The Daily News. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 1918. THE GERMAN CHARACTER.

Taranaki Daily News, 12 February 1918, Page 4

The Daily News. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 1918. THE GERMAN CHARACTER.

Those who have closely studied the actions of file Germans since the war commenced, unless they had reliaole knowledge as to the German character, would inevita'bly have been puzzled to reconcile the fearful horrors and atrocities with the preconceived ideas as to the I high intelligence and culture of the people. We have been apt to accept the Germans at their own value; The outside of the platter-their large and beautiful cities —liiia presented a most attractive appearance but the inside—the true German character, the bad behind the good—has escaped notice. The war has lifted the veil and we now see the German nation revealed in all its corruption, from Ulie 'highest to the lowest— morally, commercially, socially, politically and internationally, a nation of brutal bullies, low, sneaking, cringing, spying frauds; a nation that has become a ravening pack of woves, who, having nothing left to prey upon at home, were inevitably forced to begin depredations on neighboring sheepfolds. Hence the present war. The true German character —the outcome of criminal mentality—has been apparent throughout this terrible conflict. It was revealed glaringly in the overtures made to "Britain, just before 'hostilities commenced, when the Germans had the in6olenoe and cynicism to ask Britain, in return for their friendship, to remain neutral while they invaded Belgium and stabbed Prance in the back, thus assuming that British sense of honor was as low as theirs. Other striking illustrations of their character were given by tl)eir horrible atrocities, their intrigues, their orgies of drunkenness and rape, tljeir mendacious lying, their distortion of facts, ingenious excuses for cola uiooded murders, and their abuse oT every code of international and personal honor. The whole nation, with possibly a very few exceptions, is rotten to the core, devoid of honor and animated by a code which w#s summed up very aptly by a German in these words.- "Being good doesn't pay! I shall cheat and lie, betray and rob; ruin and crush like the rest, and see to it that by any means, howevc-r dishonorable, I obtain ray share of the great wealth and luxury staring me everywhere in the face" Germany is a nation of such men, with swagger and bombast added as the result of military strength. In business as in war their policy is to steal a march on their opponents, betray their friends, and put into force all the low, cunning and unscrupulous methods that ingenuity can devise to gain an advantage. According to an English professor who taught in one of the German universities, and who has just written a work on the German menace, the Ne*. Zealand edition being published by the Christchurch they act on the theory that the bad boy of the family gets every kind of consideration and concession because he terrorises all the members of his family—and the neighbors—by his threats, and the greater the nuisance lie makes himself, the more privileges and concessions he will obtain. They deliberately calculated that the worse, the frightfulness and atrocities, the more concessions their enemies would be willing to yield. They intend the very awfulness of their worst crimes to be so much above any oarthjy punishment that the smaller wickednesses will sink into insignificance in comparison, and thus they will escape punialunent altogether. There is

but one remedy for clever scoundrels of this sort—such a sound thrashing' as will make them behave themselves as long as tl'e lesson last"-, and as long as tliey think there is a chance of the repetition of the punishment. It is, therefore, the duty of the Allies to give Germany the beating she deserves and to convince the Germans that it does not pay, after ~11, to play the part of the bad boy. They must also be taught by force that they will not be allowed to thrust their way througfli life deliberately raising trouble and riding rough shod over everyone that stands in their way. Whether it will be possible to make thein truthful is another matter. They have developed lying to such a fine art that it haß become a cult. The English professor, above allude'd to, who knows 'the Germans thoroughly, has placed on record that the average Gorman's word or promise can never be trusted. They invariably lie to save themselves from blame, to get another into trouble, to deceive or cheat in their internal intercourse, and the same evil trait is to be found in their national dealings. Nothing they say is to be trusted, and all their promises are broken when it suits their purpose, and yet they expect in their dealings witlh others to receive honorable treatment. It is not surprising that Belgian neutrality was violated by a nation which considers it the height .of imbecility to let » trust stand be- | tween it and the satisfaction of lust and cupidity, or the attainment of arrogant ambitions and the furtherance of selfinterested schemes. The ideals of Britain and Germany are as wide apart as the poles. The British have a highly developed ideal of fairness, justice and lionov, but the Germans are educated to and encouraged by the Government in a .•ourse of ruthlessness, t'rightfulness, deceit and treachery. No compromise is possible between two such ideals, for there is no such Jung' as a compromise with honor. Germany has assiduously stamped out every noble instinct iniier people, because it ''didn't pay." Until the German character changes, Germany will always be a menace to the peace of the world, provided she is sufficiently strong. The immediate need is for the Allies to administer that military castigation which will alone secure freedom from the menace of frightfuinesa. When .peace ; s secured on a sure and lasting basis it may be possible to bring about a new and acceptable code of honor and morality. Once the Prussian military prestige is 'broken, the Germans themselves may set their house in order. Now that the world knows the German character as it really exists there can be no more friendly intercourse with Germany until that' character has been remoulded r.nd purified, even though it brinnj ) ier t-o the depths of humiliation.