t by that country of German
military officers was a violation of neutrality, or gave rise to a
_casus belli_.

It is wholly probable that there were some German officers in Belgium
before the war commenced, and if not, there were certainly hundreds
of spies, of whose pernicious activities the Belgian people were to
learn later to their infinite sorrow, but because Germany employed an
elaborate system of espionage in Belgium, it could not justify France
in invading its territory without its permission.

To a lawyer, who has had experience in the judicial ascertainment of
truth, there is one consideration that justifies him in disposing
of all these vague allegations with respect to French activities in
Belgium on the eve of the war, and that is that Germany has not only
failed to give any testimony in support of the charges, _but it never
suggested this defense until the judgment of the civilized world had
branded it with an ineffaceable stain_.

Professor von Mach, a former educator of Harvard University and an
apologist for Germany, feels this poverty of evidence and has rather
naively suggested an adjournment of the case. He says:

Did French officers remain in Liege or in any other Belgian
fortress after hostilities had begun, and did France plan to
go through Belgium? Germany has officially made both claims.
The first can easily be substantiated by The Supreme Court
of Civilization by an investigation of the prisoners of war
taken in Belgium. Until an impartial investigation becomes
possible no further proof than the claim made by the German
Government can be produced.

As the French officers taken in Belgium are presumably in German
detention camps, it would seem that Germany should first substantiate
its defense by names, dates, and places, although even then the mere
capture of French officers in Belgium after the invasion had begun
does not necessarily indicate that they were in Belgium before the
invasion.

Dr. von Mach adds in the reply, which he made in the New York _Times_
to an article contributed by the writer to that journal:

_It is impossible to say here exactly what these proofs are
which Germany possesses, and which for military reasons it
has not yet been able to divulge...._ This is an important
question, and the answer must be left to The Supreme Court
of Civilization. The weight of the evidence would seem to
point to a