Page:The guilt of William Hohenzollern.djvu/268

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Besides this severe censure, pronounced by the Kaiser on the Russian Tsar for excessive Republican and even “Social-Republican” sympathies, the marginal notes to the Pourtalès' report contain another noteworthy remark, which proves with what levity William still, on July 25th, viewed the war with Russia. Pourtales reports:

"“Sasonow exclaimed: ‘If Austria-Hungary devours Serbia we shall go to war with her.’”"

To which William retorted:

"“Well, go ahead!”"

The situation created by the Revolution in Russia and by Germany's world-policy was totally different to that existing in 1891. But the old belief that the war against Russia was the “holy war” of the German Social Democracy was still quick among its ranks, and this belief, in conjunction with the German method of doctoring news, impelled many a good Socialist and Internationalist to vote for the war credits on August 4th, not because he disavowed his principles, but because he believed that this was the best way to apply them.

It would, of course, be an exaggeration to suppose that all in the ranks of the Social Democrats had been actuated by such considerations. Many a one among them had already held strong nationalistic views before the war—nationalistic in contradistinction to national. Under the latter may be understood a championship of the self-determination of one's own people, which respects the self-determination of every other people, and which subordinates national as well as private interests to the common interests of the international