War!!!!!

July 28, 1914

It is war in Europe.  According to the Chicago Tribune, the conflict "may or may not spread, but at best it threatens to be a grave and sanguinary affair."

Earlier today at Bad Ischl, Austrian Emperor Franz Josef signed a declaration of war against Serbia. He rejected Serbia's "conciliatory reply" to the Austro-Hungarian ultimatum.

The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne, and his wife, the Duchess of Hohenberg, is "the cause of the war."   The crime was committed on "Austrian soil, and by very humble and insignificant persons."   

Austria, however, "believes and asserts" that Serbia is "mortally responsible" for the deaths of the couple.  The country has charged that Serbian officials and military officers instigated the assassination and provide the weapons that were used to kill the archduke and his wife.

Serbia has pleased innocent to Austria's charges.   But the country's "method of investigating the plot and its ramifications" have left little to be desired "in the eyes of impartial observers.

Many feel this situation will only get worse.  The Associated Press is reporting that a German official has declared that Germany will issue immediate mobilization orders if Russia declares war on Austria.  Russia has already stated its support of Serbia.