THE RUSSIANS

Taihape Daily Times, Issue 220, 20 February 1917, Page 5

THE RUSSIANS

BEFORE THE WAR MOBILISATION , AND GERMAN DUPLICITY. A most interesting statement regarding the mobilisation of the Russian forces in East Prussia prior to the actual declaration o.f war and the correctness of which lie vouched for, was made by Mr T. M. Wilford in the course of his lecture on the war in the Wellington Town Hall. The mobilisation was accomplished, he said before Germany had declared war, but Germany, r.s in all her other moves, was full of duplicity. On the 30th. July, at 2.25 in the afternoon the Lokalanziegor, the official organ of the German War Party, published an extra, which at the present time is in the hands of the Czar of Russia, having been obtained for him by the Russian Ambassador in Berlin. The extra read as follows: — A grave crisis has arisen. The mobilisation of the German troops has been ordered. The Russian 'Ambassador continued Mr Wilford, got that extra and telegraphed it to the Russian Foreign Minister. At 3 p.m. on the same day the Lokalanziegor came out with another extra containing profuse apologies for the issue of the earlier publication, and stating that no mobilisation had been ordered. The Russian Ambassador then went to the telegraph office and wired the contents of the second extra to his Foreign Minister. He waited for some hours and then, getting no reply, lie went again to the telegraph office, and asked if his second telegram had been sent. "No," replied the clerk. "Why " said the Ambassador. "It has been censored," said the clerk. The Ambassador protested against the censoring of his telegram when a state of war did not exist, but got no satisfaction. He then asked if he could have his message back, but was informed that it bore the office stamp and was the property of the German Government. ' "That telegram,*' exclaimed Mr Wilford "was not out that day and the Czar ordered the mobilisation of the Russian army in East Prussia. This news was flashed over the wires to the Kaiser and the next day every paper in Germany anounced that Germany was at Avar with Russia. Then three million soldiers in less than four days had their uniforms changed from blue to grey!