At Brest-Litovsk her civilian delegates spoke in similar tones, professed their desire to conclude a fair peace and accord to the peoples with whose fortunes they were dealing the right to choose their own allegiance.

But action accompanied and followed the profession.

Their military masters, the men who act for Germany and exhibit her purpose in execution, proclaimed a very different conclusion. We cannot mistake what they have done-in Russia, in Finland, in the Ukraine, in Rumania. The real test of their justice and fair play has come. From this we may judge the rest.

They are enjoying in Russia a cheap triumph in which no brave or gallant nation can long take pride. A great people, helpless by their own act, lies for the time at their mercy. Their fair professions are forgotten. They do not here set up justice, but everywhere impose their power and exploit everything for their own use and aggrandizement; and the peoples of conquered provinces are invited to be freed under their dominion.

Are we not justified in believing that they would do the same things at their western front, if they were not there face to face with armies whom even their countless divisions cannot overcome? If, when they have felt their check to be final, they should propose favorable and equitable terms to Belgium and France and Italy, could they blame us if we concluded that they did so only to assure themselves of a free hand in Russia and the east?

Their purpose is undoubtedly to make all the Slavic peoples, all the free and ambitious nations of the Baltic peninsula, all the lands that Turkey has dominated and misruled, subject to their will and ambition, and build upon that dominion an empire of force, upon which they fancy that they can then erect an empire of gain and commercial supremacy; an empire as hostile to the Americas as to the Europe which it will overawe; an empire which will ultimately master Persia, India and the peoples of the far east.

In such a program our ideals, the ideals of justice and humanity and liberty, the principle of the free self-determination of nations upon which all the modern world insists, can play no part. They are rejected for the ideals of power, for the principle that the strong must rule the weak, that trade must follow the flag, whether those to whom it is taken welcome it or not; that the peoples of the world are to be made subject to the patronage and overlordship of those who have the power to enforce it.

That program once carried out, America and all who care or dare to stand with her must arm and prepare themselves to contest the mastery of the world, a mastery in which the rights of common men, the rights of women and of all who are weak, must for the time being be trodden under foot and disregarded, and the old age-long struggle for freedom and right begin again at its beginning.

Everything that America has lived for and loved and grown great to vindicate and bring to a glorious realization will have fallen in utter ruin and the gates of mercy once more pitilessly shut upon mankind.

The thing is preposterous and impossible; and yet is not that the whole course and action the German armies have meant wherever they have moved? I do not wish, even in this moment of utter disillusionment, to judge harshly or unrighteously. I judge only what the German arms have accomplished with unpitying thoroughness throughout every fair region they have touched.

What, then, are we to do? For myself, I am ready, ready still, ready even now, to discuss a fair and just posed; a peace in which the strong and the weak shall and honest peace at any time that is sincerely purfare alike. But the answer, when I proposed such a peace, came from the German commanders in Russia, and I cannot mistake the meaning of the answer. I accept the challenge. I know that you will accept it. All the world shall know that you accept it. It shall appear in the utter sacrifice and self-forgetfulness with which we shall give all that we love and all that we have to redeem the world and make it fit for free men like ourselves to live in.

Let

This now is the meaning of all that we do. everything we say, my fellow-countrymen, everything that we henceforth plan and accomplish, ring true to this response till the majesty and might of our power shall fill the thought, and utterly defeat the force of those who flout and misprize what we honor and hold dear.

Germany has once more said that force, and force alone, shall decide whether justice and peace shall reign in the affairs of men; whether right, as America conceives it, or dominion, as she conceives it, shall determine the destinies of mankind.

There is, therefore, but one response possible from us: Force, force to the utmost, force without stint or limit; the righteous and triumphant force which shall make right the law of the world, and cast every selfish

dominion down in the dust.

I. FUNDAMENTAL CAUSES OF THE WAR

I. GENERAL FACTORS.

The constitution of the German Empire permits its foreign policy to be determined by the Emperor alone, who is at the same time, by "divine right," King of Prussia-the State which possesses an overwhelming territorial, political, and military predominance in the Empire.

66

The Emperor declares war with the consent of the Bundesrat, the assent of the Reichstag not being required. Not even the Bundesrat need be consulted if the war is defensive, and as the Hohenzollerns have always claimed to make defensive warfare it is not surprising that even the unrepresentative Bundesrat was officially informed about the present war three days after the Emperor declared it." (Charles D. Hazen, The Government of Germany; Committee on Public Information publication.) (See War Cyclopedia, under "Autocracy," "Kaiserism," "William II.")

Profit derived from war in the past by Prussia (Germany).

(a) Through increase of territory (cf. maps).

(b) Through indemnities (e. g., from France, 1871). (c) Through increased prestige and influence. Hence justification of the "blood and iron" policy of Bismarck, and his predecessors. War as "the national industry" of Prussia.

"The Great Elector laid the foundations of Prussia's power by successful and deliberately incurred wars. Frederick the Great followed in the footsteps of his glorious ancestor. . . . None of the wars which he fought had been forced upon him; none of them did he postpone as long as possible. . . . The lessons of history thus confirm the view that wars which have been deliberately provoked by far-seeing statesmen have had the happiest results." (Bernhardi, Germany and the Next War, 1911.)

3 Germany's demand for "a place in the sun."

(a) Meaning of the Kaiser's phrase (“a place in the sun") not clear. It covers vaguely colonies, commerce, and influence in international affairs in proportion to Germany's population, industrial importance, and military power.

(b) Obstacles. The German Empire was

late

comer in the family of nations; the best regions
for colonization and exploitation, especially in
the temperate zones, were already occupied by
other Powers.

(c) Examples of the demand. (See Conquest and
Kultur, secs. 6, 10; War Cyclopedia, under
"Place in the Sun," "Pan-Germanism," etc.)
"We need colonies, and more colonies, than we have

• This outline was prepared with the active aid of the Committee on Public Information (Department of Civic and Educational Co-operation), 10 Jackson Place. Washington, D. C. Frequent reference is made herein to the publications of this committee, which with a few exceptions are distributed free upon application.

already, to give vent to our surplus energies without losing them and to make the motherland economically independent." () (Manifesto of the Colonial League.)

“We need a fleet strong enough not only to protect the colonies we now have, but to bring about the acquisition of others." (Manifesto of the Navy League.)

"A progressive nation like ours needs territory, and if this cannot be obtained by peaceful means, it must be obtained by war. It is the object of the Defense Association [Wehrverein] to create this sentiment." (Lieut.-General Wrochem in speech to the Wehrverein in March, 1913.)

Without doubt this acquisition of new lands will not take place without war. What world power was ever established without bloody struggles?" (Albrecht Wirth, Volkstum und Weltmacht in der Geschichte, 1904. Quoted by Andler, Le Pangermanisme continentale, 1915, p. 308.)

"It is only by relying on our good German sword that we can hope to conquer that place in the sun which rightly belongs to us, and which no one will yield to us voluntarily. . . . Till the world comes to an end, the ultimate decision must rest with the sword." (German Crown Prince, in Introduction to Germany in Arms, 1913.)

4. Biological argument for war.

...

(a) Darwin's theory of the "struggle for existence as a chief factor in the evolution of species. (b) Development in Germany of the theory that States are of necessity engaged in such a “struggle for existence."

(c) Hence war is an ordinance of God for the weeding out of weak and incompetent individuals and States." Corollary: "Might makes right." (d) Examples of such arguments from Treitschke, Bernhardi, etc. (See Conquest and Kultur, seo. 1, 2, 4; War Cyclopedia, under Bernhardi," Treitschke," War, German View;" Vernon Kellogg, "Headquarters' Nights," in Atlantic Monthly for August, 1917.)

66

66

"War is a biological necessity of the first im portance, a regulative element in the life of mankind which cannot be dispensed with, since without it an unhealthy development will follow, which excludes every advancement of the race, and therefore all real civilization. . . . To supplant or be supplanted is the essence of life,' says Goethe, and the strong life gains the upper hand. The law of the stronger holds good everywhere. Those forms survive which are able to procure themselves the most favorable conditions of life, and to assert themselves in the uni

versal economy of Nature. The weaker suc

cumb. . . .

"Might gives the right to occupy or to conquer. Might is at once the supreme right, and the dispute

as to what is right is decided by the arbitrament of war." (Bernhardi, Germany and the Next War, 1911, pp. 18, 23.)

"They fight, not simply because they are forced to, but because, curiously enough, they believe much of their talk. That is one of the dangers of the Germans to which the world is exposed; they really believe much of what they say." (Vernon Kellogg, in Atlantic Monthly, August, 1917.)

5. Idea of the German mission in the world, and the German demand for world influence and prestige (PanGermanism).

(a) Ardent belief in the superiority of the German race and German "Kultur" over all other races and civilizations.

(b) Hence the duty to promote the Germanization of the world, and to oppose the absorption of Germans by other nationalities.

(c) Examples of these ideas in writings of Treitschke, Rohrbach, Bernhardi, etc. (See Conquest and Kultur, secs. 1, 2; War Cyclopedia, under "Bernhardi," Hegemony, German Ambition," Kultur," "Pan - Germanism," "Treitschke," "William II."

64

"I hope that it will be granted to our German Fatherland to become in the future as closely united, as powerful, and as authoritative as once the Roman Empire was, and that just as in old times they said Civis Romanus sum, one may in the future need only to say, 'I am a German citizen.'"

"God has called us to civilize the world; we are the missionaries of human progress."

"The ocean is indispensable for Germany's greatness, but the ocean also reminds us that neither on it nor across it in the distance can any great decision be again consummated without Germany and the German Emperor." (Speeches of Emperor William II.)

"The German race is called to bind the earth under its control, to exploit the natural resources and physical powers of man, to use the passive races in subordinate capacity for the development of its Kultur." (Ludwig Woltmann, Politische Anthropologie, 1913.)

"If people should ask us whether we intend to become a world power that overtops the world powers so greatly that Germany would be the only real World Power, the reply must be that the will to world power has no limit." (Adolph Grabowsky, in Das neue Deutschland, Oct. 28, 1914.)

"By German culture the world shall be healed, and from their experience those who have only heard lies about German culture will perceive, will feel in their own bodies what German means and how a nation must be made up, if it wishes to rule the world." (Benedikt Haag, Deutschland und der Weltkrieg, 1914.)

"With the help of Turkey, India and China may be conquered. Having conquered these Germany should civilize and Germanize the world, and the German language would become the world language." (Theodor Springman, Deutschland und der Orient, 1915.)

"Our next war will be fought for the highest interests of our country and of mankind. This will invest it with importance in the world's history. 'World power or downfall!' will be our rallying cry." (Bernhardi, Germany and the Next War, 1911, p. 154.)

II. MILITARISM AND ARMAMENTS.

1. Definition of militarism. It is a state of mind; not the having of an army, no matter how large, but the exaltation of it to the chief place in the state, the subordination to it of the civil authorities. Joined to this is the reliance upon military force in every dispute. (See War Cyclopedia, under "Militarism," "Prussianism," etc.)

2. Militarism and the military class dominant in Germany.
(a) Historical reasons for this: lack of defensible
frontiers; hostile neighbors, etc. Relation also
to topics under heading I.

(b) The Zabern Incident (1913) as a practical ex-
ample of military domination. (See War Cyclo-
pedia, under “Zabern," "Luxemburg, Rosa."
(c) Quotations showing German exaltation of war
and army, etc. (See Conquest and Kultur, secs.
4, 5.)

"Bec use only in war all the virtues which militarism regards highly are given a chance to unfold, because only in war the truly heroic comes into play, for the realization of which on earth militarism is above all concerned; therefore it seems to us who are filled with the spirit of militarism that war is a holy thing, the holiest thing on earth; and this high estimate of war in its turn makes an essential ingredient of the military spirit. There is nothing that tradespeople complain of so much as that we regard it as holy." (Werner Sombart, Händler und Helden, 1915.)

"War is the noblest and holiest expression of human activity. For us, too, the glad, great hour of battle will strike. Still and deep in the German heart must live the joy of battle and the longing for it. Let us ridicule to the utmost the old women in breeches who fear war and deplore it as cruel and revolting. No; war is beautiful. Its august sublimity elevates the human heart beyond the earthly and the common." (Jung-Deutschland, official organ of Young Germany, October, 1913.)

War is for us only a means, the state of preparation for war is more than a means, it is an end. If we were not beset with the danger of war, it would be necessary to create it artificially, in order to strengthen our softened and weakened Germanism, to make bones and sinews." (Ernst Hasse, Die Zukunft des deutschen Volkstums, 1908.)

"It is the soldier and the army, not parliamentary majorities and votes, that have welded the German Empire together. My confidence rests with the army." (Emperor William II.)

Otfried Nippold, a University professor and jurist, was shocked to observe, on his return to Europe from a residence of several years in Japan, the extraordinary growth in Germany of militarism and the "jingo" spirit. At the end of a book which he compiled, made up of statements by prominent Germans in 1912-13 advocating war and conquest, he said: "The evidence submitted in this book amounts to an irrefutable proof that a systematic stimulation of the war spirit is going on, based on the one hand on the wishes of the Pan-German League and on the other on the agitation of the Defense Association [Wehrverein]. . . . War is represented not merely as a possibility that might arise, but as a necessity that must come about, and the sooner the better. In the opinion of these instigators, the German nation needs war; a long-continued peace seems regrettable to

them just because it is a peace, no matter whether there is any reason for war or not, and therefore, in case of need, one must simply strive to bring it about... The desire of the political visionaries in the Pan-German camp for the conquest of colonies suits the purpose of our warlike generals very well; but to them this is not an end, but only a means. War as such is what really matters to them. For if their theory holds good, Germany, even if she conquered ever so many colonies, would again be in need of war after a few decades, since otherwise the German nation would again be in danger of moral degeneration. The truth is that, to them, war is a quite normal institution of international intercourse, and not in any way a means of settling great international conflicts-not a means to be resorted to only in case of great necessity." (Der deutsche Chauvinismus, 1913, pp. 113-117; quoted in Conquest and Kultur, 137-139.)

The competition in armaments. Europe an "armed camp" following 1871, with universal military service, and constantly increasing military forces and expenditures. The trained forces at the beginning of the war estimated approximately as follows: Russia, 4,100,000; Germany, 4,250,000; Austria, 3,600,000; France, 4,000,000; Great Britain (including its "Territorials" or trained militia), 707,000.

were

4 Germany, already the first of military powers, planned a Navy to rival that of England. Her first Naval Bill was introduced in 1898; Great Britain's reverses in the Boer War (1899-1902) greatly stimulated German naval activities.

III. FAILURE OF THE HAGUE PEACE CONFERENCES OF 1899 AND 1907, AND OF THE NAVAL CONFERENCE OF LONDON (1908-9).

1. History of the Hague conferences. Agency of Russia and the United States in calling them. Their positive results in formulating international law and establishing a tribunal at the Hague. (See War Cyclopedia, under "Hague Conferences," "Hague Conventions," "Hague Regulations," "Hague Tribunal."

2. Plans therein for disarmament and compulsory arbitration defeated by Germany and Austria.

3. General policy of Germany with reference to arbitration. Refusal to enter into an arbitration treaty with the United States. (See Conquest and Kultur, secs. 4, 5; War Cyclopedia, under " Arbitration, German Attitude," ""Peace Treaties.")

4. British vs. German views of the "freedom of the seas," as revealed at the Hague Conferences and the Naval Conference of London. (See War Cyclopedia, under "Freedom of the Seas," "Declaration of London," etc.)

"The German view of freedom of the seas in time of war was that a belligerent should have the right to make the seas dangerous to neutrals and enemies alike by the use of indiscriminating mines; and that neutral vessels should be liable to destruction or seizure without appeal to any judicial tribunal if in the opinion of the commander of a belligerent warvessel any part of their cargo consisted of contraband. On the other hand, Germany was ever ready to place the belligerent vessels on the same footing as neutral vessels, and to forbid their seizure or destruction except when they were carrying contraband or endeavoring to force a blockade. In this way she hoped to deprive the stronger naval power of its principal weapon of offense-the attack upon enemy commerce-while preserving for the weaker power

IV.

every possible means of doing harm alike to enemy or neutral ships. At the same time she was anxious to secure to belligerent merchant-ships the right of transforming themselves into warships on the high seas." (Ramsey Muir, Mare Liberum: The Freedom of the Seas, pp. 8-13.)

SOME SPECIAL SUBJECTS OF INTERNATIONAL CONFLICT. 1. French desire to recover Alsace-Lorraine, taken by Germany in 1871. (See War Cyclopedia, under “AlsaceLorraine," "Franco-German Rivalry.")

2. Desire of Italy to reclaim its "unredeemed" lands held by Austria (See Ibid., " Italia Irredenta.")

3. Colonial and commercial rivalry among the Great Powers over Central and Northern Africa (Morocco especially); Asia Minor. Mesopotamia, and Persia; Chins and the Far East; South America, etc. (See Ibid., under "Morocco Question," "Franco-German Rivalry.") 4. Increased gravity of questions concerning the Balkan Peninsula after the Turkish Revolution of 1908. Plans for Austrian and German domination in these region (Drang nach Osten) conflicted with Russia's desire to secure Constantinople and an outlet to the Mediterranean, and threatened the security of Great Britain's communications with India. (See Ibid., "Balkan Problem,” “Drang nach Osten," etc.)

5. Grouping of the Great Powers into the Triple Alliance (1882) and the Triple Entente. Germany's fear of being "hemmed in (alleged policy of " encirclement"). (See Ibid., Encirclement, Policy of," "Triple Alliance," "Triple Entente.")

64

6. The Anglo-German Problem. (See Sarolea, The AngloGerman Problem, 1911; Conquest and Kultur, Bec. 16.) Due to

(a) Menace to Great Britain's industrial and maritime supremacy through Germany's rapid industrial development since 1870.

(b) Colonial and trade rivalry in Africa, Asia Minor, Mesopotamia, etc.

(c) Hostility to Great Britain taught by Treitschke and others. Doctrine that England was decrepit -"a colossus with feet of clay "-and that her empire would fall at the first hostile touch. Toasts of German officers to "the Day "—when war with Great Britain should come. (See War Cyclopedia, under "Der Tag," "Treitschke," etc.) "If our Empire has the courage to follow an independent colonial policy with determination, a collision of our interests with those of England is inevitable. It was natural and logical that the new Great Power in Central Europe should be compelled to settle affairs with all Great Powers. We have settled our accounts with Austria-Hungary, with France, with Russia. The last settlement, the settlement with England, will probably be the lengthiest and the most difficult." (Heinrich von Treitschke.)

(d) Attitude of Great Britain on the whole one of conciliation.

(e) Failure of the two Powers to arrive at an agreement as to naval armaments and mutual relations. Great Britain proposed (in 1912) to sign the following declaration:

"The two Powers being naturally desirous of securing peace and friendship between them, England declares that she will neither make, nor join in, any unprovoked attack upon Germany. Aggressions upon Germany is not the subject, and forms no part, of any treaty, understanding, or combination to which

England is now a party, nor will she become a party to anything that has such an object."

Germany refused to sign a similar declaration unless Great Britain would agree to stand aside and be neutral in any war which might break out on the Continent, i. e., to abandon her new friends, France and Russia, and allow Germany to attack them unhampered by fear of British interference.

V. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION.

For forty years political and economic theories and governmental policies, especially in Germany, had been bringing a great European war ever nearer. Forces making for peace were also in operation, and at times it seemed that these would continue to control the situation. But in 1914 the influences making for war definitely triumphed in Germany and Austria, and precipitated the Great World War. For reading references on Chapter I, see page 62.

II. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THE WAR
(1870-1914).

L. FOUNDATION AND CHARACTER OF THE PRESENT German
EMPIRE.

1. Franco-German War (1870-71), and the Treaty of Frankfort. France to pay an indemnity of one billion dollars and to cede Alsace-Lorraine.

2. Formation of the German Empire; its undemocratic character. (See C. D. Hazen, The Government of Germany; War Cyclopedia, under "Autocracy," "Bundesrat," "German Constitution," "Kaiserism," "Reichstag.")

(a) The number of States in the Empire is twentyfive, with one imperial territory (Alsace-Lorraine). The list includes four kingdoms, six grand duchies, five duchies, seven principalities, and three free cities. Each of these States has its separate State government, subordinate to that of the Empire.

(b) The king of Prussia is hereditary "German Emperor," with full direction of military and foreign affairs.

(c) The Federal Council (Bundesrat) is a council of ambassadors appointed by the rulers of the separate States, and responsible to them. It oversees the administration and initiates most legislation, and is the most powerful body in the Empire. The States are represented unequally in it. Prussia, which contains two-thirds of the population of Germany, has 17 votes out of a total of 61. (If we include the three votes allotted to Alsace-Lorraine in 1911, which are "instructed" by the Emperor, Prussia has 20 votes in the Bundesrat.) Bavaria has six votes, Saxony and Württemberg four each, and the other States fewer.

(d) The Reichstag is the representative chamber of the legislature. It is composed of 397 members, of whom Prussia elects 236. Representative districts are very unequal in population. "A Berlin deputy represents on the average 125,000 votes; a deputy of East Prussia, home of the far-famed Junkers, an average of 24,000." The members are elected by manhood suffrage for a term of five years; but the Emperor may (with the consent of the Bundesrat) dissolve the Reichstag at any time and order new elections.

(e) The administration of the Empire is in the

hands of a ministry, headed by the Imperial Chancellor. Unlike the ministers of true parlia mentary governments, the German ministers are responsible to the Emperor, and not to the legislative chamber. They do not need, therefore, to resign their offices when defeated in the Reichstag.

II. THE TRIPLE ALLIANCE AND THE TRIPLE ENTENTE. 1. The Triple Alliance formed by Germany, Austria, and Italy (1882). Germany's main object was to safeguard herself against an attempt by France to recover Alsace-Lorraine. As France recovered strength Germany plotted new aggressive designs against her.

2. Germany attempted in 1904-05 to form a secret alliance with Russia and France against Great Britain. Failure of the attempt owing to France's unwillingness to give up hope of recovering Alsace-Lorraine. The evidence of this attempt was published in 1917, in a series of letters signed "Willy" and "Nicky" which passed between the Kaiser and the Tsar, and which were discovered in the Tsar's palace after his deposition. (See War Cyclopedia, under "Willy and Nicky Correspondence.")

3. Formation of the Triple Entente.

(a) Dual Alliance of France and Russia formed (1891-94) as a counterpoise to the Triple Alliance.

(b) Settlement of England's disputes with France over certain African questions, etc. (1904), and with Russia over Persia, etc. (1907), established the Triple Entente ("good understanding") between those powers.

"France and England were face to face like birds in a cockpit, while Europe under German leadership was fastening their spurs and impatient to see them fight to the death. Then suddenly they both raised their heads and moved back to the fence. They bad decided not to fight, and the face of European things was changed." (Fullerton, Problems of Power, p. 57.) III. THREE DIPLOMATIC CRISES: 1905, 1908, 1911.

1. First Morocco crisis, 1905-06. (See Conquest and Kultur, 120-126; War Cyclopedia, under "Morocco Question," etc.)

(a) French interests in Morocco; slight interests of Germany.

(b) The Tangier incident. The Kaiser, landing from his yacht in Tangier, challenged France's policy in Morocco.

(c) Delcassé, French Minister of Foreign Affairs, dismissed on Germany's demand. We are not concerned with M. Delcassé's person, but his policy is a menace to Germany, and you may rest assured we shall not wait for it to be realized." (German ambassador to France, in published interview.)

(d) France brought to the bar of Europe in an international conference at Algeciras-which, in the main, sanctioned her Moroccan policy.

(e) The purpose of Germany in this crisis, as in those which follow, was to humiliate France and to test the strength of the Triple Entente. These were struggles to increase German prestige.

2. Crisis over Austria's annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1908. See War Cyclopedia, under "BosniaHerzegovina," Congress of Berlin." Pan-Slavism,"

"Slavs," etc.)

66