Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-09-16
War Surely ''Out'' in Germany

| wasn't men desiring to free their coun-
| try from the yoke of the oppreSsor. It
wasn't desperate patriots resolved to
retain a national integrity. It was just
geese in uniforms.
Nothing of the Sort Now.
Now you see nothing of the sort. For
the first time the men realize that in
stead of spending year or two in bar
racks, bored to death. at the mercy OF
capricious officers, they have those years
for business and sport.
In two years they can learn to play a
fair game of tennis. They are free men.
Their days are their own for work.
Their evenings are their own for dance
and music and good beer. Instead of
the goose-step in Germany you have
the one-step. Every one dances. Even
the old people jam the floor and dance
until l o'clock in the morning.
There are still the embittered mon
archists. No doubt they meet in dark
cellars and plan all sorts of exciting
monarchical things for the future. Now
and then they are allowed a parade. 1t
Is no more than a parade Of wooden
soldiers.
The wiser monarchists realize the
Shattering truth Of their own impotence.
|
business and beaten their swords into
shares in Furnishing industry Even
German monarchiSts are much too Ger
man and too fond of work to sit about
broodiug in dark cellars like characters
in the works of Mr.. E. Phillips Open
helm
As to Secret Arsenals.
Before you left for Germany various
Nf fNfn dc A11J
of huge arSenals of war material hidden
in Germany All, they said, as they
nodded their heads in corrupt secret
wisdom, you can't see the Germans pre-
pairing for war, but the arsenals are hid
den just the same! When you got to
Germany you armed yourself with a
lantern and went about looking for ar
senals. Where they are kept hidden
must remain an unsolved mystery. Do
the Germans hide gunpowder in the
empty beer barrels they load on trucks
Are their beer factories vast storehouses
for immense cannon that will obliterate
New York in a shot big enough to be
heard round the world? Do the Bava-
rians meet in the Hofbrau House in
Munich to plot conSpiracies? Do they
climb mountains every week end to
learn secret passes whereby they can
invade the rest of Europe? Mr.. Open
helm may be right, but it is at least
worthy of interest that in one of his
recent novels he has his conspirators a
little group of serious criminals who do
their dirty work without the consent or
knowledge of the people and the gov
eminent.
There are official visitors and paid
correspondents to whom the Germans
have got to be polite, just as the boys
are always polite to some ones father
rung in on poker game. It pays to
be polite in any such case, but in your
travels through Germany in three sep
arate years you were nothing official
You were an amateur. Everywhere you
saw growing prosperity and a complete
absorption In all the benefits Of peace.
Everywhere as a foreigner (even If you
did speak their language with notable
fluency and got your subjunctives right
where the natives got them wrong) you
met nothing but courtesy and kindness
and comradeship in mutual interests of
peace.
The piping times of peace, indeed.
The Germans find it pleasant pipe to
smoke as they drink their Munchener.