The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-09-27


 the German people is of little signifi- canoe in connection with consideration of present probabilities because of the | fact that such ideas have not gained ground since.
 When the war broke out in 1914 the Kaiser had behind him a united people who glored in his power and were pre- pared to follow wherever his ambitions might lead. I do not mean for a mo-
 ment to intimate that there were not many in Germany who were and are as keen for democracy as any individuals l in the, world, but I am talking now of 1 the people as whole-royalty, nobility, aristocracy, junkers, middle classes, workers and farmers-9S per cent Of 1 the population of the country reversed 1 their Kaiser and were proud to regard
 themselves as "his" people.
 I shall never forget the scene in Ber l lin when it was announced in the papers
 that Austria had handed her ultimatum to Serbia That evening I walked up
 Inter der Linden and saw thousands
 of young men from IS to 30 marching
 along with their hats off clamoring for | war. Mounted police were on hand ] but made no efforts to disperse the gathering, although no such demon- ] stration is ever allowed in Germany
 unless it is in keeping with the policy 1 of the government to permit it. GRAY-HAIRED MANS VIEW I turned to a grayhaired porter standing in front of a building and asked him what it all meant. They want wari" he answered. There's 10000 of them and they're on | their way to the Russian embassy. Poor foolsi I've been through two
 wars-against Austria in 66 and
 .,xrk l.
 what it means These young men will
 learn. too, to their sorrow, before it's over. There was a time when the
 hand of Germany was extended to the world downward as sign of friend 1 ship, but now it is stretched out up- ward to grab all it can get!" | This old porter was wise enough to realize the dangers which those higher up ignored.
 1 On every hand there was evidence of elation among the people at the early
 prospect of going to war, and their en- l tLusasm continued long after hostili- ties began.
 | The Germans had been told by the I newspapers that the war upon which l they were embarking was forced upon them and that the rest of the world had l jumped upon Germany's neck and was seeking to dismember the empire be- cause it was jealous of German com mercial supremacy. They were like wise promised that the outcome of the war would secure the freedom of the seas and give Germany an opportun- I ity to meet England in the markets l of the world on an equal commercial basis.
 1 To what extent the people believed l the official explanation of the purpose l of the war, I am not in a position to say. Many undoubtedly accepted it It 1 it's face value, and gloried in the pros | pect of Germany's triumph The bet 1 ter informed, knowing that every port | in the world was open to German boats i and that. in fact, 80 per cent of the German foreign trade was with Anglo 1 Saxon nations, must have been at loss to understand what was meant by l the freedom of the seas which Ger I many was so anxious to secure. ! WENT TO WAR WITH WILL l But whether they saw through their government pretenses or not, practi- cally every German in the country went into the war with a will, deter mined to uphold German might and established the national principle of l Deutschland uber alles"
 i It was confidently expected by all | that the war would be over within 20 I days at the outside. and there can be no doubt that if the German pro- Sramme had been carried out to suc- cessful conclusion the position of the l Hohenzollerns would have been ss-
 cure for many generations to come. l Victory would have so reinforced the
 foundations of the empire that it would
 have been proof against political agi- 1 tators, I believe, for hundreds of years. Democracy would be crushed ! the world over and all that has been