Evening star., 1918-04-14
HOW THE PAN-GERMANS HOLD
MAJORITY IN LINE FOR WAR
Marvellous Propaganda Is Maintained and
Great Steel Industries Buy Up News
papers to Control Public Opinion.

I friendship for the cause Of the entente
was promptly trumpeted as new evil
dence of our "unneutrality."
All this served to deliver the people
Of Germany more and more completely
into the hands of the pan-German agi-
tators. They use the same arguments
today to spread distrust of President
Wilson, knowing that II the people OF
of our Presidents sincerity in his ef-
forts to make a real world peace they
will force their government to accept
his terms.
Even today when the failure Of the
submarine war has hurt the military
prestige of the panGermans, when our
entry into the war has arrayed the last
great world power against Germany,
when a reichstag majority coalition has
crystallized the peoples opposition to
the pan-Germans, the latter succeeded
in maintaining their supremacy In the
councils of the nation. They are today
the dictators of Germany's world rela-
tions.
Had President Wilson made his Jan
uary address last July when the reich
stag peace resolution was fresh there
might have been different history to
write When he actually made the
speech, the pan-Germans Immediately
tried to convince the German people
that President Wilson was not sincere,
that he was merely trying to postpone
the German offensive on the west front
in real force to help meet the on
slaught They told the German people
that President Wilson had been silent
last summer because Russia was still
was hammering at the Isonzo front and
the German line was bending under the
British blows in Flanders.
Buying Up the Newspapers.
For this sort of thing tho pan-Ger--
mans have wonderful machinery OF
propaganda. They have bought every
there has been no haggling over prices.
It Is amazing that they should do this
merchandising SO openly. The pan.
German industries of the Rhine district
which are furnishing the enormous war
fund of the pan-German party seem to
have no hesitation in buying full pages
of newspapers whose editorial policies
they seek to influence. They advertise
things they could not sell If they could
make them. For three years no private
automobile has been permitted in Ger
many, yet the German newspapers
carry full page advertisements of auto
mobiles. The pan-Germans advertise
the products of the big steel mills.
sold to any one except for war indus
try purposes, and then they must be
apportioned by government boards. But
the advertisement funds are part Of the
war sinews of the pan-Germans There
is another interesting feature in this
method of campaign. Under the Ger
man war taxes, these big industrials
already have to pay so per cent Of their
war profits into the treasury. 1t is
probable that this percentage will be
increased to IS. But this advertising Is
carried on the books as expenses. So
the German government really pays Is
per cent of these propaganda advertis-
ing bills. The war industries are also
said to be charging their party con-
tributions" up to the same expense
funds. in the same effort to let the gov
ernment carry 75 per cent Of this cam
paign. There have been threats of
reichstag Investigations. of this scan
dalous arrangement. but so far they
have not materialized.