The Dominion. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 1915. WILL AMERICA BE EMBROILED

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2389, 19 February 1915, Page 4

The Dominion. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 1915. WILL AMERICA BE EMBROILED

Is Germany, made reckless by despair, going to throw down the gauntlet to the United States '1 Recent cablegrams show that the jiossibility of such a step'' is being seriously discussed in the London newspapers, but the information at present available bearing upon this point is not capable of carrying, the weight of the momentous conclusion suggested by this question. The possibility, however remote, of the great American Republic entering the fighting arena on the side oi the anti-German alliance must always be taken into consideration. It is, however, a very different matter to assert the probability of such an occurrence. Germany could, if she so desired, take measures that would compel President Wilson, in.spite of 'his. excessive anxiety to_ avoid being entangled in the strife, to declare war. "The Mad Dog of Europe" may think that it has something_ to gain by - embroiling the whole civilised world, and it is well known that Germany has no real, friendship for the United States. Her feverish attempts in the earlier stages of the conflict to capture tho sympathies of the American people were inspired by the hope that the United States might hinder and hamper Britain, and cause a relaxation of the tremendous economic pressure exerted by the British Navy. But the Germans _ now recognise that their anti-British propaganda in America has failed,, and they have grown extremely bitter. An influential section of the German Press has lately thrown off the mask of friendliness., The policy of fulsome politeness is. being abandoned, and open hostility is taking its place. A number of incidents point in this direction; but it would be a serious mistake to jump to the conclusion that there is any immediate likelihood of the two countries going to war. It is, however, quite possible .that the situation may undergo a rapid change if Germany pushes her submarine blockade to extreme length's. If American ships are attacked and .sunk, war would become almost inevitable._ In such circumstances public opinion in the United States would force tho hand of the most pacifically-inclined Government.

Me. Sidney Low, a leading English journalist, is of 'opinion that Germany is deliberately seeking war with America. According to a cablegram which we publish in another column, Mr. Low contends that the Germans recognise that their day of humiliation is at hand, and they think that tho presence of the United States among the belligerents would be of advantage : to them when the time arrives to settle the terms of peace. They feel that America would be a more indulgent foe than the Entente Powers, and might use her influence to lessen the severity of their demands. Owing to her remoteness, America does not realise tho mcnace of Prussian militarism as fully or as acutely as the European nations do, and might be content with something short of its complete destruction. For these reasons Me. Low believes that Germany would like to involve the United States in the war, which would give the American Government a locus standi in regard to the peace negotiations. There is some weight in this argument, but it is not convincing. It assumes that Germany already recognises, that her cause is hopeless, and it ignores the fact that the rulers of Germany have eventually to settle with their own people as well as with their enemies. The German people will want to know—they already want to know—how it is that those in high places have blundered so terribly in alienating the sympathies of other countries ' and surrounding their Empire with a ring of enemies. To now add' America to the list would appear to them as the height of criminal folly, and when tne day of reckoning arrived it 'would weigh heavily in the scale against the men responsible for it. _ Any gain which the Kaiser and his advisers might hope to make from America being included amongst the Powers who will be parties to the terms of settlement at.the close of the war would be more than counterbalanced by other considerations of far greater weight ancl importance.