The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1914-12-18
THE WAR SITUATION
BY Herman Ridder

thirty years In undisturbed peace?
If it were in the nature of the EN-
peror or the German natioa to look
for trouble and desire war, would
they have waited until now, letting
all the good opportunities for such
a war slip by. Would they not have
taken advantage of the Russo-Jap-
anese war to crush France instead of
keeping peace and assuring the Rus
sian Gear that he might withdraw
his troops from the German border
without any fear? Or would they
not have taken advantage of the time
when the English were busy in Afri-
ca, killing the Beers for owning gold
mines which the English desired for
themselves? All the motives which
Germany could possibly have today
for rousing a war she certainly had
at those times, but the fact is that
she was glad to live In peace ana en-
joy the fruit of her labor.
| Now let us see what motives the
other nations may have had for a war
against Germany and trying to ami
hilate her.
/ Russia, in spite of the fact that
she owns one fifth of all the land of
the earth, does not possess such har-
bors that she can take part in the
control of the seas. What she has
not, she Is trying to take by force.
That was the cause of the Japanese
WAR The Russians wanted to crush
the Japanese in order to get control
of the sea. Ever since this enter
prise proved a failure their eye has
been directed towards the west, and
today they are trying to crush Ger
many Just as they tried TO crush jap
an.
At the tino of the Russo Japanese
war the sympathy of the entire world
was with Japan, in spite of the fact
that, as you will remember, the for
NAL declaration of war emenated
from the Japanese.
France could never, since 1871 for
give Germany, that she did not allow
herself to he crushed by Napoleon III.
This Emerpor needed successful war
in order to save his throne from
which he was about to be tumbled by
his disconnected people. He tried to
make Prussia the victim of his self
ish designs. The Germans succeeded
in saving their honor and their indie
pendence. The annexation of the
fortresses of Strassburg and Metz was
not due to desire for aggrandize-
ment, but was a strategetical neces-
sity Bismark said at the time;
"These fortresses are the key to our
house, and we must have it." Ger
many's geographical situation is such
that she must defend herself in all
|
shows how right Bismark was that
the recovery of this strip of land
which properly belonged to Germany
was dictated by self-preservation. But
the French could never forget or for
give their defeat. Their cry of Re
venge" has even since resounded
through the world. And now, they
thought that opportunity had come.
This is the motive which prompted
the French to join in the war against
Germany.
We come to the question: What
has England to gain or to lose in
this war? For centuries England was
the undisputed mistress of the seas.
In her commerce, which has spread
over the entire world, she had no
competitor While the other Europ-
>an countries were fighting among
themselves, England sent her mer-
chant vessels to every land of the
earth, and became the richest nation
of the world.
Ever since Bismark consolidated
the German Empire, abolishing for
ever the petty fights of jealousy
among the various German states, the
German nation has been awake to
the fact that, after all, true success
and happiness can only be obtained
by industrial work instead of in
glorious fighting. The Germans be-
gan to work. They built factories
and ships, and soon became England's
greatest competitor in commerce and
industry. The English saw with the
greatest apprehension the steady
growth of German expectations to all
parts of the world. While up to-
about forty years ago the English
merchant navy monopolized the seas,
today there were German ships in
every harbor of the world.
Would you still ask: What Eng
land has to gain in this war? BY
crushing Germany, England will free
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