AN ADVERTISEMENT IN THE BERLIN "DEUTSCHE THE KAISER'S NEW YEAR ORDER TO THE ARMY AND PAGE 220 239 SCHWAB TO MR. WILSON-"FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE, 248 "THE NEW OLD PRESIDENT. LONG LIVE AMERICA! LONG LIVE PEACE! LONG LIVE THE AMMUNITION FACTORIES!" 260 GERMANY, THE NEXT REPUBLIC? CHAPTER I MOBILIZATION OF PUBLIC OPINION T I HE Haupttelegraphenamt (the Chief Telegraph Office) in Berlin is the centre of the entire telegraph system of Germany. It is a large, brick building in the Franzoesischestrasse guarded, day and night, by soldiers. The sidewalks outside the building are barricaded. Without a pass no one can enter. Foreign correspondents in Berlin, when they had telegrams to send to their newspapers, frequently took them from the Foreign Office to the Chief Telegraph Office personally in order to speed them on their way to the outside world. The censored despatches were sealed in a Foreign Office envelope. With this credential correspondents were permitted to enter the building and the room where all telegrams are passed by the military authorities. During my two years' stay in Berlin I went to the telegraph office several times every week. Often I had to wait while the military censor read my despatches. On a large bulletin board in this room, I saw, and often read, documents posted for the information of the telegraph officials. During one of my first waiting periods I read an original document relating to the events at the beginning of the war. This was a typewritten letter signed by the Director of the Post and Telegraph. Because I was always watched by a soldier escort, I could never copy it. But after reading it scores of times I soon memorised everything, including the periods. This document was as follows: Office of the Imperial Post & Telegraph August 2nd, 1914. Announcement No. 3. To the Chief Telegraph Office: From to-day on, the Post and Telegraph communications between Germany on the one hand and: 1. England, 3. Russia, 4. Japan, 5. Belgium, 6. Italy, 7. Montenegro, 8. Servia, |