Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1918-02-06
A DIFFERENT"
GERMAN PROFESSORS
Editorial ia The Nauon.

bold. scientific turning Of the tables
on those German savants who have
demonstrated the necessity OF .
This necessity, according to them. be.
springs from the deep and fands.
mental instincts Of mar. apealethe
socially. they say that war 10 based
on human biology. There 10 the mead
OF armed struggle to prove Whist m.
lions are at to survive. BarnbaIdi
used h precise phrase. the 'biologt.
cal Justice Of the decisions Of wal
drastic medicine for ailing human
ity." But nov comes q doctor Of
medicine and professor Of psychology
in the University Of Berlin. to tear
up all such notions by the root.
Against the scientific" deferss OF
wal he directs the big guns OF reai
%rscience.A Take. for example. mis-. sx-
war does for men and nations what
Selection" does in Nature-that IL,
secures and establishes the best types.
Says Prof. Nicolai:
The selection effected by war
has In these days become noSa.
tive selection, and modern condi-
tions r most artfully devised to
fulness. The result Of universal
military service in particular II
that it is precisely the attest 1es
AS for the ~ineradicable "nshtns
instinct" DR.. Nicolai declares thar,
in the modern world. it IL the slr.
vival. such as may be seen in some
useful but which, unmodtied. 10 ,
positive handicap and danger. The
species that cannot adapt its in.
stincts to a changed environment dies
out. The German professor puts 9
case as follows: "one race Of AMI
mails after another has persisted be-
cause it could not change. ls mar
changer" It is the development iof
the human. brain that enables. 20:
ought to enable. man to abandon an
organ no longer needed . And prog.
ress depends upon the best brains
triumphing over the poorer. Here
is Prof. Nicolai's doctrine. with ia
Implication Of the stupidity which
has been swaying h world TO: h
past three years
Man is free to develop On all
sides; but-this is the one IN.
perative condition-the develop
ment of the brain must be pro-
NOTED IL the movement Of llu-5
mainly is to be a forward move
ment. In other words, every II
WIZ VI AO AAA0AA W N1
blockhead means progress. and
is a sign of positive selection:
every victory of the blockheads
over the man OF sense means
fetrogression. and is q sign of
negative selection.
If the German professor had con.
fined himself to abstract reasoning
OF this sort, It might not have gons
so hard with him. His scientific coll
leagues would doubtless have
frowned upon him. but the military
authorities would scarcely have come
down on him. The audacious a
however, undertook to make prac.
teal application of his principles.
with horrifying results. He showed
how the ~glorifcation Of war lod di.
rectly to it's being made ever mora
barbarous and CHASTITY Prof. Nicolai
writes:
A short time age. one Of our
most highly cultivated soldiers
(who shall remain unnamed. on
account Of his great services
asked me If it would not
be possible to throw bombs filed
with cholera germs or plague
bacilli behind the enemy 'front.'.
When! I replied that this seemed
neither a profitable nor q vary
humane proceeding he replied.
with a contemptuous gesture:
What have we to do with hu
mainly in this war? Germany
has a right to do whatever she
p1eases."
War also, as an imperious neces-
sfty, tends to override and break
down all those "self-limitations''
which nations as we'll as men have
sought to put upon brute passions
Nothing is allowed to stand in the
way of the attainment of military Oh
/ 3Acta Th0 nWnto@RAP m nH{RAS <hA
treaties and Hague agreements which
Germany his violated in this val.
and concludes:
Whatever may think OF the
value and significance OF such
conventions-after they are once
concluded all discussion Of them
must for henceforth any
ages the enemy, but inflicts. ir- !.
reparable injury on ones own
honor.
Thereforeethere has been no:h-
ing so melancholy in this war a
the violation Of Belgian neu-
gtraiity. the U-boat campaign.
and the use Of sutfocating gases.
For these things are fatal. not
only to human life. but to Shu.
We give one more passage to show
how nea the professor. living under
the very eye of the kaiser. came tn
fragrant observation-disclosures:
assistance in war has long been
on the wane. We know tkat
God is on the side OF the big
h&ttalion4" Nevertheless the
idea hat something like justice
prevails In war appears to be In.
e~rAdicable, although . very little
reflection shows that con6dence
s.. - I..~AE