The Daily News. MONDAY, NOVEMBED 9, 1914. A FUNDAMENTAL DIFFERENCE.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 141, 9 November 1914, Page 4

The Daily News. MONDAY, NOVEMBED 9, 1914. A FUNDAMENTAL DIFFERENCE.

The spirit of a nation at any time finds expression in its contemporary writers. 3.lns truth has been proved 'during the last year or two in the cfee of England and Germany (writes the Christchurch Star). Perhaps we did not recognise in the writings at the time the exposition of the dominant ideas which were pervading these nations, but the crisis which has been precipitated within the last three months has demontiieir truth. In two very imp..;t,uit woiiks, the production of an Ivi.Mi.shnian and a Prussian respectively. Use ideas of the people of Prussia and l''<uiin towards the question of peace a:,4 war lias been expressed. This does nei mean to say that everyone in Britain and GermaYiy was in absolute agreei! • lit with the points propounded in t; ' books, but they convey more than a 1 .'/' othyr works issued in recent years the attitude, towards peace and war in i.iie two countries. The outbreak of t'h ' war has to a large extent discountenanced the conclusions of tlie British author, while it has illustrated the argument of the Prussian, but tho two works will probably survive as classics of the period which just preceded the great European war. Norman Angell's "Great Illusion" was in many respects an epoch-making event. His plea for peace and disarmament was not on the sterotyped lines advocated by most pacificists. He did not stress the moral argument against war; he did not conjure up visions of the loss of life entailed; of the demoralising effects of war, and of the suffering and misery brought to many homes. He left those obvious truths to the rhetoric of the preacher and delivered his attack on quite different and original lines. Norman Angell set out to prove that conquest ended in contradiction, and that modern war was a negation. "Con- . quest in the modern sense of the word is a process of multiplying by x, and then obtaining the resultant by divid. by x." The "Great Illusion" challenged the most universal belief that military power gave a nation commercial and social advantages, and that the wealth and prosperity of smaller nations were at the mercy of their stronger neighbors. It claimed that it was impossible for one nation to seize the wealth of another or to enrich itself by subjugating another. The book proves these contentions by showing that wealth in the civilised world depends on a complex credit system, which involves the conqueror as much as the conquered, and robs him of the fruits of conquest. By the elaboration of these facts the author tries to prove that wars of conquest are optical illusions, and that nations go to war because they fail to recognise that the problems of modern international polities are profoundly different from the ancient—yet modern nations are still dominated by old axioms and principles. A mistake very prevalent just now is that Norman Angell advocated for Britain a policy of disarmament, since her defeat in the long run would confer no advantage on the enemy. But this is exactly what he did not say., In part 111. of the "Great Illusion there is this important qualification It is evident that so long as tho misconception we are dealing with is all but universal in Europe, so loin,' as the nations believe that in some v.av the military and political subjugation of others Will bring with it a tangible maii i . va . n^a o° to tho conquerors, wo all do, in fact, stand m danger of such aggression. 0n this ground alone 1 deem that we or any other na tion are justified in taking means of sen-defence to prevent such aggression " We are not concerned here with the position Xorman Angell takes up in regard to the present war with Germanv. His arguments are not affected hv Ids personal sentiments, and time alone will tell if his views will stand the supremo test . Of war. The great thing is that s.ue.l a work as "The Great Illusion" "as produced by an Englishman. It is but an expression of that democratic ldeftl towards which the British people are evolving. Could we imagine such a work from the pen of a .Jena professor.' No much for the '-Groat Illusion." riii of " ( '<™»»y and the Next War'" i . . tk ' m ' ral vo » Bernliardi's book, , s Right, and the dispute as to what is right is decided by tlie arbitrament of the sword," is the nu-' clous of tho Prussian military uU»a. It 18 the expression of what Kai'sCrisin'and -1 russian Imperialism stand for. Its pel according to Krupp, and its "aiiostles are siege <runs and incendiarism. J here IS no room lor democracy and the, will of the people in the code of Kaiserisni. In this exalted creed honor is a pretence and justice is an expedient to be respected only as far as ii compatible with advantage. ISernhardi finds the ordinary iiard-workin» German people too peace-loving. ••Aspirations for peace threaten to poison the soul of the German people A rude shock is needed to awaken, their warlike instincts and compel them to show their military strength." Thanks to - the Prussian Junker idea, whose mouthpiece is Bernhardi. they have ree'.'i'r'f vr shoi ' k -" wi,idi is to tall loith their martial instincts. Of , iv l"i V S th,! of all conun.ible blessings, for it is quite a mistake, a* this apostle of violence sins to regard war as a curse and refuse'to* recognise it as the greatest fact.,,- i„ the furtherance of culture and power," and an intellectual and vigorous nation can experience no worse destiny than to be lulled into the Phaeacian existence In ■ un . lHs l ,ut «d enjoyment of peace." I All this is addressed to the German people, as the "Clarion" puts it, "to cure their popular prejudice against lyddite Pyroxylme, shrapnel, and bayonets."' ion we have this paean in justification f u™'? 1 . ar ls a biological necessity ol the iirst importance, a regulative element in the life of mankind which cannot lie dispensed with since without it an unhealthy development will follow, which excludes every advancement of the race, and therefore all real civilisation. And now for the practical application of this creed of militarism. Nothing is to stand m the wav of making Germany the greatest world Power, lievaricahon, cheating, breaches of honor, violation of treaties, all arc to be reported to if the interests of the 1 atlierlaud can lie served thereby. Hypocrisy is a yirtue when a German statesman wishes to gain time and deceive an opponent. To set up enmity between friendly powers and to disturb the pcare nf thu watid ii Urn first

duty of diplomacy, always provided Germany finds -in the wrangling of other means for her aggrandisement. So on to end of the chapter. "Germany and the Next War," inspired by the Kaiser, written by Bernhardi, and approved by the Crown Prince, is now tragically illustrated on the bloody fields of France and Belgium. Will its Michiavellian principles survive its conflict with truth and democracy? The world is against it. The spirit of the time is against it, and it cannot possibly stand against the combination of these two. Only the ignorance of fanaticism could have brought forth such a book in the twentieth century. Enough has now been written to show the fundamental differences between the two books, and between the ruling classes of Britain and Germany. The great wan has borne out the arguments of Bernhardi's book. It has proved prophetical of the Prussian spirit, and it will find a place in literature simply because its evil doctrines havo been relentlessly tested in blood. No Englishman could have written such a book, for the atmosphere of a free community is against the production of such works. "The Great -aiusion," on the other hand, though by no means prophetical of British diplomacy, is the expression of much that is great in diplomacy. Its value lies in the fact that such a pregnant work should have come from the pen of an Englishman. Unlike "Germany and the Next War," it is a book that the country will never be ashamed of. To future generations of Britishers, "The Great Illusion" will , still be a noble work while Bernliardi's book will be looked upon with shame and mortification by all good Germans.