The Washington times., 1934-02-09
iTr''uIe To
Type
What Is Germany?
Mixed Items
Don't Say
BY GILBERT SELDES

has a lot OF good things SAID
or written by Edmund Burke,
such as, bad laws are the
worst sort of tyranny" and,
after the French Revolution,
"the glory of Europe is ex-
tinguiShed for ever" and, ap-
propriate to our time and the
New Deal, "it is the interest
Of the commercial world that
wealth should be found every
where" But I did not find
what I always considered his
most significant saying, that
he knew no way in which to
indict an entire nation. I
thought Of this saying because
the business of indicting whole
nations has been going on at a
furious rate since 1914 when
we all forgot that England
and Germany and Russia and
France were populated by men
and women and children-not
by distractions of honor or
vice.
The latest victim is, of course,
Germany; because we detest
tyranny and racial prejudice
aS much as a nation, forgetting
that there may be in Germany
hundreds Of thousands who
hate tyranny and rectal preju-
dice as much as we do, but
are impotent against major
force. We forget even that
Hitler, in certain connections,
Is doing a good thing for Ger
many and for Europe. and that
he is q natural consequence
not of any specifically German
quality, but of the peace Of
Versailles and all that Europe
has done since.
The Lord Loves Germany
A few days ago there were
about half a dozen items from
Germany in the newspaper and
they happened to be placed
close together on the page. So
you could read that Germany
has started a regular biweekly
air mail service to South Amer
lea; that all loyal Germans
had been asked to eat a single
course meal on Sunday and
give to the poor whatever they
saved thus from their usual ex-
penSes; that a new hymn book
had been published in which
the 87th Psalm begins, "The
Lord loveth the height Of Ger
many more than all the dwell
ings abroad" and that Hitler
had posed 13 questions to France
which knocked the bottom out
Of all talk of disarmament.
Furthermore that Alfred Ro-
senberg, appointed to form the
minds and PHILOSOPHERS Of good
Germany, says christianity cid
not bring civilization, but d.
Christianity owes its enduring
virtues to the Germanic char
acter." Which is Germany?
The Germany which asks its
people to undergo privation in
order to practice the Christian
virtue Of giving to the unfortu-
nate or the Germany of Alfred
Rosenberg? The Germany which
makes itself absurd by turning
the Psalms of David into nation
alist propaganda or the Ger
many which masters the air?
Good Questions
For that matter, which is
Hitler, the man who starts Ger
many off on bloodluSt and hate
or the man who upsetS the ap-
plecart of international (and
hypocriticaD diplomacy? Those
13 questions of his are the
cleareSt and most refreshing
items in the old war game since
the Soviets began broadcaStlng
unpleasant facts to the peoples
Of the world in 1918. They are
phraSed directly:
What reduction of colonial
troops and reserves is planned
by France?
What will be done with guns
exceeding IS centimetres in
caliber?
Within what period will so
per cent reduction of air bomb
ers be carried out by France?
Beginning at what date will
military aviation in the allied
countries be discarded?
What is the maximum ton
mage Of tanks still permitted?
Will tanks exceeding this ton
mage be destroyed?
Confounded Confusion
And so on. Hitler is striking
aS hard as he can, and he has
found the soft spot: the spot
which most old diplomacy COW
ers with words. His whole ques-
tionnaire implies that he doesn't
believe a word of the promises
made, that he knows Europe
has no intention to disarm.
I think that the Iitlerian
program, internationally speak
. ing, would have been more
forceful if he had begun by a
single demand: disarmament to
the German level as promised
by the Treaty of Versailles. He
coupled with this a demand for
the right of Germany to arm
up to the existing level of her
ancient enemies, if they would
not disarm. Morally that isn't
80 strong. But practically it
was mastery and the confusion
Of Europe mental and moral,
proves it.