Courier Democrat., 1918-06-13
Why We Fight
Because Germany Having Split tho
World in Halt Is Now Trying i,
to Devour the Halves
BY CLARENCE L. SPEED
Secretary Of the War Committee Of tho
Union League Club of Chicago.

OeVOur the halves separately. Sne
has driven q wedge straight through
the heart Of Europe, and into Asia,
and is seeking to extend it to the Per
sian gulf.
This is 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 us all about it. She
had 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 pamphlet,
Pan-Germany and Central Europe
About 1850" was published in Berlin
and had wide circulation. It laid the
whole Mitteleuropa plan bare as fol-
lows:
"Poland and little Russia (the king
dom to be established at Russia's ex-
pense) will agree to have no armies
of their own, and will receive in their
fortresses German and Austrian garri-
sons. In Poland, as we'll as in Little
Russia, the postal and telegraph serv-
ices as we'll 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
it showed that the idea of German
Mitteleuropa had not been allowed to
languish. It says:
1.-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 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, and
now Germany plans its empire on a
scale which would dwarf that Of an
cient Rome. It is to embrace the orig
inal Central Europe, inhabited by
some 100000 Germans, make the
Black sea q German lake, and extend
clear to the Persian gulf through the
vassal states Of Bulgaria and Turkey.
The German government started to
put it's scheme for a Mitteleuropa in
to effect years ago when it 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.
tsHow 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
tion. England possessed the best part
of Africa-the parts in which the
white mth might hope to settle and
thrive. England had a mighty fleet,
and a disposition to hold what she
had, even though she did not show a
disposition to fight for more.
There remained South America. It
was divided among weak nations. It
was protected only by the Monroe doc
trine. This Monroe doctrine was
sacred thing to Americans, but, not
being backed up by mighty armies and
fleets, was not even a "scrap of paper"
to the Germans. Can anyone doubt,
should Germany succeed in welding
into mighty empire the 73,000,000
Germans and the 100,000000 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.
Gas in the East, 50 in the West"
10 u uloIlO WHICH,, VI icCcuL WEEKS, udS
been much heard in Germany, At a
conference Of the national liberal par
ty, held in March Of this year, the fol-
lowing amazingly frank declaration
was made:
sour policy has been directed to
making the government and majority
turn away from the reichstag resosu-
ton of July 19. (Peace without an
hexations and indemnities). In that
we have succeeded. Peace has just
been made in the East under condi-
tions 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 annexations and indem.
mites, such as will leave her without
a formidable opponent in the world.
Can we make peace now and leave
Germany, flushed with victory, Elm pos
session of all she has gained and lust
I