Title: Raemaekers' Cartoon History of the War, Volume 3
Illustrator: Louis Raemaekers
Editor: James Murray Allison
Release date: July 14, 2013 [eBook #43219]
Language: English
Credits: E-text prepared by Chris Curnow, Martin Mayer, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made available by Internet Archive (http://archive.org)
| Note: | Images of the original pages are available through Internet Archive. See https://archive.org/details/raemaekerscartoo03raemuoft |
RAEMAEKERS'
CARTOON
HISTORY OF THE WAR
compiled by
J. MURRAY ALLISON
Editor of Raemaekers'
Cartoons, Kultur in Cartoons, The
Century Edition de Luxe Raemaekers' Cartoons, etc.
VOLUME THREE
THE THIRD TWELVE MONTHS OF WAR
NEW YORK
THE CENTURY CO.
1919
Copyright, 1919, by
The Century Co.
VOLUME THREE
BERLIN, AUGUST 6, 1914
(The Berlin papers declared that the population, mad with joy, drank champagne and danced in the streets.)
I draw the sword that with God's help I have kept all these years in the scabbard. I have drawn the sword which without victory and without honor I cannot sheath again. All of you will see to it that only in honor is it returned to the scabbard. You are my guaranty that I can dictate peace to my enemies.
The Kaiser to
his Guards at Potsdam,
August, 1914.
The first official charges on the subject were issued on November 9 at Havre by Baron Beyens, Belgian Foreign Minister, as follows:
"The German Government is rounding up in large numbers in the towns and villages of occupied Belgium, such as Alost, Ghent, Bruges, Courtrai, and Mons,—to name only the first to be victims of the measures,—all men fit to bear arms, rich and poor, irrespective of class, whether employed or unemployed, hunchbacks, cripples, and one-armed men alone are excepted. These men are torn in thousands from their families; fifteen thousand from Flanders alone are sent God knows where. Whole trainloads are seen going east and south."
Cardinal Mercier, Primate of Belgium, in behalf of the Belgian bishops, issued a proclamation of protest on November 7, addressed to the neutral nations and appealing for their aid in opposing the proceeding. His protest is in these terms:
"The military authorities are daily deporting thousands of inoffensive citizens in order to set them to forced labor.
"As early as October 19 we sent a protest to the governor-general, a copy of which was also sent to the representatives of the Holy See in Brussels, Spain, the United States, and the Netherlands. The governor-general, in reply, refused to take any steps."
At Cartigny the Germans opened five vaults, each with a chapel above it, by tearing apart the stones. They did the same thing at Ronsoy, at Becquincourt, at Dompierre, at Bouvincourt, and at Herbecourt. At Nurly, Roisel, Bernes, they even broke into coffins. In the enclosed ground serving as a private cemetery for the Rohan family at Manancourt they buried a great number of their soldiers, and, an inconceivable thing, established a kitchen in the interior of the Rohan mausoleums and latrines among their family tombs. In the crypt, where indescribable disorder reigns, almost all the compartments are empty. A child's coffin, taken from one of them, was stripped of its lead. A heavy leaden casket, half drawn from another compartment, bears on its lid marks of a chisel. A block of marble, in which is seen a small excavation, has been thrown among the débris; it bears the inscription: "Here rests the heart of Mme. Amelie de Musnier de Folleville, Countess of Boissy, who died at Paris, July 16, 1830, at the age of thirty-two years and ten months."
French Official Report of German
Barbarities in France, June 1, 1916.
The capture of two thousand prisoners by the Canadians is not surprising, as the whole ridge was honeycombed with dugouts, in which the Germans sheltered themselves.
Up to the present moment the great offensive had been held up just at the point below the Canadian lines, which fact caused Vimy Ridge to be styled the "hinge" of the enemy's retreat from the Somme, and the Canadians have been very impatient for the "hinge" to move.
Toronto Mail, August 10, 1916.
The offensive began on June 4, and the total captures to August 12 were as follows:
| Prisoners | |
| Officers | 7,757 |
| Men | 350,845 |
| Guns | 405 |
| Machine-guns | 1,326 |
| Bomb-throwers | 338 |
| Caissons | 292 |
Russian Official, August 12, 1916.
The kaiser has dismissed General von Falkenhayn, chief of the general staff, and has appointed Field-Marshal von Hindenburg chief of the general staff and General von Ludendorff first quartermaster-general.
Berlin Official Telegram, August 30, 1916.
12:30 a.m. In coöperation with the French on our immediate right we attacked the enemy at several points.
We have captured part of Ginchy and the whole of Guillemont. Our front now runs some five hundred yards east of Guillemont from Ginchy to near Falfemont Farm.
On the east side of Mouquet Farm we have also gained ground.
We have captured several hundred prisoners.
Between our right and the Somme the French have made substantial progress and captured a considerable number of prisoners.
Fighting continues.
Our aircraft did most useful work in coöperating with the artillery and infantry.
The enemy's aëroplanes, which made desperate attempts to interfere, were successfully engaged in many aërial fights and driven off with a loss of three machines destroyed and at least four others damaged, while we lost three.
12:10 p.m. Last night was generally quiet.
Fighting is in progress this morning near Mouquet Farm, south of Thiepval, and on the banks of the Ancre; also on our right about Falfemont Farm. We have gained ground.
Last night we carried out a successful raid on the enemy's trenches north of Monchy, capturing prisoners.
British Official, September 5, 1916.
At 6:20 a.m. on September 15, 1916, the infantry assault commenced, and at the same moment the bombardment became intense. Our new heavily armored cars, known as "tanks," now brought into action for the first time, successfully coöperated with the infantry, and, coming as a surprise to the enemy rank and file, gave valuable help in breaking down their resistance.
The advance met with immediate success on almost the whole of the front attacked. At 8:40 a.m. "tanks" were seen to be entering Flers, followed by large numbers of troops. Fighting continued in Flers for some time, but by 10 a.m. our troops had reached the north side of the village, and by midday had occupied the enemy's trenches for some distance beyond.
British Official, September 15, 1916.
German Official.
Twelve German airships took part in a raid on London and various Eastern and East Midland counties on Saturday night and early on Sunday morning, but on their return journey the raiders numbered only 10.
The other two had been left behind in Essex. One was brought down in flames not far from London, and its crew were all killed; the second came to earth near the coast, and its crew of twenty-two surrendered.
Both the lost airships are big vessels of a new pattern.
British Official, September 24, 1916.
The Hellenic Government entirely disavows the action of Colonel Hazzopoulos, commander at Kavala.
The Greek Government demands from Germany that these troops shall be brought to the Swiss frontier, that they may be conducted to a Mediterranean port, and there be embarked on ships to be sent by the Greek Government, so as to bring them back to Greece.
The Greek Government guarantees that they will not be stopped, or made to serve any enemy of Germany.
Note from the Hellenic Government
to Germany, September 26, 1916.
The whole world, including neutrals of the highest purposes and humanitarians with the best motives, must know that there can be no outside interference at this stage. Britain asked no intervention when she was not prepared to fight. She will tolerate none now that she is prepared until Prussian military despotism is broken beyond repair.
D. Lloyd George, London, September 28, 1916.
We are all tired of bloodshed, we all want peace. England is the power responsible for the continuation of the hopeless effort to crush us. In the twentieth century of the Christian era mankind might have been expected to have arrived at some maturity of thought and behavior. No one can witness, as you during the last fortnight have witnessed, the spectacle presented by this appalling sacrifice, this inconceivable suffering preposterously out of proportion to any result obtained, without wondering whether reason has fled from the earth.
German Crown Prince
to Correspondent
of New York American. October, 1916.
On Sunday, October 8, the world was startled by the news that the U-53 was sinking British and neutral vessels near Nantucket Shoals Lightship, a hundred miles from Newport, U. S. A., and leaving the crews and passengers in small boats on the open sea. The underseas craft had stationed itself in the steamer lane where nearly all incoming and outgoing vessels from New York must pass, and its day's work consisted in sending five ships to the bottom, as follows:
New York Times, October 9, 1916.
In letting loose these things and in introducing them into war, Germany has been the great anarchist who has let loose on the world a greater and a more terrible anarchy than any individual anarchist ever dreamed of.
Unless there is some means of restraining these things, future war will, by the developments of science, be made even more terrible and horrible than this war, because Germany has thrown down all the barriers that civilisation had previously built up so as to keep the horrors of war within bounds.
Viscount Grey, Minister
for Foreign Affairs,
London, October 23, 1916.
Under the title "The Devil's Chariot" the "Düsseldorfer Generalanzeiger's" correspondent on the Western front describes the British "tanks" and their effect on the astonished German soldiers. As the German trench posts came out of their holes in the foggy dawn of September 16 and raised heads again after the heavy iron-blows of the night and looked toward the English, their blood froze in their veins as two mysterious monsters came creeping over the crater fields.
The monster approached slowly, hobbling, moving from side to side, rocking and pitching, but it came nearer. Nothing obstructed it; a supernatural force seemed to drive it onwards. Some one in the trenches cried "the devil comes," and that word ran down the line like lightning. Suddenly tongues of fire licked out of the armored shine of the iron caterpillar, shells whistled over our heads, and a terrible concert of machine-gun orchestra filled the air. The mysterious creature had surrendered its secret, and sense returned with it, and toughness and defiance, as the English waves of infantry surged up behind the devil's chariot.
Times Special Correspondent, October 24, 1916.
On the Verdun front, after an intense artillery preparation, the projected attack on the right bank of the Meuse was launched at twenty minutes before twelve this morning.
The enemy line, attacked on a front of seven kilometers (nearly four and a half miles), was broken through everywhere to a depth which at the middle attained a distance of three kilometers (nearly two miles).
The village and fort of Douaumont are in our hands.
Prisoners are pouring in. Up to the present thirty-five hundred, including about one hundred officers, have been counted. The quantity of material captured cannot yet be estimated.
French Official, October 27, 1916.
Soldiers of France,
I am very happy to have been able to realise a desire which I have had at heart for a long time, and to express to you my profound admiration for your heroic exploits, for your dash as well as your tenacity, and those magnificent military virtues which are the proud heritage of the French Army.
Under the brilliant leadership of your eminent general-in-chief and his distinguished collaborators you, officers, non-commissioned officers, and soldiers, have deserved well of your dear country, which will forever be grateful to you for your brave efforts in safeguarding and defending it.
My armies are very proud to fight by your side and to have you as comrades. May the bonds which unite us hold firm and the two countries remain thus intimately united for ever.
Soldiers,—Accept my most cordial and sincere greetings. I have no doubt that you will bring this gigantic struggle to a victorious conclusion, and, in the name of my soldiers and my country, I beg to address to you my warmest congratulations and best wishes.
King George V,
Order of the Day, France, October 27, 1916.
(Belgians have been forced to labor in Germany's munition works.)
Several of these Belgians who were put at work in Berlin managed to get away and come to see me. They gave me a harrowing account of how they had been seized in Belgium and made to work in Germany at making munitions to be used probably against their own friends. I said to the Chancellor, "There are Belgians employed in making shells contrary to all rules of war and the Hague conventions." He said, "I do not believe it." I said, "My automobile is at the door. I can take you in four minutes to where thirty Belgians are working on the manufacture of shells." But he did not find time to go.
Americans must understand that the Germans will stop at nothing to win this war, and that the only thing they respect is force.
James W. Gerard,
"My Four Years in Germany."
The German note to Norway of October 20 is seriously written, but is in no respect an ultimatum. The Norwegian Government has returned no answer hitherto, but is in conference with prominent politicians of all parties. All is calm here, but business is somewhat depressed owing to the damage inflicted by submarines on shipping.
On October 13, Norway prohibited belligerent submarines from using her territorial waters, except for the purpose of saving life under stress of weather. A violent press campaign against Norway followed in Germany, but no indication has hitherto been given of the nature of the note presented by Germany to Norway on October 20.
London Times Correspondent,
Christiania, October 29, 1916.
(Two thousand French women have been deported from Ghent to work in German munition factories.)
The raids have taken place at Courtrai, Alost, Termonde, Bruges, Ghent, Mons, and in numerous rural and industrial communes. The men were assembled, examined like cattle, and those found strongest sent away to unknown destinations.
At Bruges, the burgomaster, an old man of eighty, who since the beginning of the occupation has given an example of noble patriotism, has been deposed for having refused to help the German military administration in its revolting task. The town was fined 100,000 marks ($25,000) for each day's delay in the enrolment of the victims.
Belgian Government Official
Protest against Deportation,
November, 1916.
The liberation of Poland is closely connected with the victory of Germany and her allies, who alone are interested in the existence of a free Poland, and for whose sake Poland must not go back to Russia. Germany's security demands that for all future times the Russian armies shall not be able to use a militarily consolidated Poland as an invasion gate to Silesia and West Prussia.
To Poland liberated from Russian rule we offer the possibility of seeking support in the Central Powers and in firm alliance with them of leading a free life in its own state, politically and economically. Especially for the near future, the Poles will have a strong claim on our assistance.
Proclamation by General
von Beseler,
Governor of Warsaw, November 5, 1916.
The situation which we denounce to the civilised world may be summed up as follows: Four hundred thousand workmen are reduced to unemployment through no fault of their own, and largely inconvenience the German occupation. Sons, husbands, fathers, respectful of public order, bow to their unhappy lot. With their most pressing needs provided for, they await with dignity the end of their period of trial.
Now, suddenly, parties of soldiers begin to enter by force these peaceful homes, tearing youth from parent, husband from wife, father from children. They bar with the bayonet the door through which wives and mothers wish to pass to say farewell to those departing. They herd their captives in groups of tens and twenties and push them into cars. As soon as the train is filled, the officer in charge brusquely waves the signal for departure. Thus thousands of Belgians are being reduced to slavery.
Cardinal Mercier in
behalf of
Bishops of Belgium, November 7, 1916.
The rulers of the allied powers of Austria-Hungary and Germany have given notification of their resolution to form of the Polish territory delivered from Russian tyranny the new autonomous Kingdom of Poland. Your most ardent desire, entertained in vain for more than a century, is thus fulfilled.
The importance and danger of this war-time and regard for our armies standing before the enemy oblige us for the present to keep the administration of your new state still in our hands. Readily, however, we will give, with your aid, to the new Poland by degrees those public institutions which guarantee her consolidation, development, and safety. Of these the Polish Army is the most important.
Proclamation by Gov. General
von Beseler,
Warsaw, Poland, November 10, 1916.
In this combination between infantry and artillery the Royal Flying Corps played a highly important part. The admirable work of this corps has been a very satisfactory feature of the battle. Under the conditions of modern war the duties of the Air Service are many and varied. They include the regulation and control of artillery fire by indicating targets and observing and reporting the results of rounds; the taking of photographs of enemy trenches, strong points, battery positions, and of the effect of bombardments; and the observation of the movements of the enemy behind his lines.
The greatest skill and daring has been shown in the performance of all these duties, as well as in bombing expeditions. Our Air Service has also coöoperated with our infantry in their assaults, signaling the position of our attacking troops and turning machine-guns upon the enemy infantry and even upon his batteries in action.
Sir Douglas Haig's Official
Report on
the Somme Battle, December, 1916.
It is assumed here that the agreement on the part of the Greek Government to surrender six batteries terminates the Allied control of the Greek railways and the postal and telegraphic censorship.
Telegram from Athens, December 3, 1916.
In a deep moral and religious sense of duty toward his nation and, beyond it, toward humanity, the emperor now considers that the moment has come for official action toward peace. His majesty, therefore, in complete harmony and in common with our allies, decided to propose to the hostile powers to enter peace negotiations. This morning I transmitted a note to this effect to all the hostile powers through the representatives of those powers which are watching over our interests and rights in the hostile states.
Bethmann-Hollweg,
Reichstag, December 12, 1916.
The Germans announce the occupation of Bukharest. The evacuation of the city was clearly imminent, and for some time past there has been little hope that it could be saved. As a recent semi-official statement from Bukharest intimated, the forts had been disarmed and the Rumanians never intended to defend it if the field defences before it could not be held.
Times Correspondent, December 15, 1916.
The French have achieved a splendid victory before Verdun.
The capture of the strongly fortified position of Poivre Ridge was decisive in its effect upon the fighting along the whole line. The ridge was turned, and when the Germans, abandoning everything in their flight, found their retreat cut off, they surrendered in hundreds.
Times Correspondent, December 17, 1916.
The degree of savagery which the Germans have attained in their submarine policy of sinking merchant-ships at sight would appear to have reached its climax in the sinking of the British steam-ship Westminster, proceeding in ballast from Torre dell' Annunziata to Port Said. On December 14 this vessel was attacked by a German submarine, without warning, when 180 miles from the nearest land, and struck by two torpedoes in quick succession, which killed four men. She sank in four minutes.
This ruthless disregard of the rules of international law was followed by a deliberate attempt to murder the survivors. The officers and crew, while effecting their escape from the sinking ship in boats, were shelled by the submarine at a range of three thousand yards. The master and chief engineer were killed outright and their boat sunk. The second and third engineers and three of the crew were not picked up, and are presumed to have been drowned.
Great Britain, in common with all other civilised nations, regards the sinking without warning of merchant-ships with detestation.
British Admiralty Report,
December 19, 1916.
(The Berlin papers related that, after the German peace proposal had been announced, hundreds of thousands waited in the streets during the night for the answers from the Allies.)
Soldiers: In agreement with the sovereigns of my allies, and with the consciousness of victory, I have made an offer of peace to the enemy. Whether it will be accepted is still uncertain. Until that moment arrives you will fight on.
The Kaiser to the Army, December, 1916.
Fully conscious of the gravity of this moment, but equally conscious of its requirements, the allied Governments, closely united to one another and in perfect sympathy with their peoples, refuse to consider a proposal which is empty and insincere.
Once again the Allies declare that no peace is possible so long as they have not secured reparation for violated rights and liberties, the recognition of the principle of nationality and of the free existence of small States, so long as they have not brought about a settlement calculated to end once and for all forces which have constituted a perpetual menace to the nations, and to afford the only effective guarantee for the future security of the world.
Joint Reply of Entente Allies to
German Peace Proposal,
December 30, 1916.
Neutral ships which navigate the barred zones will do so at their own risk. Even though provision be made that neutral ships which on February 1st are en route to ports in the barred zones will be spared during an appropriate period, it is nevertheless urgently advisable that they be directed by all means available into other routes. Neutral ships which are lying in harbors in the barred zones can with equal security still leave the barred zones if they depart before February 5 and take the shortest route to a free zone.
German Note Presented to the United
States Ambassador, Mr. Gerard,
Amsterdam, January 31, 1917.
Sailing of regular American passenger steamers may continue undisturbed after February 1, 1917, if
(A) The port of destination is Falmouth.
(B) Sailing to or coming from that port course is taken via the Scilly Islands and a point fifty degrees north, twenty degrees west.
(C) The steamers are marked in the following way, which must not be allowed to other vessels in American ports: On ship's hull and superstructure three vertical stripes one meter wide, each to be painted alternately white and red. Each mast should show a large flag checkered white and red, and the stern the American national flag. Care should be taken that, during dark, national flag and painted marks are easily recognizable from a distance, and that the boats are well lighted throughout.
German Note Announcing "Unlimited"
Submarine Warfare, January 31, 1917.
Under the convention belligerents have the right to search hospital ships, and the German Government has, therefore, an obvious remedy in case of suspicion—a remedy which they have never utilised.
From the German Government's statement that hospital ships will no longer be tolerated within the limits mentioned, only one conclusion can be drawn, namely, that it is the intention of the German Government to add yet other and more unspeakable crimes against law and humanity to the long list which disgraces their record.
Foreign Office Statement,
February 9, 1917.
We regret the rupture with a nation who, by her history, seemed to be predestined to work together with us, not against us, for common ideals. But since our honest desire for peace has only encountered hostile ridicule on the part of our enemies, there is no more "going back," but only "ahead" possible for us.
German Memorandum,
February 27, 1917.
It is with sentiments of the most profound satisfaction that the peoples of Great Britain and of the British Dominions across the seas have learned that their great Ally Russia now stands with the nations which base their institutions upon responsible government.
Much as we appreciate the loyal and steadfast coöperation which we have received from the late Emperor and the armies of Russia during the past two and a half years, yet I believe that the revolution whereby the Russian people have based their destinies on the sure foundation of freedom is the greatest service which they have yet made to the cause for which the Allied peoples have been fighting since August, 1914.
It reveals the fundamental truth that this war is at bottom a struggle for popular government as well as for liberty. It shows that through the war, the principle of liberty, which is the only sure safeguard of peace in the world, has already won one resounding victory. It is the sure promise that the Prussian military autocracy which began the war, and which is still the only barrier to peace, will itself before long be overthrown.
Telegram from Mr. Lloyd George
to Prince Lvoff,
Russian Provisional Government.
March, 1917.
—German Official.
Latest police reports show that the casualties so far reported in to-day's air-raid are:—
| Killed | Injured | ||
| Men | 55 | Men | 223 |
| Women | 16 | Women | 122 |
| Children | 26 | Children | 94 |
| Total | 97 | Total | 439 |
No damage of a military or naval nature was done.
The following German official report was issued on Wednesday:—
| Killed | 104 |
| Seriously injured | 154 |
| Slightly injured | 269 |
| 527 |
including 120 children killed or injured.
To-day our airmen dropped bombs on the Fort of London.
British Official, June 13, 1917.
On February first we intend to begin submarine warfare without restriction. In spite of this it is our intention to endeavor to keep the United States neutral. If this attempt is not successful, we propose an alliance on the following basis with Mexico:
That we shall make war together and together make peace; we shall give general financial support, and it is understood that Mexico is to reconquer her lost territory of New Mexico, Texas, and Arizona. The details are left to you for settlement.
You are instructed to inform the President of Mexico of the above in the greatest confidence as soon as it is certain that there will be an outbreak of war with the United States, and suggest that the President of Mexico shall on his own initiative communicate with Japan suggesting the latter's adherence at once to this plan, and at the same time offer to mediate between Germany and Japan.
Please call to the attention of the President of Mexico that the employment of ruthless submarine warfare now promises to compel England to make peace in a few months.
Zimmermann's Letter to Mexico,
Written January 19,
Published March 1, 1917.
Sharp opposition arose yesterday to the requisite resolution in the Senate under the leadership of Senators La Follette and Stone and a few cranky Western radicals. Senator La Follette, who, besides being of pacifist tendencies, represents Wisconsin, where the German vote is strong, had all along been expected to take advantage of the privilege of unlimited debate in order to try to kill the resolution.
Times Correspondent
Washington, March 4, 1917.
Our retreat from the old positions on the Ancre and the Somme has nullified the projected great Anglo-French spring offensive against our center on the Western front.
Long strips of territory, having a width of from ten to twelve kilometers (from six and one-fourth to seven and one-half miles), and running along the whole of our position, have been turned into "dead ground." No villages or farm remains standing on this glacis, no road is passable, and no bridge, railway-line, or embankment remains standing. Before our new positions runs, like a gigantic ribbon, the empire.
Lokalanzeiger, March 18, 1917.
The commandant of outposts will direct the destruction of the various localities. The final and complete destruction of Grévillers, Biefvillers, Aubin, and Avesnes will begin at the hour of X-2. To provide the detachments for setting fire to houses each commandant in the sector will furnish two sub-officers and twenty men from the B battalions, and two stretcher-bearers with litters. The destruction of Favreuil, Beugnatre, and Frémicourt will begin on the second day of the retirement at the hour of X-3. The destruction of Morchies will be executed in the morning of the third day of the retirement, at about five o'clock.... The destruction of Louverval, Boursies, Demicourt will begin on the third day of the retirement. For these operations the commandant of pioneers will arrange with the commandant of outposts of Division S, Sector III., Major von Uechtritz, at Doignies, in such manner that all the details of destruction not carried out under orders of the commandant of outposts shall be executed later by Division S.
The lighting of the incendiary fires shall be executed under command of the officers by the different detachments. The destruction of all wells is important.
Tiede (F. d. R.)
Baessler, Oberleutnant.
German Official.
Before retiring into the background the Executive Committee of the Duma, under M. Rodzianko, issued on March 20 the following noteworthy appeal to the nation:
A great event has happened. By one mighty effort the Russian people have overthrown the old order of things. A new free Russia has been born. In the course of nine long years all the rights won by the people were taken away from it one by one. The country was once again thrown into the abyss of arbitrariness and autocracy. All attempts to bring the Government to reason proved fruitless, and the great world-war into which our country was drawn by the enemy found it in a state of moral disorganisation, with a Government separated from the people, indifferent to the fate of the country, and sunk in the disgrace of vices of every kind....
The people were obliged to take over the power in the State into their own hands. The unanimous revolutionary impulse of the people, animated by the sense of the importance of the hour, and the resoluteness of the Duma, have created a Provisional Government which deems it to be its sacred and responsible duty to realise the people's aspirations and to lead the country on to the bright road of free civic organisation.
M. Rodzianko,
The Duma, March 20, 1917.
Among the many steps which are being taken by the Government to meet the emergency created by the submarine menace is the graduating of the first and second classes in the Naval Academy. The first class will be graduated on March 29, and the second class several weeks later. This measure will provide 374 additional naval officers.
Reuter, Washington, March 20, 1917.
All the reports which have reached us confirm the report that the enemy has systematically pillaged and ravaged the evacuated zone, mostly without reasons of a military nature. General von Fleck, the Commander of the 17th German Army Corps, in leaving Ham carried away the furniture of the house which he occupied in the town.
French Official, March 22, 1917.
Germany never had the slightest intention of attacking the United States of America, and does not intend to do so now. Germany never desired war against the United States of America, and she does not desire it to-day. How did things develop? We told the United States more than once that we announced the unrestricted use of the submarine weapon in the expectation that England could be made to observe in her blockade policy the laws of humanity and international agreements.
If the American nation regards this as a reason for declaring war against the German nation, with which it has lived in peace for more than a hundred years; if by this action it wants to increase bloodshed, not we shall have to bear the burden of responsibility for it. The German nation, which feels neither hatred nor hostility towards the United States of America, will also bear this and overcome it.
Herr von Bethmann-Hollweg,
Berlin, March 29, 1917.
Aid and comfort to our German enemy assume a peculiarly insidious and subtle form, as we are warned by leading papers in various parts of the country, in the attempts of certain journals to confuse the minds of the American people about our motives in entering the war, and to implant seeds of suspicion and distrust concerning our Allies.
Literary Digest, April, 1917.
God of the Ages, our father's God, and our God, whose holy influence has shaped and guided the destiny of our Republic from its inception, we wait upon that influence to guide us in the present crisis which has been thrust upon us.
Diplomacy has failed; moral suasion has failed; every appeal to reason and justice has been swept aside. We abhor war and love peace. But if war has been, or shall be, forced upon us, we pray that the heart of every American citizen shall throb with patriotic zeal; that a united people may rally around our President to hold up his hands in every measure that shall be deemed necessary to protect American lives and safeguard our inherent rights.
Let thy blessings, we beseech Thee, attend the Congress now convened in extraordinary session under extraordinary conditions which call for extraordinary thought, wise counsel, calm and deliberate legislation; that its resolves and all its enactments may spring spontaneously from loyal and patriotic hearts; that our defenders on land and sea may be amply supplied with the things which make for strength and efficiency.
And, O God, our Heavenly Father, let Thy strong arm uphold, sustain, and guide us in a just and righteous cause; for Thine is the kingdom, the power, and glory, forever. Amen.
Rev. Dr. Henry M. Couden,
In Congress, U. S. A.,
April 2, 1917.
We are now about to accept gage of battle with this natural foe to liberty, and shall, if necessary, spend the whole force of the nation to check and nullify its pretensions and its power. We are glad, now that we see the facts with no veil of false pretense about them, to fight thus for the ultimate peace of the peoples included: for the rights of nations great and small and the privilege of men everywhere to choose their way of life and of obedience. The world must be made safe for democracy. Its peace must be planted upon the tested foundations of political liberty. We have no selfish ends to serve. We desire no conquest, no dominion. We seek no indemnities of ourselves, no material compensation for the sacrifices we shall freely make. We are but one of the champions of the rights of mankind. We shall be satisfied when those rights have been made as secure as the faith and the freedom of nations can make them.
President Wilson's
Address to Congress,
April 2, 1917.
There are, it may be, many months of fiery trial and sacrifice ahead of us. It is a fearful thing to lead this great peaceful people into war, into the most terrible and disastrous of all wars, civilization itself seeming to be in the balance. But the right is more precious than peace, and we shall fight for the things which we have always carried nearest our hearts—for democracy, for the right of those who submit to authority to have a voice in their own governments, for the rights and liberties of small nations, for a universal dominion of right by such a concert of free peoples as shall bring peace and safety to all nations and make the world itself at last free. To such a task we can dedicate our lives and our fortunes, everything that we are and everything that we have, with the pride of those who know that the day has come when America is privileged to spend her blood and her might for the principles that gave her birth and happiness and the peace which she has treasured. God helping her, she can do no other.
President Wilson's
Address to Congress,
April 2, 1917.
Hard fighting took place again this afternoon on the northern end of Vimy Ridge, in which we gained further important positions and took a number of prisoners and machine-guns.
In the direction of Cambrai we have advanced our line north of the village of Louverval.
Such counter-attacks as the enemy has attempted at different points along our front have met with no success.
The number of prisoners taken by us since the opening of our attack yesterday morning now exceeds 11,000, including 235 officers.
We have also captured over 100 guns, among them a number of heavy guns up to 8-inch calibre, 60 trench mortars, and 163 machine-guns.
British Official, April 10, 1917.
According to the statements of an Austrian officer, a deserter, the German chancellor has sent a number of German Socialists to Stockholm to interview the representatives of Russian Socialists and negotiate for a separate peace.
Another Austrian deserter alleges that peace is being spoken of less frequently than formerly in the Austrian Army, and that everybody hopes the internal disorders in Russia will help in bringing about her destruction.
Russian Official,
Petrograd, April 14, 1917.
As it was herewith clearly demonstrated to the entire world, and especially to the people of Russia, that Russia was no longer forced to fight for her defences and for the freedom of her people, it should, in view of the conformity of the aims of the governments of the allies and of the Russian Provisional Government, not be difficult to find a way toward an understanding. This the less as the emperor (Charles) in agreement with the allied monarchs cherishes the hope of living in future in peace and friendship with a Russian people which, as regards its internal and external conditions of life, will be secured and content.
Austrian Government to Russia,
April 15, 1917.
On the evening of April 17 the S.S. Donegal and Lanfranc, while transporting wounded to British ports, were torpedoed without warning.
The Lanfranc, in addition to 234 wounded British officers and men, carried 167 wounded German prisoners, a medical personnel of 52, and a crew of 123.
British Admiralty Official,
April 17, 1917.
It's about time for the hamstringers that are lurking in the tall grass and the sabotagists who are trying to throw monkey-wrenches into the war machinery to shut off and up or look for unpleasant consequences.
These hidden-hangers do not come out in the open, even to the extent of the semi-treasonable sentiments of the Pro-German Socialists at St. Louis. If they did, it wouldn't be necessary to pay any attention to them. They work in a more insidious way. Under the guise of American citizenship they rise up every now and then, individuals or organizations of doubtful origin and purpose, to demand why the United States is in the war and what its intentions are....
Americans are in no mood to tolerate national sabotage of this sort any more than plain and open aid and comfort to the enemy. Every man of common sense knows why we are in the war and what we want to do. We are in it because we were forced into it by outrageous aggressions and because we are determined to make the world safe for American democracy.
Chicago Herald, May, 1917.,
At the last sitting of the executive committee of the Council of Workmen's and Soldiers' Delegates, M. Borgbjerg, on behalf of the Labour parties of Scandinavia—Danish, Swedish, and Norwegian—conveyed an official invitation to all Socialist parties in Russia to the proposed international conference at Stockholm.
Reuter, Petrograd, May 8, 1917.
The Washington correspondent of the Associated Press states that Congress will be asked to appropriate $1,000,000,000 (£200,000,000) for the building of an American merchant fleet to overcome the submarine menace.
The program of the Shipping Board contemplates the diversion to the Government of the product of every steel-mill in the United States and the cancelation of existing contracts between the mills and private consumers, and, where necessary, the payment of damages by the Government to the parties whose contracts are canceled. The Board estimates that from five to six million tons of steel and wooden vessels will be constructed by the Government in the next two years.
Associated Press,
Washington, May 8, 1917.
Isolated groups of certain classes of the population, lacking conscientiousness, seek to realize their aspirations by the medium of violence, and threaten to destroy the discipline of internal policy and to create anarchy.
The Provisional Government believes it to be its duty to declare frankly that this state of things, which renders the administration of the country difficult, may lead the country to internal disorganisation and defeat at the front. The phantom of anarchy and civil war threatening liberty arises before Russia.
Russian Provisional
Government Proclamation,
Petrograd, May 9, 1917.
As affairs are going now, it will be impossible to save the country. Perhaps the time is near when we will have to tell you that we can no longer give you the amount of bread you expect or other supplies on which you have a right to count. The process of the change from slavery to freedom is not going on properly. We have tasted freedom and are slightly intoxicated. What we need is sobriety and discipline.
You could suffer and be silent for ten years, and obey the orders of a hated Government. You could even fire upon your own people when commanded to do so. Can you now suffer no longer?
We hear it said that we no longer need the front because they are fraternizing there. But are they fraternizing on all the fronts? Are they fraternizing on the French front? No, comrades, if you are going to fraternize, then fraternize everywhere. Are not enemy forces being thrown over upon the Anglo-French front, and is not the Anglo-French advance already stopped? There is no such thing as a "Russian front," there is only one general Allied front.
Kerensky, Russian Minister of Justice,
May 14, 1917.
The day here named is the time upon which all shall present themselves for assignment to their tasks. It is for that reason destined to be remembered as one of the most conspicuous moments in our history. It is nothing less than the day upon which the manhood of the country shall step forward in one solid rank in defense of the ideals to which this nation is consecrated. It is important to those ideals no less than to the pride of this generation in manifesting its devotion to them, that there be no gaps in the ranks.
From President Wilson's
Proclamation
of the Draft Law, May 18, 1917.
Sir Edward Carson was the chief speaker at a luncheon given at Princes Restaurant on the 17th inst., by the Navy League to the chairman and committee of the Navy League of the United States. The gathering was representative of the British Parliament and Navy, and several American Naval officers were among the guests.
The Duke of Buccleuch, who presided, gave the toasts of "The King" and "The President of the United States."
Mr. Irwin Laughlin (Councillor to the United States Embassy), in responding, expressed regret that the Ambassador was unable to be present. He would like to say, in thanking his Grace for the very flattering and agreeable words he had been good enough to utter in regard to the President, and the alliance, that he was sure both the President and the Ambassador felt that the binding force of any alliance sprang not from a matter of treaties, but from a reciprocal confidence in mutual aims.
British Admiralty, Official,
May 22, 1917.
Sir Douglas Haig, who has never yet made a premature claim of success, has been able to announce that ten miles of the vaunted Hindenburg line have passed into the possession of his gallant troops. The Germans say that "there is no Hindenburg line," and in one respect at least they are correct. Our Special Correspondent, in a despatch published in this issue, declares that the Hindenburg line is "now undiscoverable." The attacking forces gained possession of a very long stretch of pulverized ground, but the line itself had been battered out of recognition.
The Times, May 25, 1917.
A brief résumé of what the United States have accomplished during the seven weeks which have elapsed since they entered the war may not be without interest as demonstrating America's complete participation in the war and her ability to give immediate and powerful aid.
A selective Draft Bill which will ultimately give an Army of 2,000,000 men has passed Congress, and will be put into operation forthwith. The loan legislation has passed Congress, and the law is already in operation with prospects of the greatest success; $750,000,000 has already been advanced to the Allies.
British Press Bureau,
May 27, 1917.
The following telegram, signed by Mr. Havelock Wilson as President of the Sailors' and Firemen's Union, has been sent to the Council of Workmen's and Soldiers' Delegates in Petrograd:
Comrades, I am instructed by the Committee of the National Sailors' and Firemen's Union of Great Britain and Ireland, representing 100,000 organized seamen, to inform you that we have decided not to work on any ship which conveys delegates to Petrograd or Stockholm until such delegates give an undertaking in writing that no war settlement can be made with Germany until the German Government make restitution to the relatives of Allied and neutral seamen who have been murdered when endeavouring to escape from their sinking ships that were torpedoed by German submarines. We desire that you will make inquiries as to the noble part played by the British Seamen's Union towards the Russian revolutionary party in 1905 and 1906, when, you will find, we were the true friends of Russian democracy.
June, 1917.
The German conspiracy for a separate peace received a severe setback when the General Congress of Workmen's and Soldiers' Delegates of all Russia, by a vote of 640 to 121, approved the attitude of the Government in expelling from Russia Robert Grimm, a Swiss Socialist pacifist, who had received the following communication, when in Petrograd, from M. Hoffman, member of the Swiss Federal Council:
"Germany will not undertake an offensive so long as she considers it possible to arrive at an understanding with Russia. Numerous conversations with prominent politicians lead me to believe that Germany is seeking to conclude with Russia a mutually honorable peace, and a peace which would result in the re-establishment of close economic and commercial relations with Russia; the financial support of Germany to Russia for her restoration; no intervention in the internal affairs of Russia; a friendly understanding with regard to Poland, Lithuania, and Courland; and the restoration to Russia of her occupied territories, in return for the districts of Austria invaded by Russia. I am convinced that if the allies of Russia desired it, Germany and her allies would be ready immediately to open peace negotiations."
Current History, June, 1917.
The exchange value of the mark fell to-day to the lowest point yet recorded here, namely, 35.40 florins per 100 marks. The Austrian crown also touched its lowest, the exchange being 22.40fl.
The mark has fallen since June from 36.15fl. to the value above mentioned. The pre-war rate was 59.25fl.
Amsterdam, June 7, 1917.
President Wilson's Address on
Flag Day, June 14, 1917.
We know now clearly, as we knew before we ourselves were engaged in the war, that we are not enemies of the German people, and they are not our enemies. They did not originate, or desire, this hideous war, or wish that we should be drawn into it, and we are vaguely conscious that we are fighting their cause, as they will some day see it themselves, as well as our own. They themselves are in the grip of the same sinister power that has stretched its ugly talons out and drawn blood from us.
President Wilson,
Washington, June 14, 1917.
My Fellow-Citizens: We meet to celebrate Flag Day because this flag which we honor and under which we serve is the emblem of our unity, our power, our thought, and purpose as a nation. It has no other character than that which we give it from generation to generation. The choices are ours. It floats in majestic silence above the hosts that execute those choices, whether in peace or in war. And yet, though silent, it speaks to us—speaks to us of the past, of the men and women who went before us and of the records they wrote upon it. We are about to carry it into battle, to lift it where it will draw the fire of our enemies. We are about to bid thousands, hundreds of thousands, it may be millions, of our men, the young, the strong, the capable men of the nation, to go forth and die beneath it on fields of blood far away—for what? For some unaccustomed thing? For something for which it has never sought the fire before?
These are questions which must be answered. We are Americans. We in our turn serve America, and can serve her with no private purpose. We must use her flag as she has always used it. We are accountable at the bar of history and must plead in utter frankness what purpose it is we seek to serve.
President Wilson, Washington,
Flag Day, June 14, 1917.
The police on Saturday arrested a certain Baron von Rautenfels, who declares that he was born in Finland, but is now a German subject, and two Finlanders. At their lodgings and in the luggage of these persons the police found nearly a ton of explosives of a very powerful variety. Part of these explosives was made up to resemble coal briquettes, and was all ready to be mixed with the coal in ships' bunkers. The baron's luggage also contained cigarettes and tobacco mixed with carborundum, which can be used to ruin engines or machinery. The baron and the other arrested persons declare that the bombs and other explosives were to be used in Finland.
Christiania, June 24, 1917.
M. Kerensky (the Russian War Minister) and General Brusiloff have organised a new offensive in Galicia which has had a magnificent success, a tremendous blow being struck at the enemy. The news of victory has transformed Petrograd, and the pessimism that was paralyzing the people has given way to a flood of eager patriotism.
Times Correspondent,
Petrograd, July 4, 1917.
Three airships only were able to approach the outskirts of London.
One of them appeared over the northern districts at about 2:15 a.m., where she was at once picked up by searchlights and heavily engaged by anti-aircraft guns and aëroplanes. After a few minutes the airship was seen to burst into flame and to fall rapidly towards the earth. The ship was destroyed; the wreckage, engines, and the half-burned bodies of the crew being found at Cuffley, near Enfield.
British Official, September 3, 1916.
Since the first day the war has been to us nothing but the defence of our right to existence and freedom. Therefore we were able first and alone to declare our readiness for peace negotiations. I spoke on July 9, 1915, and afterwards repeatedly with sufficient clearness on the subject. Mr. Asquith and Lord Robert Cecil do not get rid of my words by asserting that Germany had announced none, or only intolerable and humiliating peace conditions. We did our part, nor does any one dare to demand that we should make offers to-day when the enemy, as M. Briand recently did, characterises the conclusion of peace to-day as weakness for the memory of the dead. They continue the war because they hope to be able to attain their Utopian war aims.
Bethmann-Hollweg,
Berlin, October 5, 1916.
Eight vessels (including one passenger liner) have been torpedoed so far by the U-53, which has caused a sensation since her appearance in Newport Harbor only to move again in a few hours. As far as is known no lives have been lost. The crew of one vessel is not yet accounted for.
Times Correspondent,
New York, October 9, 1916.
A German Embassy official, who stipulated that his name must not be used, said that the terms include "practically" the restoration of the status quo ante bellum (including the return of Germany's colonies), the creation of new kingdoms of Poland and Lithuania, and changes in the Balkan boundaries, but at least part of Serbia and Rumania to be restored.
Times Correspondent,
New York, December 12, 1916.
Conjointly with the allied rulers I proposed to our enemies to enter forthwith into peace negotiations. Our enemies refused my offer. Their hunger for power desires Germany's destruction. The war will be continued. Before God and humanity I declare that on the enemy Governments alone falls the heavy responsibility for all the further terrible sacrifices from which I wished to save you.
With justified indignation at our enemies' arrogant crime and with determination to defend our holiest possessions and secure the Fatherland's happy future, you will become as steel. Our enemies did not want the understanding offered by me. With God's help our arms will enforce it.
The Kaiser, January 6, 1917.
Neutrals cannot expect that Germany, forced to fight for her existence, shall, for the sake of neutral interest, restrict the use of an effective weapon if her enemy is permitted to continue to apply at will methods of warfare violating the rules of international law. Such a demand would be incompatible with the character of neutrality, and the German Government is convinced that the Government of the United States does not think of making such a demand, knowing that the Government of the United States has repeatedly declared that it is determined to restore the principle of the freedom of the seas from whatever quarter it has been violated.
German Note to President
Wilson,
February 3, 1917.
The total English tonnage is stated to be about 20,000,000 gross register tons, and is accounted for as follows: Requisitioned for military purposes, 8,500,000 tons; engaged in coastal trade, 500,000 tons; under repairs, 1,000,000 tons; plying "in the interest of the Allies," 2,000,000 tons; remaining for the supply of England, 8,000,000 tons "at most." It is added that, as a matter of fact, the statistics for July to September, 1916, show only about 6,750,000 tons of English shipping as plying to England, and it is estimated that, with the addition of 900,000 tons of non-English enemy tonnage and 3,000,000 tons of neutral tonnage, England is dependent upon a round total of 10,750,000 gross register tons.
The Lokalanzeiger, February 4, 1917.
This is a conflict not of armies, but of industries and economic resources. Mr. Lloyd George once said that the last £100,000,000 might win the war. The United States not only has the last £100,000,000, but it has many times £100,000,000. The day that this country enters the war the economic resources of the Allies will be doubled. We can practically care for France while recruiting an army of our own. The German General Staff may delude itself into believing that it has challenged the immediate war-power of 100,000 men. What it is really challenging is a war-power of 200,000,000,000 dollars (£40,000,000,000) and a financial and industrial system that can be indefinitely mobilized.
The New York World,
February 6, 1917.
News of the wholesale destruction of Dutch vessels, after the "solicitude" so considerately shown for their safety by the German authorities, has provoked a degree of feeling far surpassing any hitherto aroused, even by the many "unfortunate occurrences" of a similar nature which Holland has previously experienced at German hands.
Reuter, Amsterdam, February 25, 1917.
Seven Dutch Steamers which left Falmouth on February 22 were attacked about 5 p.m. of the same day by a German submarine, without their papers being examined. Three of the ships are known to have been sunk, one has been towed into harbor, the other three, says a Lloyd's telegram, "might still be afloat."
If the Dutch reports are correct that these seven vessels perished, this will be deeply regretted, but responsibility for it falls on the ship-owners, who preferred to send out their vessels on February 22 on a promise of relative security instead of waiting until March 17, when absolute security was promised. The report of the submarines has not yet arrived.
We regret the rupture with a nation who, by her history, seemed to be predestined to work together with us, not against us, for common ideals. But since our honest desire for peace has only encountered hostile ridicule on the part of our enemies, there is no more "going back," but only "ahead" possible for us.
Imperial Chancellor, Berlin, February 27, 1917.
The revelation takes the form of a letter from Herr Zimmermann, the German Foreign Secretary, to Eckardt, the German Minister in Mexico, which was forwarded through Count Bernstorff and dated January 19. The letter announces unrestricted submarine warfare for February first, and instructs Eckardt to negotiate an offensive alliance with General Carranza, who should approach Japan, apparently with the object ultimately of getting her to join in an attack upon the United States.
Times Correspondent, Washington,
March 1, 1917.
Sir Stanley Maude, telegraphing on March 11, announces that the British forces occupied Bagdad early that morning.
The English operations in Mesopotamia have been accompanied by a great success. The British flag floats over Bagdad and in all the bazaars of the East the news will resound that the feringhi have beaten the warriors of the padishah, and captured the city which for long centuries was invested with the garment of story and fairy tale.
British Press Bureau, March 14, 1917.
During the past few days a tract of land between the region of Arras and the Aisne was evacuated by us in accordance with plans. The movements, prepared long beforehand, were carried out without disturbance by the hesitating, pursuing enemy. The rear-guard troops, by their prudent and heroic conduct, screened the evacuation of the positions and the departure of the forces.
German Official Communiqué, March 19, 1917.
President Wilson has authorised the Navy Department to spend £23,000,000 to speed up naval construction and to purchase auxiliary craft. This expenditure was recently authorised by Congress.
Reuter, March 20, 1917.
Whole towns and villages have been pillaged, burned, destroyed; private houses have been stripped of all their furniture, which the enemy has carried off; fruit-trees have been torn up or rendered useless for all future production; springs and wells have been poisoned. The comparatively few inhabitants who were not evacuated to the rear were left with the smallest possible ration of food, while the enemy took possession of the stocks provided by the Neutral Relief Committee and intended for the civil population.
The fact has been established by our military authorities in the recaptured districts (says this instruction) and notably at Péronne, where the branch of the banque de France was pillaged and the strong rooms were found broken open and empty, that a very large number of securities have been stolen by the German troops in their retreat.
French Official Protest, March 24, 1917.
I am not now thinking of the loss of property involved, immense and serious as that is, but only of the wanton and wholesale destruction of the lives of non-combatant men, women, and children, engaged in pursuits which have always, even in the darkest periods of modern history, been deemed innocent and legitimate. Property can be paid for; the lives of peaceful and innocent people cannot be.
The present German warfare against commerce is warfare against mankind. It is a war against all nations.
American ships have been sunk and American lives taken in ways which it has stirred us very deeply to learn of, but the ships and people of other neutral and friendly nations have been sunk and overwhelmed in the waters in the same way.
President Wilson,
Washington, April 2, 1917.
According to new reports, our troops during the battle of April 16 between Soissons and Rheims broke up very important German forces. In expectation of our attack the enemy had brought up nineteen divisions.
According to the accounts of prisoners, formal orders had been given to hold out at any cost on the first position, which had been deepened. The losses suffered by the Germans were heavy not only during the battle, but on the preceding days.
The number of unwounded prisoners taken by us between Soissons and Rheims now reaches eleven thousand.
French Communiqué, April 11, 1917.
Our gains reported this morning north of the Vimy Ridge have been secured and our positions strengthened.
During the fighting on the 9-10th inst. we captured prisoners from all infantry regiments of six German divisions—namely, 79th Reserve Division, First Bavarian Reserve Division, 14th Bavarian Division, 11th Division, 17th Reserve Division, and 18th Reserve Division.
British Official, April 12, 1917.
A Berlin telegram published by the "Cologne Gazette" states that Herr Scheidemann, leader of the German Socialist Majority Party, has gone with other German Socialists to Stockholm, in order to get into touch with Russian Socialists.
Reuter, April 12, 1917.
What is Herr von Bethmann-Hollweg still waiting for? If he now makes a frank and bold statement in the sense of the Russian peace formula three States will stand together, namely, Russia, Germany, and Austria-Hungary.
Vorwärts, May 7, 1917.
At the last sitting of the executive committee of the Council of Workmen's and Soldiers' Delegates, M. Borgbjerg, on behalf of the Labor parties of Scandinavia—Danish, Swedish, and Norwegian—conveyed an official invitation to all Socialist parties in Russia to the proposed international conference at Stockholm.
M. Borgbjerg said that, having had interviews with the German Social Democrats, he was able to communicate to the executive committee the peace terms proposed by the official Social Democratic Party, i. e., the majority section.
These, M. Borgbjerg proceeded, recognised the right of nations to freedom of development, and advocated the introduction of compulsory international arbitration; the restitution by Germany of all conquered territories; a plebiscite in Russian Poland, with freedom to choose between independence, annexation by Russia, or annexation by Germany; the restoration of independence to Belgium, Serbia, and Rumania, and the restoration to Bulgaria of the Bulgarian districts of Macedonia, and the granting to Serbia of a free port on the Adriatic. As to Alsace-Lorraine, they are of opinion that a rectification of the Lorraine frontier could be secured by means of an amicable understanding. The program of the minority section was wider in scope.
Reuter, May 8, 1917.
Flotillas of American destroyers have been sent to the submarine zone, where they are now effectively coöperating with the Allied Navies.
One Army division, a force of Marines, and nine regiments of Engineers have been ordered to France.
Ten thousand doctors, in addition to many nurses, have been ordered to England and France, and hundreds have already gone.
Together with the Americans who are already serving in the British and French Armies these additional units will shortly give a total of 100,000 Americans in France, equalling five German divisions.
British Press Bureau, May 27, 1917.
Latest police reports show that the casualties so far reported in to-day's air raid are:
| Killed | Injured | ||
| Men | 55 | Men | 223 |
| Women | 16 | Women | 122 |
| Children | 26 | Children | 94 |
| Total | 97 | Total | 439 |
No damage of a military or naval nature was done.
British Communiqué, June 13, 1917.
The High Commissioners of France, Great Britain, and Russia, having demanded by their note of yesterday the abdication of King Constantine and the appointment of his successor, the undersigned prime minister and minister of foreign affairs has the honor to bring to your Excellency's knowledge that the king, solicitous as always solely for the interest of Greece, has decided to leave the country with the crown prince, and to designate as his successor Prince Alexander.
M. Zaimis, June 13, 1917.
The important announcement that the City will be warned in future when an air raid is threatened was made on Sunday by the Lord Mayor, at a meeting at the London Opera House, called to demand reprisals for air raids. A resolution calling on the Government to undertake air reprisals on German towns and cities was passed, amidst great cheering.
London, June 19, 1917.
All over the world attempts were made to create distrust of German Social Democracy. We were described as being really war agitators, obedient servants of German Imperialism. The memorandum on our peace work which we delivered at Stockholm will, we hope, destroy many misunderstandings and many prejudices which are based on them.
Of course the misstatements and slanders have already begun again.
Herr Scheidemann,
Stockholm, June 29, 1917.
We must keep before our eyes daily the events of three years ago, which are fixed in history and show that we were forced into war by Russia's secret mobilization, which was the great danger for Germany. To have participated in a conference while the Russian mobilization proceeded would have been political suicide.
Herr Michaelis,
Berlin, July 27, 1917.
Southend was bombed by about a dozen German aëroplanes this evening while the place was full of holiday-makers. The attack lasted a quarter of an hour and resulted in the death of twenty-three people, the majority of whom were women and children. About forty people were injured. One of the victims was a little girl, who was terribly mangled, and another was a woman, who was also badly mutilated.
Times, August 17, 1917.
Does not the cartoonist Raemaekers fail in this cartoon? The artist Raemaekers is inspired—here as always. But does the cartoonist succeed this time in burning the right idea, his idea, into the reader's brain?
Here is the real Kaiser and here are real German workingmen. It is they who are carrying the burden of Kaiserism. All this is convincing. But do not other workingmen in other countries carry burdens?
The failure is only at first glance. Raemaekers is not concerned to reproduce the conventional cartoon of workingmen carrying a burden of other classes on their shoulders. The point lies not in the burden, but in the nature of the burden, the contrast, so perfectly portrayed, between the character of the Kaiser and the characters of his proud and willing slaves. The Kaiser, crafty and contemptuous, but neither so ignorant nor so stupid as to be wholly unconscious of the foolish and contemptible position he occupies! The workingmen evidently once strong, intelligent and enthusiastic, though now blinded and crippled, are utterly unconscious of what they are doing. Carrying the heavy burden of Kaiserism seems no more to them than their day's work.
You see Raemaekers knows both Kaiser and workingmen, and so will have nothing to do with the conventional portraits of either. The Kaiser is neither a beast nor a fool—however foolish his position may be. The workingmen are neither labor heroes ready to revolt, nor conscious and beaten serfs.
William English Walling.
In the inscription "Ten Million Men between 21 and 30" on the Statue of Liberty, Raemaekers has as usual gone to the heart of things. Ten million trained citizen soldiers!!! What an insurance of peace and security against attack or insult. Universal Citizen Military Education and Training.
From the beginning the first article in our Internatíonal Creed has been the Monroe Doctrine—America for Americans. If the result of the present war shall be to add two additional items to that creed, namely Universal Military Education and Training, and the United States, the First Air Power in the world, it will be worth all that it costs, and this great nation can go on in peace and security to work out the mighty destiny awaiting it.
Raemaekers' placing "All Highest" and his aide upon the conning tower of a submarine, suggests another most vital matter at this present time.
The submarine has held the world's spotlight for the last two years. Its deadly efficiency is universally conceded. That deadly efficiency is the direct result of Admiral von Tirpitz's unyielding insistence on a centralized, independent, untrammeled Department for the submarine.
Peary.
Whether the war be long or short, the quickest road to peace is the road straight ahead of us, with no division among the American people.
William Jennings Bryan.
The Prussian theory of right and justice is this: "What is mine is mine. What is yours is also mine if I want it."
This idea is deep buried beneath the thick bone of the Prussian head. He holds it with stolid stupidity and deep, prehistoric crudity, like a pig or an idiot. He cannot understand that there are any rights higher than Prussian greed. "If I want it, it is mine because I want it." It is the logic of the primitive human animal, the caveman.
Cornered and accused of his thefts he clings to his loot like the pig that has stolen a carrot. When asked to disgorge he is shocked by the suggestion. "But they are mine! I wanted them, so they are mine!" he says. Right and Justice answer, "They are not yours; you stole them." "Maybe so!" says the Prussian. "But just the same they are mine—I stole them a long time ago."
The logic of the Prussian fills ten thousand volumes. It is written in hundred-line paragraphs and six-inch words. It can be condensed into two short words—piggish greed; piggish because it knows neither right nor justice, greed because it is greed.
Ellis Parker Butler.
It is Germany's "Kultur," her spiritual code, that is responsible for America's entrance into the war; her gruesome sacrifice to Moloch of all which distinguishes humanity from the brute and the savage. It is her philosophy which has made us her horrified but resolute foe.
The fruits of her spirit stand forth alike in her speech and acts. "Kultur is a spiritual organization of the world, which does not exclude bloody savagery. It raises the dæmoniac to sublimity. It is above morality, reason, science," so wrote a Teutonic expounder in the first year of the war. "We have become a nation of wrath; we think only of the war. We execute God Almighty's will, and the edicts of His justice we will fulfil, imbued with holy rage, in vengeance upon the ungodly. God calls us to murderous battles, even if worlds should thereby fall to ruins," so wrote one of Germany's poets. "Whoever cannot prevail upon himself to approve from the bottom of his heart the sinking of the Lusitania, whoever cannot conquer his sense of the gigantic cruelty to unnumbered perfectly innocent victims—and give himself up to honest delight at this victorious exploit of German defensive power—him we judge to be no true German," so wrote one of her pastors. And for hideous, ruthless deeds which violate every sanctity and deify falsehood we need but cite her slaughter of children and the aged, her poisoning of wells, her shooting of nurses, her sinking of hospital ships, her brutal deportations and all the revolting sinuosities of her spy system.
Robert Grant.
Whether it is that an invigorating climate has given our Anglo-Saxon blood a piquant Gallic flavor or because Europe sent us for ancestors only those light-hearted and adventurous souls with a spirit akin to that we admire in the French people, true it is that Americans have always had an especial liking for France and the French. They were our first allies as they are the latest. From Lafayette and Rochambeau to Joffre and Viviani, a host of Frenchmen have won the affectionate regard of Americans and are numbered with our national heroes.
With their French allies Americans can work in most cordial understanding and sympathy. That subtle spirit of unselfish dedication to country which has won for the French the admiration of the world consecrates the alliance of the peoples who are giving their sons in common sacrifice to save liberty to the world. Out of the heat and turmoil of war bonds are being forged between the Allied nations which time and circumstance can never sever. On that alliance the hope of civilization depends; from it may come, in God's good time, some great forward step in the march of progress which began at a manger in Bethlehem.
Myron T. Herrick, Cleveland, Ohio, March, 1918.
If, as the artist suggests, and the plainest reading of the facts of the fruitless Verdun assault seems to confirm, lives of men were squandered in a reckless attempt to save the princeling's face (which was, in fact, beyond saving), then does he richly deserve the grim decoration with which in the name of infamy he is here invested—the Order of Butchery, with knives. And you may view the crosses upon the pathetic mounds before Verdun as so many entries in the Recording Angel's ledger.
Joseph Thorp.
