DR. VON MACH SCORES SUPPRESSION OF BOOK

During the latter part of December the Macmillan Publishing Company withdrew from circulation the recently published book by Dr. Edmund von Mach '95, entitled "Official Diplomatic Documents Relating to the Outbreak of the European War." The volume was placed in circulation last September and after three months of sale was withdrawn without the knowledge of the author, the alleged reason being that it was inaccurate in certain important details. The work was compiled as a standard for students, present and future, of this period in history.

Dr. von Mach received the degree of A.M. from the University in 1896 and that of Ph.D. in 1900, and was an instructor in Fine Arts from 1899 to 1903. He is at present a lecturer in the history of art at Bradford Academy. He formally served for two years in the German army. He is the author of several works on ancient sculpture and the history of painting.

Official Translations Used.

"Only the official British translations of the dispatches of the European nations were used in my book, so that all thought or possibility of bias might be removed," said Professor Edmund von Mach '95, in discussing the withdrawal from circulation of his book, to a CRIMSON reporter yesterday afternoon. "The action of the Macmillan Publishing Company constitutes a breach of contract on their part, and a secret one. I had no warning of the suppression of the book until informed of it through the New York World."

After discussing the purpose of the book, which is to give a correct and non-partisan account of the events which led to the outbreak of the European War, by a chronological use of the published dispatches of the nations involved, Professor von Mach pointed out several statements from the Entente nations which tend to show that the action of Great Britain in the closing days of July, 1914, was decidedly incriminating. "It is undoubtedly some foreign influence, financial or otherwise, which has caused the removal of my book from circulation and the attempts of the Macmillan Company to buy up all copies already sold. The plea of 'important inaccuracies' can hardly tell the whole story, for not only was the manuscript read by the company's readers but in addition, after publication, by Professor C. A. Beard, of Columbia. The company states that I refused to accept the suggestions made by Dr. Beard, but except for a very few, which the vice-president of the company himself deemed immaterial, all the changes suggested were made.

Source of Complaints Not Given.

"In a friendly talk with Mr. Brett, president of the publishing company, after I had been apprised of the action, he admitted that 'persons of such importance and authority' that he could not disregard their complaints had handed in type-written lists of inaccuracies and compelled the suppression of the book. He said that many other complaints had been received, but when I asked him what their nature was he admitted that he had not looked into the matter personally. He was also unable to say who the 'important persons' were, or to whom the book had since been referred for an opinion. When I asked him if, on a favorable report, its circulation would again be pushed, he said that he was not at all sure.

"What influence, what authority, would desire the suppression of such a volume where the policy of the British government is made unfavorable by comparison and counter-checking, than that government itself?

Arrangement Chronological.

"The volume is a photographic reproduction of the events leading to the world war, with footnotes and summaries of my own, and includes all the dispatches published in the French Yellow Book, German White Book, British Blue Book, and the books of the other important nations. It is intended to be a standard work on the subject for scholars of the present day and of the future. If it puts Great Britain in a bad light it is due to the absolute proof established in the chronological arrangement of the documents, a system which is the only fair way of obtaining an idea of the activities of the European chancelleries in the summer of 1914. The Macmillan Company certainly would not have accepted such a massive work if it had not been confident of the veracity of the author."

The only statement which the Boston office of the Macmillan Company would make yesterday was that the volume had been withdrawn from circulation because of "important inaccuracies."