The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1917-04-13
A DREAM OF WORLD DOMINION

ulduc russia power " w IcChOlCU
with by her more powerful neighbors.
! Single-handed and alone for seven
years that grim old warrior had kept
at bay his more powerful rivals, final
| ly concluding a peace that gave Prus-
STA proud place in the sun.
AS boy he had witnessed some of
! the battles won by German strategy
and bravery over France, who had
humbled Prussia less than an hun
bred years before by the invincible
arms of Napoleon.
The memory OF those severe defeats
still ranked in Germanys breast, and
now her easy triumph over her proud
and valiant foe caused her to be jubi-
liant beyond measure.
Then. too. under the leadership Of
i Bismarck, the German empire had
been consolidated. and was more pow
erful than ever
! Is it any wonder that this young
man should have dreams OF universal
dominion?
That he possessed an unbounded
ambition is beyond question. and had
an overluling passion for industry
! These were the chief characterize
les of Frederick the Great, and must
have been inherited from him.
He did not hide his ambition under
bushel He had hardly warmed his
kingly chair before he let it be known
! that Germany must be a world power.
She must extend her political and
commercial influence all over the
world she must have ships in every
sea and merchants in every port.
In one of his early addresses he
graphically and boastfully proclaim
ed: Nothing must be done anywhere
on the globe without the sanction Of
Germany's ruler"
| Finding Bismarck cautious and pru-
dent, he startled the world by dis
missing him He bridled the liberty
of the press, and any public utterance
| hostile to his schemes was treated as
| les majestic, and the authors were inn
prisoned rot only with his sanction
but in many instances by his direc-
ton
He Immediately began plans for
! building up a powerful army and
navy.
While other nations were dreaming
OF peace and tranquility he was max
ing preparations for striking a blow
at an unexpected moment that would
give realization TO his dreams Of
conquest and dominion
His great grandsire. two hundred
years before, had found frivolous
excuse for making war upon Prince IS
j Louise, wh) had befriended him, and
whose title to the Austrian throne he
had sworn to defend, but when the
opportunity appeared he treated this
solemn compact as a mere scrap Of
paper.
SO when the present kaiser had an
army bigger than any other army and
a navy big enough to cope with any
other navy than England's, whom he
left out OF his calculations, as he ex
pected no trouble from that quarter,
he only awaited an opportunity to
strike and seized upon the assassina-
ton that occurred in Serbia TO carry
his purpose into execution.
He did not. as we have already
said calculate that England would en-
ter the combat
He would overrun Belgium and
strike France an unexpected blow,
and after crushing her would then
turn on Russia and unprepared as
she was. would find little difficulty in
bringing her to her knees
Concluding peace with these EN-
pires on his own terms. and having
them out of the way he would next
measure strength with Great Britain,
and finding her almost as totally un-
prepared he would humble her.
These great things accomplished.
his CONQUEST of China and Japan
would be an easy matter, and with
this done his next bolt would be hurl.
ed at the United States. and the pa
cifsts having laid the foundation for
him, her conquest would be easy.
Already having strongholds in Al
RIGA there would be nothing there 10
give him trouble, and he would find
his conquest of the world complete.
Belgiums resistance and England 5
interference were the only stumbling
blocks in his way
But, after all, it is fortunate, as
ScOtland's bard tells us:
The best laid schemes of mice and
men
Gang aft aglse.'