The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1918-09-26

many, no matter now atrocious or in
consistent with the worlds idea of
what is permissible In civilized war
fare, ever brought word of condem-
nation from the German public as q
whole, although. of course, there were
some notable exceptions. The great
majority of Germans who discussed
these matters with me, however, not
only defended everything Germany did.
but complained because more rigorous
measures were not taken.
Merely by way of example, and not
because her suggestion was any worse
than hundreds of others raised by my
German patients, l may mention the
surprising viewpoint expressed by the
Countess Sierstorpff, a relative of Won
kel-Donnersmarch. 1t was after
Italy had joined the allies and when
German resentment against that ma
ton ran very high.
what we should do at the very first
available opportunity" she declared.
sis to destroy every single work of art
In Italy. Not a single one of their
landmarks or art treasures should be
left standing. Then when the war is
over and Italy no longer derives the
enormous revenue she has been col
lecting for years from tourists, she will
be sorry for what she has done to
Germany
Did the German people countenance
the submarine warfare and the slaugh-
ter of innocent women and children, In
defiance of all rules of international
law and the dictates of common hui
manity? They had only one criticism
to make of tit was not comprehen-
sive enough! 1t was absolute folly, If
not crime, they said, for Germany
to prescribe safety lanes for neutral
vessels to use. The whole world should
have been declared war zone, that
death and destruction might be dealt
wherever and whenever the opportun-
ity offered. Every ship that sailed
should be sunk, and every American
who ventured within range of Ger
man gun, on sea or land, should be
shot. That was the universal senti-
ment.
The suggestion that continuation
of the submarine warfare would in
evitably bring America into the war
did not perturb the people In the
slightest.
''How can America do us more harm
than she is now doing?" they asked.
American bullets are shooting down
our men, American food is sustaining
our enemies. American dollars are
working against us in every possible
way. Let America come into the war
and give US chance to pay her back
for what she has done to us. She
couldn't harm us any more If she were
a belligerent. Why allow her to re-
main neutral and go unscathed?"
The jubilation with which the news
of the sinking of the Lusitania was re-
ceived by the German people was gen.
era. 1t was so significant that / be-
lieve America would have declared war
Immediately had it been known. /
have failed to find single German
who did not eXult over the dastardly
crime, and the activity of the Yep
pelins in their raids on open towns
evoked similar demonstrations.
That the views which the people
held regarding the conduct of the war
were strongly influenced by the public
press which was absolutely controlled
by the government, was only to be ex-
pected. The fact that in peace time the
press of Germany was perhaps the
most reliable in the world, made of it
a particularly valuable tool in the
hands of the government in time of
war.
The German newspaper Is gospel to
the people. The last word in any argu-
ment was always furnished by proof
| supplied by some newspaper article.
''Es steht in der zeitung," literally
translated, "The paper says so," was
always final and conclusive. Nothing
the papers declared was too preposter-
Gus to be believed.
The press was used to excellent adj
vantage to conceal reverses and to
make the utmost capital out of sue
cesses. Right from the start the news
papers declared that Germany was
fighting defensive war; that the ma
lions of the world had jumped on
Germany's neck because they were
jealous of her growing power.