilors, like the
Deputies and Senators, most of whom remain in the country, have been
elected by universal, direct, and secret suffrage. They alone in the
occupied territory are competent to express the true national opinion,
and that opinion is strikingly voiced in the protest of the Flemish and
Walloon members of Parliament, in that of the Common Councils of the
capital and the large cities of Antwerp and Ghent, whose example has
been followed by an increasing number of prominent citizens and local
Governments of smaller towns in Flanders.
It has been demonstrated that the "Council of Flanders" is pursuing an
enterprise of usurpation, that it is a tool of the invader, and that its
members are in reality only agents of the German authorities. They went
to Berlin a year ago to ask for administrative separation. Herr von
Walraff met them at Brussels at the beginning of 1918 to arrange for
political separation. When Tack and Borms were arrested by the Belgian
police on the order of Belgian Magistrates it was the German
functionaries who, by force, compelled their release, and they came out
of prison by the side of the German officer who had liberated them.
It was the Kommandantur of Antwerp that ordered the communal
administration, disregarding its resistance, to authorize the "activist"
demonstration of Feb. 3, and to have this protected by the police, in
violation of orders of the Burgomaster that had been in force nearly
four years. It was the German military headquarters, too, that forbade
all demonstrations of other groups and commandeered the hall of the
Chamber of Commerce, placing it at the disposition of the organizers of
a demonstration judged by the Burgomaster to be one to wound public
sentiment and endanger the public peace.[1]
[Footnote 1: Later the City Councils were forbidden by German authority
to debate political questions, such as the autonomy of Flanders.]
At length Governor General von Falkenhausen stamped the "Council of
Flanders" with the seal of German investiture, deciding by a decree of
Jan. 18, 1918, (published Feb. 10,) that the appointment of the
"council's" delegates was subject to his ratification, and that these
delegates were called to collaborate with him in his legislative labors.
Thus one has the right to conclude that the whole organism of the
"Council of Flanders" is only a foreign tool to serve the enemy in his
designs of division and oppression. The delegates of the council cannot
pretend to any independence, since the decree of Jan. 18 reduces them to
the rôle of functionaries of German authority, named by that authority
and expected to contribute, by their advice, to its political work.
THE DELEGATES OSTRACIZED
The Belgian people, without distinction of language, party, or
condition, have, by impressive demonstrations, repudiated the faithless
citizens who, joining hands with the enemy, have arrogated to themselves
the right to speak in the name of the Flemings. The Flemings were the
first to condemn the crime. To the protests of the Deputies and Senators
and of the City Councils have been added those of the leading
intellectual and political societies of Flanders. The Flemish Academy
raised its voice to "affirm its fidelity to the Belgian Fatherland and
its King." The Belgian Labor Party proclaimed that "not one of the 800
labor groups composing it, and not one of its authorized leaders, had
been led astray or corrupted by the activist-separatist movement, either
in Flanders or in Wallonia."
In the streets of Antwerp, of Malines, of Brussels, spontaneous
uprisings which the German troops could not suppress voiced the scorn
and anger of the crowds.
Crowning this expression of the popular will and giving it the sanction
of law, the Brussels Court of Appeals, acting upon the protest of the
Deputies and Senators, at a plenary sitting of all its united chambers,
[Feb. 7, 1918,] ordered a hearing which ended in the arrest of delegates
of the "Council of Flanders" on a charge of conspiracy against the form
of the State, interference with public functions, and wicked attacks
against the constitutional authority of the King, the rights of the
chambers, and the laws of the nation. When the German authorities,
protecting the guilty ones and acting in the guise of vengeance, caused
the arrest of the Presidents of the Court, who had come in the august
garb of justice to do their duty, the Court of Cassation, by a decree of
Feb. 11, decided unanimously to suspend its sittings; the Courts of
Appeals in Ghent and Liége, with all the courts of first instance and
the courts of commerce, followed its example. The civic heroism of a
whole people is summed up in that impressive gesture. There is no more
eloquent page in history.
This nation can remain free. It stoically endures the presence and
domination of the enemy in its territory. The foreign occupation that
has lasted three and a half years has not broken its spirit or its will
to resistance. The Flemish, like the Walloon communities, victims of the
most frightful brutalities, subjected to a system of forced labor,
decimated by deportations, have remained immovably faithful to King and
country. The moral unity of the nation has continued intact.
FLEMISH QUESTION NOT NEW
The Flemish question does not imperil this unity. It dates much further
back than the war and has often been a subject of lively debate. It is a
question of interior policy which the nation alone must solve, after the
war, independently, under its own free constitutional powers. Belgium
has had the same Constitution since 1831, and has not dreamed of
altering its principles, unless we except the proclamation of universal
manhood suffrage in 1893. In eighty-three years of peace and prosperity
there was not a single political party that cast doubt upon the validity
of the fundamental charter--an eloquent proof of its plastic vitality
and perfect harmony with the deepest needs of the nation's collective
existence.
Equality before the law, (Article 6,) individual liberty, (Articles 7,
8, 9, 10,) liberty of religious faith, (Articles 14 and 15,) freedom in
education, (Article 17,) freedom of the press, (Article 18,) the right
of assembly, (Article 19,) liberty of association, (Article 20,) freedom
as to language, (Article 21)--these are the essential axioms on which
the nation's public life is based.[2]
[Footnote 2: Article 21 of the Constitution reads thus: "Employment of
the languages used in Belgium is optional. It can be regulated only by
law and solely for acts of public authority and for judicial
proceedings."]
The Belgian Constitution, after guaranteeing respect for these
fundamental principles, regulates the exercise of political powers, all
of which, it declares, "emanate from the nation." (Article 25.) "The
legislative power is exercised jointly by the King, the House of
Representatives, and the Senate." (Article 26.) The Deputies are elected
directly by all the Belgian citizens who are 25 years old and who have
lived at least one year in the commune, those who fulfill certain
requirements of knowledge or capacity being allowed one or two
supplementary votes. (Article 47.) Senators are elected on the same
principles, with the difference that the voters must be at least 30
years old. The Senate also includes a certain number of members elected
by the Provincial Councils. (Article 53.) For both chambers the voting
is obligatory and secret, and the division of seats is arranged on a
system of proportional representation that safeguards the rights of
minorities. Subject to the responsibility of his Ministers the King
exercises the executive power. (Articles 63 and 64.)
Judicial power is exercised through courts whose members are not subject
to removal. (Articles 99 and 100.) A jury alone can deal with criminal
cases, political charges, and indictments brought against the press.
(Article 98.)
Finally, side by side with the three great political branches, the
provincial and communal Governments deal with all matters of local
interest. Chief among them are--for the commune: the City Council,
elected by direct vote, and the "College of Burgomasters and Aldermen,"
whose members are chosen by the Common Council, with the exception of
the Burgomaster, who is appointed by the King; and for the province: the
Provincial Council, directly elected, the "Permanent Deputation,"
elected by the Provincial Council, and the Governor, who represents the
National Government.
SETTLING THE LANGUAGE ISSUE
This rapid sketch suffices to show the democratic and liberal nature of
the Belgian Governmental system. Such institutions permit of free
discussion and facilitate the peaceful solution of the most irritating
internal problems. As the protest of the Flemish societies puts it, "The
Flemings are not a conquered nation; they have the same electoral right
as the Walloons; they have all the means for safeguarding their just
rights."
Belgium has always lived an intense life, yet this has never compromised
its unity. Three great parties, the Catholic, the Liberal, the
Socialist, struggle for preponderance, and their action extends to all
parts of the country without distinction of language. Each of them
supports an identical program, in Flanders as in Wallonia, regardless of
whether the citizens speak Flemish or French. The party lines have never
corresponded with the linguistic lines. In each are found leaders of the
Flemish movement, whose aspirations have given rise to many speeches,
but have never been repudiated as anti-patriotic. This movement is thus
described by the Flemish societies in their protest against the "Council
of Flanders": "It is the expression of the fundamental principle that
every population possesses the inalienable right to develop itself
according to its own character and its own language, life, and historic
personality." But it remains essentially national and declares itself,
in the document just cited, unalterably hostile to the separation of the
country into two Governments with two capitals, two Ministries, two
Parliaments. The Flemish societies see in separation only "a weakening
that will lead to a catastrophe for the Flemings, as well as for the
Walloons." They add:
Our most sacred political and economic interests are menaced by
these absurd plans. The organic whole which has made of Belgium,
through its commerce and industry, its rivers, ports and railways,
its agriculture and workingmen, all working together under a single
Government through scores of years, an economic power of the first
order, would be dissolved, artificially weakened by contradictory
influences, enervated by divergent official policies. The narrow
particularism which in the past and present has done so much harm
would dominate. The balance between the different political,
religious, and social tendencies in our country would be destroyed,
and Belgium would be left in a state of crisis which, through long
years, would render almost impossible the relief of the country and
the curing of the wounds caused by the war.
RIGHTS OF FLEMISH TONGUE
In the years before the war the Belgian Parliament passed several laws
intended to assure to the Flemish language the place that belongs to it
in the national life, especially in the administrative, judicial, and
educational departments. It will suffice to recall the law of May 12,
1910, on secondary schools, and the law of July 2, 1913, on languages in
the army, making a knowledge of Flemish and French obligatory for
admission to the National Military School. At the moment when the war
broke out the Parliament was considering a proposition tending to
organize Flemish high schools, and in a report to the King, Oct. 8,
1916, the Government declared itself "convinced that immediately upon
the re-establishment of peace a general agreement of favorable
sentiments, which it will try to promote, will assure to the Flemings,
both in the higher schools and in all the others, that complete
equality, in right and in fact, which ought to exist under the
guarantees of our Constitution." (Moniteur, Oct. 8-14, 1916.)
Only after the war can the Government solve the problems arising out of
the Flemish movement. The promoters of that movement themselves deplore
the intervention of an alien power and scorn the traitors who have
conspired with the enemy, accepting money and positions at his hand. It
is as loyal Belgian citizens, they declare, that they are striving for
reforms from which they expect a fuller intellectual development of
Flemish communities, and they see in such culture a new force of unity
for the nation, from which they by no means wish to be separated.
BELGIAN PREMIER'S VIEW
_Baron de Broqueville, the Belgian Prime Minister, said to a
correspondent of The London Times:_
The Belgian people, after three and a half years of the most grinding
oppression, have shown by the courageous defiance of enemy bayonets
which brought about the collapse of the "activist" plot, that they have
lost none of their sturdy resolve to be free; that the spirit which
moved them to reject the German ultimatum of Aug. 2, 1914, is as strong
as ever. * * *
Only one thing is worrying and humiliating in a quite special degree all
Belgians in occupied territory. It is the fear lest abroad it may be
imagined that there really is an "activist" movement in Belgium. All the
reports we have received on this point amount to this: "No one in
Belgium talks of this alleged movement, for it is nonexistent. There are
a few miserable individuals in German pay--always the same--who intrigue
and plot. All they have achieved is to arouse against them such feelings
of repulsion and hate that they have been thrust forever forth from the
nation, and nothing can cleanse them of their crime. For mercy's sake,
beg people not to insult us by treating the agitation of these
individuals seriously, and to stop seeing any agitation where there is
nothing but the work of a few paid traitors.
It is in this sense that our compatriots write to us from behind the
German barrier. There, as elsewhere, the most ardent advocates of
Flemish claims reject foreign interference in internal policy, and they
treat as traitors to the cause all those who accept bribes from the
torturers of their country.
Stripping Belgian Industries
Germany's Use of the "Rathenau Plan" for the Exploitation of Belgium and
Northern France
The German Government from the beginning of the war has systematically
stripped the factories of Belgium and other conquered territory with the
purpose, it is charged, of crippling industries in those countries, not
only as a war measure, but as an economic means of preventing future
competition. This phase of German war policy is treated in a brochure
edited by Professors Dana C. Munro of Princeton, George C. Sellery of
the University of Wisconsin, and August C. Krey of the University of
Minnesota. It is issued by the United States Committee on Public
Information under the title, "German Treatment of Conquered Territory."
The editors find their text in this statement by Deputy Beumer, made
before the Prussian Diet in February, 1917:
_Anybody who knows the present state of things in Belgian industry
will agree with me that it will take at least some years--assuming
that Belgium is independent at all--before Belgium can even think of
competing with us in the world market. And anybody who has traveled,
as I have done, through the occupied districts of France, will agree
with me that so much damage has been done to industrial property
that no one need be a prophet in order to say that it will take more
than ten years before we need think of France as a competitor or of
the re-establishment of French industry._
This exploitation for the benefit of German industry is an outgrowth
of the plan suggested early in August, 1914, by Dr. Walter
Rathenau, President of the General Electric Company of Germany, to
establish a Bureau of Raw Materials for the War. The bureau
(Kriegsrohstoffabtheilung) was made a part of the Ministry of War. Its
operation in the occupied territories was explained in a lecture by Dr.
Rathenau in April, 1916, as follows:
It was necessary to be sure of an increase in the reserve of raw
materials both by purchase in neutral countries and by monopolizing
all stocks found in the occupied territory of the enemy. * * * The
occupation of Belgium, of the most valuable industrial parts of
France, as well as of parts of Russia, made a new task for the
organization. It was necessary to make use of the stocks of raw
material of these three territories for the domestic economy of the
war, to use, especially, the stores of wool found at the centres of
the Continental wool market. Valuable stocks of rubber and of
saltpeter were to be used for the profit of the manufacturer at
home. The difficulties that are met with in keeping to the rules of
war while making these requisitions have been overcome. A system of
collecting stations, of depots and of organizations for distribution
was arranged which solved the difficulties of transportation,
infused new blood into industry at home, and gave it a firmer and
more secure basis.
BRAND WHITLOCK'S STATEMENT
This plan, which has given German industry "a firmer and more secure
basis," was used not merely to "make war support war" by contributions
wrung from the conquered peoples, but also to destroy future
competition--in violation of The Hague Convention, (Articles 46, 52,
53,) which Germany had signed. In the first months of the war a pretense
was still made of acting under military necessity, but this was soon
abandoned. On March 4, 1915, Brand Whitlock, American Minister to
Belgium, reported to the State Department:
The Federation of Belgian Steel and Iron Manufacturers forwarded a
protest to the German Governor General in Belgium, on Jan. 22, 1915,
complaining that the German authorities have invaded the Belgian
plants and seized the machinery and tools, which have been taken to
pieces and sent to Germany in great number; in many cases no receipt
was left in the hands of the legitimate owner to prove the nature,
number, and value of the seized tools. Machinery to the value of
16,000,000 francs ($3,000,000) had been taken away up to Jan. 22.
Furthermore, the Feldzeugmeisterei in Berlin has entered into a
contract with the firm Sonnenthal Junior of Cologne, which firm is
to collect, transport, and deliver to German manufactories of war
supplies all engines and tools seized in Belgium and France, and to
bring them back after the war is over.
This contract provides, also, that the Sonnenthal Company has the
right and even is compelled, in co-operation with the gun foundry at
Liége, to pick out in factories of the occupied territory those
machines which seem most useful for the manufacture of German war
supplies and to propose the seizure of the machinery.
The Royal Belgian Government protests, with indignation, against
these measures, which constitute a clear violation of Article 53 of
the regulations of the Fourth Hague Convention. The items enumerated
in Article 53 are limited and neither the seizure nor the transport
to another country of machinery and tools used in industry are
permitted; these implements must always be respected when they are
private property, (Article 46.)
By the removal of these tools, the efforts made by the manufacturers
in order to maintain a certain activity in the plants are nullified,
numerous workmen are obliged to remain idle and are facing
starvation. These measures will also retard the restoration of
industry after the war is over.
Furthermore, the German authorities disregard in a systematic way
the prescriptions of Article 52 of the above-mentioned regulations
of the Fourth Hague Convention, which stipulate that requisitions in
nature from towns and their inhabitants in the occupied territory
can only be permitted when they are directly destined for the army
of occupation.
UNJUST FINES
A dispatch from Minister Whitlock dated at Brussels, Aug. 2, 1915, gives
a fuller memorandum on the subject, as follows:
Upon the arrival of German troops at Brussels, the city and communes
of the agglomeration were required to pay as a war contribution the
sum of 50,000,000 francs in gold, silver, or banknotes, the Province
of Brabant having to pay, in addition, the sum of 450,000,000
francs, to be delivered not later than Sept. 1, 1914.
The sum of 50,000,000 francs imposed on the City of Brussels was
reduced to 45,000,000 francs, but the city was later subjected to a
penalty of 5,000,000 francs on the ground that two members of the
German Secret Service had been attacked by the crowd without
assistance having been rendered by the Brussels police. On this
point it may be noted that when Mr. Max, the Burgomaster, at the
beginning of the occupation, asked the German authorities to inform
him of the names of the German secret police agents whom they
intended to employ, he was told that there were no German secret
police in Brussels.
In December, 1914, a contribution of 480,000,000 francs, payable at
the rate of 40,000,000 a month, was imposed on the provinces.
At the beginning of April, 1915, a fine of 500,000 marks was imposed
on the City of Brussels, which refused to repair the road between
Brussels and Antwerp--a State road the repair of which devolved upon
the State. But the German authorities had taken over the State
moneys, and should, therefore, have assumed the expense of the work.
Furthermore, this road is entirely outside of the territory of the
City of Brussels, and, finally, the city had not the administration
for the maintenance or construction of roads, and had neither
material nor personnel to carry on such work.
On Jan. 16, 1915, on Belgians who had voluntarily left the country
and had not returned by March 1, 1915, tenfold advance of personal
tax was made; and many taxes were imposed on communes as indemnity
for damages claimed by German citizens to have been suffered through
acts of the inhabitants at the time war was declared.
When the German Army arrived in Brussels, it requisitioned for the
daily support of the troops 18,000 kilos of wheat, 10,000 kilos of
fresh meat, 6,000 kilos of rice, 10,000 kilos of sugar, and 72,000
kilos of oats. Similar requisitions were made, in all cities in
which the German troops camped. The requisitions, however, exceeded
the needs of the troops in passing or in occupation, and a large
part of the requisitioned supplies was sent to Germany.
At Louvain the German authorities requisitioned 250,000 francs'
worth of canned vegetables and at Malines about 4,000,000 francs'
worth.
In Flanders and in part of Hainault the farmers were despoiled of
almost all their horses and cattle and the little wheat and grain
remaining. The little village of Middleburg, for instance, which
numbers 850 inhabitants, after having given up 50 cows, 35 hogs, and
1,600 kilos of oats, was forced to furnish in January and February,
1915, 100 hogs, 100,000 kilos of grain, 50,000 kilos of beans or
peas, 50,000 kilos of oats, and 150,000 kilos of straw.
At Ghent and Antwerp the German authorities found about 40,000 tons
of oil-cake, necessary for the feeding of cattle in Winter, and
seized it.
They also carried off several hundred thousand tons of phosphates
from Belgium for use in Germany.
Walnut trees on private properties, as well as on State lands, were
cut down and requisitioned.
Besides, draught horses--the result of a rational selection carried
on through more than a century and probably the most perfect Belgian
agricultural product--were carried off throughout all Belgium. Not
only did the German Army requisition horses necessary for its
wagons, mounts for its troops or artillery service, but it carried
away from the Belgian stock horses absolutely unfit for military
service, which were sent to Germany. The same is true as regards the
cattle.
All crude materials indispensable for Belgian industries were
requisitioned and sent to Germany--leather, hides, copper, wool,
flax, &c. Furthermore, if not the entire stock, at least the
greatest number possible of machinery parts, were shipped to Germany
to be used, according to German statements, in making munitions
which the Belgian factories had refused to produce.
At Antwerp, requisitions of all kinds of materials and products were
considerable, notably:
Francs.
Cereals 18,000,000
Oilcake, about 5,000,000
Nitrate, over 4,000,000
Oils--animal and vegetable--over 2,000,000
Oils--petrol and mineral--about 3,000,000
Wools 6,000,000
Rubber 10,000,000
Foreign leathers, to Dec. 1, about 20,000,000
Hair 1,500,000
Ivory, about 800,000
Wood 500,000
Cacao 2,000,000
Coffee 275,000
Wines 1,100,000
Cottons in large quantities--one house having been requisitioned to
the amount of 1,300,000 francs. Other enormous requisitions were
made on shop depots, &c., and are impossible of computation just
now.
PAYMENT WITHHELD
The requisitions from Antwerp, which Mr. Whitlock enumerates, were the
subject of a protest by the Acting President of the Antwerp Chamber of
Commerce on March 18, 1915. He valued these goods at more than
83,000,000 francs ($16,600,000) and stated that only 20,000,000 francs
($4,000,000) had been paid by the German authorities. The reply of
Governor General von Bissing on Sept. 24 shows that up to that time
payment had not been made. The reason is indicated in the following
statement of German policy, published in the Frankfurter Zeitung Dec.
21, 1914:
The raw materials which the Imperial Government has bought in
Antwerp, Ghent, and other places will be paid for as soon as
possible. The payment will be made only after the goods have been
transported into Germany and after the valuation has been made, and
_the payment shall be made in such manner that no money shall be
sent from Germany to Belgium during the period of the war_.
Professor Munro and his fellow-editors have drawn freely upon the
official texts printed in the work entitled "German Legislation for the
Occupied Territories of Belgium," edited, in ten volumes, by Huberich
and Nicol-Speyer, (The Hague, 1915-17.) These volumes cover the period
from Sept. 5, 1914, to March 29, 1917, and contain a reprint of "The
Official Bulletin of Laws and Ordinances" in German, French, and
Flemish. The documents show that the first step under the Rathenau plan
was to ascertain what raw materials and other supplies were accessible.
Consequently, there were many ordinances commanding the declaration of
certain wares. The following is an example:
Brussels, Dec. 11, 1914.
All stocks of benzine, benzol, petroleum, spirits of alcohol,
glycerine, oils and fats of any kind, toluol, carbide, raw rubber
and rubber waste, as well as all automobile tires, shall immediately
be reported in writing to the respective chiefs of districts or
commanders, with a statement of quantity and the place of storage.
* * *
If a report is not made the wares shall be confiscated for the State
and the guilty individual shall be punished by the military
authorities. (_From "German Legislation," &c., Vol. I., p. 95._)
Such a declaration made it easy for the military authorities later to
acquire the wares either by direct requisition or by forced sales. The
following are examples:
Brussels, Aug. 13, 1915.
Article 1. The stocks of chicory roots existing within the
jurisdiction of the General Government in Belgium are hereby
commandeered. (_From "German Legislation," &c., Vol. IV., p. 148._)
Brussels, Jan. 8, 1916.
Article 1. All wools (raw wool, washed wool, tops and noils, woolen
waste, woolen yarns, artificial wools, as well as mixtures of these
articles with others) and also all mattresses filled with the wools
above specified and now an object of trade or introduced into
trade, found within the jurisdiction of the General Government, are
hereby commandeered.
Wool freshly shorn or in any other way separated from the skin shall
also be subject to seizure immediately upon its separation. (_From
"German Legislation," &c., Vol. VI., p. 57._)
Between October, 1914, and March, 1917, there were ninety-two separate
ordinances of the General Government commanding the declaration, forced
sale, or confiscation of various materials. Of these, forty-five were
issued in 1915 and thirty-five in 1916. How these decrees passed by
rapid evolution from mere declaration to complete confiscation is
instanced in these typical examples:
1. A decree issued at Brussels July 19, 1916, lists several pages of
textile materials which are to be declared.
2. A decree of Aug. 22, 1916, enlarges the preceding list.
3. A decree drawn up July 19, 1916, but not published till Sept. 12,
1916, declares 75 per cent. of this material subject to seizure by the
Militärisches Textil-Beschaffungsamt.
4. Later decrees of seizure cover materials overlooked in these.
STRIPPING BELGIUM OF METALS
Every scrap of metal in the conquered countries that could possibly be
seized has been confiscated. The ordinance below is given as an example
of the thoroughness of the system of requisitions. The prices to be paid
were entirely too low, and the sixth section shows that the owners were
not expected to part with their property willingly. The ordinance was
issued at Brussels Dec. 13, 1916:
SECTION I. The following designated objects are hereby seized and
must be delivered.
SECTION II. Movable and fixed household articles made of copper,
tin, nickel, brass, bronze or tombac, whatever their state:
1. Kitchen utensils, metal ware, and household utensils, except
cutlery.
2. Wash basins, bathtubs, warm-water heaters and reservoirs.
3. Individual or firm name plates in and on the houses, doorknobs,
knockers, and metal decorations on doors and carriages not necessary
for locking.
4. Curtain rods and holders and stair carpet fixtures.
5. Scales.
6. All other household articles or adornments made of tin.
The articles included under the numerals 1-6 are subject to seizure
and delivery even when not contained in households in the narrow
sense, but in other inhabited or uninhabited buildings and rooms,
(_e. g._, offices of authorities, office rooms in factories and
entries.)
SECTION III. Exempt from seizure and delivery:
1. Articles on and in churches and other buildings and rooms
dedicated to religious services.
2. Articles in hospitals and clinics, as well as in the private
offices of physicians, apothecaries, and healers, so far as these
articles are essential to the care of the sick or the practice of
medicine and cannot be replaced.
3. Articles in public buildings.
4. Articles which are part of commercial or industrial stores either
designated for sale or useful in the business. For these articles a
special decree is enacted.[3]
[Footnote 3: Such articles in trade and industry were declared seized
Dec. 30, 1916. The form of that edict is practically the same as this,
penalties being somewhat higher. The listing of these articles had
occurred in July, 1916. Other items were added later and all were now
declared seized.]
SECTION IV. Procedure of seizure is as follows:
All alteration of the articles subject to seizure is forbidden. All
judicial disposition or change of ownership is interdicted, except
in so far as the following paragraphs permit.
SECTION V. _Obligation to Deliver._ The delivery of the seized
articles must be made at the time and places designated by the
Division of Trade and Industry; it can also be made before the
requisition at the Zentral-Einkaufsgesellschaft for Belgium. Upon
delivery the ownership of the articles is vested in the German
Military Administration.
Articles of artistic or historic value, if so recognized by the
Bureau of Delivery, need not be delivered.
The Bureau of Delivery may, for unusual cause, grant exemptions from
delivery.
SECTION VI. _Indemnity._ The following prices will be paid for the
delivered articles:
Francs.
Copper, per kilo 4
Tin 7.50
Nickel 13
Brass 3
Bronze 3
Tombac 3
In arranging the weight, seizures of nondesignated materials will
not be included.
The payment will take place on the basis of the estimate made by the
Bureau of Delivery. Payment will be made to the deliverer without
question of his ownership.
If the deliverer refuses to accept the payment he will be given a
receipt, and the determination of the indemnity in this case will
follow through the Reichsentschädigungskommission according to the
rules in force.
SECTION VII. _Persons and Corporations Affected by This Decree:_
1. House owners, inhabitants and heads of establishments.
2. Persons, associations, and corporations of a private or public
nature whose buildings or rooms contain articles enumerated in
Section 2.
To this group, furthermore, belong also State, Church, and community
business and industrial establishments, including business,
industrial, and office buildings in the ownership, possession, or
guardianship of military and civil authorities. For buildings
abandoned or not occupied by their owners or inhabitants, the
communal authorities are responsible for the execution of this
decree. The district commanders are authorized to furnish further
instructions to the communities in this case. If dwelling houses are
occupied as quarters by German military or civil authorities the
execution of this order rests upon the military authorities
concerned.
SECTION VIII. _Confiscation._ [Failure to comply with the provisions
of the decree entails confiscation.]
SECTION IX. _Co-operation of Communities._ [Local authorities
ordered to co-operate in execution of this order.]
SECTION X. _Certificates of Exemption._ [Verwaltungschef empowered
to issue certificates of exemption.]
SECTION XI. _Punishment for Violations._ Any one who intentionally
or through gross negligence violates the present decree or
supplementary regulations will be punished with imprisonment not to
exceed two years or a fine not to exceed 20,000 marks, or both. Any
one who urges or incites others to violate the present decree or its
supplementary regulations will be punished in like manner, unless he
has incurred graver punishment under the general law. The attempt is
punishable. Military courts and military authorities are empowered
to try cases. (_From "German Legislation," &c., Vol. IX., pp.
398-394._)
Some industries which were not directly useful to the Germans were at
first allowed to resume work in whole or in part, for the Government
did not wish to cut off all sources of the enormous indemnities which it
was levying upon towns and individuals. But the rival manufacturers in
Germany objected angrily against this policy. Thus Dr. Goetze, head of
the German Glassmakers' Union, wrote in the Wirtschaftzeitung der
Zentralmächte, Nov. 10, 1916:
It has become vital to the German manufacturers of glass wares that
the Belgian manufacturers should be stopped from going to neutral
markets, and it must be admitted that the German Civil
Administration has fully recognized the necessity of arranging this
matter according to the demands of the German industry, and that it
has taken suitable action. [In spite of this some Belgian shops were
able to do some exporting and had affected the market price.]
Measures must be taken to stop this. For this reason the factories
of Central and Eastern Germany, which are most directly concerned,
have secured the promulgation of an order stopping importation,
transit, and exportation. * * * We must demand that the German Civil
Administration of Belgium should first of all look out for the
protection of the interests of the German industry.
In addition to securing the aid of the German Government in ruining
Belgian industries which competed with them, German manufacturers have
also been aided by the German Government in obtaining Belgian trade
secrets. For example, Dr. Bronnert secured a permit from the War
Ministry to visit the factory at Obourg for making artificial silk. He
took full notes of all that he could learn when he visited it, on Dec.
9, 1916, and carried away designs and parts of the machinery. Dr.
Bronnert is a director of a German factory for making artificial silk
which competes with the Belgian factory. (_From the "Informations
Belges," No. 307._)
HAGUE REGULATIONS FLOUTED
When Belgium attempted to protest against the illegal requisitions,
citing The Hague regulations, they received answers such as the
following, which was read to the Municipal Council and notables of the
town of Halluin, June 30, 1915:
Gentlemen: What is happening is known to all these gentlemen. It is
the conception and interpretation of Article 52 of The Hague
Convention which has created difficulties between you and the
German military authority. On which side is the right? It is not for
us to discuss that, for we are not competent, and we shall never
arrive at an understanding on this point. It will be the business of
the diplomatists and the representatives of the various States after
the war.
Today it is exclusively the interpretation of German military
authority which is valid, and for that reason we intend that all
that we shall need for the maintenance of our troops shall be made
by the workers of the territory occupied. I can assure you that the
German authority will not under any circumstances desist from
demanding its rights, even if a town of 15,000 inhabitants should
have to perish. The measures introduced up to the present are only a
beginning, and every day severe measures will be taken until our
object is obtained.
This is the last word, and it is good advice I give you tonight.
Return to reason and arrange for the workers to resume work without
delay; otherwise you will expose your town, your families, and your
persons to the greatest misfortunes.
Today, and perhaps for a long time yet, there is for Halluin neither
a prefecture nor a French Government. There is only one will, and
that is the will of German authority.
_The Commandant of the Town_,
SCHRANCK.
(_From Massart's "Belgians Under the German Eagle," New York, 1916,
pp. 192-3._)
GERMANY'S PROFITS
The German profits from the Rathenau plan were summarized thus frankly
by Herr Ganghofer in an article published in the Münchener Neueste
Nachrichten Feb. 26, 1915:
For three months about four-fifths of the army's needs were supplied
by the conquered country. Even now, although the exhausted sources
in the land occupied by us are beginning to yield less abundantly,
the conquered territory is still supplying two-thirds of the needs
of the German Army in the west. Because of this, for the last four
months the German Empire has saved an average of 3,500,000 to
4,000,000 marks a day. This profit which the Germans have secured by
their victory is very greatly increased by another means. That is
the economic war which, in accordance with the rules of
international law, is being carried on against the conquered land by
the exhaustion of the goods which belong to the State, which are
being carried to Germany from Belgium and Northern France. These are
in enormous quantities and consist of war booty, fortress supplies,
grain, wool, metal, expensive hardwood, and other things, not
including all private property which cannot be requisitioned. In
case of necessity this private property will, of course, be secured
to increase the German supply, but it will also be paid for at its
full value. What Germany saves and gains by this economic war,
carried on in a businesslike way, can be reckoned at a further
6,000,000 to 7,000,000 marks a day. Thus the entire profit which the
German Empire has made behind its western front since the beginning
of the war can be estimated at about 2,000,000,000 marks. For
Germany this is a tremendous victory through the sparing and
increase in her economic power; for the enemy it is a crushing
defeat through the exhaustion of all of the auxiliary financial
sources in those portions of his territory which have been lost to
us.
Of the branches and management of this economic war I shall have
more to say. Then people will learn to banish to the lumber room of
the past the catch phrase about "the unpractical German." A German
officer of high rank at St. Quentin characterized this happy change
which has taken place in our favor in these half-serious,
half-humorous words: "It is extraordinary how much a man learns!
Although in reality I am an officer of the Potsdam Guard, now I am
in the wool and lumber business. And successful, too!"
Governor General von Bissing's testimony on this subject, as recorded in
his "Testament," will be found in full in CURRENT HISTORY MAGAZINE for
February, 1918, pp. 330-38. Among the passages from it quoted in the
pamphlet here under review is this:
The advantages which we have been able during the present war to
obtain from Belgian industry, by the removal of machinery and so on,
are as important as the disadvantages which our enemies have
suffered through the lack of their fighting strength.
LANGHORNE'S DISPATCH
That the systematic exploitation and destruction in Flanders and
Northern France were still going on in the Fall of 1917 is shown by the
following dispatch from the American Chargé d'Affaires in Holland:
The Hague, Sept. 29, 1917.
SECRETARY OF STATE, WASHINGTON: A person who has recently arrived
here from Ghent gives the following information as to conditions in
East and West Flanders and Northern France:
The looms and machinery are being taken away from the textile mills
in Roubaix and Tourcoing and sent to Germany. Such machines as
cannot be removed and transported have in some instances been
dynamited, and in others are being destroyed with hammers. In the
neighborhood of Courtrai in Flanders all the mills have been ordered
to furnish a list of their machinery. The measures which have been
applied to the north of France will be carried out in Flanders. All
textile fabrics have been requisitioned by the military authorities,
even in small retail stores, and woolen blankets have been taken
from private houses. There is also extensive requisitioning of wine.
In the larger cities in the course of the past few weeks large
numbers of children of from 10 to 15 years have been brought in for
office work. There is a rapid increase in the number of women
brought in for this purpose. A marked animation was observed in the
Etappen inspection at Ghent last week. It is believed that at the
meeting of the inspection something unusual was being discussed.
LANGHORNE, _Charge d' Affaires._
DESTRUCTION STILL GOING ON
That the Rathenau plan is still wringing the remnants of industrial
supplies from Belgium in 1918 is shown by documents still later than
those printed in the brochure just reviewed. In January linen and
mattresses were being taken from hotels, boarding houses, and convents
all over Belgium. The inhabitants were forbidden by law to have any wool
in their possession, but were offered a substitute made of seaweed. The
large electrical plant at Antwerp known as l'Escaut was stripped of its
machinery, which was transferred to a German plant. Belgian kitchens did
not escape. The huge copper pans and kettles, the glory of Belgian
housewives, had to go to Germany with the bright jars and jugs of the
milkmaids. Nearly every conceivable brass, copper, and bronze object had
been requisitioned by that time.
The Belgian Government sent out a statement on Feb. 17, 1918, containing
these passages:
The German authorities then aggravated the evils of industrial
stoppage by forbidding public works and commandeering the factories
and metals and leather for military purposes. After this they
instituted the barbarous system of deporting workmen to perform
forced labor in Germany, a system which they had to interrupt
officially, after some months, because it proved revolting to the
conscience of mankind, but only to substitute for it immediately the
forced labor of the civilian population, in work of military value,
by the order of the military authorities. This system is still being
cruelly maintained in the zones lying back of the fighting line in
the provinces of East and West Flanders, Hainault, Namur, and
Luxemburg.
Meanwhile, the commandeering has become general, and affects both
natural and manufactured products and also tools, motors, and means
of transportation, whether mechanical or animal. Finally, fiscal and
administrative measures have been taken to close the last remaining
outlets for Belgian products into neutral countries.
These facts are incontestable. They are proved by many rules and
regulations officially published by the German authorities.
At present the raid upon the last economic resources of occupied
Belgium has been carried on to such an extent that they are
methodically taking away all the machinery from the factories, which
they themselves have made idle, in some cases to set it up again in
Germany, in other cases, to break it up and use it for grapeshot.
The purpose of this entire system of destruction is double: First,
to supply deficiencies in German industry; secondly, to put an end
to Belgian competition and later to subject Belgian industry to that
of Germany when the time comes for refitting the factories with
machinery after the war.
The proofs collected by the Belgian Government in support of this
statement are conclusive. It is significant that in general the task
of systematically stripping Belgian factories was intrusted to
German manufacturers who were the direct competitors of the Belgian
owners. Some of them have taken advantage of their official
positions to steal secrets of manufacturing processes, for example,
at the artificial silk shops of Obourg, and personal methods of
production and sale.
And as to the fact that Germany is destroying the factories for a
military reason without any regard for the economic needs of Belgium
or for the rights of nations, it is sufficient to cite the following
passages from a semi-official note that appeared in the Norddeutsche
Allgemeine Zeitung, No. 392, of Dec. 18, 1917, in which Germany
distinctly pleads guilty:
"All measures taken in Belgium are inspired by military necessity.
"The exploitation, under military control, of Belgian factories in
order to repair locomotives and automobiles, and also to obtain
material of war for the front, is carried out for the purpose of
relieving the strain on German industry and economizing
transportation. It has become necessary to strip the Belgian
factories of their machinery and other fittings, because all German
industry is busy filling orders for material of war. * * * By
relieving the home market from the necessity of enlarging our own
factories we are accelerating the production of munitions and other
products. * * * In consequence of the intense activity of all German
industry our machinery and other equipment is tremendously
overworked, and must from time to time be partly replaced by new
machines, while, furthermore, we must be able to furnish spare parts
rapidly unless we wish to see our output of munitions diminish. The
machinery and equipment required for these purposes are evidently
brought from Belgian factories. The destruction of whole factories
for the production of grapeshot is effected in order to maintain at
its present level the supply of iron and steel in Germany, or, if
possible, to raise it. * * * It is not only possible, but even
evident, that, in view of all the steps taken by the military
authorities, the question of keeping up work in some of the
factories of the occupied country must be subordinated to
considerations tending to spare the lives of German soldiers and
thus protect our national power."
[Illustration: Trafalgar Square, London, as it appears after three and a
half years of war
(© Western Newspaper Union)]
[Illustration: A typical scene in Flanders today, with all signs of
civilization completely obliterated
(_International Film Service_)]
This record of the deliberate crippling of Belgian industries was
brought up to March 6, 1918, by an official dispatch to the United
States Government, quoting the statement of Belgian refugees to the
effect that dynamite was being used to destroy machines and equipment in
factories in the Mons district. Rails of tramways were being taken up,
and in some cities they were entirely destroyed. Meanwhile, deportation
of men, and even of children 13 years old, was proceeding, several
hundred boys between the ages of 13 and 15 being taken from Mons alone.
Spoliation of Belgian Churches
Cardinal Mercier's Protest
Cardinal Mercier, Archbishop of Malines, issued the following letter to
the clergy and people of his diocese on March 2, 1918:
_My Very Dear Brethren:_
The painful tidings, announced semi-officially on Feb. 8, by the
occupying power, have been confirmed. The bulletin of laws and
edicts, dated Feb. 21, requires an inventory of the bells and organs
of our churches. Informed by experience, we need not delude
ourselves; the inventory of today is the signal for the requisition
of tomorrow.
The repeated protests of the Sovereign Pontiff, our appeal to the
Chancellor of the Empire, appear thus to have been in vain.
Your Christian hearts will bleed. At a time when we are in such need
of comfort, a veil of mourning will descend upon our land, covering
like a shroud our every day. It is to be for Catholic Belgium an
interminable Way of the Cross.
It is true, is it not, dear brethren, that we should have borne this
sorrow, added to so many others, if it had concerned ourselves
alone, but this time the rights of God, of our Saviour, Jesus, the
freedom of the Church and of her heritage are to be sacrificed to
what is called necessity, that is, to the military need of our
enemies.
"This term, liberty of the Church, rings harshly on the ears of
politicians," writes the great Dom Gueranger. They immediately
discern therein the signs of a conspiracy. Now there is no thought
in our minds either of conspiracy or of revolt, but of the
indefeasible affirmation of the rights granted to His Immaculate
Spouse by our Saviour, Jesus.
The freedom of the Church lies in her complete independence with
regard to all secular powers, not alone in her teachings of the
Word, in the administering of the sacraments, in the untrammeled
relations between all ranks of her Divine hierarchy, but also in the
publishing and applying of her disciplinary decrees--in the
conservation and administration of her temporal heritage.
"Nothing in the world is dearer to God than this liberty of His
Church," says St. Anselm.
The Apostolic See, through the medium of Pope Pius VIII., wrote on
June 30, 1830, to the Bishops of the Rhine Province: "It is in
virtue of a Divine order that the Church, spotless spouse of the
Immaculate Lamb, Jesus Christ, is free and subject to no earthly
dominion."
"This freedom of the Church," continues Dom Gueranger, "is the
bulwark of the very sanctuary, hence, the shepherd, sentinel of
Israel, should not wait until the enemy has entered into the fold
to sound the cry of alarm. The duty of protecting his flock begins
for him at the moment of the enemy's siege of his outposts, upon
whose safety depends the police of the entire city."
In the execution of this duty of our pastoral office we protest,
dear brethren, against the injury which the forcible seizure of
church property will cause to the liberty of our mother, the Holy
Church.
We add that the removal of the bells without the consent of the
religious authorities and despite their protests will be a
sacrilege.
The bell is, in fact, a sacred object its function is sacred. It is
a consecrated object; that is to say, it is devoted irrevocably to
Divine service. It has been not only blessed but anointed by the
Bishop with the holy oil and the holy chrism, just as you were
anointed and consecrated at holy baptism; just as anointed and
consecrated as the priest's hands which are to touch the consecrated
wafer.
The function of the bell is holy. The bell is sanctified by the Holy
Ghost, says the liturgy, sanctificetur a Spiritu Sancto, to the end
that, in its voice, the faithful shall recognize the voice of the
Church calling her children to hasten to her breast.
It announced your initiation into Christian life, your confirmation,
your first communion. It announced, dear parents, your Christian
marriage; it weeps for the dead; thrice daily it marks the mystery
of the Incarnation; it recalls the immolation of the Lamb of God on
the altar of sacrifice; it sings the joys of Sabbath rest, the cheer
of our festivals of Christmas, of Easter, of Pentecost. Her prayers
are associated with all the events and all the great memories, happy
or unhappy, of the fatherland.
Yes, the seizure of our bells will be a profanation; whosoever
assists in it will lend the hand to a sacrilege.
The Catholic Bishops of Germany and Austria will not deny these
principles. If their patriotism has wrung from them concessions
which must have cost their religious spirit dear, patriotism with us
confirms on the contrary the law of resistance. We would be
betraying the Church and the fatherland were we so cowardly as to
permit without a public act of reprobation the taking away of metal
to be converted by the enemy into engines of destruction, destined
to carry death into the ranks of the heroes who are sacrificing
themselves for us.
The authorities, strangers to our beliefs, will not be greatly
moved, I fear, by the protest, however worthy of respect, of our
religious consciences, but at least they should remember their given
word and not tear up a juridical code which their believers have
elaborated with us and promulgated. Morality has force of law for
Governments as for individuals.
On Oct. 18, 1907, the representatives of forty-four Governments
gathered together at The Hague, drew up a convention concerning laws
and customs of war on land.
They were assembled, they proclaimed unanimously, for a double
purpose--in the first place to safeguard peace and prevent armed
conflicts between nations; and, in the second place, in the extreme
hypothesis of an appeal to arms, to serve, nevertheless, the
interests of humanity and the progressive demands of civilization by
restraining, as much as possible, the rigors of war.
To this convention there was annexed a set of regulations which, the
general tenor of its clauses having been examined a first and a
second time, respectively, during the peace conferences held in 1874
at Brussels and in 1899 at The Hague, was submitted a third time, in
1907, to careful study at the second conference at The Hague and
signed by the plenipotentiaries of all the great powers.
The first signer of this code of international law in wartime was
Baron Marschall von Bieberstein, delegated by his Majesty, the
German Emperor, King of Prussia.
Articles 52 and 46 of the regulations annexed to the convention are
formulated as follows:
"Article 52. Neither requisitions in kind nor service can be
demanded from communes or inhabitants, except for the necessities of
the army of occupation."
"Article 46. Family honor and rights, individual life and private
property, as well as religious convictions and worship, must be
respected."
Evidently bells and organs are not necessary to supply the needs of
the army of occupation, they lie in the domain of private property,
are destined for the exercise of Catholic worship.
The transformation of these articles of the Church into war
munitions will be, therefore, a flagrant violation of international
law, an act of force perpetrated on the weaker by the stronger
because he is the stronger.
We Belgians, who have never wished nor acted other than well toward
Germany, we are the weak ones. I call you all to witness, brethren,
is it not true that prior to 1914 a current of sympathy, of esteem,
of generous hospitality was turning our trusting hearts toward those
who are today so harshly oppressing us? You will remember that on
the very day of the invasion the first lines that flowed from my pen
spoke to you of those "whom we have the sorrow to call our enemies."
For four years Germany has been rewarding us. Nevertheless, we will
not rebel. You will not seek in desperate recourse to material
force the sudden triumph of our rights.
Courage does not reside in passionate impulse but in self-mastery.
We will offer to God in reparation for the sacrilege which is about
to be committed against Him, and for the final success of our cause,
our supreme sacrifice.
Let us pray, one for the other, that the arm of the All-Powerful may
lend us support; "Lord," says the Holy Spirit, in the Book of
Esther, "Lord, Sovereign Master, all is subject to Thy authority.
Nothing, nobody, is capable of resisting Thee if Thou shalt decide
to save Israel. * * * Grant our prayer, Lord! Transform our grief
into joy, so that, living, we may glorify Thy name. * * * Thou art
just, Lord. Now they are no longer satisfied to weigh us down under
the most grievous servitude, they intend to silence the voices that
praise Thee and to tarnish the glory of the temple. Remember us, O
Lord. Reveal Thyself to us in this hour of our tribulation. * * * O
God, Thou art exalted above all, hearken to the voice of those who
place their hopes in Thee. Deliver us from the blows of injustice
and grant that our courage may control our fears."
In the name of the freedom of the Church, in the name of the
sanctity of the Catholic religion, in the name of international law,
we condemn and reprove the seizure of the bells and organs of our
churches; we forbid the clergy and faithful of our diocese to
co-operate toward their removal; we refuse to accept the price of
the sacred objects taken from us by violence.
Strong in invincible hope, we await the hour of our God.
D. J. CARDINAL MERCIER, Archbishop of Malines.
Belgium's Appeal to the Bolsheviki
_The Belgian Government, shortly after the Bolshevist Government of
Russia deserted the Allies and disbanded its armies, sent this eloquent
appeal to Petrograd:_
By the treaty of April 19, 1839, Russia placed her guarantee upon the
independence and neutrality of Belgium. On Aug. 4, 1914, when Germany
had violated this neutrality--which the German Government also had
guaranteed--Belgium appealed to Russia for aid. To this appeal Russia
replied on Aug. 5 by promising the assistance of her arms. Thus Belgium
entered into the struggle for independence and neutrality, trusting in
the unswerving loyalty of the Russian people.
On Feb. 14, 1916, Russia undertook to renew by a solemn act the pledges
she had made regarding Belgium, "heroically faithful to her
international obligations." Russia declared before a listening world
that she would not cease hostilities until Belgium should be
re-established in her independence and liberally indemnified for the
losses she had endured. Furthermore, Russia promised her aid in assuring
the commercial and financial rehabilitation of Belgium.
The authorities placed in power by the Russian revolution have just
signed--on Feb. 9 and March 3, 1918--treaties under which they lay down
their arms before the German and Austro-Hungarian Empires.
Yet Belgium is still the prey of the imperial armies, which oppress her,
decimating her population by privations and pitiless repressions, and
overwhelming her with the worst kind of moral tortures. To these
violences the Belgian Nation continues to oppose forces of resistance
drawn from a consciousness of right, from the beauty of her cause, from
her love of liberty.
Respect for treaties is the basis of the moral and juridical relations
of States and the condition of an honest and regular international
order. Carried into the war by a will to compel respect for a treaty
which Russia had guaranteed, Belgium is pursuing the struggle without
wavering, and at the price of the most cruel sacrifices. She considers
that the promise of Russia, in which she trusted, is still binding. She
refuses to believe that the Russian people, master of its destinies,
will irrevocably abandon the promises made in its name. Confident in the
honor and loyalty of the Russian people, Belgium reserves to herself the
right to implore the execution of obligations whose permanent character
places them outside any internal changes of régime in the State.
Serbia's Hopes and Russia's Defection
By Nikola Pashitch
_Premier and Foreign Minister of Serbia_
[Speech delivered March 31, 1918, before the Skupshtina at Corfu and
especially translated for CURRENT HISTORY MAGAZINE]
Since the last meeting of this Assembly a great number of events have
come to pass which have measurably modified the general military and
political situation. One of our greatest allies, Russia, has retired
from the battlefield, but another ally, quite as powerful as Russia, but
doubtless not yet bringing to bear all the force of which she is
capable, has rushed to our aid.
These two principal events, with others of less importance, have
perceptibly changed the situation which existed more than a year ago,
when Germany proposed to us the conclusion of a peace "honorable" for
both the belligerent groups. Already at that time had Germany perceived
the impossibility of fighting her adversaries by military force alone,
and was obliged to resort to other means, which she had already
employed, although in a more restrained fashion. So Germany decided to
make more energetic use of her hidden channels with the idea of
disorganizing in the quickest possible time the unity of her
adversaries. She contrived intrigues, employing different methods
according to the country where they were to be used and where she
believed they would succeed.
You still remember the case of Miassoyedov, which was perpetrated with
the aim of annihilating an entire Russian army. You also remember the
attempt of the enemy to have Ireland revolt, an experiment which
dismally failed owing to the prompt and energetic measures taken by the
British Government. Surely you have a vivid memory of the criminal
exploitation which the enemy Governments made in Italy of the Papal note
in favor of peace. Also, you remember the numerous cases of arson of
munition plants by the action of their agents, and the enemy propaganda
of a premature peace for the benefit of Germany, employed to the limit
by pacifists and certain imperialist and international adventurers
through lectures and "defeatist" newspapers in neutral countries.
RUSSIA ALONE DECEIVED
All these intrigues were clothed in fine phrases and put forward with
high humanitarian ideals, by which the enemy propagated monarchistic
ideas in republics and republican ideas in monarchies, eulogizing a
military régime in democratic countries and in autocracies democratic,
republican, and even anarchistic ideals.
They all had one sole end--to provoke internal disorders and discord
among the Allies in order to divert the attention of Germany's
adversaries from the principal aim. In every allied country these secret
machinations of our enemies were unmasked and repelled. Repelled--except
in Russia. All these intrigues and secret machinations could not succeed
anywhere except in Russia, where there are many Germans, and where our
enemies managed to concentrate the entire attention of a people in the
midst of war upon their internal organization. In this way the
possibility was placed in the hands of enemies--most dangerous to the
liberty of the people and to their right to dispose freely of their
destiny--to guide more easily the struggle with free and democratic
nations reared against Prussianism in order to defend the rights of the
weak and prevent the enslaving of other countries and other peoples.
RUSSIAN LIBERTY DESTROYED
The first revolutionary movement in Russia was directed against an
autocratic and irresponsible Government. On the side of the revolution
they pretended that the Government had initiated pourparlers for a
separate peace with Germany unknown to the Russian people and the
Allies. After this first movement, a second took place in Russia
demanding a democratic peace "without annexations and indemnities" on
the basis of the right of peoples to determine their destiny freely and
for themselves.
This second revolutionary provisional Government not having the desire
to cut the bonds which attached Russia to the democratic and allied
countries, a third movement followed, which did not hesitate to cut the
bonds uniting Russia to the Allies, to demobilize the Russian armies--an
act contrary to all reason, even revolutionary--and to initiate
pourparlers with the enemy at Brest-Litovsk for a separate peace.
The result of these pourparlers was the capitulation of the Maximalists
to Prussian militarism, the disguised annexation by Germany of the great
Baltic provinces of Russia, and the conclusion of peace between the
Central Powers and the Ukraine, by which the latter separated from her
enfeebled sister in order consciously to aid the enemies of the Slav
race. The recognition of the independence of Finland, Caucasia, and
Poland by the Central Powers followed, and, upon its heels,
disintegration and general discord in Russia finally giving place to the
present civil and fratricidal war.
We would not wish to deny that the Russian revolution counted for
something in the ranks of its sincere combatants in the way of high
social ideals, for democratic reforms, and for liberty. But, judging
from its results, it is impossible to deny that the Russian revolution
sustained a German influence, and that this influence so far has been
useful only to Germany, who still makes war on Russia in order to
prevent the latter from unifying her enfeebled peoples and
re-establishing her position in the world.
A SHAMEFUL CATASTROPHE
The Russian revolutionists fell before the blow of Prussian militarism
and surrendered to it the peoples who had hoped to obtain the right of
self-determination. It is possible, even probable, that the situation in
Russia may improve. But at present what the Germans aimed at in Russia
has been attained. They have taken away Russian provinces, incited civil
war in the Russian fatherland, and removed the danger of the Russian
armies which threatened them. These armies having been prematurely
demobilized for incomprehensible reasons, the enemy is able to direct
all his forces against his other adversaries. He has also obtained in
this way a considerable amount of war material and food.
This catastrophe, which has covered the Russian people with shame, has
been a lesson to all other nations, for it has definitely confirmed the
conviction that it was certainly Germany who provoked this terrible war
with the aim of conquest and hegemony.
But the great and free America did not wait for this moment before
deciding to declare war on Germany, who had placed above the principles
of right and justice that of brute force. On account of the Germans'
conduct in the war, which surpassed all known horror and barbarism, not
sparing even neutral nations, the United States became convinced that it
was its duty to restrain this bestial force if the world were not to
fall under the yoke of Prussian militarism. America entered the war to
defend civilization and the right of people to dispose of themselves.
AMERICANS TO THE BREACH
The appearance of North America on the war stage filled the place made
vacant by the surrender of Russia. Our allies having come to the
conviction that they could count no longer on Russia, and that it would
even be dangerous to regard her as a military asset, have employed all
their forces in conformity with the new situation in order to fortify
the solidarity which unites them and to augment their military and
material force in proportion to what they had lost by the withdrawal of
Russia, all with the idea of assuring the world a just and durable peace
based on the liberty of the people to be self-determining. The strength
of the army of our allies is greater by far than that of the enemy, not
only in man power but also in material. Organization is improving,
and on all questions there is complete accord. Quite recently German war
atrocities decided Japan to participate still more actively in the
struggle.
The Serbian people, who have made the greatest sacrifice and given the
finest proofs of their loyalty and fidelity toward the Allies, may
therefore be certain that their sacrifices have not been in vain, and
that their ideals will be realized if they continue to give in the
future the evidence of their military and civil virtues, and if, as in
the past, they abhor all intrigues having for their aim the destruction
of our concord and union in defense of the interests of our people, who
bear three names, but who form but one nation. We have observed that
Austria-Hungary, particularly in these latter days, has intensified her
intrigues and her calumnies against the Serbian people. She began by
spreading in Western Europe the false rumor that Serbia had tried, in an
indirect way, to initiate pourparlers for a separate peace, because in
our country and on the front of the Serbian Army she had suggested that
she would be disposed to end the war against Serbia were it not for the
fact that King Peter and the Serbian Government were opposed to the
project. All such intrigues and calumnies have only one end--to destroy
the faith which our allies have in the Serbian people, to rupture the
national concord, and by our discord and quarrels to assure the conquest
of the Serbian Nation.
SERBIA STILL FAITHFUL
But our people know Austria-Hungary too well to be taken in by these
infamous intrigues and to believe her lying words. The nation remains
faithful to her noble allies, who are pouring out their blood for little
and weak nations, and will not deviate one hair's breadth from her stand
until the end. The Serbian people have given all that they have, and
now, although few in numbers, they still stand faithfully by the side of
the Allies. They should never lose sight of the fact that it was
Austria-Hungary who provoked the war with the idea of annihilating
Serbia.
Our allies will not fail to acquire the conviction that the various
peoples of Austria-Hungary cannot be free, and that a durable peace
cannot be guaranteed so long as these peoples shall live in the State of
the Hapsburgs, who from peoples once free have made Germano-Magyar
slaves and have prevented their development by subjecting them to
Germano-Magyar exploitation.
Germanism in its drive toward the Orient hurled itself upon Serbia, and
only as a single united nation of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, closely
bound to Italy, can we obstruct the German push toward the Orient and
Adriatic, and aid in the establishment of a durable peace.
We ask only justice. We demand that slavery of peoples be abolished,
just as slavery of individuals was suppressed. We demand equality among
all nations, whether great or small, the fraternity and equality of all
nationalities, and the foundation of a free State of all the reunited
Jugoslavs. The return of Alsace-Lorraine to France and the complete
re-establishment of independent Belgium; the re-establishment of the
kingdom of all the Czechs, also that of all the Poles, the union of
Italians with Italy, of Rumanians with Rumania, of Greeks with Greece,
all of which would constitute the greatest and most solid guarantee for
a just and lasting international peace. Hence we proclaim what should be
realized soon or later--if not after this war then after a new shedding
of blood--because this realization is identified with the progress of
civilization and of humanity.
These great ends, humane and just, which are incarnated with the life
and growth of civilization, we repeat, should be realized. They embrace
those great ideals which spring from the soul and sentiments of
individuals and races, and which will vanquish the brute force of
certain anachronistic States, just as, in the last century, they
vanquished the brute force of the individual.
Let us pledge our honor and eternal gratitude to all the peoples who are
fighting for the right of all nations to shape their own destiny and for
an international peace both just and lasting.
Rumania's Peace Treaty
Why the Onerous Terms of the Central Powers Had to be Accepted
The peace treaty between Rumania and the Central Powers was signed at
Bucharest May 6, 1918, and is called "the peace of Bucharest." Dr. von
Kühlmann, the German Foreign Secretary, was Chairman of the
plenipotentiaries representing the Central Powers. A comprehensive
synopsis of the terms of the treaty appears elsewhere in this issue of
CURRENT HISTORY MAGAZINE.
A writer in The London Times explains why Rumania was compelled to
accept the enemy's exacting terms. He quotes General Averescu, the
Rumanian Prime Minister, in these words:
If Rumania accepts the humiliating German peace terms and is ready
to yield to her enemies the dearest part of her territory, she does
not do it only to spare the lives of the remnants of her army, but
for the sake of her allies, too. If Rumania refuses the German
conditions today she may be able to resist another month, but the
results will be fatal. A month later she might have to lose even the
shadow of independence which is left to her now; and then, no doubt,
the Germans would deal with her in the same way as they dealt with
occupied France and with Belgium. The whole Rumanian army would be
made prisoners, and would be sent to work on the western front
against the Allies, while the civilian population would be compelled
to work in ammunition and other factories for the Kaiser's army. I
fought in the ranks in 1877 to help my country to win the Dobrudja.
You may imagine how I feel now, having to sign the treaty which
gives it to our worst enemies. But we are compelled to amputate an
important part of our body in order to save the rest of it. However
painful it may be, we are bound to do it.
DESERTED BY RUSSIA
To understand Rumania's situation, as The London Times correspondent
goes on to say, we have to consider her position since Kerensky's fall.
At the end of November, 1917, the front from the Bukowina to the Black
Sea was held by a Russo-Rumanian force. Its flanks from Dorna-Watra to
Tergu-Ocna and from Ivesti to the Black Sea were held by three Russian
armies, numbering about 450,000 men, and by two Rumanian armies of about
180,000 men. The Russian armies were, of course, weakened by many
desertions and by lack of discipline, so that their actual was much less
than their nominal strength. Nevertheless, about 350,000 Russians were
still holding the front at that time. When the Russian armistice was
signed, Rumania was compelled, by the joint threats of Germany and the
Soviets of the Rumanian front, to adhere to it. From that day the
Russian troops began to leave the trenches, not in hundreds, as they did
before, but in masses of thousands at a time. Thus, at the end of
January, 1918, hardly 50,000 Russians remained on the whole Rumanian
front, and they had no desire to fight the enemy, but, being from
Siberia or some other remote part of Russia, found it more convenient to
spend their time in Rumania than to go back to their own country. They
could easily raise money by selling to the highest bidder (Austrian or
Rumanian) their guns, rifles, motor cars, &c.
For a certain time many--especially the French--believed strongly in the
Ukraine and in the promises of the Rada. Much money had been spent in
recruiting an army of the Ukraine which was supposed to fill the gaps
left by the Russian Army on the southwestern front. All that I saw of
this army was a group of about 150 boys, none of them over the age of
16, armed with rifles with fixed bayonets, a pistol, a sword, and a
dagger. All wore spurs, though none of them had a horse. They paraded in
the main streets of Jassy daily between 11 and 12. I calculated that
every one of these boys cost the Entente well over £10,000. But in time
the most incorrigible dreamers realized that the Ukraine had played a
trick on Rumania. Then the handsome Ukrainian toy soldiers were
withdrawn from circulation, and no army ever replaced the Russians.
In the meantime, the Rumanian Government decided, for political and
military reasons, to occupy Bessarabia. This operation required no less
than seven divisions. Thus at the beginning of February the same front
which was held in November by over 500,000 men was occupied by barely
120,000. Army supplies were getting shorter every day; and Rumania,
being in a state of war with the Bolshevist Government, was completely
cut off from the rest of her allies. In these circumstances Germany had
an easy prey, and dealt with it in true German fashion.
AN IMPERIOUS SUMMONS
When the treaty with the Ukraine was signed Rumanian Headquarters
received a note from General Morgen, the German Commander in Chief,
saying that, as peace with Russia had been concluded, the Rumanian
armistice had come to an end, and that delegates should be sent without
delay to Focsani to examine the new situation. The Rumanian delegates
arrived at Focsani next day. They were received with such insolence by
the German delegates that the Chief of the Rumanian General Staff,
General Lupesco, threatened to leave immediately. The discussions,
however, did not last very long, and the mission came back with the
announcement that Rumania had to decide within four days whether she was
ready to discuss peace terms or not. A Crown Council was held
immediately; and the majority of the Generals declared that the army
could resist for a month at the most. M. Bratiano and M. Take Jonescu,
who could not consent to make peace with the enemy, resigned, and the
King asked General Averescu, the most popular man in Rumania, to form a
new Cabinet.
Meanwhile, King Ferdinand received a telegram from Berlin, by which he
was warned that the Austro-German Government would not discuss peace
terms with a Cabinet which included M. Bratiano or any member of his
former Cabinet. The feelings of the King of Rumania--when he saw that
even before peace discussions had begun the enemy had begun to interfere
in Rumania's internal politics--can be appreciated. But King Ferdinand
carried his head high, as he had done all through the tragic misfortunes
of his country, and was indifferent to German arrogance. He replied to
Herr von Kühlmann that Rumania was an independent country, and had a
right to any Government she pleased. But none of the members of the
former Cabinet came into the new one. General Averescu formed a
Government which had the tragic task of concluding peace, and thus of
annihilating, temporarily at least, all the tremendous efforts that
Rumania had made during the preceding fifty years to become,
economically as well as politically, the leading power in the Balkans.
THREE HUNGRY ENEMIES
The peace negotiations were supposed to last for a fortnight at most. In
fact, they were nothing more than a farce, for the Germans allowed no
discussion at all. They simply laid their preliminary conditions before
the Rumanian delegates, and, taking advantage of the military
helplessness of Rumania, told them: "You can take it or can leave it."
The Rumanian delegates made a few attempts to discuss the German terms,
but they soon found that it was useless and that the only thing to do
was to yield.
The fact was that Rumania had to satisfy three hungry enemies. Each had
his own object, but in each case the result was the same from the point
of view of Rumania--subjection to the German yoke. The Bulgarians were
eager to accomplish their ideal of "a great Bulgaria" by the annexation
of the Dobrudja. Therefore, Rumania had to give up the Dobrudja. The
Austrians, under Magyar pressure, demanded the surrender of the
Carpathian passes--a condition which was pressed by Count Czernin, who
remembered with bitterness the rebuff that he had suffered from the
Rumanian King and Government at the time when Rumania came into the war.
The Germans were determined to seize the immensely rich oilfields of
Rumania and to secure for an unlimited period Rumanian wheat for
Germany at a price to be fixed by German authorities. For years Germany
had tried to get control of the Rumanian oilfields. Where bribes and the
offer of a heavy price had failed, the chance of war now insured
success. The oilfields were seized nominally by way of a monopoly for
ninety-nine years.
GERMANY'S SHARE OF BOOTY
As usual, Germany's allies had to yield up some of the prey to her. Thus
the Germans succeeded in setting up a condominium over the most
important part of the Dobrudja, between Constanza and the mouths of the
Danube. From Campina, the centre of the oilfields district, a pipe line
runs direct to Constanza, where the oil can be stored in enormous tanks,
which were left practically untouched when Constanza was abandoned in
November, 1916. It is essential for Germany that she should control the
pipe line, and this she will certainly do under the form of the
condominium.
As for the grain supply, the Germans, who had had to pay a heavy price
for Rumanian grain before Rumania went to war, owing especially to
British competition, were particularly careful to insure now against the
repetition of anything so unpleasant. The form of the agreement which
was dictated to Rumania on this point is that the surplus is to go to
Germany after the needs of Rumania have been satisfied. What the needs
of Rumania may be will be decided by a Rumanian commission; but this is
to be under German control, and there is not much doubt that the ration
allowed to the Rumanian population will be proportioned pretty
accurately to the needs of Germany.
These territorial and economic advantages secured, Germany went on to
add humiliation for Rumania to the heavy toll of material loss. They
insisted that the eight Rumanian divisions which were holding the
Rumanian front should be demobilized at once under the control of German
staff officers. Finally, the Germans asked that the Rumanian Government
should give all possible facilities to a German force to pass through
Rumania to Odessa. In point of fact, on March 10, long before the peace
conditions were settled, the first German battalions passed through
Galatz on their way to the Ukraine.
All these humiliating conditions had to be accepted. The motive of the
Germans in piling up their enactions so frequently was evidently to
compel the Averescu Cabinet, which they suspected of being pro-ally, to
resign. They hoped to force the King to form a Cabinet of their
Bucharest friends. In this they succeeded. The present Government of
Rumania may be pro-German; but the Rumanian Nation--from the last
peasant soldier, who brought the Germans to a stand last Summer at
Maraseshti and Oitoz, to the King--bitterly hates everything German.
Isolated as Rumania is now, she waits breathlessly for the victory of
the Allies, hoping to be helped to free herself from German dominion.
The Peace of Bucharest
Synopsis of Rumania's Peace Treaty
Following is a comprehensive summary of the treaty finally signed by the
Rumanian Government at Bucharest, May 6, 1918:
Clause 1.--_Re-establishment of Peace and Friendship._
Article I. Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and Turkey, on the
one hand, and Rumania on the other, declare the state of war ended
and that the contracting parties are determined henceforth to live
together in peace and friendship.
Article II. Diplomatic and Consular relations between the
contracting parties will be resumed immediately after the
ratification of the peace treaty. The admission of Consuls will be
reserved for a future agreement.
Clause 2.--_Demobilization of the Rumanian Forces._
Article III. The demobilization of the Rumanian Army, which is now
proceeding, will immediately after peace is signed be carried out
according to the prescriptions contained in Articles IV. and VII.
Article IV. The regular military bureau, the supreme military
authorities and all the military institutions will remain in
existence as provided by the last peace budget. The demobilization
of divisions eleven to fifteen will be continued as stipulated in
the treaty of Focsani signed on March 8 last. Of the Rumanian
divisions one to ten, the two infantry divisions now employed in
Bessarabia, including the Jäger battalions which are the remnants of
dissolved Jäger divisions, and including two cavalry divisions of
the Rumanian Army, will remain on a war footing until the danger
arising from the military operations now being carried on in the
Ukraine by the Central Powers ceases to exist.
The remaining eight divisions, including the staff, shall be
maintained in Moldavia at the reduced peace strength. Each division
will be composed of four infantry regiments, two cavalry regiments,
two field artillery regiments, and one battalion of pioneers,
together with the necessary technical and transport troops. The
total number of the infantry of the eight divisions shall not exceed
20,000 men; the total number of cavalry shall not exceed 3,200; the
entire artillery of the Rumanian Army, apart from the mobile
divisions, shall not exceed 9,000 men. The divisions remaining
mobilized in Bessarabia must, in case of demobilization, be reduced
to the same peace standard as the eight divisions mentioned in
Article 4.
All other Rumanian troops which did not exist in peace time will at
the end of their term of active military service remain as in peace
time. Reservists shall not be called up for training until a general
peace has been concluded.
Article V. Guns, machine guns, small arms, horses, and cars and
ammunition, which are available owing to the reduction or the
dissolution of the Rumanian units, shall be given into the custody
of the Supreme Command of the allied (Teutonic) forces in Rumania
until the conclusion of a general peace. They shall be guarded and
superintended by Rumanian troops under supervision of the allied
command. The amount of ammunition to be left to the Rumanian Army in
Moldavia is 250 rounds for each rifle, 2,500 for each machine gun,
and 150 for each gun. The Rumanian Army is entitled to exchange
unserviceable material at the depots of the occupied region, in
agreement with the allied Supreme Command, and to demand from the
depots the equivalent of the ammunition spent. The divisions in
Rumania which remain mobilized will receive their ammunition
requirements on a war basis.
Article VI. The demobilized Rumanian troops to remain in Moldavia
until the evacuation of the occupied Rumanian regions. Excepted from
this provision are military bureaus and men mentioned in Article 5,
who are required for the supervision of the arms and material laid
down in these regions. The men and reserve officers who have been
demobilized can return to the occupied regions. Active and formerly
active officers require, in order to return to these regions,
permission of the chief army command of the allied forces.
Article VII. A General Staff officer of the allied powers, with
staff, will be attached to the Rumanian Commander in Chief in
Moldavia, and a Rumanian General Staff officer, with staff, will be
attached as liaison officer to the chief command of the allied
forces in the occupied Rumanian districts.
Article VIII. The Rumanian naval forces will be left to their full
complement and equipment, in so far as their views, in accordance
with Article IX., are not to be limited until affairs in Bessarabia
are cleared, whereupon these forces are to be brought to the usual
peace standard. Excepted herefrom are river forces required for the
purposes of river police and naval forces on the Black Sea, employed
for the protection of maritime traffic and the restoration of
mine-free fairways. Immediately after the signing of the peace
treaty these river forces will, on a basis of special arrangement,
be placed at the disposal of the authorities intrusted with river
policing. The Nautical Black Sea Commission will receive the right
of disposing of the naval forces on the Black Sea, and a naval
officer is to be attached to this commission in order to restore
connection therewith.
Article IX. All men serving in the army and navy, who in peace time
were employed in connection with harbors or shipping, shall, on
demobilization, be the first to be dismissed in order that they may
find employment in their former occupations.
Clause 3.--_Cessions of territory outlined in Articles X., XI., and
XII._
Article X. With regard to Dobrudja, which, according to Paragraph 1
of the peace preliminaries, is to be added by Rumania, the following
stipulations are laid down: (A) Rumania cedes again to Bulgaria,
with frontier rectifications, Bulgarian territory that fell to her
by virtue of the peace treaty concluded at Bucharest in 1913.
(Attached is a map showing the exact extent of the frontier
rectification, with a note to the effect that it forms an essential
part of the peace treaty.) A commission composed of representatives
of the allied powers shall shortly after the signature of the treaty
lay down and demarkate on the spot the new frontier line in
Dobrudja. The Danube frontier between the regions ceded to Bulgaria
and Rumania follows the river valley. Directly after the signature
of the treaty further particulars shall be decided upon regarding
the definition of the valley. Thus the demarkation shall take place
in Autumn, 1918, at low water level.
[Illustration: RUMANIA AND ITS LOST TERRITORY: THE BLACK AREA SHOWS THE
SOUTHERN PART OF DOBRUDJA, WON FROM THE BULGARS IN THE LAST BALKAN WAR,
WHICH RUMANIA IS FORCED TO RETURN TO BULGARIA. THE SHADED AREA--NORTHERN
DOBRUDJA--WHICH INCLUDES THE MOUTHS OF THE DANUBE AND RUMANIA'S ONLY
ACCESS TO THE BLACK SEA, IS CEDED TO THE CENTRAL POWERS, WHO WILL
ADMINISTER IT THROUGH A MIXED COMMISSION. THE SHADING ALONG RUMANIA'S
WESTERN BORDER INDICATES THE AUSTRO-GERMAN "RECTIFICATION," WHICH GIVES
AUSTRIA ALL THE MOUNTAIN PASSES AND IMPORTANT MINERAL LANDS.]
(B) Rumania cedes to the allied powers that portion of Dobrudja up
to the Danube north of the new frontier line described under Section
A; that is to say, between the confluence of the stream and the
Black Sea, to the St. George branch of the river. The Danube
frontier between the territory ceded to the allied powers and
Rumania will be formed by the river valley. The allied powers and
Rumania will undertake to see that Rumania shall receive an assured
trade route to the Black Sea, by way of Tchernavoda and Constanza,
(Kustendje.)
Article XI. says that Rumania agrees that her frontier shall undergo
rectification in favor of Austria-Hungary as indicated on the map,
and continues:
"Two mixed commissions, to be composed of equal numbers of
representatives of the powers concerned, are immediately after the
ratification of the peace treaty to fix a new frontier line on the
spot."
Article XII. Property in the ceded regions of Rumania passes without
indemnification to the States which acquire these regions. Those
States to which the ceded territories fall shall make agreements
with Rumania on the following points: First, with regard to the
allegiance of the Rumanian inhabitants of these regions and the
manner in which they are to be accorded the right of option;
secondly, with regard to the property of communes split by the new
frontier; thirdly and fourthly, with regard to administrative and
juridical matters; fifthly, with regard to the effect of the changes
of territory on dioceses.
Clause 4 deals with war indemnities, of which Article XIII. declares
that the contracting parties mutually renounce indemnification of
their war costs, and special arrangements are to be made for the
settlement of damages caused by the war.
The fifth clause relates to the evacuation of occupied territories,
embodied in Articles XIV. to XXIV., summed up as follows:
"The occupied Rumanian territories shall be evacuated at times to be
later agreed upon. The strength of the army of occupation shall,
apart from the formation employed in economic functions, not surpass
six divisions. Until the ratification of the treaty the present
occupation administration continues, but immediately after the
signature of the treaty the Rumanian Government has the power to
supplement the corps of officials by such appointments or dismissals
as may seem good to it."
Up to the time of evacuation, a civil official of the occupation
administration shall always be attached to the Rumanian Ministry in
order to facilitate so far as possible the transfer of the civil
administration to the Rumanian authorities. The Rumanian authorities
must follow the directions which the commanders of the army of
occupation consider requisite in the interest of the security of the
occupied territory, as well as the security, maintenance, and
distribution of their troops.
For the present, railways, posts, and telegraphs will remain under
military administration, and will, in accordance with proper
agreements, be at the disposal of the authorities and population. As
a general rule, the Rumanian courts will resume jurisdiction in the
occupied territories to their full extent. The allied powers will
retain jurisdiction, as well as the power of police supervision,
over those belonging to the army of occupation. Punishable acts
against the army of occupation will be judged by its military
tribunals, and also offenses against the orders of the occupation
administration. Persons can only return to the occupied territories
in proportion as the Rumanian Government provides for their security
and maintenance.
The army of occupation's right to requisition is restricted to
wheat, peas, beans, fodder, wool, cattle, and meat from the products
of 1918, and, further, to timber, oil and oil products, always
observing proper regard for an orderly plan of procuring these
commodities, as well as satisfying the home needs of Rumania.
From the ratification of the treaty onward the army of occupation
shall be maintained at the expense of Rumania. A separate agreement
will be made with regard to the details of the transfer of the civil
administration, as well as with regard to the withdrawal of the
regulations of the occupation administration. Money spent by the
allied powers in the occupied territories on public works, including
industrial undertakings, shall be made good on their transfer. Until
the evacuation these undertakings shall remain under the military
administration.
Clause 6.--_Regulations regarding navigation on the Danube._
Article XXIV. Rumania shall conclude a new Danube Navigation act
with Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and Turkey, regulating the
legal position on the Danube from the point where it becomes
navigable, with due regard for the prescriptions subsequently set
forth under Sections A to D, and on conditions that the
prescriptions under Section B shall apply equally for all parties to
the Danube act. Negotiations regarding the new Danube Navigation act
shall begin at Munich as soon as possible after the ratification of
the treaty.
The sections follow: (A) Under the name Danube Mouth Commission, the
European Danube Commission shall, under conditions subsequently set
forth, be maintained as a permanent institution, empowered with the
privileges and obligations hitherto appertaining to it for the river
from Braila downward, inclusive of this port. The conditions
referred to provide, among other things, that the commission shall
henceforth only comprise representatives of States situated on the
Danube or the European coasts of the Black Sea. The commission's
authority extends from Braila downward to the whole of the arms and
mouth of the Danube and adjoining parts of the Black Sea.
(B.) Rumania guarantees to the ships of the other contracting
parties free navigation on the Rumanian Danube, including the
harbors. Rumania shall levy no toll on ships or rafts of the
contracting parties and their cargoes merely for the navigation of
the river. Neither shall Rumania, in the future, levy on the river
any tolls, save those permitted by the new Danube Navigation act.
Section C provides for the abolition after the ratification of the
treaty of the Rumanian ad valorem duty of 1-1/2 per cent. on imports
and exports.
Articles XXV. and XXVI. deal with Danube questions and provide that
Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, Turkey, and Rumania are entitled
to maintain warships on the Danube, which may navigate down stream
to the sea and up stream as far as the upper frontier of Austria's
territory, but are forbidden intercourse with the shore of another
State or to put in there except under force majeure or with the
consent of the State.
The powers represented on the Danube Mouth Commission are entitled
to maintain two light warships each as guard ships at the mouth of
the Danube.
Article XXVII. provides equal rights for all religious
denominations, including Jews and Moslems, in Rumania, including the
right to establish private schools.
Article XXVIII. provides that diversity of religion does not affect
legal, political, or civil rights of the inhabitants, and, pending
ratification of the treaty, a decree will be proclaimed giving the
full rights of Rumanian subjects to all those, such as Jews, having
no nationality.
The remaining three articles provide that economic relations shall
be regulated by separate treaties, coming into operation at the same
time as the peace treaty. The same applies to the exchange of
prisoners.
THE KAISER EXULTS
Emperor William replied to Chancellor von Hertling's congratulations on
the conclusion of peace between Germany and Rumania with this message:
The termination of the state of war in the east fills me also with
proud joy and gratitude. Thanks to God's gracious help, the German
people, with never-failing patriotism, under brilliant military
leadership and with the assistance of strong diplomacy, are fighting
step by step for a happy future.
I can but convey my thanks on this occasion to you and also to
your collaborators. God will help us to pass through the struggle
which the hostile attitude of the powers, still under arms against
us, has forced us to continue and to conclude it victoriously for
the good of Germany and her allies.
Emperor William in a telegram to Dr. Richard von Kühlmann, the German
Secretary for Foreign Affairs, said:
The conclusion of peace with Rumania gives me an opportunity of
expressing my joyful satisfaction that peace has now been given to
the entire eastern front.
May rich blessings descend on the peoples concerned from the
resumption of peaceful labor to which they can now devote
themselves.
I thank you and your collaborators for the work done in loyal
co-operation with our allies, and I confer on you as a sign of my
appreciation the Order of the Royal Crown of the First Class.
Bessarabia Voluntarily United to Rumania
Count Czernin, the Austro-Hungarian Foreign Minister, during the
negotiations with Rumania explained in a public speech that Rumania
would be compensated for the loss of territory on the Transylvanian
border by taking the southern part of Bessarabia, the Russian province
bordering Rumania on the east. The southern part of Bessarabia, however,
has few Rumanians, while the northern part is largely populated by them.
Subsequent events have apparently changed the Austro-German plans, for
the whole of Bessarabia has voted almost unanimously for union with
Rumania. The event was officially announced at Washington on April 22
through the Rumanian Charge d'Affaires, N. H. Lahovary, as follows:
On April 9 the National Assembly of Bessarabia voted by 86 against
3 for union of Bessarabia to Rumania. The Rumanian Premier was then
at Kishinev (capital of Bessarabia) and took cognizance of the vote
amid enthusiastic acclamation and declared this union to be
definitive and indissoluble.
Bessarabian delegates went to Jassy on April 12 to present the
homage of the people of Bessarabia to their Majesties the King and
Queen of Rumania. A Te Deum was sung at the cathedral in the
presence of the royal family, the Government, and the Bessarabian
delegates. The Archbishop of Bessarabia was also there, having
taken the place next to the Metropolitan of Moldavia, who
celebrated the service.
After the ceremony was over a parade of the troops took place,
followed by a luncheon given at the royal palace in honor of the
Ministers of Bessarabia. His Majesty the King drank to the health
of the united Rumanian and Bessarabian people, after witnessing the
great historic event accomplished by the will of the people of
Bessarabia and proclaiming indissoluble the union of the ancient
province of the Moldavian crown to the mother country.
Bessarabia, according to Mr. Lahovary, has about 3,000,000 inhabitants,
and more than three-fourths of these are Rumanians. "Bessarabia," he
continued, "is one of the richest farm lands of what was formerly
Russia. The Bolsheviki ravaged it frightfully during the Winter months,
and the country was only saved by the Rumanian troops, who were called
in by the Bessarabians. Because of this help the Bolsheviki declared war
on Rumania, and there were violent clashes between the Bolshevist
brigands and Rumanian troops. Finally the latter ousted the Bolsheviki
and succeeded in restoring tranquillity, but only after the Bolsheviki
had committed most frightful outrages and pillaged the country. If
Rumania was obliged to make peace, it was due directly to the attitude
of the Bolsheviki toward Rumania."
The War and the Bagdad Railway
A Study by Dr. Morris Jastrow
_Professor of Semitic Languages in the University of Pennsylvania_
[From his book, "The War and the Bagdad Railway"]
_Germany's project of a railway from Berlin to Bagdad, now rivaled by a
new one from Berlin to Bombay via Russia, was one of the chief causes of
the war. It dates from 1888, when a syndicate of German and British
capital organized the Anatolian Railway, to be built from Haidar Pacha,
opposite Constantinople, to Angora--about 360 miles. The German members
later bought out the British interests. Further concessions were
obtained, but in 1898 a much more ambitious plan was brought forward by
the visit of the German Emperor to Sultan Abdul Hamid, and in 1899 the
general policy of a line across Asia Minor was announced. This line,
however, as a glance at the map will show, did not get beyond Angora;
Russia killed that phase of the project. The Bagdad Railway was then
organized in 1903, and obtained from Turkey an unprecedented concession
running southeastward to the Persian Gulf. Both England and France were
offered a minor share in the enterprise, but refused. The Germans thus
remained in full control, at the same time obtaining all the French
capital they needed through Swiss banks._
The Bagdad Railway has been a nightmare resting heavily on all Europe
for eighteen years--ever since the announcement in 1899 of the
concession granted to the Anatolian Railway Company. No step ever taken
by any European power anywhere has caused so much trouble, given rise to
so many complications, and has been such a constant menace to the peace
of the world. No European statesman to whom the destinies of his country
have been committed has rested easily in the presence of this spectre of
the twentieth century. In the last analysis the Bagdad Railway will be
found to be the largest single contributing factor in bringing on the
war, because through it more than through any other cause the mutual
distrust among European powers has been nurtured until the entire
atmosphere of international diplomacy became vitiated. The explanation
of this remarkable phenomenon, transforming what appeared on the surface
to be a magnificent commercial enterprise, with untold possibilities for
usefulness, into a veritable curse, an excrescence on the body politic
of Europe, is to be sought in the history of the highway through which
the railway passes. The control of this highway is the key to the
East--the Near and the Farther East as well. Such has been its rôle in
the past--such is its significance today. * * *
The most recent events are merely the repetition on a large scale of
such as took place thousands of years ago and at frequent intervals
since. The weapons have changed, new contestants have arisen to take the
place of civilizations that after serving their day faded out of sight,
but the issue has ever remained the same. We are confronted by that
issue today--the control of the highway that leads to the East. * * *
The decisive battlefields for the triumph of democracy are in the West,
but the decision for supremacy among European nations lies in the East.
The Bagdad Railway is the most recent act in a drama the beginnings of
which lie in the remote past. * * *
The course of events in the Near East since the entering wedge,
represented by Napoleon's expedition to Egypt, is to be interpreted as
the irresistible onslaught of the West to break down the barrier created
in 1453. As we survey the successive steps in this onslaught, the
struggle between France and England, culminating in the Convention of
1904, which gave France a dominant position in Morocco in return for
allowing England a free hand in Egypt, the attempts of France and Russia
to hedge in England in India, followed by England and Russia in dividing
up their "spheres of influence" in Persia, the commercial and railway
concessions secured by England, France, and Russia from Turkey, sinking
ever deeper into a slough of desperate weakness, we see how these
struggles, conventions, and partnerships all lead up to the dramatic
climax--the struggle for the historic highway which is the key to the
Near East. Its possession will mean in the future--as it always has in
the past--dominion over Syria, Mesopotamia, Egypt, and probably Arabia;
and the Near East points its finger directly toward the Farther East.
Under the modern symbol of railway control, Asia Minor, true to the
genius of its history, once more looms up as a momentous factor in the
world history. * * * The murder at Serajevo was merely the match applied
to the pile all ready to be kindled. * * *
[Illustration: MAP SHOWING THE COMPLETED AND PROJECTED SECTIONS OF THE
BAGDAD RAILWAY, THE GERMAN ENTERPRISE THAT FIGURED AMONG THE PRIMARY
CAUSES OF THE WAR]
Full credit should be given to the German brains in which this project
was hatched, and there is no reason to suspect that at the outset the
German capitalists who fathered the enterprise were actuated by any
other motive than the perfectly legitimate one to create a great avenue
of commerce. When, however, the German Government entered the field as
the backer and promoter of the scheme the political aspect of the
railroad was moved into the foreground, and that aspect has since
overshadowed the commercial one.
Had the original plan of the German group to run the Bagdad Railway
across Northern Asia Minor from Angora been adhered to, the interior
would have been kept free, and it is likely that a favorite English plan
(afterward taken up also by the French Government) to run a railway from
the Gulf of Alexandretta via Aleppo and the Euphrates to Bagdad might
have been carried out. * * * The railway projects of Asia Minor and
Syria might have remained purely commercial undertakings of great
cultural value. The political aspect of railway plans in the Near East
might have been permanently kept in the background.
The stumbling block that prevented the execution of the original plan
was--strangely enough--Russia. Her opposition to the northern route
brought about the change. Russia had plans of her own in Asia Minor and
in the lands to the east beyond. In the last two decades of the
nineteenth century Russia, fearing the extension of English power in
the Far East, cast her eyes about for securing zones of influence that
might bring her into touch with the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean.
She secured the co-operation of France in 1891, and it is both
interesting and instructive to note that the Franco-Russian alliance was
originally directed against England rather than against Germany. * * *
She exacted from Turkey the Black Sea Basin agreement, formally
sanctioned in 1900, which reserved to her the right to construct
railroads in Northern Asia Minor. * * * At all events, her opposition
was strong enough to secure a modification of the plan of the Bagdad
Railway in favor of the transverse route, which, as it turned out, gave
Germany a tremendous advantage over all rivals, though it also brought
on the opposition of England. Russia was not prepared to allow any
further advantage to be gained in the East by England. On the whole she
still preferred Germany.
[England's opposition to Germany's new railway scheme became acute when
it was publicly announced that the road was not to terminate at Bagdad,
or even at Basra, but to run on to a point "to be determined" on the
Persian Gulf. The Convention of 1902-3 made it evident that Germany had
stolen a march on England, and that the prestige of France, too, had
suffered. The favor shown to the German syndicate by the Turkish
Government was evident. The terms were indeed unprecedented. Says Dr.
Jastrow: "No wonder that there were great rejoicings in Germany when
they were announced and gnashing of teeth outside of Germany." With the
announcement of the 1902-3 concession and the formation of the Bagdad
Railway Company as a successor to the old Anatolian Company, the German
syndicate did offer English and French capitalists a share in the
enterprise, and insisted that the plan was "international." But the
"share" thus offered was merely assistance in financing what would
remain a German matter--inasmuch as Germany reserved the control in the
management's personnel. England and France therefore refused to
participate.]
LICHNOWSKY'S MEMORANDUM
Von Jagow's Replies to the Prince's Revelations--Further German Comments
The revelations by Prince Lichnowsky, German Ambassador in London at the
outbreak of the war, which were printed in the May number of CURRENT
HISTORY MAGAZINE, produced a profound impression throughout the world,
disclosing as they did the part played by the German Imperial Government
in starting the war. German officialdom at once attacked Lichnowsky,
compelling him to resign his rank and threatening him with trial for
treason. On April 27, 1918, the Prussian upper house decided to grant
the request of the First State Attorney of District Court No. 1 of
Berlin for authorization to undertake criminal proceedings against
Prince Lichnowsky. The State Attorney held that Prince Lichnowsky, in
communicating to third parties documents or their contents officially
intrusted to him by his superiors had infringed the secrecy incumbent on
him.
In referring to the prosecution of the Prince, Maximilian Harden, in a
May issue of the Zukunft, said:
"I will swear that there are dozens of men sitting there in these dark
war hours who have written and said similar things in sharper and more
bitter words." Herr Harden asked whether these would meet the same fate
if their papers were stolen and exposed in German shop windows. "Many a
trusted wife," he said, "must cry out in fear: 'But, you know, Ernst,
Adolf, and Klaus have spoken more desperately.'"
The chief theme of Lichnowsky's memorandum, the editor of Die Zukunft
asserts, was the danger to Germany of a too-close alliance with Vienna
and Budapest, of the flirtation with Poland, and his insistence upon the
necessity of friendly relations with a strong Russia. The German outcry
against Lichnowsky, however, gave foreign countries the impression that
the Prince had made fearfully damaging disclosures of Berlin's guilt.
The question of blame, he says, "reflected almost an identical
interpretation to that of our White Book, and a cool head would not have
made a world sensation out of it." Harden concludes by saying that an
ostracized Lichnowsky would become a power; but the Prussian Diet has no
sense of humor.
In the May CURRENT HISTORY MAGAZINE an abridged version of the first
reply of former Foreign Secretary von Jagow to Prince Lichnowsky was
printed, but the document is of such importance that a translation in
its entirety is herewith given.[4]
[Footnote 4: The full text of Prince Lichnowsky's memorandum, with the
replies of Herr von Jagow, the Mühlon letter, comments of the German
press, and other matter, has been published in a separate forty-page
pamphlet by The Current History Magazine.]
Von Jagow's Two Replies to Lichnowsky
Practically coincident with the giving out for publication on March 19,
through the semi-official Wolff Telegraph Bureau, of an account of a
discussion in the Main Committee of the Reichstag of the memorandum of
the former Ambassador at London, together with substantial excerpts from
the main chapters of his work, the German Government got in touch with
Herr von Jagow, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs when the war
began, and asked him to write an article calculated to counteract the
effect of the Lichnowsky revelations. Herr von Jagow hastened to accede
to this request, but he merely made matters worse for the German
Government by practically admitting the correctness of Prince
Lichnowsky's assertion that England did not want war and that Berlin was
aware of this.
Copies of German newspapers received here show that, while the journals
of all factions were practically of one mind in reproaching the German
Foreign Office for its lack of diplomatic ability, the Pan-German and
militarist organs laid special stress upon the implication in the von
Jagow article that Germany might have been willing to drop its alliance
with Austria if it could have been sure of contracting one with England,
and the Liberal and Socialist papers declared that it was no use
insisting any longer that Great Britain was guilty of the wholesale
bloodshed of the world war, and that now nothing really stood in the way
of moving for a peace by agreement.
These comments were so sharp on both sides that Herr von Jagow was soon
moved to write another article defending his reply to Prince Lichnowsky
and arguing that his statements regarding the Triple Alliance could by
no means be interpreted as meaning that he would have been willing to
abandon Austria-Hungary in favor of Great Britain. In this article,
which was first printed in the Münchener Neueste Nachrichten, von Jagow
says he cannot understand how these statements can be taken to mean that
he was an opponent of the alliance with Austria and was considering a
choice between Austria and England. He proceeds to defend his own policy
by reference to the fact that Bismarck was not content with the Triple
Alliance on the one hand, and the famous "Reinsurance Treaty" with
Russia on the other hand, but in 1887 deliberately promoted agreements
between Austria-Hungary, Italy, and England, with the object of
"bringing England into a closer relationship to the Central European
league and making her share its burdens." Bismarck's policy relieved
Germany of some of her obligations, because "Austria-Hungary, supported
by Italy and England, held the balance against Russia."
Then, as The London Times points out, carefully avoiding the history of
the present Kaiser's reversal of Bismarck's policy and abandonment of
the "Reinsurance Treaty" with Russia, von Jagow defends his attempts to
make British policy serve Germany's purposes. It was "because of the
isolation of the Triple Alliance, which had come about in the course of
years," that von Jagow "pursued a rapprochement with England." He
did so, "not with any idea of putting England in the place of
Austria-Hungary, but in order, by disposing of the Anglo-German
antagonism, to move England to a different orientation of her policy."
Germany "could not count upon Italy," and wanted other assistance in
upholding Austria-Hungary in the Balkans against Russia. Herr von Jagow
proceeds:
"The combination of England would have relieved us of the necessity of
taking: our stand alone, when the case arose, for Austria-Hungary
against Russia. As was effected by the agreements of 1887, a part
of our obligations would have been laid upon other shoulders. It is in
this sense that I spoke of the possibility of the loosening and the
dissolution of old unions which no longer satisfy all the conditions.
"The alliance with Austria-Hungary was the cornerstone of Bismarckian
policy, and that it had to remain. The expansion of the alliance into
the Triple Alliance, by taking in Italy, was a means of supplementing
the Central European grouping of the powers; it was an 'auxiliary
structure,' by means of which Bismarck aimed at a further guarantee of
peace, especially as he intended thereby to check Italy's Irredentist
policy. Threads then ran to England via Italy. These threads gave way
later, and this caused a considerable change in the attitude of Italy.
Friendly to England
"A friendly attitude on the part of England toward the Triple
Alliance--what Professor Hermann Oncken calls the moral extension of the
Triple Alliance over the Channel--was the aim of our policy, and in this
we were sure of the complete accord of our allies. I never thought that
the agreements about Bagdad and the colonies would mean an immediate
alteration of England's course in European policy. These agreements were
to prepare the way for this change of course. I was under no illusions
about the difficulties which would still have to be overcome. But
difficulties, and even resistance on the part of public opinion in one's
own country, cannot prevent us from following a road that is seen to be
right. The league between Germany and Austria-Hungary, supported by
friendship with England, would have created a peace bloc of unassailable
strength. The increasing Irredentism of Italy, her friction with Austria
on the Adriatic, and the Russophile and also Irredentist tendencies of
Rumania, would have lost their importance. Then, in given circumstances,
the Triple Alliance treaty might have been modified. The union with
England would also have secured us against Russian aggression, and the
obligations imposed upon us by our alliance would thereby have been
diminished.
"The road to this goal was long. The calm development was crossed by the
Serajevo murders, and in the fateful hour of August, 1914, the English
Government--instead of keeping peace--preferred to join in the war
against us. The English Government has probably since then been assailed
by serious doubts as to whether its choice was right. In any case, it
assumed a considerable share of the guilt for the bloodshed in Europe."
Herr von Jagow then denies that his scheme was inevitably doomed to
failure, saying that the policy of England is more liable to adaptation
and alteration than the policy of any other country, and that "more
far-seeing statesmen than those who were intrusted with the fortunes of
the Island Empire in 1914--think only of the Pitts, Disraelis, and
Salisburys--held other views about the orientation of England toward
Germany and Russia."
"As matters stand today, attempts to arrive at clearness about the
respective parts played by our enemies at the outbreak of the war, and
about the greater or less degrees of guilt belonging to each of them,
can have only a historical value. England has made the cause of our
enemies her own, and so she also shall be made to feel how Germany
defends herself against her enemies."
Full Text of von Jagow's First Reply
[Copyrighted]
_Herr von Jagow's first reply to Prince Lichnowsky, which was printed in
the Norddeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung March 23, 1918, follows:_
"So far as it is possible, in general, I shall refrain from taking up
the statements concerning the policy obtaining before my administration
of the Foreign Office.
"I should like to make the following remarks about the individual points
in the article:
"When I was named State Secretary in January, 1913, I regarded a
German-English rapprochement as desirable and also believed an agreement
attainable on the points where our interests touched or crossed each
other. At all events, I wanted to try to work in this sense. A principal
point for us was the Mesopotamia-Asia Minor question--the so-called
Bagdad policy--as this had become for us a question of prestige. If
England wanted to force us out there it certainly appeared to me that a
conflict could hardly be avoided. In Berlin I began, as soon as it was
possible to do so, to negotiate over the Bagdad Railroad. We found a
favorable disposition on the part of the English Government, and the
result was the agreement that was almost complete when the world war
broke out.
Colonial Questions
"At the same time the negotiations over the Portuguese colonies that had
been begun by Count Metternich, (as German Ambassador at London,)
continued by Baron Marschall, and reopened by Prince Lichnowsky were
under way. I intended to carve the way later for further negotiations
regarding other--for example, East Asiatic--problems, when what was in
my opinion the most important problem, that of the Bagdad Railroad,
should be settled, and an atmosphere of more confidence thus created. I
also left the naval problem aside, as it would have been difficult to
reach an early agreement over that matter, after past experiences.
"I can pass over the development of the Albanian problem, as it occurred
before my term of office began. In general, however, I would like to
remark that such far-reaching disinterestedness in Balkan questions as
Prince Lichnowsky proposes does not seem possible to me. It would have
contradicted the essential part of the alliance if we had completely
ignored really vital interests of our ally. We, too, had demanded that
Austria stand by us at Algeciras, and at that time Italy's attitude had
caused serious resentment among us. Russia, although she had no interest
at all in Morocco, also stood by France. Finally, it was our task, as
the third member of the alliance, to support such measures as would
render possible a settlement of the divergent interests of our allies
and avoid a conflict between them.
"It further appeared impossible to me not to pursue a 'triple alliance
policy' in matters where the interests of the allied powers touched each
other. Then Italy would have been driven entirely into line with the
Entente in questions of the Orient, and Austria handed over to the mercy
of Russia, and the Triple Alliance would thus have really gone to
pieces. And we, too, would not have been able to look after our
interests in the Orient, if we did not have some support. And even
Prince Lichnowsky does not deny that we had to represent great economic
interests right there. But today economic interests are no longer to be
separated from political interests.
"That the people 'in Petrograd wanted to see the Sultan independent' is
an assertion that Prince Lichnowsky will hardly be able to prove; it
would contradict every tradition of Russian policy. If we, furthermore,
had not had at our command the influence at Constantinople founded by
Baron Marschall, it would hardly have been possible for us to defend our
economic interests in Turkey in the desired way.
Russia and Germany
"When Prince Lichnowsky further asserts that we only 'drove Russia, our
natural friend and best neighbor, into the arms of France and England
through our Oriental and Balkan policy' he is in conflict with the
historical facts. Only because Prince Gortschakoff [Russian Premier] was
guiding Russian policy toward a rapprochement with a France lusting for
revenge was Prince Bismarck induced to enter into the alliance with
Austria-Hungary; through the alliance with Rumania he barred an advance
of Russia toward the south. Prince Lichnowsky condemns the basic
principles of Bismarck's policy. Our attempts to draw closer to Russia
went to pieces--Björki proves it--or remained ineffective, like the
so-called Potsdam agreement. Also, Russia was not always our 'best
neighbor.' Under Queen Elizabeth, as at present, she strove for
possession of East Prussia to extend her Baltic coasts and to insure her
domination of the Baltic. The Petrograd 'window' has gradually widened,
so as to take in Esthonia, Livonia, Courland, and Finland and reach
after Aland. Poland was arranged to be a field over which to send troops
against us. Pan-Slavism, which was dominating the Russian policy to an
ever greater degree, had positive anti-German tendencies.
"And we did not force Russia to drop 'her policy of Asiatic expansion,'
but only tried to defend ourselves against her encroachments in European
policy and her encircling of our Austro-Hungarian ally.
Grey Conciliatory
"Just as little as Sir Edward Grey [British Foreign Secretary] did we
want war to come over Albania. Therefore, in spite of our unhappy
experience at Algeciras, we agreed to a conference. The credit of an
'attitude of mediation' at the conference should not be denied Sir
Edward Grey; but that he 'by no means placed himself on the side of the
Entente' is, however, surely saying rather too much. Certainly he often
advised yielding in Petrograd (as we did in Vienna) and found 'formulas
of agreement,' but in dealing with the other side he represented the
Entente, because he, no less than ourselves, neither would, nor could,
abandon his associates. That we, on the other hand, 'without exception,
represented the standpoint dictated to us from Vienna' is absolutely
false. We, like England, played a mediatory rôle, and also in Vienna
counseled far more yielding and moderation than Prince Lichnowsky
appears to know about, or even to suggest. And then Vienna made several
far-reaching concessions, (Dibra, Djakowa.) If Prince Lichnowsky, who
always wanted to be wiser than the Foreign Office, and who apparently
allowed himself to be strongly influenced by the Entente statesmen, did
not know this, he surely ought not to make any false assertions now! If,
to be sure, the degree of yielding that was necessary was reached in
Vienna, we also naturally had to represent the Austrian standpoint at
the conference. Ambassador Szögyeni himself was not one of the
extremists; in Vienna they were by no means always satisfied with his
attitude. That the Ambassador, with whom I was negotiating almost every
day, constantly sounded the refrain of casus foederis is entirely
unknown to me. It certainly is true that Prince Lichnowsky for some
time past had not been counted as a friend of Austria in Vienna. Still
complaints about him came to my ears oftener from the side of Marquis
San Giuliano [Italian Foreign Minister] than from the side of Count
Berchtold, [Austro-Hungarian Foreign Minister.]
"King Nicholas's seizure of Scutari constituted a mockery of the entire
conference and a snub to all the powers taking part in it.
"Russia was by no means obliged 'to give way to us all along the line';
on the contrary, she 'advanced the wishes of Serbia' in several ways,
Serbia even receiving some cities and strips of territory that could
have been regarded as purely Albanian or preponderatingly so. Prince
Lichnowsky says that 'the course of the conference was a fresh
humiliation for the self-consciousness of Russia' and that there was a
feeling of resentment in Russia on that account. It cannot be the task
of our policy to satisfy all the unjustified demands of the exaggerated
self-consciousness of a power by no means friendly to us, at the cost of
our ally. Russia has no vital interests on the Adriatic, but our ally
certainly has. If we, as Prince Lichnowsky seems to wish, had flatly
taken the same stand as Russia, the result would have been a humiliation
for Austria-Hungary and thus a weakening of our group. Prince Lichnowsky
seems only anxious that Russia be not humiliated; a humiliation of
Austria is apparently a matter of indifference to him.
The "Wily" Venizelos
"When Prince Lichnowsky says that our 'Austrophilie' was not adapted to
'promote Russia's interests in Asia,' I don't exactly understand what
this means. Following a disastrous diversion toward East Asia--in the
Japanese war we had favored Russia without even being thanked for
it!--Russia again took up her policy directed toward the European Orient
(the Balkans and Constantinople) with renewed impulse, (the Balkan
Alliance, Buchlau, Iswolsky, &c.) [Iswolsky retired as Russian Foreign
Minister after Germany forced the Czar to repudiate his Serbian policy
in 1909.]
"Venizelos, the cunning Cretan with the 'Ribbon of the Order of the Red
Eagle,' evidently knew how to throw a little sand into the eyes of our
Ambassador. He, in contrast to King Constantine and Theototy, always was
pro-Entente. His present attitude reveals his feelings as clearly as can
be. Herr Danef, however, was entirely inclined toward Petrograd.
"That Count Berchtold displayed certain inclinations toward Bulgaria
also in its differences with Rumania is true; that we 'naturally went
with him' is, however, entirely false. With our support, King Carol had
the satisfaction of the Bucharest peace. [Ended second Balkan war.] If,
therefore, in the case of the Bucharest peace, in which we favored the
wishes and interests of Rumania, which was allied to us, our policy
deviated somewhat from that of Vienna, the Austro-Hungarian Cabinet
certainly did not believe--as Prince Lichnowsky asserts--that it 'could
count upon our support in case of its revision.' That Marquis San
Giuliano 'is said to have warned us already in the Summer of 1913 from
becoming involved in a world war,' because at that time in Austria 'the
thought of a campaign against Serbia' had found entrance, is entirely
unknown to me. Just as little do I know that Herr von Tschirschky--who
certainly was rather pessimistic by nature--is said to have declared in
the Spring of 1914 that there soon would be war. Therefore, I was just
as ignorant of the 'important happenings' that Prince Lichnowsky here
suspects as he was himself! Such events as the English visit to
Paris--Sir Edward Grey's first to the Continent--surely must have been
known to the Ambassador, and we informed him about the secret
Anglo-Russian naval agreement; to be sure, he did not want to believe
it!
"In the matter of Liman von Sander, [German reorganizer of the Turkish
Army,] we made a far-reaching concession to Russia by renouncing the
General's power of command over Constantinople. I will admit that this
point of the agreement over the military mission was not opportune
politically.
"When Prince Lichnowsky boasts of having succeeded in giving the treaty
a form corresponding to our wishes, this credit must not be denied him,
although it certainly required strong pressure on several occasions to
induce him to represent some of our desires with more emphasis.
"When Prince Lichnowsky says that he received the authorization
definitely to conclude the treaty, after he previously asserts that 'the
treaty was consequently dropped,' this contains a contradiction which we
may let the Prince straighten out. Lichnowsky's assertion, however, that
we delayed publication because the treaty would have been 'a public
success' for him that we begrudged him, is an unheard-of insinuation
that can only be explained through his self-centred conception of
things. The treaty would have lost its practical and moral effect--one
of its main objects was to create a good atmosphere between us and
England--if its publication had been greeted with violent attacks upon
'perfidious Albion' in our Anglophobe press and in our Parliament. And
there is no doubt that, in view of our internal position at that time,
this is what the simultaneous publication of the so-called Windsor
Treaty would have caused. And the howl about English perfidy that the
internal contradiction between the text of the Windsor Treaty and our
treaty would doubtless have called forth would hardly have been stilled
in the minds of our public through the assurance of English bona fides.
"With justified precaution, we intended to allow the publication to be
made only at the proper moment, when the danger of disapproving
criticism was no longer so acute, if possible simultaneously with the
announcement of the Bagdad Treaty, which also was on the point of being
concluded. The fact that two great agreements had been concluded between
us and England would doubtless have materially favored their reception
and made it easier to overlook the aesthetic defects of the Portuguese
agreement. It was consideration for the effect of the agreement--with
which we wanted to improve our relations with England, not to generate
more trouble--that caused our hesitation.
"It is correct that--although in a secondary degree--consideration was
also taken of the efforts just then being made to obtain economic
interests in the Portuguese colonies, which the publication of the
agreement would naturally have made more difficult to realize. These
conditions Prince Lichnowsky may not have been able to perceive fully
from London, but he should have trusted in our objective judgment and
acquiesced in it, instead of replacing his lack of understanding with
suspicions and the interjection of personal motives. He certainly would
have found our arguments understood by the English statesmen themselves.
"The Ambassador's speeches aroused considerable adverse sentiment in
this country. It was necessary for the creation of a better atmosphere,
in which alone the rapprochement being worked for could flourish, that
confidence in our English policy and in our London Ambassador be spread
also among our people at home. Prince Lichnowsky, otherwise so
susceptible to public opinion, did not take this motive sufficiently
into account, for he saw everything only through his London spectacles.
The charges against the attitude of the Foreign Office are too untenable
to be bothered with. I would only like to point out that Prince
Lichnowsky was not left in ignorance regarding the 'most important
things,' in so far as they were of value to his mission. On the
contrary, I gave the Ambassador much more general information than used
to be the custom. My own experiences as Ambassador induced me to do so.
But with Lichnowsky there was the inclination to rely more upon his own
impressions and judgment than upon the information and advice of the
Central Office. To be sure, I did not always have either the motive or
the authority to impart the sources of our news. Here there were quite
definite considerations, particularly anxiety regarding the compromising
of our sources. The Prince's memorandum furnishes the best justification
for the caution exercised in this regard.
Defense of Archduke
"It is not true that in the Foreign Office the reports that England
would protect France under all circumstances were not believed.
"At Knopischt, on the occasion of the visit of his Majesty the Kaiser
to the Archduke heir apparent, no plan of an active policy against
Serbia was laid down. Archduke Franz Ferdinand was not at all the
champion of a policy leading to war for which he has often been taken.
During the London conference he advised moderation and the avoidance of
war.
"Prince Lichnowsky's 'optimism' was hardly justified, as he has probably
convinced himself since through the revelations of the Sukhomlinoff
trial. Besides, the secret Anglo-Russian naval agreement (of which, as
said before, he was informed) should have made him more skeptical.
Unfortunately, the suspicion voiced by the Imperial Chancellor and the
Under Secretary of State was well grounded. How does this agree with the
assertion that we, relying upon the reports of Count Pourtalès that
'Russia would not move under any circumstances,' had not thought of the
possibility of a war? Furthermore, so far as I can recollect, Count
Pourtalès [German Ambassador at St. Petersburg] never made such reports.
Blame for Russia
"That Austria-Hungary wished to proceed against the constant
provocations stirred up by Russia, (Herr von Hartwig,) which reached
their climax in the outrage of Serajevo, we had to recognize as
justified. In spite of all the former settlements and avoidances of
menacing conflicts, Russia did not abandon her policy, which aimed at
the complete exclusion of the Austrian influence (and naturally ours
also) from the Balkans. The Russian agents, inspired by Petrograd,
continued their incitement. It was a question of the prestige and the
existence of the Danube Monarchy. It must either put up with the
Russo-Serbian machinations, or command a quos ego, even at the risk of
war. We could not leave our ally in the lurch. Had the intention been to
exclude the ultima ratio of the war in general, the alliance should not
have been concluded. Besides, it was plain that the Russian military
preparations, (for instance, the extension of the railroads and forts in
Poland,) for which a France lusting for revenge had lent the money and
which would have been completed in a few years, were directed
principally against us. But despite all this, despite the fact that the
aggressive tendency of the Russian policy was becoming more evident from
day to day, the idea of a preventive war was far removed from us. We
only decided to declare war on Russia in the face of the Russian
mobilization and to prevent a Russian invasion.
"I have not the letters exchanged with the Prince at hand--it was a
matter of private letters. Lichnowsky pleaded for the abandonment of
Austria. I replied, so far as I remember, that we, aside from our treaty
obligation, could not sacrifice our ally for the uncertain friendship of
England. If we abandoned our only reliable ally later we would stand
entirely isolated, face to face with the Entente. It is likely that I
also wrote that 'Russia was constantly becoming more anti-German' and
that we must 'just risk it.' Furthermore, it is possible that I, in
order to steel Lichnowsky's nerves a little and to prevent him from
exposing his views also in London, may also have written that there
would probably be some 'bluster'; that 'the more firmly we stood by
Austria the sooner Russia would yield.' I have said already that our
policy was not based upon alleged reports excluding war; certainly at
that time I still thought war could be avoided, but, like all of us, I
was fully aware of the very serious danger.
"We could not agree to the English proposal of a conference of
Ambassadors, for it would doubtless have led to a serious diplomatic
defeat. For Italy, too, was pro-Serb and, with her Balkan interests,
stood rather opposed to Austria. The 'intimacy of the Russo-Italian
relations' is admitted by Prince Lichnowsky himself. The best and only
feasible way of escape was a localization of the conflict and an
understanding between Vienna and Petrograd. We worked toward that end
with all our energy. That we 'insisted upon' the war is an unheard-of
assertion which is sufficiently invalidated by the telegrams of his
Majesty the Kaiser to the Czar and to King George, published in the
White Books--Prince Lichnowsky only cares to tell about 'the really
humble telegram of the Czar'--as well as the instruction we sent to
Vienna. The worst caricature is formed by the sentence:
"'When Count Berchtold finally decided to come around we answered the
Russian mobilization, after Russia had vainly negotiated and waited a
whole week, with the ultimatum and the declaration of war.'
[In quoting Lichnowsky, Herr von Jagow omits the former's statement that
Count Berchtold "hitherto had played the strong man on instructions from
Berlin."]
"Wrong" Conclusions
"Should we, perhaps, have waited until the mobilized Russian Army was
streaming over our borders? The reading of the Sukhomlinov trial has
probably given even Prince Lichnowsky a feeling of 'Oh si tacuisses!' On
July 5 I was absent from Berlin. The declaration that I was 'shortly
thereafter in Vienna' 'in order to talk everything over with Count
Berchtold' is false. I returned to Berlin on July 6 from my honeymoon
trip and did not leave there until Aug. 15, on the occasion of the
shifting of the Great Headquarters. As Secretary of State I was only
once in Vienna before the war, in the Spring of 1913.
"Prince Lichnowsky lightly passed over the matter of the confusing
dispatch that he sent us on Aug. 1--at present I am not in possession of
the exact wording--as a 'misunderstanding' and even seems to want to
reproach us because 'in Berlin the news, without first waiting for the
conversation, was made the basis of a far-reaching action.' The
question of war with England was a matter of minutes, and immediately
after the arrival of the dispatch it was decided to make an
eleventh-hour attempt to avoid war with France and England. His Majesty
sent the well-known telegram to King George. The contents of the
Lichnowsky dispatch could not have been understood any other way than we
understood it.
"Objectively taken, the statement of Prince Lichnowsky presents such an
abundance of inaccuracies and distortions that it is hardly a wonder
that his conclusions are also entirely wrong. The reproach that we sent
an ultimatum on July 30 to Petrograd merely because of the mobilization
of Russia and on July 31 declared war upon the Russians, although the
Czar had pledged his word that not a man should march so long as
negotiations were under way, thus willfully destroying the possibility
of a peaceful adjustment, has really a grotesque effect. In concluding,
the statement seems almost to identify itself with the standpoint of our
enemies.
"When the Ambassador makes the accusation that our policy identified
itself 'with Turks and Austro-Magyars' and 'subjected itself to the
viewpoints of Vienna and Budapest,' he may be suitably answered that he
saw things only through London spectacles and from the narrow point of
view of his desired rapprochement with England à tout prix. He also
appears to have forgotten completely that the Entente was formed much
more against us than against Austria.
"I, too, pursued a policy which aimed at an understanding with England,
because I was of the opinion that this was the only way for us to escape
from the unfavorable position in which we were placed by the unequal
division of strength and the weakness of the Triple Alliance. But Russia
and France insisted upon war. We were obligated through our treaty with
Austria, and our position as a great power was also threatened--hic
Rhodus, hic salta. But England, that was not allied in the same way with
Russia and that had received far-reaching assurances from us regarding
the sparing of France and Belgium, seized the sword.
"In saying this, I by no means share the opinion prevalent among us
today that England laid all the mines for the outbreak of the war; on
the contrary, I believe in Sir Edward Grey's love of peace and in his
earnest wish to arrive at an agreement with us. But he had allowed
himself to become entangled too far in the net of the Franco-Russian
policy; he no longer found the way out, and he did not prevent the world
war--something that he could have done. Neither was the war popular with
the English people; Belgium had to serve as a battle cry.
"'Political marriages for life and death' are, as Prince Lichnowsky
says, not possible in international unions. But neither is isolation,
under the present condition of affairs in Europe. The history of Europe
consists of coalitions that sometimes have led to the avoidance of
warlike outbreaks and sometimes to violent clashes. A loosening and
dissolving of old alliances that no longer correspond to all conditions
is only in order when new constellations are attainable. This was the
object of the policy of a rapprochement with England. So long as this
policy did not offer reliable guarantees we could not abandon the old
guarantees--even with their obligations.
"The Morocco policy had led to a political defeat. In the Bosnian crisis
this had been luckily avoided, the same as at the London Conference. A
fresh diminution of our prestige was not endurable for our position in
Europe and in the world. The prosperity of States, their political and
economic successes, are based upon the prestige that they enjoy in the
world.
"The personal attacks contained in the work, the unheard-of calumnies
and slanders of others, condemn themselves. The ever-recurring suspicion
that everything happened only because it was not desired to allow him,
Lichnowsky, any successes speaks of wounded self-love, of disappointed
hopes for personal successes, and has a painful effect.
"In closing, let us draw attention here to what Hermann Oncken has also
quoted in his work, 'The Old and New Central Europe,' the memorandum of
Prince Bismarck of the year 1879, in which the idea is developed that
the German Empire must never dare allow a situation in which it would
remain isolated on the European Continent between Russia and France,
side by side with a defeated Austria-Hungary that had been left in the
lurch by Germany."
German Comments on von Jagow's Views
In commenting upon Herr von Jagow's reply to Prince Lichnowsky, Georg
Bernhard, editor in chief of the Vossische Zeitung, took occasion to
re-emphasize his favorite theory of a rapprochement with Russia so as to
enable Germany to reduce Great Britain to the level of a second-class
power. In a long article, printed on March 31, Herr Bernhard asserted
that Prince Lichnowsky had been by no means alone in his policy of
seeking agreement with England as Herr von Jagow himself had admitted,
and that the German Foreign Office had seemed obsessed with the idea
that it was a question of a choice between Austria and England, when, in
reality, if the diplomats had wanted to pursue a good German policy and
at the same time be of service to Austria, they should have made it a
question of Russia or England and tried to establish good relations with
the former under all circumstances. After quoting von Jagow's remark
about the inadvisability of abandoning old alliances until new
constellations were attainable, Herr Bernhard said:
"We shall not go into the question here if, during this war, which
strains all the forces of the alliance to the utmost, a former German
Secretary of State should have written such sentences. It is
incomprehensible how they came from the pen of a sensible man--and Herr
von Jagow is such a one. And it is still more incomprehensible how they
were able to escape the attention of the Foreign Office. Fortunately,
they can no longer do any harm now, as through our deeds we have
demonstrated our loyalty to the Austrians and Hungarians better than it
can be done by any amount of talk."
In an earlier editorial Herr Bernhard referred as follows to von Jagow's
admission that he did not believe that England had laid all the mines
leading to the world war:
"In spite of all experiences, therefore, here is another--almost
official--attempt made to represent the war as merely the result of the
aggressive desires of France and Russia. As if France (through whose
population went a shudder of fear as it saw itself on the edge of the
abyss of war) would ever have dared to go to war without knowing that
England stood back of her! And were Edward's trips to Paris without any
effect upon our diplomats? Has it not also finally become sufficiently
well known through the reports of the Belgian Ambassador how France
repeatedly tried to escape from the alliance, but was always again
forced into the net by Nicolson, [former British Under Secretary for
Foreign Affairs,] through Edward? The Imperial Chancellor, von Bethmann
Hollweg, himself admitted in the Reichstag the harmful rôle of King
Edward. Only he, as probably did Herr von Jagow also, thought that
Edward's death put an end to the policy of encircling. But this policy
of encircling--and here is where the mistake entailing serious
consequences is made by our diplomats--was not at all merely a personal
favorite idea of Edward VII., but the continuation of the traditional
English policy toward the strongest Continental power."
Thanks for Hindenburg
Herr Bernhard then asserted that England desired the publication of the
proposed Anglo-German treaty regarding the division of the Portuguese
colonies into spheres of economic interests so as to make Portugal's
eventual support of the Entente all the surer, and continued:
"And Lichnowsky wanted to fall into this trap set by England. It was
avoided by the Foreign Office more through instinct than sagacity. And
these diplomats have guided Germany's destiny before and during the war!
Let us give the warmest thanks to Hindenburg because his sword has now,
it is to be hoped, put an end once for all to the continued spinning of
plans by such and similar diplomats even during the war."
Theodor Wolff, editor in chief of the Berliner Tageblatt, probably the
leading organ of the German business elements and liberal politicians
who were opposed to the war from the beginning, and who still hope for a
negotiated peace that will facilitate an early resumption of trade
relations with Great Britain and the rest of the allies, expressed the
hope that the "battle of minds will finally create a clearer
atmosphere," and then remarked:
"Only quite incidentally would I like to allow myself to direct the
attention of Herr von Jagow to an erroneous expression that appears
twice in his reply. Herr von Jagow writes: 'We informed him [Lichnowsky]
of the secret Anglo-Russian naval agreement,' and in another place: 'The
secret Anglo-Russian naval agreement might also have made him a little
more skeptical.' Only the day before, on Saturday, it was said in an
article of the Norddeutshe Allgemeine Zeitung, also directed against
Lichnowsky: 'Negotiations were pending with Russia over a naval
agreement that the Prince characteristically passes over in silence.' In
reality, although hasty historians also speak without further ceremony
of a treaty, it is manifest that no Anglo-Russian agreement existed;
there was merely a Russian proposal, and the most that can be said is
that 'negotiations were pending.' * * *
"His [von Jagow's] remark, 'It is not true that the Foreign Office did
not believe the reports that England would protect France under all
circumstances,' is in contradiction with the well-known report of the
then English Ambassador, Goschen, which describes into what surprise and
consternation Herr von Bethmann and Herr von Jagow were thrown by the
news of the English declaration of war."
In beginning his comment upon von Jagow, Herr Wolff threw a little more
light upon the way in which Prince Lichnowsky's memorandum "for the
family archives" got into more or less general secret circulation in
Germany before it was printed by the Swedish Socialist paper Politiken
last March, and also described the character of Captain Beerfelde, the
member of the German General Staff who, according to some cabled
reports, is to be tried for his part in distributing copies of the
memorandum.
Herr Wolff said that Prince Lichnowsky had had five or six copies made,
of which he had sent one to Wolff, one to Albert Ballin, head of the
Hamburg-American line, and another to Arthur von Gwinner, head of the
Deutsche Bank. All of these persons carefully hid the "dangerous gift"
in the deepest recesses of their writing desks, but a fourth copy went
astray and got into hands for which it had not been intended, and from
these hands passed into those of still another individual. Then the
editor wrote:
How Manuscript Became Public
"I made the acquaintance some years before the war of the officer who
obtained the memorandum 'on loan,' and sent copies of it to State
officials and politicians. He belongs to an old noble family, was
treated with sympathy by General von Moltke, the Chief of the General
Staff, occupied himself enthusiastically with religious philosophy or
theosophy, and was a thoroughly manly but mystic person. * * * After
hard war experiences, he felt the longing to serve the dictates of peace
with complete devotion, and he surrendered himself to a pacifism which
is absolutely incompatible with the uniform.
"Late one evening he visited me in a state of great excitement, and told
me that he had manifolded a memorandum by Prince Lichnowsky which had
been lent to him, and that, without asking the author, he had sent it to
the 'leading men.' It was impossible to convince him by any logic or on
any grounds of reason that his action was wrong, senseless, and harmful.
He was a Marquis Posa, or, still more, a Horatius Cocles, who, out of
love for Rome or for mankind, sprang into the abyss."
The Berlin Vorwärts, the leading organ of the pro-Government Socialists,
began its editorial on the von Jagow reply by remarking that the article
of the former State Secretary for Foreign Affairs was hardly calculated
to convince the reader that Prince Lichnowsky's self-esteem was the only
thing that had had a "painful effect" upon the German people in July,
1914, and since that time. It then said that "Herr von Jagow agrees with
Lichnowsky upon the decisive point!" quoted what von Jagow had said
about his desire for an Anglo-German rapprochement, and continued:
"These words show that, in 1913, the Wilhelmstrasse and the London
Embassy were in the complete harmony of common beliefs and intentions.
Herr von Jagow, exactly like Lichnowsky, exactly like Bethmann, and
exactly like Wilhelm II., believed in the possibility of creating 'an
atmosphere of confidence,' as Jagow says, between Germany and England,
through a series of agreements, of which those regarding the Bagdad
Railroad and Africa were to have been the first."
Vorwärts then proceeded to point out that the Albanian crisis had
strengthened this faith instead of weakening it, took up von Jagow's
reasons for Germany's refusal to have the proposed Anglo-German
agreement on the Portuguese African colonies published, and exclaimed:
"What a fear of Tirpitz! A disturbing of the new relations through his
intrigues and the howling of his jingo press was to be avoided through
an affectation of secrecy. But three weeks later the war with England
was here and the Pan-German sheets welcomed 'the longed-for day!' What
had happened in the meantime? Of course, 'perfidious Albion' (even Jagow
puts quotation marks on these words) had in the meantime thrown off the
mask and revealed her perfidy! Let's hear what--after Lichnowsky--Herr
von Jagow, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs in July, 1914, has to
say about it!"
Then Vorwärts quoted Jagow's description of how the war began, and went
on:
"All that remains of the accusations against the English Government is
that it did not prevent the world war, 'although it could have done so.'
Now Herr von Jagow also did not prevent the world war, but he must
certainly be acquitted of the charge that he could have prevented it. He
really could not, and so an emphatic statement of inability is the best
excuse for him and his fellow-disputants.
"Let us establish the facts. England did not desire the war; she merely
did not prevent it. The war was not popular in England; it also was not
popular in Russia and France. But it has become popular. The whole
world--right away across the Atlantic and the Pacific--is united in
hatred against us. We, however, have for almost four years been
inoculated with the view that 'England laid all the mines which caused
the war'--a view which the Secretary of State, in accordance with the
evidence of the Ambassador, has now declared to be false! It is,
however, by this false view that the whole war policy of the German
Empire has been directed--from the declaration of unrestricted submarine
warfare, which brought us war with America, down to those Chancellor
speeches which say that Belgium must not again become England's area of
military concentration.
"If all the parties concerned were convinced that the belief in
England's guilt is a fiction, why did they feed this belief, and why did
they pursue a policy which was based upon it? They ought rather to have
appointed to the Chancellorship Tirpitz, who, perhaps, believes what he
says. Instead of that, a policy of fear of Tirpitz has been pursued.
Sometimes a policy against Tirpitz has been attempted, but it has always
been reversed at decisive moments, out of fear of the nationalistic
terror.
"This fear was, perhaps, not entirely unfounded, for agitation is
unscrupulous. The older ones among us still remember very well 'an
Englishwoman' who was very unpopular in many circles, but this
Englishwoman was the mother of the German Kaiser. No doubt there was no
more convenient method for the Government to guard the dynasty than for
it to take part in, or at least to tolerate, the agitation against the
English. This was the only way of preventing the agitation from turning
ultimately against the wearer of the German imperial crown. But ought
such intimate considerations to have been permitted to play a part when
the fate of the nations was at stake?
"Let us put an end to this! At this moment we are in a battle which may
be decisive and which is going in favor of the empire. But even after
this battle we shall possess neither the possibility nor the moral right
to treat our opponent according to the principle of 'With thumbs in his
eyes and knee on his breast.' Even after the greatest military successes
there exists the necessity for political negotiation. It will be easier
for us to enter into this negotiation after the poisonous fog of the war
lies shall have lifted. Now that Herr von Jagow has cleared up the rôle
played by England at the beginning of the war, there is nothing in the
way of the fulfillment of the promise made by Bethmann to 'make good the
wrong committed against Belgium'!
"If it is perhaps true that everything Wilhelm II., Bethmann, von Jagow,
and Lichnowsky thought was true up to three weeks before the outbreak of
the war was false, then let the mistake be acknowledged and the
conservative Pan-Germans be put openly in the Government, so that they,
both within and without, may complete the work of a peace by force. But
if this is neither desirable nor possible, then there is nothing left to
do but to take a decided step ahead. For the German people cannot be
satisfied with the methods of governing exercised before and during the
war. * * * The German people can only endure after the war as a
peace-loving nation that governs itself."
Lichnowsky's Testimony as to Germany's Long Plotting for Domination
By H. Charles Woods, F. R. G. S.
To a Britisher who has followed the trend of events in the Near East,
and who has witnessed the gradual development of German intrigues in
that area, there has never been published a document so important and so
condemnatory of Germany as the disclosures of Prince Lichnowsky.
On the one hand, the memorandum of the Kaiser's ex-Ambassador in London
proves from an authoritative enemy pen that, practically ever since the
Russo-Turkish war of 1877-78, and particularly from the time of the
accession of the present Emperor to the throne in 1888, the Germans have
carefully prepared the way for the present war, and that during this
period they have consistently turned their attention toward the East and
toward the development of the Mitteleuropa scheme. And on the other side
it indicates, if indeed any indication were still required, that the
so-called rivalry existing between England and Germany prior to the war
arose not from any desire on the part of Great Britain to stand in the
way of the development of legitimate German interests in the Balkans and
in Asia Minor, but from the unwillingness of the Government of Berlin to
agree to any reasonable settlement of the many all-important questions
connected with these regions.
Although for years the Germans had been intriguing against the Triple
Entente, Prince Lichnowsky, a man possessed of personally friendly
feelings for England, was sent to London in order to camouflage the real
designs of the enemy and to secure representation by a diplomatist who
was intended to make good, and who, in fact, did make a high position
for himself in British official and social circles. The appointment
itself raises two interesting questions. In the first place, while this
is not stated in the memorandum, it is clear that, whereas Baron
Marschall von Bieberstein was definitely instructed to endeavor to make
friends with England and to detach her from France and Russia, or, if
this were impossible, to bring about war at a convenient time for
Germany, Prince Lichnowsky's task was somewhat different. Kept at least
more or less in the dark as to German objects, the Ambassador, who
arrived in London when the Morocco crisis of 1911 was considered at an
end, instead of being intrusted with the dual objects of his
predecessor, was clearly told to do, and did in fact do, his utmost to
establish friendly relations with England. The Berlin Government, on the
other hand, this time maintained in its own hands the larger question of
the making of war at what it believed, happily wrongly, to be a
convenient time for the Central Empires. In the second place, although
this, too, is not explained, various references made by Prince
Lichnowsky leave little doubt in the mind of the reader who knows the
situation existing at the German Embassy prior to the outbreak of war
that the Ambassador himself was aware that von Kühlmann--the Councilor
of Embassy--was, in fact, the representative of Pan-Germanism in
England, and that to this very able and expert intriguer was left the
work of trying to develop a situation which, in peace or in war, would
be favorable to the ruler and to the class whose views he voiced.
Phases of German Policy
To come down to the real subject of this article--the proof provided by
Prince Lichnowsky's disclosures of the long existence of the German
Mitteleuropa scheme and of the fact that Germany, and not Austria, made
this war, largely with the object of pushing through her designs in the
East--I propose to divide my remarks in such a way as to show that the
development of this scheme passed through three phases and in each case
to take what may be called a text from the document under discussion.
The first phase lasted from the Congress of Berlin of 1878, when Prince
Lichnowsky says that Germany began the Triple Alliance policy, and more
definitely from the accession of the present Emperor to the throne in
1888 until the Balkan wars. While in using these expressions the
ex-Ambassador does not refer only to this period, he says: "The goal of
our political ambition was to dominate in the Bosporus," and "instead of
encouraging a powerful development in the Balkan States, we placed
ourselves on the side of the Turkish and Magyar oppressors."
These words contain in essence and in tabulated form an explanation
(from the pen of a German whose personal and official positions enabled
him to know the truth) of the events which were in progress during this
period--events the full importance of which has often been refuted and
denied by those who refused to see that from the first the Kaiser was
obsessed by a desire for domination from Hamburg to the Persian Gulf.
Indeed, from the moment of his accession the sentiments and views of the
German ruler became markedly apparent, for one year later his Majesty
paid the first of his carpet-bagging visits to Constantinople--a visit
more or less connected with the then recent grabbing of Haidar
Pasha-Ismid railway--now the first section of the Bagdad line--by the
Germans, and with the prolongation of that line to Angora as a German
concern, concessions secured by Mr. Kaula, acting on behalf of German
interests in 1888.
Preparing for Pan-German Project
Before and particularly after the appointment of Baron Marschall von
Bieberstein, who had then been a personal friend of the Kaiser for many
years, the enemy had been carefully preparing the way for the
realization of his Pan-German dreams in the Near and Middle East.
Although so far as the Balkan States were concerned, up to the outbreak
of the war the Kaiser endeavored to screen his intentions behind a
nominally Austrian program, for years he had really been making ready
his ground for the present occasion by military, political, and economic
penetration and by diplomatic intrigues destined to bring about a
favorable situation for Germany when the propitious moment for action
arrived. The power of von der Goltz Pasha, who introduced the present
military system into Turkey in 1886, and of his pupils was gradually
increased until the Ottoman Army was finally placed completely under
Germanic control.
The Young Turkish revolution of 1908, which at first seemed destined
greatly to minimize German power at Constantinople, really resulted in
an opposite effect. Thus in spite of the effective support of England
for Turkey during the Bosnian and Bulgarian crises of 1908 and 1909, a
gradual reaction subsequently set in. This was due in part to the
cleverness and regardlessness of von Bieberstein, and in part to the
circumstances arising out of the policy adopted by the Young Turks. For
instance, while the Germans ignored the necessity for reforms in the
Ottoman Empire so long as the Turks favored a Teutonic program, it was
impossible for the British Government or the British public to look with
favor upon a régime which worked to maintain the privileged position of
Moslems throughout the empire, which did nothing to punish those who
instigated the massacre of the Armenians of Cilicia in 1909, and which
was intent upon disturbing the status quo in the Persian Gulf, and upon
changing the status of Egypt to the Turkish advantage.
The Turco-German Entente
Such indeed became the position that even the Turco-Italian war, which
might have been expected to shake the confidence of the Ottoman
Government in the bona fides of Italy's then ally, did not seriously
disturb the intimate relations which were gradually developing between
Berlin and Constantinople. Here again enemy intrigues were to the fore,
for in addition to Austria's objecting to the inauguration of any
Italian operations in the Balkans, the German Government, when the
position of its representative in Constantinople had become seriously
compromised as a result of the Italian annexation of Tripoli, which he
could not prevent, suddenly found it convenient to transfer von
Bieberstein to London and to replace him by another, perhaps less able,
but certainly none the less successful in retaining a grasp over
everything which took place in the Ottoman capital.
Before and particularly after the accession of the Kaiser to the throne,
the Germans gradually furthered their program by a system of railway
penetration in the East. In the late '60s Baron Hirsch secured a
concession for the construction of lines from Constantinople to what was
then the north-western frontier of Eastern Rumelia, and from Saloniki to
Mitrovitza, with a branch to Ristovatz on the then Serbian frontier. At
first these lines were under French influence, but they subsequently
became largely an Austrian undertaking, and considerably later the
Deutsche Bank secured a predominating proportion of the capital,
thus turning them practically into a German concern. In Asia Minor the
British, who were originally responsible for the construction of
railways, were gradually ousted, until, with the signature of the Bagdad
Railway agreement in 1903, the Germans dominated not only that line, but
also occupied a position in which, on the one hand, they had secured
control of many of its feeders, and, on the other, they had jeopardized
the future development and even the actual prosperity of those not
already in their possession.
Fruits of the Balkan Wars
This brings us up to the second phase in the development of
Pan-Germanism in the East--the period of the Balkan wars--toward two
aspects of which, as Prince Lichnowsky says, the Central Powers devoted
their attention. "Two possibilities for settling the question remained."
Either Germany left the Near Eastern problem to the peoples themselves
or she supported her allies "and carried out a Triple Alliance policy in
the East, thereby giving up the rôle of mediator." Once more, in the
words of the Prince himself, "The German Foreign Office very much
preferred the latter," and as a result supported Austria on the one hand
in her desire for the establishment of an independent Albania, and on
the other in her successful attempts to draw Bulgaria into the second
war and to prevent that country from providing the concessions which at
that time would have satisfied Rumania.
So far as the first of these questions--that connected with Albania--is
concerned, while the ex-Ambassador admits the policy of Austria was
actuated by the fact that she "would not allow Serbia to reach the
Adriatic," the actual creation of Albania was justified by the existence
of the Albanians as a nationality and by their desire for independent
government. Indeed, that the régime inaugurated by the great powers on
the east of the Adriatic, and particularly the Government of William of
Wied, proved an utter failure, was due not so much to what Prince
Lichnowsky describes as the "incapacity of existence" of Albania as to
the attitude of the Central Powers, and especially to that of Austria,
who, having brought the new State into being, at once worked for unrest
and for discord in the hope of being able to step in to put the house in
order when the propitious moment arrived.
Promoting Balkan Discord
The second direction in which the enemy devoted his energy was an even
larger, more German and more far-reaching one. "The first Balkan war led
to the collapse of Turkey and with it the defeat of our policy, which
has been identified with Turkey for many years," says the memorandum.
This at one time seemed destined to carry with it results entirely
disadvantageous to Germany. Thus, if the four States, Bulgaria, Greece,
Montenegro, and Serbia, who fought in the first war had continued on
good terms with one another, the whole balance of power in Europe would
almost certainly have been changed. Instead of the Ottoman Empire, which
prior to the outbreak of these hostilities was held by competent
authorities to be able to provide a vast army, then calculated to number
approximately 1,225,000 men, there would have sprung up a friendly group
of countries which in the near future could easily have placed in the
field a combined army approximately amounting to at least 1,000,000, all
told. As the interests of such a confederation, which would probably
have been joined by Rumania, would have been on the side of the Triple
Entente, the Central Powers at once realized that its formation or its
continued existence would mean for them not only the loss of the whole
of Turkey, but also the gain for their enemies of four or five allies,
most of whom had already proved their power in war.
German Power in Turkey
Between the Balkan wars and the outbreak of the European conflagration,
but as part of the former period, there occurred two events of
far-reaching significance. The first, which is mentioned by Prince
Lichnowsky, was the appointment of General Liman von Sanders practically
as Commander in Chief of the Turkish Army--an appointment which Mr.
Morgenthau rightly tells us constituted a diplomatic triumph for
Germany. When coupled with the fact that Enver Pasha--an out-and-out
pro-German--became Minister of War about the same time, the military
result of this appointment was an enormous improvement in the efficiency
of the Ottoman Army. Its political significance, on the other hand, was
due to the fact that it carried with it a far-reaching increase of
Pan-German influence at Constantinople.
The second event in progress during the interval of peace was connected
with the Aegean Islands question. Germany, having first utilized her
diplomatic influence in favor of Turkey, later on encouraged the
Government of that country in its continued protests against the
decision upon that question arrived at by the great powers. Not content,
however, with this, the Kaiser, who has now adopted the policy of
deportation in Belgium, in Poland, and in Serbia, definitely encouraged
the Turks in a like measure in regard to the Greeks of Asia Minor in
order to be rid of a hostile and Christian population when the time for
action arrived. That this encouragement was given was always apparent to
those who followed the course of events in 1914, but that it was
admitted by a German Admiral to Mr. Morgenthau constitutes a
condemnation the damning nature of which it is difficult to exaggerate.
THE EUROPEAN WAR AS SEEN BY CARTOONISTS
[Illustration: [Dutch Cartoon]
Gott Mit Uns
_--Raemaekers in "Kultur in Cartoons."_]
[Illustration: [French Cartoon]
Signing the Russian Peace
_--From La Victoire, Paris._]
[Illustration: [Spanish Cartoon]
Peace in Russia
_--From Esquella, Barcelona._]
[Illustration: [Swiss Cartoon]
The Russian Revolution
_--From Nebelspalter, Zurich._
Bolshevist statesmanship.]
[Illustration: [English Cartoon]
A Threat from the Orient
_--From The Passing Show, London._
"Fancy meeting _you_!"]
[Illustration: [Italian Cartoon]
The Yellow Peril
_--From Il 420, Florence._
GERMANY: "After I have gathered all these eggs into one basket, this
fellow threatens to upset everything."]
[Illustration: [American Cartoon]
Camouflage
_--From The Indianapolis News._]
[Illustration: [Dutch Cartoon]
The Kaiser's "Alte Gott"
_--From De Notenkraker, Amsterdam._
"In thee I trust, confound me not."]
[Illustration: [French Cartoon]
_--From La Victoire, Paris._
"We have done all this: We will try to do better."--_General Foch._]
[Illustration: [American Cartoon]
Prussianism
_--From The Columbus Dispatch._
How can the world make peace with this thing?]
[Illustration: [American Cartoon]
Enough to Make a Dead Man Laugh
_--From The New York Herald._
WILHELM: "What have I not done to preserve the world from these
horrors?"]
[Illustration: [English Cartoon]
The End of Their Perfect Day
_--From The Passing Show, London._]
[Illustration: [American Cartoon]
_--G. M. Amato in Mid-Week Pictorial._]
[Illustration: [English Cartoon]
Postponed
"Papa, ven _are_ ve going to Calais?"
"Ach! Go and ask your grandpa!"
_--From Cassell's Saturday Journal, London._]
[Illustration: [American Cartoons]
Rough Going
_--San Francisco Chronicle._
Now You're Shoutin', Newton!
_--St. Louis Globe-Democrat._]
[Illustration: [American Cartoons]
Hohenzollern "Victory"
_--From The New York Times._
GERMANY: "How many will be left to enjoy the fruits of your 'victory'?"]
[Illustration: The Follies of 1918
_--Buffalo News._
WAR BULLETIN: "The Kaiser's six sons have suffered no casualties."]
[Illustration: So Far and No Further!
_--Central Press Association._]
[Illustration:[English Cartoon]
The Line Blocked
_--From News of the World, London._
THE ALL-HIGHEST: "Gott in Himmel! Hindenburg! What shall we do? I
promised to be in Paris on the 1st of April!"]
[Illustration: [Italian Cartoon]
German Peace Methods
_--From Il 420; Florence._
First disarm the people by false talk of no annexations, then, with a
dagger at their back, force them to sign peace on your own terms.]
[Illustration: [German-Swiss Cartoon]
On the Field of Honor
_--Nebelspalter, Zurich._
MARIANNE (France): "Wilson, my friend and protector, defend me!"]
[Illustration: [Italian Cartoon]
A French Counterattack
_--Il 420, Florence._
WAR BULLETIN: "The French violently attacked the weakest point on the
German front."]
[Illustration: [German Cartoon]
The Fate of Holland's Ships
_--Lustige Blätter, Berlin._
PROUD ALBION: "Here, give me that boat; I need it in my fight for the
'freedom of the seas'!"]
[Illustration: [Spanish Cartoon]
In Paris on Good Friday
_--Esquella, Barcelona._
JOAN OF ARC: "Father, forgive them; they know not what they do."]
[Illustration: [English Cartoon]
Germany's Lost Colonies
_--From The Passing Show, London._
PACIFIST: "Here! All that bag of yours must be handed over to a league
of nations for disposal."
JOHN BULL: "Oh, must it? And did your friend behind the hedge send you
to say that?"]
[Illustration: [American Cartoon]
Hitting Him Where He Lives
_--From The New York World._]
[Illustration: [Italian Cartoon]
The Battle of Picardy
--Il 420, Florence.
A second Verdun, with the same results for Germany.]
[Illustration: [American Cartoon]
On the Western Front
_--From The San Francisco Call-Post._
"Ach! How he iss gaining!"]
[Illustration: [English Cartoon]
A Test of Endurance
_--From The Passing Show, London._
How much longer?]
[Illustration: [Dutch Cartoon]
The New Waxworks Group for the German Museum
_--From De Amsterdammer, Amsterdam._]
[Transcriber's Note:
Italicized text denoted by underscores (_).
Apparent printer's errors corrected.
Spelling changes:
Page 383, "y" was changed to read "by." (a private letter written by
Emperor Charles to a relative...)
Page 383, "Guilford" was changed to read "Guildford." (At the time the
Guildford Castle was...)
Page 385, "langauge" was changed to read "language." ( including parts
of two fine bridges across the great river, a language largely Latin in
substance,)
Page 402, "altogther" was changed to read "altogether." (they spent the
night clearing out the enemy from the village, where he made a desperate
resistance, and brought back altogether something like 700 or 800
prisoners.)
Page 406, "fiften" was changed to read "fifteen." (made a general
counterattack and succeeded in advancing their line to a depth of about
fifteen hundred yards beyond the line of the three hills,...)
Page 427, "Austalians" was changed to read "Australians." (Germans gain
a foothold at several points midway between La Clytte and Voormezeele,
but are repulsed at other points along the line; Australians advance 500
yards near Sailly and 300 yards west of Morlancourt.)
Page 440, "skudskär" was changed to read "skudshär." (the head of the
Russian Bureau of Counterespionage in Finland spoke of the skudshär
as...)
Page 455, "miniumum" was changed to read "minimum." (The executive
organs of the Soviets of Workmen's Control have the right to fix the
minimum output of a given firm,..)
Page 468, "cinsiderably" was changed to read "considerably," (After
America's entry into the war material help for the Entente has not only
not increased, but has even decreased considerably.)
Page 468, "rogram" was changed to read "program." (Wilson's gigantic
armament program has brought about such...)
Page 470, "dur-" was changed to read "during." (In regard to the
sinkings in April, French official figures showed that the total losses
of allied and neutral ships, including those from accidents at sea
during the month, aggregated 381,631 tons.)]
End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Current History, Vol. VIII, No. 3,
June 1918, by Various
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