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30 THE NEW YORK TIMES
CURRENT HISTORY
A MONTHLY MAGAZINE
THE EUROPEAN WAR
VOLUME I.
From the Beginning to March, 1915 With Index
[Illustration]
NEW YORK THE NEW YORK TIMES COMPANY 1915
Copyright 1914, 1915, By The New York Times Company
CONTENTS
NUMBER I.
WHAT MEN OF LETTERS SAY
Page
COMMON SENSE ABOUT THE WAR 11
_By George Bernard Shaw_
SHAW'S NONSENSE ABOUT BELGIUM 60
_By Arnold Bennett_
BENNETT STATES THE GERMAN CASE 63
_By George Bernard Shaw_
FLAWS IN SHAW'S LOGIC 65
_By Cunninghame Graham_
EDITORIAL COMMENT ON SHAW 66
SHAW EMPTY OF GOOD SENSE 68
_By Christabel Pankhurst_
COMMENT BY READING OF SHAW 73
OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT WILSON 76
_By George Bernard Shaw_
A GERMAN LETTER TO G. BERNARD SHAW 80
_By Herbert Eulenberg_
BRITISH AUTHORS DEFEND ENGLAND'S WAR 82
_With Facsimile Signatures_
THE FOURTH OF AUGUST--EUROPE AT WAR 87
_By H.G. Wells_
IF THE GERMANS RAID ENGLAND 89
_By H.G. Wells_
SIR OLIVER LODGE'S COMMENT 92
WHAT THE GERMAN CONSCRIPT THINKS 93
_By Arnold Bennett_
FELIX ADLER'S COMMENT 95
WHEN PEACE IS SERIOUSLY DESIRED 97
_By Arnold Bennett_
BARRIE AT BAY: WHICH WAS BROWN? 100
_An Interview on the War_
A CREDO FOR KEEPING FAITH 102
_By John Galsworthy_
HARD BLOWS, NOT HARD WORDS 103
_By Jerome K. Jerome_
"AS THEY TESTED OUR FATHERS" 106
_By Rudyard Kipling_
KIPLING AND "THE TRUCE OF THE BEAR" 107
ON THE IMPENDING CRISIS 107
_By Norman Angell_
WHY ENGLAND CAME TO BE IN IT 108
_By Gilbert K. Chesterton_
SOUTH AFRICA'S BOERS AND BRITONS 125
_By H. Rider Haggard_
CAPT. MARK HAGGARD'S DEATH IN BATTLE 128
_By H. Rider Haggard_
AN ANTI-CHRISTIAN WAR 129
_By Robert Bridges_
ENGLISH ARTISTS' PROTEST 130
TO ARMS! 132
_By Sir Arthur Conan Doyle_
CONAN DOYLE ON BRITISH MILITARISM 140
THE NEED OF BEING MERCILESS 144
_By Maurice Maeterlinck_
LETTERS TO DR. NICHOLAS MURRAY BUTLER 146
_By Baron d'Estournelles de Constant_
THE VITAL ENERGIES OF FRANCE 153
_By Henri Bergson_
FRANCE THROUGH ENGLISH EYES 153
_With Rene Bazin's Appreciation_
THE SOLDIER OF 1914 156
_By Rene Doumic_
GERMANY'S CIVILIZED BARBARISM 160
_By Emile Boutroux_
THE GERMAN RELIGION OF DUTY 170
_By Gabriele Reuter_
A LETTER TO GERHART HAUPTMANN 174
_By Romain Rolland_
A REPLY TO ROLLAND 175
_By Gerhart Hauptmann_
ANOTHER REPLY TO ROLLAND 176
_By Karl Wolfskehl_
ARE WE BARBARIANS? 178
_By Gerhart Hauptmann_
TO AMERICANS FROM A GERMAN FRIEND 180
_By Ludwig Fulda_
APPEAL TO THE CIVILIZED WORLD 185
_By Professors of Germany_
APPEAL OF THE GERMAN UNIVERSITIES 187
REPLY TO THE GERMAN PROFESSORS 188
_By British Scholars_
CONCERNING THE GERMAN PROFESSORS 192
_By Frederic Harrison_
THE REPLY FROM FRANCE 194
_By M. Yves Guyot and Prof Bellet_
TO AMERICANS IN GERMANY 198
_By Prof. Adolf von Harnack_
A REPLY TO PROF. HARNACK 201
_By Some British Theologians_
PROF. HARNACK IN REBUTTAL 203
THE CAUSES OF THE WAR 206
_By Theodore Niemeyer_
COMMENT BY DR. MAX WALTER 208
NUMBER II.
WHO BEGAN THE WAR AND WHY?
SPEECHES BY KAISER WILHELM II. 210
THE MIGHTY FATE OF EUROPE 219
_As Interpreted by Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg,
German Imperial Chancellor._
AUSTRIA-HUNGARY'S VERSION OF THE WAR 226
_By Kaiser Frawz Josef and Count Berchtold_
A GERMAN REVIEW OF THE EVIDENCE 228
_Certified by Dr. Bernhard Dernburg, German ex-Colonial
Secretary_
"TRUTH ABOUT GERMANY" 244
_Attested by Thirty-four German Dignitaries_
SPECULATIONS ABOUT PEACE, SEPTEMBER, 1914 273
_Report by James W. Gerard, American Ambassador at Berlin, to
President Wilson._
FIRST WARNINGS OF EUROPE'S PERIL 277
_Speeches by British Ministers_
GREAT BRITAIN'S MOBILIZATION 294
_Measures Taken Throughout the Empire Upon the Outbreak of War_
SUMMONS OF THE NATION TO ARMS 308
_British People Roused by Their Leaders_
TEACHINGS OF GEN. VON BERNHARDI 343
_By Viscount Bryce_
ENTRANCE OF FRANCE INTO THE WAR 350
_By President Poincare and Premier Viviani_
RUSSIA TO HER ENEMY 358
"THE FACTS ABOUT BELGIUM" 365
_Statement Issued by the Belgian Legation at Washington_
BELGO-BRITISH PLOT ALLEGED BY GERMANY 369
_Statement Issued by German Embassy at Washington, Oct. 13._
ATROCITIES OF THE WAR 374
BOMBARDMENT OF RHEIMS CATHEDRAL 392
_Protest Issued to Neutral Powers from French Foreign Office,
Bordeaux, Sept. 21._
THE SOCIALISTS' PART 397
NUMBER III.
WHAT AMERICANS SAY TO EUROPE
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF CIVILIZATION 413
_Argued by James M. Beck_
CRITICS DISPUTE MR. BECK 431
DEFENSE OF THE DUAL ALLIANCE--REPLY 438
_By Dr. Edmund von Mach_
WHAT GLADSTONE SAID ABOUT BELGIUM 448
_By George Louis Beer_
FIGHT TO THE BITTER END 451
_An Interview with Andrew Carnegie_
WOMAN AND WAR--"Shot, Tell His Mother" (Poem) 458
_By W.E.P. French, Captain, U.S. Army_
THE WAY TO PEACE 459
_An Interview with Jacob H. Schiff_
PROF. MATHER ON MR. SCHIFF 464
THE ELIOT-SCHIFF LETTERS 465
_By Jacob H. Schiff and Charles W. Eliot_
LA CATHEDRALE (Poem Translated by Frances C. Fay) 472
_By Edmond Rostand_
PROBABLE CAUSES AND OUTCOME OF THE WAR 473
_Series of Five Letters by Charles W. Eliot,
with Related Correspondence_
THE LORD OF HOSTS (Poem) 501
_By Joseph B. Gilder_
A WAR OF DISHONOR 502
_By David Starr Jordan_
MIGHT OR RIGHT 503
_By John Grier Hibben_
JEANNE D'ARC--1914 (Poem) 506
_By Alma Durant Nicholson_
THE KAISER AND BELGIUM (With controversial letters) 507
_By John W. Burgess_
AMERICA'S PERIL IN JUDGING GERMANY 515
_By William M. Sloane_
POSSIBLE PROFITS FROM WAR 526
_Interview with Franklin H. Giddings_
"TO AMERICANS LEAVING GERMANY" 533
_A German Circular_
GERMAN DECLARATIONS 534
_By Rudolf Eucken and Ernst Haeckel_
THE EUCKEN AND HAECKEL CHARGES 537
_By John Warbeke_
CONCERNING GERMAN CULTURE 541
_By Brander Matthews_
CULTURE VS. KULTUR 543
_By Frank Jewett Mather, Jr._
THE TRESPASS IN BELGIUM 545
_By John Grier Hibben_
APPORTIONING THE BLAME 548
_By Arthur v. Briesen_
PARTING (Poem) 553
_By Louise von Wetter_
FRENCH HATE AND ENGLISH JEALOUSY 554
_By Kuno Francke_
IN DEFENSE OF AUSTRIA 559
_By Baron L. Hengelmuller_
RUSSIAN ATROCITIES 563
_By George Haven Putnam_
"THE UNITED STATES OF EUROPE" 565
_Interview with Nicholas Murray Butler_
A NEW WORLD MAP 571
_By Wilhelm Ostwald_
THE VERDICT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 573
_By Newell Dwight Hillis_
TIPPERARY (Poem) 581
_By John B. Kennedy_
AS AMERICA SEES THE WAR 582
_By Harold Begbie_
TO MELOS, POMEGRANATE ISLE (Poem) 587
_By Grace Harriet Macurdy_
WHAT AMERICA CAN DO 588
_By Lord Channing of Wellingborough_
TO A COUSIN GERMAN (Poem) 593
_By Adeline Adams_
WHAT THE ECONOMIC EFFECTS MAY BE 594
_By Irving Fisher_
EFFECTS OF WAR ON AMERICA 600
_By Roland G. Usher_
GERMANY OF THE FUTURE 605
_Interview with M. de Lapredelle_
GERMANY THE AGGRESSOR 609
_By Albert Sauveur_
MILITARISM AND CHRISTIANITY 610
_By Lyman Abbott_
VIGIL (Poem) 612
_By Hortense Flexner_
NIETZSCHE AND GERMAN CULTURE 613
_By Abraham Solomon_
BELGIUM'S BITTER NEED 614
_By Sir Gilbert Parker_
NUMBER IV.
THE WAR AT CLOSE QUARTERS
SIR JOHN FRENCH'S OWN STORY 619
_Famous Dispatches of the
British Commander in Chief to Lord Kitchener_
STORY OF THE "EYE WITNESS" 650
_By Col. E.D. Swinton of the Intelligence
Department of the British General Staff_
THE DAWN OF A NEW DAY (Poem) 678
_By Edward Neville Vose_
THE GERMAN ENTRY INTO BRUSSELS (With Map) 679
_By John Boon_
THE FALL OF ANTWERP 682
_By a Correspondent of The London
Daily Chronicle_
AS THE FRENCH FELL BACK ON PARIS 689
_By G.H. Perris_
THE RETREAT TO PARIS 691
_By Philip Gibbs_
A ZOUAVE'S STORY 704
_By Philip Gibbs_
WHEN WAR BURST ON ARRAS 707
_By a Special Correspondent_
THE BATTLES IN BELGIUM (With Map) 711
_By The Associated Press_
SEEKING WOUNDED ON BATTLE FRONT 714
_By Philip Gibbs_
AT THE KAISER'S HEADQUARTERS 718
_By Cyril Brown of The New York Times_
HOW THE BELGIANS FIGHT 725
_By a Correspondent of The London Daily News_
A VISIT TO THE FIRING LINE IN FRANCE 727
_By a Correspondent of The New York Times_
UNBURIED DEAD STREW LORRAINE (With Map) 729
_By Philip Gibbs_
ALONG THE GERMAN LINES NEAR METZ 731
_By The Associated Press_
THE SLAUGHTER IN ALSACE 736
_By John H. Cox_
RENNENKAMPF ON THE RUSSIAN BORDER 738
_By a Correspondent of The London
Daily Chronicle_
THE FIRST FIGHT AT LODZ (With Map) 740
_By Perceval Gibbon_
THE FIRST INVASION OF SERBIA (With Map) 742
_By a Correspondent of The London Standard_
THE ATTACK ON TSING-TAU 745
_By Jefferson Jones_
THE GERMAN ATTACK ON TAHITI 748
_As Told by Miss Geni La France, an Eyewitness_
THE BLOODLESS CAPTURE OF GERMAN SAMOA 749
_By Malcolm Ross, F.R.G.S._
HOW THE CRESSY SANK 752
_By Edgar Rowan_
GERMAN STORY OF THE HELIGOLAND FIGHT 754
_By a Special Correspondent of The New York Times_
THE SINKING OF THE CRESSY AND THE HOGUE 755
_By the Senior Surviving Officers,
Commander Bertram W.L. Nicholson and
Commander Reginald A. Norton_
THE SINKING OF THE HAWKE 757
_By a Correspondent of The London
Daily Chronicle_
THE EMDEN'S LAST FIGHT 758
_By the Cable Operator at Cocos Islands_
CROWDS SEE THE NIGER SINK 760
_By a Correspondent of The London
Daily Chronicle_
LIEUTENANT WEDDIGEN'S OWN STORY 762
_By Herbert B. Swope and Capt. Lieut. Otto
Weddigen_
THE SOLILOQUY OF AN OLD SOLDIER (Poem) 764
_By O.C.A. Child_
THE EFFECTS OF WAR IN FOUR COUNTRIES 765
_By Irvin S. Cobb_
HOW PARIS DROPPED GAYETY 767
_By Anne Rittenhouse_
PARIS IN OCTOBER 770
_From The London Times_
FRANCE AND ENGLAND AS SEEN IN WAR TIME 772
_Interview with F. Hopkinson Smith_
THE HELPLESS VICTIMS 776
_By Mrs. Nina Larrey Duryee_
A NEW RUSSIA MEETS GERMANY 777
_By Perceval Gibbon_
BELGIAN CITIES GERMANIZED 780
_By Cyril Brown of The New York Times_
THE BELGIAN RUIN 786
_By J.H. Whitehouse, M.P._
THE WOUNDED SERB 788
_From The London Times_
SPY ORGANIZATION IN ENGLAND 790
_British Home Office Communication_
CHRONOLOGY OF THE WAR 793
THE MEN OF THE EMDEN (Poem) 816
_By Thomas R. Ybarra_
NUMBER V.
THE NEW RUSSIA SPEAKS
AN APPEAL BY RUSSIAN AUTHORS, ARTISTS AND ACTORS 817
_With Their Signatures_
RUSSIA IN LITERATURE 819
_By British Men of Letters_
RUSSIA AND EUROPE'S WAR 821
_By Paul Vinogradoff_
RUSSIAN APPEAL FOR THE POLES 825
_By A. Konovalov of the Russian Duma_
I AM FOR PEACE (Poem) 826
_By Lurana Sheldon_
UNITED RUSSIA 827
_By Peter Struve_
PRINCE TRUBETSKOI'S APPEAL TO RUSSIANS 830
_To Help the Polish Victims of War_
HOW PROHIBITION CAME TO RUSSIA 831
_An Interview with the Reformer Tchelisheff_
INFLUENCE OF THE WAR UPON RUSSIAN INDUSTRY 834
_By the Russian Ministry of Commerce_
DECLARATION OF THE RUSSIAN INDUSTRIAL INTERESTS 835
A RUSSIAN FINANCIAL AUTHORITY ON THE WAR 836
_By Prof. Migoulin_
PROPOSED INTERNAL LOANS OF RUSSIA 837
(_Prof. Migoulin's Plan_)
HOW RUSSIAN MANUFACTURERS FEEL 838
_Digested from Russkia Vedomosti_
NEW SOURCES OF REVENUE NEEDED 839
_By A. Sokolov_
OUR RUSSIAN ALLY 840
_By Sir Donald Mackenzie Wallace_
CONFISCATION OF GERMAN PATENTS 849
_By the Russian Ministry of Commerce_
A RUSSIAN INCOME TAX 850
_Proposed by the Ministry of Finance_
TOOLS OF THE RUSSIAN JUGGERNAUT 851
_By M.J. Bonn_
FATE OF THE JEWS IN POLAND 854
_By Georg Brandes_
COMMERCIAL TREATIES AFTER THE WAR 863
_By P. Maslov_
PHOTOGRAPHIC REVIEW OF THE WAR 865
_48 War Pictures Printed in Rotogravure_
PATRIOTISM AND ENDURANCE 913
_The Pastoral Letter of Cardinal D.J. Mercier,
Archbishop of Malines_
APPEAL TO AMERICA FOR BELGIUM (Poem) 924
_By Thomas Hardy_
WITH THE GERMAN ARMY 925
_By Cyril Brown_
STORY OF THE MAN WHO FIRED ON RHEIMS CATHEDRAL 928
RICHARD HARDING DAVIS'S COMMENT 931
THE GERMAN AIRMEN 932
GERMAN GENERALS TALK OF THE WAR 934
SWIFT REVERSAL TO BARBARISM 939
_By Vance Thompson_
CIVIL LIFE IN BERLIN 943
_From The London Times_
BELGIAN BOY TELLS STORY OF AERSCHOT 945
_From The New York Times_
THE NEUTRALS (Poem) 948
_By Beatrice Barry_
FIFTEEN MINUTES ON THE YSER 949
_From The New York Times_
SEEING NIEUPORT UNDER SHELL FIRE 951
_From The New York Times_
RAID ON SCARBOROUGH SEEN FROM A WINDOW 954
_By Ruth Kauffmann_
HOW THE BARONESS HID HER HUSBAND ON A VESSEL 956
_From The New York Times_
WARSAW SWAMPED WITH REFUGEES 957
_By H.W. Bodkinson_
AFTER THE RUSSIAN ADVANCE IN GALICIA 958
_From The London Times_
OFFICER IN BATTLE HAD LITTLE FEELING 959
_By The Associated Press_
THE BATTLE OF NEW YEAR'S DAY 961
_By Perceval Gibbon_
BASS'S STORY 963
_From The New York Times_
THE WASTE OF GERMAN LIVES 964
_By Perceval Gibbon_
THE FLIGHT INTO SWITZERLAND 966
_By Ethel Therese Hugh_
ONCE FAIR BELGRADE IS A SKELETON CITY 969
_From The New York Times_
LETTERS AND DIARIES 971
_A Group of Soldiers' Letters_
"CHANT OF HATE AGAINST ENGLAND" 984
_How Ernst Lissauer's Lines were
"Sung to Pieces" in Germany_
ANSWERING THE "CHANT OF HATE" 988
_By Beatrice M. Barry_
ENGLAND CAUSED THE WAR 989
_By T. von Bethmann-Hollweg, German
Imperial Chancellor_
A SONG OF THE SIEGE GUN (Poem) 992
_By Katharine Drayton Mayrant Simons, Jr._
WHY ENGLAND FIGHTS GERMANY 993
_By Hilaire Belloc_
AT THE VILLA ACHILLEION, CORFU (Poem) 999
_By H.T. Sudduth_
GERMANY'S STRATEGIC RAILWAYS (With Map) 1000
_By Walter Littlefield_
GLORY OF WAR (Poem) 1004
_By Adeline Adams_
CHRONOLOGY OF THE WAR 1007
NUMBER VI.
THE CALDRON OF THE BALKANS
HOW TURKEY WENT TO WAR 1025
SERBIA AND HER NEIGHBORS 1036
LITTLE MONTENEGRO SPEAKS 1043
BULGARIA'S ATTITUDE 1044
GREECE'S WATCHFUL WAITING 1050
WHERE RUMANIA STANDS IN THE CRISIS 1054
EXIT ALBANIA? 1062
THE WAR IN THE BALKANS 1068
_By A.T. Polyzoides_
THE EUROPEAN WAR AS SEEN BY CARTOONISTS 1073
GERMANY VS. BELGIUM 1101
_Case of the Secret Military Documents
Presented by Both Sides_
THE BIG AND THE GREAT (Poem) 1114
_By William Archer_
"FROM THE BODY OF THIS DEATH" (Poem) 1119
_By Sidney Low_
"A SCRAP OF PAPER" 1120
_By Chancellor von Bethmann-Hollweg
and Sir Edward Grey_
THE KAISER AT DONCHERY 1125
_By The Associated Press_
HAIL! A HYMN TO BELGIUM (Music by F.H. Cowen) 1126
_By John Galsworthy_
HOLLAND'S FUTURE (With Map) 1128
_By H.G. Wells_
FRENCH OFFICIAL REPORT ON GERMAN ATROCITIES 1133
A FRENCH MAYOR'S PUNISHMENT 1163
_By The Associated Press_
WE WILL FIGHT TO THE END 1164
_By Premier Viviani of France_
_NUITS BLANCHES_ 1166
_By H.S. Haskins_
UNCONQUERED FRANCE 1167
_From the Bulletin Francais_
FOUR MONTHS OF WAR (With Map) 1169
_From the Bulletin des Armees_
LONG LIVE THE ALLIES! 1174
_By Claude Monet_
UNITED STATES FAIR TO ALL 1175
_By William J. Bryan,
American Secretary of State_
THE HOUSE WITH SEALED DOORS (Poem) 1183
_By Edith M. Thomas_
SEIZURES OF AMERICAN CARGOES 1184
_By William J. Bryan,
American Secretary of State_
GERMAN CROWN PRINCE TO AMERICA 1187
_By The Associated Press_
THE OFFICIAL BRITISH EXPLANATION 1188
_By Sir Edward Grey_
ITALY AND THE WAR (With Map) 1192
_By William Roscoe Thayer_
HE HEARD THE BUGLES CALLING (Poem) 1198
_By Carey C.D. Briggs_
GERMAN SOLDIERS WRITE HOME 1199
WAR CORRESPONDENCE 1207
THE BROKEN ROSE (TO KING ALBERT) 1210
_By Annie Vivanti Chartres_
THE HEROIC LANGUAGE (Poem) 1216
_By Alice Meynell_
CHRONOLOGY OF THE WAR 1224
TO HIS MAJESTY KING ALBERT (Poem) 1228
_By William Watson_
[Illustration: GEORGE BERNARD SHAW]
[Illustration: ARNOLD BENNETT. _See Page_ 60]
"Common Sense About the War"
By George Bernard Shaw.
I.
"_Let a European war break out--the war, perhaps, between the
Triple Alliance and the Triple Entente, which so many journalists
and politicians in England and Germany contemplate with criminal
levity. If the combatants prove to be equally balanced, it may,
after the first battles, smoulder on for thirty years. What will be
the population of London, or Manchester, or Chemnitz, or Bremen, or
Milan, at the end of it_?" ("The Great Society," by Graham Wallas.
June, 1914.)
(_Copyright, 1914, By The New York Times Company._)
The time has now come to pluck up courage and begin to talk and write
soberly about the war. At first the mere horror of it stunned the more
thoughtful of us; and even now only those who are not in actual contact
with or bereaved relation to its heartbreaking wreckage can think sanely
about it, or endure to hear others discuss it coolly. As to the
thoughtless, well, not for a moment dare I suggest that for the first
few weeks they were all scared out of their wits; for I know too well
that the British civilian does not allow his perfect courage to be
questioned; only experienced soldiers and foreigners are allowed the
infirmity of fear. But they certainly were--shall I say a little upset?
They felt in that solemn hour that England was lost if only one single
traitor in their midst let slip the truth about anything in the
universe. It was a perilous time for me. I do not hold my tongue easily;
and my inborn dramatic faculty and professional habit as a playwright
prevent me from taking a one-sided view even when the most probable
result of taking a many-sided one is prompt lynching. Besides, until
Home Rule emerges from its present suspended animation, I shall retain
my Irish capacity for criticising England with something of the
detachment of a foreigner, and perhaps with a certain slightly malicious
taste for taking the conceit out of her. Lord Kitchener made a mistake
the other day in rebuking the Irish volunteers for not rallying faster
to the defense of "their country." They do not regard it as their
country yet. He should have asked them to come forward as usual and help
poor old England through a stiff fight. Then it would have been all
right.
Having thus frankly confessed my bias, which you can allow for as a
rifleman allows for the wind, I give my views for what they are worth.
They will be of some use; because, however blinded I may be by prejudice
or perversity, my prejudices in this matter are not those which blind
the British patriot, and therefore I am fairly sure to see some things
that have not yet struck him.
And first, I do not see this war as one which has welded Governments and
peoples into complete and sympathetic solidarity as against the common
enemy. I see the people of England united in a fierce detestation and
defiance of the views and acts of Prussian Junkerism. And I see the
German people stirred to the depths by a similar antipathy to English
Junkerism, and anger at the apparent treachery and duplicity of the
attack made on them by us in their extremest peril from France and
Russia. I see both nations duped, but alas! not quite unwillingly duped,
by their Junkers and Militarists into wreaking on one another the wrath
they should have spent in destroying Junkerism and Militarism in their
own country. And I see the Junkers and Militarists of England and
Germany jumping at the chance they have longed for in vain for many
years of smashing one another and establishing their own oligarchy as
the dominant military power in the world. No doubt the heroic remedy for
this tragic misunderstanding is that both armies should shoot their
officers and go home to gather in their harvests in the villages and
make a revolution in the towns; and though this is not at present a
practicable solution, it must be frankly mentioned, because it or
something like it is always a possibility in a defeated conscript army
if its commanders push it beyond human endurance when its eyes are
opening to the fact that in murdering its neighbours it is biting off
its nose to vex its face, besides riveting the intolerable yoke of
Militarism and Junkerism more tightly than ever on its own neck. But
there is no chance--or, as our Junkers would put it, no danger--of our
soldiers yielding to such an ecstasy of common sense. They have enlisted
voluntarily; they are not defeated nor likely to be; their
communications are intact and their meals reasonably punctual; they are
as pugnacious as their officers; and in fighting Prussia they are
fighting a more deliberate, conscious, tyrannical, personally insolent,
and dangerous Militarism than their own. Still, even for a voluntary
professional army, that possibility exists, just as for the civilian
there is a limit beyond which taxation, bankruptcy, privation, terror,
and inconvenience cannot be pushed without revolution or a social
dissolution more ruinous than submission to conquest. I mention all
this, not to make myself wantonly disagreeable, but because military
persons, thinking naturally that there is nothing like leather, are now
talking of this war as likely to become a permanent institution like the
Chamber of Horrors at Madame Tussaud's, forgetting, I think, that the
rate of consumption maintained by modern military operations is much
greater relatively to the highest possible rate of production
maintainable under the restrictions of war time than it has ever been
before.
*The Day of Judgment.*
The European settlement at the end of the war will be effected, let us
hope, not by a regimental mess of fire-eaters sitting around an up-ended
drum in a vanquished Berlin or Vienna, but by some sort of Congress in
which all the Powers (including, very importantly, the United States of
America) will be represented. Now I foresee a certain danger of our
being taken by surprise at that Congress, and making ourselves
unnecessarily difficult and unreasonable, by presenting ourselves to it
in the character of Injured Innocence. We shall not be accepted in that
character. Such a Congress will most certainly regard us as being, next
to the Prussians (if it makes even that exception), the most quarrelsome
people in the universe. I am quite conscious of the surprise and scandal
this anticipation may cause among my more highminded (_hochnaesig_, the
Germans call it) readers. Let me therefore break it gently by
expatiating for a while on the subject of Junkerism and Militarism
generally, and on the history of the literary propaganda of war between
England and Potsdam which has been going on openly for the last forty
years on both sides. I beg the patience of my readers during this
painful operation. If it becomes unbearable, they can always put the
paper down and relieve themselves by calling the Kaiser Attila and Mr.
Keir Hardie a traitor twenty times or so. Then they will feel, I hope,
refreshed enough to resume. For, after all, abusing the Kaiser or Keir
Hardie or me will not hurt the Germans, whereas a clearer view of the
political situation will certainly help us. Besides, I do not believe
that the trueborn Englishman in his secret soul relishes the pose of
Injured Innocence any more than I do myself. He puts it on only because
he is told that it is respectable.
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