Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1915-02-25
NOR 4 RAci,L WAR.

vlscount James Bryce, former am
hassador 10 the United states and
recognized az the first historical writ.
cr Of the isnglish-speaking world, IN
an address delivered three nights ago
In London. attributes the present
great war 70 racial pride and prcju-
dccs
with due difference to 80 great an
authority. we fail TO see justification
for so sweeping statement While
the two kalscrs William and Fran
els Joseph ARE united, lhree-fourths
uf the soldiers under the flag OF AUS
trla are slays, not Tcutons, and RAJ
cially belong to the empire OF the
ear against whom they are fighting
vigorously The Englishman and the
German are ethnologcally so closely
akin as 60 be facially scarcely distln-
gulshable. The French and English
have 90 little In common from the
Norman conquest that racial affinity
~ negligible.
The cause Of the war. like prnotic-
ally every other great event In his
tory, seems TO have It's roots In the
economic conditions Of the various
countries and in the geography ana
the history OF them.
Great Britain is on insular empire,
or the same az one IN effect. Not only
are the British Isles cut off from all
Immediate touch with The land of
The rest of the world but the empire
Of india must be approached by wa
ter, SO effectively IL Il protected on
All sides by practically impossible
mountains. Egypt Is an island in II
military sense. The Mediterranean to
the north aud the Red sea on the
east no more lnsulate her than do the
1.byan desert and the sinaitic penin-
eula, "a the Turks have discovered
Egypt never has been invaded ex-
cept by the Sue1 isthntus. The canal,
which Is the main prize for a new
,onquerof Of Egypt becomes In itself
a. hrst-class fertilization. The Turk
ish Invaders encountered not only
The Australian and Indian forces en-
trenchcd. but the British warshlps
anoat Ia the canal sent shells from
long range guns that tore great holes
IN the ranks Of the ottoman forces.
Australia Is an lsland-oontinent,
Canuda must Be approached from the
sea except along three thousand miles
that border on the United states, and
rs In no danger from rs. South Africa
must be- invaded from the sea.
Thus IT will be seen that nowhere
is Great Britain really mainland
power. therefore the maintenance Of
a large standing army has never been
necessary but Il has been necessary
that she maintain @ vnst navy as an
impregnable 0fst line Of defense.
with great ports In every sea. she
has been the grcutcst Of all sea
carrying nations, aud has jealousy
euarded her prc-emincncc in that re-
spect. Incidentally she became vast
manufacturing nation drawing her
materials from the ends of the earth
10 order TO give employment to her
people at home, aud lending money
everywhere
Her surplus population could nnd
homcs IN the colonies always In close
touch with HE mother country
Therefore Great Britain has never
been congested
Germany. on the other hand. has
only a small land area and few sea-
ports for the commerce Of her near
y seventy million people. Expansion
was absolutely necessary She had
reason FOR wanting place In the
sun
To meet the needs Of her expand
ing population Germany developed
factories. built ships by the hundreds,
sent her hishB trained agents
throughout the world IN search Of
raw materials Her culture meant cf-
hcicucy rather than literature and
the me arts She became the great
est rival Of Great Britain IN what had
been the British field since the battle
Of Waterloo.
but even back of al that lies the
history and the philosophy of the
Germans Militarlsm had its origin in
NECESSITY for self-proteetion, For
more than thousand years. from
Jplius Caesar 20 Napoleon. the divld- I
ed Gefmanlc states had been the prey
81 every eonauerine army moving
from the east 10 the west or from
the west "a the east They were 60
the warning prlncos what Belgium is
TO the r,ruggle IN Europe today--to
DE- ground between the upper aud the
neither milestone.
one man, Frederick the Great,