The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1913-03-30
AGAINST
one ANOTHER
European Nations Engaged in Great
Game Of Political Poker With
Peace 40 the
stake.
FIGURES ARE ENORMOUS
Each Cries q Am for Peace" But
Does Not Believe or Trust
the Others and Prepares
for War.

by Karl H. Won Wiegand, Berlin
correspondent of the United Press.l
BERLIN, March 90 1--WE viii,
raise the bid $1oo.OOo,ooo," says
France
We raise you by increasing our
army 10000 men," responds Austria.
Il likewise with an increase of three
army corps-1o0,Ooo men," remarks
Car Nicholas.
John Bull pushes few more dread
thoughts into the North sea as a covert
menace to Germany and declares, .T'n
establish universal service and build
an aerial feet
It's the kaiser's turn. He looks at
his hand. Twice already within year
he has raised the bid and prompt
ly they came back a. him. Are they
bluffing? He will see 81 raise it
$3.50, 900, ooo!" he thunders.
Thus the international political
poker game of the European powers
| continues. Each AYERS that the stake
for which they are playing is peace
1 and to insure that the Jackpot" does
MT contain war" they announce that
they will bet their last pound, franc
1 mark, kronen and ruble. All Europe
| Is asking what the result will be. Will
4 1t be bankruptcy, revolution or war?
With reign of rs years of peace
| behind him-a record no other Euro
! pean ruler can claim-Emperor VIII
liam seems convinced that Germany
is in greater danger than at any time
4 for century. Germany is under the
/ spell Of 1913, when Frederick III
/ melted his gold and plate and the
Prussians-men and followed
the example of Queen Luise, and sac
/ rificed their rings, diamonds and 9th
er articles of luxury, to raise money
to equip the army.
Frederick's famous appeal to my
/ people of 1913 has found echo in
| Germany in 1918 William III has In
effect, let similar appeal go out tc
the nation to make such sacrifices fol
their fatherland as will furnish the
! necessary means for defense at mo
ment when he evidently considers the
country in great danger
/ It is singular that the increased
armament fever" among the Euro
/ pean powers arises out of the fact
that each group asserts I'VE are mere
~ arming that peace may be maintain
ed While declaring that their owr
intent is peaceful and defensive
they affect to believe that the Other
has aggressive plans.
j The kaiser has asked for s250,000,
900. He has staggered the military
as we'll as financial world by this stu
pendous sum- He hopes that viii
4 hold them a WHILE The reichstas
and German financiers are wrestling
with the vast problem of raising this
sum.
According to the "friedenswarts,
the organ of the peace society, thu
estimated military expenditures o
Germany for 1918, quite aside from
the extra $250,OOO,0O0 asked, will b.
roughly 65.27O,OO0 The combined
military budgets of Germany ant
France, would almost exhaust the en-
tire annual gold production of tn
world.
It cannot be said that the enormou
preparations for what is taken as al
indication Of inevitable war, is unpoI
ular in Germany. Popular protes
, against the new taxes have bee
, largely avoided by the proposal tina
it shall come from the middle an
rich classes-from those whose proI
, erty aggregates not less than $4,000
Rightly or wrongly, the fact re
mains that athe German people cor
slider their nation is endangered fror
!, without This idea prevails in a
! classes. 1t has never been shake
off since the Morocco crisis of 1911
Keen observers like Macmillan Hal
. den, Germany's most famous politics
writer, say that the gravity of tn
, situation justifies the means resorte
/, to.
i Germany. through the folly of 1t
statesmen, is practically isolated al