New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-04-10
THE BATTLE OF THE BOOKS
General Won Bernhardi's An
swer TO Professor Cramb.

CrE,f,VY Ash ENGLAND - ruclril
.or HarrHarHi General ~ cavalry. l-ro.
rr 49, O. SIS Dillingham; co.
The time for the impartial historical
Judgment of tho rights and wrongs Of
the world war has not even begun to
dawn. Its literature in the making,
official and unofficial, continues to con-
sist of suppressions, claims. dcnuncia-
tions. accusations and hystcrcal out
bursts Of fcat and hatred; and, when
all these have been put aside a Of
great immediate service but Of no per
maucnt value whatever. there remain
only Numerically opposed. utterly II
rccorcilablc statements Of origins and
aims.
General Won Bernhard reitcrates IN
this little volume Of his the German
conviction that the war was forced
upon the Empire by England, who
never through hi tory has seen state
approaching her own in power without
seeking to destroy it: the dogma of the
balance OF power. Il was IN that
sense. Rernhardi asserts, that he wrote
"Gcrmanv and the Next War The
"iron ring" forged by Edward VII was
constantly being drawn tighter; the
bour for England 20 strike was draw
ING near; therefore Gcrmany's prepare
Gons for the defence of her national
existence became hourly more feyerish.
She did not want war, but She hne"
that she could not avert it much longer.
This is. of course, the explanation
given from the very first by Germany g
Spokesman, as is the statement that
Belgium had not lccn really neutral
for many wears under secret agree
mcnt with England and France an
other question not 10 be definitely
settled until later on.
- for Professor Cramb's book, that.
General Won Bernhard claims. was
written with only one purpose the ad-
vocacy of the adoption Of compulsory
military service in England. Being
anxious TO make this obligatory service
Da.4tabic 90 the English. bc. Of course,
could not picture IN an mfavorable
liz . conditions in country which had
iuauCurated such service. On the con
trary. he was obliged to picture them
DIS model conditions. and he really did
that 20 far as il served his purpose
But he made up for it, Bernhard con-
tiuucs. by constant misrcpres
perhaps honestly made, because, al
though his German scholarship was dc
cidcdly better than that of most Eng
4 li~hmen. IL was yet neither wide nor
profound. And here the logomachv
/ begins anew, the quarrel over mistranS-
lations. "Weltmacht,' We arc told once
more. means wOrld-powcr, world-influ-
cncc. not world dominion. or world en-
pirc. A. for Professor Cramb's out
burst. Corsica has conquered Galilcc,
on is inclined TO agree with the Ger
me- writer that ii is mere rhetorical
fireworks The upshot. then. Of this
reply to a reply IS that Professor
Cramb advocated British militarIsm in
addition to British uavaliSm IN order
TO make British world dominion doubly
secure, and the destruction OF Germany
more certain. And. as we began by
saying. this ieav US very much where
We were before.
But when General Won Bernhard ex-
plains that his reference i'm his own
book to Irish and German Americans is
"a mere statement Of fact" he is sus-
p.ciously ingenious. The truth Of the
matter is that he was as unfamiliar
with American conditions as, according
70 him, Professor Cramb was with Ger