History of the American Negro in the Great World War | Page 7

having special interests in Morocco. In 1904 she gained the assent of
Britain and the cooperation of Spain in her policy. Germany made no
protest; in fact, the German Chancellor, von Bulow, declared that
Germany was not specially concerned with Moroccan affairs. But in
1905 Germany demanded a reconsideration of the entire question.
France was forced against the will of her minister of foreign affairs,
Delcasse, to attend a conference at Algeciras. That conference
discussed placing Morocco under international control, but because
France was the only power capable of dealing with the anarchy in the
country, she was left in charge, subject to certain Spanish rights, and
allowed to continue her work. The Germans again declared that they
had no political interests in Morocco.
In 1909, Germany openly recognized the political interests of France in
Morocco. In 1911 France was compelled by disorders in the country to
penetrate farther into the interior. Germany under the pretext that her
merchants were not getting fair treatment in Morocco, reopened the
entire question and sent her gunboat Panther, to Agadir on the west
coast of Africa, as if to establish a port there, although she had no
interests in that part of the country. France protested vigorously and
Britain supported her.
Matters came very close to war. But Germany was not yet ready to
force the issue. Her action had been simply a pretext to find out the
extent to which England and France were ready to make common cause.
She recalled her gunboat and as a concession to obtain peace, was
permitted to acquire some territory in the French Congo country. But
German newspapers and German political utterances showed much
bitterness. Growling and snarling grew apace in Germany, and to those
who made a close study of the situation it became evident that
Germany sooner or later intended to launch a war.
One of the characteristic German utterances of the time, came from
Albrect Wirth, a German political writer of standing, in close touch
with the thought and aims of his nation. The utterance about to be
quoted may, in the light of later events, appear indiscreet, as Germany

wished to avoid an appearance of responsibility for the world war; but
the minds of the German people had to be prepared and this could not
be accomplished without some of the writers and public men letting the
cat out of the bag. Wirth said:
"Morocco is easily worth a big war, or several. At best--and even
prudent Germany is getting to be convinced of this--war is only
postponed and not abandoned. Is such a postponement to our advantage?
They say we must wait for a better moment. Wait for the deepening of
the Kiel canal, for our navy laws to take full effect. It is not exactly
diplomatic to announce publicly to one's adversaries, 'To go to war now
does not tempt us, but three years hence we shall let loose a world
war'--No; if a war is really planned, not a word of it must be spoken;
one's designs must be enveloped in profound mystery; then brusquely,
all of a sudden, jump on the enemy like a robber in the darkness." The
heavy footed German had difficulty in moving with the stealth of a
robber, but the policy here recommended was followed.
In 1914, the three years indicated by Wirth had expired. There began to
occur dark comings and goings; mysterious meetings and conferences
on the continent of Europe. The German emperor, accompanied by the
princes and leaders of the German states, began to cruise the border and
northern seas of the Fatherland, where they would be safe from
listening ears, prying eyes, newspapers, telephones and telegraphs. It
became known that the Kaiser was cultivating the weak-minded
Russian czar in an attempt to win his country from its alliance with
England and France. There were no open rumblings of war, but the air
was charged with electricity like that preceeding a storm.
An unaccountable business depression affected pretty much the entire
world. Money, that most sensitive of all things, began to show
nervousness and a tendency to go into hiding. The bulk of the world
was still asleep to the real meaning of events, but it had begun to stir in
its dreams, as if some prescience, some premonition had begun to reach
it even in its slumbers.
Finally the first big event occurred--the tragedy that was not intended
to accomplish as much, but which hastened the dawn of the day in

which began the Spiritual Emancipation of the governments of earth.
The Archduke Francis Ferdinand, nephew of the emperor of Austria,
heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary and commander in chief of its
army, and his wife the duchess of Hohenburg, were assassinated June
28, 1914, by a Serbian student, Gavrio Prinzip.