the Emperor had signed the declaration of war in this form,
Count Berchtold struck out the reference to a fight at Temes-Kubin,
and sent a letter to Francis Joseph explaining that he had taken it on
himself to eliminate this sentence as the reports had not been
confirmed. "It is clear," said the _Arbeiter-Zeitung_,[82] commenting
on the Austrian Red-book which revealed this affair, "it is clear that
the fight at Temes-Kubin never occurred, but was simply invented by
Count Berchtold. That arch-scoundrel not only deceived the people, but
also the Emperor. The destiny of the world depended upon whether an
eighty-four-year-old man permitted himself to be deceived. For such a
crime Berchtold must certainly be sent to prison, or, more justly, to
the gallows."

If the punitive expedition into Serbia had been less disastrous, it
would perhaps have been accompanied with less barbarity--though the
Austrian army was handicapped, owing to the large number of
aristocratic, and presumably more gentle, officers who found
themselves unable to leave the War Office and similar institutions in
Vienna. Yet the Austrians seem to have determined how to act before
they came. A special branch of the army occupied itself with the
stealing, packing and dispatching of cameras, engravings, ladies'
garments, etc. etc.--numerous lists were accidentally left behind in
Belgrade, and every sheet at the top left-hand corner was stamped
with the words "Sammlungs-Offizier" (_i.e._ Collection-officer). I do
not know what knowledge and what skill are necessary before this
rubber stamp is conferred upon a man. Did the Imperial and Royal
authorities regard him as a non-combatant? The "Sammlungs-Offizier"
might resent such a classification if in private life he had been a
courageous burglar. And the Imperial and Royal army, according to
certain "Instructions for the conduct of troops" which were found on a
wounded officer of the 9th Army Corps, had resolved--irrespective of
success or failure in the War--to massacre the Serbs without
compunction: "Any person encountered in the open, and especially in a
forest, must be regarded as a member of a 'band' that has concealed
its weapons somewhere, which weapons we have not the time to look for.
These people are to be executed if they appear even slightly
suspicious"; and another paragraph says that "I will not allow persons
armed, but wearing no uniform, whether encountered singly or in
groups, to be taken prisoner