How much reliance is to be placed on the foregoing newspaper
opinion, and on the prevailing sentiment holding Kaiser Wilhelm
responsible for flinging the war bomb that disrupted the ranks of
peace, no one can say. Every one naturally looked for the
fomenter of this frightful international conflict and was
disposed to place the blame on the basis of rumor and personal
feeling. On the other hand each nation concerned has vigorously
disclaimed responsibility for the cataclysm. Austria - very
meekly - claimed that Servia precipitated the conflict. Germany
blamed it upon Russia and France, the former from Slavic race
sentiment, the latter from enmity that had existed since the loss
of Alsace and Lorraine in 1870. They, on the contrary, laid all
the blame upon Germany. In the case of England alone we have a
clear vista. The obligation of the island kingdom to maintain the
neutral position of Belgium and the utter disregard of this
neutrality by Germany forced her to take part and throw her
armies into the field for the preservation of her international
obligations.

Many opinions were extant, many views advanced. One of these,
from Robert C. Long, a war correspondent of note, laid the total
responsibility upon Austria, which, he said, plunged Europe into
war in disregard of the Kaiser, who vigorously sought to prevent
the outbreak, even threatening his ally in his efforts to
preserve peace. In his view, "All the blood-guiltiness in this
war will rest upon two Powers, Austria and Russia. It rests on
Austria for her undue harshness to Servia and on Russia for its
dishonesty in secretly mobilizing its entire army at a time when
it was imploring the Kaiser to intervene for peace, and when the