The Wheeling intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1903-1961, 1915-12-25

THE Dumba affair in America provec little
that Is new about the Germanies II
Is only another example OF that ex
travagant loss OF digT,Sy which always dogs
the special assumption OF H.
Laughter is the instinct which guards human
dignity: and the barbarians exhibit a lack OF
laughter almost like that Of the beasts that
perish. They showed the same lack when they
dashed themselves into = moral lunacy against
the populace OF Belgium. though in that Sase
the immortality has rather hidden from US the
full: effect OF the ~indignity. Even those whG
who could persuade themselves that thu Ger
mans were right could not bring themselves
to say that the Belgians were wrong. Even
by lheir own account. Belgium was not an
enemy. but a door. And IL does not become a
great duellist. calling on his old enemy, .; fly
into a passion with the front door-or even the
back door. Or IL was like a man Indignantly
entering a room; and the next moment cursing
and busting himself rS he picks himself up
after falling over u door-mat or a foo5S;ool.
There might be some human dignity In HIS
o4se against the householder but none In his
case against the heSsock.
There is the same unconscious ugliEgss and
awkwardness in the Teutonic furtiveness as in
The Teutonic fury, And this old moral is the
only moral to be 3rawn from the case of d..
Dumba and his patrons. II was his nature and
raison d'etre TO act as an Austrian diplomatist,
perhaps as an INSCRIPTIONS diplomatist; but
ho did not act as a diplomatist at all. but as
something between III advertisement manager
and an unusually low spy. ] am no adcGirer OF
the gigantic Freak Dinner OF Judaeo-American
France. l can easily imagine an effective de-
nunciation &C IL. spoken as II with the voices
OF strikers or revolutionists; l can easily i'm
agine myself. in some particular case. sym
pathizing even with the Black Hand. But the
difference In this case is like the difference be-
twssn a hand writing the words OF judgment at
BeishazZar's feast and y hand ~prigging dainties
out Of the dishes before Belshazzars servants
bring them 20 the table. The revolutionists
really stopped in having to do with this diplo-
matist.
But whatever IL may prove about Germans
or &ustrians. there is a great de. that is
really interesting in what IL proves about Amer
leans. The ruthless and reckless ripping up
OF the whole diplomatic scandal before the
people is a part OF certain truths which We
ought TO ponder more than We do. One is the
fact that America is really a democracy, In a
sense in which we are not a democracy; and
that - has the advantage as well as the dis
advantages OF that type OF State. One adv3n-
tage is that there is seldom OF never what vas
called In the title Of a novel "a dead secret"
To say that Germanism means an attack on
democracy is not itself an attack on Germanism.
Rather IL is n defence of IL. Unless Germanism
meas that. IL means rCthing at all-except a
curious combination of deviltry and dullnsgs.
But II does mean that. The core Of an this
uuSlhess Is a quarrel OF France and Germany.
ana the meaning OF that quarrel. during the last
two centuries, is roughly something like this:
france said; Look at this poor man. living
In 20 town OF Paris. You say he is a fellow
with wooden shoes 6ad an equally wooden
head. which he only makes more idiotic by
sticking a red cap on IL. / say the feet in
those wooden shoes shall outmarch all your
Bluecher boots. I say those wooden shoes shall
be set upon the necks OF kings. But / say
morS than this. / say that the wooden head
ana the red cap shall r.se higher than all your
naTlurIG crowns NJ af1NaW and cola - -
] say this man has the intellectual energy TO
govern and, what 10 often quite as essential.
she lnteleetual energy to be governed. ! say
ne does understand the meaning OF the State,
and can both assert himself IN defence OF IL
and 9qace himself IN Difference to L. I saw
that &c can rule himself and that he can rule
This is what France said. and this she Gas
justified. The fact remains after any quite
reasonable termination about the crimes
she committed In order TO get n. or the ad-
want: fes she may have lost by getting Il.
Democracy exists. and o. Is not an anarchy.
France exists: 10 f.. In the main. managed a.
ordinary Frenchmen like Il managed. ana N
Is not an unpleasant place. Il can drill itself
in hours OF danger and in those hours. ~ any
thing, Il drills itself a little too much. The
Terror was not Robespierre: Il was France.
The Grand Army was not Bonaparte: % was
FRAME. There are I'm France to-day no leaders
IN the Carlylean sense. There Is implacable.
Nov 20 all this the Germanies made. IN sub
stance, the following quite interesting and
1.AANNN ANNNH AWNN NANNa NNu say our gold
and iron crowns are barbaric and antiquated.
We say that under those crowns. without de.
priving them Of one Jewel OF their privilege or
terror, We viii make a people az happy ana
Wen educated as yours. Look at this poor
msa, living In tho town % Frankfurt. we
think u quite ridiculous that he should rule.
or even have a vote. II he must. he shall have
q quite ridiculous vote, under the pmsefan
Electoral Law. worth a twentieth part OF the
rich mans next door. But he shall have a
cheap opera with the best music On the world
and a pot OF beer. and a little toy tram 20 take
him into the woods. and a free permit 20 prove
the moon "a made 81 green cheese IN AZ many
boshf books * philosophy a. he ifkea"
mat D. how The Qcerrei really stands. I am
myself altogether on the French side Of the
quarrel. which is. ] think when properly nm.
aerstood). not only that Of dignity. but Of
bumnity
But / win make two more comments IN this
place The first is that the highly tenabie Ger
man theory leads, both IN theory and practice.
20 the ancient Institution q slavery. The
uaf1r i that the cara Of inequality or arf..
locracy. though quito Ineligible in itself.
seems % me 10 have a habit OF falling al is