History can show nothing to compare with the World War of 1914-1918. It also can show nothing like the perplexity which has arisen as to the causes leading up to the World War. 2 This is all the more astounding in that the Great War befell a bight ly cultivated, enlightened, politically trained race of men and the causes leading up to it were plainly we be seen.
The apparent complicity in the crisis of July, 1914, should deceive nobody.. Lhe telegrams exchanged at that time between the Cabinets the great Powers and their culars, the activities of the statesmen and leading private individuals verbal negotiations with import aut personages of the Lnvente were vertauly of the greatest importance account of te decisive signi-cance assumed by almost every word when it came from responsible lips, by every line that was written or telegraphed. he essen-(ial basis Of Lhe causes of tne war, however, is not altered by ° suc mings; 1t is arnnly established, and people must never besivare frou seeing: t, calmly and with an eye ce realities, from the bewildering outcroppings from the events acvompauying the outbreak of war.
ne general situation of the German Kmpire in the period before tne war had become continually more brilliant, and for that very reason continually more difficult irom the point of view of foreign politics. Luprecedented progress industry, comuuerce and world wraiic nad made Germany prosperous. the curve of our development tended steadily upward.
she concomitant of this peaceful puuvorat.on of & considerable part vi the world's markets, to wich German diligence and our achievenents justly entitled us, was bound to be disagreeable to older nations of the world, particularly to England. This is quite a natural phenomenon, having nothing remarkable about it. Nobody is pleased when a competitor suddenly appears and obliges one to look on while the old customers desert to him. For this reason I cannot reproach the British Empire because of English ill humour at Germany's progress in the world's markets.
Had England been able, by in-traducing better commercial methods, to overcome or restrict German competition, she would have been quite within her rights in doing so and no objections could ave been made. It simply would have been a case of the better man winning. In the life of nations nobody can find it objectionable if two nations contend against each other peacefully by the same methods—i.e., peaceful methods—yet with all their energy, daring Jand organizing ability, each striving to benefit itself.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.