New York Times Current History The European War, Vol. 1, January 9, 1915 Part 13

"And now a serious question obtrudes itself. Must there not be a carefully considered and cautiously worked out understanding, which may be considered the preliminary of peace? Later on the foremost men of every nation can meet in conference to consider with an earnestness. .h.i.therto unknown the great problems which will be involved in the permanent abolition of war and establishment of peace; but for this the way must be prepared.

"Here, again, I think The Hague Tribunal is the proper body to a.s.semble for the purpose of devising means for the accomplishment of the great end, which must be such legislation as will accomplish, at the end of this war, the ending of all war among the nations.

"An important duty of the conference would be some arrangement for a union of the forces of the nations now at war, charged with and qualified to perform the duty of maintaining peace pending the completion of the final comprehensive plan."

For One Purpose Only.

"It is possible and even probable that as a part of the accomplishment of this it may be found to be desirable and even necessary to organize and provide for the maintenance of a joint naval and military body of strength sufficient to enforce world peace during the period necessary for the preparation of a plan to be submitted to all powers. But if this force is to be established, it must be done with the clear understanding that it is designed for one thing only, the maintenance of peace, and must not be used at any time for any other service.

"In the selection of the commanding officer to be intrusted with this task, it will be conceded that the victors in this war, or those who have a notable advantage at the time of the beginning of the armistice, shall have the right of his appointment.

"No protest ever will arise from the ma.s.s of the people of Europe against the abolishment of militarism. Even the people of Germany, as a whole, have not found militarism attractive. It has been the influence of the military aristocracy of Germany, the most powerful caste in the world, which not only has encouraged the national tendency, but has forced the Emperor, as I believe, to action against his will and judgment.

"But a change was notable in Germany before the war began, and will be far more notable after it has ended. The socialistic movement waxes strong throughout the nation, and the proceedings of the Reichstag show us that the nation is marching steadily, though perhaps slowly, toward a real democracy.

"I believe the first election to follow peace will result in a demand by the Reichstag that it, alone, shall be given power to declare war. It will be argued, and it is evident that it then will be amply provable, that it is the people who suffer most through war, and that, therefore, their representatives should utterly control it.

"That itself would be a most important step toward peace, and I feel certain that it is among the probabilities.

"As things stand in Germany, although the Reichstag has its powerful influence in regard to war expenditure and might accomplish important results by refusing to vote amounts demanded, the fact remains that until it has been given the power of making or withholding declaration of war the most important results cannot be accomplished."

"In Fried's volume," I suggested to Mr. Carnegie, "you are credited with saying that Emperor William, himself and by himself, might establish peace. Granting that that might have been the fact before this war began, is it your opinion that he, or any other one man, could now control the situation to that extent?"

"a.s.suming that the Germans should come out victorious," Mr. Carnegie replied, "the Emperor would become a stronger power than ever toward the maintenance of peace among the nations. At one time I believed him to be the anointed of G.o.d for this purpose, and did not fail to tell him so.

"Even if his forces should be defeated in this present carnage, I am sure he would be welcomed by the conference I have suggested as the proposer of the great world peace, thus fulfilling the glorious destiny for which at one time I considered that he had been chosen from on high."

I asked Mr. Carnegie what part he thought this country, the United States, should play in the great movement which he has in mind and thoroughly believes is even now upon its way.

"The United States," he answered, "although, happily, not a party to the world crime which is now in progress, seems ent.i.tled to preference as the one to call the nations of the world to the consideration of the greatest of all blessings--universal, lasting peace."

Woman and War

"SHOT. TELL HIS MOTHER."

By W.E.P. French, Captain, U.S. Army.

What have I done to you, Brothers,--War-Lord and Land-Lord and Priest,-- That my son should rot on the blood-smeared earth where the raven and buzzard feast?

He was my baby, my man-child, that soldier with sh.e.l.l-torn breast, Who was slain for your power and profit--aye, murdered at your behest.

I bore him, my boy and my manling, while the long months ebbed away; He was part of me, part of my body, which nourished him day by day.

He was mine when the birth-pang tore me, mine when he lay on my heart, When the sweet mouth mumbled my bosom and the milk-teeth made it smart, Babyhood, boyhood, and manhood, and a glad mother proud of her son-- See the carrion birds, too gorged to fly! Ah! Brothers, what have you done?

You prate of duty and honor, of a patriot's glorious death, Of love of country, heroic deeds--nay, for shame's sake, spare your breath!

Pray, what have you done for your country? Whose was the blood that was shed In the h.e.l.lish warfare that served your ends? My boy was shot in your stead.

And for what were our children butchered, men makers of cruel law?

By the Christ, I am glad no woman made the Christless code of war!

s.h.i.+rks and schemers, why don't you answer? Is the foul truth hard to tell?

Then a mother will tell it for you, of a deed that shames fiends in h.e.l.l:-- Our boys were killed that some faction or scoundrel might win mad race For goals of stained gold, shamed honors, and the sly self-seeker's place; That money's hold on our country might be tightened and made more sure; That the rich could inherit earth's fullness and their loot be quite secure; That the world-mart be wider opened to the product mulct from toil; That the labor and land of our neighbors should become your war-won spoil; That the eyes of an outraged people might be turned from your graft and greed In the misruled, plundered home-land by lure of war's ghastly deed; And that priests of the warring nations could pray to the selfsame G.o.d For His blessing on battle and murder and corpse-strewn, blood-soaked sod.

Oh, fools! if G.o.d were a woman, think you She would let kin slay For gold-l.u.s.t and craft of gamesters, or cripple that trade might pay?

This quarrel was not the fighters':--the cheated, red p.a.w.ns in your game:-- You stay-at-homes garnered the plunder, but the p.a.w.ns,--wounds, death, and "Fame"!

You paid them a beggarly pittance, your subst.i.tute prey-of-the-sword, But, ye canny beasts of prey, they paid, in life and limb, for your h.o.a.rd.

And, behold! you have other victims: a widow sobs by my side, Who clasps to her breast a girl-child. Men, she was my slain son's bride!

I can smell the stench of the shambles, where the mangled bodies lie; I can hear the moans of the wounded; I can see the brave lads die; And across the heaped, red trenches and the tortured, bleeding rows I cry out a mother's pity to all mothers of dear, dead "foes."

In love and a common sorrow, I weep with them o'er our dead, And invoke my sister woman for a curse on each scheming head.

Nay, why should we mothers curse you? Lo! flesh of our flesh are ye; But, by soul of Mary who bore the Christ-man murdered at Calvary, Into our own shall the mothers come, and the glad day speed apace When the law of peace shall be the law of the women that bear the race; When a man shall stand by his mother, for the worldwide common good, And not bring her tears and heart-break nor make mock of her motherhood.

The Way to Peace

AN INTERVIEW WITH JACOB H. SCHIFF.

One of the leading American financiers and noted philanthropist; founder of Jewish Theological Seminary and of Semitic Museum at Harvard University; a native of Germany and member of the firm of Kuhn, Loeb & Co., bankers.

By Edward Marshall.

American as I am in every fibre, and in accord as I feel with every interest of the country of my adoption, I cannot find myself in agreement with what appears to be, to a considerable extent, American opinion as to the origin and responsibility for the deplorable conflict in which almost all of Europe has become involved.

For many reasons my personal sympathies are with Germany. I cannot feel convinced that she has been the real aggressor; I believe that war was forced upon her, almost as if by prearrangement among the nations with whom she now contends; I cannot but believe that they had become jealous and envious of her rapid and unprecedented peaceful development and had concluded that the moment had arrived when all was favorable for a union against her.

Although I left Germany half a century ago, I would think as little of arraying myself against her, the country of my birth, in this the moment of her struggle for existence, as of arraying myself against my parents.

But while I steadfastly believe this war to have been forced upon Germany against her will, I also believe that circ.u.mstances which were stronger than the Governments of England and France, her present enemies, were necessary to overcome an equally definite reluctance upon their part.

In other words, I cannot wholly blame the English Government, or the French Government, any more than I can wholly blame the German Government.

Let us see how the great tragedy came about. It is safe to pa.s.s rapidly over the Servian-Bosnian-Herzegovinian-Austro-Hungarian complication which served as the immediate precipitant of hostilities. It has been detailed repeatedly in THE TIMES and other American publications.

It had reached a point at which the Austro-Hungarian Government felt compelled to take extreme measures by means of which to safeguard the integrity of the empire.

The firm but fatal ultimatum to Servia followed, the reply to which, suffice it to say, was unsatisfactory to Austria, who could not accept the suggestion of an investigation into the circ.u.mstances attending the a.s.sa.s.sination of the Archduke Ferdinand through a commission or court on which she was not represented.

Like Maine Case.

The situation really was a.n.a.logous to that which existed between the United States and Spain when the Maine was blown up in Havana Harbor. In order to fix the responsibility for this dastardly affair we then similarly demanded an investigation by Spain, to be carried out with the a.s.sistance of representatives of this Government. Spain, too, then offered to conduct an investigation, but she peremptorily declined to allow us to take part in it.