The Audacious War | Page 9

and order.
This is entirely outside the German conception. In the German
conception a government comes down from above and not up from the
people. It is not the people who rule or govern, but the government
from above rules the people, and the people must implicitly follow and
obey; thus is national progress and human progress. The whole of
Germany believes in the government of the Kaiser: that law and war
flow down through him and that neither can be questioned by the

individual. Obedience, union, efficiency, progress, and progress
through war, if necessary, are cardinal virtues.
Germany does not desire war with Russia, but German progress
requires the continuance of present tariff relations, and if war is a
means to that desirable end, war is divine.
The murder of the Crown Prince of Austria was an incident furnishing
Germany and Austria opportunity to carry out their long-conceived
programme for the extension of their influence through the growing
state of Servia.
A treaty had been arranged between Greece and Turkey, and was to
have been signed in July, which would have settled many things in
respect to Turkey and the Balkan states. Roumania and Servia were in
agreement concerning this great measure for peace in southeastern
Europe.
When all was ready for the final conference and the signatures, Austria
intervened and announced her opposition. Then suddenly followed the
bombshell of the ultimatum to Servia, timed at the precise moment to
stop the signing of this Turkish treaty.
Austrian officials admitted privately as follows, and I have it directly
from parties to the negotiations:--
"We are satisfied that Servia would punish the murderers of Prince
Ferdinand if we so requested. We are satisfied she would apologize to
Austria if we requested it. But our aims go beyond. We demand that
instead of the proposed Turkish treaty the Balkan states shall come into
union with Turkey under the influence of Austria. To accomplish this
we must accept no apology, but must punish Servia. We are satisfied
that Russia is in no financial or military position to interfere."
Germany with its enormous spy system had secured copies of the
confidential state papers of the Czar and transmitted them to Vienna. In
these were warnings, statistics, and compilations showing all the
financial and military weaknesses of Russia: that her great gold reserve

had been largely loaned out and was not available cash on hand, as the
world had been led to believe; that it would take eighteen months more
of preparation to place her military forces in position to defend the
country; that her arms and the factories to build them were not ready.
The plans of Austria and Germany were to line up the Balkan states,
under German political and trade influences, and then within two years
to have it out with Russia and again impose the German tariffs upon
her. If France dared to come in, it would certainly be an attack, and
Italy would, under the Triple Alliance, assist to defend Austria and
Germany. Defeating Russia, Germany could, at that time or later, crush
France in the manner in which Bismarck had said she might eventually
be crushed by Germany for Germany's progress.
Then, having made more onerous tariff treaties with France than were
exacted from her in 1870 and having extended German trade and
military influence over Russia, Germany would be in a position with
her navy to try out the long desired issue with Great Britain for the
control of the seas.
Admiral Von Tirpitz told the emperor that it must be at least two years
more before the German navy would be able to try conclusions with
England.
The German plan was to take the European countries one at a time. The
German information was that every country except Germany was
unprepared, and that information was true. She was fully prepared
except in her navy.
One of the leaders among those great business Lords of England, who
sit with the Commoners in business, but in the House of Lords as
respects legislation, said to me when I spoke of the wonderful
intelligence of Germany in research and data, scientific and political:
"But, don't you think that the Germans had too much information and
too little judgment?"
In other words, they had a stomach full of facts but no capacity to
digest them. They knew as much about Ulster and perhaps more than

London as respects facts and detailed information, but they were in no
position to pass judgment upon Ulster or the unity of the British Empire
the moment there was an attack from the outside. The Germans have
dealt in materialistic facts. But with the spirit that moulds and makes
history they are all awry. With the Germans, individuals are units and
are counted from the outside, never from