The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-11-21
MEN, WOMEN
 AND THINGS

l wrote a story about the climate o
 Germany, and now I want to bring be
 fore you it's situation, If you will ge
 your boys or girls geography or. bette
 still, war map, you can follow me bet
 ter as you read this
 Now the first thing you will note is Una Germany has more and stronger neigh bors than any other state. Russia Aus tria-H Hungary and France are the mos important, but in addition to these it ha.
 on it's borders the territories of Holland
 Belgium, Denmark, Switzerland and Lux
 emburg.
 This was her excuse for having ar
 army, for Germany is unfortunately sit.
 uated in the middle of Europe (this is g 4 fact, even though her dream of Mittel-
 europa, in which she was to be dom- inant, was a false dream), surrounded by partly unfriendly nations Its frontiers
 are 4570 miles in extent. Only the north
 ern and southeastern borders are pro-
 tected by nature, i e., by the ocean and ! high mountains.
 !
 1 Now there is no gainsaying the fact l that the German empire is in a terribly | exposed position and there may have been | some excuse for her to have maintained an army for defensive purposes, for the most dangerous border lines on the east ' and the west are entirely unprotected. Her mistake was to create an army for aggressive warfare.
 Ratzel, in his study on the political geography of Germany, says of her sit uation in Europe: "The central loca- ton of Germany and her mass of neigh bors may be her weakness as well 8 her strength. Germany exists only if she is strong; a weak state would sues cumb to the concentric pressure" Now this is an interesting and Illuminating statement, as she is feeling the pressure of the allies.
 It's tremendously important for the al lies to know just how much pressure they expect her to be able to meet the demands which must be made upon her in the rehabilitation of Belgium, north ern France, Poland, Serbia and Italy, besides paying the other war indemni- ties to be levied for her destruction on the high seas
 To leave Germany too strong will be to permit her to recuperate too rapidly and again become a menace to ths peace of the world, and yet she can only rise out of the slough of despond in which she is covered with the muck of her own damnable militaristic policies, to face the future left to her by her corquerors, by being permitted to utilize and develop all her resources to the limit.
 Now the lesson which must be driven home to the whole German people is that war is a luxury, and like all luxuries is expensive. They will find this out by territorial losses and the paying of huge indemnities and contain other penalties. Can she come back? For state in Germany's position there exists only the possibilities of combining all her strength to maintain her place in the world by incessant labor and constant sacrifices.
 The world marvelled at the recupera- tive power of France after her humilia- ton at the hands of Germany, and now that the tables are turned will the erst- while victors who now sue for peace at any price be able to arise and sur- prise the allies with the swiftness of her rebirth or will they be laid low in the dust to grovel for a generation or more tasting the bitterness and woe which they so recklessly and ruthlessly put to the lips of their weaker neigh ,bors?
 Perhaps Germany will hereafter try to do through diplomacy what'she attempt ed by force of arms, and thereby De able to get along in spite of the pres. sure of her powerful neighbors better than when her frontiers bristled with forts. Germany was working wonders in the fields of trade Her goods carrying the emblem Made in Germany" were reaching the worlds markets. and she was conquering in the marts of peace.
 The late crown prince of Germany, when he was in his military zenith, in his book Deutschland in Waffen. says: Joy in bearing arms was ever in the hearts of our people. Even with the old Teutops a youth became a man only after the baptism of fire This warlike, loyal and proud spirit we must cherish and transmit as holy heritage to our children" I dare say that it wouldn't be safe for him to preach any such doc Urine at present in Berlin, or as a mat tel of fact in any part of Germany.
 Germany, hedged in on allssides by big or little powers, has learned the bitter lesson in defeat that Kaiserism and mili- tarism does not pay, and that her only hope is in showing to the world that the German people have cast out the damnable twins, born of the Hohenzollern dynasty, as step-children unworthy of longer being nurtured in the bosom of the fatherland
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