El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1915-03-13

yicIiOu-
Even from purely military reasons
Il, was most unlikely-or rather il
was out of the Question-that we
should ever have thought Of attack
ing England. / put this very clearly
in my book Germany and the Next
War'-a fact which Of course is not
mentioned in the press campaign for
England. For, while England is in
position to do US very heavy damage
without any risk to herself by bring
ing to stop our entire overseas
trade, thanks to a fleet three times
ours in strength. We are as good as
powerless against England.
EnElands Navy.
So long as the British fleet remains
intact there can be no thought OF
crossing to England with an army
and the most We could DO would be
to damage British commerce to a very
limited extent. These facts are not
changed by the circumstances that
the English people fear a German in
vasiOn-a fear which L am sure is not
shared by the British Government
And where have We ever exhibited
politically the slightest intimation Of
making war on England The Triple
Alliance has always been, as IL was
established to be, a coalition for de
tense alone. And where, / ask, have
we Germans ever violated an English
right2 Where have we opposed just
English interests " what concrete
act have we ever exhibited a feeling
Of anJagOnism towards England2
The famous Kruger dispatch and
the sympathy Of the German people
for the Beers in their losing fight for
liberty-these probably constitute all
the evidence that ENGLAND could cite.
But those were nothing more than
expressions Of sentiment, in no man
ner an exhibition Of craftsmanship On
the contrary, during the BOer war Off
cial Germany maintained a strict neu-
trality which indeed operated as
friendly TO England.
On Side OF Oppressed.
That the heart Of the German peo-
pie was on the side Of the oppressed,
sprung from a conscience which il is
a good right of a people to possess,
and whose voice ii is no duty Of theirs
TO silence Yet for this We should eN-
pect to find understanding and sym
pathy, especially in free America,
which would have TO renounce the
very principles Of its being if il were
to take the part Of the oppressOr Of a
free people.
Just as untrue as the claim that I
urged war against England is the 9th
er claim that ] held the attainment of
German world dominion to be the real
and natural aim OF German develop
ment and, therefore, also OF German
policy
This allegation can only be based
upon a mistaken translation Of what
1 have written or upon reliance on
paragraphs here and there, separated
from all connection with my true
course OF thought
World Power, Not World Dominion.
It is a fact that a chapter in my
book is entitled World Power or
Decline"-("We ltmacht oder Nieder-
gang"l- It is. however, a great error
as world dominion" or world en-
pire-" Such a misunderstanding was
easily avoidable by any who consid-
cred that the entire contents Of my
writing repudiates the iGea Of world
domination such as is admittedly the
aim Of England. and advocate only
the idea Of world power-that is. an
independent and autonomous position
Of consideration alongside that OF the
other great cultural nations OF the
earth
To this point I shall refer later in
greater detail Here I shall only dis
cuss the one point made I'm America
against the German position. namely
my statement that a united stand BY
the Germans and the Irish in America
might become politically advantageous
to US, IN view Of the fact that the two
strains Of derivation represent, when
united, a factor in the United States
which the Government would have 70
take into account
No Unsuitable Attack.
Certainly no one who reads this
particular part Of my book without
bias can possibly find a iustifiable
point Of attack here. Everyone who
knows America even to a slight ex-
tent knows that all citizens OF this
great republic are. in the first place
Americans, and with that irremovable
and unshakeable loyalty they stand by
the Republic on whose soil they have
Won the right to live. to whose welfare
their efforts are devoted and their
lives cOnsecrated.
Nevertheless. these citizens OF va
rious descent do not utterly deny the
source Of their blood. but with pardon
able affection. cherish the language
Of their fathers. regard with affection
the customs Of their old home and are
Interested in its fate. No one fails nd
recognize the paternaI nationality OF
the Americana ishmau, the German
american is stiu recognizable. and
those Of more direct English descent
pride themselves Of their ancestry
These last have a lively sympatE- for
England, and consider II no violation
OF their love fer their own country
TO work with all means toward the
Tightening Of the bonds between their
present fatherland and the country Of
their ancestors No one in America
thinks the worse Of tLem for that