acy.

* * * * *

The historical value of the cartoons have frequently been insisted upon
by critics and reviewers and I have been urged to publish them in the
form of a cartoon History of the War. The present attempt is the outcome
of these suggestions.

It has not been possible to adhere to any very definite method of
arrangement. Many of the cartoons were drawn long after the events with
which they deal took place, as, for instance, the Wittenberg pictures.
The typhus outbreak amongst the prisoners at Wittenberg happened in
December, 1914, but the facts were not made public until May, 1916. On
the other hand, the cartoon depicting Count von Bernstorff's dismissal
from Washington was published two years before he was handed his
passports. It was a cartoon based upon the activities of Dumba. A great
number of cartoons, particularly those published during the early months
of the war, have no direct historical significance. The Belgian cartoons
constitute a general indictment of the German method of warfare, while
the Nurse Cavell drawings (Vol. II.) represent a specific comment upon
an actual example of that method. The letterpress has been compiled
mainly from official _communiques_ and reports, and from the speeches
and public statements of the leading men of the belligerents and some of
the neutrals. I have also quoted freely from newspapers, magazines, and
books, and whenever possible I have made acknowledgment of these
sources. My object has been not to explain the cartoons, but to show
their great value as historical documents and to make sure, so far as is
possible, that the basis of truth upon which they rest shall not be
forgotten.

J. MURRAY ALLISON.

NEW YORK, Christmas Day, 1917.

NOTE ON THE BELGIAN CARTOONS

The cartoons which appear on the following pages up to and including
page 86 call for special reference.

They represent Raemaekers' impression of the behaviour of the German
troops in Belgium during the first weeks of the invasion. The great
majority of them were drawn long before any Official Reports were
published, and not, as would seem natural, as illustrations of the
Reports which were eventually published by the Belgian, French, and
British Governments. The cartoon on page 86 was drawn after the
publication of the British Government's Official Report. It is important
to realise this. It is also necessary to