The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1915-05-03

me heoSraphlc magazine AStis uS
that mot since the hand of history
first began to write down the rise and
fall OF nations has there been recorded
more wonderful story of peoples
existence than that to be found In the
annals of the Germans"
The Germany of today Is wonderful
empire--whatever the Book of Fate
may have In store for it's tomorrow.
Its people are so old In the history of
civilization that Julius Caesar when he
became governor of Gaul encountered
them to the east of the Rhine and bore
testimony to their fighting spirit and
their military prowess; yet Its govern
ment is so young that men stiil on the
sunny side of fifty can remember when
1t came into being.
The present German Empire was
born out of the Franco Prussian War;
what II future shall be lie now in pro-
cess of determination.
We have read so much of the might
OF the German army. the promise OF the
German navy, tn triumphs of the Ger
man factory and the commercial con-
quests of the German exporter that 1t
comes as surprise when we are told
that Germany Is SO much smaller than
Texas that a slice as big as all New
England could be cut out of the Lone
Star State" and what remained would
still be larger than the German EN-
pire. Although embracing only one
fifteenth of the area of Europe. Ger
many in 1919 produced one-seventh OF
its wheat. one-nfth of its oats. more
than one-seventh of its barley, more
than one fourth of Its rye, and over
third Of its potatoes. 1t yields place
among the producing nations OF Eu-
rope only to Russia.
To what a remarkable extent the
German farmer has mastered the sci
ence of agriculture is shown by COM
parison of his per-acre yield and our
own. Their attachments in farming
should impress upon us what vast
crops we will be able to have in this
country when our farmers really learn
how to farm. Where the American
farmer use many acres and gets a
small yield, the German farmer uses
very few acres and compels the
ground to give him larger yield.
In the past twenty-five years no
other nation has made such a wonder
full bid for foreign trade as Germany.
The German commercial agent went
into the markets of the world to study
the wants of the people and to meet
their demands. When the American
drummer goes abroad to sell our sur
plus product he asks the foreigner to
buy our model and our patterns: he
have models and patterns that suit the
foreigner. II what he has does not suit
the Mexican, why the Mexican Is be-
hind the times and must change his
ideas accordingly. Not so with the
German. If the American wants a
Teddy" bear, no matter IL the German
tay4naker. never. before heard of that
precious creature. the American shall
have IL at the earliest possible moment.
IL the Mexican is fond of cheap fiiigree
work. no matter IL the German man
ufacturer never saw the Mexican kind
OF fligree before, the Mexican shall
have ii at once.
With the German exporter the main
thing Is to get business from foreign
countries. He would not think of try
ing to force German styles on others.
We want the world TO buy our left
overs of our domestic trade; the Ger
man Ia willing to make things TO
order for the world.
Germany is no longer the land of
thinkers and poets--tt 10 nation OF
business and battleships.' declared one
of the aged German writer's In COM
menting upon the transition of his
country from the days of its Goethes,
it's Schillers. its Schopenhauers to those
OF the present day. And so 1t Is. The
German Krupps have armed the ma
nished ship bottoms for the world; the
German Guinners have made their in
huence felt wherever fnanciers gather:
the German Borsgs have built the loco
motives the sound of whose whistles
have echoed over the graves of Israel
and Tshmael." The German electrical
machinery has harnessed the rivers Of
Asia. Africa and South America.
Long ago the Kaiser announced his
49,. IA 49, ~
thought an adequate navy. He said
that while 1t was not his intention to
have a navy for aggression, he wanted
one that would command the respect
Of the world :'T want to do everything
possible to let bayonets and cannon rest:
but at the same time to keep our bay
qnets sharp and cannon ready, 10 that
envy and grief shall not disturb us In
tending our garden or building our
beautiful house
We are 30 used to doing AZ we
choose In our very-day fife that the
long list OF forbidden" things In Ger
man cities would scarcely be taken
mildly by on American. For instance.
In Berlin, IT 10 forbidden to water now
ers except between the hours Of and
o'clock in the morning no one can
play piano before Z In the morning
or after . at night: no bedding may
, be aired out OF a front window. The
jewellers in apartment houses are for
hidden to battle at night; no one II al
lowed to board . street car that II
filled to its seating capacity: one can
not employ . servant without the aid
OF the police. There are walks sacred
to pedestrians. streets dedicated to roll
Ter skaters. speedways :. where only
automobiles So The Germans like3
these rules; they SAY only unreasonable
- - eez s.-t- .s~lx~