The Aberdeen weekly. [volume] (Aberdeen, Miss.) 1878-1933, 1918-07-26

~ CLARENCE L. SPEED

By CLARENCE L. SPEED
ooerotary of the War Committee Of the
Union League Club Of Chicago
We are lighting Germany. for one
thing, because Germany. having split
the world In half. II now seeking to
devour the halves separately. She
has driven Z wedge straight through
the heart Of Europe. and into Asia,
and il seeking to extend It to the Per
Glan gulf.
This II no accidental happening. due
to the downfall Of Russia and the sud-
den shifting In the fortunes Of war.
Germany planned It all decades ago.
She made no effort to keep the plans
secret. She told rs all about 1T. She
had q reputation for making plans
and sticking to them, from one gener-
alton to another: yet the world paid
No attention. 1t seemed too prepos-
ferrous even for Germany to attempt
As long ago as 1895 a pamphlet.
'Pan- Germany and Central Europe
About 1850" was published in Berlin
and had wide circulation. 1t laid the
whole Mitteleuropa plan bare as fol-
lows:
"P6land and Little Russia (the king
Com to be established at Russia's ex-
pense) viii agree to have no armies
Of their own. and will receive in their
fortresses German and Austrian garri-
sons. In Poland. as well as in Little
Russia. the postal and telegraph serv-
Ices as well as the railways will be In
German hands"
In 1911 Tannenberg's book, "Greater
Germany" was published. This was
only three years before the war. but
1t showed that the idea Of a German
Mitteleuropa had not been allowed to
languish. 1t says:
'The new kingdom Of Poland Is
made up Of the former Russian por-
ton Of the basin of the Vistula. and OF
Galicia, and forms q part.Of the new
Austria"
How the plan has grown since then
Russia's collapse dropped whole prov
inces into the lap OF the kaiser. ana
now Germany plans its empire on
scale which would dwarf that OF an
cient Rome. 1t is to embrace the orig
inal Central Europe. Inhabited by
some 100000 Germans, make the
Black sea a German lake, and extend
clear to the Persian gulf through the
vassal states Of Bulgaria and Turkey.
The German government started to
put its scheme for MitteleurOpa in
to effect years ago when 1T began the
construction OF the Berlin-tO-Bagdad
railway. Little Serbia stood In the
way, so Serbia was attacked and the
world was plunged into war. In the
opposite corner Of Europe Belgium
was invaded and crushed. The world
then thought that this was only be-
cause Belgium offered the easiest
route to France; but study Of the Nit
teleuropa plan Of years ago shows that
Belgium was included in the scheme
of conquest.
"How does all this affect America"
one may ask. Germany was late
conner in the family Of great nations.
Most Of the uncivilized world had been
pre-empted by other nations before
she arrived. Germany wanted col
onies. To get them she would have
to take them away from someone else.
Africa and South America offered
the best fields for German colonial
ton. England possessed the best part
Of Africa-the parts in which the
white man might hope to settle and
thrive. England had q mighty fleet.
and a disposition to hold what she
had, even though she did not show q
disposition to fight for more.
There remained South America. II
was divided among weak nations. 1t
was protected only by the Monroe doc.
trine. This Monroe doctrine was O
sacred thing to Americans. but. not
being backed up by mighty armies and
fleets, was not even "scrap Of paper"
to the Germans. Can anyone doubt
should Germany succeed in welding
into a mighty empire the 73,OOO,OOO
Germans and the 1OO,OOO.OOO inhabi.
tants Of the vassal and conquered
states Of her Mitteleuropa, that her
next step would be toward the west
The very fact that she had this en-
pfre would presuppOse the defeat OF
England. so that no British fleet would
stand between us and Germany when
the time came for the kaiser to send
his legions across the Atlantic.
"As in the East so I'm the West
Is a mOItO WHICH,, vi tSCcut WCChS, AidS |
been much heard in Germany. At az
conference of the national liberal par |
ty, held in March of tits year. the fol. |
lowing amazingly frank declaration
was made:
"Our policy has been directed &c
making the government and majority |
turn away from the reichstag resOlu |
ton Of July 10. peace without an I
nexations and indemnitfes). In that
we have succeeded. Peace has just
been made In the East under condi
lions in fiat contradiction to the pol
icy Of July 10. and has received the
support and assent of all the burgeOis
parties"
In other words, all Germany is now
planning both annexatfons and indem.
mites. such as will leave her without
4 formidable opponent In the world.
Can we make peace now and leave
Germany. flushed with victory, in pos
session Of nh she has gained and lust
Ing for further conquest3 IF we did
would not the whole world live In
perpetual terror Of German aggres
Bi0n. each country awaiting its turn tc