Cause and Conduct

From The Arthur Conan Doyle Encyclopedia

Cause and Conduct is a letter written by Arthur Conan Doyle first published in The German Times, Berlin, on 3 march 1902.


Cause and Conduct

Sir, — Will you permit me to say a few words through your columns to your readers.

The translation of my Cause and Conduct of the War is nearly finished, and in a week or so it will be issued from your publishing house.

It is an attempt to put the true facts of the South African war before German readers and to make them understand how egregiously they have been misled and humbugged by interested parties.

Arrangements have been made to send the book free to all politicians and journalists. I wish now to ensure its local distribution in each town of Germany. This I leave in the hands of the local British. They would in my opinion be doing a service to truth and to their country if in each case they would form a committee, collect funds, buy the book which can be had for a few pfennige, and distribute it in those quarters where it will be most useful. Only in this way can we meet this systematic lying which has gone on unchecked and uncontradicted all these years.

If the British in Berlin would communicate with their British friends in other German towns the thing could be easily organised.

I should especially wish to see copies sent to those Rhenish pastors who signed the absurd petition some months ago.

I have had many bitter letters from British people in Germany complaining of their treatment. Here is the means by which they can make their own case heard.

Yours faithfully,

A. CONAN DOYLE
Undershaw, Hindhead, Haslemere.