Evening star., 1915-03-06
Mailed to the cash register"

Mailed to the cash register"
That jeer had its foundation in the
belief many Germans hold that the sale
Of arms to the allies Is justified to the
They declare that not only Is the
American action Injurious to Ger
many's material interests, but that II
has been disappointing revelation OF
the inner America. AS nearly as I can
make out the German position, 1t may
be stated in this fashion:
Forced to Be Selfish,
"On the continent we are forced by
conditions to be frankly selfish. AL
continental nations are elbowed by
ruthless competitors. The weaker 1.
the inevitable prey of the stronger. Ir
America conditions have been different
Peace has been your lot, and out OF
continued peace has grown what we
altruism. You prayed for peace II
your churches. Your leaders of though,
have worked for the cause Of woriG
peace and international arbitration
You made Cuba free, and you have
pledged yourselves to free the Philip
pines. We had right to expect that
you would not aid in the killing of oul
sons to gain a petty profit"
Along with this Is the very widely held
feeling that the United States, while
protesting to be neutral, is, in fact
hostile to Germany. The ordinary form
In which this belief comes to one is as
follows:
IF the sympathies of the United
States were what they are now, but II
the conditions were reversed, so that
Germany held command of the sea in.
stead of England, how long do you
mitted? The United States justifies il
because it Injuries US and serves the
allies That is not neutrality. It is
hostility under cloak of hypocrisy"
believe that I am justified in saying
that public opinion here would support
relations with the United States The
German anger is deep. 1t is felt that
the United States could not be source
of danger to Germany under the pres
ent conditions.
You could not get at US, and we
could not get at you,' is the way one
German phrased it. You are now
doing all that you can to injure u.s.
America With Allies, They Think.
The conviction is likewise growing
that the policy of the United States in
submitting to the British insistence
upon'the right of search and detention,
with occasional seizure, is dictated by
an American friendliness for the allies
1t is quite possible that the cases in
which this right has been exercised
have not been quite impartially told in
the German papers. 1t is very certain
that the American acquiescence is not
attributed here either to a national
cowardice or even to the American un-
preparedness for conflict. but to what
seems to the German an errant SYM
pathy. Remember that he believes
himself to be in the right. He believes
that England has been the aggressor.
for selfish reasons. The suggestion that
england is fighting "a war for civiliza-
ton" rouses him to fury.
'The United States and Germany are
more nearly akin than any other two
nations in the world today" the edu-
Gated German says. Our material
progress pro has been along the same lines.
We are working out the same social
and economic problems in much the
same way. We have learned much
from you. You have learned much
from us We have never interfered
with the working out of your policies.
You have been in frequent friction
with England. In your civil war some
o. your best regiments were German.
England did her bes to divide and
weaken you"
He accounts for the American atti-
tude on the theory that for years Eng
iahd has conducted an elaborate sys-
TEN of propaganda, of which the in
spIrational head was James Bryce
I-h idHu "oulu HdIHtdln the mental /
domination of the territory which was
physically lost to her." he will tell
you. He declares himself lost in ad-
miration of the diplomatic ability of
the English
'rPeas Seem Like Pearls.'
They can place row of peas before
the world so that they seem pearls,'
he says. I'VE do not know how to ap-
proach people. We are rude. abrupt
and bombastic. We mean well, but we
repel those we would attract"
At the time of writing the tone of the
German papers has been quite mod
crate, as compared with extracts from
American editorials which have been
cabled here This. of course. is due to
governmental repression. From time
to time one or more of them have got
out of hand, but they were promptly
cooled down. German American
friends here on business, however, tell
me that throughout Germany-espe-
cially in the great industrial centers-
the feeling against the United States
is growing.
"I can't talk business one such man
complained my German friends begin
to shake their hands at me as soon as
I enter their offices:
"'You will pay for this-you Ameri-
cans they say to me. Wait until after
the war. We will make your fat
sweat""
This appeal to our presumed national
selfishness is heard everywhere-in
every office argument in which an
American is a party. Twin to it runs
the Japanese bogy.
Yours will be the next war" they
tn, cnIl