Up to a certain point they were undeniably right:
the world, when confronted with a war, cannot wait till
all imaginable material has been brought forward for
evidence as to its origin. Every politician, when faced
with a war, must take his stand according to the material
to which he has access. He must strive to get it as
comprehensive as possible—complete it will never be,
no more for the politician of the present day than for
the historian of a later time. The latter may have
access to various secret archives that at present are
closed; on the other hand, much evidence will be lost
to him that could be gleaned from contemporaries and
that was not definitely set down in writing by them.
Although we cannot know everything, for all knowledge comes piecemeal, still it would be folly for this reason to keep from mankind what we do know. Indeed, this folly may become one of those political mistakes that are worse than a crime, if the keeping back of the material should serve to screen a system dangerous to the nation and to mankind, and liable to hinder the exposure of its operations.
There is no lack of material as to the origin of the World War. At its very commencement we were inundated with official White, Red, Yellow, Blue and other coloured books, and the critical treatment of them was soon set on foot. Early in 1915 there appeared Grelling's “J'accuse,” which was followed by a continuation in three volumes called “Das Verbrechen” (“The Crime”). With great penetration he succeeded, in very essential points, in striking the right track.
Then especially important were the “Memoirs of Prince Lichnowsky,” of August, 1916, which were not intended for publication, but fell into pacifist hands,
which soon procured for them a wide underground
