South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1916-07-24
The French Mind Always
Calculates on the Unforesee

Calculates on the Unforeseen.
Its great working model is the Compulsory
Insurance Act which was brought over from
Prussia and erected here. piece by piece. in a
completed pattern, as II II had been literally
en- engine a machine. But the peculiar and
memorable mark OF all such social construc.
ton is what have noted In the military
preparation. 1t is the central idea Of some
how winding up a machine that shall run of
itself. But in the market as much as In the
camp in the cornheld much in the battle.
field, France believes profoundly in the strate-
gy Of a detachable reserve.
She believes in leaving Frenchmen free Ia
save France whenever France as France shall
find herself in fix. 1t is even calculated be-
forehand. with that cynicism which is the twin
Of the idealism Of the French, that France as
France probably Will find herself in a fix. This
explains the French attitude to private prop
erty, which few OF social reformers
seem able to understand l mean the desire
for the utmost possible frmness in its DOS
session. with the utmost possible equality In
its distribution France would actually pro-
tect her children against her own mistakes.
The policy was triumphantly indicated In
1870 when the bankruptcy of France was rec
tilted by the solvency OF Frenchmen 1t was
the free economic reserves that swung up to
pay for the disaster of Metz. much as it
was the free military reserves that swung up
20 avert the disaster OF Verdun. And the
spiritual struggle between these two types OF
polity is the war that will begin when this war
is ended. 80,
Speeches and debates in the Reichstag are
not the things that want watching IL we want
to watch Germany. That assembly has never
been an organ of government, but at the best
an outlet Of grievances; and to-day represents
tive bodies are everywhere almost anything
but representative. They have become quite
as stin with etiquette as royal courts. Almost
anything that is really in reason is sure to be
out OF order. The asides are generally the
most responsible utterapces; and after the
asides one two casual phrases that pass
without comment. 1t Is in the light of these
brilliant flashes of Inconsistencies that we
should read the selfconscious set speeches OF
the leading statesmen And IT, for example.
we wish really to understand speeches Ike
those OF the Imperial Chancellor and the Ger
man Minister of War, we shall find it con-
Venient to preface them by a note on another
and quite inconspicuous speech.
Some time before these Ministers spoke, q
member OF the Reichstag made, quite in
eidentally, curious and Illuminating remark.
He was referring, 1 think. TO Liebknechts
charge Of immoralism In the treatment Of Bel.
GUM, and he said something like this: That
is degree OF objectivity which l. as q Prus-
sian. cannot entertain"
Now that finds expression for the Prussian
spirit better than book, and better even than
4 massacre. 1t is not enough to smile at the
strange PROFESSIONAL solemnity Of calling
thing "objectivity" which common Christian
people have been in the habit Of calling the
truth. We have. in the Eight of it. to allow for
a certain assumption, tacitly adopted by nearly
everybody talking in the Reichstag, or even
In the Empire.
The German does really regard II as his
business to think more OF the world he is sup