The Bridgeport times and evening farmer. (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1918-1924, 1918-02-18
SERVILITY is
CHARACTERISTIC
OF GERMAN Mind
Bismarck Described His
People AS a "Nation Of
House Servants"
(By Harvey O'Higgins.)

by Harvey O'Higgins.)
1t is not a bottomless mystery, this
outrageous record of the Germans at
war. 1t is a clearly consistent express
sion of the servile mind. To under
stand it, you have only to understand
the peaceful virtues Of the people
whom Bismarck called 'a nation of
house servants
They have long been governed by
the most arrogant of all the govern
| ing classes of Europe-the Prussian
militarists. They have submitted with
a touching faith in their oppressive
| protectors. Timid, sentimental, poetic,
and comfort-loving, plundered for
centuries by their marauding neigh
bors, they have been glad to league
together in the German Empire with
no matter what loss OF personal lib
erty, under the domination of their
tyrannous war lords. They have seen
in that tyranny their only safety. 1t
defended them superbly in the pro-
cured wars of the last century, first
from their old rivals the Austrians,
and then from their old conquerors,
the French. They believe that it has
defended them as efficiently in the
present war. By inspired news and
forged dispatches, they have been
convinced that they were invaded be-
| fore this war was declared; and they
are fighting in defense under the
leadership of an autocracy that is
their only self-protection.
| And they are fighting as the timid
fight. The man who has been gov
erned by arrogance and has bowed
down to fear is a man who under
stands no instrument but cruelty to
compel respect. He will invariably
resort to frightfulness as his weapon
in war. He will know no compass
sion. He will have no dignity-not
even the dignity of pity. He will be
alta once incredibly cruel and incred-
IDLY petty. He will persecute nom
combatants, outrage women, mutilate
children, lombard hospitals, kill the
wounded, torment prisoners, cut down
fruit trees, and defile with animal
filth what he has not time to destroy
like a discharged servant taking his
revenge on the kitchen. 1t is inevi-
table. 1t is in the nature of the ser
vile mind to do these things and to
fail to see why they should not be
done.
His officers will order them done,
because it has been by brutality that
his officers have ruled him, and they
will hope by brutality to rule the
world. And he will do what he is
ordered, because he knows the eff
cacy of fear in his own case, and he
will hope by frightfulness to strike
fear into his enemy.
His instinct of c11heorHTipOpN in ia of
makes him perfect military instru-
ment. He obeys orders like a devot-
ed hound. He has the courage of
unquestioning obedience. He must
be sent to the attack in mass forma-
tons but he will go blindly, linking
arms with his fellows, singing SOL
EMMY, in a state of exalted weakness.
When he is behind the lines, in safe
ty, he will encourage himself with
hymns of hate. Hatred" said the
philosopher, sis the revenge of the
weak" Caught in his dugout, he will
cry "Kamerad! Kamerad!" to his
captors, and when he is taken prison
er he will be gentle, biddable, hard
working and happy.
For the same reasons he makes a
perfect spy. He will be humble, in
gratiating, as treacherous as an init
Undated child, and servilely free of
any sense of the obligations of hos
pitality. His ambassador in a neutral
, country will be a faithful servant
disguised as a gentleman, gathering
servants gossip in a plot to betray
his host. His very arrogance is the
arrogance of the servant who is proud
of his master. He will tell YOU, eve
Germans fear only God" because his
very religion is a religion of fear. II
he were really as devilish as he pre-
tends he would say, Eve Germans
love only Cod Elm feste Burg isl
unser Colt" All of Germany's plumb
cred past is in that line. Who but
an intimidated people, longing for q
l Chinese wall, would sing Our God is
l a strong fortress?" 1t is this lack OF
:. real courage that makes him contin.
ually boast of his lack of fear Ht
/, DULLES, because he has always beer
bullied. He does not understand why
1.-The world will not cringe, and he fail