The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1918-04-25
THE GERMAN ORDER
OF THE D0UBLE.CR0Ss

ers ut what they see and hear behins
the Allied lines Is like that Of fahles
souls beyond the classic River ol
Death They behold American soldier
who, they had been told, could no
reach France. The war. they learn, Ii
not won by Germany. They find thai
steamers ere still crossing the English
Channel. that Paris still belongs u
France, and that IL the Allies are beat
en- they betray an astounding ignor'
ance Of that fact.
This fantastic misinformation Of
the German soldiers Is measure al
the intellectual blockade maintained
by the German Government. 1t Is
military and political. ii dupes sol
dier and civilian--below a certain
class. If there was time when Ger
man troops were drugged with ether
to make them attack, to that has been
added species Of mental dope" +" The
German Army has been assured that
this is not only the decisive battle of
the wGr, but that it is the final battle.
Certain divisions were told that
Amiens had been captured, with $4,000
British prisoners, and that there had
been brilliant German victory at
Verdun. Others were told that they
were being sent to "rest sector"
They were. 1t was sector of eternal
rest.
Now in candor it ought to be said
that every Government involuntarily
puts the best aspect on its own case
We have had occasion to complain
about concealments by the British and
French, and even of our own official
news, but there is difference between
minimizing reverses or concealing dis
asters ard downright, deliberate and
systematic deception of public opinion,
Prodigal as the German Govern
ment has been in the distribution of
the iron cross, there is another decor
alton in the distribution Of which it
has been more prodigal still-the
double-cross. F'limfamming public
opinion has, in Germany, been reduced
almost to an exact science.
Given this Nationalistic religion
that "the Government can do no
wrong" the rest is simple. The cen
sorship DEGREES what shall not be
printed, and colors what is. The
Psychological Bureau" is quite as
busy misleading people at home as
the people abroad. The intellectual
classos-clergy, professors, publicists
being dependent on the Government
or the propertied classes fer Their
livelihoods, tune their fddles in the
same key. The armament firms are
buying up the news services and &C
quiring newspapers of all degrees, and
the Fatherland party conducts an in
ccssant propaganda.
Not contert with controlling all this
enginery of public opinion, the Gov
ernmcnt suppresses the few Socialist
papers and jails the few radicals who
iare speak the truth.
The result is a body of public
opinion ridiculously credulous and
misinformed. In order to
make every military action look like a
'ictory, the Government speaks of
Maximum" and minimum" objec-
ives. A maximum objective is what
hey hoped to capture. A minimum
objective is anything they succeeded
n getting. Thus the German people
lave been taught to believe that Ger
many was victorious at the Marne in
9l4 and at Verdun in 1916 Paris be-
ng the maximum" objective, and "a
'loodletting" being all that Germany
ought at Verdun.
With schools, universities, press,
ulpit and ofiicialdom all geared to
his Nationalistic religion for 40 years,
is possible to understand how Ad-
lira Won Capelle can stand up in the
'eichstag and juggle tonnage and sub
larine figures so clumsily without be-
1g caught with the egg in his sleeve
r dropping it.
While the system of -dissemina-
ion among ourselves is by no means
erfect, there is this difference, that |
ltimately the facts do reach us and
'e are schooled to face them, disa- ,
reeable as they may be. This disci-
line maintains our morale on dark
ays as well as on bright. But the t
erman system sustains for victory {
My: il does not sustain people for I
efeat 1t is stimulation, not nourish-
Ient; dope, not food. t
What is more, the striking part
bout il is that the German Govern {
ent's policy does not, dares not, look (
head to day when the truth Of all o
Iese matters will dawn on the Ger I
an masses. II lives, intellectually, a
ON hand 10 mouth. II seems 10