Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1909-07-13
A Well Planned Scare.

severe case OF the Qellrlum tremenS,
commonly known as the D. Us. He
sees a German airshir in his waking
hours and hears a German soldier UNI
der his bed at night. Every German
waiter is German spy, every f'eecy
cloud on the horizon is a German fleet
It's really too bad for the Kaizer to
scare John so, for Johns nerves were
so weakened by his experience in
South Africa a few years ago that he
has to he careful. Besides he's attend
and every one has ended in fight.
We on this side of the Atlantic have
no idea how serious the situation is be-
coming. The National Review, lead
ing monthly. for July contained 49,
pages of reading matter in which Is ar
ticles were set forth. The first-"Epi-
sodes of the Month" is studded with OBJ
sava;ions on the German invasion;
the second-"Navy and Empire'-is a
16-page essay on the German invasion
and is signed "Dreadnaught;" the third
THE Budget and the Land"-is pa
per on taxation and in it the naval pro-
gram gets prominent place; the
fourth-"Some Chinese Impressions
is far enough removed from the juror
to escape German influence; the fifth
relates to theatricals! The sixth-"In
German Country House''-is a de-
lightful description OF German country
life, but it ends with references to i'm
pending war clouds, and so on down
to the last which is entitled 1.-The Ger
man Objective"
'If foreign fleet held the mouth of
the Thames for twenty-four hours, no
matter what happened afterwards, we
should have received blow from
which we might never wholly recover"
That sentence in italics, in the midst
of an alarmist article is enough to give
any Englishman the nerves. The very
fact that anybody could entertain for a
moment the idea that the sacred
Thames could be held by an enemy "a
hours is the last word to be said on the
subject. 1t would be pitiful-if it
wasn't laughable.
All this excitement means one of two
things, either British officialdom feels
that it must create popular demand be-
fore it dares to impose any more taxes
for the naval budget or they have a
bad case of nerves.
The German view is interesting and
it is found in the same magazine
strange as that may seem-as interpre-
ted by an English traveller.
ct was noticeable that nearly all
spoke English excellently. 1t was fash
ionable to learn it and to express an
admiration for English literature, not
modern literature, but for Carlyle, Ten
nyson and Scott, and above all, for
Shakespeare, with this admiration for
many things English was Joined deep
hatred of English, a hatred we'll con-
trolled at first by courtesy, but which
revealed itself on closer knowledge and
frank exchange of opinion
The same writer ascribed to the agri-
cultural inhabitants of Germany a de-
sire to wage war on England to avert
impending increase in taxation which
they feel sure will come unless sue
cessful war. with consequent heavy in
demnity, is waged at once.
"Also the increase of German trade
upon the destruction of British indus
tries would pacify the heavily taxed
commercial classes, who now regard
the japanese land owners with greedy
unfriendly eyes. The war, too, would
prove once more that the loyalty and
devotion of the Junker' classes were
indispensable to their Emperor and
therefore to the Fatherland."
If the colonies only become fired with
the zeal necessary to separate them
selves from the cash sufficient for an
other bunch of Dreadnaughts no doubt
the war cloud will recede from the
horizon. It's a great game.