The Press. Wednesday, March 13, 1918. The Germans and War.

Press, Volume LIV, Issue 16159, 13 March 1918, Page 6

The Press. Wednesday, March 13, 1918. The Germans and War.

In one of to-day's coble messnges there arc some particulars of the ideas put forward by some leading German publicises as embodying tho necessary terms >of peace. Franco to nay an enormous indemnity and cede her Eastern fortresses and the best of her north-eastern territory and African possessions; Italy jto give np territory at home and in j Africa* and "serve tho Central Powers j" economically"; all the Allies, including the British dominions, to supply ■raw materials as an indemnity—these * EOn »e of the items in th 0 programme I necessary to make the war "a source of > |" Messing" to Germany. * "Destiny j' compels these steps," says one of the preachers of a world bound to the of Prussia; for, he adds," if Germany neglects this opportunity', fan eternity will nfivSr give another f chance." Those who may f ee l on i y |mger or amuaement at languase so irrational and extravagant, will "quite jnlss the real significance of this re^" prudescence of Prussian arrogance.

For it means that the Germans are unchanged by the events of the past three and a half years; and it is" desirable that this should be known, for there are many well-meaning sentimentalists who believe that Germany is in a mood to make a useful and peaccable member of the family of races. There are a few, but only a very few, leaders of German thought who are utterly opposed to war, to the German philosophy of war, and to "the Gorman methods of waging war. One of these, Dr. Nieolai. Professor of Physiology at tho University of Berlin, recently published a book, ''The Biology "of War," in which the German theory of war was handled with destructive severity and in language so uncompromising that he was sent to gaol for five months. The fighting instinct in human nature, Dr. Nieolai contends, is neither ineradicable nor valuable. Because an instinct has at one time benefited tlie specics possessing it, one cannot argue that the survival of the instinct is a permanent necessity. "One race of animals after another has " perished because it could not change. " Is man now to perish because he will "not change?" (Dr. Nieolai is writing, not of the combative instinct of the individual, but of tho eombativeness of nations.) The combative instinct is not fundamental in man, who, indeed, owes his existence to the social instinct. But Xicolai's voice is lost in the tumult of the "intellectuals' " glorification of war. Mr William Archer not long ago published a small volume in which he gathered hundreds of passages from the speeches and writings of scores of eminent German philosophers, publicists, and statesmen, which make a flood of "tribal arrogance, unrestrain- " cd and unashamed"—glorifying Germany as the nation destined to rule a world of slaves, and glorifying

war both as the divine instrument given for Germany's use and as a thing precious and indispensable in .itself. Out of the mass of Mr Archer's quotations—each of which has its authenticating reference —wo select quite at random the following, which are perfectly representative of the view of intellectual Germany: "The fresh and joyous war that shall sweep away the scrofulous rabble."—Quoted with endorsement by Professor Burckhardt. "The noblest weapon rusts if its use is too long restricted to reviews and parades. . . Every ascent to :i higher mental kultur impairs the barbaric energy of warriors and encumbers them with scruples which damp their joyous courage."—M. Harden, 1911. "It is no mere chance that vho earliest pieco of poetry, the oldest three distiches of the Old Testament, the Song of Lamech, is a song of triumph over tho invention of tlie sword." —Dr. Lasatilx (archaeologist and historian). "Without war humanity -would .sink into materialism."—Count von Moltke, 1880 - "God will see to it that war shall always recur, as a drastic medicine for ailing humanity."—H. von Treitschke. "Nothing is more immoral than to consider and talk of war as an immoral thing."—Professor Hasse.

"War is the most august and sacrcd of human activities. . . . Still and deep in the German heart must the joy in war and the longing for war endure."— Otto von Gollberg (editor ,of the "Weekly Paper for the Youth of Germany.") "The efforts directed towards the abolition of -war must not only be termed foolish, but absolutely immoral, and must be stigmatised as unworthy j of the human race."—Von Bernhardt

"What men tower highest in the history of the nation, whom does the German heart cherish with the most ardent love? Goethe? Schiller? Wagner' Marx? Oh no—but Barbarossa, the great Frederick, Blucher, Moltke, Bismarck. the hard men of blood."— Dr. W.' Fuchs.

On the side of. the Allies one may be able to find here and there a harsh and arrogant utterance, but they are t>o rare that they attract much attention when they appear. But, the exception in Germany has been the case in which, a leader of thought has spoken otherwise than in the spirit of the above quotations. Before the war the roar of Chauvinism in Germany was regarded by many people as noise only, signifying nothing. It is now clear that it was the true voice of the deepseated and. ineradicable feelings of intellectual Germany. The present recrudescence of the barbarous and arrogant spirit of Chauvinism means that nothing but defeat' and the complete destruction of the German hopes of world-domination will destroy the German faith in the foul doctrine in at bred thi3 war.