Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1918-05-29

were primitive, territory as large as
Italy produced the mighty civiliza-
lions If Babylonia, Syria and Chaldea.
Given all the knowledge and equip
ment Of today, 100000 people
could live in prosperity in the plain
OF Mesopotamia.
They saw 9O,0OO,0OO people in those
lands. Austria-Hungary, the Balkans
and Turkey. Berlin said that is
what we want" Why didn't they
take it? Because it would have
brought the whole world down upon
them. It would have created diff
culties and enmities. There was a
better way, the double cross
Instead of a conquest, the grand al
lance would be formed, the high COM
mand to be at Berlin, and when the
war was over, Berlin would have the
whole body Of allies in her hands,
and the conquest Of the mighty mid
die Europe would be complete Ger
many knew Serbia would stand out
recalcitrant, and through Serbia run
the roads to the east. Serbia had to
be crushed. The murder Of the arch
duke had nothing to do with the war.
1t was a more convenient pretext, for
; there would have been war with Ser
bia anyway. AS soon as Serbia was
struck Russia would intervene.
They knew they would have to fight
France if they fought Russia. There
were three reasons why they wanted
to fight France, terrible reasons that
will be written in history for many
generations. First, they wanted
French gold The second reason was
to steal iron. The richest iron mines
in Europe are in Lorraine In 1871
the Germans took part of these iron
mines. But the German scientists, in
making their maps, made a mistake.
They left the greater part Of the ore
on the French side. To steal this
iron was their second reason
The third reason was the effect Of
the other side of that satanic ambi-
tion-awful pride, hatred, envy and
malice. Envious of France, for
France had led Europe for 500 years.
France with her expressive language.
her wonderful culture, with her mar
velous leaders, IN science, second to
lone. They wanted to destroy
France, seize her gold, her iron, her
name, seize her colonies and break
her to a third or fourth rate power
That was the first stage. To cement
Austria-Hungary, to attack Serbia,
capture western provinces, annihil-
ate France, and return with a popu-
lation Of 200,000,000, greatly augment
ed territory, without a penny Of ma
tional debt, and with three months
victorious campaigning to their cred
it. 1t was great SCENE.
The British empire was left out.
They were not supposed to come into
this. The Berlin high command are
great psychologists. They under
stand the human mind. They under
stand everything except the human
soul. They thought they understood
the British people. They knew there
was trouble in Ireland. They bad
helped to make it. They knew that
Britain had trouble in Africa. in
Egypt, in India and thought that the
British empire could not move, so be-
set was she with internal difficulties,
They knew she had little army and
no munitions. Britain, therefore.
could not come in. War would be
over before the British had their eyes
| open. If it had fallen out as planned.
and it might have, the whole Of Eu-
rope would have been against Great
! Britain. In the second stage there
would be 100000 or 100000
British against the 200,00O,00O people
of Greater Germany, Britain crippled
with debt and Germany with money
and with a navy builded up on hers
and the navy OF France In every
reasonable calculation the second
stage could have been carried to sue
cess. Britain would have gone down,
all Of Africa, western ASIA Europe
and Australia would have been Ger
man.
The man in the third line is very
much interested in the man in the
second line, and we are the third.
That great empire stands, and has
| stood between us and Germany.
When the British empire went down,
there would have been nothing in the
world except Germany and America,
and the third stage was to be in the
western hemisphere. Another time
! Of recuperation, to double their navy,
to levy for mightier army, to build
up their merchant fleet and transport
fleet, and, when they got ready to
strike at South America, what could
we have done? Where would we have
been twenty years hence when that
blow was struck? The Monroe doc
trine would have become a scrap Of
paper. They would have our north
ern boundary, all of Canada, in their
hands. When all along that frontier
there were German bayonets and
guns, Germans coming down from
the north, Germans coming up from
the south, where would we have
been?
They have been kind enough to
state they never intended to annex the
United States. They did not think
they needed to annex us. They
thought the process was going on in
side. They reckoned that every son
and grandson Of German blood was
going to fight against our flag for
Germany. They did not know what
it means to be born in land like
this, with unlocked lips and liberty,
and while our German fellow coun-