The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-08-06
THE POLICY OF BLUFF.


London Spectator.
 We doubt the wisdom of the policy of bluff. It can perhaps be justified some
 times as a method of awakening an ad- versary to the seriousness of the mis-
 takes he is making, or as an appeal from offending statesmen to the people of the country which Is giving offense You tell the electors in fact This will lead to war; and wait to seet whether they wish war. or will tolerate 1t for
 the sake of the object in dispute. In
 such cases bluffing may operate as a warning. and may secure at least some of the results of successful war without the terrible sacrifices which, as arma- ments are now organized, must attend a campaign, whether it's result Is suc- cessful or unsuccessful. As a rule
 however, the drawbacks of bluf1ng out weigh its gains to such an extent that historians have usually condemned the ruler who adopted 1t as wanting either in foresight or in comprehension of popular feeling as an element of force
 He is described as an overproud man. given to infiicting pin bricks, or as a man who mistook diplomatic triumphs for solid power. The braggart may win party victories. The ordinary man
 is simply not concerned to contest his pretensions in most cases. But reas-
 oning from his customary apathy, he may underrate the ordinary mans spirit to his own ultimate undoing. Tn this Moroccan affair the German Emperor
 may have intended war in the last re-
 sort, or he may not, but it Is certain
 that either he or his advisers resolved In the first instance to try the effect of
 bluff. France might yield without striking blow. and that would be most acceptable; for though the German
 army would obey any order from its
 War Lord," the German people would
 be very reluctant to be killed taxed ar hENt ont nf hntr
 upon a quarrel In which they did not take any passionate interest. They did
 not desire Influence in Morocco" very keenly; and as to the general object
 of ascendency on the Continent they feel that they have 1t, and besides with
 Russia paralyzed, are for the first time
 since 1870 enjoyably safe. Austria, too, cares little or nothing about either Mo- rocco or the exact degree of German grandeur, and might hesitate to acqui- esce in the crushing of France, which
 would leave herself and Germany alone
 in Europe, friends no doubt. but friends conscious of certain causes of distrust, or quarrel. EveA method was, there fore, adopted for an effective campaign of bluff1ng The press was instructed to menace France. Secret agents in-
 formed the great French politicians that Germany would no longer bear her isolation or the afrront involved in the English French Spanish agreement
 which not only gave Germany no place in the sum-" but had been signed with out consultation with the German Elm peror The position was due to NJ
 Delcasse. and he must be dismissed while the agreement which omitted Germany must be revised by a confer ence of Europe, in which Germany would assume. of course, her natural position" as the experimenting. or. so to speak. prov!dential. Power entrusted ,.xASA Nf.A
 France. as 1t chanced, was in one of her periodic moods of peacefulness; rath- CT afraid for republican reasons. of de- veloping a general; and in great and ill-concealed anxiety as to the effect on her own ill-concealed anxiety as to the effect on her own economic position of the Russo-Japanese war. Her peasants hold on to their investments and avoid creating panics. but they are just as we'll aware as the f1nanciers that If the Russian rout ends in a revolution they may have a generation to wait before the vast sums they have deposited in Russia can be considered safe. There was, too, some distrust of Great Britain an idea, probably disseminated from abroad, that London was seeking to provoke a Continental war. which. how ever, it ended. must leave her the in dependent and, if she pleased, aggres- sive mistress of the seas France, therefore, yielded: M. Delcasse resign
 ed; conference with limitations" as
 we say 'in the reference" was accept ed and Germany and her Emperor drew
 back placidly exultant. Who could re- sist Hermann and William II?
 The triumph. in a way is quite justi- fled, for Germany has obtained what
 she asked for without striking q blow and her grandeur is enhanced and all t.Ie lesser Powers around her are quiv- erinE with admiration and tremor The honors of the "deal" are distinctly with | Germany; but then in every deal there | is. sooner or later. a question of the price. and the price to be paid is so | heavy that grave men of business may