THE HUNTLY PRESS PUBLISHED WEEKLY AT 1 P.M. FRIDAY, AUGUST 21, 1914. The War.

Huntly Press and District Gazette, Volume 3, Issue 6, 21 August 1914, Page 2

THE HUNTLY PRESS PUBLISHED WEEKLY AT 1 P.M. FRIDAY, AUGUST 21, 1914. The War.

“ Never quarrel with Russia | and France at the same moment j of time, ” was a hit of political wisdom bequeathed by Bismarck to the German Emperor. By the disregardjof this legacy Germany, allied to Austria, finds herself in armed array against Servia, Russia, France, Belgium and Gt. Britain, and face to face with the wreck of the triple alliance by the neutrality of Italy, a nation which, having ambitions of her own in the Balkans, will be more likely to fight against than in favour of Austria. The three pistol shots fired in the streets of Sarajevo by which the heir-apparent of the aged Emperor of Austria and his wife were foully done to death was, undoubtedly, the occasion of the war, but the occasion only; for the real causes, according to Dr. E. J. Dillon, perhaps the greatest living authority on the Eastern question, lie deeper, and though the enfeebled Emperor let loose the dogs of war on Servia “ with a serene conscience,” becauso Servian hate, he thought, had inspired the bloody deed, the flame of exasperation does not and cannot justify the hell-fire of war that will put hack the clock of civilisation for centuries. Behind the personal cause stands the Slav League, which comprises Russia, Bulgaria, Servia and a large part of Austria, in strong antagonism to the Pan Teutonic League of which Germany is the natural head, inspiring those racial ties which caused Russia to warn Austria against interference with Servia ; while the idea that a successful war might distract the thoughts of the heterogeneous peoples of Austria from secession or disintegration may have been another factor. Whether the racial, national or personal equation was the supreme factor, or whether all combined to create the cause is a moot point; hut there is no doubt that, judged by their relative strength, war between the two assured the con quest of Servia. Germany, because of her treaties, was dragged into the conflict, although she probably did not want war, and it is certain that she endeavoured to localise the struggle by persuading the rest of Europe to look on while the smaller state was being utterly crushed by the larger one. By bluntly refusing to fight in so poor a cause, the Kaiser might have prevented a European conflagration; but fear of breaking the Triple Alliance, which lias been wrecked by Italy’s refusal to fight, dragged Germany into the conflict. Racial influences brought Russia to the support of Servia, while treaty obligations, and the still gaping wound sustained by the loss of Alsace and Lorraine, cause! France to unite with Russia, and adherence to the spirit of the entente cordiale, the desire to help the weak, and the endeavour to preserve the balance of power prompted Britain to take a hand in what may prove to bo the most tragical and the greatest war recorded in history,an Armageddon that will be accompanied by great loss and suffering to all concerned. The attempt to use their country as a passage way to France roused Belgium, and now Japan, in compliance with what she deems consonant with her treaty with Britain has issued an ultimatum to Germany. When a country is invaded, when liberty is endangered, when an apparent wrong lias been perpetrated, the sword mu t he unsheathed, but t i kindle a war so vast for a cause so poor is a crime ag linst reason, strikes a grievous blow at civilisation, and is a:i outrage on hn nanity. The fiat, however, has gone forth, and a grim d •- termination to tight to the death characterises the allied armies on both sides. The end no man can foresee, but its immediate effects are already apparent in the panic that became wide-spread over all the money markets of Europe, America and Australasia ; in the increased prices of food stuffs; and in the decreased value of many staple . products. The suspense and uncertainty engendered caused both national and individual purse strings to tighten, and ruin, destitution, and unemployment to stare many in the face. German and Austrian diplomacy aid not calculate on the allies that rose all round them so spontaneously and with such accord in Servians defence. The quarrel over Home Rule, it was thought, tied the hands of Britain, f a with three armies in Ireland she appeared a negligible quantity in European politics. The political crises in France which had experienced three cabinets in as many days, and the Russian labour strikes oonducted on so va i a scale might well concentret ; the attention of the two nuti >os. But blood is thicker tin 1 \v ixor, and at wluit seemed li o the wave of a magician’s w 1 id, Internal quarrels ceas d ; Ulstermen and Nationalist.-- sank their differences, united against a common danger; the labour troubles in Russia came t. » .1 sudden end, and in Franco T.e socialists became eager supporters of a government in which M. Clemenceau, who b n wrecked many cabinets, join a l M. Viviani, and showed that France came first, and politic ; assumed more natural proportions.- The miscalculation will cost much in blood and much in money ; but if the present great war tends to place an embargo on costly armaments and 5 demonstrates once

more, only more forcibly, seeing that it involves so many fighting men, the futility and barbarity bf warfare, it may prove the black cloud which nevertheless shows the faintest appearance of a silver lining.