New-York tribune., 1914-12-21
BERNHARDT CALLED
BRIBER OF GERMANS
Offers Them Empire in Exchange for Liberty. Says An
thony t1ope-Government Must Be Left to Pow
erfu Prussian Personalities
yer the goods. Will the German peo-

liver the goods, Will the German peo-
pie, dazzled as they now seem to be by
the glittering prize held before their
eyes, be permanently content with the
barter Of liberty az home for empire
abroad? ! will not attempt to answer
these questions. Time must give the
answer-tlme and the stricken held
Let US assume the answers that the
General would like. In the words Of his
famous alternative, let II be-for the
sake Of this argument-World Power for
Germany. and not Downfall; and we
will stihe the mild suggestion that
via media was really open TO Germany
If she had been content TO take H.
On this hypothesis, then. what IS the
lookout for the rest Of the world, and
especially for that great part of hu-
manity" which is TO be stamped with
the impress of the German spirit
that spirit which, among its other man
ifestations, manifests & willingness TO
accept Bernhardi's bribe on Bern
hardis terms?
Well, anyhow, the great party Of
humanity, when duly stamped, can
hardly expect 10 be better of than the
Germans themselves. What is sauce
for the conquerng goose Il mean no
disrespect by recalling the old pro-
verb will certainly be sauce for the
conquered gander. If the Home En-
pire is unfit 10 direct its own desunles,
the outlying domlnions will not be al
lowed 20 direct theirs. That seems
plain without much argument--Indeed,
to suggest anything else might we'll set
The Home Empire on a reconsideration
Of its bargain.
What the outlying dominions the
bases Of the World Power must expect
is clearly an export Of Powerful Per-
sonalities 20 direct their destinies with
confident and free hands. Other Pow
ers send out Governors: the British
Empire does. But the German Empire
overseas Is not 10 be like the British
Empire overseas; for this latter we
know from Beruhsrdi's master the
great Treitschke himself is a sham
wholly a sham, wholly rotten
Same Types of Rulers.
These Powerful Personalities will not
be the representatives OF Constitu-
;ional Monarch presiding over but not
ruling free and self-governing commu-
mites. They will be Of the same type
as the rulers az home The bargain
which is good enough for the Home
Empire will be good enough for the
German Domiuions overseas.
They promise to be pleasant. resttul
neighbors, these German DominiOns
overseas, with their destinies directed
hy Powerful Personalities trained i'm
Bernhardian ideas and Bernhardian
views Of the German mission" Their
Right will be Might, their Religion will
be Nalor. their Treaties but we know
by now all about that They are to be
Little Berlins" the description has
been already applied by a writer Of
authority TO the German colonies eX-
isting before the war. They are TO be
reproductions Of the Great Berlin, the
German Empire al home the German
Empire Of Bcrnhardi's and Treitschhe's
ideal where the nation is the army
and the army Is the nation, and war rs
a moral obligation, where the creed is
Live Dangerously" and the Beatitude
blessed are the Warmakers, for they
shall be called. n not the children Of
J&hve, the children of Odin, who IS
greater than Jahve" And il may be
supposed their LiJany will run ITO bat
tie and murder and sudden death, Good
Lord, deliver u.s." and, fortiori, our
enemies,
One closes General Won Bernhardi's
book with a strange mixture of feel
ings. Its attitude and its teaching
the whole spirit which informs and
snimates 10 seem at once so formida
bic and so preposterous. Ii rs like
some nightmare ia which everything is
turned upside down, all values changed,
all standards reversed a sort Of Alice
in-Wonderland political faith.
Germany Must Awake
II 10 were all only a bad dream, And
surely that is what we may hope and
pray that it is for the German peoples
themselves bad dream from which
they will one day awake awake to re-
pddiate Beruhardfs bribe and Bern
hardrs bargain, 10 take their own des-
TIMES into their own hands. and 70 as
sumo their proper and honorable plase
iu the community Of nations.
Such am awakening must, of q surety
be forced on Germany some day
whether from without or from within.
The hope and the faith IN such an
awakening are the silver lining 10 the
dark cloud of strife which broods over
the world to-day.
But whatever my feelings may and
must be az the present time about the
nation to which he belongs, ! cannot
part from the General himself wholly
m anger. He Is, all said and done. q
gallant controyersialist His is the
masycd frontal attach; there are no
subtle attempts 10 outnank YOUR prin-
ciples or get round your apprchensions.
He goes full tilt a. thcm-horse, foo,
and artillery.
There never was such a man for say
ing things which you might imagine
that he would De content with think
ing: never such a man for telling you
cvactlv what you may expect n he has
li. way with you, I'm virtue of these
characteristics ho is very valuable at
this iuucture Of affairs.
Every man and woman Of lndepen
dent mind should read. mark, learn and
inwardly digcs- him. The wider cIrcu-
Iation his book obtains and the more
,udcnts he ha- tho better will the
world understand what this war IS
really about and what turns on the is
sue of it. Convinced Of this, ] offer
him "A humble and unsolicited but most
sincere advert scmcnt.
condition. IN the limited time available.
or 81 81. ,,4 - 30 rfr pa - aud uOiItrgs|