Three days later, on the anniversary of the battles of Weissenburg and
Spichern, the representatives of the German people met. This session,
which lasted only a few hours, proved worthy of the great historical
moment marking the beginning of such a conflagration as the world had
never seen before. The railroad lines were under military control and
used almost exclusively for purposes of mobilization. In spite of all
such difficulties, more than 300 of the 397 Deputies managed to get to
Berlin in time. The rest sent word that they were unable to come. On the
evening of Aug. 3 the Imperial Chancellor called the leaders of all
parties, including the Socialists, to his house and explained to them in
a concise and impressive statement how frivolously Germany had been
driven to war. At the time of this meeting the unanimous acceptance of
all war measures by the Reichstag was already assured. In numerous
conferences the heads of the several departments explained the content
and meaning of the bills to be submitted to the Reichstag. The
participants of the conferences showed already what spirit would
characterize the next day. The session of the Reichstag filled the
entire German nation with pride and enthusiasm; the Reichstag maintained
the dignity of the German Empire and the German people.
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