The Stratford Evening Post WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE EGMONT SETTLER FRIDAY, DECEMBER 8, 1916. WORKING FOR GERMANY.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXII, Issue 12, 8 December 1916, Page 4

The Stratford Evening Post WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE EGMONT SETTLER FRIDAY, DECEMBER 8, 1916. WORKING FOR GERMANY.

Very early in the course of the war—in point of fact, only two months after hostilities had begun—the “National Review” ventured to predict that as soon as ever Germany’s position became hopeless, the world would see the initiation of a strong movement in the direction of peace, engineer id from the United States by leading German-American financiers, says the Auckland Star. This prophecy, the northern journal goes on to say, has already been amply fulfilled, but special interest attaches to it just now because of the recent revival of a strong. pro-German propaganda in the United j States, directed, according to our, cables, by the well-known New York bankers, Speyer Bros, and Kuhn, Loob. and Co. As regard the American I Speyer firm, its chief interest to the! British public has lain in the fact that Mr James Speyer, of New York, is I brother of Sir Edgar Speyer-, R.C., of l

London, and is also brother of the head of the famous financial firm of Speyer Bros., of Frankfort. Naturally, Sir Edward Speyer, largely because he is a Privy Councillor, and has taken a. prominent part in British political affairs, found himself in a very S difficult position when war broke out, land after a long ami acrimonious news- 1 j paper controversy he left London lor j New York. Now whatever may be the lease with Sir Edgar Speyer, P.C., it is | alleged that Mr James Speyer, of New I York, has been throughout the war I .strongly pro-German in his sympaj tides, and he lias even been deseribed las actively co-operating with Count Berustorif to influence American public 'opinion against the Allies. It is tints not at all surprising that Ids name should now he connected with the “stop the war” movement which has received a great deal of stippot t through the United Stales, more especially since the tide began to turn definitely against the Central Bowers. Roughly classifying the heads under 1 which the American pacifists might b t . fairly placed, the Star concludes: ! There tire the anarchists, who denounce i nationalism and patriotism; there 1 ate | the sentimentalists who deny any- | body’s right to fight, even in self-de-fence; there tire tin l “ant i-prepai ationisls,” who object to any attempt to

raise and equip American armies or navies against any possible contingency, and there are the pro-German societies, which, under many disguises, are striving to make use of all the.-m other kindred movements lor their own ends. Most of these recently do-

volopcd organisations are financed by the egregious Mr Henry Ford, who has publicly declared that he is ready to spend £5,000,000, or as much in ore as might he necessary, to prevent any improvement or extension of the naval and military establishment of the United States.” There is a Woman’s Peace Party, with Miss Jane Addams,' of Chicago, “the first citizen of America.” at its head; there is an American Union against militarism, led by Miss Kastman, the sister of Max Kastman, a well-known pro-Ger-man “war against war” advocate; there is “Labour’s National Peace Council,” recently denounced by, Sam-j ucl Gompcrs and the Federation ofj Labour as a pro-German conspiracy;’ and so on, indefinitely. Nearly all these organisations draw from Henry Ford’s purse, and the Americans themselves have not yet made up theirj minds whether Ford is an honest fana-j tic or a self-interested schemer. A writer in the “Forum” a few months j back described Ford as a man living in an unreal world of In’s own, “shut, in by a great wall of self-satisfied ignorance.” But, honest or not, there is no doubt that his absurd doctrines, backed by lavish expenditure of, money, have produced a distinct im-;

pression upon the public mind throughout America, and that the pacifist activity with which the whole country seems to be seething is an asset of inestimable value to the pro-Ger-mans, “hyphenated” or otherwise, who are now pleading for peace in the United States.