The Imperial Chancellor spoke briefly and earnestly in the Reichstag, pointing out that the army had carried the war into the enemy's territory and bad firmly planted it there. The German nation could look to the future with every confidence, although the enemy's resist tance was still unbroken and further sacrifices were necessary befor? the war could be brought to a successful conclusion.
The Chancellor devoted most of his speech to Britain and ascribed the moral responsibility of the war to her. Britain could have averted a conflict, if sh had given Petrograd plainly to understand that she would not tolerate the development. of the Austro-Servian conflict into continental war. France's voice would then have been thrown into the scale of peace and Germany's mediation at Petrograd and Vienn: would have been successful, Britain, however, allowed the war to occur, hecanss she saw a good opportunity to destroy her largest European competitor. Belgium's neutrality was simply a_ pretext, since the diplomatic publications had, in the meantime, shown that, before Germany's demarche Brussels, on August 2, r-questing passage for her troops, it was known in London that Britain had already assured France of her unconditional support if Ciermany attacked the French coast.
Furthermore, documents had been found proving that Relgium had already forfeited her neutrality by an agreement with Britain. The Chancellor also declared that further obstacle to the preservation of peace had been France's réranche ideas. Now that the war had been started, Germany would hold out to the last. breath.
"We have but one answer for our enemies: Germany won't have herself wiped out of existence," said the Chancellor, amidst great applans, The members of the Reichstag rose from their seats, and the Chancellor in his closing remarks devoted a few words to the
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.