By Count Berchtold, Foreign Minister for Austria-Hungary.
(Copyright, Evening News Publishing Company of Newark, N.J., 1914.)
Austria-Hungary looks upon this war as a purely defensive one,
which has been forced on her by the agitation directed by Russia
against her very existence. Austria-Hungary has given many proofs
in late years of her peaceful intention. She refrained from any
interference with arms in the Balkan war, though her interests were
at stake. Subsequent events have proved what a serious danger the
increase in territory and prestige which it brought Servia were for
Austria-Hungary. Servia's ambitions have since grown and have been
solely directed against the Dual Monarchy. Russia has tacitly
approved of Servia's action because Russian statesmen wish to form
an iron ring of enemies around Austria-Hungary and Germany in order
that Russia's grasp on Constantinople and on Asia should never
again be meddled with. Austro-Hungarian soldiers are fighting for
their homes and for the maintenance of their country, the Russians
are fighting to help the Russian Czar to gain the rule of the
world, to destroy all his neighbors who may be dangerous to Russian
ambitions. England is helping the Russians to oust her German
rival. She feared for some time that German culture and German
scientific methods would prove the stronger in a peaceful
competition, and she now hopes to crush Germany with the help of
Russia and France. And France is fighting to win back
Alsace-Lorraine, to take her revenge on Germany, which the French
nation has been aiming at for the last forty-four years.
That is how Austria-Hungary looks upon the war. She never wished
for territorial increase, she wished for peace and that her people
should develop in safety.
Germany equally had nothing to gain by a war, but Germany knows
that Austria-Hungary's enemies are her enemies and that the
dismemberment of the Hapsburg monarchy would mean the isolation of
the German Empire.
And so, after all efforts to keep Russia and England from breaking
the peace of Europe had failed, she drew her sword to defend her
and her allies' (ally's) interests.
Truth and honor are on the side of the two empires in this war, the
unspeakable inventions and prevarications published by the French,
Russian, and English press in the last weeks alone must prove to
the American people who can afford to tell the truth and nothing
but the truth in this war.
The Austro-Hungarian and German people have a clear conscience and
need fear no misrepresentation of their action.
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