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Show KAISER ADMITS HE CHALLENGED FRANGEJTO II "Alsace-Lorraine Question Settled Because French Refused to Fight," He Told Envoy. RUSS DIPLOMAT DENIES EMPEROR'S VERSION M. Iswolsky Says Wilhelm Acknowledged He Used the Moroccan Crisis to Bring on Conflict. i i PARIS, Sept. 15. Some of the statements state-ments made by Emperor William in a telegram to Emperor Nicholas of Russia, Rus-sia, one of a series of recently pub- j lished messages exchanged by the two rulers in 1904-03, brought forward to show that a secret agreement had been ; reached between them to attempt an ! alignment of Germany, Russia and ! France against England, are challenged j in an interview in the Temps by Alex- j andcr P. Iswolsky, former Russian am- bassador to France. Quite incidentally, apparently, M. , Iswolsky makes the declaration that this secret agreement was cancelled iu the fall of 1905 and was not renewed. He states also that Emperor William told him during the interview that he regarded the question of Alsace-Lorraine as a dead issue, France failing to take up the challenge to fight Germany when Germany threw down the gauntlet gaunt-let during the Moroccan crisis early in 1905. Tells of Interview. M. Iswolsky, who was the Russian minister at Copenhagen at the time in question, admits that he had an interview in-terview with Emperor "William at Copenhagen Co-penhagen in July, 1905, but declares that he did not express himself as represented rep-resented by Emperor William in a telegram tele-gram of August 2f 1905, to the effect that should war come and an attack be made on the "Baltie sea by a foreign power the Danes would be likely to resign themselves to an occupation of Denmark bv Germany anrt TTussla. " M. Jswolsky recalls that Emperor William solicited the interview through Baron von Schoen, German minister at Copenhagen, at the end of July, shortly short-ly after M. Iswolsky had successfully negotiated with Denmark the passage through the grand belt adjacent to Danish shores of Admiral Rojestven-sky-'s fleet on its historic cruise to the Pacific, in the Russo-Japanese war, and says that in view of the friendly way Russia had been treated by Denmark he certainly could not have considered with the emperor an eventual aggression aggres-sion by Germany of Denmark or any military action whatever by Russia against Danish neutrality. Denies Kaiser's Version. "Emperor William's dispatch on that subject which you have just shown me is entirely erroneous on that point' said 11. Iswolsky. "I have a very I precise recollection of my conversation with tho German emperor. I was struck by the insistence with which he explained the necessity of an alliance between Russia. Germany and France, against England. li 'The real guarantee of a solidly established peace the emperor said, 'is to be found in the close collaboration collabora-tion of the three great continental powers. pow-ers. .Such an alliance would preclude British hegemony 'and assure the entire en-tire world the benefits of peace.' " 'The realization of that vast project proj-ect appears to me absolutely impossible,' impos-sible,' I replied, 'because France would never consent to enter into such an alliance. al-liance. ' " 'Why wouldn't she consent?' asked the emperor. 'Because there is an unsettled question ques-tion between France and Germa ny, ' I replied. 'The question of Alsace and Lorraine. ' ' 'Pardon me.' rejoined the emperor, "'but that question is settled.' " 'I don't understand, sire,' I said. "'It is indeed settled,' said the emperor. 'In the Moroccan affair I threw down the gauntlet to France. France refused to take it up. She refused re-fused fo fight me; Consequently the question of Alsace-Lorraine no longer exists between us. ' More of Kaiser's Plotting. 'In reply to doubts that T expressed. ex-pressed. ' ' eont in ucs M. Iswolsky in the interview, "the emperor developed the idea that it was necessary, so to speak, to constrain France to accept a Rnsso-Gcrman alliance and to oblige her. willinglv or not. to join it." M. Iswolsky reveals that prior to the meeting between Emperor William and Emperor Nicholas at. Swinemunde in the Mimmer of 1009, when thev were accompanied bv 1 swolsky and Pri nee von Buelnw. the German chancellor. Emperor Nicholas broached the subject of the secret treaty declared to have been signed at R joerke in Jn! v. 905, anil expressed his firm determination nor to reronider the --a ncel lat ion of it. which. M. Iswol-kv statos, was derided on in The fall of nu. M. Iswolskv sav j he subsequent iy informed Prince von ; Bueiow tt.at :hr tratv was null and1 voil and that the chancellor made no j protest. |