AUGUST 22, 1914 LYMAN ABBOTT, Editor-in-Chief HAMILTON W. MABIE, Associate Editor R. D. TOWNSEND, Managing Editor THE STORY BY ARTHUR BULLARD THE OUTLOOK'S WAR CORRESPONDENT AT HOME As announced last week, Mr. Bullard, who, under his pen-name of Albert Edwards, was The Outlook's correspondent in the Balkan War, will, as "The Outlook's War Correspondent at Home," tell from week to week in this place the story of the war in Europe in special signed articles and with the aid of maps. Every effort will be made, through Mr. Bullard's special knowledge of the countries involved and from information from many sources, to enable readers to follow the great authentic events of the war told in a simple and clear narrative.-THE EDITORS. T HE stubborn resistance of the Bel- In an article on the German war plans in the March issue of the “Armée et Marine," a military magazine of Paris which is under the patronage of the French General Staff, the magazine's expert on strategy, who signs himself" Col. X," wrote that by the fourth day after the declaration of war the Germans would be ready" to commence their invasion of Belgium in order to dislocate the mobilization of this country, to menace Liège and Namur, and so give a pretext to King Albert to concentrate his army about Antwerp, leaving the road open to the German troops. Belgium will have seemed to cede to superior force. . . . But in reality this will be the execution of an agreement for which the price has already been fixed." As recently as last March the best-informed military magazine in France believed that the Belgians had a secret treaty with the Kaiser and that Liège would not fire a shot to check invasion. This belief seems to have been shared by the German General Staff. They have been surprised and apparently disconcerted by the opposition of the Belgians. One is reminded of Bismarck's definition of the qualities of a good diplomat: "Sound judgment of what other people will probably do under given circumstances; correct interpretation of their intentions and purposes." Evidently there is no Bismarckian diplomat in Berlin to-day. At the first threat of invasion King Albert of Belgium called his people to arms and rushed to the defense of his frontier. Fighting began at once, and after a number of indecisive skirmishes the Belgians at Liège were driven back to their fortifications by a force of Germans estimated at 125,000. LIÈGE CHEVALIER DE LA LEGION Numerous despatches have reached us telling the Belgian version of how the ancient town of Liège has suddenly come to life in current history. It is a city of a little less than 200,000 souls, sprawled over the two banks of the river Meuse. There are some fine mediaval buildings to attract tourists and many very modern factories, which account for the railways that converge there and give the city its undesired military importance. On the heights about Liège there is a ring of forts. Of course their existence was known, but no one seems to have taken them seriously. "The Statesman's Year Book," which generally gives such information, does not mention the fortifications. But for more than a week these unconsidered forts held back the German army. The city has been entered, but the forts still hold out and block the railways. Military experts on both sides expected the German army to be on French soil by this time. The long-heralded "dashing attack" crumpled up. It is admitted that the German soldiers showed immense heroism in their assaults. What criticism we hear is directed against the higher officers. They were utterly unpre pared for determined resistance. Their siege artillery was not at hand. And for several days, ignoring the lessons of every modern siege from Port Arthur to Adrianople, they recklessly launched infantry, in close formation, against fortifications and machine guns. As they had expected to dine in Liège, they had not brought food. And German soldiers are said to be surrendering in the hope of getting a square meal. Liège, in itself, is not important. The French General Staff did not count on any serious resistance. But the check to the German advance is immensely important. The great superiority of the Kaiser's army was its ability to strike quickly. Liège has allowed France to throw her standing army into Belgium and to muster her reserves undisturbed. It has given England time to land her expeditionary force. It may well prove that the plucky Belgians have been a decisive factor in remaking the map of Europe. The French Government has given the heroic little city the Cross of the Legion of Honor a distinction which has been granted to but one other city, Belfort, the hero of the Franco-Prussian War. MARKING TIME IN LUXEMBURG Germany's first act of war was the inva sion of the Grand Duchy of Luxemburg. An army of 100,000 men is said to have overrun the tiny country-it is less than oneeighth the size of New Jersey. And since this first news there has been no word from Luxemburg until the 11th brought a rumor that an advance was being made into France by way of Longwy. Here again the "dashing attack" did not materialize. Why should the Germans waste so many valuable days in Luxemburg? Probably they were waiting for the advance of the army before Liège to cover their right wing. THE FRANCO-GERMAN FRONTIER From the boundary line between France and Germany we have no news which clearly indicates the presence of any large force. A German dash across the frontier near Nancy was easily repulsed. A few hundred German cavalrymen raided the environments of Belfort and carried off some horses. The French also reported a few skirmishes across the line. But the largest single group of troops so far mentioned is a French force of less than 100,000 men. THE FRENCH INVASION OF ALSACE It is too early to guess the importance of this raid. The number reported in the press despatches is a very fair-sized advance guard in such a war as this, but it is not an army. But the unconfirmed report of the presence of General Joffre, the Commander-in-Chief, points to a serious military operation. Starting from Belfort, this column crossed the frontier into "the Lost Province" of Alsace and came in touch with the enemy at Altkirch on the evening of the 7th. After some resistance the Germans retreated; the French entered the village, and the next morning pushed north and occupied the important but unfortified town of Mühlhausen. Other French detachments, after severe fighting, forced their way through the passes of the Vosges Mountains, to the north of Belfort, and effected a juncture with the southern column. Their number is not given. The combined forces are reported to be in conflict with a larger German army. So far these operations have been little more than a raid. But it is probable that the French are pouring troops across the frontier, and they may attack the fortress of Neu Breisach, which is a great deal more formidable than Liège. The news of the first big battle of the war may reach us from Alsace. It looks as if a serious engagement was inevitable either there or in Belgium within the week. WHERE IS THE GERMAN ARMY? According to all paper reckonings, the Kaiser should have at least 2,000,000 men in the field by now. One hundred and twentyfive thousand are reported before Liège, 100.000 in Luxemburg. Not 50,000 have been definitely accounted for along the Franco-German border. We can guess that 200,000 are guarding the Russian frontier. But that leaves at least a million men unaccounted for. Where are they? There are three main ways of entering France: (1) The northern route by way of Belgium and Luxemburg. (2) A frontal attack against the line of forts from Verdun to Belfort. (3) A flanking movement to the south through Switzerland. The Germans may attempt any one of these routes-or all of them. The French expected the attack through Belgium. It was very probably their belief that the main army of the Germans is to the north, which explains their daring raid into Alsace. Perhaps the Kaiser is rushing the million men we have not yet heard from to smother Liège and to seek the decisive battle with the allies near the historic field of Waterloo. It is just as likely that he is concentrating near Metz, waiting till the French have divided their forces between Belgium and Alsace to strike hard at the center of their line. We may hear that he has moved south to repel the invader. The important question as we go to press is-Where is the German army? THE AUSTRO-SERB CAMPAIGN The cause of this European war has dropped out of sight in the furor of greater conflicts. All we know of the invasion of Servia is negative. The soldiers of Franz Josef have not covered themselves with glory. Belgrade, the capital of Servia, stands on a hill in the angle formed by the juncture of two rivers; the Danube there is about the size of the Hudson at Albany, the Save is smaller. On two sides the city looks out across the Austrian frontier. There are no modern forts. It does not seem a serious matter to capture it. During the Balkan War the Austrians concentrated large forces before Belgrade and seemed bent on inciting the Serbs to declare war. Every night they bombarded the city with searchlights. Their favorite mark was the royal Palace. King Peter, who was ill, had to move into the back of the Palace because of the disturbing glare. They have been using cannon now instead of searchlights for many days, but they have not yet taken the city. It is reported that 40,000 Austrian troops, who could not be trusted to fight against the Slavs, have been sent west to help the Germans in Alsace. THE RUSSIAN FRONTIER Indecisive skirmishes have been reported all along the Russian border. A few railway bridges have been destroyed and half a dozen villages burned. There have been rumors unter-rumors of naval engagements in the Baltic. Libau, a Russian naval station of some importance, has been bombarded, but the amount of damage done is uncertain. Russia, because of her vast size and backward railways, mobilizes very slowly. It will be a month or six weeks before she gathers sufficient strength to be seriously aggressive. ON SEA Contrary to most predictions, the first clash of the war was a land battle. During the first week of hostilities there was no general engagement of the British fleet. The cruiser Amphion was destroyed by a mine. In return the English have sunk a submarine and a mine-layer. The German fleet has not accepted the proffered battle. In the Mediterranean the German cruiser Panther, of Agadir fame, shelled the Algerian town of Bône, and soon after fell a victim to the allies. The most contradictory reports have come from the Baltic, but there is no verified news of anything of importance. IN THE AIR The air has been an even worse disappointment to the prophets than the sea. Germans, French, Russians, and Belgians all seem to have used aeroplanes extensively for scouting. How valuable they will prove as news-gatherers is not yet determined. But no Zeppelin has blown up the Bank of England nor the Chambre des Deputés. One dropped some explosives in the French village of Lunéville, destroyed the side of a church, and, according to one report, killed twenty-five people. We have heard much more of the destruction of air craft than of destruction by them. THE WAR'S BY-PRODUCTS The disastrous results of war, entirely aside from the death and destruction in the path of the armies, is already being felt the world over. The cab horses of Paris have been requisitioned by the military authorities. The cab drivers are starving. Even the threat of war during the Balkan crisis of 1913 caused Paquin, the great Parisian dressmaker, to discharge half of his working-girls. Unemployment in England, due to the shutting down of factories and the dislocation of trade, has reached serious proportions. the world is suffering from the advance of food prices. Mr. George Kennan writes from All Nova Scotia: "The Canadian mobilization is causing much suffering here. Men are being taken away, leaving their families almost without support and their haying and harvesting undone." New York, August 12 THE WIRELESS AND THE WAR THE WEEK A strenuous protest has been sent by the German-American Chamber of Commerce of New York to the President against alleged discrimination in the Government censorship of wireless stations on our coast. The pro test asserts that, as the German cable is cut (not, of course, by the United States), while the English and French cables are open and practically uncensored, a serious discrimination against Germany results when wireless messages to the German war-ships off our coast are interrupted. It is also alleged that some wireless stations have been allowed to send wireless instructions to the English ships off our coast; as to this the facts are not very clear. Nothing is more certain than that our Government wishes to preserve neutrality as between the warring nations with the utmost fairness. Without attempting to pass upon the merits of various claims as to facts, we may here point out that there are certain broad principles involved: 1. All the countries at war should be treated exactly alike by the United States as a neutral Power in any regulations respecting communications between persons in this country and in those nations. 2. The wireless and the cable are only different methods of communication. It would seem that they should be governed by the same rules; yet it is urged that the Government had before the war assumed a certain regulation over the wireless which it did not exercise over the cables. Moreover, it is open to question whether messages sent, say, from New York directly to foreign warships engaged in naval operations off our coast would not be such an aid to a combatant's war strategy as to constitute a breach of neutrality. The wireless is comparatively a new method of communication, and may possibly imply special measures of restriction. 3. No code messages should be allowed, whether by wireless or cable. Great Britain applied this rule to communications with the United States while she was still neutral in the war. Ethically, a neutral Power ought not to allow messages of instruction or information to be sent from its citizens or others for the purpose of aiding hostile operations. For the same reason communications by cable and wireless should be censored or supervised. It is impossible, however, for a neutral nation to censor letters without violating personal liberty unendurably. 4. It is equally clear that there should be freedom in the use of cables and wireless for purely personal and commercial messages. It is true that incidentally such messages may convey information or aid to a combatant (there is a story that the message telling the Kronprinzessin Cecilie to return was couched in the words "Willie has appendicitis "), but the injustice caused by possible cases of this kind is not to be compared with the injustice to the civilized world if these methods of international communication were cut off. In short, our Government must act fairly and impartially, and must consider not only the obligation of neutrality but the obligation it owes its own citizens and the world at large to help and not to check personal messages and proper business. If it is necessary in order to bring this about for the Government to take over the wireless and cable offices, even this step is within its legal and moral rights. AMERICAN EXPORTS IN There is no question that a great commercial opportunity now presents itself for American exports. Europe, devastated and blocked by the almost universal war, demands American products and will eagerly take them. But coexistent with this opportunity is the lamentable lack of American ships. What can be done? Congress recognizes the need of action, and last week three measures were before it. One (the Weeks Bill) would use our war-ships for the transport of grain and other products. This seems almost fantastic; and, even if practicable, might endanger our relations with the nations at war. It is also open to the objection that it would |