Part 7 (1/2)

”Some of our contemporaries (Oh, shade of Pecksniff!--Author) announced yesterday that in Stuttgart eighty, according to other reports, ninety millions in French gold had been seized. In answer to our inquiry at the princ.i.p.al office of the Wurtemberg State Railways we were informed that the statements are pure inventions.”[41]

[Footnote 41: _Berliner Lokal-Anzeiger_, August 4th.]

Another Socialist paper which denounced this campaign of lies in its columns deserves quotation. ”The spy-mania luxuriates; every Russian is in danger of a.s.sault by over-heated patriots. The nation, however, ought to know that the Russians in our midst are labourers, students, travellers and business men; it is exceeding rare for one of this cla.s.s, to sell himself to the scoundrels who follow the dirty practices of espionage.

”Civilization and good-breeding demand that everyone should respect the dictates of international law, and treat the peaceful citizens of a land with which we are at war, with decency.

”Especially those wretches deserve to have their knuckles rapped who circulate such infamous bear-baiting news as the alleged attempt on the Crown Prince's life by Russian students.”[42]

[Footnote 42: _Vorwarts_, August 7th.]

”The General commanding the Leipzig district has issued the following reply in answer to an inquiry by the civil authorities: We know nothing at all of an alleged attempt on the life of the Kaiser or the Crown Prince. The commanding General von Laffert has never uttered the words ascribed to him, that the Kaiser had been murdered. These reports must be contradicted with the greatest energy.”[43]

[Footnote 43: _Leipziger Tageblatt_, August 3rd.]

The following extracts are of the greatest importance, for they prove beyond doubt the source of these lies, and the cold-blooded, calculated manner in which they were circulated by the German authorities:

”The decision as to what may be published in newspapers, is now in the hands of the military commander in each district.

”The regulations issued by the military authorities, force certain restrictions upon us and threaten the existence of our journals. As regards our principles and convictions no change has taken place.”[44]

[Footnote 44: The editor of the _Vorwarts_ to his readers on August 1st.]

”Berlin, August 10th.--Major Nicolai, director of the Press department of the General Staff, received representatives of the Press to-day and communicated to them, _inter alia_, the following details: Our army commanders decline to enter into compet.i.tion with the lie-factories abroad. They will convince the world that truth is on our side, and that we spread neither lies nor coloured reports. We hope in a short time to be able to prove how much our enemies have sinned against the truth.

”What have we achieved up till now? The dreaded invasion of Russian cavalry was broken up by our frontier guards alone. Indeed, in many cases only the Landwehr was needed to throw back the invaders. What about the destruction of important buildings, railways, bridges and such like? Nothing at all has happened.”[45]

[Footnote 45: Condensed translation of the report in the _Leipziger Volkszeitung_, August 11th.]

On another page of the same issue a long official army order to the Press is given in which this paragraph occurs: ”All news given out by Wolff's Telegraph-Bureau may only be quoted literally as they stand and the source named by the initials W.T.-B.”

It is thus clear that the news-agency mentioned performs two separate functions, although the German army authorities do not draw this distinction. First, the circulation of reports issued by the Army Headquarters in the field, for the truth of which the Berlin General Staff guarantees. Secondly, the spreading of their own news, and information supplied to them by other German Government departments. All news published by the agency has thus received the stamp of official authority, and the German public is too ignorant to recognize the palpable fraud.

”Metz, August 3rd.--A French doctor, accompanied by two officers in disguise, was caught yesterday while trying to infect the water supply with cholera bacilli. He was at once shot under military law.”[46]

[Footnote 46: _Deutsche Tageszeitung_, August 3rd.]

”The report of the Metz water supply being infected, which was given out by Wolff's Bureau yesterday, proves to be a pure invention. The agency informs us that there is no ground for uneasiness, but the state of affairs at present makes it imperative to exercise great care.”[47]

[Footnote 47: _Berliner Tageblatt_, August 4th.]

”Coblence, August 2nd.--The Government-president in Dusseldorf reports that twelve motor-cars containing eighty French officers in Prussian uniforms tried this morning to cross the Prussian frontier by Walbeck, west of Geldern. The attempt failed.”[48]

[Footnote 48: Ibid., August 3rd.]

Referring to this episode another paper wrote: ”The alleged attempt of whole caravans of French officers, masquerading as German lieutenants, to enter the Rhine province as spies is too adventurous to be believed.

Especially as it is known that the Dutch frontier is very strictly guarded.

”But Wolff's Bureau, which at present takes every precaution, circulated the news. Hence we have here an instance of France violating Dutch neutrality.”[49]