Grand Forks daily herald. (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1914-1916, 1914-10-08
Won Bernhard in Germany and the Next War
Frankly l%nterPrets Ills Nations Military Spirit

since the outbreak OF the European
war the n book that has been dis.
cussed above all others has been Gen.
and the Next War" In this book,
written two years ago. General Won
Bernhard1: who is one of Germany,s
most brilliant and distinguished mill
tary men, interprets with great frank
ness the. German military spirit.
With. startling accuracy. he proph-
eeied the present struggle between
Germany: and Austria on the one hand
and England. France and Russia on
the other. He foretold the abandon
ment by Italy Of the triple alliance.
pointed out the necessity for Germany
to strike hard and quick so as to crush
France. for caution in Germany's
naval operations. and the prpbabil-
North sea and the channel, and par
alyze German commerce.
More important than the. actual
military .-prognQsis !of"@fthe German.
tacttcian was the tone Of militarism
that runs through the whole book,
and the unforgetable and emphatic.
assertion OF the F.. German principle
and q necessary and wholesome fac
tor in the DEVELOPMENT Of culture and
the building up of "a nation: Below
are presented some typical extracts
which throw a strong light on the
moral philosophy bred by the spirit of
Peace Breeds Decadence.
This aspiration (peace). is directly
antaeohistic to the great universal
laws which rule all life. War is a
biological Necessity Of. the first i'm.
portance, a;regulative' element In t..
lie OF mankind which cannot be dis
pensed with. since without it an un-
healthy DEVELOPMENT will TO
which excludes every advancement
civilization: War is the father Of
all things" The sages of antiquity
long before Darwin recognized this
49, Without war. inferior. or de-
caytng races would easily choke the
sroWth OF healthy budding elements.
and.a UNIVERSAL d%ecadence would FOL:
The Right OF Conquest. ;;
Strong, healthy and flourishing
nations increase in numbers. FROM
a given moment. they require q con-
tinual expansion Of their frontiers,
they require new territory for the
accommodation Of their surplus
population: Since almost every part
tory must. as q rule. be obtained at
the cost OF its possessors-that Is tt
say by conquest. which thus becomes
a law Of necessity.
Might Makes Right.
It may be that q growing people
cannot win colonies from uncivilized
races. and yet the state wishes to
retain the surplus population, which:
the. mother country can no longer
feed Then the only course left is
to acquire Unnecessary territCrv.. :.
war;. Thus the instinct of SELF
preservation leads inevitably to war,
and h conquest of. foreign soil. It
Is not the possessor. but the victor,
who then has the right.
Uplifting by War. -.
War, in opposition to peace, does
more to: arouse national life and to,
expand national power. than any.
other means known to history. -.
-: Americas. Peace Policy. -
An intellectual and vigorous. ma:
ton can. experience no worss destiny
than to be lulled into a .Phaeacian:
existence by the undisputed enjoyment
Of peace. The states. which from
various considerations are always ac-.
tive in this direction. are sapping the
roots Of their own strength. The
United States of America, in: June.
1911. championed. the ideas Of uni.
vereal peace in order to be able to