Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-01-05
A NEW FORCE IN THE SADDLE


THERE has been little attempt so far. in
i the writing Of history, to analyze and
determine the feelings Of the British navy
who cried out, in an immortal phrase, "tiit
him with a brick, Gully. He's a furriner"
Yet in that truculent exhortation is hidden
half of the secret of diplomacy The other
half which traces the growth Of amicable
relations not between countries but between
! populations, is also almost untouched. II is
! possible that this war will inspire n work
| on international adjustments which will be
| based on the sentiments of peoples. Those
| who write of diplomacy entirely in terms Of
! Downing street wilhemstrasse, and the
| Qual d'Orsay are accurate enough, but they
fail essentially to explain the facts they
arrange and combine in support Of theil
theories. 1t is certain, FOR example that
by progressive stages England had drifted
away from her loose alliance with Germany,
and that she had, for some time before the
war, recognized an inevitaoie adherence to
the cause of France. That the work
of Gladstone and Salisbury, Lansdowne and
Grey, of HanotauX, Cambon and Delcasse,
of Buelow and Bsmarckism
None Of these men can explain the change
in affections which has taken place in Eng
lish hearts between the day in July 1898, when
Marchand and Kitchener found themselves
face to face under the hot desert sun at
Fashoda, and the days of September 1914,
when Tommy Atkins and the pous fought
side by side in the furnace of the retreat to
the Marne.
1t is worth while, as a background to this
extraordinary phenomenon to rchearse the
striking events of these few years. England
was being forced out of her position of
Splendid isolation" Russia had been maneu-
vered out Of her natural sphere of develop
ment in the Balkans. Italy had been per-
suaded TO colonize wherever her interests
might conflict with those OF England and
France, and between these two nations the
conflict in Africa was quickly coming on.
Then came Fashoda, and the sardonic laugh
ter of the Kaiser might have been heard
below the bayings of the hounds of war.
1t is certain that for time every English
man was expected to believe that every
Frenchman was an aggressive and impudent
thief and that war was the only way to
teacn him a lesson.
Actually, the peaceful settlement of the
Fashoda incident accomplished what wars
alone have been known to achieve, the con-
solidation of feeling in two nations. From
that time Germany found herself out of
concord with the two great countries, and
devoted herself with a persistent ability to !
breaking up the new entente. Prior to 1905 |
Germany had recognized the superior claims |
of France In Morocco, but in that year the |
Kaiser landed in person at Tangier, and as |
a result Delcasse resigned and France was
compelled to bow to Germany. In 1909 the |
German cruiser Panther was sent to Agadir |
and another test was made of the stability |
OF the entente, which again refused to break |
under German attacks. From that time the
perhaps. in 1913, when Rudyard Kipling
wrote his France" on the occasion of Presi- |
dent Poncares visit to London:
Spurred or balked at every stride by tho
others strength,
So rode the ages down and every oceans
length.
With that, one returns to the British navy.
He gave himself with n whole soul TO France |
on the occasion which Kipling immortalized.
He had forgotten Fashoda, and was prepared
for Mons.
So much of a rapprochement between
nations can be accomplished in peace. But
it is more important that war, which is
supposed to disrupt alliances actually makes |
them more secure. The mere fact that
British soldier, back on leave, will ask for
what he calls "caffy- oily" instead of mere
coffee, is a trihe, but it signifies that French
and British have come TO understand each
others ways. Men of different spirits and
Of different minds, they doing together |
what men of spirit and of bne mind
have always done-they are fighting for their |
lives. Before the Balkan crisis is over it is
possible that men of four nations may meet
there and go through the peril of field and
flood together For them the Quadrupe
Entente will have a meaning. In
measure the same holds true for the Teu-'
tonic allies, but in that case the natural
Affiliations are closer.
If any one shudders at the hatred which
must prevail between the two groups let |
him remember the bitterness which rose in
this country against Spain In 1885, Let him
recall the intensity of feeling against Eng
land in the hearts OF the Beers, who are now |
fighting her battles, and the anger which !
Russia felt against Japan, now her ally.
Diplomacy can accomplish much, but it
cannot make the anger of endure for
ever, nor can 1t ally him to those whose
nature opposes his own. As the stream of |
democracy rises it will be harder and harder |
for alliances to be made or wars to be de-
clared. between nations in which the people |
oppose such an alignment. At that time the |
history of diplomacy will be only the history |
of popular relations. Until then II will still |
be worth the historians time to look behind |
the important incident and to discover what |
driving force the likes and dislikes OF the |
crowd have exerted.
|