THE CONSPIRATORS

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 11, 8 October 1917, Page 6

THE CONSPIRATORS

A MEETING IN BERLIN THAT PLANNED

THE WAR

ON JULY 5, 1914

TEUTON TREACHERY REVEALED

As briefly cabled at the time, a tevcla- ■ tion of the. utmost importance was made by the London "Times" on July 28 last. It l elucidates the insistence, of the new German Chancellor, in his*°first lleichstag speech, upon the duty' of remembering ' the evehts of three years ago." The . inner meaning of that reference did not appear from, a report of .any of the speeches which appeared generally, and which were quoted by the news agencies. It now transpires, however, from a report of the speech of Herr Haase, an Independent Socialist, which 6cems to have been overlooked. N by the. German censor, and which was printed in tho "Leipziger Volkszeitung" of July 20, that he (Haase) made reference to "the meeting, of July f 5, 1914," as one of the matters which would have to be explained 'before the origin of the war.is fully, understood. A Date to Become Famous. ' ' "This (says the 'Time 3') is the first . publio reference to a daie which will probably become the most famous of tho fateful month of July, 1914." The "*'imes" correspondent, who claims for hfs statement "authority which it is difficult, if. not impossible, to doubt," says ihat tho reference waS to "a meeting which was held at Potsdam on the date'-named," at which, he says, there "'ere present: . ' V The Kaiser. •Herr'von Bethraann-Hollweg. Admiral von Tirpitz. . General von Falkenhayn. • '■! .Herr von Stumm. _ / : The Archduke Frederick. . Count Berchtold. Count Tisza, and General Conrad \ von Hoetzendorf. • It appears that Herr von Jagow and Couut Moltke were not present. What Happened. The "Times" correspondent continues his revelation as follows: The meeting discussed and. decided upon all the principal points in the . Austrian ultimatum which was tx> be dispatched to Serbia eighteen days ..' later. . It was recognised that Itus6ia would probably refuse to submit ' to such a direct humiliation, and that war would result. That consequence the meeting definitely, decided to accept. It is probable, but not cortain, that the date of mobilisation ■ was fixed- at the same time. '. Now the Archduke Francis Ferdinand " and his wife had been murdered cn June 28, 1914. The Kaiser, who was -lien at Kiel, returned at once to Berlin, and Tcmained there till July 6—the day after the PotsdaAx meeting referred to above — •I'ffhen he returned to Kiel and left for .Norway in the Imperial yacht, "with," ■ as the "Times"- correspondent says, "the object of throwing dust in the <yes of : the French and Russian Govern.uente." Three weeks later, when it became known that England would not iemain neutral, Herr vOn Betlimannwished to withdraw, but it was too late. The decision of July 5 was irrevocable. (The Austrian ultimatum had been presented at Bel- . grade on the evening of July 23.)

_ Story Yet to Be Told. "The peculiar way, or rathei' vays," the "Times" correspondent continues, "in which these facts have become known, cannpt'as yet,be told," but it is certain that most of Herr ■ Haase's hearers'were fully aware of tho meaning of his reference to July 5. Tor the subject appears to have been more fully and explicitly - raised in secret session of the Budget Committee of the Reichstag eight weeks ngo by. the Socialist deputy, Herr Colin. Jle challenged a certain Minister to deny the facts. To the astonishment of the other deputies, the Minister did not deny the facts, but declined to make any statement. The incident created an immense sensation in the Reichstag Committee, and was possibly one of the factors underlying the recent political crisis. Tho fact that Herr Haase has now raised the matter in public seems to indicate that he und his friends cmsider that the time has come to bring the full truth to light. . The correspondent of the "Times," formerly in Berlin, has the following remarks upon the personages named:— Herr von Jagow, then Foreign Secretary," repeatedly denied that he was aware of the contents of the Austrian ■ultimatum before it was published; to mo, among many others, lie pledged his word on this point. If the late Ccunt Jloltke, then Chief of the German 'General Staff, was also excluded from the plot, the fact bheds a, fresh light upon his career; it will be remembered that, after the first failures of the German campaign in France, Moltke was' superseded, and before his death in Berlin he let it be known that thero would some day be disclosures about the early stnges pf the war. It has always been suspected that. Herr von Stumm, itho in 1914 was Jiead of the Political Department of German Foreign Office, and now is 1 Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs, was' in the.secret at:an early stage. Falbenhayu was, Prussian Minister of War. Frederick is a cousin of the-late Emperor Francis Joseph, and took nominal command of the- Airktrian forces at the outbreak of war. Count Eerchtoldi was/ Austro-Hungarian Foreign Secretary, Count Tisza was Hungarian Jremier, and General Conrad von Hoetxendorf was Chief of the Austro-Hun-gannn. General Staff. Tt has been understood for a long time past,, adds the correspondent, "that other unpublished evidence exists of Wedges given by Germany to AustriaHungary during the' first fortnight of July, 1914; it would seem that the time Jias come for its production."

The German Denial, Immediately following on the "Times" statement, the' following official denial • was issued .in Berlin:— - The "Times," and enemy agencies, fol- . lowing it, are spreading reports about a conference alleged to have been held in ~ the presence of the Kaiser at Potsdam 011 July 5, 1914, at which political and military personages in Germany and Aus-tria-Hungary took part and at which a plan was proposed to let loose war. The ; 'Wolff Bureau is authorised to declare that the statements made in the "Times," • ivith all their details, nre pure inventions. Neither on the day named nor on any other day in July did any such joint conference tftke place, either with or without the participation of the Kaiser. Moreover, we again declare that the German Government abstained from ariy intervention in the drafting of the Austrian Ultimatum to Serbia, and that ; the' German Government was .completely : ignorant, of the contents of the ulti- • .matum before its dispatch. The "Times" supports its false allegations on the slate- ; ments made by the Deputy Herr Colin in the main Committee of the Jleichstag. The statement of the deputy named was i immediately refuted in the Connnitee by \ 'the Government as incorrect.

Fresh Clue to the Conspiracy. -- The following letter to "The Times," Svliich appeared on July 30, adds another link to the chain of evidence against the conspirators. '• —I- have rend with great interest your article in "The Times" of lasf Satiink'v "" the origin of the war and the ifateful Potsdam meeting of .Tilly 5. IPM. lAinongst those who were present on that finejir-io': vour corresnomlent , mentions General Conrad von Hoel.zeiidorf. then the Chief ?f the Austrian General Staff. In these days prior to the war Conrad vn-i TTnef-.niidorf was considered b.v the German General Staff to be the foremost Bn''''or in Enrnne. and his orjn'in on al' n>ilitarv ouesl.ions was oagerly sought after and highly 'valued in Berlin. At ■ll'n beainnin? of Mar, 1913. when war between Austria and Serbia, seemed almost inevitable, T was sent to Vienna. On May 8, after the crisis had passed, J ii{i(l a Ion" interview with General Confer at the War Office. Knowing (hat in in., year I had been through

I tho Balkan wars, lie asked me a great number of questions on tho fighting capacity, organisation, etc., of the various Balkan armies, which I answered to tho best of my knowledge. He tlien put the following curious question to me:— "We have estimated that four corps would be sufficient to look aftor Serbia in the event of war; how many do you consider would be required?" This-question took me by surprise, but I replied:— "I do not think you would havo any chance of invading the country successfully without the employment of at least eight corps With strong reserves.- The Serbian Army, if necessary, would not hesitate to abandon Belgrade and would retire into the interior, where lines of communication would be difficult for a modern army. There the Serbians would ehjoy every advantage, as they are excellent at guerilla warfare, they can live on the country and require but little transport." % General Conrad look'ed up somewhat surprised, hesitated for a moment, and then replied, "Perhaps you are right; it does not do to underestimate one's enemies." ' , Then he rose from his chair, valked towards the bay windoa, looked out into the street for a fbw seconds, and then, turning to me once again, he 6aid_ in & voice of extreme bitterness: —"Twice in the last twci years I have, prepared the Austrian armies for war Vwitli Serbia. Twice my plans have been frustrated at tile eleventh hour by the politicians. But the issue is inevitable and cannot be delayed much longer. One cannot go on disappointing the army for ever." I think this interview serves to show that Conrad von Hoetzendorf can have no illusions about the origin of the present war. For on this date, May 8, 1913, he was determined to attack Serbia at the first available opportunity. It is equally certain that Berlin knew of his determination and had promised to support Austria. Tho crime of Serajevo merely set the spark to a powder magazine which had been placed in. l position long before.—Yours very truly, E. ASHME AD-BARTLETT.