New-York tribune., 1918-05-05

1914 Germany demanded that Belgium
permit the passage of German armies.
In 1918 Germany demands that Holland
permit the passage of German war ma
terial. It is not to be doubted that
Dutch acquiescence in this demand
would soon be followed by the transfor-
nation Of Holland into a German mill
tary highway"
Curious things indeed to go to war
about" adds "The Cincinnati Enquirer"
-"sand and gravel-until you happen
to remember that Germany never hesi-
tates to shed as much Of human blood
as any treasure COSTS" And this paper
continues:
ut makes our blood boil and our gorge
rise. More clearly than ever, if that were
possible, indeed, we see that this mon
strous evil of military government must
be banished from the earth. spirit
like that of the German people incorpo-
rate in such army is a peril great
enough to make this old world tremble
to its centre. 1t is said, indeed, to wish
the horrors of war upon any other ma
tion than those already struggling in its
grasp, but to save our souls we cannot
help hoping that little Holland has got
sand enough to resist and to fight. What
joy can any country have in a neutrality
and a peace which is purchased at the
cost of trucking to tyrant like the Kaiser
and obeying the slightest will of the Pots
dam gang? What Holland needs is sand
more sand! She cannot spare a car
load; not single grain for exportl She
needs it all to fight.
"And as for gravel-let us hope and
pray that she may rise in her might and
help the Allies to gravel the Hunsl"
Holland is subject for sympathy"
contends "The Nebraska State Jour
NAL" voicing the sentiment of scores of
other American dailies in this matter,
whichever way the choice falls. Yet
that choice will tell whether or not Hol-
land is great in the sense that Belgium
proved great" A noble Holland would
rather go down resisting the raper of
nations than survive under the dishonor
Of submitting.
"As to Germany, we see in this last move
another mark of it's desperation. Baffled
with its U-boats and it's efforts to break
through in the West, it strikes out reck-
lessly in whatever direction it finds q pos
sible hope. For a moments advantage it
will strike down Holland. Should occasion
arise, it will as ruthlessly strike down Den
mark, Sweden, Norway and Switzerland.
Such is the dragon America is pitted
against, 'that old serpent which is the Devil
and Satan, and which it is our business to
bound for thousand years. and for
ever"
cat any moment" in the opinion of
c.. M . RI
many may act in such way as either to
make belligerent of Holland or to
force Holland into position where the
Allies will be forced to regard her as
hostile country. In either event the
clouds which the political meteorologists
at The Hague have been watching for
years, with such insistence, will have
flung their shadows completely across
the country"
AS to whether the Dutch will bow tho
knee to the Hohenzollerns in a way that
their ancestors steadfastly refused to
bow it to the Bourbons or the Haps-
burgs, "The Monitor" thus speculates:
'Twice in the past, rather than sacrifice
their religion or their liberty, the Dutch
have faced single-handed a European del
uge. Once It was when valdez led in the
big battaIions Of yellow coated Spanish In
fantry against the tiny regiments of Will
lam the Silent Every human being knows
what happened on that occasion; how, at
Williams command, the dikes were broken,
and the North Sea swept the Dutch ships,
manned by the rugged 'Beggars, to the
gates Of Leyden, and drove the Spanish out
of their trenches. And, once again, it was
Conde who saw the sea tapping over the
meadows and the tulip beds, 10 the tennis
court at zeyst in answer to the famous
declaration made to the deputies Of the
States General by the great Stakeholder, that
The HoIlanders might survive Holland