WAR REVIEWED IN REICHSTAG

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2641, 11 December 1915, Page 5

WAR REVIEWED IN REICHSTAG

' —: ♦ IftJLL-DRIiSS SPEECH TO CROWDED GALLERIES j SOCIALIST CLAMOUR ' AND CROCODILE TEAKS BrTeleßt&pi—Preis ABBoclfttion—OoryrlzTit , (Rc<j. December 10, 7.55 p.m.) London, December 10. The galleries of the R-eichetag were , crowded in anticipation of a momentous ' peace debate. . vou Bethmann HoEweg, the Chancellor, commenting on Bulgaria's : intervention, said that the Entente Powers, since the commencement of ths war, had made increasing efforts to in- , duce King Ferdinand to join in, promising him the most libera] portions of Austro-Hungarian, Turkish, and Greek territory. "The Entente Powers nob only gave away enemy and neutral territory, but,<lid not spare Serbia, for whoso menaced integrity Russia unchained. the dogs of war, and for whose liberation the Entente Powers pretend to be fighting. The Entente Powers asked Serbia to make territorial concessions, but. Serbia, was disinclined to agree. Tlius our enemies remained at variance -with the Bulgarians' justifiable national demands, whioh after the last Balkan war were considerably, restricted in favour of Serbia. "Russia left Bulgaria in the lurch', despite the fact that the latter ' had borno the main burdwiß 0 f the war. Bulgaria saw tho frafts of her victories going to Serbia, llio latter was given, proferonco heca-UEtv she was advanced as a power against Austria. "King Ferdinajad has now redeeme3 his pledge, mad/j at the end of the second _ Balkan .'war, namely, that tho Bulgarian colou'rs, which, after glorious fighting and severe disappointments, had been furled, would fly over lost territories. Vigorous Serbia, instead of seeking an undijratanding in orde-- to save the country from tho sacrifices involved in a fresh campaign, decided not only to oppose t',he -united Austro-German at* tack, but riko to attack Bulgaria."-. Or/an Road to the . East. Gaining tho open road to the Near East wa,' j a milestone of the war, and from a :militaTy viewpoint its value could n 7,t be overrated; from an economic r/tandpoint it allowed the welcome arrival, of Turkish produce in Germany. Thanks to King Ferdinand's; far-seeing poller/, a string bridge has' been constrained between the Central. Empires and the Orient which irill be nsed after pep.ee for the universal work'of. kiiltur. ilo.i.T von Bethmann Hollweg strongly attacked the Entente's policy in Greece, and' reproached England for using her fleet, to support a breach of Greek neutrality. "England Managed, to impress thd world with the idea that she must pii f aish Germany for violating Belflam's neutrality, but now we know 'tfiat England was tied up with France, ■without the British Parliament's knowledge, so that .Sir Edward Grey was : forced to join in the war,- voluntarily or otherwise, before the question of Belgium's neutrality 'ever arose.' England ' is no longer justified in denouncing ; 'German militarism when she plays this ' hypocritical part with Greece. The world now knows that the present worldslaughter is being continued to ploaso 'England. All reports to the effect that Germany is seeking peace are foolish legends whioh the Entente Powers are spreading in order to tovor their military failures." He couldn't discuss peace terms now, but the longer the Allies forced tho war on Germany the stronger she became, ; and therefore the more severe lier peace terms would be. France demanded the regaining of Alsace-Lorraine; England, | tho crushing of German militarism. But the Entente Powers had found on the battlefields that both demands were impossible terms, Germany's future must ■ be secured. , ■ Food Enough—and Cotton and copper. ; There is'food enough; there is possibly an over-supply of cotton coming up tho . Danube, while our supply of copper and rubber is, sufficient. Germany is prepared to carry the war into other fields. The Germans and Austro-Hungarians are -occupying 'well-consolidated and strong defensivo positions in Russia, and we are always ready to further ad- . vance there. It is true that tho French 1 and British, irith the greatest contempt, for death, have squeezed our,front in , tlio West at some points, but their i break-through, which was to be forced ■ at any cost, has failed, liko their previous attempts. The Ajostro-Hungarians firmly hold their defensive positions in Italy, and havo repulsed continual Italian attacks, whioh were carried out with gigantic loss of life. In fact, Italy is blowing_ to pieces the peaceful towns whose deliverance she is attempting, and which will hardly compensate for her . military , failures. The economic situation in Belgium is : almost normal, and the production of coal for railway purposes Is increasing. ITie Russians have left Poland, Lithuania, and Courland in a state of complete anarchy. We have established a new police system, rebuilt the railways and roads, introduced municipal statutes giving Poles an interest in public life. Our troops are brilliantlv overcoming all tlio hardships of tho Serbian mountains, while the heroic Turks bravely keep watch on tho Dardanelles, tho- immediate fall of which Mr. Asquitli predicted for last summer. Tho Dardanelles to-day stand firmer than evcr ; The Turks at Bagdad have also given the British ail .vpnreciable blow. Herr. von Bethmann Hollwcg concluded r "Our enemies can do nothing against the losio of facts. Our calculations are flawless, and no uncertain factors shatter oiii* firm confidence. If our enemies are hot yet inclined to yield to these factsj they must do so later. The German people are unshaken in their reliance on out strength, which is-invincible. It is an insult to try to make us believe that we, who are going from victorv to victory, standing far out into tho enemies' country, will be inferior in endurance, actirity, and internal moral power to oUr enemies, who arc still dreaming of victory. No! We shall not yield to words Wo shall resolutelv carrv on the war— tho war which the enemy wanted—in order to complete what, Germnuv's future demands." (Prolonged awlnuse, drownied by a few Socialist interruptions.) Soolallst Interruptions. The audience included Herr von Jiiirow (Imperial Minister for Foreign Affairs), Count Zeppolin, Admiral von Tirpitz, and Herr Dernberg (formerly _ German Minister for the Colonies). During H»rr von Bethmann Hollwcg's speech, Dr. Liebknecht and Dr. Ledebour and oth n r Socialists continually interrupted, by shouting out : "What about ahnexatimi'p What aro wo aiming at?" There was general disorder unil tho rest of the House howled down tho Socialists. The Chancellor soveral times was deep, ly moved; and gavo way to tears at the declaration that Germany would not end the war, unless given guarantees that there would be no repetition'of tho present state of affairs, Ho was loudly cheered by the crowded galleries, but above tho din was the /ever-persistent voioe of Dr. Ledebour, with his .shouts of