No reply was made by
Germany and England's declaration of war followed.
Chancellor von Bethmann-Hollweg, of the German Empire, wrote Germany's
infamy into history when, in a formal statement, he acknowledged that
the invasion of Belgium was "a wrong that we will try to make good again
as soon as our military ends have been reached." To Sir Edward Vochen,
British Ambassador to Germany, he addressed the inquiry: "Is it the
purpose of your country to make war upon Germany for the sake of a scrap
of paper?" The treaty of 1839-1870 guaranteeing Belgium's neutrality was
the scrap of paper.
[Illustration: Photographs]
KING ALBERT I, QUEEN ELIZABETH, THE HEROIC RULERS OF BELGIUM
[Illustration: Photograph showing bombed out shells of buildings. In the
foreground a building has been leveled to the ground.]
Copyright International News Service.
THE RED RUINS OF YPRES
Ypres, the British soldiers "Wipers," was the scene of much of the
bloodiest fighting of the war. Three great battles were fought for its
possession. The photograph shows what was once the market place.
With the entrance of England into the war, the issue between autocracy
and democracy was made plain before the people of the world. Austria,
and later Turkey, joined with Germany; France, and Japan, by reason of
their respective treaty obligations joined England and Russia.
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