December, 1914.

This document throws an interesting light upon the preparations Germany
made for a world war.

The White, Yellow, Grey and Blue Books, which all of the belligerents
published after the beginning of the war, dealt only with the attempts
of these nations to prevent the war. None of the nations has as yet
published white books to show how it prepared for war, and still, every
nation in Europe had been expecting and preparing for a European
conflagration. Winston Churchill, when he was First Lord of the
Admiralty, stated at the beginning of the war that England's fleet was
mobilised. France had contributed millions of francs to fortify the
Russian border in Poland, although Germany had made most of the guns.
Belgium had what the Kaiser called, "a contemptible little army" but
the soldiers knew how to fight when the invaders came. Germany had new
42 cm. guns and a network of railroads which operated like shuttles
between the Russian and French and Belgian frontiers. Ever since 1870
Europe had been talking war. Children were brought up and educated
into the belief that some day war would come. Most people considered
it inevitable, although not every one wanted it.

During the exciting days of August, 1914, I was calling at the
belligerent embassies and legations in Washington. Neither M.
Jusserand, the French Ambassador, nor Sir Cecil Spring-Rice, the
British Ambassador, nor Count von Bernstorff, the Kaiser's
representative, were in Washington then. But it was not many weeks
until all three had hastened to this country from Europe. Almost the
first act of the belligerents was to send their envoys to Washington.