The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1917-10-04

pride and prestige OF the Prussian
army, 1t must not be forgotten that
at all periods of history 1t seems as
II some blind instinct had driven the
Inhabitants of the inhospitable plains
of North Germany to war and 20 con-
quest. The Cimbri and Teutones, The
tribes defeated by Marius; Ariovistus.
who was defeated by Julius Caesar;
the Goths and the Visi-Goths. the
Franks and the Saxons. all have
poured forth from this infertile coun-
try for the conquest OF other lands.
The Germans of today express this
longing of the North Germans for
pleasanter chimes In the phrase in
which they demand "a place In the
SUM-"
The mobiles of Prussia are always
for war. The business men and man
ufacturers and shfp-owners desired an
increasing field for their activities.
The German colonies were uninhabit-
able by Europeans. All his life the
glittering emperor and his generals
lad planned and thought of war; and
the crown prince. surrounded by his
remarkable collection of relics and re-
minders of Napoleon, dreamed only of
taking the lead in a successful war Of
conquest. Early in the winter OF e14
the crown prince showed his collec
ton OF Napoleana to beautiful Amer
&
said that he hoped war would occur
while his father was alive; but. If not.
he would start war the moment he
came to the throne
Since writing the above. the Amerf-
can Woman who had this conversation
with the crown prince wrote out for
me the exact conversation in her own
words, as follows.
had given him Norman An
CELLS book. The Great Illusion"
which seeks to prove that war fs
unprofita bic. He {the crown
prtnee) said. whether war was
profitable or not, that when ne
came To the throne there would
he war--if not hefor-it,st for
the fun OF IT, On a previous CO.
casiou he had said that the plan
WAS TO attack and conquer France.
then England, and. after that. my
country Omitted States OF Amer
ical. Russia was also 10 be con-
Quered. and Germany would he
master OF the world
The extraordinary collection OF rel
les, statues. husts, souvenirs. etc. OF
the first Napoleon, collected hy the
crown prince and which he was show
Ing at the time OF the first Of these
conversations TO this American lady,
shows the trend OF his mind and that
all HIS admiration Is centered upon
Napoleon, the man who sought the
mastery of the world and who ia
+ thought by admirers iiks the crown
prince 70 have failed only because of
slight mistakes which they feel in his
place they would not have made.
+ II the Germans long preparations
/ for war were TO bear anv fruit, count
( less facts pointed to the summer of
1919 as the tirae when the army
should strike that grear and sudden
blow at the liberties of the world
TIVE TIME FOR
( THE GREAT RIOw
! 1t was In June, 1914. that the i'm
proved KEEL canal was reopened. en-
ahling the greatest warsh.ps 10 pass
from the Baltic to the North sea
! In the Ieppelins the Germans Ind
an arm not possessed by any other
I country with which yhse undnsssse "
I believed that they could do much
more damage to England than was
the case after the actual outbreak Of
nost!'ities. They had paid great at
tentlun To the development of the suh-
marine. Their aeropianes were snne-
rior IN those Of other nations They
believed that in tho use of poison gas
which was prepared before the out
break or the war. they had prize
that would absolutely demoraiixe their
enemy. They had their fame throw
ers and the heavy artillery and how
tiers which reduced the radouhtahie
forts OF Liege and Namur to frag-
ments within n few hours. aai which
made the holding OF any fortress i'm
POSSIBLE
ON their side, by the imposition Of
a heavy tax called the "wehrbeitrag ="
or supplementary defense tax. they
had. in 1919, increased their army by
/ a number of army corps On the
other hand the law for three wear
military service voted in France had
not vet gone into effect, nor had the
law for universal military service vot-
ed by the Belgian chambers Un'
| douhtedly the Germans based great
hopes upon the Bagdad railway, which
was to carry their influence 20 the
East, and even threatened the rule
OF England in Egypt and India I'm
doubtedly there was talk. too. of a
Slav railroad TO run from the Danube
20 the Adriatic. which would cut off
Germany from access to the Southern
sea Francis Deloisi. the Frenchman.
In his book published before the great
war called DE la Guerre des Balkans
la Guerre Europeenne" saws: I'm a.
word. the present war (Ralkanl is the
work OF Russia and the Danube Ash
attic railway is a Russian project II
| IT succeeds, a continuous barrier of
Slav peoples will bar the way to the
Mediterranean. the path of Austro-
German expansion from the Black sea