The farmer and mechanic., 1915-09-14
HOW A MASTER ADVERTISING
MAN LED GERMANY INTO WAR
Never Lost Sight of His Purpose Profound Student Of
His People; Unseen Hand Playing a Tremendous
Game With Unheard of Daring
(Charlcs Harris Whitaker in the New
York Tines


me 7O.O0o. 900 inhabitants of Ger
many. there IS a great man AS l
Llau make no positive assertions as
to his identity. / shall not concern
myself with either names or pedigre-S
Buj whatever you think, Go not i'm
astne that his man is great by rea-
son Of his inventions of war ma
chlnrry, his mastery of Statecraft or |
hl~ &C. us in tactics.
lie is something far greater than |
ans pr all of these. Tor he is pro- |
found student of Germans-he knows |
them by heart. lie knows other ma |
tons too. some of them very init |
uately: he knows Of their commerce. |
thor politics. their diplomatic courses
and rntangiements: he knows a good
deal of their inherent human strength
ana weakness. but it is TO the study
ui Ne German people that he has de-
voted his life.
Twenty years ago, when | lived in
Berlin. a student ! was of course
Impressed with two things The Vul-
E;r lnSolencc of the Prussian military
caste am neither attacking nor
defending Germany, and here | mere
ly chronicle fact which even the
Germans of those days did not dispute
and the acute and eager manner in
which Germany was SeiZing upon
every one Of life's activities studying
them. analyZing them, organizing
pcrfrcting, applying. Germany was
thu busiest place under the sun She
WlS moving forward at the pace which
was quickly to attract the worlds at
teution and give her that prestige in
thr application of science which She
50 Welt deserved.
tit there were moments in those
days there were incidents when one
became dimly conscious of an unseen
master hand which was playing that
game for the sake Of larger game.
The inSolence Of the PruSSian took on
new and sinister significance. The
vast army of young Germans who
sp"d To the uttermost parts of the
earth. who might have been found
working for little or nothing in the
offices of English, French. Belgian,
American, or Japanese merchants,
seemed bent on something more than
the search for new methods and mar
kets
But il is only now. aftet the lapse
Of twenty years, during which l have
been a frequent admirer and Specta-
tor of the physical transformation OF
Germany, that certain experiences
come back and fit in with the tangible
DEVELOPMENT of the great game Whicf
is now being played before our very
eyes and which is directed with full
force against the intelligence OF tht
American people.
During all these years the grea
German OF whom l write has neve
ceased his task. There has alway
been this one brain above all. Sucl
plan as his cannot be carried out b,
any more system, no matter how bril-
liant. or how well thought out. Their
must be man-One man-who neve
loses sight Of his purpose; who seize
upon every means, every event, ever
power. in order to go continuousi
forward A brilliant psychologist,
keen student. resourceful, astute, daT
ing. To him everything is but girls
FOR his mill.
What was he doing? Advertiser
Germany to the Germans Advertis
ing the kind of a Germany that h
wonted to build, and in the schem
there was no room for a democrac!
All. no! Whatever became Of Gel
many she must not become demot
racy.
What were his mediums? All tf
avenues to the mind. He was give
almost autOcratic control of the pres
He held the key to every form OF ed'
cation. He was able to command tt
most fluent pens in German literatur
And. most of all, by conscription.
many under his influence-all sa'
those who had the courage to flee
and 1T does take courage to fee
fatherland, even though you do d
sire TO escape her tyranny.
And when the army was an a
cepted idea and all Germany was e
Slaved in il, he was able to form e
Navy League, one Of the most br
liant pieces of advertising ever co
ceiVed and executed. and before Gre
many knew what had really ha
pened. the navy had begun to ia
shape and she was hopeleSsly col
Hltted to the incubus which has hu
so heavy on her neck these last f.
years
And all this time the Germans we
ied along his road. He played up
,helr vanity. their pride their love
ute their pompous conventions, tn
Sifnpie domeSticity. even their rel
ION. Through the press. the scho