Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1918-04-30
HOLLAND RICH
PRIZE FOR KAISER
Her Colonial Possessions Are Vast
and Immensely Productive; the
Little Country Powerless.

"Ovr Rhine remains the king of al the
rivers" said Theitschkc in his celebrated
lectures 1T is an infinitely precious
natural possession, but through our fault
the greatest material advantage accrulng
from it has passed into the hands OF
another State, and 1t is an Indispensable
duty of German policy to regain the
mouths of that river" Treitschke WAS
German of the Germans; with our present
underst anding of German State policy as
II has been revealed TO us, we may say
that he WAS a Hun of the Huns u WAS
his belief his teaching, that the greatest
duty of State Is to make itself strong,
that ii is the chief duty of the individual
at all times to serve the State. Morality
was no concern of the State. in his view;
moral principles might regulate the con
duct of individuals, sclf1ntercst must he
the guide of rulers of States; therefore
small States can have no rights which
great ones are bound to respect. 1rcltsch-
Ike did not bluntly say that Germany
should take possession of Holland TO Sc
cure possession of the Rhine to its mouth;
he resortcd to subtcrfuge. Holland
being an independent State, IT WAS not
necessary TO insist upon her political
union with Germany, but "the entry Of
Holland into "our customs community is
rs necessary As our daily bread.
This counsel of moderation Is dIsre-
gardcd by the war-Inad Germans of to-
day They are planning an assault upon
the independence of Holland, they are
seeking to create q pretcxt Tor war with
the Dutch, for conquest of the Dutch.
Foreign Minister Loudon told the Dutch
Chamber of Deputies yesterday that the
dispute with Germany was most serious.
haf N
ncared upon the Dutch border. 1t would
.npcar that the Imperial government,
counting il NAV be, ovcrmuCh upon inc
continued westward march Of the German
~,njcs in Flanders and Plcardy, indeed
believing that victory i assured and there
fore already won, has set about making
those territorial arrangements which VIII
guarantee to Germany the gains she Will
insist upon in the peace terms.
Germany covets the territory Of Hol-
land. for ono reason. because she would
thereby nut herself III a position ct mn
mcnse stratcgical advantage against Eng
land. The Dutch coastal waters would
afford her many invaluable naval bases,
and She would he separated only by the
breadth of the North Sea from the coast
of her enemy Important as that may he,
II i not Holland chief element OF value
- hcr. Germany has lost her own colonies
she hopes to establish her title TO the I'M
rnanSaly more valuable colonial pos
sessions of Holland She IS already pre-
nar,2r for the re-establishment Of Ger
man trade after the war, and in no way
could She sa richly compensate herself for
the losses and ravagcs of war as by taking
n her own the colonial dependencies of
the Dutch Germanv's colonies All told
had an estimated arca Of something over
100000 square miles. and a native
population ii something over l20O00OO
The colonies Of Holland iii { he East Indies
and IA the " cSt Indies including Surnam.
or Dutch Guiana. on the mainland oi
south America, have an arca only little
short OF l000000 square miles. with a
population Al the present tIrne Of probably
fully 5000O000. The official estimate 70
I,,7 Sunatra. and other East India