The daily banner. (Cambridge, Md.) 1897-2008, 1918-01-17

the appalling transformation of Ger
man mentality and morality under
the nefarious and puissant influence
of the priesthood of worship,
you do not know the Germany of this
day and generation.
1t is not the Germany of old, the
land of our affectionate remem-
brance. 1t is not the Germany which
men now of middle age or over knew
in their youth. 1t is not the Ger
many of the first Emperor William,
a modest and God-fearing gentleman
1t is not the Germany, even. of
Bismarck, man of blood and iron
though he was, who had builded
structure which, whilst not founded
on liberty, yet was capable and gave
promise of going down into history
as one of the greatest examples of
enlightened and even beneficent au
tocracy; who, in the contemplative
and mellowed wisdom of his old age,
often warned the nation against the
very spirit which. alas came to have
sway over it, and against the very
war which that spirit unclaimed.
The Germany which brought upon
the world the immeasurable disaster
of this war, and at whose monStrous
deeds and doctrines the civilized ma
tions of the earth stand aghast,
started into definite being less than
thirty years ago. l can almost lay
my finger upon the date and circum-
stances of its illomened advent.
Less than thirty years ago a new
course" was famboyantly proclaim
ed by those in authority, and the
term new course" became the order
OF the day. With it and from it
there came truly marvellous quick
ening of the energies and creative
abilities of the nation, period of
material achievement and of social
progress; in short, a national for
ward movement almost unequalled
in history The world looked on in
admiration, perhaps not entirely free
from a tinge of envy. Germany was
conquering the earth by peaceful
penetration.
And no one stood in its way. 1t
had free access to all the seas and all
the lands.
But with that new course and
from it there also came new CODA
false and evil god. He exacted as
sacrifices for his altars the time-hon-
ored ideals of the fathers, and other
high and noble things, and his COM
mands were obeyed.
There came upon the German peo-
pie whole train of new and baneful
influences and impulses, formidably
stimulating as powerful drug.
There came, amongst other evils, ma
terialism and covetousness and ire
ligion; overweening arrogance, an
impatient contempt for the rights OF
the weak, mania for world domina-
ton, and a veritable lunacy of power
worship.
There came also a fixed and IRA
tional distrust of the intentions of
other nations, for the evil which had
crept into their own souls made
them see evil in others, and that dis
trust was nurtured carefully and de-
liberately by those in authority.
And, finally, there came "the day"
in which the new course" fatally
and inevitably, was bound to culmi-
nate. There came the old tempta-
ton, as old as humanity itself.
The Tempter took the Prussian
and Prussianized rulers up high
mountain and showed them all the
ltssnes ;apwer Of the world. show
ed them Great Countries ana
capitals O. the earth teeming with
peaceful labor-Brussels, Paris, Lon.
don, aye, and New York, and told
them: Look at these. Use your
power ruthlessly and they are
yours And those rulers did not
say: Get thee behind me, satan;"
but they said: Go ahead, satan,a
We shall follow thee"
And follow him they did, and
brought upon the green earth the
red ruin of hell.
And with rejoicing they greeted
"the day." 1t was to bring them, as
one German in an important position
here expressed it to me, in August,
1914, "a merry war and victory be-
fore the year is out"
Truly, history affords no parallel
to the spiritual poisoning and the
resulting horrible transmutation of
whole people, such as Prussianism
wrought in the incredibly short per-
iod of one generation. Nor would l
believe that such dredaful phenom-
enon could possibly take place, were
it not for the evidence of my own
eyes and my own ears.
My observations led me to think,
however, that Prussianism had rea-
ched the crest OF its influence some
years before the war and that lib
eral tendencies were beginning to
make headway against it. There
were many men in Germany before
the war who were opposed to and
saw the dangers arising from mill
tarist ambition and jingo teaching
in warning.
There was the eyer-increasing So
cialist vote, which (although Social
ism in the German Empire does not
mean what it means in Russia and
amongst the extremists in our coun-
try) did mean opposition to Junker
methods and reactionary tendencies.
l am by no means sure that the
very growth and spread of that lib
eral spirit did not have some infiu-
ence in causing the militarist clique
to precipitate the war, as an antidote,
as throughout history autocracy has
resorted frequently to the unity
compelling force of war in order to
arrest, divert and thwart liberalism
and independence.
To deceive the German people, and
steel them to patriotic determination
and sacrifice, the Prussian rulers and
their spokesmen affirmed at the be
ginning of the war, and have kept
re-affirming ever since with nauseat-
ing reiteration and disgusting hy-
pOcrisy, that theirs was defensive
war, forced upon them by wicked
and envious neighbors. A defensive
war, indeed!
Let me review rapidly the circum-
stances which surrounded the begin
ming of this war. Austria, after the
friction of long standing between the
Austrian heir-apparent on Serbian
soil, sent an ultimatum to Serbia.
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