te certainly does not depend upon the friendly or unfriendly
feeling of America. It will be decided solely upon the European
battlefields. But because we are looking out from the night to a future
dawn, because in the midst of our national need the cause of humanity is
close to our heart, for these reasons it is not immaterial to us how the
greatest neutral nation of culture thinks of us. Americans, the cable
between us has been cut. It is our wish and our hope that the stronger
band that unites American ideals with German ideals shall not also be
cut.

*To the Civilized World*

*By Professors of Germany.*

As representatives of German science and art, we hereby protest to the
civilized world against the lies and calumnies with which our enemies
are endeavoring to stain the honor of Germany in her hard struggle for
existence--in a struggle which has been forced upon her.

The iron mouth of events has proved the untruth of the fictitious German
defeats, consequently misrepresentation and calumny are all the more
eagerly at work. As heralds of truth we raise our voices against these.

_It is not true_ that Germany is guilty of having caused this war.
Neither the people, the Government, nor the Kaiser wanted war. Germany
did her utmost to prevent it; for this assertion the world has
documental proof. Often enough during the twenty-six years of his reign
has Wilhelm II. shown himself to be the upholder of peace, and often
enough has this fact been acknowledged by our opponents. Nay, even the
Kaiser they now dare to call an Attila has been ridiculed by them for
years, because of his steadfast endeavors to maintain universal peace.
Not till a numerical superiority which had been lying in wait on the
frontiers assailed us did the whole nation rise to a man.

_It is not true_ that we trespassed in neutral Belgium. It has been
proved that France and England had resolved on such a trespass, and it
has likewise been proved that Belgium had agreed to their doing so. It
would have been suicide on our part not to have been beforehand.

_It is not true_ that the life and property of a single Belgian citizen
was injured by our soldiers without the bitterest self-defense having
made it necessary; for again and again, notwithstanding repeated
threats, the citizens lay in ambush, shooting at the troops out of the
houses, mutilating the wounded, and murdering in cold blood the medical
men while they were doing their Samarita