Page:The guilt of William Hohenzollern.djvu/122

118 friendly Power, whose extremity the iniquitous outrage of Serajevo had revealed, but a neighbour who was ready to mediate and to maintain peace. Should she thus come into conflict with the insatiable Russia—oh, well, everybody knows the best-intentioned person cannot live in peace if it doesn't please the wicked neighbour.

It was only unfortunate that Germany insisted upon saving the peace in a peculiar way: viz., by demanding the localization of the point at issue. Could anything have been more reasonable? One had to strive to keep the conflict within local limits and to prevent it assuming larger dimensions.

The report of the Bavarian Legation in Berlin, published by Eisner, of July 18th, runs:

""With a view to the localization of the war, the Imperial administration will, immediately after the delivery of the Austrian Note in Belgrade, initiate a diplomatic action with the Great Powers.

"Pointing out that the Kaiser is cruising in the North, while the Chief of the Great General Staff and the Prussian Minister for War are on furlough, it will allege that Germany was just as much taken by surprise by Austria's démarche as were the other Powers. (Its aim will be to bring the Powers to the view that the settlement of accounts between Austria and Serbia is the peculiar affair of these two States.)""

The passages in brackets are missing in Eisner's publication. They belong to those by the omission of which Eisner is said to have distorted the meaning of the report in a way. unfavourable to Germany. This