Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1918-10-30
IF GERMANY IS NOT INVADED

IF GERMANY is NOT INVADED
One very strong desire Of the Germans in the present
effort for peace is to conserve the militaristic spirit OF
the German people. To deny that the German spirit is
militaristc is to deny self-evident facts. and to deny that
people.
Whatever the source Of the system, whether it is in
the government, or the people. or both, the whole Ger
man conception is essentially that of the Qualification Of
force. The German no matter what his rank or station,
is born into an atmosphere permeated with this spirit,
and his whole life is passed in that atmosphere From the
cradle to the grave the German is trained to regard the
effectiveness of the military machine the thing around
which all else centers, and he is fed on a philosophy
which justifies anything that may be done by the mill
,tary machine, and holds in contempt all tendency to per-
init such insignificant things as right, and honor
and justice to stand in the way of the complete develop
ment and perfect success Of the military machine. The
army has become the German god.
The faith Of the German people in the power which
they have been taught to regard as supreme is being
been at war. They were promised conquest, and the fruits
of conquest in the betterment Of their material condition.
They have been fed on paper victories, the unsubstantla1
nature of which, must now be apparent to them. Two mill
lion of their men have been killed. Innumerable others
have been manned. They have felt the lack of sufficient
food, and clothing, and all the other ordinary necessa-
ries of life. Burdens of taxation have been piled upon
them until the load is intolerable. And now, with their
armies forced back toward their own borders, with their
allies dropping off, their government seeks frantically to
conclude a peace before German territory itself is in
vaded.
Naturally, the civilized powers cannot continue to
make war upon a people which has surrendered. When
the German armies, under such conditions as may be pre-
scribed by the military council of the Allies, have been
reduced to a state of quiescence' and incompetence, the
Allied guns will become silent. That may occur when
ever and wherever the Germans choose to yield or the
Allied armies are able to force the event. 49,
But the surrender of Germany, under whatever con-
ditions it takes place, cannot be permitted to introduce
peace without the occupancy of Germany by the armed
forces of the Allies. Should that be done the evil which
has menaced the world will merely have been clipped off,
not rooted out. The German faith in the invincibility- of
German arms will still persist, and the foul plant which
has threatened to choke civilization will, from it's undis-
across the land. D
, Let peace be made without the armed occupation of
Germany, and the German people will say: I'VE fought
Ia war against the whole world. We were surrounded and
Ioutnunbered. Our allies deserted us. We had to de-
pend entirely on our own resources. But with all these
disadvantages, our glorious army was able to keep the
lfatherland from being invaded, to keep the war from our
own soil. and to force a peace which kept our land un-
stained with the blood Of our own sons
With that concept the Germans will feel that their
faith in their god has been more than justified, and it will
be easy for them to persuade themselves that they must
now proceed to the building up of an army greater and
stronger than ever.
The fruits of this war will not have been won and
made secure until Germans in every part of the empire
have had an opportunity to witness the utter powerless,
ness and humiliation OF the force in which they have
placed their trust: until their cities have been occupied
and their affairs regulated by foreigners, backed by the
armed forces which have wiped out the last semblance
of the German army. Not until then will it be possible
for Germany to realize that her military god is an idol
OF clay. ~