"'•'-^■('^ ''Mm-. ^^/ •^'- ^w" -'At ''--^^'' ^^v^^'^ •**^Ste'- "^ ^"^ y^dHk'' \s^<.^ -^M'' \ ^^ A <^ 'o\?* 0*- '^^ *>5^\a <. 'f. »" .&*• '^ /'^\/ "°^'^-'/ *<5.'-^\/ 'V^ ^ /^%. '^^S ^^^^-^ "-w^** /^%. ^^^*" ^^%^ r»^ . o ■ • • • • ' x^ ■^**. ' • * A"^ .0 o > ^^ '^^^^ \.*''^^\<^^;«. >^ A-ft- ^vO'i'^ .'^^ .*4 J" .. %''•••'.< INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE .TAMKS W. GERAItn. AMBASSADOR AT BKUT.IN INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE IN THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR BY HERBERT BAYARD SWOPE ILLUSTRATED WITH PHOTOGRAPHS NEW YORK THE CENTURY CO. 1917 33 2^^ Copyright, 1917, by / The Century Co. Copyright, 1916, by The Press Publishing Co. (Tbb New Tobe Wobld) Published, January, 1917 si JAN -8 1917 TO MY MOTHER FOREWORD Throughout the world there is, and should be, deep interest in the conditions — economic, politi- cal, spiritual and military — under which Ger- many and her allies are sustaining themselves after more than two years of war. The facts and impressions contained in this book, gathered first hand by the author, whose friendship I value and whose professional equip- ment I admire, form an important contribution to contemporaneous history and possess a refer- ential value for the future. 'No subject today is more vital or worthier of serious attention. James W. Gerard, American Ambassador to the German Empire. INTRODUCTORY What of Germany to-day? How does she stand? How are her sons maintaining her far- flung battle-lines? Are her people despairing? Do they expect victory? When do they think the end will come? Do they starve? What of her alhes? What is her attitude towards Amer- ica — ^her dreams of peace — her fears of defeat — her plans for the future? These are a few of the questions I seek to an- swer in this book. They are vital to an under- standing of the condition of the world to-day and even more vital to speculation as to the status of the world to-morrow, for Germany is the key to the future. It will be her hands which will set the clock of peace, according to her strength or her weakness. So, an examination of her posi- tion to-day becomes an inquiry as to the time that peace shall come. "Inside the German Empire" is an effort to set forth objectively the things I saw during a three ix INTRODUCTORY months* trip to that country, which I made in the latter part of 1916. I was fortunate in being af- forded unusual opportunities for observation and the information I gained as a trained reporter, I am presenting here, keeping alwaj^s in mind the duty of a reporter — to be impartial, to be open- minded, and to find the truth. Because the Kaiser's realm is becoming more and more difficult for foreigners to enter, because the rigidity of the censorship has become extreme, because the Allies have interrupted mail and cable correspondence, Germany and the truth about the Germans become less and less known to the world. Therefore these pages may possess a double value: first, as offering an insight into the work- ings of the Germany of to-day; and second, in correcting certain of the evils that have arisen through misunderstanding caused by the lack of free commimication, for nothing is so productive of distrust and suspicion as ignorance. I hope that these papers may prove not with- out value as a contribution to the record of the last phases of the Great War. Not that the end is near — no one but a prophet could make such a pronouncement — but it is evident that Germany INTRODUCTORY and the Central Powers have settled down in plan and preparation to the final lines on which they will march to victory, compromise, or defeat. They are approaching the ultimate of their re- sources and in the utilization thereof, and come what may, their mental, spiritual, and physical attitudes will not be much changed when the end is reached. That is why it is proper to say that Germany to-day is in her last phase. She has called to the fighting line all her material and moral resources and now she awaits the successive moves of those alined against her. I was in France and England at the outbreak of the war, and in Germany during the first four months of the struggle, in the service of my paper, the New York "World." The earlier visit gave me a standard of comparison that enabled me to contrast the picture of the wild exaltation of 1914 with the serious, somber, Germany of to-day. ' Together, the two trips left me, I hope, truly an American and a neutral, but one who, without leanings toward either side, has deep sympathy for both, after having seen, heard and felt the black tragedy that is blocking Civilization's path with millions of dead and wounded. xi INTRODUCTORY Within this book I have tried to tell the story of German energies in the fields most interesting and important to America — the story of the em- pire spirituallj^ and politically, financially and in- dustrially, of her food, of her military, of her sub- ject peoples, of her heroes, of her attitude toward herself, toward her enemies and toward the rest of the world — in short, the story of her strengths and weaknesses. And I have added scattering notes of fugitive impressions and random facts that may help to give life, color, and detail. Tliis volume is based upon a series of articles I wrote for "The World," and I am grateful to Mr. Ralph Pulitzer of that paper for permission to use the material in this form, and for the encour- agement that he and others of my friends gave me to beheve that the work has value as a record of the present and a reference for the future. My especial thanks are due to Lewis Stiles Gannett for his assistance in the preparation and revision of the manuscript. Herbert Bayard Swope. New York, January 1, 1917. xu CONTEXTS PAGE CHAPTER I. The Foue Ways Towaed Peace 3 Prospect of immediate peace small — Unwillingness to guarantee re-establishment of Belgimn or to re-cede Alsace-Lorraine — Four ways out seen: (1) By complete defeat of Allies; (2) By complete defeat of Germany; (3) By compromise; (4) By liberalization of German Empire — First two not seriously considered — Hope of Russian defection to German side — Germany-Russia- Japan: a "Dreibund of discontent" — An end to govern- ment by divine right — The lack of a national hope — Germans ready to make peace on basis of what they have done; Allies of what they hope to do — The fear of the coming accounting keeps peace from becoming an actuality. CHAPTER II. The Wae's Objectives as Ger- MAXY Sees Theji 18 Germans living in the present — An official statement of the objectives as visualized in the Empire, approved by Zimmermann and read by Bethmann-Hollweg — "Germany fighting for existence" — "Seeks territorial changes only as safeguards to Germany's security" — "Allies frankly avow plans of conquest" — England accused of war of destruction — "Belgium to be safeguarded in safeguarding Germany" — "Commercial expansion to East required" — "English navalism, starving non-combatants and neutrals, a greater menace than German militarism" — ^"British fight to destroy Germany but talk of freedom" — "Ger- many wants no such freedom as England gives Ireland." CHAPTER III. "Peace with Honor" vs. A "German Peace" 29 No definite peace plan in Germany — Peace-at-any- xiii CONTENTS PAGE price sentiment almost totally absent — Even Socialists want "peace with honor" — Some still hope for "German peace" — What that means — Little miderstanding of world-peace plans — The liberal wing, opposing ruthless U-boat campaign and seeking "peace witii honor," grow- ing in strength — This war fought for the House of Haps- burg — Germans believe England may hold Calais and that France may become a monarchy — Germans almost pity France, and are changing attitude toward England — France "bled white" they say, by England — Time fights for Allies, but the Germans are still firm. CHAPTER IV. Liberalizing Germany . . 39 The old motto "siegen" replaced by a new: "durch- halten" — Kaiser Wilhelm reads signs of the times and approves liberalization — Fear that immediate democrati- zation would be hailed as victory by Allies — No dynastic overthrow planned — Germans hold to monarchical system — Excellenz Zimmermann, Foreign Secretary and strong man of the cabinet, discusses the impending change — Real body of reformation to come after war is over — Germany has outgrown its political swaddling-clothes — A Government directly responsible through the Reichstag to the people, planned — How the leaders in Germany view the change. CHAPTER V. The Spirit of the Belea- guered Empire • .57 Germany sobered to-day — Calls herself a "beleaguered fortress" and establishes "Burgfriede" — ^Junkerthum vio- lates the political truce— Dream of German super-state forgotten — Necessity of tlie war doubted — Some conserv- atives prefer destruction of Germany to its democratiza- tion — Kaiser's prestige great — Censorship used to burke criticism — Germany's "reptile press" and her belief in the venality of foreign papers — The Jewish question — The women — Spread of autocratic Socialism — The strain of life in Germany to-day. xiv CONTENTS PAGE CHAPTER VI. German Hatred of America: Its Causes 70 German hate for England expressed in fighting; that for America has no outlet — America held to blame for German reverses — Grounds for German hate: (1) Ex- port of mimitions; (2) British blockade, not stopped by America; (3) Interference with mails; (4) Commercial blacklist; (5) President Wilson's submarine doctrine — "American neutrality toward Germany is of the head; that toward the Allies is of the heart," says Jagow — Be- lief in loyalty of German-Americans to the Kaiser — American attaches barred from the front — Ambassador Gerard's retort to an official — Commercial hostility. CHAPTER VII. The Menace of the U-Boat 79 Export of munitions declared legally right but morally wrong — Success of the German submarines — The internal crisis hinging on the submarine issue — Resumption of ruthless U-boat war inevitable unless peace comes soon — Strength of the opposition — What a diplomatic break would mean — The lesson of the U-53 — Estrangement heightened by difficulties of communication — The Paris Conference plans directed against the U. S.? — Will the hatred be permanent? CHAPTER VIII. Germany and the American President 91 Wilson personifies America to Germany, so hate cen- ters on him — Ambassador Gerard shares the hostility though officials respect him — ^Yet Germany willing to accept Wilson as mediator — Germans favored Hughes because they wanted to punish Wilson — Harden the only German to praise Wilson. CHAPTER IX. America Through German Eyes 97 How a pamphlet of enormous circulation treats of Americans — "In spirit genuine Englishmen" — "America XV CONTENTS PAGE fears Germany; that is why she hates her" — ^"America will be in economically advantageous position after the war" — "Puritanically hypocritical" — "Obsequious to Eng- lish Lords" — How an American writer did not get his name — "Monroe Doctrine has been despised by all the great powers except Germany" — How Germans view our Anglo-Saxon morality" — ^Why "republics must always fail" — "A tyranny of dollars" — "A history which tells of nothing but the lust for gain." CHAPTER X. Barking the Spies from the Empire 109 Doors locked against travelers — ^Strangers closely ob- served — Investigations before Americans leave United States, on arrival in neutral country, and at the border — The search at the frontier — The eleven steps in pro- curing a passport to leave — The remarkably educated waiters in the foreigners' hotels — The telephone operator who took a taxi to the races — Spies watch Germany's allies too — German agents on the transatlantic liners — German mails via submarines to Spain; thence out un- censored. CHAPTER XI. The Hobgoblin of German Dumping 127 Germany fosters combination — The necessity for in- ternal economic readjustment — Prohibition of emigration — Alfred Lohraann, father of the commercial U-boats, says Germany is in no condition to seek foreign markets — American exports and imports to and from Germany — Shipbuilding only obvious preparation for future, but reports exaggerated for foreign eflfect — American firms in Germany doing well — Lack of raw materials in Ger- many — Impairment of German credit. CHAPTER XII. Business Behind the Battle Line 138 Central purchasing and distributing bureaus for food and other necessaries fundamental to Germany's present xvi CONTENTS PAGE economic organization — The Imperial Transition Commis- sion — Price dictation — No repudiation of debts expected — The German war loo.ns and how they are floated — "The strategy of the check-book" — Autocratic Socialism — Germany's national wealth and that of the Allies — Low rate of unemployment — Increased number of in- dustrial laborers— Production of iron — Freight revenues greater than in time of peace — ^The gold reserve in the Reichsbank — Loans floated at home — The rate of ex- change — The Reichsbank's watch on waste — Tlie Labor Dictatorship and the civilian army of woi*k — Operation of the "Man-Power" Act — The German idea of democ- racy — "Women to the front." CHAPTER XIII. Germany's Pantry: Feed- ing Seve:nty Millions 162 Germany not starving — Organized to secure sufficient and equitable distribution — Prepared even if war last a decade — Present rations based on worst crop in twenty years — Easier to buy luxuries than necessaries — What is scarce — Living on the card system — The Central Pur- chasing Bureaus — Women and prisoners at work on the farms — The supply of meat — Present prices — Food in the hotels and restaurants — The crop of 1916 — Possibility of starvation past — The soup kitchens. CHAPTER XIV. Germany's Backbone: Her Army 178 German belief in the invincibility of her armies — Grounds for German confidence — Military secrecy — Over half a million new soldiers every year — Her gross mili- tary strength — The German losses, temporary and perma- nent — The number of prisoners in Germany — Territory occupied — General Freytag-Loringhoven on the Somme campaign — French soldiers better than the English, he says — The impasse in the west — German desire for a "Bewegwuigs-krieg." xvii CONTENTS PAGE CHAPTER XV. On the Somme: Ordeal by Battle 195 The soldiers in the front line — Courtesy among the aviators — "English have not won enough ground to bury their dead," says German general — German surprise at English acceptance of conscription — Drain on supplies — Pigeon posts — French villagers behind the front — "Their damned artillery makes it heU" — Von Papen, Boy-Ed, and Dernburg — Zeppelins and what their officers think of them — The German "American-eaters'" — The English hope: that if they cannot break the German line they may break the German heart. CHAPTER XVI. LuDENDOKFP, the Mysteky Man 209 Hindenburg's right hand man — Ludendorff plans and Hindenburg decides — His inscrutability — Has never been interviewed — His fame in Germany — Simple origin — Predestined to be a soldier — Reserved as a child — Rapid advance in the array — His troops first to enter Lifege — Called to aid Hindenburg — The battles in the Masurian swamps — The steam roller in Poland — Second to Hin- denburg in command of aU the German armies — German confidence in him. CHAPTER XVII. Boelcke, Knight of the Air 226 A hero among the Allies and among his own people — Brought down thirty-eight enemy machines before he was killed in collision with a German machine — Aerial chivalry — English take air-war as sport; Germans and French seriously — Boelcke never in America — The fight- ing detachment of the aeroplane corps — German team- work — Boelcke's fighting technique — British say German fliers hang back — How a war correspondent saved two lives — How a captured British flier viewed his confine- ment. xviii CONTENTS PAGE CHAPTER XVIII. Captive Belgium and Northern France 242 Iron heel of conqueror not crushing people — German desire to make country self-supporting — Belgians pas- sive but French pride unbroken — The C. R. B. — Belgian unwillingness to work — 'More food in Belgium to-day than in Germany — Germans pay cash of national coinage — Hatred of the German in Lille awesome — But hatred cannot be kept at razor-edge everywhere — "The Ostend- Dover route — cheapest and quickest route to England" — Germans reducing Belgian illiteracy — German oflScers fear effects of retention of Belgium. CHAPTER XIX. Bleeding Poland and Her Neighbors 261 Poland a no-man's land, left to die— Difficulties of relief work — The Jewish question — The child who spilled the family's soup — The work of the Rockefeller Relief Commission — Preserving the manhood of the prisoners — The menace of tuberculosis^ — Jewish destitution — Chil- dren too weak to learn to walk — German resentment against Americans hampers relief work — The Allies' re- fusal to aid relief on conditions acceptable to Germany — The new Polish Kingdom, the Polish army, and what they mean. CHAPTER XX. Germany's Back Door— Aus- tria-Hungary 276 The Balkanzug from Berlin to Constantinople — Belief that war's decision will come in east — Polyglot Austria a millstone around Germany's neck — Hungarian strength a surprise — Bohemians accused of treachery — Viennese gaiety superficial — No parliament in Austria since the war began — The partition of Austria as predicted by a German — Nothing for Turkey — Francis Joseph's death and its significance — ^The new Emperor, Charles I — Aus- trian plans to prohibit further emigration and to force the return of emigrants now in the United States — xix CONTENTS PAGE Austria necessary to Germany — Strong men of the Dual Empire are Hungarians — No love lost between the two realms — Hungary has borne brunt of the war — Serbian conditions are bettered. CHAPTER XXI. Turkey and the Balkan Caldron 299 Roumania's defection a bitter pill to Germany — Bal- kans the "powder-barrel of the world" — German propa- ganda in the Balkans — Allies help it in Greece — ^Turkey fighting with an ally she dislikes for a future she fears — Turco-German alliance selfish on both sides — Germans indifferent to Turkish fate — Vivid word-picture drawn by American in Turkey — Tells of economic weakness — Of beggars who beg in all languages — That "something" may happen to Enver Bey — Of the coolness toward the Germans — Of the scarcity and price of foods. CHAPTER XXII. The Neutrals and How America Makes Them Possible .... 315 Neutrals "damned if they do and damned if they don't" — Germans believe that were it not for American neutrality that of the smaller nations would have become impossible — Greece starved into submission by the Allies — The countries at war, in war, and neutral — Sweden the only pro-German neutral — Change in Dutch sentiment — Spanish feeling mixed — Swiss think first of their own country — Neutrals resent illegal blockade and mail seiz- ures and believe the United States could stop them — Norway may enter the war — Neutral sympathy with the Allies a blow to German vanity — How Britain regulates neutral trade, and how Sweden defied her — Neutrals warm friends of peace. CHAPTER XXIII. Leaves from a Reporter's Note-Book 330 Young men all at war — The pathetic cab-horses — Electrified taxis — Laughless Germany — Watery beer — XX CONTENTS PAGE The Germans have an "Ersatz" for everything but men — Pleasures taken seriously — Dancing verboten — lEcon- omy in uniforms — Meat "speak-easies" — "Horse mack- erel" in disguise — All dogs at work — Potatoes on the corner-lot — Crossing the North Sea — ^Weighting flour tickets — Changes in newspapers — Housewives instructed when to put up preserves — Saving rags and old paper — Restrictions on communication — Women school-teachers — "Vienna styles" made in Paris — Selling war helmets — Protective coloration in uniforms — Interned civilians — Commandeering the rubber stock — Which boys can ride bicycles — American shells — ^Germany's big men and how she regards them. INDEX 361 sxi LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE James W. Gerard, Ambassador at Berlin Frontispiece " Bethmann-HoUweg, German Chancellor . . .23"^ Dr. Alfred Zimmermann, German Minister of For- eign Affairs 47*^ Kaiser Wilhelm 61 Von Jagow, Ex-German Minister of Foreign Af- fairs 83' Dr. Alfred Lohmann 131" Dr. Karl Helfferich, Secretary of State for the Interior 145'^ General von Hindenburg 185' General von Mackensen 20V General von Ludendorff 215 Boelcke 231^^ General von Bissing, Governor General of Belgium 251" Karl I, Emperor of Austria 279' Count Stefan Tisza of Hungary, Prime Minister . 293 Ferdinand I, King of the Bulgarians .... 305" General von Falkenhayn 343-^ INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE CHAPTER I THE FOUR WAYS TOWARD PEACE Prospect of immediate peace small — Unwillingness to guarantee re- establishment of Belgium or to re-cede Alsace-Lorraine — Four ways out seen: (1) By complete defeat of Allies; (2) By com- plete defeat of Germany; (3) By compromise; (4) By liberal- ization of German Empire — First two not seriously considered — Hope of Russian defection to German side — Germany-Rus- sia-Japau: a "Dreibund of discontent" — An end to government by divine right — ^The lack of a national hope — Germans ready to make peace on basis of what they have done ; Allies of what they hope to do — The fear of the coming accounting keeps peace from becoming an actuality. The desire for peace is strong in Germany, but from top to bottom there is no belief that it is near. German hopes and expectations of the end are indefinite as to time ; the most optimistic can see no real prospects within another two years, and from that period the conjectures run up to ten years. And in their economic and mili- tary planning the Kaiser's subjects are prepar- INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE ing to enact their motto of durchhalten (stick it out) for years to come. A striking illustration of the lack of considera- tion given to the idea of any peace but one "wholly satisfactory to Germany's national as- pirations" is the diplomatic secret that in 1915 and the first half of 1916 no fewer than eleven separate interrogatories were submitted to the German Government as to Belgium. The ques- tion has been asked by the United States, Spain, Denmark, Holland, Sweden, Switzerland, Nor- way, and other neutrals if Germany will give a formal assurance of the restoration of Belgian entity at the end of the war; but not once has this assurance been given, nor has the Govern- ment, in its most affable moments, permitted even inferentially the idea to gain ground that it regarded Belgium's reestablishment according to the status quo ante as an absolutely essential condition of peace. While it is reasonably certain that the prepon- derance of enlightened German opinion favors the reestablishment of Belgium, nevertheless in a statement I prepared for submission to the Chancellor regarding the objectives of the war 4 THE FOUR WAYS TOWARD PEACE (to which I shall refer again) the suggestion that Belgium would be reestablished within her old lines was carefully blue-penciled by an offi- cial acting for the Chancellor. The explana- tion was made that Belgium was, as Kaiser Wil- helm I said in a letter to his empress, a point of weakness in the empire's rear and flank. There- fore Germany must be safeguarded against this danger. At the same time, so runs the German reason- ing, the securance of German safety means the securance of Belgium's welfare. Obviously, this logic would lead to the conclusion that Belgium's greatest secm-ity against the world would be found in being a German state ; and if she is or is not to take on such a condition is precisely the question that Germany will not answer. It is true that the sentiment against annexation in the empire is deeper than the sentiment favoring such a development, but even the anti-annexa- tionists agree that certain changes in boundaries must be made or certain places taken as hostage before Germany can feel secure. As neutral opinion is undivided in its agree- ment with the Allies' proclamation that Belgium 5 INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE must be fully restored, and as the restoration is regarded as an absolute essential to peace, it can be seen how far from peace Germany is holding herself. In addition, France has stated through Briand, and England and the other AlHes have accepted the doctrine, that the irreducible minimum of her peace terms is the acquisition of Alsace-Lor- raine. Against this Germany to a man — and woman — stands opposed with all her soul. "Never," say the Germans to this proposition, "while we have life left as a nation. If peace can come to us on no other terms, then peace will never come so long as one German is left alive." And the vehemence of their assertion leaves no doubt as to their sincerity.. They* rage at the idea. " We shall never surrender the Reichs- land," the Germans say in substance. "If the Allies want the provinces, let them take them. Then they can talk of keeping them; but now, with all of Belgium and a large share of France in our hands, it is laughable to talk of such a thing." Thus at the very outset there are seemingly insurmountable obstacles to peace. How they e THE FOUR WAYS TOWARD PEACE were to be removed was a subject I could bring Germans high or low to talk of only with dif- ficulty. It is one that they do not let them- selves think about often for fear the outlook may take on an even darker hue than it now wears. For they do not delude themselves in Ger- man}^, they do not underestimate the danger of their position ; they know how terrific is the battle being waged against them, and they know, too, that if it is carried to the end, they must lose. They realize this, but they hope that this end may be averted. How this can be they are not sure, for slowly they are realizing that the Allies have no thought of quitting. The logicians in Germany, who are now for the first time shaking off the influence of their personal interest in the outcome and are able to examine the peace thesis objectively, have re- duced the subject to four propositions: Peace can come, they declare: First, through the complete defeat of the Allies by Germany. Second, through the complete defeat of Ger- many by the Allies. INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE Third, through a compromise, and a return in effect to the status quo ante. Fourth, through the liberahzation of the Ger- man Empire. In that fourth proposition Hes the most as- tounding development of the two years of war, and the touch-stone that may yet bring order to chaotic Europe. But to take up the hypotheses in turn. First, Germany to-day nourishes no hope that she can conquer the world — and that is her con- ception of the task she faces. She might be able to accomplish even this titanic labor, her sons say, if she could only bring the war to England. But the North Sea and the British fleet make that impossible, so she has abandoned calculations on this contingency. Second, convinced as she is that she cannot con- quer, she is doubly certain that she cannot and shall not be conquered. To her people defeat means national extermination, and they are fight- ing magnificently because they are fighting for life. Their reasoners say that if peace cannot be adduced from the first proposition, it can never be from the second, short of annihilation, 8 THE FOUR WAYS TOWARD PEACE Third — and this is still a favorite topic of dis- cussion, although in the face of Asquith's, Lloyd George's, and Briand's solemn statements it is almost hoping against hope — peace through com- promise is still held to be a possibility. Perhaps not a likely one if the alinement of the Allies re- mains undisturbed, for then the Germans fear no consideration would be paid to the suggestion of a throwback to former conditions. But what if the alliance of these against us be broken? the Germans ask. What if Russia should turn from enemy into friend? they add. The statesmen of Germany regard this as a con- tingency graced by hope. Not a word do the censors permit to get out on this subject, not a chance does the Government fail to use to deny the possibility ; but despite these subterfuges it is an open secret in German official circles that pos- sible Russian defection from the alliance is a grave factor in the life and death struggle Ger- many is waging. The diplomatic play had been carried so far that in September, 1916, there was a meeting in Stockliolm between secret emissaries from Rus- sia and Germany to confer over the prospects INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE and plan further efforts. In fact, matters had progressed to such a degree that one of the best- known American correspondents in Europe held himself in readiness, on secret information he had received, to go to the Swedish capital in the ex- pectation that matters had progressed to such an extent that publicity might follow. The meet- ing did not reach that point, but the work goes on. There has always been a very strong German influence in Russia, and one that which, Ger- mans believe, can grow stronger at Germany's will; all that is needed is a reduced insistence upon Austrian hegemony in the Balkans and a lesser friendliness to Turkey and Turkish reten- tion of European soil. And as to Russia, apart from what Germany has to give her, as the Germans see it, she is to- day in the role of having everything to lose and nothing to gain. Even if the Czar should get Constantinople, what has he then but an empty thing? the Germans ask ; and they add : As long as Britain holds Gibraltar and the Isthmus of Suez, Russia's possession of Constantinople as a real warm-water port would be a nonentity, since 10 THE FOUR WAYS TOWARD PEACE all she would have is merely a harbor on a lake (the Mediterranean) to which entrance and exit are held by another power which can close them at will. Russia's future lies in near and central Asia, her dreams of world trade through efficient har- borage can be realized only in the Persian Gulf, so runs the German foreign policy; and it goes on to say that Germany's future in Asia can easily be reconciled to that of Russia through her long-cherished plan of gaining the commercial and political ascendancy in Petrograd, and di- recting the exploitation and development of the Russian trade, which is just throwing off its swaddling-clothes. Russia is the German hope, Italy the German disappointment in the war. How far this hope will materialize cannot yet be said; but the hope is vital and one that is being freely mentioned in private official discussions. And if nothing should come of it at this time, it will reappear at the end of the war, if there be a Germany left to call it forth again, when the Germans see them- selves allied with Russia against the world. When the Germans talk of a new alinement of 11 ^ INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE the world powers, and speak of Russia as fight- ing with them, they talk also of Japan as their accessory. The political censors permit no un- kind word to be said about Japan. On the con- trary, such references as have been made have always brought out the fact that Japan is now assuming a negative position in the war. It is an accepted belief in Germany that Japan and Russia have reconciled their differences, and that their futures are bound together, and to this future there are many Germans who believe their country will be a contributory factor. Many of the German intellectuals, and other leaders, such as Professor Delbrueck, Alfred Lohmann, Herr Ballin, and others, who have always stood for a rapprochement with England, now believe that such a course will be impossible for many years to come, and that therefore Ger- many will be forced into an alliance, for military and commercial reasons, with two nations with which she has little of common cultural interest. As one leader of German thought phrased it to me, an alliance between Germany, Russia, and Japan will be a ^'Dreibund of discontent." But from such an alliance they see great possibihties THE FOUR WAYS TOWARD PEACE in that Germany will contribute leadership and system, Russia resources and power, and Japan adaptability and bold enterprise. In a sly way some of those now advocating the ruthless Lusitania type of submarine war- fare, which admittedly is aimed primarily at the United States, believe that their advocacy of this course is a support to the Russo-Japanese coalition, basing their belief on the hostility they fancy exists between America and Japan. Furthermore, they accept the dictum of Tirpitz that sooner or later Germany must fight against the " Anglo- Amerikanerthum," and against such an alliance they believe that Russia and Japan also must fight. The fourth way out, the liberalization of the German Empire, is the avenue most likely to be traveled by the peacemakers. It is a subject that Germans speak of with reluctance. To most of them it is a reform to be avoided at this time, not because it lacks virtue, — except for a few, all I spoke with welcomed the thought, — but be- cause it would seem to be forced upon them by the Allies, and would therefore, if instituted, take on the nature of an Allied victory. 13 INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE When they do speak of this change they al- ways preface their words with a statement that it is to come after the war ; but from expressions made to me by the most influential men in Ger- many, supported by indirect statements from the highest in the land, it is safe to say that the element of time is not unchangeable, and that be- fore long the agitation for the erection of a re- sponsible popular govermnent will break out, and will lead to an end of that government by divine right which now exists, wherein the Chan- cellor is responsible not to the Reichstag, but only to the Kaiser, and the Kaiser owes responsi- bility, he says, only to his God and his conscience. Germany, as Hindenburg has said, has a bril- liant military position, but is without prospects. He might have added that to-day desperation finds more room in her heart than hope finds lodging there ; for bold, courageous, unflinching, determined as the Germans are, there is little hope to feed upon in the face of the Allies' plod- ding insistence in fighting on long after the Ger- man military experts had assured their people that strategically^ and tactically the enemies' plans were futile and unsound. 14 THE FOUR WAYS TOWARD PEACE And this lack of a national hope is accentuated when the Germans consider the fii'st two of the four ways out. Such hopes as still remain of an outcome that lies elsewhere than in the conquer- ing of Germany by the Allies or the defeat of the Alhes by Germany are to be found in compro- mise or in liberalization. It is difficult for an observer in Germany to see how any peace not of her own making can come except by an overwhelming military vic- tory for the Allies. The internal conditions, whatever the indications for the future may be, are to-day well in the hand of the Government. The Germans accept absolutely the dicta of Clausewitz, Frobenius, and Treitschke that the power of the state is to be measured by its mili- tary strength, and since the military power of the central empires is not yet seriously shaken, whatever the promise of to-morrow may be, the thought of a peace forced upon them from with- out finds no place in the Teutonic mind. It can be said axiomatically that Germany to-day does not believe peace so necessary as to cause her to make a cession of any of her territory. She is willing to make peace on the basis of what she 15 INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE has done in the two years of the war. The Alhes are wiUing to make peace only on the basis of what they expect to do in the years to come. Germany to-day would be happy to make a peace that has as its foundation a return to the conditions prevailing before the war, with certain reservations regarding Belgium, Poland, Serbia, and now Rumania. The Allies demand, on the basis of a victory they have not yet won, the restoration and indenmification of Belgium, the cession of Prussian Poland, the reestablishment and indemnification of Serbia, and the surrender of Constantinople, Trieste, and the Trentino. The great gulf separating these two sets of demands is even wider than appears upon first glance, for there are on both sides considerations of grim importance which bar the way to com- promise. These are the fears of the accounting that all the governments must give their peoples if, upon the conclusion of the war, their respec- tive countries are worse off than when the war began. The great question, "Why did you bring us into the war?" is one that those who suffer defeat will find it hard to answer. That is one significant reason why Germany would prefer 16 THE FOUR WAYS TOWARD PEACE to go down with all flags flying than to accept a peace that would spell internal dissatisfaction. It is this question that has kept peace from becoming an actualitj^; each of the nations is seeking to create for itself more favorable con- ditions for peace before it runs the hazard of the accounting that has to come. 17 CHAPTER II THE war's objectives AS GERMANY SEES THEM Germans living in the present — An official statement of the objec- tives as visualized in the Empire, approved by Zimmermann and read by Bethmann-Hollweg — "Germany fighting for exist- ence" — '"Seeks territorial changes only as safeguards to Ger- many's security" — ^"Allies frankly avow plans of conquest" — England accused of war of destruction — "Belgium to be safe- guarded in safeguarding Germany" — "Commercial expansion to East required" — "English navalism, starving non-combatants and neutrals, a greater menace than German militarism" — "British fight to destroy Germany but talk of freedom" — "Germany wants no such freedom as England gives Ireland." Because the future looks so black, because the situation is so muddled, because doubt and con- jecture attend every theory the Germans are building for themselves to-day, they are perhaps more than any other of the belligerents living in the present, disregarding possibilities and deal- ing with actualities. They await a lightning- stroke that shall cleave the dark cloud and reveal a brighter prospect ; and while they wait they are attempting to formulate the immediate objec- tives of the war as they visualize them and as they read them into their enemies' plan. 18 THE WAR'S OBJECTIVES I prepared a statement of these objectives after getting expressions from various members of the Government, including views that the Chancellor himself gave. I submitted the paper to Bethmann-Hollweg through Dr. Alfred Zim- mermann, then chief permanent under-secretary of state for foreign affairs. It represents the of- ficial attitude of Germany. The form in which it is herewith presented was taken on after re- vision and correction by the Foreign Office, and when Zimmermann returned it to me, after the Chancellor had seen it, he gave it his entire per- sonal as well as official approbation. It was pre- pared just before the Chancellor's speech in the Reichstag on September 28, and a striking simi- larity will be noticed between the substance of certain phrases of this statement and the Chan- cellor's official utterances. It reads: There is at this moment in Germany no talk of peace. There are thoughts of peace — of peace with honor that shall secure to the empire the place that she occupied before the great war, and that shall secure, further, the avenues of national growth and commercial expansion to which her sons believe her entitled, and to gain which they are making the great sacrifice. But these peace 19 INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE thoughts are rarely given voice now — first, because the nation is too busy making war, and, second, the nation feels that before peace can be talked there must be some one to talk to about it — and the Germans are not deluding themselves that at this time the Allies are ready or willing to listen. So, leaving the questions of peace to be settled at the green table and the causes of the war to be weighed by later historians, a statement can be made as to the actual objectives, an answer can be given to the ques- tion, "Why do the nations fight — what military and po- litical goals are the belligerents striving to reach?" There should be no doubt in the minds of the neutral world or in the minds of the nations allied against us as to what Germany is fighting for. It can be reduced to a one-word formula, existence. And because it is an appeal to the first law of nature, self-preservation, the German people are fighting so nobly and successfully and unconquerably. The devotion and patriotism of the Germans are traditional, but there is more than these sentiments holding the nation together ; it is the great elemental force — the will to live — against which nothing can prevail until the last German is destroyed. For every German realizes that it is not only his own existence which is being threatened, but the right and privilege of his children to live as Germans and to nur- ture and develop the ideals of their heritage. Germany is seeking no territory through conquest. She is not carrying a sword in one hand and her culture 20 THE WAR'S OBJECTIVES in the other, giving the world the choice between the two, as her enemies so frequently paint her. It never was a part of the plan of the war to add to Germany's territory through conquest, but it is possible that peace may necessitate a change of present boundaries of con- tiguous countries where such changes are in the nature of a safeguard to Germany's security, which in turn means a strengthening of the prospects of general and lasting peace. She is quite content to live peacefully, developing her own institutions and asking only that no artificial barriers originating in fear or jealousy be placed around her. The right to live carries with it a corollary in the right to grow, and both these rights are now being fought for by us against those who would deny them to us. However acute, albeit imaginary, may have been the fears of those who at the outset of the war saw in Germany only a desire for conquest, they must now be reassured by the solemn assertions of the German na- tion, taken in consideration with the present situation, where the greater part of Belgium, a large portion of France and a good share of Poland are in our hands. And still we say that we do not fight for territory. Annexation by conquest is no part of the German war. The lands we hold — the war-won gains — may be used as bases for later operations of a different nature, but they were not fought for nor won through a desire to possess them. Once more — Germany is not fighting a war for con- 21 INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE quest. Can the others say as much? France pubHcly declares her intention of possessing Alsace-Lorraine; Russia is bent upon seizing European Turkey ; Italy demands a part of the Austro-Hungarian realm ; Rou- mania too has covetous eyes fixed upon our ally's land ; in short, all of the Allies are similarly actuated, while England's aims are the most monstrous of all — she is bent upon crushing Germany wholly and wiping her from the face of the earth. England is too fiendishly clever and her aims are too gigantic to reduce them to words. By every foul means this "friend of the little peoples" is seeking to force them to take arms against us. For their good.^ let me ask, or is it the time- honored tradition of England to have others pull the chestnuts out of the fire for her.'' As we see it, Germany is fighting for existence while the Allies are waging a war of conquest and in the case of England a war of extermination. Carthage was de- stroyed but history shows but few other instances of succesful wars of destruction, and Germany will not be added to the list. Her sons will not permit it and I am sure that the rest of the world would not countenance it. German ideals, German scholarship and German character have done too much for the world to be re- warded with such ingratitude. Even with Belgium a danger point in our back and flank there is no real desire in Germany to possess her land. We are anxious only for such a disposition of her future as will safeguard us, and it must always be ^2 ^^ma^i^m^/T/^ THE WAR'S OBJECTIVES borne in mind that in safeguarding us Belgium will herself be safeguarded. How Belgium's integrity and safety, which means our safety too, may be obtained is a problem not included in this discussion, but it will be worked out. We ask and fight for the right to live, and to earn our living we must have room for commercial ex- pansion. England's domination of the sea has closed that highroad against us or made it subject to her con- trol, so we have worked out lines of development to the south and east — through the Balkans into Asia. And in that direction too they are trying to close the door in our face, although it is the only door left us leading to an opportunity to expand where the expansion does not militate against the political interests of others. It is plainly jealousy of our commercial ability and not political principles that motivates the attempt to shut us out from our just deserts in what was practically a virgin field. How fast the door to the sea was closed at the will of England is being shown to-day when she, being able to do so, is seeking to starve our women and children. And she is making the threat of starvation, if not actually carrying it out, against the European neutrals which are seeking only to maintain their regular, do- mestically-originating commerce with us. The threat to the world of German militarism was a chimera con- jured up by fevered minds; the actual menace and destructiveness of England's "navalism" is plainly ap- 25 INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE parent to and felt by all the world, and by no means the least of those seeing and feeling this strangling, killing power is America. Perhaps the United States are powerful enough to resist this pressure in so far as it is applied to force them into war, but it is smash- ing and will further smash their commerce, while the pressure upon the smaller nations is so great that to keep themselves from starving they must bend to the will of the dictator of the sea. Look at Greece, at Holland, at Denmark, Norway and especially Sweden. What share can these smaller countries have in Eng- land's objectives in this war, except as England can force them to help her fight for her own aims ? The German people know why they are fighting. Do the English .? Will their Government still dare to tell them they are fighting for the return of Belgium to the Belgians.'' Germany has never had designs on Belgian territory, so that plea falls and with it falls the mask, revealing what England has never dared to admit — that she is fighting to encompass the destruction of Germany and the reduction of the Germans to a tribu- tary and secondary nation. That will never he so long as one German man or woman is left alive. That Eng- land realizes this as axiomatic js seemingly shown by the fact that she has systematically set about murder- ing our non-combatants by starvation, but this too will fail however deliberate and calculating that evil intent may be. We have heard much of the war for freedom and £6 THE WAR'S OBJECTIVES liberty and democracy, and similar phrases. For whom are England and her allies fighting this war of freedom? Germany is not seeking to extend her system to other lands, so the fight cannot be for them. Are we then to suppose that among England's objective is to "free" Germany.'' Is she waging a war of freedom for the German people.'' Perhaps the same sort of "freedom" that France threw off; the same sort of freedom that the American colonies ended by the Revolutionary War ; the same sort of "freedom" she brought to India ; the same sort of "freedom" that made her fight for the gold and diamond mines of the quiet, peace-loving Boer republics; in short, the same sort of "freedom" she is giving to Ireland at the point of a gun and with the edge of a sword. Let America but ask herself the question you have asked me: "For what are Germany and the others fighting.'"' and she will soon perceive, if the question be honestly answered, in which hearts the lust of aggression lies and from whence comes the spirit of destruction. Germany to-day is without a definite peace plan. That is why the members of the Govern- ment consented to a statement as to the objec- tives, but made taboo any theorizing as to peace. There was a reahzation that Germany, fighting defensively, was not fighting constructively, ex- cept in so far as she was fighting for her national 27 INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE existence, and except in so far as this war might effectuate a new political freedom within the em- pire. Obviously, both of these clauses were ones about which official tongues were not ready to wag too freely. 28 CHAPTER III * 'peace with honor" vs. a "GERMAN PEACE" No definite peace plan in Germany — Peace-at-any-price sentiment almost totally absent — Even Socialists want "peace with honor" — Some still hope for "German peace" — What that means — Little understanding of world-peace plans — The liberal wing, opposing ruthless U-boat campaign and seeking "peace with honor" growing in strength — This war fought for the House of Hapsburg — Germans believe England may hold Calais and that France may become a monarchy — Germans almost pity France, and are changing attitude toward England — France "bled white," they say, by England— Time fights for Allies, but the Germans are still firm. Peace is still a favorite subject for the Social Democrats, but it is always vague generalities with which they deal — an "Elirenvolle Friede" (peace with honor) is what they call it — but how it will come about or what form it will take no one since Liebknecht has dared to say. Lieb- knecht's sentiments were largely those of a peace- at-any-price man, he being a strong Interna- tionalist willing to accept any conditions that might bring about the possibility of resuming the class struggle. 29 INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE Even in the extreme wings of the working- men's party or among the most radical Sociahsts there is httle or no sentiment supporting a peace at any price. All the views of these factions are predicated upon a continuation of the present German entity. I could discover no disintegra- tion of the spirit of nationalism. No matter how they may differ on the method of conducting the war or as to the terms of an eventual peace, no matter what criticisms they had to make among themselves, all of the eighteen and more political parties with which Germany is cursed are stiff- necked and unyielding in their determination to fight to the end for Germany. There are those in the empire who even at this day are firmty convinced that Germany will yet win an overwhelming victory and establish a "German peace." Professor von Stengel, whose name is widely known in Germany, when asked whether he believed the empire would participate in future international conferences at The Hague, gave "No" as his answer. He said that such conferences would be unnecessary under a "German peace," which he defined as a sort of super-state in which Germans would enforce 30 "PEACE WITH HONOR" order in the world. "The one condition of pros- perous existence, especially for the neutrals," he said, "is submission to our supreme direction. Under our overlordship all international law would become superfluous, for we of ourselves and instinctively give to each one his rights." Professor von Stengel is considered a great au- thority on international law and is credited with a close friendship with the royal house. It should be said that his views, while giving intense satisfaction to the Junkerthum, find no echo in official circles. There is in Germany little knowledge and less sympathy of and for the plan of universal dis- armament or of peace-enforcing leagues. This propaganda has made little headway among the Teutons. It was never given official recognition until the Chancellor's speech in the Reichstag in November. The Germans say that they want the end of the war to bring about conditions deeper and more lasting than those supplied by changes in frontiers or diplomatic phrases in treaties, but they have no formula to offer as to how this world betterment and peace be brought about, and it cannot be said that the censors are 31 INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE especially desirous of permitting these lines of thought to be followed. For example, Dr. Al- fred Fried's book, "The Restoration of Europe," which has been translated from the German by Lewis Gannett, and which goes to the very root of these questions, is prohibited from being cir- culated in Germany. Dr. Fried, who was the winner of the Nobel peace prize in 1911, and is reckoned one of the great thinkers of the present day, has had to take up his residence in Bern. The main line of cleavage between the two dominant factions in Germany is to be found in the difference between "a peace with honor" and a "German peace." In the first class are counted the Social Democrats and the liberal thinkers generally, including the Chancellor, Zimmer- mann, Dr. Helfferich, secretary of state for the interior, and Dr. Solf, secretary of state for the colonies. In the second class are to be found the Conservatives and the National Liberals, who, under the leadership of Bassermann and Stresemann, are representative of the reaction- ary influence in the empire and are closely allied with the old-school Conservatives. They want Germany to dominate the world, they want Bel- S2 "PEACE WITH HONOR" gium retained, they want portions of France held, they want Serbia wiped out of existence, they want a large slice of Russia added to the Kaiser's dominions, and want also the resump- tion of a ruthless U-boat campaign, pretending to believe that this course offers a sure way to a quick end and certain victory. The reasonables — they are few in number — hold with a certain school of thought among the neutrals, that the best interests of the world in general will be served by a negative outcome to the war — a draw. They argue that compromise is the chief characteristic of the Zeitgeist; that with nations as with men life is a series of com- promises, and that bearance and forbearance are the basis of amity. Out of the draw they can see grow the beginnings of a world confederation which shall have the supreme handling of inter- national matters. This sentiment is growing slowly among Ger- mans. It will receive its major impetus when the empire's internal politics undergo hberaliza- tion. And that brings us again to the fourth way out — liberalization. The disciples of this idea agree among them- 33 INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE selves that in large part the present conflict is a war for the House of Hapsburg, and this they resent. The Austro-Hungarian Empire is a political anomaly, scarcely able to hold its con- stituent members in check. Historians have called Austria the miracle of Europe, because though in the last two hundred years she has been seemingly worsted in almost every war, yet upon each peace, or soon thereafter, frequently she has emerged with territorial accessions. It is feared in Germany that this time she will not be so fortunate. It is Austrian weakness that causes Germany to look to Petrograd for future aid in the Balkans, although there is an appreciation of the real importance of Hungary. It is urged in Germany that, on the principle that the quickest way to bring peace is to make vigorous war, a new offensive against Russia should drive the German lines deep into the Czar's dominions. This is a part of the plan to bring about a peace with Russia, after which a new alliance may come about. There is a strong belief in Germany, which has its base apart from the resentment against England, that the English will never quit Calais. S4s "PEACE WITH HONOR" Great Britain fought for it many years, say the Germans — fought for it on the fields of Crecy and Agincourt in Picardy, where the fighting is now heaviest, and now that she has it, why should she give it up? Thus runs the characteristic German reasoning, and there are many who accept it. And there are many, too, who believe that France, which is suffering deeply through the war, will change her form of govern- ment at the end of the conflict and turn again into a monarchy. The complacent German ground for this theory is the fact that Germany has de- monstrated the superior efficiency of the mon- archical system over the loose republicanism which the Kaiser's subjects see in France. The feeling toward France to-day is changed little from the sentiment I found in Germany two years ago. It is one of conciliation, of ad- miration, ahnost of sympathy and pity. The feeling toward England has changed from bitter resentment to a feeling not unmixed with ad- miration for the way she is fighting. It was firmly believed in Germany that the British Em- pire was in the process of disintegration, and that the disaffections in Ireland, Egypt, India, and 35 INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE South Africa marked the beginning of the end of the great empire. And the Germans felt that military conscription would be the climax. To their overwhelming surprise, England accepted conscription, and the empire has become unified in a way that provokes the amazement of even the most pronounced Anglophobes. By way of showing the thorough accord ex- isting between the Government and the various political parties on the question of peace, and illustrating the fact that the Government is to- day getting its main support from the Social Democrats, an organization usually opposed to all that autocracy stands for, an excerpt from the platform of the Social Democrats, led by Scheidemann, reads as follows: Germany has renounced all plans of conquest and merely wishes to safeguard her political independence, her territorial integrity, and freedom for economic development. The fact that Italy and Roumanla have joined her enemies will not make much difference to Ger- many, although it is to be regretted because it will not improve the chances for an early peace. The similarity between Scheidemann's statement and that authorized by the Foreign Office will 36 "PEACE WITH HONOR" be noticed. Franz Mehring, one of the radical Socialists, recently repudiated any "peace of defeat." Geimany believes to-day that England alone stands in the way of peace. She ignores France, which she considers to have been "bled white." She pretends to believe that France is ready to take peace at almost any price, and yet I can say on the highest authority in the United States that in the middle of 1916, after England had virtually stood aside, willing to await develop- ments, it was France and France alone that ob- jected with all her might to any attempt being made to lead to a discussion of peace. The Foreign Office believes that the peace sen- timent is gaining ground in Russia, the evidence being supplied in the recent speeches and writ- ings of M. Bulatzel, a prominent member of the Duma, a leader of the extreme Right, and editor of a political journal, who urges a break with England and insists that Russia should have the right to make peace when she can do so "speed- ily, honorably, and advantageously." Time is fighting for the AlHes and against Germany. The longer the war continues, the 37 INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE more significant a factor does man power be- come. That is why Germany is eager for peace, but not any peace. Trifles cause grumbling, nerves ai'e on edge, criticism of one another is lavish. All these things, and more, that catch a traveler's mind fade into nothingness compared with the big re- action made on one in Germany, and that is an impression of fixity of intention of gaining an honorable peace or suffering destruction. CHAPTER IV LIBERALIZING GERMANY The old motto "siegen" replaced by a new: "durchhalten" — Kaiser Wilhelm reads signs of the times and approves liberalization — Fear that immediate democratization would be hailed as vic- tory by Allies — No dynastic overthrow planned — Germans hold to monarchical system — Excellenz Zimmermann, Foreign Sec- retary and strong man of the cabinet, discusses the impending change — Real body of reformation to come after war is over — Germany has outgrown its political swaddling-clothes — A Gov- ernment directly responsible through the Reichstag to the peo- ple, planned — How the leaders in Germany view the change. Seventy million people with their backs against the wall ; seventy million people fighting as one ; seventy million people, and not a quitter among them. That is the deep impression made on me by Germany. And that is why, if peace is dependent upon a forthright German defeat, peace is still remote ; for a nation unified by such a spirit is far from being humbled. Powerful as is the pressure upon which they are standing, heavy as are the blows they receive, dark though their eventual prospects may be, the spirit of patriotism, of steadfastness, 39 INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE of courage, of defiance that the Germans are showing burns as brightly and as fiercely to-day, after more than two years of the war, as at the outset. But beneath all these attributes there is to be seen and felt a subtle change in the fabric of the German spirit. From a certainty of victory, it has been inexorably pressed down to a fear of defeat. From the ambition of world dominance, it has changed to a struggle for existence. From the hope of conquest, it has shifted to a deter- mination not to be conquered. Exaltation has given way to desperation, and the fear that Ger- many once sought to impose upon others is now being imposed by others upon Germany. When I was in Germany at the outbreak of the war the word in every one's mouth was siegen (conquer, or win). When I revisited the coun- try, after two years, another word was being used — durchhalten (stick it out — hold through). I think the second motto is spoken with more heart than the first, for there were many in the empire who opposed a war of conquest ; but now that conquest has been abandoned for existence, and the hfe of the nation is at stake, all feel the 40 LIBERALIZING GERMANY need of endurance heavy upon them. Their work lies plain before them, and they do not count the costs, for they feel that no price is too high to pay for national entity, and that is what the Germans believe they are fighting for. That is why they are fighting so wonderfully; that is why their strength is renewed after each reverse ; that is why there is no thought of temporizing; that is why I was told by many that before Ger- many, the nation, died, every woman would have to be killed. In entire seriousness, I believe that if the worst came to the worst, the German women would arm themselves and go into the trenches before they would see the victorious armies of the Allies march into Berlin. And such a prospect is no impossibility, for the Ger- man spirit stops at nothing, and such a plan is being seriously discussed. With the German spirit so obsessed by one idea, there is scant room for others; nevertheless there is a sub-surface movement of vast political portent. Her people seemingly have time and inclination only for the fight they are in. Their Government, their mode of life, their rules of conduct, they are content to leave for the present 41 INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE to the few who rule. Later an accounting will be asked. Now they do as they are told to do, not as they tell themselves they ought to do. It may be doubted if Frederick the Great, one hun- dred and fifty years ago, ever was able to weld his Prussia into the homogeneous, mobile, and responsive unit that Kaiser Wilhelm II has made of his empire. But in the very unity of the nation, engaged upon the struggle for self-preservation, can be found the certain evidence that when the time comes, this unitj^ will be used for their own pur- poses — for the establishment of a truly liberal government in which each shall govern as well as be governed. The Germans have met the test of their right to self-government, which Bismarck feared to grant because of his belief that they were not ready for it. And the Kaiser himself has ap- proved. Perhaps he has read the signs of the times, perhaps he is actuated by a finer motive; but whatever the impulse, the emperor has said, "My people have shown that nothing is beyond them, and they shall have as large a share as they desire in the affairs of their Government." 42 LIBERALIZING GERMANY The imperial indorsement forms the capstone of the liberal structure that the war has built and is building. Every time the nation meets the new demands upon its strength the work goes forward. But when it will be ready for use, when it will displace the present system of autoc- racy, that is another question. The most ardent advocates of liberalization do not favor an imme- diate change. First, because it is unwise, they think, to swap horses while crossing a stream; and second, because the democratization of the country now would be hailed by the Allies as a victory they had won, and that thought does not help the cause of German progress. How cogent this second reason will be remains to be seen. This time element — holding the reform until after the war — is not immutable. Valks with the big men of the country gave the ii ipression that the change might easily come d\ ring the struggle, and so end it, and the nam- ing, in November, 1916, of Alfred Zimmermann, a man of the people, to succeed von Jagow, the aristocrat, as head of the Foreign Office, seems to be a step in this direction. As I have already pointed out, the German intellectuals believe 43 INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE that the hberalization of the empire is a likely "way out," one of the four possible avenues to peace. When the change comes it will popularize the Government. It will mean the end of rule by divine right. It will make the Government responsible to the people, and not, except in- directly, responsible to the crown, which, under present conditions, as laid down by the Kaiser himself, is responsible only to God. The plans are fixed and definite. They are to be realized through evolution rather than revolu- tion. They are not pointing toward a dynastic overthrow. I did not hear one word to the effect that the HohenzoUern rule must end, and there is not, as certain highly placed officials in Eng- land believe, a readiness to remove the imperial crown from the Prussian house and give it to that of Bavaria, Saxony, or Wiirttemberg. They are not for a swing away from a monarchy. The monarchic idea is too deeply implanted in the German mind, which regards it as the most efficient type of government; they mean, as in England and France, the participation of the people in their Government through the Reichs- LIBERALIZING GERMANY ^ tag, which is to exercise real governing func- tions instead of being a mere debating society, as it is now contemptuously but truthfully called. This move toward and certainty of political liberalization is the most astounding fact an observer in the empire meets, excepting only the spirit of determination against being conquered. And it was no less astounding to hear the change discussed and advocated by the man next in im- portance to the Chancellor in the present Gov- ernment, Excellenz Zimmermann, who, because of his experience and ability, of his character and popularity, may advance still further when the reform proceeds. When Colonel E. M. House visited Europe for the President in the spring of 1916, he came away from Germany convinced that Zimmer- mann, as he put it, "is one of the biggest men in the empire." That is the impression generally held by those with whom the secretary comes into contact. He is a big, upstanding man, with strongly marked features, his face scarred by his university duels, and, for a German diplomat, unusually direct and straightforward in thought 4f5 INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE and speech. His directness of mind is more American than German, for the Berlin diplo- macy still maintains as its model the circuitous and subtle processes usually associated with Met- ternich. I saw Zimmermann frequently during my stay in Geraiany, and found him to be possessed of a more liberal attitude and a deeper understand- ing of America and American ideals than any of the other leaders in his country. "It would be useless and dangerous to deny," said Herr Zimmermann on a day in late Septem- ber of 1916, sitting at his desk in the Foreign Office, "that the trend of political thought in Germany to-day is toward liberalization. Use- less, because it is true that the trend exists, and dangerous because a denial would indicate oppo- sition to the consummation of this thought. "I do not mean to say that the plans now being formulated are not meeting with antagonism, for the Conservatives and certain other political divisions are strong in their opposition; but I am sure that the bulk of the best thought in Ger- many to-day is in favor of effectuating the politi- cal changes that liberalization postulates, and I 46 LIBERALIZING GERMANY feel quite sure that these changes are certain to come. "It is possible that a certain measure of reform will be put into practice before the war has reached an end, but I should say that the real body of the reformation will not be taken up until after peace. My belief on this point is due to the fact that under the conditions now existing we are doing very well; perhaps better with a concentration of power than would be the case if the power were scattered. Further, the fact that our enemies are talking of forcing internal reforms upon us would make it seem as if such reforms would be a price of peace, and while we are anxious for the changes to come, we want them to come at our will and not under duress or coercion. "The vast changes that Germany has under- gone since the Franco-Prussian War have been due in no small measure to the form of govern- ment under which she has lived. It may be doubted if any other structure would have been successful in bringing her to the position of world power which she now occupies. With her giant's growth has come a change in her political 49 INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE philosophy. By easy stages her people have fitted themselves for an active participation in the affairs of government greater than was assigned to them at the refoundation of the em- pire, when, natm-ally, her form of government was in a state of flux. The old Kaiser and Bis- marck adopted that type which in their opinion was best suited for the purpose Germany had. How well they builded is now a matter of his- tory. The country has outgrown its political swaddling-clothes and is ready to have its politi- cal responsibility divided among the many in- stead of the few." I asked Herr Zimmermann just what the change would be. "Along just what lines this change will come,'* he replied, "is still a matter of discussion. There are, however, certain elemental considerations the acceptance of which is understood. In this class are included the reforms of the suffrage in Prus- sia, which still employs the plural voting system, and in some of the smaller German states, where the form of government is still autocratic. "The important feature of the change will be the erection of direct responsibility of the Gov- 50 / LIBERALIZING GERMANY / ernment to the people through their representa- tives in the Reichstag. Under the present sys- tem there is actually no such responsibility. The Chancellor is at the head of the political government. He owes his responsibility to the Kaiser, by whom he is created. The various secretaries are not actually ministers of the cab- inet in the common understanding of that term. They are merely bureau chiefs of the Chancellor, who is not only nominally, but actually, their chief, and to whom their responsibility is alone due. *'This condition was reaffirmed by the Chan- cellor in his speech in the Zabern affair, when he pointed out that the Government was not answer- able to the Reichstag for the course it pursued, but was answerable alone to the emperor. "There is a definite belief in Germany to-day, and a belief that may not be far from realization, that the Government should be answerable to the Reichstag, thus making it responsive to the popular voice. Perhaps the most effective way of bringing this change about would be to amend the constitution of the confederated empire, with the permission and approval of the Kaiser and 51 INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE the various ruling kings and heads of the confed- erated states by whom the constitution was granted. "In creating the responsibihty of the Chancel- lor to the people, it would likewise be necessary " to organize a cabinet, the members of which would have powers similar in their nature to those held by the cabinet officials of America, France, and England. The creation of such a form would obviate the present charge that Ger- many does not possess a popular govermnent, and would give opportunity for the effective par- ticipation of many minds, which now are lacking a mode of expression. "Up to this point I am in sympathy with the outline of the reforms that I have sketched; but j my approval stops short of accepting a plan that would involve the downfall of the Government every time the Reichstag passed a vote of lack of confidence. "It must be borne in mind that there are in Germany to-day something like twenty-five sep- arate political organizations. This number is unwieldy and dangerous to successful execution of governmental projects because of the facility 52 LIBERALIZING GERMANY with which opi)osition could be welded together on one pretext or another to overthrow the min- istiy. Therefore, since Germany does not possess the two-party system found in England and America, and as the German poHtical issues are largely internal rather than foreign, it is my idea that in the creation of the new form of gov- ernmental responsibility there should be given to the Government a fixed tenm'e of office similar to that which America possesses, where the cabinet is emplaced for four years. "Perhaps the plan would work out in such a way as to give the members of the Reichstag a definite term of service and make the service of the ministry coincident with that period. I would, however, depart from the practice now in vogue in America, and give the members of the ministry seats in the Reichstag, as is the system in other countries to-daj^ Through this plan they would be in position to explain and defend their official acts and, as executives of the people's will, have the opportunity of setting forth their plans and policies to the representatives of the people." Herr Zimmermann went further, but the rest 53 INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE was said under the seal of confidence. He is known as a stanch Liberal in politics and a man of high ideals, but this was the first time that he had permitted himself to be quoted on a question that is deep in the minds of all Germans to- day. His friends — and his enemies, too — agree that when the change comes the secretary will have to be reckoned with, because he is accounted one of the ablest parliamentarians in Germany to- day, and is possessed of an alert, keen, lucid, and widely informed mind. Bethmann-Hollweg is said by those closest to him to be heartily in favor of the purposed reform, although it fell to his lot to enunciate the Zabern doctrine — that is, the responsibility of the Chancellor to the Kaiser alone. He made the pronouncement because it was true, and because under the existing conditions it was necessary, but he is counted among those who are anxious to see the basic conditions changed. Dr. Helfferich and Dr. Solf are two more members of the present Government who are set down as favoring the refonn. Jagow is not being com- mitted by his friends, but he is generally re- 54 LIBERALIZING GERMANY garded as among those who prefer the retention of the present system. Count Brockdorff-Rantzau, the unusually able German minister to Denmark, who wields con- siderable power in the politics of his country, though an aristocrat by birth and breeding, is a supporter of the movement, and so is his cousin. Count Johann von Bernstorff, the German ambassador to America. The supporters and antagonists of the reform are not divided by class distinctions, for against these aristocrats who favor the change stand representatives of the National Liberal party, such as Bassermann and Stresemann, who are devoted to the present regime. The National Liberal party, with its high-sounding title, is as standpat and as reac- tionary as the Conservatives and Agrarians are. The party is primarily representative of the big industrial elements of Germany's commercial life, and its leaders have much in common with the sturdy, stiff-necked, high-protection Repub- licanism of the "LTncle Joe" Cannon, McKinley, Penrose, and Smoot type. Under the present system of governmental operation in Germany the Reichstag possesses 55 INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE virtually only that elemental right — the primary power the people have under even the most lim- ited form of representative government — of withholding taxes from purposes that are not approved. The exercise of this right has been often threatened, but rarely used. So out of the seething caldi'on of the war it is almost certain that a new and finer form of government will come to Germany. This is one of the few prospects left to cheer the German mind, which has otherwise a rather black pros- pect; for despite their remarkable military tri- umphs, the Germans do not delude themselves that they can win a complete victory, and without some hope of internal betterment their future would be dark indeed. 56 CHAPTER V THE SPIRIT OE THE BELEAGUERED EMPIRE Germany sobered to-day — Calls herself a "beleaguered fortress" and establishes "Burgfriede" — Junkerthura violates the po- litical truce — Dream of German super-state forgotten — Neces- sity of the war doubted — Some conservatives prefer destruc- tion of Germany to its democratization — Kaiser's prestige great — Censorship used to burke criticism — Germany's "reptile press" and her belief in the venality of foreign papers — The Jewish question — The women — Spread of autocratic Socialism — The strain of life in Germany to-day. The bitterness of the struggle and the desper- ate conditions they are facing are reflexed in the spirit of the Germans to-day. There is httle or no blitheness in Germany. She takes her pleasures sadly and takes them only because recreation is held to be a duty, so that her sons and daughters may be better fitted for the work that they are doing for the fatherland. For each individual in the fatherland to-day is doing his or her share for the cause. They have settled down to the situation in the belief that they are now undergoing the last phases of the war, real- 57 INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE izing that the lines along which the war, both pohtically and economically, is now being fought are the lines along which the end will come. This must not be taken to mean that the Ger- mans believe they are doomed to defeat; if any one of them believes that, the belief is well hid- den. It means simply that the conditions Ger- many is now facing will be, without material change, those she will face when peace relieves the fearful strain that she is undergoing, under which, although her military spirit has remained unbroken and her armies continue successful, there are to be seen evidences of the beginning of a political and spiritual disintegration. Such evidences are inevitable concomitants of the re- action from the certainty of victory to a fear of defeat, but they may be rather a means to bring about an even greater determination not to be beaten than an indication that national decompo- sition is under way. Germany to-day calls herself a "beleaguered fortress," and that is what she is in actuality. An iron ring engirdles her. Therefore it was fitting that a Burgfriede should be decreed at the beginning of the war. Burgfriede means, 58 SPIRIT OF THE BELEAGUERED EMPIRE broadly, "civic peace"; it is a principle handed down from olden days, when the various separate free cities and states were engaged in war. Such cities or states would by agreement forget all internal dissensions, so that they could present united fronts against common foes. The Burgfriede of Germany was agreed to by all the parties at the outbreak of this war, and for a time it was religiously maintained. But now the friends of the Chancellor are accusing those opposing him, most of them members of the Conservative or affiliated parties, of having broken the truce. The Social Democrats, who have been loyal in their support of the Govern- ment, say that the Junkerthum in its open an- tagonism to the governmental policies, has been guilty of an act almost as bad as treachery. The teaching of force as an element of govern- ment, as laid down in the precepts of Nietzsche, Treitschke, Clausewitz, Frobenius, and Bem- hardi, which had permeated the entire moral, scholastic, and political fabric of the German Empire, is beginning to wear off. It is not rare for an observer to hear the question asked if there be no middle course between World Power and 69 INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE Downfall, if there be not one making, if less for power, then more for happiness. It is readily observable that the war has changed the German idea and the national im- pulse. The fond dream of a great world super- state, which was only another name for a Germanized world, has dissipated, and with few exceptions the leaders of thought in Germany are well contented with any plan in which their present is assured and their legitimate future expansion safeguarded. That expansion lies toward the south and east; that is why the Ger- mans feel they have a deep and vital interest in the Balkans. It is through that region that the lines of their development must go as long as England holds the seas. There are those in Germany who are even beginning to wonder if the war was not escapa- ble. "No one wanted it, least of all ourselves," they say; "so wasn't there a way by which the war could have been avoided, even without the added power that a victory promised?" This is one of the questions that will be asked when the accounting is made and responsibility for the cataclysm is allocated. 60 g) Br..« KAISER WILIIELM SPIRIT OF THE BELEAGUERED EMPIRE These doubters, who do not let their theories interfere with facing the conditions which exist, feel that they have grounds for their doubt as to the virtue of the war in the former success of the policy of "pacific penetration." They point out that under this system Germany had gained great strength, if not commercial dominance, in Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria, Roumania, and even in Serbia, despite the waning power of Austria there. And above all they point out that Italy was rapidly becoming an exclusive German field of effort. Now, they ask themselves, what have they left? Only Turkey and Bulgaria, while the others of the list are lost to German influence, if not forever, at least for years to come. These views are in direct opposition to the old spirit of force under which Germany was to be the super- nation; the specially chosen of "the good old God," the spirit that made Force equal Right. It was a creed that formed a political doctrine, a scholastic formula, and a religious faith. Those Germans upon whom the hold of this spirit is weakening are weakening only in their belief in this spirit; their changed philosophy has not weakened their devotion to national existence 63 INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE and their determination to preserve it at any cost. The advocates of greater ruthlessness in the war are also those most determined in their oppo- sition to the coming Hberalization. They are largely recruited from the Conservatives and the officers of the army and navy. Some observers read into the opposition a decision upon the part of the Junkerthum to preserve the military dom- ination, and with it the class privileges it enjoys; for it fears, with reason, that one immediate effect of liberalization will be to end the condi- tion in which the nation exists for the support of the army, and substitute a condition where the army exists only for the protection of the nation. Some of the conservative elements in Germany who are advocating the "wide-open" program of warfare in the face of its certainty to involve America would' rather see Germany destroyed than see it democratized. Naturally this is a point upon which few are willing to talk with any freedom. It must not be inferred that the Kaiser is deriv- ing his sole support from the ranks of the Con- servatives. The country is thoroughly unified 64* SPIRIT OF THE BELEAGUERED EMPIRE in adiierence to the emperor. The Cologne "Gazette," one of the most influential papers of Germany, printed an editorial late in September which was republished throughout the empire and met with great favor. The paper said that it was as sensible for Germany to demand the deposition of the Enghsh king as for the Allies to expect the enforced abdication of the Kaiser, "whose prestige and general veneration have only increased during this period of war, and who is to-day stronger in the hearts and minds of the Germans than he ever was before. . . . More- over, we Germans are so completely informed from trustworthy sources about all the facts and motives that produced this war that it is utterly impossible that we should reverse our judgment." The spirit of patriotism and nationality is as strong in Germany to-day as ever it was, despite grave errors in policy, none of which seems more serious than the rigid political censorship now enforced in the empire. This censorship is used more often to burke criticism than to keep infor- mation from the enemj^ This policy is probably the cause of the Allies' belief that the German Government is entirely on the defensive against 65 INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE its own people. Such an unqualified statement is far from being true. But the belief in its truth is understandable when the instance of the *'Ber- liner Tageblatt" is recalled — one of Germany's big papers that was suppressed for seven days during the summer of 1916, and no one yet knows the cause. Obviously, the outside as- sumption is that the step was taken to prevent the spread of rot in public opinion. The newspapers of Germany are bound to play a big part in the imminent liberalization of the German Empire. The governmental atti- tude is still largely that of Bismarck toward the "reptile press." The German belief in the venal- ity of the press, which is the regular theory of operation, was shown recently when a stoiy emanating from Holland, ascribed to reliable sources in Berlin, said that something like $50,- 000,000 had been spent by Germany in two years for the subsidization of public opinion in neutral countries, and it was added that some- thing like $10,000,000 had been spent in this country. If that is true, it would account for the readiness with which the Germans believe that all the newspapers in America not friendly 66 SPIRIT OF THE BELEAGUERED EMPIRE to their cause are bought by "British gold," in which class they place the New York Times and New York Tribune, and also The World, when- ever its editorials or news columns say anything unfriendly from the German point of view. Early in the war Zimmermann said that, among other things, it would settle one interest- ing point, and that was whether it was better to be a "journalistically ruled nation like America and England, or a non- journalistic nation Hke Germany." I asked him when I left Berlin in the autumn of 1916 if he had reached a decision on this point. He smiled and said, "Well, per- haps a little more journalistic participation in the affairs of the Government might be a good thing for Germany, after all." When the liberalization comes, the Jewish question will reassert itself. It is forgotten now, in the Sturm und Drang of the war. There have been a few modifications of the Jewish disabilities, but nothing of any substan- tial nature has been done. Another question that will arise will be that of the women. As they win a greater economic independence, they will demand gi-eater political 67 INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE recognition, which is now given virtually no seri- ous thought in the empire. The spread of autocratic Socialism, to coin a phrase that describes precisely the enforced social cooperation and combination prevalent in Germany to-day, is welcomed by the liberal minds as maldng it easier to democratize the nation, when the time shall come. It is an offi- cial recognition of the people's part in the work of the country, opposed to the old way of regard- ing the mass of inhabitants as merely an inferior lot who are accorded the privilege of being ruled. Life in Germany is not pleasant to-day. There is a hopeless, prison atmosphere about it that causes men to crack under the strain. The effect is peculiarly noticeable upon the neutrals. They grow fretted and nerve-racked. Several attaches of the embassy, and some of the Ameri- can correspondents, have suffered nervous pros- tration. Berlin, more than any other Geraian city, has become a nest of intrigue and gossip. A motive is looked for behind every man's act. This creates an atmosphere of distrust and sus- picion. Germany's place in the sun may be remote, 68 SPIRIT OF THE BELEAGUERED EMPIRE and the sun may be growing cloudy, but Ger- man's spirit does not waver; her courage still answers every test; her soldiers are still un- touclied in their bravery and skill; and every sacrifice that she asks is being met willingly, almost gladly. 69 CHAPTER VI GERMAN HATRED OF AMERICA: ITS CAUSES German hate for England expressed in fighting; that for America has no outlet — America held to blame for German reverses — Grounds for German hate: (1) Export of munitions; (2) Brit- ish blockade, not stopped by America; (3) Interference with mails; (4) Commercial blacklist; (5) President Wilson's sub- marine doctrine — "American neutrality toward Germany is of the head; that toward the Allies is of the heart," says Jagow — Belief in loyalty of German- Americans to the Kaiser — Ameri- can attaches barred from the front — Ambassador Gerard's re- tort to an official — Commercial hostility. Throughout Germany to-day the hatred for America is bitter and deep. It is palpable and weighs you down. All the resentment, all the blind fury, Germany once reserved for England alone have been expanded to include us, and have been accentuated in the expansion. The Germans have an outlet for their feelings against England. They express themselves on the battle-fields and through the Zeppelins and submarines; but against America they lack a method of registering their enmity. And so this 70 GERMAN HATRED OF AMERICA bitterness cannot be poured out, has struck in and saturated the whole empire. The chagrin and humihation of their failure to end the war through victory before now is visited upon America. The failure gave birth to hatred. Throughout the length and breadth of Germany the belief is certain and unqualified that had it not been for American moral and physical help to the Allies the war would long since have been over. With magnificent disregard of the checks and reverses, both military and economic, that Germany has suffered at the hands of the Allies, her sons, from top to bottom, say that only America is to blame for the fact that the war is now well into its third year, and for the more pertinent fact that as time goes on the German chances are bound to grow less. It is a common thing to hear in Germany that Aiperica has a secret alliance with England under which she is now operating; is even more of a commonplace to be told that America is deliberately seeking to prolong the war and cir- cumvent peace for the "bloody-money" she is making out of the struggle. Germany's fear of defeat and loss of prestige are laid at our door; 71 INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE we are made the sacrificial goat offered on the altar of self -glory. Hate may have no boundaries, but it has be- ginnings, and it is not hard to classify the grounds from which the German hatred of America springs. There are five, possibly six. They are, as the Germans put them : First, the supply of munitions to the Allies. Second, the illegal blockade for which we are held responsible since we have not stopped it. Third, the interference with neutral mails. Fourth, the Allies' world-wide commercial blacklist. Fifth, the submarine doctrine we have com- pelled Germany to accept. And the sixth is one which may be a consider- able factor — that America is out of the war and prospering; for what is more usual than for envy to breed hate? Perhaps this sixth cause of Ger- man hatred might with equal truth be applied to the resentment said to exist against us in the other countries at war, for surely Germany is not the only one that resents our peace and prosper- ity. Our interpretation of neutrality is made the 72 GERMAN HATRED OF AMERICA object of bitter recrimination in Germany, and it is a subject on which even those placed in the highest positions speak with the utmost candor. Jagow, until November, 1916, chief secretaiy of state for foreign affairs, and Zimmermann, his chief under-secretary, who succeeded him, in discussing the American attitude, phrased the sentiments of their country when they said : The American neutrality toward Germany is one of the head; toward the Allies it is one of the heart. What America does for the Allies she does voluntarily and gladly; what she does for Germany she does be- cause she must. This is a mild view compared to the popular idea. The resentment against America has been cumulative in its growth, while that against Eng- land is perhaps less to-day than it was at the be- ginning. Because her military activity is against the English, it has wrought at least a measure of satisfaction. But the very fact that America has been out of reach of a concrete demonstra- tion of German hatred has made more bitter the feeling toward America, to such a degree that it has become actually menacing. The form it takes is the widespread and highly popular agita- 73 INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE tion for the resumption of the ruthless Lusitania type of U-boat warfare. Throughout Germany the agitation for this plan grows stronger day by day. The Chancel- lor is holding out against it, but how long he can restrain it no one can say. I left Germany con- vinced that only peace could prevent its resump- tion. And the same opinion is held by every German with whom I spoke, and it is held also by Ambassador Gerard. The possibility was so menacing that the principal cause of the am- bassador's return to America in October was that he might report to Washington. The point was set out in press despatches at that time. But while the plan of returning to the Liosi- tania type of submarine warfai'e is made more popular by the fact that it would be a blow at America, since America struck this weapon from German hands, it must not be thought that the advocates of the resumption view it merely as an offering to hate ; they insist that it is an instru- ment of great military value, and they pretend to believe that its use will tend to shorten the war. However, the most ardent disciples of this plan can give no logical reasons for their belief, while 74 GERMAN HATRED OF AMERICA those supporting the Chancellor in his opposition are able to demonstrate the soundness of their at- titude. In normal circumstances this alinement of reason against unreason would be a guarantee against the success of the "ruthless" advocates, but when a nation has its back against the wall, fighting for existence, reason gives way to fury, and fury stops at nothing. Germany is not confining her methods of showing her resentment toward America to this country. She is making demonstrations within her own boarders. General Hindenburg sent word through his chief of staff, Ludendorff, to Colonel Kuhn, our militaiy attache, and Com- mander Gherardi our naval attache, that neither would be permitted to go to the front or have opportunities for observation, although these privileges are being regularly extended to the observers of all other neutral countries. This was made the basis of representations, through our embassy to Washington, and Colonel Kuhn was finally recalled from his Berlin post. Another instance: the League of Truth, a so- called German- American society, which sympa- thized with St. John Gaffney, former American / 75 INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE consul at Munich, in his pro-Germanism and op- position to the administration's interpretation of neutrahty, laid at the foot of the statue of Fred- erick the Great in Berlin, a big wreath with the American flag, draped in mourning to indicate its desecration, and added a legend to the effect, "Wilson does not represent America." The flag thus draped remained at the foot of the statue for weeks by the tacit permission of the military authorities. It was not removed until Ambas- sador Gerard, who had been ill, told the police that if they did not take it down, he would do so himself. How strong Germany believes herself to be in America can be seen in any of the political maps issued by the Pan-German LeagTie, on which a great blob of pink indicates the residence in America of the nine millions of German birth or parentage. Those making up this number are claimed as indirect members of the league, who are, or ought to be, as the pan-Germans see it, ready at all times to do Germany's bidding. It is the belief of these pan-Germans that through their far-flung membership some day German Kultur will dominate the world. 76 GERMAN HATRED OF AMERICA Not only does Germany believe that her polit- ical strength in this country is great enough to make the American Government take it into consideration, if not to make it actually subser- vient to the Wilhelmstrasse, but the belief goes further. One prominent member of the Gov- ernment told the ambassador he had been in- formed that America would not risk a war with Germany, because "there were five hundred thousand trained Germans ready to bear arms in the United States against the American Govern- ment." "There may be," was Gerard's quick response, "but there are five hundred thousand lamp-posts in America ready to string them up on if they ever try it." Thereafter the ambassador made it a point to correct this false impression that the naturalized Germans in America, whatever their politics, would actually go so far as to arm against their own country. In this effort he was supported by Dr. M. E. Egan, American minister to Den- mark, who worked through Count Brockdorff- Rantzau, the very intelligent German minister in Copenhagen, who finally came to this view and 77 INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE helped eradicate the mistaken one that had been held in Berlin. It is a commonplace to talk of insults to those speaking English in the streets of Germany. Wlienever the explanation is made that the speaker is American, the answer comes, "The Americans are the worst of all." There can be no doubt of the depth of this feeling; it even invades business. Two enterprising, well-con- nected young New-Yorkers, who had gone to Germany on business, were about to have an im- portant commercial contract signed in Chemnitz, in November, 1916, only to have the German merchant tear up the papers before them because he got word that day that a friend of his had been killed *'by an American shell." If one is to be- lieve the stories one hears in Germany, every German soldier killed so far has been killed by American ammunition. Major Griesel, chief of the war press bureau in Berlin, keeps three American shells on his desk by way of welcom- ing the American correspondents, and then to make them feel at home he adds that he was wounded by one of them. 78 CHAPTER VII THE MENACE OF THE U-BOAT Export of munitions declared legally right but morally wrong — Success of the German submarines — The internal crisis hinging on the submarine issue — Resumption of ruthless U-boat war inevitable unless peace comes soon — Strength of the opposition — What a diplomatic break would mean — The lesson of the U-53 — Estrangement heightened by difficulties of communica- tion — The Paris Conference plans directed against the U. S.? — ^\Vill the hatred be permanent? Of the five points on which the German hatred crystalhzes/ the first and the fifth — munitions and submarines — are easy to answer, but the other three are more difficult. Lacking though they may be in reason, the grievances he deep in German hearts. Even Jagow said, when I called on him one afternoon, that Germany had the right to feel injured through our munition shipments. When I replied that it was Ger- many herself that had prevented The Hague Conference from prohibiting the sale of arma- ment to belhgerents, and that therefore it was Germany that had created the right under which 1 See page 73. 79 INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE America was operating, he replied that "jui-isti- cally, America might have the right, but morally she was committing a great wrong." When such an attitude is assumed by those in high places, the belief of the mass of the people can readily be imagined. The point about the blockade is one on which the argument is not so clear-cut. The Germans say that the English are bringing the war to the non-combatant; they are seeking to starve women and children. The points about the interference with the mails and the blacklists are also difficult for an American in Germany to answer, except to point out that grave protests have been made by Washington against them both. "Yes," said Excellenz Zimmermann in re- sponse, "but the protests to us are ones that we must listen to, while apparently England can disregard those you send to her." When they heard in Germany that America was sending her mail to the far East in army transports, the ques- tion was at once raised as to why the same method was not employed with mail intended for neu- tral European countries. 80 THE MENACE OF THE U-BOAT The German attitude on our submarine doc- trine seems to have the least basis in fact of all the contributory causes to the hatred of America. Despite the restrictions imposed by President Wilson on the use of the U-boats, despite the claim that Germans make that America struck "the mightiest weapon" from Germany's hand, the German admiralty reports that the oper- ations of the submarines reached the high-water mark in August, 1916. Dr. Roediger, one of the divisional chiefs of the Foreign Office, whose efficiency is winning him a high reputation, is responsible for the following record of the work of the U-boats in 1916. In reading the list it must be borne in mind that up to June the Ger- mans were still operating on a wide-open pro- gram, not having accepted the terms of our Sus- seoc note until toward the end of May. The table follows : No. ships sunk Tons ^ January and February 120 288,500 March 80 207,000 April 96 225,000 1 German metric tons are about two per cent, larger than tons reckoned under our system. 81 INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE No. ships svmk Tons May 56 ..... 118,500 June 61 101,000 July 75 103,000 August 161 208,349 8 months ,649 1,251,349 The advocates of the ruthless type of the U- boat warfare say that sinking without warning is the only course left open to them because of England's action in ordering all her ships to be armed and to ram submarines on sight. This is the view of the military advocates. The ques- tion has become a factor in Germany's internal politics, since it is being urged by the Conserva- tives and the National Liberals, representatives of the reactionary element, and opposed by the Social Democrats and the Radicals and other liberal bodies. Chancellor von Bethmann-Holl- weg is determined in his opposition to the plan, on the gi'ound that it is suicide for Germany to adopt it. In this view he has been supported by Zimmermann, Helfferich and Dr. Solf, and nominally by Jagow. But the pressure upon VON JAGOW, LATE GERMAN MINISTEK OF KOUEKJX AFFAIRS THE MENACE OF THE U-BOAT them is becoming greater through the insistence of the people, who see in the unrestricted U-boat campaign first of all a chance of multiplying the costs of the war to England, and, second, a chance to offend and injure America. So the people's hearts are in the demand for the resump- tion unless peace comes. The immediacy of the demand lessened with the succession of military victories in the autumn of 1916, which acted as a sop to the desire for ruthlessness. But even the most hopeful in Germany, such as Scheidemann, Suedekum, David, and others of the Social Democratic group, and Naumann of the Radicals, admit that resumption must come within a few months unless peace comes first. Bassermann, Strese- mann, and Count Westarp of the opposition frankly want to begin the campaign at once. This view was held, surprisingly enough, by Herbert Guttmann, president of the powerful Dresdner bank, whose relations with America would have justified the belief that he would be in opposition to such plans. How deeply grounded is the resentment occa- sioned by the failure to use any effective means 85 INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE of war was shown when the Chancellor, before the opening of the Reichstag in the summer of 1916, was under the necessity of having Count Zeppelin write him a public letter acquitting him of the charge that he had opposed the use of "Zeps" in raids over England. Only with this clean bill of health could the Chancellor make his speech at the reconvening of the Reichs- tag, in which he said "any German statesman who opposed an effective means of shortening the war should be hanged." The ambiguity of the statement gave room for the advocates of the ruchsichtlose Krieg to hope that the Chancellor would eventually shift to their point of view. They frankly say that they have nothing to gain from America, and so they think war might as well come. They think that America at war with Germany would be less harmful to her than America at peace, because they believe that if war came, America would keep all her munitions at home. Official Washington regards the Ger- man belief on this point as wholly wrong. Our share of the war's burden would be borne by sup- plying even gi-eater quantities of munitions to the Alhes. 86 THE MENACE OF THE U-BOAT Then, too, there is a question in Germany as to whether a diplomatic break with this country would actually mean war. It is beheved at Washington that a break would mean war, and the German Government has itself so stated. Ambassador Bernstorff has made his position clear on this point, which was first raised in the celebrated pamphlet by "Junius Alter," issued recently, in which an astoundingly bitter attack was made upon the Chancellor and his secretaries. The writer, who is a prominent member of the Conservative partj^, expresses doubt as to "whether any one in Berlin ever tried to measure the exact consequences of a clash with America/' and adds : People with knowledge of the internal politics of the United States, and of its fleet and army, among them a well-known diplomatist, have declared that armed interference by America is absolutely out of the ques- tion. The only practical consequence of a break in diplomatic relations would be the confiscation of the merchant ships now lying in American ports. This pamphlet had a wide-spread circulation and gi^eat popularity in Germany. Among others who are supporting the agita- S7 INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE tion for the resumption is said to be General Mackensen, who is a notorious Amerikaner- fresser (Aiiierican-eater), as the Americano- phobes are called. It is a subject of common talk in army circles that Hindenburg's so-called opposition to the "ruthless war" is merely a po- litical position assumed for the time being. Never once has the general in chief been quoted directly as standing against it. Count Bernstorff is opposed to the plan, and feels certain it will never be put into execution; but Count Kantzau, a few days after he had paid a visit to the Kaiser and the great general staff, told me frankly that he feared the plan was rapidly becoming unavoidable. Our embass}^ in Berlin expected just such a demonstration as was given by the U-53 in Octo- ber when she sank six vessels off Nantucket, as a lesson of what Germany could do in our waters if war came. In the minds of all well-informed Germans the visit of the U-53 had no other object. One cause of the growing estrangement of the two countries is found in the difficulty of com- munication. Post and cable intercourse have 88 THE MENACE OF THE U-BOAT virtually ceased, and only the limited service by wireless remains. The American public, through the American papers, gets much more and truer news of Germany than Germany does of America. Most of the ])ig American papers maintain men in Germany who get their news across, but few, perhaps not more than two or three, German papers, have staff members in America. As a result, German news of America comes from Rotterdam, after being picked out of the English papers in London. The English papers get their reports from New York, and frequently the English despatches on the Ameri- can end of German situations have been gar- bled and misleading, and the repubhcation in Germany does not serve to increase the friendli- ness of feeling. In those calmer moments when the dislike of America is forgotten, the Germans point out how unwise a course America is pursuing in not ally- ing herself agamst England, who, the Germans say, is guided always bj^ its traditional policy of smashing her most dangerous competitor. That is the work she is engaged in now, the German reasoning continues, and if Germany is de- 89 INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE stroyed, it will be America's turn next to face the British greed for world supremacy. In support of this view, the Paris Economic Conference is pointed to as the binding together of Britain's allies for the war that is to be made against us. Nor is this view without supporters highly placed in this country, even though they may not agree that this contingencj^ can be averted by an imme- diate alliance with Germany. While the war goes on, German resentment grows, and the new generation is being raised in hatred of America, and this sentiment will prove a barrier between the two countries for a long time to come unless America is fortunate enough to be able to exorcise it through the olive-branch of peace. 90 CHAPTER VIII GERMANY AND THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT Wilson personifies America to Germany, so hate centers on him — Ambassador Gerard shares the hostility though officials respect him — Yet Germany willing to accept Wilson as mediator — Germans favored Hughes because they wanted to punish Wil- son — Harden the only German to praise Wilson. Ir it be impossible to indict a nation, it appears to be equally difficult to hate a whole nation without centering the hatred upon some one point or man. In the case of Germany, Presi- dent Wilson personifies America, and so the German hatred is centered on Wilson. Further, because President Wilson is represented by Ambassador Gerard, that official is loaded down with responsibility for all the shortcomings the Germans are able to perceive in our attitude toward them. It is a difficult thing for a neutral to be neutral in Germany to-day. The best friends of Ger- many must admit that her demands on one's sen- timents are rather harsh. In Berlin any one 91 INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE who is not outspokenly an advocate of German supremacy is gazed upon with coldness and sus- picion. Ambassador Gerard, seeking to interpret the principles of the President of the country he represents, has been neither pro-Ally nor pro- German, but merely pro- American, and for this he has been attacked, although the attacks have been cloaked under various and specious causes. The Berlin Government thinks well of Mr. Gerard, but the people view him solely as the American ambassador, and the adjective before his title is enough to damn him. To a consider- able extent the censors are responsible for feed- ing this sentiment in the articles they have permitted to be printed. They even resent the ambassador's efforts to inform his own country of the depth of the German feeling against it. They say, if he were "truly friendly," he would say nothing which might increase the tension, even though the Germans themselves, through some of their spokesmen, have deliberately sought to bring about a strained relation. A striking illustration of this was afforded in the Tirpitz manifesto, in which the grand admiral 92 GERMANY AND AMERICAN PRESIDENT called upon all his followers to prepare for the certain struggle that was to come between Ger- many and the Anglo-Amerikanerthum. While this utterance was given circulation in Germany, the censors dechned to permit it to be sent out of the country until America learned of it through the embassy, after which it was per- mitted to be put upon the cables, since a con- tinued suppression would have made the effect even more serious than it was. Not long ago it might well have been doubted if Germany would have been willing to accept intermediation at the hands of the President. Now they would be happy to have it come from him, although they will not admit that either he or his ambassador has been sincerely working to bring about peace among the belligerents. Germany has been eager to have the President take some steps toward arranging, if nothing else, an armistice. But she has not yet shown a willingness to authorize such a proceeding offi- cially. She wants the peace proposals brought to her; she will not go after them, not even to the extent of requesting the preliminary good offices of America. It is safe to say that no mat- 93 INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE ter what indirect efforts she may employ in this connection, Washington will do nothing until a formal request has been made. The campaign for the ruthless U-boat warfare is regarded by one man in this country, who speaks with the highest German authority, as being in the .nature of a threat intended to accel- erate and force upon us a movement toward peace. Ambassador Gerard had his attention drawn to this just before he left Berlin, but he declined to accept the interpretation. America's failure to effect a peace has been more of a crime in German eyes than her own failure to force one through military conquests. That is another count in the indictment lodged against Wilson. That is another reason why Wilson's defeat on Election day would have been regarded as a gigantic German triumph. Every one I spoke to in Germany believed this. It would have been treated as a victory not because the Germans felt certain that Hughes was the man they wanted but because they were certain that Wilson was the man that they did not want. There was an apparent and admitted motive of satisfying the German passion for 94* GERMANY AND AMERICAN PRESIDENT reprisal — of punishing those standing against her. On all sides I heard that Wilson must be hum- bled ; that Wilson and his country must be taught a lesson. This was stated unequivocally, in so many words, by many Germans — officers, sol- diers, government officials, bankers, merchants, and by none of these classes was it stated more emphatically than by the women. All believed that the defeat of Wilson would be in the nature of a rebuke and a warning to this country for the attitude it had assumed toward the empire. One distinguished member of the Foreign Office in Wilhehnstrasse, who is himself rather favorably disposed toward America and the administration, interpreted the feeling of his nation in these words: If Germany was certain Hughes would be her enemy, still would she seek Wilson's destruction. "Let us smash Wilson now," the people say, "and then if Hughes proves another Wilson, we will smash him too in another four years." Because om* anti-submarine attitude is so big a matter to them, they think it also of primary importance here, and many believed that it was 95 INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE an actual factor in the election. The choice of Hughes in German eyes would have been regarded as an actual repudiation of Wilson's prohibition of the unrestricted use of the U-boats. In all my intercourse with representatives of the various strata that make up life in Germany — soldiers, sailors, laborers, politicians, clergy- men, professors, newspaper men, business men, farmers — I did not hear one voice raised for Wil- son except that of JMaximilian Harden, the fa- mous journalist, whose series on "If I were Mr. Wilson" touched and pleased the President deeply, but met scant favor in Germany. Not even Dr. Helfferich, secretary of state for the interior, and a vital factor in keeping the peace between the two countries, could see in the Presi- dent's utterances any friendliness toward Ger- many. He, in common with the others, sought to differentiate between the President and the American public, which, they believe, wishes a greater friendliness to Germany and German methods than Wilson has shown. 90 CHAPTER IX AMEEICA THROUGH GERMAN EYES How a pamphlet of enormous circulation treats of Americans — "In spirit genuine Englishmen" — "America fears Germany; that is why she hates her" — "America will be in economically advantageous position after the war" — "Puritanically hypo- critical" — "Obsequious to English Lords" — How an American writer did not get his name — ^"Monroe Doctrine has been despised by all the great powers except Germany" — How Ger- mans view our "Anglo-Saxon morality" — Why "republics must always fail" — "A tyranny of dollars" — "A history which tells of nothing but the lust for gain." "We used to think of the Yankee as a long, lean, tobacco-chewing sly-boots with a goatee. As a greedy money-chaser without ideals, he lived for money alone, and to make money he would sell his soul to the devil or plant radishes on the grave of his parents. "In 1898 we took that picture off the wall and hung up a new one. It dripped with virtue. We gazed with astonishment upon the Ameri- cans as 'the people of the futm'e' in 'the land of unlimited possibilities' until we felt the helhsh effects of American shells." 97 INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE These are two paragraphs from the first page of a little German booklet called "American Neutrality," one of the stories of Schiltzengrah- enbilcher — trench books — made to fit in the pocket of a German soldier when he goes to the front. It is a fair sample of the sort of mental fodder that is being fed the German people in these days. This booklet has attained an enor- mous circulation, and helps to account for the feeling against America. It presents an interesting side-light on Ger- man-American relations. The views the writer expresses are unquestionably the reactions of a large part of the Kaiser's people. They do not like us, but, unlike the celebrated apostrophe to old Dr. Fell, they have their reasons, and in this pamphlet we find some of them. Americans will regard the work as a libelous caricature, but it is veracious in its rendition of the skepticism the Germans feel as to our ideal- ism, of their scorn of our character, of their con- tempt for our motives, of their belief in our hy- pocrisy and lack of sentiment, and of their con- viction that we have a mean and sordid interest 98 AMERICA THROUGH GERMAN EYES in prolonging the war. It is not a pleasing por- trait that has been painted, but it is a portrait that tj'^pes us to the average German, and so it is well for us to look at it. With true German thoroughness, the author. Otto von Gottberg, starts in on his second page to discover the causes of our "unfriendly neu- trality" by "observing the American people from its hour of birth to the present day through Ger- man eyes." On his forty-third page, having con- scientiously completed this task, he turns to the suj)posed subject of the book, American neu- trality, and, after discussing it for five pages, closes. Germany, he says, has always viewed the United States through British eyes. England hated us up to 1898; then flattered us, according to his view of history, and the Germans aped the British. But the British flattered us merely be- cause we were looming up as a world power, and they hoped to secure American help in "the war which they had already planned against the growing world power of Germany." And the Germans made a mistake in not perceiving that 99 INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE we were still, as always, "in spirit, if not in blood, genuine English," a people "whose history tells of nothing but the lust of profit." Why is America pro- Ally to-day? In part, Gottberg tells the men in the trenches and the burghers at home, because our leaders are at heart Englishmen; more, "because more American capital is invested in British than in German undertakings." And further, "while America scorns England because she has defeated her in the past, she fears Germany. The Americans look with hostile and suspicious respect upon the skill, industry, and success of German business men, engineers, soldiers, and sailors." But he does not fear our entry into the war. He thinks we can help the Allies more by staying out. He has small respect for either our army or our navy. He charges that in the Spanish War our "commanders, among them Colonel Roosevelt, demanded their return in a memorial to the secretary of war, to which they cautiously signed their names in a cutIc, so that none of them should appear to be the ringleader." However, he does not despise our economic forces, and in view of statements which were made 100 AMERICA THROUGH GERMAN EYES in the Presidential campaign, this view of a Ger- man is interesting. "The United States have been and are an eco- nomic opponent to us. Whether they preserve their neutrahty or not, they will at the end of a war which is exhausting Europe be our strongest economic competitor. . . . Spared by the war, indeed enriched by it, the Americans will, after the treaty of peace, be better armed than we for competitive struggle, and will bring a simply overpowe:^ng commercial supremacy to bear un- less we gather and organize all our economic forces and put them in the serv^ice of the develop- ment of our industries." It is interesting, and sometimes a little discon- certing, to view American history through the eyes of this German. He knows us too thor- oughly and dislikes us too completely to make it very comfortable. He discusses Puritan hypoc- risy in America; the manner in which we pass prohibition laws, and then take our whisky be- hind the blinds, and tolerate "speak-easies" ; then he suddenly turns to other fields. "This hy- pocrisy is not confined to drinking. Never see- ing the mote in his own eye, the American scolds 101 INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE about supposed German atrocities in Belgium, but lynches negroes and murders Mexicans." Even the Revolution did not change our re- spect for things English, our German historian tells us. "Nowhere is the English lotd received with more obsequiousness than in America. For dec- ades American society knocked at the doors of the British aristocracy, which scornfully threw the beggars into the street. The American Crcesus rubbed his aching bones, but his admira- tion for the lords grew. He sacrificed millions to secure entry to their homes." The Germans use the French word for Gov- ernor — Gouverneur. Hence this explanation: "The American still loves to decorate his chil- dren with the names of the English nobility. An American father bore the name of Morris, which happened to be the name of a royal governor in the days of English rule. So he named his son Gouverneur. To-day the boy, a grown man, writes under the name of Gouverneur Morris." Gottberg does not seem to know that the father's name, too, was Gouverneur and that he was the grandson of a Gouverneur Morris who helped to 102 AMERICA THROUGH GERMAN EYES throw the British out of the country some years ago. It is interesting to learn that the reason the British blockaded the coast of Europe from the Elbe to Brest in the Napoleonic wars was "to destroy American commerce." One had thought that a certain desire to isolate Napoleon had had something to do with it. The Monroe Doctrine, we learn, has been "on occasion despised by every great power of Europe with the single exception of Germany. But against no country has the Monroe Doctrine been quoted so often and so arrogantly as against Germany. Here again is revealed the Anglo-Saxon custom of showing friendly courtesy to the bold and giving kicks to the modest." The North opposed slavery in the Civil War simply because the North was unable to compete economically with slave labor, the booklet says, and it says further, the transcontinental railroads were built not to open up the continent, or to reach the gold of California, but to open the way to the domination of the Pacific. The Spanish War was an "unmitigated war of conquest." "As the Anglo-Saxon is accustomed to announce 103 INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE to the world that he fights only for freedom and the rights of humanity, supposed Spanish mis- conduct had to pass for the cause of the war. In fact, it was again simply the lust for gain which led America to go to war. . . . Rich Cuba, with her tobacco fields and sugar plantations, became free in name only, and Porto Rico and the Philip- pines became American provinces. "Then, this Government which is to-day preaching morality to the world, did not hesitate to rob a peaceful neighboring country of the Isth- mus of Panama. A revolution, whose outbreak American politicians and publicists have assured us was paid for in dollars, served as a trans- parent excuse." Gottberg has small faith in republics. "At first glance," he says, "the fact that these free states have lived on more than a century is dis- concerting. Nature must have one ruler. We can see that in the beehive, in a pack of wolves, or in the hen-coop. Even the sheep is wise enough to know that only one can lead the flock. The unnatm-al rule of the many usually arises only by the violent overthrow of one ruler and his loyal followers. A few adherents of monarchy 104. AMERICA THROUGH GERMAN EYES always survive the bloodiest battles of revolution as the nucleus of a new upheaval, which will in turn destroy the republic. "That is why our French neighbors eternally vacillate between monarchy and republic. Every time Madame la France steps out of bed with the left foot first, she knocks her house of state, with all its furniture, to pieces. The present French republic has lasted over forty years because a revolution is hard to organize in a time of univer- sal military service. At this very hour the law- yers who are rather ruining France than ruling her are trembling again for fear of the general whom a victorious army could make a monarch. Poincare would like to see Joffre win once, but he would not care to see too great a victory." And this belief in a monarchic restoration in France is by no means confined to our author ! How a nation can get along when the Presi- dent cannot appoint an official without the con- sent of the senate is a mystery to this German, accustomed to an autocratic Kaiser. "The President has not even the right to pre- sent drafts of laws to Congress," he says. And "when a law is passed, any citizen or group of 105 oitx«TH\^ <\^i\ s\v»;>>vst t!\i»t it is iwtxtrarv tv> tho Ov\\\stitutii\ of tl\o S\i- jMvuio CvHivt, Uvit thc^ ju\ve thoir aj>jHvint* uxeut tv> « ^v^rty* \vt\ioh CvHH UsHyc tlvei\\ huiVii\y» suvl in the <\nir>v of histvxrv American j\ui^iix\^ ksve often shv>\vn thenis^^lve^i su>wptihW tv> hrilv- ei\\\ He^KV thi^ jvwer of the ^vurt^ in the Tnitexi StHtx\^ ^\»i\ create a rule, ves a tyranny, of iUxlUrs* *riie httle nvi^n unist suhjevi liiuuvelf tvx exx^ry new Uw> while the hi^^j n\erv*l\ant^ aiui stvvk <\Mnv\w\ie?i have the jK^wer to tv^^iht xuk\mu- fortahle Uw^" ^x\wU cvxiutorl* acc\xt\lii\^^ to this a\ithv>rity» is tvx be fvHnui in the j«\ti-tnist ti^^t^i* Ue sa>»*55: "^l^he^xKxre U^yxseveU, when l*re^sident, wa^ vxne of th<^ KHKiest ajul nnv^t inv^>vx"«sive in his i4tt,^cks \4i^nst the Vrimuval rictv,' the 'Kinvlits of the Sivvk Kxchaxx^v/ iuui the 'swindlers of wiviv>ws &i\d or^vlv^nsH* In v^h" of his pnhlic sjHvclies he V. ■ .v\i the ra\h\>«d nw^vatt" llarrinian ^he w\xr^i of all the bauviit^s,* l>ut whejx the l\e?sivlent askevl the 'haiKlit^* fvxr nnxixey for his i>ext cam- IxAi^ii^i. he luvitevl e\^« llarriinaix tv> talk with hiuv *My vkar Mr. llarrunaiv \\hi ax\vl I are AMUMTA 'jni(f>f,Mf MJIMAN KYKH fiu'i 'i< rtonncA-jV* Stniri/^*: \t/'/:,ui our pa,*l, "ICarly in Ui' ir hi»l/;ry/' v/f; arc t/>)d, **tf h-M.vri'A \.\r.)X u riallorj '••ouM noi live v/hhout a fjtrofjp/ navy. NotJiirj;^ v/r/ijjfj U; rnon; r/ji*- fak' n tfi/jfj f,o \jfmt\t\fi i' turn our h;i/:k.'> to f.hc h*;a and ^^rf, r/n a» a ('.onVirn'jiinl \>'>w(:r withr/ut a Kiron^ f)^;'.'t of tijf:ir f;7f;ry ri' ';fi frorrj t[,*;ir own ft/>JI, and yadihey ■.\ii]'<:r>tth<;r;^ (•//nnlwiKHf "if a \t(jj\>\f^ with a hlhU/ry which UJi.s of nothing hut tijc hjst for gain did n^/t, even arnJd the h'erc- est hlood .hed of aJI hi.st^/ry, -Sf;ck profit and j[>rofit alone.'* Not a v/ord of the feeding of JieJgiurn, rjot a v/ord of tfje clean.sing of Serbia, not a word of ]07 INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE Poland or Armenia, not a word of the struggle for neutral rights when human lives were set high above dollars and cents, and the ruthless U-boats curbed. Our history "tells of nothing but the lust for gain," and in the midst of the Great War we have been seeking "profit and profit alone." Of this book, written since Pershing's army entered Mexico, to which the author calls atten- tion, 150,000 copies have been sold in Germany alone. That tells something of the German feel- ing toward America. To-day it takes a German superman to see anything that is good in Amer- ica or anything that is fine in the work of the President of the United States. 108 CHAPTER X BAERING THE SPIES FROM THE EMPIRE Doors locked against travelers — Strangers closely observed — In- vestigations before Americans leave United States, on arrival in neutral country, and at the border — The search at the frontier — The eleven steps in procuring a passport to leave — The remarkably educated waiters in the foreigners' hotels — The telephone operator who took a taxi to the races — Spies watch Germany's allies too — German agents on the transat- lantic liners — German mails via submarines to Spain; thence out uncensored. Germany to-day is a giant fortress completely- ringed by besiegers. Every man, woman, and child, all the beasts of bm-den and food, are checked and located. The doors have been locked against travelers seeking to enter and those seeking to depart. Only in exceptional cases are visitors received, and in rarer instances are natives permitted to leave. The police are able at all times to account for every one of the population, passport issuance has been made extremely diiFicult, the ordeal of search and inquest at the frontier is severe and thorough, interior travel has been sharply re- 109 INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE stricted, every foot of the border is guarded against illegal entry, obstacles have been put in the way of mail and telegraph communications, the espionage system has been multiplied in effi- ciency and extent — all for the safety of the em- pire. And because this is the underlying reason for them, the Germans have submitted to the re- strictions willingly, and, instead of rebelling, aid them. The spy mania that swept over war-ridden Em'ope two years ago has lessened in its visible intensity in Germany, but the precaution against spies has been increased. The people have con- fidence in the safeguards against espionage, and so suspicion has been quieted. How well this confidence is justified can be attested by any one who has been inside the empire in the second year of the war. A stranger is under observation from the time he enters until he has left. The watchfulness is not obtrusive, it is rarely evident ; but it is always thorough. Within twelve hours of a visitor's ar- rival he must report in person at the nearest police station, and every time he makes a railroad journey this operation must be repeated. 110 BARRING SPIES FROM THE EMPIRE When an American undertakes a voyage to Germany, the wheels of the imperial Govern- ment begin to revolve immediately upon the first appHcation for a vise to his passport being made in this country. The first question to be an- swered concerns the applicant's character, so that Germany may feel sure he does not purpose to aid or abet her enemies ; and the second, the actual need of the business that causes him to make the trip. Obtaining a passport from the American Government is attended by many formalities, and these are renewed when the German consul- generals are asked to approve. Germany insists that a fortnight intervene between the application for a vise and the begin- ning of the trip. This is to enable her officials to make the necessary investigations, and then to communicate the facts to Berlin and to the trav- eler's port of arrival. All travel between America and Germany is through Copenhagen, Stockholm, or Rotterdam. From Copenhagen the traveler enters Germany through Warnemunde; from Stockholm he en- ters through Sassnitz; and from Rotterdam through Bentheim. Upon his arrival at one of 111 INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE the three neutral cities he must begin the proceed- ings afresh. The method employed in Copenhagen is typical of all. Armed with his passport and such letters of reference as he may have, the traveler visits the pass bm'eau of the consul-gen- eral. As that official's office hours are limited, and as there is always a crowd demanding atten- tion, he probably has a wait of two days before his turn is reached. When his number is finally called he is cross-examined in detail to make cer- tain that he is entitled to the papers in his pos- session, and after j)resenting six recent photo- graphs of himself he is told to retm'n in three days for instructions as to when he may proceed. This delay is to permit the consul to comnmnicate with Berlin to learn if any objection has arisen to the entrance of the traveler. If none exists, he is told he may take the train at the expiration of another five days, the extra time being used to forward the duplicate passports and photographs and other records to Warnemunde, the port of entry, on the Baltic Sea. There are embargoes in Denmark, as well as in Sweden and Holland, on what a traveler to 112 BARRING SPIES FROM THE EMPIRE Germany may take with him. But these are not enforced with great strictness against America. However pleasant this laxity may be before ar- rival on German soil, it becomes doubly so in con- trast to the severity with which every minute reg- ulation is put into force by the Kaiser's officers, Upon arrival at Warnemunde (the methods throughout the empire are standardized, and are the same at every other entrance point) the trav- elers are shunted into a long low wooden shed, carrying their hand baggage, having previously sm'rendered the checks for their heavier luggage. Upon entering the place they are given numbers, and in return surrender then' passports to brisk, keen-eyed, non-commissioned officers, whose effi- ciency has been increased by long practice. Once in the room, the travelers are not permit- ted to leave except through one door, and that they pass only when their numbers are called. Barred windows and armed sentries prevent any trifling with this system. The numbers are called one by one except in the case of husbands and wives, who are permitted to go through to- gether — and when this is reached, the traveler passes through into a second office, where he is 113 INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE questioned as to his identity and the photographs on the passports are verified. While he is undergoing this questioning he is being overheard and carefully watched by num- bers of the geheim-Polizei (secret police), some of whom are in uniform and others of whom masquerade in civilian attire as new arrivals. If there is any error in his papers it is developed at this point, and he is at once turned about and sent back to Copenhagen. But if it is a case of alles in Ordnung (everything in order), it is so reported, and he is ushered into another room, where, having passed the first two inqiiisitorial chambers, he is submitted to the grand ordeal, that of search. And what a search it is ! Unless one's creden- tials are exceptionally strong, one is stripped and one's mouth, ears, nose, and other parts of the body examined. One's fountain pen is emptied, every piece of paper taken away, including visit- ing-cards, and even match-boxes are confiscated. Finger rings, umbrellas, and canes are inspected. If bandages are worn, these must be stripped off, too. No distinction is drawn between men and 114f BARRING SPIES FROM THE EJVIPIRE women beyond the fact that women are of course examined before female inspectors. The bodily search having been completed, that of the clothing is begun. Every article of ap- parel is felt over carefully and exposed to a strong light for fear there may be writing on the lining. If there is the slightest reason for sus- picion, the travelers are given a sponge bath of water with a large admixture of citric acid, which has the effect of making apparent any writing on the body that may have been done with invisible ink. The Germans say that these precautions have been necessitated by the ingenious ruses em- ployed by spies, whose entrance into the country is considered a greater menace than is their de- parture, since in entering they bring with them instructions to their confederates already within the empire awaiting orders. The next step is the examination of the bag- gage, and this is done in a manner to make the American customs inspection seem childish. The interior and exterior measurements of the trunks are taken to guard against false sides, tops, and bottoms, and then one by one every article the 115 INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE trunks contain is put through a separate inspec- tion. All foods that are brought in are seized and turned in to the governmental depot, from which they are distributed for later use. Until Sep- tember, 1916, it was permitted to import food from neutral countries, but this was eventually made taboo on the ground that it gave the wealthy an unfair advantage and violated the principle of the German food laws, which are predicated upon equitable distribution. Every sort of liquid is confiscated. The per- fimies of the women are poured into a big tub, and such liquors as the men may be carrying are treated in a similar manner. The contents of travelers' alcohol or spirit lamps are carefully emptied into air-tight containers for later use. The reason for the drastic regulation against tak- ing any liquid, however small the quantity, into Germany was the danger of the fact that high explosives such as nitroglycerine can be carried in small vessels. On several occasions, the Ger- mans say, railroads and bridges have been blown up by the enemy travelers who carried the means of destruction in this way. In this connection 116 BARRING SPIES FROM THE EMPIRE the additional precaution is taken by the authori- ties of prohibiting all travelers from putting their heads out the windows of the coupes while cross- ing bridges. All written or printed matter, such as books, newspapers, pamphlets, magazines, is talien away. Upon request the traveler may have these forwarded to his point of destination after they have been censored and deleted. As every point on the German border is carefully guarded, it is virtually impossible for any one to enter the country except at stated points. All the roads are closed, and the border fields are care- fully patrolled. Upon his arrival in Berlin, or wherever he may be bound, the traveler must present himself in person at the nearest police station. There his passj)ort is again vised, and he is given official permission to remain for a given period. But every time he makes a trip he must report him- self going and coming. The interior regulations are identical for both stranger and resident. Every possible difficulty is thrown in the way of travel for the purpose of discouraging it. The object of this is to save 117 INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE the people money and to prevent miscalculations in the food supply of the various districts into which the country is divided. At the same time the danger of espionage is reduced. This method of making travel difficult has been reduced to a scientific formula. There are pre- cisely eleven separate operations required before one can obtain a passport carrying with it per- mission to leave the country. And a minimum of at least ten days must elapse between the time one makes his initial application and the time one is permitted to board the train. Of this period from three to four days are necessary to unwind the red tape preliminary to obtaining the passport, the rest of the time being required to forward the necessary information to the point by which one leaves the empire. The first step taken on the road of departure is to visit the police precinct, where, after watch- ing the issuance to the precinct dwellers of meat- and bread-cards, of special permission to buy re- stricted merchandise, of state health insurance and employment insurance books being stamped, you finally get the chance to explain the purpose of your call. Then you are given a card and told 118 BARRING SPIES FROM THE EMPIRE to present it at the police presidency building. After wandering through a maze of corridors and being referred to different offices, you finally reach a barred window where one man is leisurely attending to the wants of three or four hundred people. If you are lucky, you get into personal communication with the gentleman behind the wicket after a wait of four or five hours. After he learns that you are planning to go away, he takes your name and address, looks at your passport, — nothing is really official in Ger- many to-day unless your passport is called into action with every question, — and closes the inter- view by giving you a formidable-looking three- page application blank, not printed, but written in German script and then manifolded, which makes it doubly difficult to read. The first form is translated on page 120. Having filled out the questionnaire, the next step is to pay another call upon your friend the police sergeant at the precinct, whom you visit in company of those who can vouch for your iden- tity. In solemn and impressive manner, always slow and dignified, a record is made of the exam- ination-slip, and you are handed another which 119 INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE Vise No For Pass No , QUESTION SHEET For the preparation of vis^s for passports to foreign countries. Name of applicant When and where born Occupation Residence (name of street and number of house) Nationality (present and past) Resident in Berlin since (Suburbs excluded.) Goal of j ourney Purpose of j ourney (Also of residence here.) Length of journey What frontier station will be used — (a) In going? (b) In coming? When wiU the frontier be crossed — (a) In going? (b) In coming? i When was the applicant last abroad — and where? (The last pass should be inclosed.) When first here? What written material have you which will prove the neces- sity of the journey? (Original papers should be inclosed.) I declare the above statements to be true. Berlin Full name Residence This question sheet is to be transmitted to the passport bureau by the competent residential police precinct. 120 BARRING SPIES FROM THE EMPIRE must be filled out, and then, armed with these two documents, you make your second assault upon the Polizei-Praesidium. This is the begin- ning of an attack that requires from two to four days to execute successfully, and involves visits to no fewer than seven different offices, each sep- arate from the others by long miles of halls devoid of signs to discom'age or encourage you by telling how near or how far you are from the offices you seek, and endless flights of stairs, nar- row and hard to climb, for such modernities as elevators are scorned. Leg-weary and shoe-worn, you are finally fin- ished with the various recorders who have passed upon your right to a passport, and conceahng the precious paper securely about your person, you are now ready to make your trip — ready except for the last, final, and ultimate (or so you think) proceeding, which consists of ''ahmel- du7ig" (announcing departure) to yoiu* friend at the precinct station, whom you are surprised to find has not become a veteran with a long gray beard in the seeming ages that have passed since you were first compelled to make his acquaint- ance. 121 INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE And even now you are not through, for as you pass the controls through which the train runs you are under the necessity of showing your passport to each of the inspectors. When you reach the point of departure from German ter- ritory, precisely the same method is followed in examination and inspection as you found upon entrance to the empire. Five departments of the police are required to look after the spy-protection system. The regular police does the checking of the strangers, the secret police takes up their movements after they are within the hmits of the country, the political secret service engages itself with the political activities of the visitors, and the or- dinary military police and secret military agents take up such work as falls without the limits of the other three organizations. In every hotel are to be met spies in the form of guests, waiters, chambermaids, telephone op- erators, and bartenders. In the early part of the war these last proved their worth often, for men otherwise cautious and reticent became out- spoken under the influence of a few Scotches or 122 BARRING SPIES FROM THE EMPIRE cock-tails, which are still in vogue in Germany despite their American origin. At one of the biggest of the Berlin hotels it is a noticeable fact that all the floor waiters are young, active, highly intelhgent men. When they are asked why they are not serving at the front all have excuses on the score of health. The truth is that they are all governmental agents whose duty it is to familiarize themselves with the details of every visitor's business. That they do well. Every stranger's papers are thor- oughly investigated, no matter how securely they may be locked up, before he has been in the city two days, assuming he leaves them in his room. Two members of the American dip- lomatic corps who made short stays in Berlin can tell singular stories on this point. The chief of the floor waiters at this hotels — and it is illustrative of all the others — is a pol- ished-mannered young fellow of about thirty- two who speaks English, French, Italian, Span- ish, and Danish with the same facility that he reads them, and he reads them as well as he does his native German. I noticed the chief of the 123 INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE telephone operators, who while discharging the duties of his lowly job wore livery, attending the races in an English sport-coat, with glasses strung over his shoulders, and he went to and from the course in a taxicab, the height of lux- ury in war-time Berhn. One would hardly credit his income solely to the measly wages he re- ceived from his work at the switch-board. He, too, as well as his assistants, was an accomplished linguist. It must not be thought that espionage is con- fined to the Americans. On the contrary, even the subjects of Germany's allies receive this at- tention. Austrian, Bulgarian, or Turkish, it makes no difference; all are put under the scru- tiny of the secret eyes and ears of the Kaiser. Almost it is more difficult to obtain a passport permitting one to travel to Austria than it is to obtain one for a journey to America, and the examination at the Austrian border is just as severe as at the frontier between Germany and Denmark. German spies travel on all the transatlantic liners running from Denmark, Sweden, Nor- way, and Holland to America, and back again. 124 BARRING SPIES FROM THE EMPIRE They find out as much as they can about their fellow-travelers, so that the secret police may be forewarned as to whom and what they are to re- ceive. These agents are rarely employed by the Gennan Government for the secret transmission of mail ; that is usually done by men of solid rep- utation, American or other neutrals who are persuaded to accept the task on the ground of a service to the empire. Obviously, they must be violently pro-German before they are asked to assume the undertaking. The difiiculty of communication is one of the severe hardships that the German Government and people suffer. Mails to and from the em- pire are seized by the Allies, and if delivered at all, are so belated as to make them valueless. Only such cables as the Allies choose to pass are permitted transmission. Male Germans are not permitted to travel on the seas. So German communication is restricted to the wireless, to supposedly neutral couriers, and to submarines, both of the commercial type as the Deutschland, and of the war type, which have been secretly conveying important German mail to Spanish waters, where it is loaded upon friendly neutral 125 INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE vessels, which carry it into Spanish ports and thence forward it to America and other points. This last method has been a carefully guarded secret of the German Government. Mail sent out by Spain is not seized and censored by the Allies. 126 CHAPTER XI THE HOBGOBLIN OF GERMAN DUMPING Germany fosters combination — The necessity for internal economic readjustment — Prohibition of emigration — Alfred Lohmann, father of the commercial U-boats, says Germany is in no con- dition to seek foreign markets — American exports and imports to and from Germany — Shipbuilding only obvious prepara- tion for future, but reports exaggerated for foreign effect — American firms in Germany doing well — Lack of raw materials in Germany — Impairment of German credit. In the commercial world to-day Germany stands at the opposite pole from America. We enforce competition; she legalizes combinations. We restrict the participation of the Government in business; she demands a share in every one of her trades. We have taken a long step forward in the erection of a national trade commission to regulate competition ; she has estabhshed bureaus that eliminate all competitive forms. The empire's industrial and financial condi- tion is of most interest to America in so far as we are actually affected by it. And the chief effect over which this country is concerned is the 127 INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE matter of "dumping" that many believe will come after the war from all the belligerents. Mostly the fear is directed against Germany because of her organization ability and because of the very combinations she is now bringing about. "Dumping" means the throwing into our mar- kets of enormous stocks of merchandise, sold below cost to win our markets away from home manufacturers. If this plan is actually projected in Germany, it is effectually concealed from the visitor. They tell you in Germany — the leading indus- trialists of the country — ^that for ten, perhaps more, years to come Germany and the other bel- ligerents, instead of being able to make goods for the outside world, will not be able to supply their own demands. She and the others, they say, will need America, and the fear is that Ger- many will have to fight for her domestic markets instead of reaching out for the markets of America. It is evident that the empire to-day is far more concerned with the m-eat difficulties of economic readjustment after the war than she is with plans for external trade conquests. Apart from 1^8 THE HOBGOBLIN OF GERMAN DUMPING the financial troubles, her bankers and merchants say she will face a heavy scarcity of labor that not even the employment of women in work heretofore restricted to men will obviate. The high price labor will command is certain to re- strict output, it is feared, and as one step toward remedying this condition, Germany and Austria-Hungary will pass laws restricting if not prohibiting, all emigration. These state- ments are made with authority, and thus another chimera of the pessimists who foresee a great in- flux of immigration is wiped out. It must be remembered that Germany now uses from one and a quarter to one and a half million prisoners in her labor. The supply will end with peace. "Beyond what the empire and her alhes actually need for immediate consumption," said Alfred Lohmann of Bremen, who conceived and executed the plan of sending the commercial U- boat Deutschland here and who is one of the big men in the German business world to-day, "our industries are at a standstill. We have no labor or money for extra production and no mar- ket, if we had these two necessaries. It is pure bosh to talk of Germany piling up great stores 12^ INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE of merchandise to unload after the war. It is obviously impossible. Wliere are we to get the raw material when we are hard put to it for mate- rial for our every-day necessities? And how can we afford to invest money in propositions that must be unproductive of profits for a long time to come, and which are actually costly in the loss of interest on the money so tied up ? "Germany is busy to-day, but her business is all for to-day. Her commerce now has a national service to render; it does not think of world development and trade expansion. And for a long time after the war we shall be busy binding up om' own commercial wounds. We shall bind them up, never feai*, but it is idle to talk of or fear Germany's immediate competition in your market or any of the other big selling places. We shall recover more rapidly than the other nations because our organization is better. When we have recovered, that is another story; but I do not beheve that even after our recovery we shall be so much in competition with America as we were before. Our main markets will be found along the lines of our national develop- ment." 130 ' International Kiliii Service, Inc Du. ALFRED LOIIMANX THE HOBGOBLIN OF GERMAN DUMPING By that phrase Mr. Lohmann meant through the Balkans into Asia. He is one of the many Germans who beUeve that his country's future alhanee will be with Russia. Although half English, being the son of an English mother, he fears that for many years to come Germany and England will be at swords' points. America's trade with Germany shows one great feature, that we can more readily do with- out Germany than she without us. Our table of imports and exports since 1912 shows: Imports. Exports. 1912 $186,042,644 $330,450,830 1913 184,211,352 351,930,541 1914 149,389,366 158,294,986 1915 44,953,285 11,788,852 1916 (Jan.-Apr.) 3,141,791 58,646 [The- sharp decrease in trade noted in 1916 is due to the tightening British blockade and the blacklist.] An analysis of our imports shows our biggest bill to have been for laces arid embroideries. This ran about $7,000,000 a year, but even this had been decreasing in volume as our domestic manufactures increased. The same is true with most of the leading articles which the United 133 INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE States imported from Germany. The other big items in our bill were coal-tar colors and dyes, about $6,000,000 a year; china and earthenware, nearly $4,000,000; raw furs, $5,000,000, and dressed furs, $2,500,000; calfskins, $5,000,000; crude india rubber, anywhere from $4,000,000 to $7,000,000; toys, about $7,000,000; wood pulp, about $2,500,000; woolens, $4,000,000; leather gloves, over $3,000,000; and still wines, $1,000,- 000 a year. Cotton dominated our exports to Germany. In peace times Germany used to buy nearly $170,000,000 worth of cotton from us every year. Next came copper, from $40,000,000 to $50,000,000; lard, from $15,000,000 to $20,000,- 000; wheat, from $7,000,000 to $12,000,000, de- pending on the crops; with kerosene oil, rosin, corn, agricultural implements, lubricating oil, to- bacco, and upper leather between $3,000,000 and $5,000,000 a year. Of the three and a half million dollar imports from Germany into the port of New York dur- ing the first six months of 1916, it is interesting to note that knit underwear was the largest item. 134} THE HOBGOBLIN OF GERMAN DUMPING The second in value was manufactured products of flax, and the third, miscellaneous chemicals. Other items on the list included sugar beet seed, cotton laces and embroideries, linen embroideries, china and earthenware, hops, textile machinery, leather gloves, lithographic paper, photographic paper, other paper stock, musical instruments, and toys. There were no exports from New York to Ger- many in 1916 except the negligible sum of $58,- 646. The only obvious preparation for the future is the projected shipping program, but there is reason to beheve that many of the announce- ments on this point have been made largely to cause foreign irritation. I was told authorita- tively that almost every ship -yard in Germany is working on government commissions ; but it is said, and the statement is credited in England, that the Hamburg- American line has laid down a colossal 50,000-ton steamer, the Bismarck; a 30,000-tonner to be known as the Tirpitz, and three 22,000-ton ships; that the North German Lloyd has laid down two sister-ships of 35,000 135 INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE tons, two more of 16,000 each, and twelve of 42,- 000 tons each, and that other German Hnes are correspondingly active. The American foms that do business in Ger- many selling shoes, type-writers, cash-registers, cameras, oils, machinery, metals, cotton and cot- ton goods, meat foods, tobacco, fm's, and other manufactured goods, despite the fact that they are getting few shipments from this country, are doing well now. They have adapted themselves to conditions and are sometimes meeting the situ- ation in a way that enables them to show profit even to-day. But their future prospects — ad- vance orders booked — are strong. So it looks, with the national Government strengthening the hands of our export trade, as if Germany will face dumping from us rather than we from Ger- many. One highly important factor in connection with the possibility of German dumping is to be found in the absence of raw materials within the empire. Before she can undertake any vast manufacturing enterprises with the purpose of invading foreign markets, she must be supplied with the raw stuffs. This will require enormous 136 THE HOBGOBLIN OF GERMAN DUMPING credits in the external markets, and because of her staggering debts she is bound, in the fii'st years following peace, to have difficulty in mak- ing the necessary arrangements. Obviously, her credit will by no means be what it was before her enormous war commitments, which already approximate sixteen bilhon dol- lars and are growing, without including the na- tional debt standing at the outset of the conflict, which was about five billion dollars. And the obstacles in the way of foreign extension to Ger- man credits will not be made smoother by the antagonistic influences of the British and French banking afliliations, which have already begun the construction of an impasse in the financial centers of tlie United States and South Amer- ican countries. 137 CHAPTER XII BUSINESS BEHIND THE BATTLE LINE Central purchasing and distributing bureaus for food and other necessaries fundamental to Germany's present economic or- ganization — The Imperial Transition Commission — Price dicta- tion — No repudiation of debts expected — The German war loans and how they are floated — "The strategy of the check- book" — Autocratic Socialism — Germany's national wealth and that of the Allies — Low rate of unemployment — Increased number of industrial laborers — Production of iron — Freight revenues greater than in time of peace — The gold reserve in the Reichsbank — Loans floated at home — The rate of exchange — The Reichsbank's watch on waste — The Labor Dictatorship and the civilian army of work — Operation of the "Man-Power" Act. The German idea of democracy — "Women to the front." The main point in Germany's present eco- nomic system is readiness to meet her immediate emergencies and those of an internal nature aris- ing after the war. She has created state-con- trolled purchasing and distributing bureaus. There are Central Einkauf-Bilros and distribut- ing bureaus for grain, milk, eggs, butter, meat, fish, and other edibles, and for wool, cotton, metals, leather, oils, and the other great raw staples. The food bureaus will end with the end 138 BEHIND THE BATTLE LINE of the war, but governmental buying of the raw stuffs, it is expected, will be continued for as long a time as the system proves efficient, which will be until the method threatens to stifle in- dividual initiative. Every one with whom I spoke in Germany believes that at least some of the things in the present regulation will be con- tinued because the benefits are so great. These central purchasing bureaus of the empire are a thoroughgoing example of the highly organized conditions existing to-day. Every plant using any of the great raw staples is recorded in the district bureau, where the rea- son for the plant's existence must be given; it must be shown that the plant is engaged in manufactures needed for military or commercial pm'poses. The factories show their advance orders to the divisional chiefs and receive an allotment of the raw stuffs. The needs of the empire are lumped and the Central Bilro in Ber- lin divides the supplly according to these allot- ments. If the supply on hand is sufficient, no extra purchases are made, but if the immediate needs threaten to pull the reserves below a certain point, new purchases are made in accessible for- 139 INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE eign markets; or if no supply is available, the distribution is curtailed on proportionate bases. Many of the big industrialists of Germany believe that this system can be profitably con- tinued after peace. They see in the method a means of regulating prices through their enor- mous purchasing power. For example, if all the copper, amounting to hundi-eds of millions of pounds, that Germany needs annually were to be bought by one bureau, the magnitude of the operation would be such as to enable it in effect to dictate the price it would be willing to pay. It may be noted that this system is substantially that employed by the Allies now, as was shown by the recent order of 500,000,000 pounds that was placed in the American market. The question of continuing this method, and other economic questions that will arise after peace comes, are to be handled by an imperial transition commission. This commission will not only deal with the industrial and economic situa- tion, but will also be required to solve the finan- cial problems that Germany must face. Although it is admitted that the heavy drain upon German capital and industry will leave 140 BEHIND THE BATTLE LINE them somewhat crippled, bankers of the empire feel certain that there is no chance that the Ger- man debts will be repudiated. They feel con- fident also that England will be able to meet her obligations, but they are not so sure about France and Russia. Germany's bankers pretend to have no fear of the present system of credit pyramiding. They make a virtue of the fact that virtually all of Ger- many's war money has been raised in Germany itself, and seem not to be worried by the fact that each new issue of war bonds is purchasable with bonds of the last issue, a method which has been described as being like a snake swallowing itself. Germany's war loans now amount to 47,000,- 000,000 marks (nominally about $11,750,000,- 000) , with a margin of 5,000,000,000 more marks "credit" voted by the Reichstag. With the new credit of 12,000,000,000 marks asked for in the summer of 1916, which will be obtained by another war loan to be floated in the spring of 1917, the total war credits voted will reach 64,000,000,000 marks (about $16,000,000,000). To the fifth loan, closed in September, 1916, which brought out 10,652,000,000 marks, over 141 INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE 4,000,000 people subscribed. They call that the "people's loan" in Germany. In this connection it is interesting to note how the German Government has used clever press- agent methods in bringing out the loans. They are masters of the "strategy of the check-book" as well as of the battle-field. The first loan was floated at the very beginning of the war amid scenes of wild enthusiasm, when von Kluck's army was marching on Paris, and the certainty of immediate victory swelled every German breast. The second came a few months later, coinciding with the complete subjection of northern France and Belgium, when the German battle-line had been flung from the Alps to the sea; the third followed close upon Hindenburg's steam-roller advance through Poland, when Rus- sia seemed ciiished and helpless ; the titanic strug- gle at Verdun began as the fourth was offered, and the war loan grew as the outlying forts fell. The fifth came with the promotion of Hinden- burg, the iron man of Germany, to the supreme command of all her armies. The necessity of floating another big popular loan was said to be one of the reasons why Fal- 142 BEHIND THE BATTLE LINE kenhayn was replaced in August by Hindenburg. That there was more than a httle truth in the statement is shown by the fact that no sooner had Hindenburg taken hold than all the papers car- ried big signed statements from him command- ing, cajoling, pleading that the people subscribe. And all the advertisements were written around Hindenburg. It was good pyscholog}^, and the idolatry of Hindenburg was coined into billions of marks. The sixth credit was authorized when the Allies' Somme offensive had failed to break through the German lines and when the Germans were beginning to overrun Roumania. This new war loan was based upon the Ger- man reckoning that their daily war needs amount to about $13,000,000 a day. The Germans say that .the Allies are spending more than twice as much. The contention of the German bankers regard- ing their ability to meet at least a part of the increased demands that will be made upon Ger- many's financial resources is supported by the great increase of the savings-bank deposits, which in the first eight months of 1916 showed a 143 INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE gain of 1,710,000,000 marks. Since the war began, about 400,000 new accounts have been opened, and in the first two years of the war the savings-banks showed almost $1,000,000,000 excess of deposits over withdrawals. Figures are less interesting than the human factors behind them. Everybody in Germany saves. They save on automobiles ; there are vir- tually no private cars left. They save on rent, food, clothes, and other life supplies held down by government regulation. They take pride in saving. The autocratic Socialism typical of Germany to-day is helping toward this end. It has sys- tematized German life; it has established pur- chasing and distribution bureaus for the neces- saries of individual and national life ; it regulates the labor supply; it puts a check on the rise in prices. The biggest silk house in Berlin was closed for a week in 1916 because it had been overcharging. Although it was closed and could receive no customers, all its regular expenses — rent, light, and wages — had to be paid. Racing and playing the stock markets are stiU indulged in in Germany and Austria. Many 144j © Brown & Dawson Dr. KARL HELFFERICII. SECRETARY INTERIOR OF STATE FOR THE BEHIND THE BATTLE LINE stocks are cheap, paying ten, fifteen, twenty, and thirty per cent, dividends, but no one knows how long it will be before the present small govern- ment share in the profits will be so much in- creased that it will virtually wipe out all but a narrow margin of gain. Germany has paid almost all her war expenses through war loans. The taxes have not been heavily increased. The Prussian income-tax has been lifted, on an average, only seven to eleven per cent. This system merely defers pay- ment to posterity, but against this load the Ger- man economists say that the regular increase in wealth in the empire will act as compensa- tion. German estimates of the national wealth of Germany, France, and Great Britain at the be- ginning of the war are as follows: Billion marks. Germany 330-390 France ^00-260 Great Britain and Ireland 300-360 The German national wealth was distributed thus: 147 INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE Billion marks. Goods movable and immovable, insured against fire 200-240 Real property 70-100 Mines underground 5-6 Goods shipped, shipping, coin, and bul- lion 6 Public property (railways, &c.) 30-40 Investments abroad 20-25 These estimates are the averages made by three financial economists, Helfferich, Steinman- Bucher, and A. Hesse. One of the great things the war has done for Germany has been to make her virtually self-sufficient. To-day she depends on herself or her allies for all her food supplies and raw materials. She needs nickel and rubber, but there is no lack of copper. Iron and coal and zinc she produces within her own limits. The food stuffs that she raises, combined with the aid she gets from her allies, are made to do. The average rise in prices on food stuffs is put at about seventy per cent., which the Germans say is less than in England or France. It is high on cattle and hog meat, but low on vegetables and certain grains. 148 BEHIND THE BATTLE LINE Regarding industrial conditions in Germany generally, I had an official statement prepared in the interior department and approved by Dr. Helfferich. The fii'st part of the statement deals with food supplies, which are considered in the next chapter. It points out that the pres- ent "war of exhaustion" is not waged on the Ger- man food alone, but through the limitation of food, on the German health; and it shows that the number of sick persons drawing sick benefits from the State Kranken-Kassen (health insur- ance) is much lower than in times of peace, not- withstanding the great number of old persons who are now represented among the workers. "On the 1st of January, 1916," the statement says, "one hundred per cent, of the members of the Kranken-Kassen were employed. [In the- ory, every worker in Germany is a member of the Kranken-Kassen; if the official statement is to be believed, it shows that there was absolutely no unemployment on January 1.] Since January 1, the percentage of employment has been slowly lowered, being 95.7 on July 1. "The number of females employed through- out the empire has in the last two years been 14?9 INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE greatly increased, although in 1916 it showed a smaller increment of increase than in 1915. "The returns from 300 varied industrial un- dertakings show the number of workers in June, 1915, to have been 328,786, and in June, 1916, 386,565, an increase of seventeen and six-tenths per cent. The increase is uniform for male and female employees. In the machinery industry the increase in employment is twenty-six per cent, and in the iron and metal industry ahnost twenty-three per cent. There has been a heavy relapse recently in the textile and wood industry, but the last named is scarcely representative, since there are only five firms now in opera- tion, and these firms are employing about 1000 >vorkmen, so that the instance affords no real proof." It is then stated that the actual number of un- employed in the empire to-day is two and five- tenths per cent., which is a very much smaller unemployment figure than was the case in June, 1914. "The production of raw iron for the first half of the year 1916," the statement continues, "shows an increase of 17.5 per cent, and the cast 150 BEHIND THE BATTLE LINE iron production an increase of 25 per cent, com- pared with the same period of 1915. "The income of the Prussian-Hessian state railways from freight revenues exclusively was only 12.7 per cent., smaller than that in the cor- responding months of peace times — the first six months of 1916 compared with the fii'st six months of 1914. Since December, 1915, the freight revenues have been higher than in peace times. December, 1916, compared with Decem- ber, 1913, shows an increase of 8 per cent.; Jan- uary, 1916, compared with January, 1914, an increase of 10 per cent.; March, 1916, compared with March, 1914, 12 per cent.; May, 1916, with May, 1914, 10 per cent.; June, 1916, with June, 1914, 8 per cent. A six months' comparison between war and peace times shows an average increase of about 10 per cent., notwithstanding the fact that the tariff for transportation has been considerably lowered." Regarding the German export of goods, the statement says that in six months from January to June, 1916, it exceeded by more than twenty- five per cent, the volume for the same period for 1915, About money it says : 151 INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE "The low price of Reichsmarks in all neutral countries has been a cheap and common piece of parade for the international Franco-British slan- der-propaganda, and is still being made so despite its hollowness and lack of truth." It is pointed out that the note issue by the German Reichs- hank is covered by more than a one-third reserve in gold, "whereas the gold cover of the Bank of France," the statement continues, "has decreased virtually 62 per cent, in ratio to note issue." In conclusion it is said : "Germany has, in round figures, paid seven- eighths of her war expenses with war loans that were placed within the empire through the broad- est participation of the people. The interest on these loans has been covered in part by the 'inter- est debt notes,' and in a few months these floating notes will be transformed into regular loans. What other state can show its war expenditures as having been loaned by the home country alone?" The reference made in the official statement to the depression of the Reichsmark, touches on a matter over which the Reichsbank is much con- cerned. Ignoring the rates of exchange quoted 152 BEHIND THE BATTLE LINE on German money in other markets, the Beichs- bank in Berlin every day announces the official exchange rate and compels acceptance of this rate by those buying German money. For ex- ample, at the end of September, 1916, I had oc- casion to cash a check on America in Berlin. I got for each dollar only five marks, forty pfen- nigs, while on the same day in Copenhagen I would have received five marks, sixty-five pfen- nigs for my American dollar. Had I had Amer- ican gold to change into German money, I could have "shopped" for the best rate, which at that time was about five marks and eighty-seven pfen- nigs. In other words, there was a difference of about twelve per cent, between the gold exchange and the exchange received for the check. Nothing is too big for German organization to attempt and nothing is so small as to be over- looked. The paternalism of the Government is nowhere so marked as in the Reiclishank, and this spirit is well illustrated in a little incident, for the accuracy of which I can vouch : A wealthy manufacturer of Germany took a brief vacation at Marienbad in Austria. He felt the need of a little stimulation, and dropped into 153 INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE a private club one evening to play baccarat. When he was through his session, he was about 200,000 marks the loser, and he gave a draft on his bank in Berlin to cover that amount. The draft was put through the Marienbad bank, and, as is now done with all foreign collections, was forwarded to the ReicJishank for adjustment. Instead of an acceptance being made, the drawer of the check and the bank through which it had been put received telegrams requesting that im- mediate explanation be given to the Reichshanh as to how the check happened to be di-awn, and to what purposes the funds were to be put. Rather embarrassed, the loser naively ex- plained that he was making a private investment. After further correspondence, the Reiclisbank finally approved the draft, and he was permitted to draw his own money. As this was so illustra- tive of the German efficiency I made it a point to ask why the draft had been questioned, and was told that the inspection department of the Reichshanh wished to be satisfied, first, that the large amount of money was not to be used for espionage purposes, and secondly, that the money thus taken out of Germany, would not be wasted. 154 BEHIND THE BATTLE LINE It may be questioned if the Reichsbank's second purpose was fulfilled, but obviously such a watch over financial matters proves a deterrent to fool- ish expenditures. But the most extreme example of German paternalism is her recent step in establishing uni- versal compulsory labor for all able-bodied males behind the front. All men of military age who are unfit to bear arms, also all men over military age but under sixty, will be put in charge of a special new department of the War Office. They will be so apportioned and distributed in those industries the products of which are most needed for the very existence of the nation that hundreds of thousands of able-bodied workmen heretofore held back in the munitions factories will be re- leased for military service. This so-called "civil service" based on a "man- power" law, has not yet been extended to the women, but the project is being seriously dis- cussed, and a vigorous campaign is being waged to induce the women, whom public opinion will not yet permit to be sent to the front, to sub- stitute wherever possible for able-bodied men who can shoulder arms. 155 INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE The Germans are proud of this new service that will compel every man to "do his bit," and point to it as proof of their genuine democracy. The fact that this measure of compulsion is ap- plied indiscriminately to all classes, to rich and poor, to landed aristocracy and meatless pro- letariat alike, is to the German mind convincing evidence of its inherent democracy. To the Ger- mans democracy means rather equality of sac- rifice than self-government. The new organization for "war work is under the direction of General von Groner, whose work in the Prussian ministry of Railways won him a high reputation. His personal descrip- tion of the new program runs thus : — "The new War Office represents Germany as a colossal firm which includes all production of every kind, and is indifferent to the kind of coat, civil or military, which its employees wear. The new measures are intended to mobilize all effec- tive labor, whereas up to the present we have only mobilized the Army and industry. The whole war is becoming more and more a question of labor, and in order to give the Army a firm basis for its operations the domestic army must 156 BEHIND THE BATTLE LINE also be mobilized. All the labor, women's as well as men's, must be extracted from the pop- ulation, so far as possible voluntarily. But if voluntary enlistment does not suffice we shall not be able to avoid the use of compulsion." The whole organization is in the hands of the new office for war (Kriegsamt). Following the English precedent large Berlin hotels are being taken over for offices of various departments. The Hotel Cumberland has already been adapted for its new functions. General von Groner has two chiefs of staff, one a military chief, who will control such mat- ters as concern the freeing of men for actual serv- ice with the colors and also urgent and imme- diate requirements of strictly mihtary character. Equal in rank with him is General Groner 's new invention, the "technical chief of staff." The latter is not an officer, but a German industrial magnate — namely. Dr. Kurt Sorge, director of the Gruson works at Magdeburg. Under Dr. Sorge come subordinate groups dealing with dif- ferent departments, including mines, iron and steel works, chemical works, powder factories, agriculture, and labor. 157 INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE The actual munitions department, whicH comes under the mihtary section, has been given a new chief in General Coupette. His office is known as "Wumba," from the first letters of its full official title, Waffenund-Munitions-Beschaffung- samt. Parallel with "Wumba" is war labor and labor substitute department under Colonel Mar- quardt, hitherto chief of the general staff of one of the Western armies. The war labor department in turn includes two departments — namely, labor and substitutes. A further subsection is the raw material depart- ment, with a division for import and export, under Lieutenant-Colonel Hausler, and another division for popular economic questions under Colonel Wilke. The subsections are already working, dealing with a number of individual features, such as industries, various branches of agriculture, &c. This central office for war will have provincial officers in various industrial districts, and wiU have representatives attached to every army staff in the field, and also a large number of travelers. There will also be representatives attached to the staff of every inland army corps district. There 158 BEHIND THE BATTLE LINE will be special provincial branches of the office for war at Diisseldorf and at Metz, in view of the importance of the industrial provinces of the Rhineland, Westphalia, and Alsace-Lorraine. The travelers will be entrusted with the ex- amination of such questions as to whether, in this factory or in that, productioin can be increased or better methods employed. They will include both practical experts and professional students. Thus students of the technical high schools will be employed as travelers, as sub-directors in in- dustrial factories, and in other ways for which their studies have specially qualified them. By arrangement with the Ministry of Education and the universities this practical experience will be counted as student work and will qualify for routine public examinations, degi'ees, &c. [In von Groner's department will be a special bureau to handle the feeding of the population engaged in governmentally-directed work. Von Batocki, the so-called "Food Dictator" is hence- forth to concentrate his attentions on general supply sources and reserve stock. He is to handle distribution only among those classes not affected by the military or new labor laws — the 159 INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE old and the young, the sick and the non-work- ing mothers. Those affected by the compul- sory labor are to have special allowances made to them in their food rations,] Everywhere one turns one sees women doing the work of men. "Women to the front" is the industrial cry in Germany to-day, and the women are responding with the same great alacrity that the men are showing in their military duties. There are women conductors, women "cab- bies," women teamsters, women chauffeurs, women ditch-diggers, women mail-carriers, women messengers, women bakers, women plum- bers, women butchers, women telegraph linemen, women "motormen," women plowers, women munition-workers, women gardeners, women electricians — women everything. In fact it is the boast of Germany that there is now not one field of effort formerly consecrated to man that has not been entered by woman. How this scheme of labor will be readjusted when the sol- diers are released again to their commercial labors is a serious problem. Germany is continuing all her social under- takings, her insurance against accident, unem- 160 BEHIND THE BATTLE LINE ployment, and sickness ; her medical attention for those insured, — 26,000,000 of them, — ^her old-age pensions, and the remarkably developed chain of labor-emplo3^ment bureaus whereby a daily bul- letin service brings the man and the job together even when they are at the opposite ends of the empire. The state social funds, based on indi- vidual taxation, are bigger than ever. 161 CHAPTER XIII Germany's pantry: feeding seventy millions Germany not starving — Organized to secure sufficient and equitable distribution — Prepared even if war last a decade — Present rations based on worst crop in twenty years — Easier to buy luxuries than necessaries — What is scarce — Living on the card system — The Central Purchasing Bureaus — Women and pris- oners at work on the farms — The supply of meat — Present prices — Food in the hotels and restaurants — The crop of 1916 — Possibility of starvation past — The soup kitchens. Germany is not starving, and she does not intend to starve. She is further away from that danger-point to-day than she has been at any time since the British blockade tightened about her. Her food supphes are not varied and they are not abundant, but she has enough to provide for actual needs and still leave a margin of re- serve. Nor is the empire suffering from a serious lack of the necessaries of life apart from food, such as clothing, housing materials, paper, chemicals, coal, wood, and the other essentials of every-day 162 GERMANY'S PANTRY existence. Many things that make for comfort are not to be had ; but while their presence might tend to make Hfe pleasanter, their absence does not threaten its continuance. Through the marvelous organization that has been perfected in all of Germany, her supplies have been reservoired and regulated in such man- ner as to insure sufficient, equitable, and level- priced distribution, and through the remarkable success of her scientists, substitutes have been found for many of the articles cut off by Britain from her markets. But for man power, with all her guns and other engines, she has yet to find a substitute. Every one in Germany, from the highest to the lowest, lives by a system instituted by the Government and carried out with a fidelity that is characteristic of the law-abiding inhabitants. Every one lives by cards that regulate the supply of foods and clothing — every one but the soldiers in the fields and the invalids in the hospitals. They are given the best to be had, with no other limitation than that imposed by the supply. The very system that is enabling Germany to live was the cause of the once widely believed re- 16a INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE port that the empu'e was starving. It was not because she was starving that the new methods were introduced; it was because she was deter- mined not to be starved that they were instituted. Germany's preparation in the way of conserv- ing her supphes is not a preparation for to-day, to-morrow, or next week; it is a successful prep- aration for conditions that may extend over five, ten, or even twenty years, in fact, for an indefi- nite period. The secret is not hard to find. She has taught herself not onlj^ to be self-supporting, but to live within the means she produces. She has found that the nation can live on home-produced sup- plies, plus those she receives from her allies and so she has gone about seeing that it does so. The rations to-day allotted in Germany are based upon the crop and produce of 1915, the worst harvest the empire had had in twenty years, and the allotment is based upon a total less than the actual total of that lean year. So it will be seen that even the worst harvest, if re- peated, would still leave a small margin for re- serve. Germany is reenacting the story of Joseph and 164 GERMANY'S PANTRY the Pharaoh of Egypt. She is storing up her suppHes and doling out enough to allow for reasonable living. The state, in seizing the nec- essaries, make certain that the armies will be sup- plied and that no monopoly will be permitted the wealthy. Rich and poor fare alike. All get the same quantity and get it at the same time and at the same price. This price restrictioii ap- plies to the bigger staples, such as bread, fish, certain sorts of meat, and clothing. With money it is possible to buy the finer grades of flour, poultry, cattle and hog meats, and attire, for there are no restraints put about luxuries. The regulations apply only to the necessities: For example, one can buy silk socks in Berlin to-day in such quantities and prices as one wishes, but one must have a police permit, with a careful in- quiry preceding its issuance, to buj'' woolen socks. The same is true of the cheaper grades of cloth- ing, the prices of which have not been much in- creased. The head of the department of war food sup- ply (literally translated "War Nourishment"), who is commonly called the food dictator, Ba- tocki, declares that the average increase in the 165 INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE cost of living between the beginning of the war and the autumn of 1916 ranged between sixty and seventy-five per cent., and from the super- ficial investigation I made this estimate seems reasonably accurate. The prices are heavily in- creased on some things, while on others the in- crement is slight. The greatest scarcity is in the supplies of but- ter, cheese, sugar, cocoa and chocolate, fats, oils, pork, coffee, tea, fruits such as oranges, lemons and bananas, and eggs. There are others, but these are things the average German is accus- tomed to in plenty, and the lack of that plenty has caused him inconvenience, although not to the extent of threatening his health. Vegetables are to be had in plenty, and so are fruits of the sort that Germany raises or that she can draw from her Southern allies, such as ap- ples, melons, pears, grapes, and the like. Every great staple of life is to be obtained only by a card. One must have cards for bread, butter, meat, fruits, potatoes, fats, sugar, and recently the system has been extended to include milk, cream, and eggs. One may have meat only five times a week, 166 GERMANY'S PANTRY butter or fats only twice a week, and in the be- ginning of October the empire went on a one- egg-a-person-per-week basis. This was for the purpose of building up a reserve stock of eggs, which up to that time had been purchasable with- out restriction. Bread, vegetables, and fish were to be had every day. The methods of obtaining food for those living in hotels and those keeping house differ. In the official report recently issued by the British Gov- ernment it was said that foreigners in Germany, pai^ticularly newspaper correspondents, were treated exceptionally in that no restrictions were placed upon their food. I can bear personal tes- timony to the falsity of this information. Upon my arrival at the Hotel Adlon in Berlin I was provided with meat- and bread-cards. The bread-cards had little tabs on them, each calling for twenty-five grams of Kriegshrot (war bread made of a mixture of wheat flour, corn flour, and potato meal, looking and tasting like our or- dinary rye bread). Each tab was good for a slice of bread. A roll required two tabs, or fifty grams. The meat-cards entitled one to a slice and a half, or seventy-five grams daily. The 167 INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE meatless days are Tuesdays and Fridays. In compensation the days upon which one can ob- tain butter are also Tuesdays and Fridays. Fats for frying can be had on Mondays and Thurs- days. In the hotels and restaurants sugar and cream are not served. In place of sugar, little particles of saccharin are given, and in place of cream a thin skimmed milk. The cream and sugar are kept for hospital use. While it is possible to regulate the service of meats and butters in a restaurant, it is not so easy to do so in house- holds, and so the system for the householders is changed. Every family is given a card calling for the quantity to which its size entitles it, and then these cards are used on stated days at the various markets. Every family has a regular day on which it buys its meat supplies for the week. This is to prevent the butcher being loaded down with an unnecessarily great supply. He stocks just the amounts he knows his various customers will require and for which they present their cards, which he in turn presents to the central 168 GERMANY'S PANTRY governmental supply station on renewing his stock. The bakers, too, sell by weekly arrangements. Each consumer is entitled to 1900 grams of baked bread or 1700 grams of bread and 250 grams of meal or flour. At the beginning of the regula- tions the loaves used to be baked in 2000-gram loaves (about four pounds), but it was found the wastage in this was hea\'y, so now they are made in 1000-gram loaves. Every consumer is entitled to 60 grams of but- ter and 30 grams of oleomargarine, or vegetable fat. Every person has the right to draw nine pounds of potatoes a week. There is no restric- tion as to how these supplies shall be used in private families. If a household wanted to, it could use all its card rations in one day. Then for the rest of the week it would have to live on the things the purchase of which is still unre- stricted. Virtually all the food supplies of Germany are commandeered by the Government. Through the Centralgetreide und Ernahrungshuros the farmers and stock-raisers of each district must 169 INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE turn over at a fixed price all their produce. The supplies are stored and reshipped to those points where they are needed. At the outset of Ba- tocki's regime there were many instances re- ported of efforts made on the part of food-raisers to hold out for higher prices by concealing their stocks, but heavy fines and imprisonment soon broke up this plan and now the system works smoothly. Amony the offenders were many of the members of the rich agrarian classes, who were not above turning a penny at the expense of the needs of their fellow-countrymen. Not only do these central bureaus take all the farm- ers raise beyond what is actually needed for im- mediate home consumption, but they take it at a price that is fixed by the Government, which allows a fair margin of profit, and they insist that the farmers' output shall be never less than a fixed minimum. In fact, all sorts of newly de- veloped methods are applied to agriculture in order that the output maj^ be increased. The question of farm labor has been partly solved by the employment of women and of a million and a half war prisoners, but these prison- ers are a liability as well as an asset, since their 170 GERMANY'S PANTRY presence increases heavily the number of mouths to feed. Eventually, after peace has been con- cluded, the cost of the maintenance of the pris- oners of war, less a certain amount allowed for the work they do, will be paid by the native gov- ernments of the prisoners. The restriction of meats has brought the sup- ply of live cattle in Germany to-day back almost to the figure that existed in January, 1914. It is considerabl}'- larger than it was a year ago. The supply of hogs is to-day almost thirty per cent, greater than it was six months ago, but it is still twenty per cent, less than it was at this time in 1915, and that in turn was almost twenty per cent, smaller than at the beginning of the war. The diminution of about 40 per cent, in the supply of swine was due to the enormous quantities slaughtered in the first year for the maintenance of the army, which has always had a great liking for sausage. At the beginning of the war Germany claimed one-third more cat- tle than France possessed and twice as many as England possessed, and four times as many hogs as France and eight times as many as England. In discussing the prices of food suppHes in 171 INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE Germany, the economists point out that all that is paid goes into the pockets of home-raisers, whereas, they say, England and France must spend their money with outsiders. In addition to fixing the price at which the Government commandeers the food supplies, the food dictatorship also fixes the price at which it shall be sold. These prices are subject to fluc- tuations within a narrow range, according to the effect of temporary supplies and demands. The following table gives an accurate price-list of food staples in Berlin, in the closing months of 1916, the prices in the various qualities being averaged : ^ Milk, per quart $ .08 Rich milk, per quart 20 Cocoa, per pound 2.00 Tea, per pound 2.00 Coffee, per pound 1.00 Rice, per pound 12^^ Beet sugar, per pound 08 Cornmeal, per pound 06 Salt, per pound 05 Eggs, each 10^ 1 The German pound is one tenth larger than the American pound. The parity in American money has been given on the basis of four marks to a dollar. 17^ GERMANY'S PANTRY Jams, per pound 4i2 Butter, per pound . 39 Noodles, per pound 35 Bread, per pound loaf 09 Veal, per pound 85 Rump steak, per pound ...... .72 Ham, per pound 1.75 Bacon, per pound 1.75 Potatoes, per pound 01^ White cabbage, per pound . . . .05 Red cabbage, per pound 06 Cauliflower, per head 25 Kohlrabi, per pound .03 Turnips, per pound 05 Beans, per pound 15 Peas, per pound 60 Herring, each 25 Apples, per pound 15 Pears, per pound 30 Flour, per pound .11 Onions, per pound 08 Mutton, per pound 65 Chicken, per pound 75 Goose, per pound 90 How the plans work out can best be illustrated by taking the case of the Adlon. The regular "luncheon breakfast" there now costs 5/4 marks. 173 INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE It used to cost 3/4 marks, and was then more bountiful than it is now. For 5/4 marks to- day one is given, on the meat day, a vegetable soup, a fish, one sort of meat, two sorts of vegetables, and a salad. Sweets that used to be included are now charged for, and, as was al- ways the case in Europe, coffee is an extra charge. The dinner that formerly cost 5 marks now costs 7 marks. On a meat daj^ it consists of a soup, a fish, one sort of meat, two vegetables, and a sweet. On a meatless day eggs or an ex- tra service of fish are given. In all the restaurants the old a la carte menus have disappeared. One lives on the table d'hote plan entirely. It is a case of getting what they have to give you, not what you want to get. In the popular-price restaurants the tariffs are less than one would expect. At the same time the portions are smaller. At the famous Cafe Bauer you pay forty cents for pot roasts, or for Wiener Schnitzel, For a thin "steak minute" you pay seventy-five cents. The various sand- wiches run about fifteen cents apiece. The official statement of existing conditions made for me by the food bureau reads: 174 GERMANY'S PANTRY It can be demonstrated that there has been a com- plete failure of the starvation and exhaustion war waged against us. The crop of 1915 was unfavorable beyond record. A smaller yield of the German fields than that of last year is not to be expected even under the most unfavorable conditions. Despite the heavily reduced harvest, several million tons below our usual average, we have managed; and out of it, in addition to supporting our own demands, we have sent considerable quantities to the occupied districts in the east, to take the place of the crops de- stroyed by the Russians when they were swept back. This territory will in the present autumn maintain its wealth and, after covering its own needs, will perhaps even be able to add to our reserve. The crop of 1916, which is now being garnered, forms a good average harvest; it will give us several million tons more than the last one. We have been re- lieved of all worry as to our vegetable food, and we will be able to use a considerable portion for animal nour- ishment, and thus be able to establish a certain equi- librium in our cattle stock. We are cropping a brilliant fodder harvest. In barley alone we have over a million tons more than we had last spring. Further, through the success of ex- periments we have just been completing, we will be in possession of several hundred thousand tons of valu- able nutritious food obtained from substances which were formerly regarded as worthless. 175 INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE If the starvation war against the Germans is to be successful, it would have demonstrated itself within the last year, when our need was poignant and our wants such as might have become dangerous to health and vital power had they not been supplied. If we were able to pass the crisis in the most unfavorable harvest we have had for many years, it is extremely unlikely that we shall be again in a critical position. . . . In a number of towns mass-feeding places have been established where for a little money nourishing meals have been obtained. As a general rule it has been noted that the number of participants at these joint dinners have been very small. In the big towns, such as Ber- lin, Cologne, Diisseldorf, and Essen, only from two to three thousand persons participated each week. It is true that prejudice and distrust may have played a part in keeping the figures down, but no amount of prejudice could have kept the people away if a real need had existed. The meals in these central kitchens cost about fifteen cents. The portions are not particularly large, and there is marked celerity in service. Tomatoes and macaroni, groats and stewed fruits, were the principal ingredients in each day's bill of fare, with meat on meat days and fish on the meatless days. Just as Britain had to prepare militarily after 176 GERMANY'S PANTRY the war began, so Germany has had to prepare economically. She did not expect so long a war, and her planning was not predicated upon so sharp a decline in her supplies. But she has passed the danger-point and she is certain she cannot starve. 177 CHAPTER XIV Germany's backbone: her army German belief in the invincibility of her armies — Grounds for German confidence — Military secrecy — Over half a million new soldiers every year — Her gross military strength — The German losses, temporary and permanent — The number of prisoners in Germany — Territory occupied — General Freytag-Loringhoven on the Somme campaign — French soldiers better than the English, he says — The impasse in the west — German desire for a "Bewegungs-kneg." There are grumblings in Germany to-day over the matter of food, there are misgivings as to the economic outlook, there are questionings over the political conditions; but throughout the empire there is a complete union in one sentiment — that of pride, confidence, and security in her soldiers and in her military situation. The Germans believe their armies to be invin- cible, and in that belief lies the national convic- tion that they will never be conquered. Their dream of an overwhelming triumph has been dis- sipated by the bitter knowledge that the military factor is not the only one employed in the cal- culus of victory ; there are economic and spiritual 178 GERMANY'S BACKBONE: HER ARMY battles to be won as well as those in the fields and on the water. Solely from the military point of view the Teutons say they may claim victory now, and in proof of this they point to the record of their arms. Their work, they add, is a matter of actual accomplishment, while the Allies base their claims on what they hope to do. But since Germany has discovered that the fight is not one of limited rounds, but to a finish, her people realize that no "decision on points" is to be awarded, so they face the situation with- out delusions. They realize that their first great project — to seize Paris and crush France — has failed, and with the failure they have passed from offensive warfare to a fight for existence. Germany is forgetting the bitterness of this dis- appointment the more readily in the faith she has that her armies, unable to achieve the task of wiping out the Allies, are nevertheless able to prevent the Allies from destroying her. Why she is so supremely confident — what grounds she has for her assurance, what signifi- cance she attaches to the rise and fall of the tides of war, what her preparations for its continuance are, what her actual condition is, how she is pay- 179 INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE ing the toll — these are questions to which I sought answers in Germany. The military situation as such is prettj^ well understood throughout the world through the of- ficial reports of the belligerents, which are gen- erally fair and accurate. The technicalities of strategy and tactics are expounded daily — and differingly — by the experts, but the underlying meanings of the moves and counter-moves, the effect upon the countries engaged, the interpre- tation in terms of easy comprehension, do not ap- pear in the communiques. As I visualized the situation in Germany, listening to the claims made by German leaders, notably Lieutenant- General Baron von Freytag-Loringhoven, for- merly chief of staff to Falkenhayn, now chief of the supplemental great general staff, a renowned strategist and military writer, and by other gen- erals actually in the field, the confidence in the fatherland is firm — Because of the great amount of territory Ger- many and her allies hold in Belgium, France, Russia, Serbia, Montenegro, and Roumania; Because aU the battles are being fought on enemy soil; 180 GERMANY'S BACKBONE: HER ARMY Because of the great number of prisoners she holds ; Because of the better organization of her forces and the bravery of her soldiers and the ability of her leaders; Because of the lesser number of casualties she sustains compared with her enemies; Because of her greater success in the re-service of the wounded ; Because her reserves are sufficient to enable a war of attrition to be fought for years to come ; Because of the spirit of nationalism that ani- mates her people, soldiers and civilians alike. There are other grounds assigned, but, like the majority of statements made for neutral con- sumption, they lapse into generalities and vague predictions. What is hardest to learn is not ijcliat the German leaders think, but why they think as they do. To get into Germany in these days is hard enough, but to get through the wall of secrecy that is built around every phase of military life ( except- ing visits to the front, which are now made by cor- respondents freely and with few restrictions upon what they may see) is much harder. It took four 181 INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE weeks to get certain questions answered, and to others I could get no answers. Ordinary precau- tion, coupled with the spy-fear that is still strong in the empire, makes for suspicion every time one seeks replies to even harmless queries. Through the cooperation of Colonel von Haften, formerly personal aide to Hindenburg, now official representative of the great general staff at the Foreign Office, I obtained from the Kriegsministerium (war ministry) certain data, among the most important being that Germany counts on calling to the colors every year a mini- mum of 550,000 men reaching the military age — nineteen years. The assertion is made that this is sufficient to repair her wastage, but this claim is manifestly unsound. Her permanent losses tlu'ough death, serious wounds, and capture are estimated to have reached a minimum of more than a million men. The difference between these two figures represents the annual decline in German man power, although the officials say that by counting the lists of the Zuriickg est elite (those not com- pelled to serve when their service age arrives), the figure of depreciation is reduced. 182 GERMANY'S BACKBONE: HER ARMY The claim of more than 500,000 recruits yearly would give Germany, roughly, a total available man power, not counting her battle losses, of twenty-six times that figure, since the service age runs from nineteen through forty-five. That would be more than 13,000,000, but allowing for increasing mortality with increasing age, the net figure for Germany's gross military strength be- comes about 11,000,000. As her population is 70,000,000, that would be a ratio of a little less than sixteen arm-bearers out of every 100 of pop- ulation, which, statisticians say, is too high by at least twenty per cent., although Germany has always claimed this footing. From figures derived from various sources and carefully checked off, it was found that the Ger- mans have reduced their ratio of casualties in every hundred men to this table : Unhurt 40 Killed outright 11 Taken prisoner 6 Died from wounds 2 Wounded and unserviceable 4> Wounded, but serving again 37 Total 100 183 INSIDE THE GERMAN EMPIRE It will be observed that forty-three per cent, of all men are wounded, and that of these, thirty- seven per cent, are able to fight again, or eighty- six per cent, of the total wounded. The number of wounded who die is claimed to be less than five per cent, of that total, and the number who are no longer fitted for service is about nine per cent. Germany has put into the field of action, in round numbers, 4,500,000 men. If the formula is carried out, it will be found, ignoring recruits called to the colors, that of the total force she claims : Total unhurt 1,800,000 Total casualties 2,700,000 The casualties are thus divided, Killed outright 495,000 Taken prisoner 270,000 Died from wounds 90,000 Wounded and unserviceable . 180,000 Wounded, serving again .... 1,665,000 Total casualties 2,700,000 Of this number three classes — killed outright, prisoners, and dead from wounds, form the net loss, which is 1,035,000. 184j \ %: /'' ''^<^^f INDEX Rockefeller War Relief Commission: ■work of, in Poland, 262ff; in Ser- bia, 297. Rothschild family, in war, 354. Roediger, Dr. : quoted on subma- rine warfare, 8 If. Roosevelt, Tlieodore: attitude of, to- ward Harriman, 106. Eosencrantz, German aviator, 236, 238. Rotterdam: neutral port. 111. Roumania, 16, 22, 36, 63, 180, 188, 296, 299f. Russia: relation of, to Germany, 9flE, 10, 11, 34, 133, 303; future trade routes, 11 ; relation of, to European Turkey, 22 ; attitude to- ward, of German conservatives, 33 ; German crops destroyed by, 175; German occupation in, 180; fear of, in Poland, 263f; emi- grants from, forced to return, 354. Rumania. See Roumania. Salmond, Capt. H. C, English avia- tor, quoted, 239flf. Savings bank deposits: increase of, in Germany, 143f. Schiedemann, quoted on war policy, 36, 85. Schleswig-Holstein, 319. Schools : attendance of, in Belgium and France, under German occu- pation, 257f. Scientists: discoveries by, of food substitutes, 163. Search: by German officials, 114ff. Self-preservation: as German goal in war, 19ff, 40f. Serbia, 180, 107; relation of, to peace propositions, 16, 33. Servia. See Serbia. Shipping program : of Germany, 135f. Siegen: German motto, 40f. Smith, Lieut. C, English aviator, 239. Social Democrats: attitude of, to- ward peace, 29f, 32 ; support by, of Government, 59 ; attitude to- rard submarine policy, 82f. Socialism: principles of, applied by German Government, 68, 144. Socialists, German: attitude of, to- ward peace, 30. Solf , Dr. : attitude of, toward peace, 32; toward reform government, 54; toward submarine policy, 82. Somme: ordeal by battle, 195-208. Sorge, Dr. Karl: 157. South Africa: disaffection in, to- ward England, 36. Spain: attitude on Belgian restora- tion, 4 ; as carrier of German mail, 125f; attitude toward Ger- many, 3 2 Of. Spies: preventions against, in Ger- many, 109-126; in hotels, 122fif; on transatlantic liners, 124f. Staples: government limitations of, 166f. Starvation: of neutrals by England, 26. Steinman-Bucher, 148. Stengel, Prof, von: quoted on bene- fit of German peace, 3 Of. Stephen Tisza, Hungarian Prime Minister: portrait, 293. Stock markets: in Germany and Austria, 144f. Stockholm: 111; secret conference in, of Russia-Germany, 9f. Stresemann : attitude of, toward peace, 32f; toward reform gov- ernment, 55 ; on submarine policy, 85. Submarine warfare : use of, directed vs. United States, 13, 74f, 79- 90, 81f, 94; attitude of Conserva- tives, toward resumption of, 33 ; advocated by Junkerthum, 64; limitation of, by United States, 72. Suedekum: quoted on resumption of submarine policy, 85. Suez, Isthmus of: value of, to Great Britain, lOf. Suffrage: changes in, under reform, 50 ; for woman, in liberalized Germany, 67f. Sweden: Germany questioned by, on Belgian restoration, 4 ; effect on, of English naval power, 26. Switzerland: on Belgian restoration, 4 ; position of, toward the war, 321. Tannenberg, German victory, 222. Taxation: power of, by Reichstag, 55f; increased in Germany; 147. Telegrams: restrictions on, in Ger- many, 346. Tempelhoff, Fraulein von: quoted on Ludendorff, 214. Thiepval, battle of, 195. 365 INDEX Time duration, effect of, on Tear, 37f . Tirpitz manifesto, 92f. Tirpitz: quoted on " Anglo- Ameri- kanerthum," 13. Tisza, Count, 295. Trade routes. See Balkans, Expan- sion, Germany, Russia. Travel: difficulties of, in Germany, 109-126 ; between Belgium and Germany, 253. Treitschke: on militarism, 15, 59. Trentino : relation of, to peace prop- ositions, 16. Trieste: effect on, of peace, 16. Trusts: power of, in United States, 106. Tuberculosis: spread of, in Polish prisons, 268f. Tunnels. See Mines. Turkey, European: 299-315; rela- tion of, to Russo-German union, 10, 22, 63. U-boat. See Submarine. U-53: demonstration by, expected by United States embassy, 88. United States: on Belgian restora- tion, 4 ; on submarine warfare, 13, 70-78 ; hostility with Japan, 13 ; effect on, of English naval supremacy, 26 ; hatred of, by Ger- many, 70-78, 86f; reputed treaty with England, 71; use of army transports for mails, 80; compe- tition of, with England, 89f; de- scription of, in German book, 97- 108 ; competition of, with Ger- many, 101; commercial competi- tion in, 127f; statistics on trade with Germany, 133ff; Govern- ment: official protest of, against Belgian deportation, 253 i effect of neutrality, 315-329. Walker, Ronald, English aviator, 239. War: prospective conclusion, 3ff; German objectives, 18-28 ; Eng- lish objective, 26f; effect on, of Italy and Roumania, 3(>; effect of duration, 37f; present stage of, 57f; responsibility for, 60ff; re- lation to, of diplomatic break be- tween Germany and United States, 87; relation to, of Ger- man manufacturing plants, 14 Of. Warburg, Felix: quoted on need of Poland, 269f. War debts : probability of belligerent parties to liquidate, 141. Warsaw: retreat of Germans from, 223. War Study Society of Copenhagen, 187. Washington. See United States. Weddigen, popular hero, 226. Wenniger, von: quoted on Thiepval attack, 195; on courtesy of aero- plane fliers, 196; quoted on Eng- lish mortality, 197. Westarp, Count: attitude on sub- marine policy, 85. Wilhelm 1 : 50 ; quoted on Belgium, 5. Wilhelm II. : attitude toward liberal- ization, 42 ; German unity under, 42, 64, 357; portrait, 61. Windmill of Pozieres, 196. Wilke, Col., 158. Wilson, President: resentment of, in Germany, 76, 91-96; attitude to- ward submarine warfare, 81ff; as intermediator for peace, 93f. Wilson, Capt., English aviator: cap- ture of, by Boelcke, 228f. Women : in German trenches, 41 ; position of, as result of German liberalization, 67f; increase of, eihployed in Germany, 149f, 155f; problem of readjustment after war, 159. World conquest: impossibility of, for Germany, 8. "Wumba," 158. Zabern doctrine: expounded by Chancellor, 51, 54. Zeppelin, Count: letter of, to Beth- mann-HoUweg, 86. Zeppelin: justification of, to Ger- mans. 204f. Zimmermann, Alfred: on German objectives in war, 19ff; attitude toward peace, 32 ; toward liberal- ization, 43, 45f¥; quoted on new movement, 46ff; portrait, 47; quoted on press, 67; quoted on American neutrality, 73 ; quoted on English attitude toward pro- tests of United Sates, 80; atti- tude on submarine policy, 82 ; quoted on neutrals, 316f; attitude of public toward, 356f. 366 16 89 v.. ,^ < .-C^ <>. ^ • • • A^ . 4* K^ ♦*''/QlH^*. "V* "^ ♦^A^^/k*' '^ i Deacidified using the Bookkeeper proc ^ V o ti^pWl^S, •- '^C,*' • i^C^^'tt^'^ " vr"^''^ Neutralizing agent: Magnesium-Oxide ^ ^ a^^^^^- ^^ - ^^^^' S^ Treatment Date: j^L 2001 ^ \ "oy^i* ^^ ^'^'■^S^.* J" "^ PreservationTechnoloc ^ *^ 'O • » * /V '^ '«•» <0 A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVATK • ^ *0 A^ o ' " • * '^ t ♦ *■ ' * ' ■>" Thomson Parti Drive 8^^ N. 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