It will be a long time, I suppose, before the American will be able fully to understand Russia’s reasons for entering the present war and the great racial thought that lies back of it.  The whole situation in a nutshell is that Germany entered the war from racial hate and motives of commercial greed, while Russia drew her sword out of motives of humane and kindly sympathy for a small and oppressed nation of her own kindred.  Germany had been grabbing and wished to grab more; Russia rose in arms to stand by and protect her “little brother.”

Indeed you are quite right when you say that there are spiritual forces back of Russia’s deeds in battle far more than there can be in the case of any other of the warring nations.  The reasons lie deep within our national life, and I doubt if any American will be able fully to comprehend them without coming to see us in our own country and seeing us as we are.  The great and really wonderful achievements of the German are visible and material, while ours are things of the spirit—­invisible, modest, resigned.  The representative spirit of Germany’s materialism and heartless aggressiveness is that of the megalomaniac Nietzsche and his followers, Treitschke and von Bernhardi.  The spokesmen of what is more truly Russian today are Tolstoy and Dostoievski, who have recorded forever the spirit of self-sacrifice, humility and piety in the Russian soul.

Yes, it is true that those who have learned to know us in Russia are aware that the epithets of “Hun” and “barbarian” used against us are stark lies promulgated by bitter enemies who take ignoble advantage of the tradition in America fostered by the melodramatic exploitation of the Jewish problem and the occasional brutalities by our drunken soldier to make you believe that a Russian is a sort of treacherous bandit with a knife in his teeth ready to betray and slay.  We regret exceedingly that that tradition has taken root in the United States.  We admire and emulate Americans because they have mellowed and complemented their industrial and political achievements with national charity and religious ideals.

In Russia the Jewish question, as such, has not arisen since the opening of the war.  Political promises have been made to Poland and these promises will be kept.  It is a mistaken idea here that any overtures have been made to the Jews as a class.  You think we are as anxious as all that to have them enlist as soldiers?  No.  We do not wish to make them any special inducements to enlist.  You are well aware that nobody hates the Jews more cordially than the Pole himself.  Our offer was to the Poles, who have a national entity and a country and home of their own.  The Jews have none of these things.

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“The Facts About Belgium”

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Statement Issued by the Belgian Legation at Washington.

The Belgian Legation at Washington has compiled the following statement of the Belgian case, in the present European War, in answer to the many inquiries that have been received on the subject.