Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1918-05-23

servient to it, must be overthrown and the worlds
commerce freed from serious dangers. If this Is
to be effected the whole German idea of trading
must be modified
Economic penetration" has long been recog-
nized In Germany as one of the most important
functions of the state. The highest in the empire,
kings, princess mobiles and hereditary land mag
mates. have We'd in showing their interest in all In
dustrial and commercial enterprises of magnitude
and in promoting in every way possible to them the
expansion Of German trade, while chanceors, cab
met ofncerS and members of parliament have prac-
tically been at the beck and call of corporations
and individuals embarking on new undertakings
on aslarge scale. The state in many lines has be-
come the partner of leading promoters and in cases
where capital is risked in enterprises which If
successful must rebound to the benefit Of the
pre- that capital is practically guaranteed against
loss. Should the enterprise itself be revealed as
practicable, but be jeopardized by incompetency or
ulshonesty, the state will find way to step in, to
protect the outside investor and to turn the enter
prise to success. Differently from what occurs in
certain more democratic countries, the German
state does not stand aloof from trade and indus
try, does not eye "big business" with cold suspi-
clon, or permit the legislative bodies to modest it
with multitude OF pin-pricking laws. The kaiser
poses as the friend and associate of great NUM-
tons manufacturers visits with Westphalian coal
barons, presides at the launching of steamships
owned by private corporations and lends the en-
canals, or the making of automobiles, or shoes, or
carpets, by private enterprise The whole attitude
of the state toward trade is different in Germany.
BY instinct it is possible that the KAISER the
princes, the counts and the barons Of Germany
have as little desire to come in contact with the
ordinary mortals who are "in trade" as certain IT,
tied Brtons have, but in Germany duty to the state
overcomes the repugnance. The supreme duty
of all is to promote the military might of the state
for in this way alone can Germany's greatness be
assured.
But military power in these times is dependent
on economic power The nation with the most
money can win wars, is the crude commercial way
in which the idea has been phrased in other coun-
tries. Germany has different notions, but admits
the hard fact that trade and mtarism are inter-
related And as the warfare of today has called
for new methods the battlefield, so it also de-
mands new forms of aid from commerce. Through
trade and commerce the armed forces of the nation
can deliver some of their most telling blows. Since
in the present hour, whether one likes it or not
the fact is established that the army is than
ever dependent on commerce, the army must now
work for trade and trade must work for the army
This reasoning was furnished as the fundamental
justifying motive for the law civil CONSUMPTION
in Germany, and the German government, If it
endures, is expected to push the principle as vgor
ously after the war as it does now. Even If Ger
many lost the war, it is affirmed she can count on
triumphing ultimately through her trade methods.
How vigorously Germany Is working on this prin-
cipe is best realized from the fact that since the
beginning of the war, and to a greatly increased
extent in the past year, the German government
has effected combinations between leading
manufacturing and commercial concerns in Ger.
many engaged in foreign business and is using the
government resources in the combinations. The
facts in this regard, known FROM other sources are
confirmed by the complaints of the smaller Ger
concerns left out of the combination and de-
pryed not merely of all financial and commercial
participation but also of all knowledge of the bust
ness operations in which the government and. big
business are engaged 1t is this apparently estab
lished fact of the union of the government with
the most important of the German firms transact
ing business abroad which is the basis for much Of
the concern manifested in the countries of the al
lies regarding the German method of handling
trade and commerce and the future evils which ii
forecasts.