The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-01-14
MEN, WOMEN
 AND THINGS

in differing I hope that he IS right and l that I am wrong, but I do not believe
 that the German people are by any
 means guiltless in the war of conquest
 that is being waged.
 I can't get out of my mind things that I saw and heard when 8 student inl Berlin more than a quarter of a cen
 tury ago. It has been the fashion here in America to laud to the skies thel
 'schoomaster of Germany without, Il fear, being conversant with the propa- Uganda that was being instilled in Ger mans from the cradle to the grave, orl rather from the Kindergarten to the
 university.
 l It was cult of superiority that itI Twas to be Deutschland uber alles. Now this may be very patriotic and Ipraiseworthy to those who have an | ocean between them and the Germans, but it is to say the least of it irritating | to live in their midst and have it rubbed in the wrong way every day. Il
 know whereof I speak, and because | have g grievance my testimony may be Idiscredited. If I diH not have respect 1 able backing from men of eminence who also sojourned in the Fatherland I might | hold my tongue.
 I was studying at the Sorbonne in Paris when a friend who had just come from the University of Berlin shocked
 me by saying: Barnett, you are soon ! to nd TO tnrr t0 be greatly disllusioned.' I had raved much about Kant and other German philosophers, about Goethe and other au- thors, about Wagner and other mu- sicians, about yirchow and other scien- tist until he sensed that I was riding Ito fall.
 Now I know the folly of trying to indict a nation, and yet to this day remember with what hot resentment Imet his remark that the Germans were wholly without manners. Now he was a Inortherner, and about as cold and dis
 passionate type of man as I had ever met, but absolutely fearless and honest in his expression of opinions. He said: "Now you are a southerner, and used to Iideas of chivalry, especially toward
 women, and courtesy to men. But you are going to have a rude awakening before you spend one semester at the University of Berlin.'' Seeing that he had flung his harpoon into me strong, just for good measure, he added: "It goes deeper than their execrable table
 manners, it is inbred and shows itself in many ways
 I pursued the subject until he finally made the assertion that he had seen
 men in the best cafes and hotels use
 their knives in such a reckless way that i, he feared that in conveying food to their
 mouths they had constantly before them
 the thought of the time when they would
 be using their swords to hack their way : through Europe. thought that he was : particularly severe in his strictures and told him so. when he almost took my ; breath away by saying that the use of r the fork was either a lost or unknown art in Germany. I broke out into a :, laugh and said: T know Germany gave l to the world one gentleman who was l versed in the usages of good society, i and had perfect table manners l then < cited Goethe. He laughed and replied l You are unteachable; I can't prove it;
 but am morally sure that Goethe even
 ate peas with knife.'
 f It is funny how things come back : after the lapse of years. I found out . that the manners of the Germans at ta- l ble were not in keeping with what was
 used to in the best families of the : south. but I was willing to overlook it : The thing I couldn't pardon was theil = rude treatment of women. The mere ]. name of Hausfrau in itself is a pointer s to show which way the wind blows 1T g Germany when it comes to the sexes e Oh, my American sisters, you ought tt
 live in the vaterland for awhile an6
 then perhaps mere man might occupy
 a higher niche in your estimation O. t him and the privileges he gives you st ;. graciously. The German soldier pushes , the woman to the wall or off the side ), walk. He takes her seat in cafes if Il, t happens to want it, and is guilty O d other discourtesies that are unbelievabl l. to an American.
 It may seem bit strained to try ant maintain that Germany's bad manner
 are at the bottom of her running
 amuck, but it's a matter of common
 knowledge that she has displayed then s on more occasions than one when sit
 ting around the diplomatic table. Ba, ,s table manners in the manipulation o ,- the knife may breed bad manners in he E. diplomats when they find ther feet l. under the same board where it's ques 4s tion of carving up territory. The. Kai sr ser came near overturning the table a ,7 the Algeciras conference in his eager f ness to get a slice of Morocco, and hi is Hove for Turkey made him act with ba,
 grace toward his Christian neighb orr m who wanted to have a love feast in ,s stead of a free for all fight.
 .s We have been flooded with a con ,, stantly flowing stream of books l. .. praise of German education, but I hay :. yet to read an article or book on tn .s failure of German education. Trederi x, Harrison, the great publicist, says: Fl
 all the worlds history no race has bee . SO drilled schooled sermonized into