The Washington herald., 1918-02-24
Germans Spread Nets to
Snare British Workmen
Heart of England Sound, Despite Vicious
Enemy Propaganda, Says Balderston.
Method of Poison-spreading.

enough plausibility In this to make
it exceedingly dangerous, and Italy,
too. looks to America for susie
nance, spiritual and material, in her
darkest hour, knowing that II she
listens to the voice of the tempter,
whatever the peace treaty may pro-
vide, she will be henceforth q vas
sal Of Central Europe.
Tempter's wiIes.
Here in England the tempter is
the same tempter. the cloven hoof a.
always visible IL the eye of the be-
holder is sharp. But the devil wears
different disguise and sings
q different tune. There are two
main forms of "defeatist" propa-
ganda, one intended for the wealthy
and aristocratic classes, the other
for the workers.
It is the former which Is most
often met with in London. IF we
go on with the war" enemy agents
or their dupes whisper. you will
lose all your money and all your
land. The people will not pay the
interest on the war loans. The best
that can happen is reputation: but
WV sc Nhoh NHAS - al GNOAC AOA gOd.
\ A Bolsheyik rising among the poor
is to be expected IL the struggle is
prolonged. Perhaps even now II is
too late, but your one chance is to
stop the war while you can"
II the victim lends an interested
ear to this talk. he may be moved
to inquire: Yes, but how can we
help but go on? What terms will
Germany grant US. now. when she
stands victorious on all the fronts?"
The answer-I have heard It q
hundred times-is a masterpiece of
evil brilliance. England has won
the war;" the whisper comes. Eng
land and Germany. the two great
Teutonic nations. are victorious.
Their destiny is to divide the world
between them, not fritter away
their birthright in fratricidal
strife. What do we care for France
and Italy. these degenerate Latins,
Their war aims can go hang. And
as for America, what is she fighting
for? Does anybody know? In any
case. IL we stop. Wilson. whatever
he may say, cannot go on
1T is so simple. We give Germany
free hand in the East, to take what
she wants OF Russia. Germany will
| give US in return her colonies and let
| US annex Mesopotamia, Syria, open
the land route to India What OF our
| treaty with Italy? We can treat that
/ as scrap OF paper. Alsace-Lorraine
Why, don't You see that Lloyd George
and the war cabinet have accepted
this view already? They are climb
ing down! When Lloyd George said
We would fight to the death for the
I A. q, - Al
raine problem. he meant that we
would not fight to give those coun-
tries back to France. or course the
question will be ''reconsidered" at
the peace conference. We will sup
port the French claim, oh yes. We
will argue for France as hard as We
can. But resume the war to conquer
Alsace. when Germany proves obdu-
rate? Well. hardly"
| Cause OF Irritation.
That Is the line Of the argument
, used among the monie1 classes. and
among Tory Imperialists who are sup
posed to be Junkers at heart, with
the same longing for conquest and
the same capacity for blackhearted
treachery toward their friends that
their spiritual counterparts in Ga-
many possess.
One cause OF irritation in the past
between England and America has
been that the United States has been
inclined to confuse England with this
small class of EnGlishmen. or at least
TO exaggerate the number and power
of such Englishmen. That any Brit
ish government could carry through
such policy as that suggested by
the enemy and set forth above is
inconceivable Not only would the
Labor and Liberal parties set their
faces against II. but the great mass
of the Tory party itself would have
nothing TO do with a betrayal of
France.
At the opposite end OF the social
scale. German propaganda is active
among the workers. II would be
irresistibly funny. IL It were not so
serious. that the same cunning
Germans who sit in the dark dens