" Does he really mean to deprive the German
Emperor of the right to demand as a condition precedent to mediation on
his part the discontinuance of mobilization by Russia?
Mr. Beck in his "judgment" under Paragraph 4 says "that Austria, having
mobilized its army, Russia was reasonably justified in mobilizing its
forces." The use of the qualifying word "reasonably" seems to indicate
that even Mr. Beck is not quite certain that Russia was in fact
justified in mobilizing its forces.
Is it reasonable, just, and fair of Mr. Beck to expect Germany, "beset
on every hand by powerful antagonists," to permit Russia to continue
mobilizing its 18,000,000 soldiers and have Germany believe that Russia
was sincere in its "peaceful intentions" in the face of actual
mobilization? At this moment the German Kaiser made a very reasonable
demand upon Russia to cease mobilization, and I ask every fair-minded
American, whether lawyer or layman, "whose duty it was to yield" at this
moment. The answer to this question will settle the much-disputed point
as to the actual cause of the war.
In conclusion, I beg to ask Mr. Beck: Why expect so much of Germany and
nothing of Russia, when Germany had not merely professed her peaceful
intentions, but actually maintained peace for over forty years, during
which period not a foot of territory had been acquired by her through
conquest? This is a fact.
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