Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1917-04-20
THE TWO GERMANYS
Paul w. Brown in Tho Outlook.
Paul w. Brown in Tho Outlook.

none ut once so insistent and 81 baf.
fling as the coexistence in one people
at one time OF the qualities and defects
which present themselves in Germany,
Let us look at he two Germanys. The
Oh is the Germany of efficiency, of en-
terpfisc, of the life of the spirit, of good
will among men and Joy to little chill
dren. Without invoking the existence
of any other Germany, the problems
and marvels of this one are sufficiently
Rwlldering. Here is n people preeml-
nent alike in tie reclamation of waste
lands and in speculative philosophy.
Tho Germans write the best organized
symphonies and produce the best or
ganized steamship companies. We turn
to them for fairy tales for children and
for works on bacteriolosy for physi-
clans. Iney stand first in the coiiec-
ton of The hymns of the ancient Aryans
AND III the collection of city rubbish as
we'll. They teach us how to organize
hospitals and nourish foreign trade. to
plan cities INC organize rural credit
banxs. to make tons and social urveys.
We in America, with our young civiliza-
ton and unsyinnletrical developments,
nave been specially dazZlcd In contem-
plating Germany. Our achievements
have had the eXuberance and one sided
ness of the exploits of youth; they have
been Il series of brilliant tours de force
stunts" in the N~e,nacllar. We itaN@
worked prodigionsiy ana shirked pro.
digiousiy. We have beer economical
II at the same time wasteful of a ma
tionai patliiDony OF u~lleXampled rich
ness. while tiernianH'S progress has had
"the steady persistence of a screw" n
the symmetry of an athletes torso.
The other Germany sees in sacred
agreements mere scraps of paper"
This Germany sank the Lhsitania in
violation Of the laws OF humanity and
the treaties governing the security of
ships at sea, burned ~ library at Lou
vain, destroyed the e. .ral at Reinns.
executed Edith Cave:i. and sends Yep
pelins to assassinate g~randnlothers by
the chimney corner. invalids in bed and
little children on the way to school.
This Germany brings forward men
eminent in all walks of life, ever to the
pastor with gown and bands. the pro-
fessor beside his desk and the states.
"a before the re~ichstag-not to ex
cuse these things. but to avow and de
fend them.
AS a result we have developed two
groups of commentators upon Germany
and things German. There are those to
whom German virtues n services to
mankind are nonexistent. In view of
outrages and wrongs, all Germany's
achieNements are merely demonic
shows of cunning to entrap victims and
delude a world for whom the real Ger
many lies III wait. n every great Ger
tIistI ICstJtF Is IUaI mONSJrum nOrren-
uum. an unprincipled man of genius.
Another and much smaller group ideal
ives everything, sees all that, Germany
does as right because she does it, and
frankly recognizes two moral codes
one for ordinary relations of life and
the other for certain peoples in diplo-
macy and war. A third group OF people
frankly gives up the entire problem:
there is no answer, SO why think about
u at all? Why try to reconcile Won Tir-
pitt and Papa Jahn. Schleiermacher
and Bismarck. Virchow aud Bernhardi?
o IAN the same people be at once
the chief minister of mercy to the dis
eased. OF vigor tn the we'll, of comfort
to dwellers in cities, OF prosperity to
the tiller OF the soil, OF efficiency 10
the organization OF business, of intel
aectual pleasure to the philosopher, of
great music: and OF duplicity in the
field Of diplomacy. ever to the extent
OF bringing on war by forgery, of law
iessncss in international agreement, of
cruelty and harbarity in war?
The answer lies id the history OF that
birth to the German empire-Prussia.
1t affords at once the most conspicuous
and most tragic instance in modern
history of the price which a people NAV
be called upon to pay for a great con
structive social idea when, instead of
0ADsN re ny " uGtCtOltlSHJ III the
popular mind n being forged into
workable form by experiment and
criticism, 1t is, born full size in he
mind of a genius who chances to have
power to put 1t n practice without
consulting anybody but himself .
More than 200 years ago the supreme
genius which Prussia has thus far pro-
duced. born-of all places in the world
lin the kings palace, came to tho
throne as Frederick William, the Sec
,ond king Of Prussia. He was not only
OF the few great administrators
who nave headed nations, he was n
Of the great constructive economist Of
all time. II he a been q teacher or
q minister OF state under any monarch.
OF his own generation Orsthe one pre-
ceding, his revolutionary ideas In the
economic field would have produced
relatively little immediate effect In the
realm OF human practice. blu would
have had y slow, vet sure influence in
modifying thought. and would. finally
have borne fruit In the field OF action.
But he happened to. be born to- the
headship of an absolute monarchy
'dOcile people. Now the SCHOLARS ideas
1geApsa maximum Of discussion and a
lnifflMum OF. practice: the kingss ideas
IRE acted on. rather than discussed.
This king embodied all his govern-
mental Ideas at once In practice. with
stoopinE To- discuss them with any
Frederick william had the I'VE
tiona1 political and military philosophy
OF the .century-the 17th-which ended
= few years before he became king. But
his ec0nonaic philosophy was Z full 700
years aheed sof his tine. Being = born
arch. he turned all his ideAs-new and
old-at once into policies. The economic
Notwithstanding began at once to near