PRESIDENT WILSON'S DIPLOMATIC MISSION.

In accordance with this message, President Wilson broke the traditions
of more than a century, and took upon himself the deep responsibility of
a diplomatic mission. He went as the representative of one of the great
belligerent powers to confer with the premiers and leading diplomats of
Europe to frame, not only a peace of justice to terminate the World War,
but--if possible--to organize a League of Nations, henceforth making
such cataclysms an impossibility.

CHAPTER IV.

THE FLASH THAT SET THE WORLD AFLAME.

TEUTONS FIND IN A MURDER THE EXCUSE FOR WAR--GERMANY INSPIRED BY AMBITIONS
FOR WORLD CONTROL--THE STRUGGLE FOR COMMERCIAL SUPREMACY A FACTOR--THE
UNDERLYING MOTIVES.

The assassination of the Archduke Francis Ferdinand, heir apparent to
the throne of Austria, together with his wife, in Bosnia, during the
last days of June, 1914, is commonly regarded as the blow which forged
the chain that bound the European powers in bloody warfare. The tragedy
was the signal for putting on the world stage the greatest war play of
all times.

When Austria, regarding the murder of the Archduke as a National
affront, precipitated the conflict which has convulsed the universe, she
marked the way easy for Imperial Germany to put into effect a
long-contemplated plan for territorial expansion, and to wage a warfare
so insidious, so brutal and so ruthless in its character as to amaze the
civilized world.

Word-pictures were drawn, so to speak, of a mighty nation striving to
burst iron bands that were slowly strangling her, and her perfectly
natural wish to find outlets for her rapidly growing population and
commerce. Germany sought to obtain "a place in the sun," to use one of
the Kaiser's most unfortunate expressions, and the world soon found that
the "place" included the territory embracing a few ports on the English
channel, with control of Holland and Belgium, Poland, the Balkan
countries, a big slice of Asia Minor, Egypt, English and French colonies
in Africa, not to mention remote possibilities.

Germany's ambitions may have been laudable, but her methods of trying to
satisfy these ambitions were not such as to either gain for her the
"solar warmth" which she sought to win, or gain for her the friendship
of the nations of the civilized world. The drama which Germany directed
moved swiftly in this wise:

Austria claimed that Servia, as a Nation, was responsible for the
assa