The Princeton union., 1918-08-01

6IlSs -4NOWth@ wv 1k0I
economical policy, and finally her op
position to the Monroe Doctrine Of the
| United States, and with some chance
for their opposition to be supported in
degree by such or such other foreign
office. s5 y, d 5s 54
But if this hypothesis seemed the
most plausible one, there was also the
| possibility of succession of other bit
ter incidents occurring here and there,
particularly in South America, and
leading at last to throw Germany and
| the United States face to face. Among
these other things We're the fast de-
|velopment of the Germany colonies in
the States of Santa Catalina and Rio
Grande do Sui, in Brazil, with their
| tendencies more and more disclosed to
ward an autonomy which would pre-
pare a sort Of new tie with the empire;
the progress of the Teutons in Chile,
where, during a generation or so, a
German officer, General Korner, had
presided over the organization Of the
army and all it's services; and the
feverish work Of German expansion,
sometimes ostensible, sometimes con-
cealed, urged in Argentina, in Mexico,
in Colombia, near the Isthmus, and
more or less on the style Of their
Brazilian settlements, through the
creation of banks, newspapers, schools,
steamship lines, Of numberless and
daring sVereine'' and through military
missions. Another Indication of the
same thing was in the big jobs Sc
cured for the principal German firms.
Krupp in the first place. All these
things were so many stitches of an
immense net, commercial on one side,
political on the other, and weaved all
over the land, extending from the
Gulf of California to the Strait of
Magellan. The utterances Of the Pan
Germanist literature and champions
left no doubt as to the true meaning
of thes combined efforts. No particu-
lar insight was needed to trace in
the constitution of the A. B. C. League,
(Argentina, Brazil, Chile,) some hints
and steps bearing the Wilhelmstrasse's
suggestive mark. Were not all these
circumstances significant enough for
the expression of the most alarming
prognostics?
"The Venezuela affair, the blockade
of La Guayra by German naval forces,
the sensational visits of Prince Henry
of Prussia to American countries, in
order to bring the imperial blessing to
all these offsprings, great or small,
Of the Teuton stem, with the watch
words concealed in the Princes
speeches, were not the best things to
check that uneasiness, but rather il
Illuminated the continuous action and
the venturous arms of the Kaiser.
There was evidently the incubation of
a storm.
"Under what conditions, then, would
such war against Germany, intact
in her still growing power, have
caught the Great American republic? :?
From the international point of view
the loneliness of the United States
was complete On the other hand, the
unavoidable length Of their prepara-
ton for the fight with the allied
armies, in the present conflict, shows
in what irritating conditions of mill
tary inferiority they would have re-
ceived the first stroke, without enjoy
ing the safety of delay that they need
ed in 1917 to complete their organiza-
tion.
.The evidence in reference to the
underground work . Of Germany
throughout the New World suggests
the hard time the White House would
have met in keeping safe it's relations
with the principal republics of South
America. One will remember that this
conspiracy had found good quarters
even under cover of the German I'M
perial Embassy at Washington. Final
", if one looks back to the financial
crisis which, in 1907, played such havoc
in the American market, for econom-
ical reasons and out of all proportion
to the real gravity Of the crisis, one
may imagine something Of the magni-
tude Of the ruin and disorder which
would have followed the sudden burst
ing out of a conflict between prepared
Germany on the one hand, and the
unprepared United States on the other.
'sNobody doubts, of course, that
America would have succeeded finally,
in throwing the German invaders out
theless, it would have cost terrific
trials, cruel hours Of national mourn
ing and anguish, and secrifces far
heavier than those which the Union
accepts today with such a magnani-
and civilization.
I'm no sense does 1T detract from our
admiration for the lofty ideals of
President Wilson and the American
people, nor from our appreciation of
the great service of the United States
troops are now rendering if we look
little bit under the surface of past
history, and there find evidence that
by this time America might have been
fighting Germany alone if the course
of events had shaped itself differently
four years ago. And there is no lack
Of gratitude for what America is now
doing in the feeling that America is
perhaps far better off in her coop
erative warfare on the side of the
Entente, than she would have been as
an isolated belligerent. By joining
herself gradually and in step with her
preparations with the great powers.
even including Japan, she has been
able to enter the war methodically
effectively, and in good order. She
had time first to rid herself of all the
German assesses of propaganda and
conspiracy, and most important Of all,