Page:The guilt of William Hohenzollern.djvu/133

Rh (formed in January, 19 19) for fixing the responsibility of the originators of the war and the penalties to be imposed," and were published in its Report, which gives a sketch of the origin of the war as brief as it is, in the main, correct.

On this Report the German Government had two courses before it. It could either have kept silence, or it could have replied with the publication of the documents of the Foreign Office concerning the responsibility for the war. It did neither, but commissioned the four gentlemen named above to reply to the Report of the Commission with a criticism, as "independent Germans." We have just had in their treatment of Szögyeny's telegram a glimpse of their methods of work. Perhaps it would have been more to the purpose had "German Independents," instead of "independent Germans," been entrusted with this task. The second telegram of July 27th received no better treatment. It is addressed by Szogyeny to Berchtold, and runs as follows:

"" State Secretary declared to me explicitly in strict confidence that England's proposals for mediation would very shortly be brought to the cognizance of Your Excellency by the German Government.

"The German Government most explicitly states that it in no way identifies itself with these proposals, is even decidedly against their consideration, and transmits them only in deference to the request of England.""

This telegram is surely a very serious matter. It behoved the four "independent Germans" to examine, above all, whether it was in unison with the policy