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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..e76dd19 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #69662 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/69662) diff --git a/old/69662-0.txt b/old/69662-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 0f442cb..0000000 --- a/old/69662-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,7539 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Watching on the Rhine, by Violet R. -Markham - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: Watching on the Rhine - -Author: Violet R. Markham - -Release Date: December 30, 2022 [eBook #69662] - -Language: English - -Produced by: David E. Brown and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team - at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images - generously made available by The Internet Archive/American - Libraries.) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WATCHING ON THE RHINE *** - - - - - -WATCHING ON THE RHINE - -VIOLET R. MARKHAM - - - - -“_That which was to be done by war and arms in Latium has now been -fully accomplished by the bounty of the gods and the valour of the -soldiers. The armies of the enemy have been cut down.... It now remains -to be considered how we may keep them in the observance of perpetual -peace.... Ye can therefore ensure to yourselves perpetual peace so far -as the Latins are concerned, either by adopting severe or conciliatory -measures. Do ye choose to take harsh measures against people who have -surrendered and who have been conquered? Ye may destroy all Latium.... -Do ye wish to follow the example of your forefathers and augment the -power of Rome by conferring the citizenship on the people you have -beaten? Materials for extending your power by the highest glory are at -hand.... But whatever determination ye wish to come to, it is necessary -that it be speedy. So many states have ye in a condition of suspense -between hope and fear._” - - _Livy viii. 13._ - - - - - WATCHING ON THE - RHINE - - BY - - VIOLET R. MARKHAM - - AUTHOR OF “SOUTH AFRICA PAST AND PRESENT,” - “THE SOUTH AFRICAN SCENE,” ETC. - - [Illustration] - - NEW YORK - GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY - - - - - COPYRIGHT, 1921, - BY GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY - - - PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - - - - -FOREWORD - - -“Here then will we begin the story: only adding thus much to that which -hath been said, that it is a foolish thing to make a long prologue and -to be short in the story itself.” - - - - -CONTENTS - - - CHAPTER I - PAGE - - THE APPROACH 11 - - - CHAPTER II - - COLOGNE AND THE OCCUPATION 20 - - - CHAPTER III - - THE KÖLNER DOM 42 - - - CHAPTER IV - - ON THE DOM PLATZ 54 - - - CHAPTER V - - BILLETS 65 - - - CHAPTER VI - - CHRISTMAS IN COLOGNE 76 - - - CHAPTER VII - - THE BERGISCHE LAND 83 - - - CHAPTER VIII - - IN SEARCH OF A FISHING 95 - - - CHAPTER IX - - WHO PAYS? 104 - - - CHAPTER X - - CERTAIN CITIES AND THE SAAR BASIN 119 - - - CHAPTER XI - - FROM METZ TO VERDUN 139 - - - CHAPTER XII - - IN ALSACE 156 - - - CHAPTER XIII - - SOME ELECTIONEERING IMPRESSIONS 172 - - - CHAPTER XIV - - HATRED 206 - - - CHAPTER XV - - THE GERMAN VIEW OF ENGLAND 223 - - - CHAPTER XVI - - WATCHMAN--WHAT OF THE NIGHT? 247 - - - - -WATCHING ON THE RHINE - - - - -WATCHING ON THE RHINE - - - - -CHAPTER I - -THE APPROACH - -_July 1919_ - - -Four A.M.: the slowly moving engine comes to a standstill with a jolt -which wakes me from the uneasy half-sleep of a train journey. I lift a -corner of the blind and look out. It is the grey hour before the dawn, -when night still wrestles with morning for the possession of the coming -day. A ruined building lit up by a station flare stares at me stark and -desolate. In the quarter light a long street of battered houses is also -dimly visible. Lille! We have come through the worst of the devastated -area in the night, but the hall-mark of the invader lies stamped on the -big industrial town, the very name of which is associated henceforth -with suspense, with anguish, with triumph. The military train begins -to move again cautiously over temporary bridges and a permanent way -not as yet permanently repaired. We are far removed from the days when -continental expresses and sleeping-cars swept in a few hours from one -capital to another. The miracle is to be in this slow-moving train at -all which links the British base in France with the occupied German -area. Ruined houses look in through the window, phantom buildings of -which nothing but the outer walls remain. Yet, as I strain my eyes in -the dim light, I see something else; something which was not visible -when I last visited a devastated area in March--here and there a house -already rebuilt, stacks of bricks neatly piled, rubbish sifted and -cleared, stones laid in order for the mason’s hand. Yes, there has been -“cleaning up” during the last five months--the most tragic cleaning up -which can ever befall a nation. And clearly France, with her amazing -energy and recuperative powers, has already flung herself into the task -of repairing the desolate places. It is a grim and mighty task which -awaits our Ally. - -Stricken though the towns, the land, desolate, barren, uncultivated, -has a pathos all its own. As we move ever eastwards and the dawn comes -up in the sky, the nakedness of the fields invaded by coarse grass -and weeds symbolises the sufferings of France. But in the growing -light evidences appear in the fields of the same brave spirit which is -reclaiming the towns. Here and there a half-destroyed farmhouse has -been patched up, and a thin cloud of smoke rises from the battered -chimney. Across the silent fields a team of horses is being led out to -work; a woman drives out her cows or is seen surrounded by clamorous -poultry. France may be sorely wounded, but the spirit of France cannot -be destroyed. France, for all her losses, has hope in her heart, and -amid the desolation of war, hope, like some beautiful flower, blossoms -once again. - -Eastward, always eastward, for we are bound through the lands of the -conquering victim to those of the humbled oppressor. With every mile -the visible signs of war grow less, though houses and buildings along -the railway show marks of gunfire long after the land has regained its -normal aspect. First and last, districts through which the railways -pass have suffered most both in advance and retreat; a fact to which -the scarred stations bear witness. - -By the time the sun is shining brightly we have passed beyond the -outer fringes of desolation and are again in a prosperous-looking -land. The sight of Maubeuge recalled many an anxious moment during the -great German invasion of 1914. Outwardly the town appeared to have -suffered but little. As we crossed the Belgian frontier a general view -of the country as seen from the carriage windows conveyed the same -impression. The soil was well cultivated, the houses in good order. -There are no evidences of the presence of a hostile army beyond the -occasional destruction of a bridge blown up during the German retreat. -The spiritual yoke of an enemy occupation for four and a half years -must have been intolerable, but material damage was clearly confined to -the first and last days of the war. And Belgium has the matter in hand. -She is at work, working, working all the time. From countless buildings -the Belgian flag waving in the sunshine proclaimed the glad tidings -of a land released from its invaders and restored to its original -place among nations. The little valleys of the Ardennes, the factory -chimneys of Liège, seem at one in telling the same tale of liberty -regained. There is an indescribable air of gaiety among the people on -the roadside, a sense of laughter and merry-making. Aerschot, Dinant, -Louvain would, of course, tell a different tale, but in southern -Belgium it would seem that the grip of the invader was of a different -quality from his strangle-hold on France. - -Still eastward, and now with a thrill of indescribable emotion we find -ourselves at Herbesthal, the German frontier. Before us in the sunshine -lie the broad fertile plains of the people whose rulers have deluged -the world with blood and tears. One remembers with bowed head the -many million lives laid down before we handful of British folk could -journey thus far into the country of the enemy who had challenged our -very existence. With the memory of shattered and devastated France -before our eyes, we think with sternness no punishment can be too -severe in expiation of the crime under whose consequences the world is -staggering to-day. A train-load of German prisoners, homeward bound, -runs into the station. They cheer, not very loudly or energetically, -it is true, but nevertheless they cheer as once again they touch the -soil of the Fatherland. From the windows we catch sight of eager, -excited faces among the shabby men in their faded uniforms. Insensibly -the heart softens. They too have gone through hardship and suffering, -just ordinary men glad to be home again, eager to see wife and child -and sweetheart. And then, as the train rolls forward, suddenly on the -threshold of the enemy’s land comes the remembrance of those noble -words, one of the few great utterances which illumine the darkness and -the passions of war, “Patriotism is not enough, I must have no hatred -or bitterness in my heart.” - -The hands of brutal men could not touch the serenity of Edith Cavell’s -soul. On the threshold of a cruel death her spirit had soared above -the hideous welter of passion and brutality all around. She saw these -things in the light of eternity; saw also the ultimate good of life -express itself, not in the narrow terms of race, but in abiding -spiritual values. The demand for vengeance which followed on her -death has to a large extent obscured the greatness of her message. -Yet Edith Cavell indicated expressly that vengeance was not the way. -No individual during the war has thrown a ray of light more clear on -the turmoil of the struggle. But the path she trod is not an easy one, -and many who honour her name shrink from a task of self-conquest so -great as what she indicates.... No hatred and no bitterness: and we are -English people crossing the German frontier for the first time after -the war.... What has Edith Cavell to say to each one of us? - -Aix-la-Chapelle--Aachen--with its memories of Charlemagne, King of the -Franks, lies some ten miles within the German frontier. Few outward -signs of its venerable history survive in the busy manufacturing centre -of to-day. The cathedral, founded by Charlemagne, where the ashes of -the great monarch lie buried, rises--an incongruous and protesting -relic--among factories, tall chimneys, and all the ugly apparatus of -modern industry. Aachen is in Belgian occupation, and we stare from -our carriage windows at a mixed throng of Belgian soldiers, British -Tommies, and German civilians, with whom the station is crowded. - -It is a little difficult to express in words the conflict of feelings -in your mind as you enter Germany. You are certainly prepared for -something dramatic. It is almost with a shock you realise that German -civilians are not equipped with hoofs and horns or other attributes -of a Satanic character. After all, they look just like any one else: -tidy, well-dressed, self-respecting people--the typical German crowd of -old days. But certainly you expected to see some outward and visible -signs of military occupation, apart from the familiar sight of khaki -soldiers; visions of a Germany bristling with guns; of burgomasters -and high officials walking about with halters, actual or metaphorical, -round their necks; of a sullen, conquered people casting looks of -hatred on conquerors who move among them in no small peril of their -lives. If such is the anticipation, it proves to be ludicrously remote -from the reality. The outstanding fact in the occupied territory, -and one which fills an English visitor with ever-growing amazement, -is the complete acquiescence of the Germans in the situation. Life -is astonishingly normal. Khaki soldiers have replaced grey-coated -soldiers. Otherwise everything seems to go on exactly as before. These -amazing people, outwardly at least, do not appear to mind that their -country is occupied by hostile armies. The Germans on the Aachen -platform were moving about and talking in a placid, undisturbed manner. -Their indifference to the British and Belgian soldiers appeared to be -absolute. A picture rose before my eyes of an English station occupied -by German troops: would equal apathy and indifference have been shown -under such conditions? In this as in many other respects the German -psychology is a riddle to which no answer seems forthcoming, and it is -a riddle the perplexity of which will be found to deepen with every -hour spent in the occupied territory. - -Between Aachen and Cologne the train runs through a district rich in -natural resources, both mineral and agricultural. We pass many large -factories of modern construction in which, thanks to smoke-saving -apparatus, the dirt of our own industrial districts has been avoided. -Those factories are not idle. It is true not every large chimney is -smoking, but some chimneys in every group show that work is going on. -The Rhineland industries are to a large extent independent of imported -material, and the activities in this district cannot be taken as an -index to the rest of Germany. Similarly with the soil. Agricultural -experts tell us that taken as a whole the soil of Germany is naturally -poor. Only immense scientific care and attention made it possible in -pre-war days for the land to yield 85 per cent. of the nation’s food. -But here in the Rhineland the quality of the crops must strike the most -casual traveller. With the thin English harvest in mind, I can only -marvel at these bumper crops--the thick yellow corn, the potatoes, the -roots, the mealies, the general impression of agricultural prosperity. -The land is in perfect order. Every twig looks as though it had been -put in splints. Whatever else has suffered, prisoners’ labour, or -labour of some kind, has kept the land clean and in order. Compare the -large areas of devastation in France with this fat, smiling country -bearing no visible signs of any kind of war, and the bitterness in many -French hearts seems very natural. It is difficult to associate stories -of want and starvation with a rich country like this. Yet it was quite -clear that at the last Germany was brought to her knees by hunger. -The surface impression of prosperity in one particular district may -be misleading--the reality may prove on closer acquaintance to be of -grimmer stuff! - -Already a hundred questions beset my mind as Cologne Cathedral comes -into sight. There is something typically German about the unwieldy -appearance of the Kölner Dom crowned with its preposterous spires. Many -years had passed since I was last in Cologne. As the line ran through -the clean, well-built suburbs, I remembered vaguely an hotel on the -Dom Platz, and a general impression of tall, robust men drinking beer -and eating large meals. From a dusty shelf in memory’s cupboard came -the recollection of some careless remark made to an English friend--I -hoped there would never be war between England and Germany, because -judging by the physique of the men, war with them would be no trifling -affair.... - -The train has drawn up in the fine Haupt Bahnhof. Two W.A.A.C. -administrators, courteous and businesslike, examine tickets and visas. -A large German standing meekly, hat in hand, before the fair-haired -English girl stamping his pass is eloquent as to some lessons taught by -the Occupation. Amazing is the scene which breaks on the traveller on -emerging from the railway station. Khaki-clad soldiers swarm in every -direction. Soldiers, soldiers; they overflow the railway station, the -square, the Hohenzollern bridge. The Dom rises grim and protesting -from a sea of khaki. Government lorries lumber down the streets; the -square in front of the Excelsior Hotel, where a modest Union Jack -over the door proclaims the presence of G.H.Q., is crowded with cars. -Every branch of the service is here in force. Uniformed women on whom -the Boche gazes with peculiar annoyance are common. Selected W.A.A.C. -administrators are carrying on responsible work of various kinds. -Searching German women passengers whose clothes are found to be -stuffed with sausages must have its humours as well as its drawbacks. - -The W.R.A.F. is here as a force. Army nurses in red and grey and the -blue of the V.A.D.’s vary the monotony of the prevalent mustard colour. -Here and there one sees the blue headdress of a British Empire Leave -Club worker, the girls who do much for the entertainment of Thomas -Atkins in a foreign town. Y.M.C.A., Church Army, and half a dozen other -organisations are all to the fore. Atkins must be a much-amused man -with so many willing workers to cater for his needs. This is the Army -of Occupation as it came up from the fields of victory over 200,000 -strong. Large numbers of troops are quartered, not only in Cologne, but -throughout the occupied area and the bridgehead. But demobilisation -has already laid its hand on this great force. The sluices are drawn -and civilian life will shortly reclaim the lads who crowd the town -and area. It is a wonderful sight to have seen, a wonderful moment -in history to have experienced. The German goes about his work in -the middle of this English crowd apparently as unconcerned as his -fellow-countrymen at Aachen and Düren. But what at heart is he thinking -of it all? What actions and reactions are likely to result from this -strange assembly of people thrown together by the compelling force of -the sword on the banks of the Rhine? - - - - -CHAPTER II - -COLOGNE AND THE OCCUPATION - - -During the war we thought and talked with anguish daily of that line of -trenches stretching from Switzerland to the sea where men suffered and -died. Even the most unimaginative were stirred to emotion by stories -of the strange semi-subterranean existence which modern conditions -of warfare had imposed on the armies of Europe. To-day another line -stretches for a distance nearly as great along the banks of the -Rhine, but the men composing it are no longer compelled to dwell -as troglodytes. The German word for Armistice, “Waffenstillstand,” -literally “the standing still of the weapons,” expresses very -graphically the conditions under which the Armies of Occupation live. -The line has moved east from the horrors and desolation of devastated -France to the rich provinces of the left bank of the Rhine. Cannons are -silent; bombs drop no more. But the weapons, though standing still, are -there, and determine the strange existence which we Allies lead among a -conquered people. - -Along the line of the Rhine, therefore, lie the armies of the -conquering powers in a peace their guns have ensured and maintain. The -French hold the southern end with their headquarters at Mainz, and -Wiesbaden, most attractive of spas, as a centre of refreshment in the -lighter moments of life. Next come the Americans at Coblenz, then the -English at Cologne, finally the Belgians in the north. As time has -gone on the English occupation has become smaller and smaller, while -the French has increased proportionately. Nobody quite knows what -position the Americans hold at Coblenz, for America has not signed the -Peace Treaty, and her forces remain in theory entirely independent of -obligations which apply to the signatory powers. But, thanks to the -wise and statesmanlike guidance of the American Commander-in-Chief, -General Allen, an anomalous position has in practice worked without -friction. - -As for the life we lead in Occupied Germany, certainly during the early -days very few people at home were able to appreciate the measure of its -comfort and security. On returning to England for the first time on a -visit from Cologne, I was met by many anxious inquiries from friends -and relatives. Was it really safe for me to be in such a place? Of -course I never walked about the town alone? Did the Germans spit at -me? Perhaps out of fear they repressed that natural inclination, but -of course they were as insolent as they dared under the circumstances? -Had we machine guns at every street corner ready to fire? Others in the -same breath, both militant and inconsequent--of course I never spoke -to the brutes, but naturally I laid it across them if I did ... it was -to be hoped I had lost no opportunity of rubbing in their enormities. -Two pictures out of many rose before my mind as I listened to these -remarks.... - -A hot August evening in Cologne. A large crowd fills the Zoological -Gardens, where an open-air concert is being held. Singers from Cologne -and other opera houses have given us selections of German, French, and -Italian music in a spirit entirely catholic. Equally catholic is their -reception by the large and appreciative cosmopolitan crowd. In front of -the open-air stage, Germans, French, English, and Americans sit side -by side at little tables drinking beer or Rhine wine. The music is -heard in complete silence, even Thomas Atkins compelled thereto by the -_genius loci_. On the terrace of the neighbouring restaurant dinner is -proceeding. Numerous German families, the girls in muslin frocks and -summer hats, are out together for the evening. At a table next to ours -a small group of men, unmistakably soldiers, are dining together. They -are all in plain clothes, but two of them wear in their buttonholes the -minute, scarcely visible black-and-white ribbon of the Iron Cross. The -German prima-donna sings the well-known air from _La Bohème_. She is -loudly applauded by all present, by no one more energetically than by -a French officer sitting near me. As darkness comes on, illuminations -add their gaiety to the scene, pink and white lights shining among the -dark leaves. A peaceful, happy gathering, with laughter, and music, and -beer--the music and the beer both of excellent quality. Forget for a -moment that the uniforms are khaki, not grey, put back the clock five -years, and who would suspect the tragic bonds of blood and strife in -which the company are united? Is the war a dream or a nightmare? Is -Europe white with the bones of the millions who have died; is Germany -itself staggering on the edge of ruin and starvation? If so, how can -this musical fête, this peaceful bourgeois gathering, be possible; the -enemies of yesterday eating and drinking and applauding side by side as -though nothing had happened? What does it all mean? What is one doing -there oneself?... - -Again: near the house in which we live a chronic fair goes on every -afternoon. Swing-boats, roundabouts, shooting-galleries, all the -various side-shows of an English country feast are here. Drinks, -ice-cream, and refreshments are no less to the fore. Music, that -monotonous braying music which always accompanies a merry-go-round, -goes on mechanically for many hours. Here Thomas Atkins gathers in -force. The thrifty Boche, in fact, has created the whole fair for his -entertainment at a modest price. It is characteristic of the race that -they not only accept the British Occupation with entire acquiescence, -but endeavour by every means in their power to turn it to good account. -Notices in English explain the nature of the side-shows. All prices are -marked in plain figures. Reprehensible though it may be, Gretchen not -infrequently is to be seen on the roundabouts and in the swing-boats -with the said Thomas. Picture-postcards, trinkets, souvenirs, are all -for sale. The shooting-galleries are crowded by soldiers still anxious -to let off their piece in a more harmless fashion than on the scarred -battle-line far away to the west. The Germans are out to amuse, the -English to be amused. Perfect good temper animates both buyers and -sellers. Introspection is hardly the hall-mark of the soldier in the -ranks, and the English lads who lounge about from booth to booth never -give a thought to the amazing situation in which they find themselves. -Many of them on demobilisation leave Cologne with real regret. It is -a clean, decent place, with more than decent beer. After all Fritz is -not such a bad fellow.... In the long and varied history of Britain’s -rule overseas has the Pax Britannica ever held sway under conditions -so strange as these? As darkness falls the fair is lit up by great -flares, and the scene grows more and more animated. Cologne, with -large resources in the shape of a cheap fuel supply in its immediate -neighbourhood, is well off both as regards light and heat. But at last -all is silent. Curfew has rung for the Germans, the Last Post for the -English. That desperate tune repeated for hours by the merry-go-round -is mercifully at an end for the night. To-morrow it will all begin -again, and so on day after day.... - -What are we to make of the civility of these people among whom we -live as conquerors? How can it be reconciled with their arrogance and -brutality when they had the upper hand in France and Belgium? These -middle-class families, these quiet, respectable working-class people -enjoying their simple pleasures, what part did they take in the insults -heaped on prisoners and captives? Did these parents and children -rejoice and cheer when submarines sent other women and children to -their deaths? What kind of conscience do they carry for the war? How -can they outwardly at least bear so little grudge against the people -who have beaten them? With whom does the responsibility for the war -rest? During the struggle many of us would have vowed Burke was at -fault in his great axiom that you cannot indict a nation. Germany -seemed to us then to be the very spirit of wickedness incarnate. Here -face to face it seems more difficult. What baffling chameleon-like -quality do these people possess, that they can outrage the conscience -of the whole world and yet give one the impression that as individuals -many of them are kindly, decent folk? - -The riddle seems insoluble, and I do not pretend to have any key to it. -German mentality is so constituted that it is violent and arrogant -in success, chastened and polite in defeat. That the whole nation is -consciously playing a part seems hard to believe. They are too clumsy -in mind and body for so continuous an effort of deception, too thick -about the ankles and too thick about the wits. Some of the English in -Cologne call them servile. Personally the adjective hardly seems to -me to meet the case. But they are curiously correct, even courteous. -I went about Cologne, on arrival, Baedeker in hand, as any pre-war -tourist might have done. Both in trams and trains I received, more than -once, small civilities from Germans who put me on my way seeing that I -was a stranger. As an English woman I marvelled at their civility. It -was the same in the shops. The family in whose house we were billeted -on my first arrival, were, I am sure, far less embarrassed by my advent -than I was at the prospect of using their rooms. I was haunted by a -sense of the rage with which I should have endured the presence of -a German woman in my house. But after a day or two I ceased to have -scruples about a situation which apparently did not trouble them. -It was a relief to accept their attitude to us, as it might be, of -hosts and paying guests to whose comfort they desired to contribute. -Daily we exchanged small civilities. Naturally we were careful to -leave no ragged edges in such a situation. Often I speculated on -the transformation scene which might have resulted from a change in -our respective positions. The old housekeeper had the hall-mark of -the Prussian on her. I should be sorry to be within her reach as a -prisoner. But the lady of the house, who had lost two sons in the war, -appeared to be a kindly soul. She was a good musician, and I furtively -and unsuccessfully ransacked the music she put at my disposal to find -a copy of the Hymn of Hate. - -A pleasant Fräulein comes to talk German with me daily, and from her, -directly and indirectly, I have learnt much which interests me about -the German attitude. I was fortunate in the chance which threw us -together, for she is an attractive, broad-minded girl, singularly free -from prejudice and bitterness. During an acquaintance extending over -many months we have learnt to know and like each other, and have long -since forgotten we are technically enemies. My Fräulein has lived both -in England and France and has friends in both countries. Her lover and -her brother were killed in the war. Another brother survives, more dead -than alive. The hunger pinch was severe in the Rhineland, which was -always better off than other parts of Germany. Of air raids she spoke -with unmistakable horror. Bombs had fallen in her near neighbourhood -on one occasion, so she told me; it was a case of spending every night -in the cellar. All this came as a surprise to me, because not a brick -seems out of place in Cologne. Still more was I interested by her -denunciations of evils which sounded strangely familiar. Profiteering, -it was scandalous what had gone on! All the horrible people who had -made money out of the war and the sufferings of the nation. The new -rich were a disgrace. The Government had been very slack in dealing -with them. And then the skulkers, the shameful young men who went to -earth in reserved occupations and offices and did not go to fight. -Food? They had starved in the towns, so ineffective was the system -of distribution. The country people who grew the food took care not -to part with it. The new Government? She shrugged her shoulders in -despair. Since the Revolution things had gone from bad to worse. Every -one was discontented, especially all the work-people, who spend their -time demanding higher wages and shorter hours. And servants, there were -none left. No girls would go out to work; they had all been spoilt by -high wages in munition works. - -As I listened I rubbed my eyes, and wondered if I were sitting in -London or Cologne. How often at home had one listened to complaints -of this very type about the shortcomings of the working-classes, -always pointed by the remark that, however wicked, the efficient -Hun Government managed these things much better in Germany. And yet -apparently every complaint with which we were familiar in England was -also in full blast here. Always with one great difference, to which I -must refer again in another chapter: the Germans for years were hungry, -and they fought the war with starvation slowly eating out their hearts. - -A remark current in England, and sometimes heard even on the Rhine, is -to the effect that the Germans do not know they are beaten. Do not know -they are beaten? Should we know we were beaten if great districts of -our country were occupied by enemy armies; if we had German officers -and their wives and families quartered in our houses; if our officials -had to take their orders from occupying Prussians; if all our barracks -and public buildings and places of amusement were taken over; if the -opera and theatre had to conform to German rules; if the tennis courts, -the golf club, the polo ground, the racecourse were all monopolised -by Germans, and we obtained by an act of grace on the part of our -conquerors such privileges as they might think well to bestow on us? If -that were our fate, should we labour under much doubt as to the hard -facts of the situation? - -Superficially it is true that life seems to flow in very normal -channels in Cologne. But, in fact, the country is beaten flat -and cannot at the moment stand alone. However bitter the cup of -humiliation, better the presence of a conqueror who has kept order, -provided food, administered even-handed justice, and dealt fairly -between man and man, than the horrors of hunger and revolution. As for -the French, it cannot be expected that France with the memories of 1870 -and 1914 burnt deep into her very marrow, France dragged twice through -the fire, can approach the tasks of occupation in the same spirit as -the more detached Britons who have less to forget. Set an Englishman -to administer the country of his worst enemy, and that country at once -becomes an administrative problem, to be run on the best possible -lines. The Watch on the Rhine yet again has proved the half-unconscious -genius of our race for government, which is at one and the same time -just, firm, and sensible. - -We have been very fortunate in our military administration. Those in -command are able, far-sighted men, who have known how to take a broad -view and a long view of Germany’s present position. The blood-thirsty -old women of both sexes whose one object in life is to perpetuate the -hatreds and violences of the war are civilian products. The fighting -soldiers are at one and the same time more generous, and in the true -sense more pacific. They realise the chasm on the brink of which -Germany stands shivering. They also realise the truth, still but dimly -grasped in England, that a general collapse on the part of Germany -will be disastrous, not only for her, but for the rest of the world. -No one will benefit by a spread of anarchy through Central Europe, -least of all ourselves. The men who have smashed the German war-machine -have taken the measure of their foe. No nonsense of any kind would -be tolerated. When an order is given it has to be obeyed. They are -equally devoid of sentimentality and false illusions. But they realise -the appalling task with which the new German Government is struggling, -and the importance of a successful outcome to that struggle. And it is -their aim to make it possible for the country to stagger to its feet -again, to put an end to starvation, to set industry going, to preserve -law and order. Also they will admit frankly they have found many of the -Germans with whom they have had to deal capable and amenable. - -The German civilian officials and the police work under the military -authorities, and have worked without difficulty or friction. The -Occupation has a fine and honourable record. The behaviour of the -troops has been good. Soldiers have won real popularity in the country -districts. Incidents and brawls will of course occur from time to time -among large bodies of men, but they have had no racial or political -significance. The forces on the Rhine are at present one of the great -factors making for peace and order in Europe. Not for the purposes of -military adventure or conquest, but as a constructive administrative -machine, the present British régime in the Occupied Area is an -admirable instrument. - -To an island race like ourselves, dwelling in a land long inviolate, -there is something peculiarly humiliating in the thought of an enemy -occupation. But it must be remembered that the German, in this as in -many other respects, is made of tougher stuff. Invasion is to him an -old and familiar story. The Rhineland in particular has been overrun -time after time. Neither is it any novelty for the French to find -themselves again in provinces on which in the past French armies have -left their mark repeatedly. It is an old story, this quarrel between -France and Germany, and to date it from 1870 is to err in historical -perspective. - -Yet disciplined and submissive though the German is to the harsh -verdicts of war--never harsher than when applied by himself--there must -be some peculiar sting in the presence of the enemy on the banks of the -Rhine. For every national sentiment the nation possesses centres round -the river famed in song and story. German patriotic literature of the -“Wacht am Rhein” type is mediocre in quality, but it is eloquent of the -spirit of the people. Even Heine, cynic and often anti-patriot, sings -proudly of “der heilige Strom.” In periods of defeat and oppression -Germans of an older date have found in the cleansing waters of the -great stream a symbol of hope and regeneration. Few foreigners even can -resist the spell of the Rhine. Mighty rivers have a message to give to -the restless heart of man as their waters sweep by, eternal yet ever -changing. Cradled in mountain snows virginal and remote, destined in -the end to know the final purification and joyousness of the ocean, -the course of any famous river as it flows from mountain to plain, -from village to town, becomes an image of the flight of time and the -vicissitudes of human life. - -The romantic stretches of the Rhine lie south of Bonn. Here are castles -and vineyards, and scenes of many a legendary exploit. At Bonn the long -gorge beginning at Bingen comes to an end, and the Rhine enters the -broad plain in which Cologne is situated. Often sullied and defiled by -the factories on its banks, nothing can destroy the sense of grandeur -as the great volume of water sweeps forward to its fate. A hard lot for -such a river to be caught in the end by the mud shallows and flats of -Holland, and to make its final way to the sea broken up into countless -minor streams! - -At Cologne the Rhine is still untroubled by any sense of the doom which -awaits it. The river takes a wide bend as it approaches the town, a -lucky chance which is admirable from the aesthetic point of view. The -traffic is very considerable. Huge barges bearing coal, iron, and all -manner of merchandise are dragged up stream by powerful tugs. At night -the view from the banks is mysterious and beautiful. A great net of -twinkling lights cast over town and quays is reflected a hundredfold in -the dark waters. Lights from the barges, anchored alongside the banks -after the day’s work, twinkle back in reply to the messages from the -shore. Everything seems astir, as though town and river were moved by -some dim half-earthly emotion. When morning comes it will reveal that -many of these fairy lights only mark the presence of factories and -workshops. But night with her indigo mantle has given another and more -mysterious turn to the scene. The massive Hohenzollern bridge which -spans the river exactly opposite the Dom is a typical expression of the -spirit of modern Germany--strong, powerful, practical. It is a fine -bridge, and I have so much to say in criticism of German taste that I -am glad for once in a way to note the entire success with which they -have handled an architectural problem concerned with the carrying, at -one and the same time, of railway lines, trams, and passenger traffic. -Especially fine is the bridge at night, when it hangs like a chain of -light across the river; trams and trains passing like swift-moving -constellations among the firmament of the illuminated spans and -pillars. The awkward mass of the Dom lies in close proximity to the -bridge, but they do not interfere with one another. - -The bronze equestrian figures of the four Hohenzollern kings which -guard the two ends of the bridge are among the few satisfactory -examples of modern monuments which I have seen in Germany. Generally -speaking, the country is bespattered with statues of the Hohenzollerns, -the artistic merit of which is nil. Never did a reigning house impose -itself so mercilessly, in bronze, stone, and iron, on a docile people. -Cologne, needless to say, has an ample share of imperial statues. The -Emperor William I. had a head which in particular did not lend itself -to plastic treatment; his whiskers, which jump at one from innumerable -squares, have a tendency to rouse my worst passions. There is little -humorous in the state of Germany to-day, but the onlooker can extract -some minor entertainment from the squabbles which rage in official -and unofficial German circles as to the fate of the Hohenzollern -statues. The Socialists, in fiery language, complain that the mind -of young Germany is being corrupted by these flaunting images of an -oppressive autocracy, and demand that the statues be consigned to the -decent obscurity of the cellars of the local museum. The bourgeoisie -are equally loud in the demand that the statues should be treated as -historical relics and left where they are. The topic bids fair to -become the hardy annual of Socialist perorations. Meanwhile there is -other work to be done and the Hohenzollerns remain. - -Life in Cologne is very pleasant for the occupying army. As with the -Hohenzollern bridge, so with the town itself--it is typical of the -material excellence which before the war marked the German organisation -of practical life. German local authorities throughout the country -have kept a firm and admirable grasp on the town-planning of their -large modern cities. The individualism of the speculative builder -is not allowed to run riot here. Not only are the new quarters in -Cologne well and solidly built, but open spaces abound. Fortifications -can have their sanitary uses, for near the antiquated forts in the -suburbs stretches a broad belt of open country devoted to allotments -and market gardens. There are no signs of the jerry-builder running up -shoddy houses to the detriment of future generations. Except in the -old quarters of the town along the Rhine there are no obvious slums. -Yet Germany, like all the rest of the world, is feeling the shortage -of houses which has been an economic consequence of the war, and -complaints of overcrowding are common. - -But the real interest of Cologne lies elsewhere than in the prosperous -latter-day development of the town. The wide streets and boulevards -encircle the kernel of a famous mediaeval city. And mediaeval Cologne -goes back to a still older foundation. The modern buildings and opulent -dwelling-houses of the Ring smother, but cannot wholly obliterate, the -memories of the Empress Agrippina and the settlement, called after her, -Colonia Agrippina--subsequently Colonia--Köln. - -My friend, Mr. John Buchan, always declares that countries which -have been romanised stand in a wholly different category from savage -lands, such as Prussia, which have never known that great civilising -influence. The Rhineland, with its more liberal culture and gentler -manners than Germany east of the Elbe, is a good illustration of this -theory. Rome has been here, and where Rome has passed some element of -quality abides. Famous among the Roman settlements, Cologne played -a part no less important in mediaeval history. A leading member of -the Hanseatic League, the relations between Cologne and London in -the fifteenth century were close. If we rule Cologne to-day, Cologne -at an earlier date has dictated to us. In the reign of Edward III, -foreign trade in the city of London was largely conducted through -the corporation of Cologne merchants established in the Steelyard. -The internal life of Cologne was torn in mediaeval times by fierce -dissensions. Nevertheless, mediaeval German art owed much of its -development in painting and architecture to the artists and master -builders of the lower Rhine. - -After the sixteenth century Cologne, like other cities of the Hanseatic -League, lost much of its importance, and the place fell to a low ebb -for more than two centuries. Its rise into new prosperity during the -nineteenth century registers various phases in the great national -revival which took place throughout Germany, and also the considerable -social improvements which, it must be admitted, followed on Prussian -rule. - -The traces of mediaeval Cologne are sadly obliterated. Of the Roman -period practically nothing remains. The Germans are desperate people in -all matters concerning the upkeep and restoration of ancient buildings. -They are terribly painstaking and have the best intentions, unhappily -with dire results. No words in Baedeker lay so cold a hand on my heart -as the frequent phrase, “the church has in recent times undergone a -thorough restoration.” Thorough in their vandalism such efforts are. -Meagrely endowed with artistic taste, no nation in the world lays -hands so heavy and so obliterating on the monuments of the past. The -one idea apparently is to make everything clean and tidy. To this end -interiors of ancient Romanesque churches are covered with a pitiless -layer of reinforced concrete on which lines are scratched to represent -stones. German taste further revels in modern mosaics of a gross and -gaudy character sprawling over wall and vault. Church after church in -the Rhineland have I seen ruined in such fashion. In Cologne the noble -proportions of ancient Romanesque buildings, such as the Apostelkirche, -the Gereonskirche, Santa Maria im Capitol, stagger under the weight of -the artistic atrocities they are forced to carry. - -The ex-Emperor was one of the worst offenders in these matters. His -vain and restless spirit exacted incense as connoisseur and art critic -no less than as war lord. An entourage of docile snobs hastened to -encourage him in this view, and he was allowed to destroy at will the -beauty of various churches which, thanks to his fiat, have lost all -their essential quality. The Altenberger Dom in the Bergische Land, a -model in miniature of Cologne Cathedral and an exquisite example of -early Gothic, was immolated in this way thanks to a visit from the -Emperor. He declared that the church must be restored, as it did not -look clean. To-day the interior presents the appearance of a bathroom. - -This being the typical German spirit in matters artistic, it is hardly -surprising that many precious relics of the past have gone under in -Cologne. The fine old Rathhaus still remains, but the mediaeval town -walls have inevitably succumbed to the needs of modern traffic and -expansion. At several points the old gates have been left standing, -forlorn-looking objects marooned among the substantial buildings of -the last twenty years. Broad though the highway of the Ring, beyond -which modern Cologne spreads outwards, the principal streets in the -neighbourhood of the Dom Platz are unusually narrow. The mediaeval -houses have vanished; the cramped space of the mediaeval street remains. - -The Höhe Strasse, the principal thoroughfare, is crowded with people -throughout the day. In the evening it is almost impossible to elbow -your way through the dense mass of sightseers. A pedestrian must make -up his mind to float along with the great stream of traffic and reach -his destination when borne there on the current. Here are the principal -shops, and shopping and bargains have played a considerable part in -the life of the Army of Occupation. Bargains were certainly to be had -in the early days before old stocks were exhausted, but their elusive -delights have long since vanished from the scene. Prices have soared -as the mark fell in value, and did not fall in turn when the mark -improved. They stand to-day at a high level even for the English, who -benefit by the exchange. How the German population can afford to buy -anything at figures so exaggerated in marks is a mystery. - -The fluctuation of the exchange is another matter in which the Army -of Occupation takes a deep interest. We inquire with real concern -daily as to the health of the mark, the caprices of which baffle most -forecasts. These constant fluctuations in the value of money are very -demoralising for every one concerned. Naturally such a situation is a -premium on speculation, and for the German merchant and shopkeeper the -lack of stability has disastrous consequences. - -The real necessities of Germany to-day lie below the surface, and it -is very difficult to associate at first sight any ideas of poverty or -disaster with the crowds of well-dressed people in the streets. The -overflowing population of the big German towns is very striking. It is -hard to believe they have had any real losses in the war. Men, women, -and children; children, women, and men: it is always the same story. -The Germans are a very plain race; few of them have any pretensions -to good looks. But, men and women alike, they are tall and powerfully -built, and convey an outstanding impression of physical strength and -vigour. - -And what have they done with their wounded? That is a perpetual puzzle -to the English. It is a matter of very rare exception to see a lamed, -or maimed, or blinded man. One poor wreck without arms or legs who -frequented the Höhe Strasse in a little trolley was a familiar figure. -But the injured lads who have become too sad a feature of our town -and village life seem to be non-existent here. Yet the heavy German -casualties must have left their mark on the people. Why, therefore, -are there so few signs of wounded men? I have heard it said that -with the removal of the German military hospitals following on the -Occupation, other arrangements had to be made for the disabled, and -that many left the district. Whether this is true or not I cannot say. -Germans are proverbially skilful at tucking out of sight all signs of -their drunken and disreputable classes. Something of the same kind has -happened apparently with the wounded. When one comes to the children, -the toll of the war becomes apparent in a very different way. As -regards adults, the superficial impression received is that neither -physique nor population has suffered. I should add that all superficial -impressions of German life to-day require to be discounted heavily. All -the evidence goes to prove that the very real suffering in the country -lies beneath the surface, and that the rich people and the profiteers -who crowd shops and cafés give no true measure of the condition of the -masses. - -Overwhelmingly military though the aspect of Cologne in the early -days of the Allied victory, the civilian character of the town has -re-emerged, as during the course of months the great Army of the -original Occupation has shrunk to a moderate garrison. To-day the -impression is merely that of an English reserve in a foreign land. -The garrison conducts itself, officers and ranks alike, after the -ordinary fashion of garrisons all the world over. Work is done and done -thoroughly; for the rest there are the normal amusements, dancing, -sports, and games. - -The Deutsches Theater, which is in English hands, has made a spirited -and successful attempt to bring first-rate English drama within -reach of the Occupying Army. But the greatest factor in recreation -undoubtedly has been the Opera. The opportunity of hearing night after -night the best music of all schools, classical and modern, is one for -which we have had much cause to be thankful. The repertoire is not -only large, but wholly catholic in spirit. No foolish demand exists to -place French and Italian music under a ban: the Germans have the good -sense to recognise that genius transcends all boundaries of race. The -great classical masterpieces of Beethoven, Mozart, Gluck can be heard -as well as those of Wagner, Strauss, and the lighter works of Puccini, -Bizet, Massenet, Mascagni, Offenbach, Gounod. The performances of the -Ring are particularly fine; and the passion of the Kapellmeister, Herr -Klemperer, for Mozart makes the production of these exquisite operas -specially interesting. If the Germans have not eyes to see, no nation -in the world have ears so fine to hear. In matters musical they are -doubly and trebly gifted--the whole artistic expression of the race -appears to have found an outlet in this direction. The Cologne Opera -House lives up to the best pre-war standards. There are no stars, but, -what is infinitely preferable, a high level of ensemble and a unity of -artistic expression between the singers and the instrumentalists which -can never exist in scratch companies held together by celebrities. The -scenery and staging are excellent and show real artistic merit of a -kind unusual in Germany. The orchestra too is first-rate--a fine and -flexible instrument in the hands of its conductor. - -It is unfortunate that the English have to no small extent imported -the bad English habit of talking during orchestral passages. In the -early days of the Occupation not a sound was ever heard in the body -of the house. As time went on a familiar and unpleasant murmur became -from time to time more noticeable. Explanations as to the involved -relationships of the Wagner heroes and heroines when sought and given -in the course of a performance are peculiarly exasperating to other -people in the near vicinity of the earnest inquirer. It is a curious -sight during the intervals to see the German audience in couples -promenading solemnly round the large “foyer” while the English and -French look on. But even casual meeting-places between the two races -are rare. Life in Cologne flows in two distinct channels, between -which there is no communication of any kind. For the large majority of -the English, Germans have no existence--what’s Hecuba to them or they -to Hecuba? There is nothing aggressive about the British Occupation. -The Army goes about its business, acts justly, and avoids unnecessary -pinpricks and irritations. The bitterness of the war has left a -considerable aftermath which colours conversation, but the inherent -British sense of decency and fair play rules the situation in practice. -It would offend that sense of fair play to keep kicking a man, however -much disliked, when he was down and out. - -The Germans on their side have learnt fully to appreciate the merits -of the British rule. Well-to-do people have a lively sense of the -protection and security afforded by the Occupying Army. The German -bourgeoisie live in terror of the new might of the working-classes. -Though the first impression on arrival may be one of comfort and -prosperity, there is in fact but a very thin veneer of order covering -anarchy below. Germans speak with dismay of the appalling increase -in crime and theft since the war. Hunger is responsible for much of -the petty pilfering which goes on, but it is clear that all manner -of violent elements hide their heads out of fear and fear alone. The -German police are responsible for the normal daily life of the town and -area, but Thomas Atkins, good-natured and indifferent, is the power -behind the throne, and it is thanks to his presence that the German -writ runs and is obeyed among the Rhinelanders. - -At the same time I am sceptical as to the spread of Bolshevist ideas -on any large scale among the German nation outside certain industrial -circles. The genius of the race is essentially law-abiding and orderly. -If it is allowed to eat and to work, and is not kept artificially in a -state of hunger and unemployment, the country will, I believe, in time -settle down. Bolshevism is a disease drawing its strength from hunger -and despair. It is only dangerous when such conditions exist or are -provoked by a short-sighted policy of fear and reprisals. “Oh, I should -like to see Germany go Bolshevist for a time and all the people killing -one another,” was the genial remark I overheard once in England, the -speaker being an English civilian. I do not think this wish will be -gratified, but what the speaker and his kind forget is that Bolshevism -is a disease which can be treated by no _cordon sanitaire_, and that -the spread of ruin and confusion in Central Europe means that the same -evil spectres will knock assuredly at our own doors. The fatal habit -of “thinking war” still dominates whole classes of people throughout -the Allied countries. But the business of the hour is peace, and to be -a laggard about peace to-day is as criminal as to have been a laggard -about war when Europe and civilisation stood menaced. - - - - -CHAPTER III - -THE KÖLNER DOM - - -In the Wallraf-Richartz Museum, where, after the manner of German -collections, pictures and antiques, both good and bad, jostle each -other with small regard to quality, a series of modern frescoes -execrable in colour and design decorate the main staircase. The -artist has been at pains to cover the walls with various incidents, -allegorical and otherwise, in the long history of Cologne. The -final fresco is the most entertaining of the series. It represents -the scene in 1842 when Frederick William IV. visited Cologne on a -memorable occasion. In this year work was resumed on the ruined and -neglected shell of the cathedral, and the citizens of Cologne dedicated -themselves anew to the task of making a success of the failure of -centuries. The King attended in person to inaugurate the great effort. -Frederick William had many of the showy and histrionic qualities for -which his great-nephew was conspicuous, and like William II. was by way -of having a great deal of taste in artistic matters--most of it bad. -Blessed with the gift of fluent speech, he adored ceremonial occasions, -especially those on which he could pose before Europe as a patron of -the Muses. - -In the Wallraf-Richartz Museum fresco the foundation stone of the new -building has been well and truly laid. Brawny workmen in the foreground -haul about imposing blocks of stone and deal purposefully with a huge -floral decoration. Frederick William, on a platform raised above the -assembled company, is looking heavenwards with rapt expression, as -though following through the clouds the flight of some fiery chariot. -Particularly impressive is a row of city fathers in full evening dress, -wearing decorations, who with hands tightly clasped across their -stomachs stand meek and simpering in the royal presence. - -This ludicrous painting is an unworthy memorial of what was in fact -a high and spirited adventure. The completion of the Dom after -centuries of failure and decay was a great task, finely conceived and -finely carried through. The wave of national feeling and national -self-consciousness, which developed and spread through Germany, from -the middle of the last century onwards, found a practical symbol to -which it could rally in this work of reconstruction. As year by year -columns and towers rose higher on the banks of the Rhine, and the great -neglected fane began to assume the lines dreamt of centuries before by -its long-dead architect, the German saw in this miracle an image of the -resurrection of his own country. Germany had been a ruin, destroyed and -at the feet of a conqueror. Germany too had triumphed over destruction -and failure. Through her new-found unity she was rising, like the -walls of the cathedral, to a position of power and authority undreamt -of before. Little wonder that the rejoicings held in honour of the -final completion of the work in 1880, a date following closely on the -Franco-Prussian War, assumed a national character and were invested -with considerable pomp and circumstance. - -No cathedral in the world has had so strange and chequered a history -as that of Cologne. The hearts of many master builders were broken -over it. The mediaeval difficulties of construction were enormous. -The building even of the beautiful thirteenth-century choir suffered -severely from the fierce civic and ecclesiastical feuds which raged -at that time between the town and the archbishops. Many legends are -connected with the name of Meister Gerhard, the architect whose -main ideas are embodied in the Dom as it stands to-day. Germany is -under debt to France for the greatest of her Gothic churches. To -Amiens, where Gerhard lived and studied, Cologne Cathedral owes its -inspiration. The thirteenth-century choir, an architectural gem of -the first order, follows closely the lines of Amiens Cathedral. Few -examples of early Gothic are more pure or more perfect. Meister -Gerhard, in despair at the delays which beset his work, entered, so -the story runs, into a very unsuccessful wager with the devil as -regards the completion of the cathedral. When the bet was lost he flung -himself, to save his soul, from the scaffolding. There is no evidence -to show that Meister Gerhard came to a violent end, but the story is -significant as a testimony to the difficulties from which the building -of the Dom suffered. These difficulties became accentuated in the -time of Meister Gerhard’s successors. The choir fortunately struggled -to completion, and in 1322 the bones of the Three Kings, the most -precious of all Cologne relics, were deposited with great pomp in their -new shrine. But the noble design of the nave fell on evil days, and -after the varying vicissitudes of several generations work was finally -abandoned, leaving a great torso instead of the church as originally -planned. For centuries the half-completed aisles mocked the vision of -the early master builders. Little by little the nave, which was shut -off by a wall from the choir, fell into complete decay. In 1796 it -was used by the occupying French Army as a magazine and stable. Some -progress had been made with the south tower before work was finally -abandoned. But in modern times trees were growing in the ruins of the -tower, and a derelict crane, stranded high aloft on a pile of stones -and rubbish, was an object of interest to casual visitors. - -Withal a vague hope persisted through the centuries that some day, -somehow, Cologne Cathedral would stand on the banks of the Rhine in the -majesty of the completed design of which Meister Gerhard had dreamt. -For centuries the hope seemed vain indeed. When some years after the -War of Liberation the architect Zwirner championed the idea of a -completed Dom, the response of popular enthusiasm was immediate and -complete. The building as finished follows faithfully the ideas of the -mediaeval architect, a fact for which we have to thank an extraordinary -chapter of accidents. - -The story of the original plans, which were recovered in the loft of -an inn, reads like a fairy tale. Before the Napoleonic wars the plans -of the cathedral were kept in the chapter-house. During the French -occupation, at the beginning of the nineteenth century, they were -removed for greater safety to a Benedictine monastery. The monastery -was broken up and the forgotten and neglected designs came eventually -into the possession of a private family, who used the great sheets of -parchment for drying beans. Subsequently the son of the house went to -Darmstadt for educational purposes. His anxious mother thought the -young man’s clothes would be kept clean and dry if his box were lined -with the stout parchment sheets which had rendered useful service in -the case of the beans. The youth took up his residence in Darmstadt at -the Gasthaus zur Traube. Internal evidence shows that, once away from -the vigilant maternal eye, the care of his clothes must have suffered. -The coverings intended to protect his garments from dust and damp were -cast aside with youthful recklessness. The scrolls, still carrying -their hidden treasure of the great design of the west end of the -cathedral, were thrown away and consigned as litter to the loft of the -inn. There they were discovered by a carpenter sufficiently intelligent -to appreciate their importance. From his hands they passed into those -of a painter, and eventually after a journey via Paris were returned to -Cologne. They hang to-day in a chapel of the choir. - -The stone from which the cathedral is built is quarried in the -Drachenfels. Unfortunately it is soft and perishable, and constant -repairs are necessary. Nearly a million sterling was spent on -completing the building, a modest sum for so considerable a work judged -by the spacious standards of our own spendthrift time. The funds were -raised from pious founders, from state help, and from lotteries. -Whether or not you admire the exterior of the cathedral--personally -the answer is in the negative--there can be nothing but praise for -the enterprise which made a success of the failure of the centuries -and the fine solid work to which the completed Dom bears witness. In -1880, six hundred years after the original founding of the cathedral by -Archbishop Conrad, the final stone of the giant blossom crowning the -south tower was swung into place in the presence of the Emperor William -I. - -Not only in Cologne, but throughout the whole of Germany, the -completion of the cathedral was a signal for an outburst of pride -and joy. National enthusiasm knew no bounds. There were festivals -and feastings and pageants. Looking back on the rejoicings from our -own standpoint of a stricken world, we can recognise of what tragic -events they were the starting point. To keep a cool head when steering -on a full tide of success is a test of character more severe in its -searching than the patient bearing of adversity. Under that test the -new-made German Empire broke down rapidly. By 1880 Germany was launched -on the career which, soon transcending all that is legitimate in -national virility and self-consciousness, was to bring her ultimately, -through pride and aggression, to defeat and downfall. - -From the cannon captured in the French war a bell known as the -Kaiser-Glocke was cast, which became in a special sense the tutelary -genius of the cathedral. Only on rare and solemn occasions was the -Kaiser-Glocke heard. Then as its deep note boomed across the waters -of the Rhine, the citizens of Cologne thrilled with proud memories of -conquest and restored national life. The cannon of a conquered foe are -symbols of death, destruction, and defeat. To convert them as trophies -of victory into bells which call men and women to the service of God -and the worship of the Prince of Peace, is an act of paganism removed -as by the poles from rudimentary Christian ethic. But though the mills -of God grind slowly they grind exceeding small, as the fate of the -great bell was to prove. - -In the spring of 1918, owing to the acute shortage of metal, the -Kaiser-Glocke shared the doom of many other of the fine Cologne church -bells. To-day its great chamber stands bare and empty. The people of -the town were in despair. The passing of the bell was to them a symbol -of the passing of victory. But the grim needs of the hour in the matter -of munitions had to be met at any cost. Born of the things of death, to -the things of death the bell returned. Reconverted into a gun, and lost -on the Western Front--was ever warning more sombre as to the vanity of -human desires and the perils which wait on human arrogance? - -As to the architectural merits of the cathedral, opinion is and is -likely to remain divided. To me at least the exterior is thoroughly -unsatisfactory. Especially when viewed from a distance the proportions -though massive are ungainly. It dominates the plain by its size, an -unwieldy colossus too high for its length. The openwork spires sit -heavily on the towers, and lack the great élan and heavenward spring -of buildings such as Chartres or Salisbury. But the interior is a -different matter. I cannot explain why proportions which externally -fail to satisfy are harmonious and beautiful within. The choir, the -apse, the long forest of columns carrying the nave, the spring of -the vast western arch between the towers--all this is Gothic in its -strength and beauty. The splendid glass of the north aisle has vanished -temporarily. It was taken down during the air-raids period, and the -hour of its restoration is likely to tarry. Much of the remaining glass -is poor and modern, and the general effect of the nave suffers severely -from this fact. - -In the course of months I have learnt to know Cologne Cathedral -intimately and under many different aspects. It is what a cathedral -should be, the central pulse of the religious life of the town. Unlike -the barren preaching houses to which Protestantism has reduced the old -Gothic churches, the great building has warmth and atmosphere. Before -the shrines and altars, at all hours throughout the day, rich and poor -alike may be found at prayer. Sometimes I have seen three or four -little children come in shyly, hand in hand, and kneel down before the -High Altar. Then, having fulfilled the duty with which they have been -clearly charged by their elders, they may be found outside a moment -later, chattering and playing, on the great flight of steps leading -down to the square. Sometimes peasant women with their market baskets -will come in for a moment and bend low before the Mother of God. Under -the coloured scarves are humble patient faces, lined with care and -want. The heavy baskets rest for a brief space on the broad pavement of -the aisle as these poor children of the soil, kneeling among the fruits -of their labours, raise inarticulate prayers to heaven. - -At no point can the German character produce contradictions so supreme -as over the question of religion. The extent to which the practice of -religion, however exact and devout, can remain external to a man’s life -is an unhappy fact with which all religious systems and creeds are too -familiar. Germany perhaps supplies the supreme example. But to any one -like myself who has seen a good deal of Catholic worship in Germany, -the puzzle is necessarily acute. In no country of the world, certainly -in no Catholic country, have I ever found myself among congregations -so earnest and so devout. Catholicism in the Rhineland has a touch of -almost Protestant austerity, thanks to which its services are wholly -devoid of the tawdry fripperies which will often make the hearing -of Mass, say in Italy or in parts of France, seem perfunctory and -insincere. In Catholic Germany the services strike a note of great -dignity and reverence. There is no talking, no moving about, no coming -and going. Among the thousands of English people who have passed -through Cologne since the Occupation, few have any knowledge of the -extraordinary congregations which, Sunday after Sunday, fill the -cathedral to overflowing; congregations three parts composed of men of -all ages and conditions. A Franciscan monk, Father Dionysius, whose -fame is widely spread throughout the Rhineland, holds these great -congregations spellbound week by week. - -Men of God, those sons of the Spirit who arise wherever the Spirit -listeth, transcend all limits of race and creed and clime. To that rare -company this German monk belongs. An orator of the first rank, it is -not his oratory which compels, but the nobility of his personality and -the purely spiritual appeal of his doctrine. The face is not typically -ecclesiastical--it is too broad, too fine, too human. It has humour -also, for the Father can use at will the lash of a fine irony. - -It may not be popular to attribute such qualities to a German. “How can -you go and listen to one of these brutes?” is a remark more than once -addressed to me in Cologne. But in putting on record my impressions -of Germany, it is not my object to minister to race hatreds, but to -describe things good and bad alike as I saw them. The riddle of the -German at prayer is difficult indeed. We write him off as a brute and a -materialist. Yet will our own countrymen, artisans, professional men, -shopkeepers, stand for hours and listen to doctrines dealing with the -first principles of faith and of the things which concern a man’s soul? -What would be the feelings of the average Church of England clergyman -if, instead of a thin and depressing congregation mainly composed of -elderly ladies, men in the prime of life crowded out his church? For -great though the reputation of Father Dionysius, there is nothing -peculiar in the Dom services. Other churches are equally well attended -and equally full. The atmosphere is perfectly genuine and sincere. -There is nothing hypocritical about it. The people mean what they are -saying at the time they say it. And then before one’s eyes rises the -memory of a whole series of evil and ugly deeds--cruelty to prisoners, -callousness to suffering, arrogance, brutality, a cynical disregard of -the first principles which in any decent society regulate the relations -between man and man. Where has the application of religion gone wrong? -I have often wondered what the services in the Dom must have been -during the weeks when the full agony of defeat and surrender fell upon -the Germans--black hours for preacher and for congregation alike. - -The service at which Father Dionysius preaches on Sunday morning is -a short sung mass following on High Mass. There is no choir, but the -congregation themselves sing old German chorales while mass is going -on. Every seat in the nave is filled nearly an hour before the service -begins: to obtain standing room in the neighbourhood of the pulpit it -is necessary to be there at least twenty minutes beforehand. By the -time mass begins, the vast nave and side aisles of the cathedral are -crowded from the doors to the altar. The effect of the thousands of -voices singing the fine old German music in unison is without parallel -in my experience. No act of congregational worship in which I have ever -taken part can be compared with it. The music, soaring under the great -vaulted roof, seems to be caught up in the forest of arches and to -echo back again to earth. - - “Hier liegt vor Deiner Majestät - Im Staub die Christenschaar, - Das Herz zu Dir, o Gott, erhöht, - Die Augen zum Altar.” - -The service begins with this ancient chorale, and as voice after voice -joins in the effect is indescribable. During the solemn moments of -the mass practically the whole congregation kneels. Often as I have -watched some fat square-headed German singing the words of petition -and penitence, or bending humbly before the Host, I have asked myself -in utter bewilderment what it all means. How are we to reconcile the -discrepancy between the sincerity and devotion of such worshippers, and -the darker, more sinister sides of the German character? The Rhineland, -a Catholic country civilised originally by ancient Rome, is not -Prussia. But it is thoroughly German in sentiment and outlook. “Pious -Cologne” had a bad reputation for the treatment of our prisoners. I -have known personally two officers who were spat upon by well-dressed -women in the railway station. Stories well attested were told me of -wounded prisoners who were insulted when marched through the streets. -Many cases of cruelty, often of gross cruelty, are proved. To shut our -eyes to such facts, or to minimise them, is as foolish as to write -off the whole German people as bred of Beelzebub. The passions roused -by years of bitter warfare do not subside with any formal signing of -peace. Yet to see things steadily, and to see them whole, is of all -difficult principles the most essential in our relations with Germany. - -The future of Europe and of Western civilisation largely turns on -our power to place these discrepant facts side by side, to recognise -that both are true and then to strike some balance between them. It -is extraordinarily difficult to judge what the incidence of brutality -was among the Germans during the war; how far it was natural, how -far deliberately stimulated by those in authority. Our own gallant -Hun hunters, who glowed with patriotic pride and satisfaction over -the persecution of some wretched hairdresser or inoffensive nursery -governess, are a sorry proof as to the ease with which vile instincts -can be cultivated and spread. The overwhelming majority of the English -in Cologne arrive with rigid ready-made ideas about the country and -people, and they do not part from them willingly. They feel it below -their dignity to study the Boche dispassionately, to watch him at work, -at play, at prayer. But if we are concerned in this distracted world -not to rest perpetually in the barren measures of strife, then it may -be worth while to consider dispassionately what qualities the Germans -possess which hold out some hope for the future. From this aspect it -seems to me that Cologne Cathedral and its congregations are worthy of -attention. The heart of every man is an altar, neglected, desecrated -perhaps, but never forfeiting its right to serve the divine purpose. -The sacred fire may burn low, but so long as one votary remains, holden -though his eyes may be, the fire can never know extinction. A spark -from heaven may fall again upon the ashes so that they blaze upwards -into a pure light of truth and knowledge. Is it for us to say that no -such spark can fall, that the shrine must remain forever unworthy? - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -ON THE DOM PLATZ - - -If the Dom is the central point of the religious life of Cologne, the -Dom Platz is no less the central point of official and ceremonial -life in the town. During the last eighteen months the massive towers -of the cathedral have looked down on strange and, to German eyes, -unwelcome scenes. It is all part of the German temperament to have a -great affection for reviews, and parades, and processions. What is -obvious and pompous makes a real appeal. When in old days the Uhlans -clattered down the street and sabres were rattled, the average German -standing meekly on the pavement was filled with pride at this visible -demonstration of “Weltmacht.” Among the minor trials of the Occupation, -the absence of the great military displays common under the old régime -has been a sorrow to the natives of Cologne. One morning a military -band struck up under the windows where I was talking with my Fräulein. -She nearly jumped from her seat and I saw her eyes fill with tears: “We -had such wonderful bands in old days,” she said sadly. But the large -majority of her fellow-citizens are less sensitive. “Quand on n’a pas -ce que l’on aime il faut aimer ce que l’on a”--a sensible doctrine on -which apparently the Boche acts. For his habit of turning up in large -numbers at every function held by the English on the cathedral square -is sufficiently surprising. - -Can we imagine a German parade held in front of Buckingham Palace -to which the inhabitants of London would flock? We should, full of -rage and mortification, be burying our heads and ears in the remotest -quarters of the suburbs. But the Germans, in this as in other respects -so strangely constituted, have apparently no feelings on the subject. -They attend in large numbers and follow the proceedings with deep -interest. On occasions when I have been among the crowd myself, I have -not seen or heard any signs of hostility. In early days the conscript -Army of the Occupation was hardly up to the standard which Prussianism -had exacted of its legions. But criticism at least was never audible. -There have been reviews in later times on the Dom Platz which could -hold their own with any of the past. Often have I longed to see what -was going on inside the shaved square heads of the spectators as -the British troops marched by. What were the Germans thinking about -these trained and disciplined men belonging to the conquering Army -they had been taught to despise? For how great a gamut of failure and -disillusion these khaki-clad ranks must stand! - -The Tanks are always impressive as they lumber along, menacing as -some prehistoric monster. They must be unpleasant objects to meet on -the battlefield if your side does not happen to hold the counter to -them. Many German eyes follow them as they waddle about the square. In -lighter vein, the Highlanders, as always abroad, excite a great deal -of interest. “We saw your Scottish troops,” is the invariable remark -after a review, and then follow endless inquiries as to the why and -wherefore of such extraordinary clothes. A ring of Germans at a race -meeting collected round the very excellent band of the Black Watch and -applauding the music is a memory which survives. In the early days of -the Occupation it was an order to salute the colours and remove hats -when God Save the King was played. But though the order has long since -been repealed the habit persists. The large majority of German hats -come off when the National Anthem begins. With a different government -and ideals a people so tractable might have been led in a direction -widely different from that which has overwhelmed themselves and others -in ruin. - -Many striking ceremonies have been held in the Dom Platz under English -rule. Great figures and great names concerned with the making of -history have played their parts in them. We have welcomed the generals -to whom France owes her salvation--Joffre, who came unofficially and -seemed a little bored at being shown off; Foch, the conqueror, who -arrived early one cold spring morning only to find Germans, anxious -to have a look at him, clinging figuratively to every crocket of the -cathedral. Photographers are busy on these occasions; very interesting -is a picture of Marshal Joffre and Sir William Robertson standing alone -together on the north terrace of the cathedral. The steps were strewn -at the moment with unhewn blocks of stone brought there for restoration -purposes. The stone, solid and rugged, seemed to symbolise the -characters of both men--soldiers not easily moved from their purpose -or their duty. We have received the Army Council in state, and the -politicians have looked at the crowd and the crowd at the politicians. -Mr. Winston Churchill--grey frock coat and top hat to match--has been -duly admired. We have commemorated great events and decorated our -brothers in arms among the Allied Armies. Then on the morrow, in -sharp contrast to the military display; may follow some great Catholic -ceremonial, wholly German in character. - -Religious processions lend much variety and colour to street life in -Cologne. Throughout the summer months each parish has a procession -every Sunday morning; long rows of priests, nuns, children, and -parishioners walk through the streets carrying banners, flowers, and -emblems. The central point of the procession is the canopy under which -the priest carries the Host. Red-robed acolytes swing censers as they -move slowly along. Altars are erected at convenient halting points in -the streets, where prayers are said and hymns chanted. The pavement -is strewn with green boughs, houses are decorated, and the faithful -erect shrines with crucifixes, sacred images, candles, flowers, etc. -These local festivals culminate in the most famous of all Cologne -processions--that of Corpus Christi. On that day every ecclesiastic, -great and small, from the Archbishop downwards, as well as every -Catholic guild and society, take part in an elaborate and impressive -tour of the town. The vestments are of a gorgeous character. The -uniforms worn by the guilds are of quaint design and many-coloured. -The centuries roll backwards, and for a brief space the finger of the -Middle Ages touches the modern city. The procession concludes with -a service in the cathedral, and the great company of people winding -across the square with banners and emblems and passing up the steps -suggests some mediaeval picture. Religious processions are the only -German pageants which survive to-day on the Dom Platz. One event alone -on the square, brief but memorable, has concerned conquerors and -conquered alike--the first commemoration of the Armistice on 11th -November 1919. Yet of all my recollections of the square it remains the -most impressive. - - * * * * * - -A bitter morning with a blizzard driving across the river; snowflakes -drift disconsolately over the square, as though doubtful of trying -conclusions with the sombre pile of the cathedral surveying the scene -with gloomy aloofness. Under foot dirt and slush. From every corner of -the square whistles a wind which pierces through furs and coats. Yet -the usual crowd of German spectators are there, pressing as is their -wont on the ranks of the men in khaki who line the square. No less -crowded are the cathedral steps, on which stand a row of trumpeters. -I came late, to find to my surprise that my neighbours are nearly all -Germans. In spite of the dreadful weather there is little movement -among the crowd. People speak under their breath, as though in the -presence of some great solemnity. English and Germans alike, we are -thinking of our dead. For a moment we draw near to one another in the -consciousness of common sorrow, common loss, common pride. The snow -drives in our faces, the merciless wind searches out the shivering -crowd cowering under its umbrellas. - -Then the hour strikes, and a word of command rings out from the -half-obliterated square, where the khaki lines can be seen dimly -through the driving snow. Umbrellas are lowered; cruel though the -weather, German hats are all removed. A lad standing near me, obviously -cold and shivering, shows signs of keeping his cap on; an older -German man has it off in a moment. The trumpeters step forward on the -cathedral steps, and in a silence broken only by the moaning of the -wind the Last Post is heard. For most British folks those familiar -notes, which salute the sinking sun and say farewell to the dead, are -at all times full of poignant memory. But never surely have they been -heard under conditions more poignant than in the heart of an enemy town -on the first anniversary of the Armistice. Is it two minutes or two -hours that we stand in that unbroken silence--no sound, no murmur, no -movement from the dense crowd? For the men and women on the square, -be they British or German, what memories are packed into those tense -moments! The snow falls fitfully: again a word of command is heard: the -brief ceremony is over. - -So we salute our glorious dead, and who is ungenerous enough in such an -hour to withhold respect from the brave men among our foes who fell in -the service of their country doing their duty as simply as those whose -names and memories we cherish? “So long as men are doing their duty, -even if it be greatly under a misapprehension, they are leading pattern -lives,” writes Robert Louis Stevenson. Strife and bitterness belong to -the things temporal. We may rest assured that the heroes of all races -who meet and greet each other in Valhalla will drink without hatred in -their hearts from the cup of reconciliation. - - * * * * * - -Felix von Hartmann, Cardinal Archbishop of Cologne, is dead. For a week -he has lain in state in the crypt of the Gereonskirche, watched by day -and by night by monks and nuns who pray unceasingly for the repose of -his soul. Round the bier ablaze with candles pours a steady stream of -spectators and mourners. The faithful have come in their thousands to -bid farewell to the chief shepherd of the flock. For the Archbishop of -Cologne is the greatest ecclesiastical dignitary in Germany. Cologne -is the premier See, and in old days the rank of its Archbishop stood -second only to that of the Emperor; Cardinal von Hartmann’s death must -have stirred some painful memories in the breast of the Amerongen -exile. Emperor and Cardinal, despite their differences of faith, were -firm friends. Felix von Hartmann was a Prussian of the Prussians, and -united by many personal ties to the Kaiser. Even in death the face had -lost nothing of its pride and haughtiness. He looked every inch of a -Prince of the Church and a ruler of men as he lay at the last on his -bier. The gorgeous vestments, the pastoral staff, the great ring worn -on the red gloves covering the nerveless hands: all this was impressive -and dignified. But it was not a countenance even in the great calm of -death which bore much trace of the milder Christian virtues. - -Cardinal von Hartmann took a violently pro-national line about the -war. Race hatreds and animosities were fanned, not discouraged by him. -His correspondence with Cardinal Mercier shows how perfunctory were -his efforts as regards any alleviation of the lot of prisoners or the -civilian victims of the struggle. Bitterly anti-English, the proud -Prussian Cardinal must have suffered a full measure of humiliation when -he lived to see his cathedral city in British Occupation. Some Tommies -unacquainted with Catholic ritual, who saw him in the street one day -wearing a mitre and greeted him as Father Christmas, roused his special -ire. A man of war rather than a man of peace, the British authorities -were under no obligations to him as regards any assistance with their -task. Now he lies dead it falls to their lot, by an irony specially -cruel in the Archbishop’s case, to keep order at his funeral. - -In old days, so my Fräulein tells me, the funeral of an Archbishop -of Cologne was a tremendous event. The Emperor in all probability -would have attended in person. The occasion would have lent itself -to a great military display, soldiers lining the route, the Prussian -Guard adding lustre to the scene. Shorn of all its pomp and ceremony -must the occasion necessarily be in view of the Occupation. But it -was the weather which conspired to make a melancholy event still more -depressing. Never have I seen a more dismal ceremony than that of -the Archbishop’s funeral, which was held, of course, within the Dom. -Rain and sleet descended mercilessly, while squalls of wind swept -the square. The long procession of priests, monks, nuns, students, -and children was wet and draggled. The white-robed choristers and -the acolytes carrying ineffectual candles were no less dripping. -Particularly miserable looked a detachment of unfortunate orphan -children whose thin clothes and shoes were soaked by the penetrating -rain. The monks and nuns and other ecclesiastics had provided -themselves sensibly with umbrellas, but withal the wonderful vestments -with their lace and embroidery must have suffered severely. There is -always a wind on the Dom Platz, and to-day the angry gusts led to many -struggles between umbrellas and their holders. In default of soldiers -the numerous student guilds in their many-coloured uniforms had turned -out in force. They alone with their banners struck a note which varied -the drabness of the scene. But the pitiless rain beat down on them and -caused the gay flags to hang faded and colourless. It was as though -some wind devil had established itself opposite the main entrance -of the cathedral and was bent on plaguing the Archbishop’s mourners. -Banner after banner was caught by the wind and overthrown at that -point; portly ecclesiastics were swept off their feet; nuns held on -despairingly to their great white caps which threatened to fly away. -Despite the leaden sky and pouring rain the square was crowded with -spectators. - -Keeping the line were a few British Military Police mounted on their -fine grey horses. England is not given to pompous advertisements -of her strength, and the might of the Empire is symbolised rather -than represented by this handful of men. At the head of the whole -procession, as it wound its way singing solemn chants from the -Gereonskirche to the cathedral, rode a detachment of the same mounted -police. As the familiar grey horses appeared, who could fail to -reflect on the ironical staging of events in which Fate so often seems -to delight? It is not only that the accounts are balanced. A spirit -of fine mockery appears not infrequently over the audit. That the -police of the detested enemy power should clear the way when Cardinal -von Hartmann of all men was carried to his last resting-place, is a -circumstance to give pause to the proud when life flows apparently in -prosperous channels. - -At last came the modest black bier, drawn by two decrepit-looking -horses, in which the coffin of the Cardinal was placed. As was becoming -in a Prince of the Church, there were no flowers or decorations of -any kind. A group of high ecclesiastics surrounded the bier, and the -melancholy chanting of the choristers, together with the prayers -of the priests, rose like incense to the grey unfriendly heaven. -Everything was wet and cold and drab and shabby. Perhaps the most -dismal touch in a dismal ceremonial was the unusual sight of two German -officers in full uniform who walked behind the coffin. They had come -by permission from the Bridgehead to do honour to the Archbishop. -These forlorn-looking representatives of the broken military power, -what bitter memories the situation must hold for them as they find -themselves face to face with the khaki police keeping order in Cologne! - -The bier halted before the west door of the Dom. Black-robed monks -carried the coffin swiftly up the steps. As it passed within the great -main portal the thick black line of the spectators broke at last, -and a vast crowd of people poured across the square and followed the -procession through the open doors into the cathedral. The crowd was -so dense that you might have thought all Cologne was on the square. -Yet the vast Dom had no difficulty in absorbing the mass of men and -women who flocked up the steps and disappeared within. When shortly -afterwards I made my own way across to the cathedral, there was still -ample room in the nave to move about freely. The choir was hung in -black and silver and myriad electric lights defined the exquisite -outlines of the pointed arches. The coffin rested under a black and -silver catafalque. Everything was severe and dignified without one -tawdry note. The solemn funeral mass was very lengthy. A brother bishop -preached about the virtues and qualities of the dead Cardinal. Then at -a given moment all the bells--those that remain of the cathedral--were -tolled, and from every church in Cologne bells tolled in reply. The -coffin had been lowered to its resting-place near the High Altar; Felix -von Hartmann had vanished forever from the scene of his labours. The -weather, whimsical to the last, had changed its mind while the service -was going on. I came out into bright sunshine on the cathedral steps. -Having ruined the procession and soaked the pious, it was now pleased -to be fine. - -Unfortunately I was not in Cologne for the more cheerful ceremony -of the enthronement of the new Archbishop, Dr. Schultz. Cardinal -von Hartmann’s successor is at present a somewhat unknown quantity -in public affairs. But if he lacks the commanding appearance and -aristocratic features of his predecessor, Dr. Schultz is in many ways -a more attractive personality. His face is wise and benevolent; a face -which gives the impression not only of goodness but of good sense. -Republican rule in Germany must result in many changes in the relations -of the Church and State. Hot controversy already rages about various -points, in particular the burning question of religious education -in the schools. That men of wisdom and moderation should hold high -positions in Germany is a matter of importance, not only to their own -country but to the Allies as well. Honesty and goodwill on the part of -all concerned are essential to the growth of a better understanding. If -the new Archbishop of Cologne can make some contribution to this end, -he will have deserved well of his country and his church. - - - - -CHAPTER V - -BILLETS - - -Every billet has its crab. To that rule there is, I believe, no -exception. The crab may be physical or moral, but the crab exists. -Conquerors and conquered come up against each other in a peculiarly -intimate way when sheltered by the same roof. Stop and reflect on the -conditions under which we English live in German houses, and the marvel -is not that friction sometimes arises, but that friction is not chronic. - -Under the terms of the Peace Treaty the German authorities in the -Occupied Areas are bound to provide housing, light, and firing, -together with service, plate, and house linen, for Allied officers and -their families. The number of rooms allotted varies according to rank, -additional rooms if wanted must be paid for by the officer in question. -Into the middle of these German families, therefore, we arrive bag and -baggage, occupy by rights the principal rooms, while the owners squeeze -into the remainder as best they may. All of which is _la guerre_, and -when we reflect on the behaviour of the German armies in France and -Belgium, we can only feel that Cologne and the Rhineland have little -to grumble about. The war was not of our making, and between the two -alternatives of sitting in the German houses or the Germans sitting in -ours, naturally we prefer the former. - -German houses reveal a great deal about the German character. -The spirit of a people is bound to impress itself on their daily -surroundings, and German virtues and German faults are writ large -over the residential quarters of Cologne. On the material side the -houses are admirable. They are sound, well-built, excellent examples -of good solid workmanship. Excellent too are all the material -appointments. Hot and cold water, baths, electric light, first-rate -kitchen apparatus--every practical comfort and convenience exists which -simplifies life for the housewife. Central heating is the rule. There -are no fires or fireplaces, though some houses have an open grate in -the principal room for auxiliary gas, or wood. At first the hearthless -rooms are very cheerless, but by degrees you discover virtue in the -even temperature of the house. Also the saving in dirt and the saving -in labour are considerable. No less excellent are all the fittings, -window sashes, doors, floors, etc. Everything dovetails perfectly; -there are no draughts, no signs of jerry-building. All that is material -is handled with complete efficiency. - -But beauty--here we come to the ground with a crash. Never were houses, -taking them all round, so ugly and so devoid of taste. The furniture -and pictures give one a pain across the eyes. _Objets d’art_, costly -and incongruous, are jumbled together in the wildest confusion. I have -been in drawing-rooms in which Flemish tapestries, Japanese lacquer, -Louis XV. chairs, Meshrebiya work from Cairo, Indian embroideries, -bastard Jacobean chairs, Chinese dragons, and modern Dresden -shepherdesses were locked together in a deadly conflict to which the -Hindenburg line must have been child’s play. Robust oil paintings -usually look down on the struggle. Admirable though the German taste -in music, the race appears to be without eyes as regards the plastic -arts. The degree to which the things of the spirit have atrophied in -modern Germany is writ large across these dwelling-places. In their -material excellence, as in their aesthetic failures, they are a true -touchstone of the race. - -Meanwhile, surely no Army of Occupation was ever so well housed or -so comfortable as we are. Human nature being what it is, competition -about billets is naturally keen. _Beati possidentes_ is the happy -state of those who have secured the best accommodation in the palaces -of the local plutocracy. Yet withal some of us never shake off a -sense of discomfort and oppression as regards conditions of life so -radically artificial. There is something very depressing in the general -atmosphere of a conquered people. Even when your personal relations -with the German household are pleasant, the feeling remains. Too -great a stream of blood and tears has flowed between the Germans and -ourselves. It is impossible to forget the sufferings and trials which -have led up to our presence on the Rhine, even though the sufferings -are not confined to one side. A very small grain of imagination is -necessary in order to realise what a military occupation would have -meant to us. Admittedly, if the war had come to a different end, we -should have felt to the full the weight of the Prussian jackboot. The -Boche as a conqueror can be intolerable--swollen-headed, swaggering, -brutal. Victory would have intensified tenfold every bad quality the -race possesses. But leaving aside any question of personal outrage -and indignity, what should we have felt as to the hard fact of the -conqueror established on our hearths, even though the conqueror -brought with him standards of justice and decent behaviour? - -Let us imagine our houses invaded by Prussian officers who would have -demanded as by right the best rooms and the best appointments. Let -us further imagine they bring German servants, who are installed in -the basement and have to work somehow with our English maids. I often -ponder the situation in the terms of my own household. What I always -feel is that, hard though it would have been to endure the presence -of the officers, the final straw would have been the arrival of their -womenkind and children. The invasion of one’s home by fat German Fraus -would have proved the final and most bitter filling up of the cup. As -a race we should have taken the inevitable billeting consequences of -an occupation ill indeed. Conflicts would have been numerous, and the -heavy Prussian hand would have driven us down into even lower depths of -misery. - -Now nothing of this sort exists in Cologne. Primarily the English are -not Germans, and cordially though many of them detest the Boche, the -English sense of decency and fair play checks any furtive growths of -Prussianism among our own people. The average English person in Cologne -is not concerned to ruffle it as a conqueror, but to enjoy life as much -as possible under conditions so pleasant and so comfortable. But also -the Germans are not English, and it is all part of the mental equipment -of these people that they accept, quite as a matter of course, -conditions which would drive us frantic. Nothing has surprised me more -than the philosophy with which they endure our presence. Detestable -as conquerors, they behave exceedingly well as conquered. I can only -conclude this attitude is all part of the war game to which they have -been trained. They play to win and are ruthless when the prizes fall to -their lot. But equally they are taught to take defeat without whining, -and to accept its trials as a matter of course. The Germans of the -Occupied Area have been, generally speaking, correct and dignified in -their attitude. They are neither subservient nor aggressive. Their lack -of imagination as a race, and the three extra skins of which I have -spoken elsewhere, no doubt help them over situations which would be -unendurable to more sensitive people. - -But I must repeat every billet has its crab. English society in Cologne -is provided with two standing subjects of small talk unknown to us at -home. The hard-worked weather is able to have a rest while we discuss -in detail the shortcomings and idiosyncrasies of our Fraus or the -hideousness of the furniture in our billets. “What a trial for you to -have to live with these dreadful pictures,” is a common gambit when you -go out to tea. As I have said before, the utter lack of taste of the -average German house is apt to hit you between the eyes, and not only -do we examine each other’s billets with care, but criticism is audible. - -It is to be hoped that the habit will not become chronic. Otherwise -some of us who are absent-minded will be in difficulties when we return -home. I can see myself looking round the ugly house of a dear friend -and remarking genially, “What shocking taste the people who live here -must have--did you ever see such ghastly furniture?” - -But if we on our side discuss our Fraus, assuredly the Fraus at -their various Kaffee-Klatsches discuss their English lodgers just as -thoroughly. Much shaking of heads and mutual commiseration must take -place as the cups go round. I have no doubt that one story caps another -as regards the enormities of the batmen, the dirt and breakages in -the kitchen, and the general fecklessness and irresponsibility of the -English women whose days are spent not in housework but in pleasure. - -Our personal billeting experiences have been fortunate. The house in -which we have lived for many months is small as Cologne houses go, but -very comfortable. As I have said before, the German house may fail in -taste, but it does not fail in the practical advantages of electric -light and bathrooms. Our Frau is a widow, a slight, dark, nervous -woman more French than German in appearance. She knows her Europe, -and travelled annually before the war in Italy and France. French is -the language in which we converse. Her attitude towards us was from -the first entirely correct and civil; as time went on it has become -friendly and pleasant. Insensibly human and personal relations grow -up when people live together month after month under the same roof. -I shall be sorry to say good-bye, and I hope her recollections of us -will not be unpleasant. But despite her politeness and self-control, -I have always felt that few women in Cologne can be more tried by the -fact of having strangers billeted on her. A housewife with an almost -fanatical sense of cleanliness and order, engaged from morning till -night in cleaning and tidying, the advent of the English soldiery must -have been a burthen hard to bear. Yet like all her race, she accepts -the situation outwardly with calm whatever her inner feelings. She was -inclined to welcome our advent as we succeeded a mess, and to have a -mess in your house is to the German Hausfrau a circle of Inferno to -which there is only one lower stage--having black troops put in. - -But if our relations with Madame have always been pleasant, and I am -indebted to her for many small acts of kindness, heavy weather has -obtained not infrequently below stairs. The crab of our billet is -Gertrude, the cross cook who has lived with Madame for many years, -and has great weight with her. Gertrude is a lump of respectability, -virtue, and disagreeableness. She hates the English with a complete -and deadly hatred, and she leaves no stone unturned to make things -uncomfortable in the basement. Hence a series of fierce feuds with -a succession of soldier servants. I admit the soldier servant is -apt to be a trial. How can he be otherwise? Domestic service is a -skilled art, and the Army can hardly be regarded as a school for house -parlourmaids. I am grieved to say that there is no guile or deception -to which an officer will not stoop to secure, by fair means or foul, -a batman trained in a pantry. One pearl of great price have I known, -an exception to all rules. But good fellows though many of them are, -the average batman is apt to be casual and inefficient. His execution -among glass and crockery is deadly. I have often wondered, judging from -the weekly holocaust, whether it is a rule among soldier servants to -play Aunt Sally in the basement with the tall thin-stemmed German wine -glasses whose days are so brief and evil. Withal they are generally -good-tempered fellows, and in many houses get on quite well with the -German servants. - -But naturally no Englishman is prepared to receive back-chat from -a cross Hun. Consequently in the basement sector of our own house -skirmishing is chronic. For some time Gertrude cooked for us, but -as her culinary performances were very moderate, it was no sorrow -when one day, after a pitched battle below stairs--a battle of such -intensity that murmurs of the strife floated up to us even through the -well-fitting doors--she flung down her pots and pans and declared she -would roast and boil no more. Since then we have had our own German -cook, who has played the part of buffer state between the contending -camps, and a far greater measure of peace has prevailed. But all this -makes an undercurrent of unpleasantness which reveals how thin is -the crust of conventionality on the top of which we live. Gertrude, -when the storms were at their worst, never failed to us personally in -respect and good manners, but her unfriendly face, sour and virtuous, -is a trial about the house. She comes from Düren, which was heavily -bombed during the war. Though the Germans initiated air raids, the -return of these particular chickens to roost filled them with panic and -disgust. Perhaps life has been embittered for Gertrude by the numerous -evenings spent in the cellar. Anyway she is an example of the German -character in its most unpleasant aspect. - -But even in our billet the housemaid, Clara, shows how impossible it -is to generalise about the Germans. Clara, a great strapping wench -twenty-three years old, is as amiable and as good-tempered as Gertrude -is the reverse. Friendly and pleasant, her beaming face puts a smile -on the morning. No trouble is too great for her. First-rate at her -work--she never stops all day--she is at any time prepared to do all -manner of extraneous jobs for me quite outside her duties. A girl of -better disposition I have never come across, simple and sincere. Clara -has just become engaged to a carpenter, and naturally the household -has been in a state of sympathetic flutter over this affair of the -heart. Clara has confided to me many of her doubts and fears on the -subject of matrimony. Apparently her own parents were not a united -couple, a fact which gave her pause. However, her sister had made a -happy marriage, and the numerous perfections of Hermann at last won the -day. - -The ceremony of being “verlobt” was carried out recently at Essen--the -home of the married sister. One wedding day is enough for most people. -Not so the German, who manages to wring two ceremonies out of the -event. The wedding day is preceded by a family gathering, when the -couple are formally betrothed. The wedding ring is solemnly placed -on the left hand, to be worn there throughout the engagement, till -on marriage it is transferred to the right hand. To break off an -engagement once “verlobt” is almost as disgraceful as a divorce. Clara -must have looked like a rainbow on this great occasion, judging by the -description she gave me of the various colours in her hat and gown. -In thoroughly German fashion, food figured prominently in her account -of this wonderful day. I suspect that a wish to get two copious meals -instead of one out of a marriage lies at the root of the betrothal -customs. “Wir haben so gut gegessen und getrunken,” she said with a -sigh of happy recollection. - -Prices are too high, household effects too costly to admit of immediate -matrimony, a fact for which Madame is very thankful. Madame thoroughly -appreciates Clara’s good qualities, and views the worthy Hermann with -nothing but hostility. If only some brave man would carry off Gertrude! -But there are limits to human courage, and Gertrude’s face is a -barrier to adventures of the heart on the part of the stoutest would-be -Bräutigam. - -When living in a German household it is very necessary to lay down -quite firm and definite rules as to your relations with the family. -It is unfortunately true that the average German would misunderstand -kindness and consideration, unless it is also made perfectly clear that -certain things must be done and one will tolerate no nonsense. A great -deal of “trying on” takes place in various billets, and it never does -to give way. Frontiers should be marked out with exactness, and adhered -to no less exactly. A race trained to obedience, the Germans understand -an order when they would take advantage of a hesitating request. It is -necessary in self-defence to accept their mentality in this respect. -The British point of scruple arises in putting forward nothing that -is unfair or unjust. On this basis it is possible to live on pleasant -terms with the German occupiers. People’s billeting experiences vary, -of course, considerably. In many cases they are the reflection of their -own temperament. Some people adapt themselves to the new conditions -and handle them sensibly. Others are always in trouble and are full of -grievances about the incivility of their Fraus. - -The Germans for whom I have the least sympathy in billeting matters -are the owners of the really large houses. Very few members of the -former governing class are to be found in the Occupied Area, but the -few who remain are disagreeable people. The working-classes speak -bitterly of their selfishness during the war and class arrogance under -the old régime. These are the people who fostered and fomented all -that was arrogant and offensive in latter-day German policy, and it -is entirely just and seemly that the British Army should enjoy the -comforts of their luxurious mansions. In an encounter of which I heard -between a batman and a German baroness lies the whole philosophy of -the Occupation. The baroness was discovered by the officer’s wife -billeted in her house speechless with rage. Never in her life, so she -declared, had she been so insulted. Inquiries were made--batmen and -English servants are not allowed to be rude to German householders. It -then transpired that the lady, who after the manner of German Fraus -was in the habit of haunting her basement at odd hours, found one -afternoon two English soldiers belonging to the household sliding on -the back stairs and whistling. The lady spoke sharply and told them -that whistling and sliding on the banisters were “verboten.” Whereupon -Thomas Atkins, genial and undefeated, his hand on the stair rail, -turned to the angry baroness and remarked pleasantly, “Aye, missus, but -yer should have won the war, and then yer could have come and slid down -our back stairs and whistled.” - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -CHRISTMAS IN COLOGNE - -_Xmas 1919_ - - -Christmas-time in Germany! I am haunted by the recollection of the -beautiful passage in Mr. Clutton Brock’s _Thoughts on the War_, a book -which many of us read when no improbability seemed greater than that -of spending Christmas in Cologne in the wake of a British Army of -Occupation: “Forget for a moment the war and wasted Belgium and the -ruins of Rheims Cathedral, and think of Germany and all that she means -to the mind among the nations of Europe. She means cradle songs and -fairy stories and Christmas in old moonlit towns, and a queer, simple -tenderness always childish and musical with philosophers who could -forget the world in thought like children that play, and musicians who -could laugh suddenly like children through all their profundities of -sound.” - -In this same essay Mr. Clutton Brock goes on to say how these Germans -of the past were always spoken of as “the good Germans,” and the world -admired their innocence and imposed upon it. Finally they grew tired of -being imposed upon, so they determined to put off their childishness -and take their place among the strong nations of the world. What the -consequences of that change of attitude have been we all know too -well. The good Germans--the simple people who were bullied by their -neighbours till they made up their minds to be clever and worldly! If -this be the right reading of history, what an immeasurable weight is -added to the whole tragedy of the war. - -It is to that older, more homely Germany one’s thoughts turn at -Christmastide. Our Christmas customs are largely German in origin. -Christmas trees and candles, Santa Claus with his bag of gifts--all -these things are in full swing here. Which of us as a child has not -thrilled over _Grimm’s Fairy Tales_? And German toys! Not for a moment -would patriotism allow us to confess it, but at heart we know we have -missed, and continue to miss very badly, the tin soldiers and other -varied delights which in old days reached us from the Fatherland. -Cologne before Christmas was placarded by a German peace society, -begging parents not to rouse military instincts in their children by -giving them tin soldiers. The notice was a curious illustration of the -many varied opinions surging upwards in Germany to-day, none of which -would have dared to find expression under the old régime. But Germany -has certainly not disowned its militarism up to the point of perfection -aimed at by the enthusiasts of the peace society in question. The -Cologne community as a whole made merry over this appeal, and certainly -the sale of tin soldiers in the shops did not seem to be affected by -it. Never were toy shops so enchanting and fascinating as those of -the Höhe Strasse and the Breite Strasse in their Christmas finery. -I flattened my nose forlornly against the plate-glass windows, and -mourned over the fact that the total of summers and winters standing to -my account removed these delights beyond my reach. Troops of excited -children flocked in and round the shops, but for many a German child -the matter ended there. Whatever benefits we English may gain by a low -exchange, the price of toys in marks this winter makes them prohibitive -to all except the well-to-do and the “Schiebers,” the expressive name -for profiteers. - -The German child normally is in a stronger position about Christmas -than the English child, for in this country there are two great -days for presents and festivities. Early in December arrives St. -Nicholas, bringing with him cakes and nuts and sweets. His visits are -paid, of course, during the night, and shoes and stockings are, with -the hopefulness of youth, left by the bedside for him to fill. On -Christmas Day is the Christmas tree with further cakes and presents and -delights. German brutality is always difficult to understand in view -of the position held by the children and the obvious wealth of care -and affection lavished on them. For in even greater measure than in -England is Christmas the children’s feast. During the holiday season -the affairs of their elders are temporarily suspended, while the -latter devote themselves to a round of juvenile gaiety and amusement. -Children’s plays appear at the theatre, even the Opera House abandons -Mozart and Wagner and gives special performances of _Hänsel und Gretel_ -for the benefit of juvenile audiences. - -I have no recollection of Germany more pleasant than that of the Opera -House filled in Christmas week with a crowd of excited children come -to listen to Humperdinck’s delightful play. The white frocks filled -stalls and boxes like petals of a great bouquet. Large bows of ribbon -on the fair heads fluttered like banners in a breeze as the adventures -of Hänsel and Gretel and the witch were followed with shrieks of -excitement. On one side of me sat a little English girl, holding on -tight to her chair so as not to spring out of it altogether; on the -other, a little German girl, with a hand thrust firmly into her mouth -in order to secure some measure of silence. But as the adventures -of the play deepened, the situation proved too much for my small -neighbour, who flung herself finally with cries of excitement into -her mother’s arms. I envied the actors their audience. It must have -been a joy to play in an atmosphere of such entire appreciation. When -the culminating moment is reached, and clever Hänsel pops the wicked -witch into the oven destined for the children, squeals of joy broke -out all over the theatre: squeals only to be renewed in intensity -when the oven door was reopened and the witch brought out cooked and -browned in the shape of an enormous gingerbread. Let us be thankful -for the unconsciousness of childhood, keeping alive in the world great -treasures of joy and laughter, when the grim realities of post-war -Europe oppress our souls. - -But if the toy shops and the theatres and the excitement of the -children leave nothing to be desired, the weather has refused to play. -Never can I remember so damp and dripping and sodden a Christmas. -Our cold snap came in November. Then for a brief space we had frosts -and red sunsets: those pre-Christmas sunsets when the German mother -with a quaint materialism tells her children that “das Christ-kind -bäckt”--the Christ Child is baking cakes for Christmas. But there was -little baking this year on the part of the Christ Child. Fog and rain -enveloped Cologne for days beforehand in a damp and dripping mantle. In -a foreign land I found myself missing the hundred and one small duties -which at home have to be carried out at Christmas. It is dull work -ordering your presents by post. Even so it was all done, and unless -I went out in the wet and looked at the toy shops there was nothing -to show Christmas was at hand. Finally I was struck by a bright idea. -Why shouldn’t we have a Christmas tree? Yes, and presents for the -household, including the cross cook. Peace has been signed, and it is -the season of peace and goodwill: so why not? - -First of all I sounded Maria--this was before the days of the -good-tempered Clara. Why shouldn’t we have a Christmas tree--every -other house in the street was getting ready for one? Maria’s eyes -glistened: she had had no Christmas tree since the war, to see one -again would be a joy indeed. Yes, most certainly she would undertake to -buy a suitable tree if I wanted one. My next business was to sound our -Frau. She too lent a favourable ear to my proposal. No, they had had no -Christmas tree since the war, but it would be pleasant to begin again. -She had plenty of decorations and candle-holders and would be glad to -lend them to me. Madame was as good as her word, and produced boxes of -crystal balls and coloured tinsels and a solid wood block into which -the tree could be fixed. Throughout a wet and gloomy afternoon Maria -and I saw to the decorations, and on Christmas Eve the tree was lit -up and our mixed household held a short and curious gathering in the -dining-room. - -Whatever faults may be urged against the Germans, they are certainly -not lacking in a considerable measure of personal dignity. The -attitude of our Frau and her maids was everything that was correct. -They received their small gifts with pleasure and praised the English -Christmas cake, slices of which were handed round. We exchanged -greetings and good wishes for Christmas and the coming year, and -the tree with its candles and tinsel bravery was an object of much -admiration. But could the inner thoughts of any one of us in the room -have been revealed, how strange and painful must the texture have -proved! - -Of one thing I am certain: the surface of courtesy and amenity -between us and our foes has to be restored little by little if we are -aiming at a future, however distant, purged of hatred and revenge. -The first tentative experiments can only be made between individuals -whose circumstances have flung them, like our Madame and ourselves, -into a personal relationship which is not unfriendly. As I have said -elsewhere, it is easy to hate the abstraction called Germany, but for -individual Germans one feels either like, dislike, or indifference the -same as for other people. But the growth of a better understanding is -likely to be slow and laborious. Even when individuals as individuals -do not hate each other, events have dug a chasm between the two -nations. The Germans are so curiously insensitive, it is always -difficult to realise if they feel things as we should feel them -ourselves. But the three German women who had had no Christmas tree -since the war and now were looking at a Christmas tree provided by an -English woman--what did the situation mean for them? Though obviously -pleased with their gifts and the little ceremony, the khaki uniforms -in the room spoke of conquest, defeat, overthrow. And for us too there -came a flood of memories, memories of friends lost, of young lives cut -down in their prime, of homes in England left stricken and empty this -Christmastide because the monstrous ambitions of Germany’s rulers would -have it so. And even as we talked and exchanged the old Christmas -messages of peace and drank each other’s health, the room and the tree -and the candles all seemed to vanish, and in their place I saw the grey -desolation and havoc of Flanders, lines of dim figures advancing to -attack, rows of graves, silent, mournful. - -But if these things are not to have their repetition in a future still -more awful than the present we have known, somehow, some way, men must -learn the message of Christmas, hard though it be in our distracted -world, “Peace on earth, goodwill towards men.” But for once in a way -the Revised Version has stepped in with a deeper, more beautiful -meaning than that of the old familiar words, “Peace on earth to men -of good will.” Peace is not a casual condition. It does not arise -automatically when the roar of cannon dies away. It implies effort, -sacrifice, and consistent spiritual purpose. Treaties and protocols -cannot secure it; without goodwill peace is stillborn. We went through -the trials of the war with a high heart and a great endurance. Are our -hearts high enough for the final adventure of goodwill? - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -THE BERGISCHE LAND - - -One of the real advantages of life in Cologne is the charm of the -surrounding neighbourhood. Not that the neighbourhood to which I refer -is near at hand or very accessible except by train or by motor car. -Cologne lies in the centre of a great fertile plain, through which the -Rhine flows nobly in that last stage of its career before entering the -mud flats of Holland. At a distance varying from ten to fifteen miles -the plain east and west is bounded by a chain of low hills broken up, -especially on the eastern side, by delicious valleys. Here are woods -and trout streams, meadows and flowers. No district with which I am -acquainted is more adapted to walks, delightful without being arduous, -or to longer expeditions by motor. These low hills commanding the plain -abound in views of extraordinary vastness and extent. The hills are so -easily climbed! Yet from their summits the wanderer has the impression -that the kingdoms of the earth lie spread at his feet. For very little -real exertion, therefore, he has the impression of having mastered some -Alpine peak--an observation for which I hope I may be pardoned by any -member of the Alpine Club. - -From the eastern ridge, known as the Bergische Land, the sunset view -is one of special beauty. The cultivated slopes and pasture lands fall -away gently to the plain below, in spring fresh with the vivid green -of young grass or corn, in autumn rich with harvest gold. In the -distance, chimneys stretching north and south reveal the course of the -Rhine, whose waters are hidden from view. Far away to the left is the -outline of the Siebengebirge mounting guard over Bonn and the entrance -to the romantic reach of the stream known as the Rheingau. Above the -chimneys and the remote huddle of houses and factories, the twin spires -of Cologne Cathedral, their clumsiness softened by distance, raise -their symbol of man’s hope and aspiration to heaven. - -The low range lying on the west side of Cologne known as the -Vorgebirge is less attractive than the Bergische Land to the east. -Industry preponderates on this side, for the Vorgebirge is of special -importance owing to the famous black coal extracted from the hills. -Here is dug, without any apparatus of shafts or sinking, a special -brown deposit which, pressed and pounded, turns into the briquettes on -which Cologne relies for its light and heat. The presence in the near -neighbourhood of this ample supply of cheap fuel has been a factor of -the utmost importance in the commercial development of Cologne. We of -the Occupation have learnt to bless the black briquettes, which feed -the central heating in winter and give us abundant electric light -throughout the year. - -How well these people manage their industrialism! That is a reflection -borne in upon me time and again in the Rhineland. Prussianism, however -bad for the soul, was very efficient in the organisation of daily life. -Wages in Germany before the war were not high; the liberty and rights -of the worker were restricted in many directions. On the other hand, no -country in the world could approach Germany in the excellence of its -municipal organisation and the many advantages of the population as -regards public services. German authorities excelled in arrangements -concerned with health, communication, and amusement. Town planning and -building operations were controlled; cities were laid out and houses -built on lines destined to promote the welfare of the whole community. -The speculative builder was not allowed to wax fat at the expense of -his neighbours. Electric light is supplied even in small villages, and -an admirable service of trams and light railways brings the amenities -of life within reach of the poorest. - -Amusements are dealt with in a rational spirit, which makes for -happiness and self-respect. Cafés, beer gardens with concert rooms -attached, are decent places, where a man does not drink furtively but -takes his glass of wine or beer in the company of his family. Not -only have large towns a first-rate opera house and theatre, but good -music and good drama can be heard in quite small places. Industry in -particular has been brought to heel. Factory chimneys are not allowed -to pollute a district at will or to poison the air with noxious fumes. -A modern school of painters has taught us to see qualities of strength -and even beauty in certain aspects of industry. But those qualities -cannot be obvious to the working-class wife who has to struggle with -the intolerable grime and dirt produced. The strength of a nation -is rooted in the homes of a nation, and there are many districts in -England where no man can be proud of his home. Men and women whose lot -in life is cast in the Black Country, or who are forced to dwell in -the long, mean street of dirty houses which extends from Nottingham to -Leeds, might well envy the better conditions of existence which obtain -in Germany. - -I have never seen any information as to the stages of the Industrial -Revolution in Germany. Naturally it came at a later date than our own -and was able to benefit by our mistakes. But to what influence does it -owe a character so different? Here in the lower Rhineland there are big -industrial towns and great factories. These places are not beautiful, -but they lack the overpowering dirt and ugliness of the manufacturing -districts of Lancashire and Yorkshire. All along the lower Rhine one -factory succeeds another, but they consume their own smoke and fumes -and are not allowed to tyrannise over the district. Düsseldorf even -more than Cologne is a great manufacturing centre, and among other -industries has large machine and puddling works in its suburbs. But -the public gardens of the town, which are of great extent and beauty, -might be a hundred miles removed from a factory. Leverkusen, the great -dyeworks near Cologne, has the appearance of a model village. It is -all to the credit of Germany that she has not allowed herself to be -obsessed by that spirit of helpless fatalism which has descended on -too many of the manufacturing districts and towns in England. Men and -women’s lives are spent amid this grime, to the detriment of soul as -well as body. It is a valuable object lesson to learn that, granted -energy and a will to be clean, some of the drawbacks of an ugly -industrialism can be avoided for the workers. - -Lancashire and Yorkshire have one feature in common with the German -industrial centres on the lower Rhine. Both have their own beautiful -hinterland. The German hinterland in question has nothing so grand and -so austere to show as the great heather-clad moors and rugged dales -of Yorkshire and Derbyshire. But withal the rural districts of this -smiling Bergische Land, with its wooded valleys and running streams and -black and white houses buried deep among orchards, lie, so it seems, -within a stone’s throw of factories and workshops. Full of charm are -these little valleys, divided one from another by narrow watersheds. -All of a family, yet each possesses its own features and has the -impress of its own personality. A trout stream almost invariably -meanders along the valley, sometimes finding its way through meadows -of long lush grass, Alpine in its greenness, sometimes flowing among -overhanging woods where the murmur of the waters mingles with the -rustling of the leaves or the deeper, more melancholy note of the fir -boughs. It is a smiling, almost park-like land, richly cultivated and -well populated. There are no wild or desert places. Everything perhaps -is a trifle sophisticated. Many of the black and white cottages, gabled -and romantic, might have stepped off the light-comedy stage. Here and -there the moated tower of some ruined Burg or an eighteenth-century -country house set back in a walled garden strikes the same note. -This is not Nature in her strength and power, but Nature laughing, -gay, forthcoming, a sylvan goddess of woods and streams and meadows. -“Intime” is the word which best expresses her charm. Last, but not -least, Nature in the Bergische Land is a goddess of the fruits of the -earth. - -Spring is a season of wonder and beauty in the Rhineland. The villages -disappear in a cloud of pink and white blossom. White and pink too -are the country roads lined with fruit trees. Beech trees abound; and -has Nature in her great spectacle of the changing year any sight more -beautiful than the first shy unfolding of the young beech leaves? A -little later come the chestnuts, stately and self-important, carrying -their white candles on broad green candlesticks and lighting up the -countryside with so brave an illumination. Then follows the deep-red -blossom of the thorn, mingled with the purple and yellow of lilac and -laburnum. Under foot the emerald green of the meadows is flecked yellow -with cowslips. Yellow too are the great fields of mustard, which in -turn yield place to carmine stretches of clover. It is a riot of colour -and beauty throughout the Bergische Land. The high midsummer pomps find -the cottage gardens a mass of roses and other homely flowers. Finally -the white promise of spring gives way to the golden fulfilment of -autumn. The orchards bend low under the weight of pear and apple and -plum. And winter is no harsh thing in the valleys, where the delicate -tracery of the leafless woods, detached against a frosty sky, has a -charm as great as the young foliage of spring. - -Though so little removed from the neighbourhood of industry, there -is practically neither grime nor contamination about the Bergische -Land. The German housewife, as I have said, is happily spared that -hand-to-hand struggle with dirt which embitters existence for many -an English working woman. The decentralisation of industry is much -practised in Germany, and frequently isolated factories will be -found in country surroundings which give employment to the immediate -neighbourhood. It is perhaps for this reason that the game is not a -hopeless one, that the extraordinary cleanliness of the German village -is due. It is quite an experience to walk or motor through the -villages on a Saturday evening when cleaning operations are in full -swing. The whole population is out in the street tidying up. The oldest -and the youngest inhabitant alike are hard at work with buckets and -besoms. I am now able to appreciate why the Besom Binder always figures -so largely in German fairy tales. As soon as a child can stagger it is -provided with a besom three times the size of itself and turned out to -sweep. Tiny children flourishing brooms will remain one of my permanent -impressions of Germany. - -Not only the doorstep of each individual house and the strip of -pavement in front of the door, but the street itself is cleaned up -thoroughly on Saturday night. There are rinsings and scrubbings and -washings and sweepings. The midden is tidied and made as neat and trim -as a haystack. The woodstack is similarly squared, the blocks piled -with mathematical exactness one on the top of the other. From the -street itself every vestige of dirt and dust is removed. You are almost -afraid to breathe lest anything should be disturbed. As for a motor -car, its intrusion on the scene is little short of a sacrilege. Until -dusk and after, the Saturday cleaning lasts. Then on Sunday the village -in its best clothes sits about at ease on doorsteps and contemplates -the fruits of its labours. - -Sunday in this Catholic land is a true feast day. It is impossible -not to admire the simple, wholesome way in which the people, town -and country alike, take their pleasures. Churches are crowded in -the morning, and it is clear that the Catholic hierarchy keeps in -very close touch with its flock. But religious festivals, which are -frequent, have a pleasant social aspect and the population from -oldest to youngest clearly enjoy them. Sometimes in the valleys of -the Bergische Land you may meet a long procession going on pilgrimage -to a neighbouring shrine. The sound of chanting and music is borne -on the wind as the company wind up the hillside. It is like a scene -in a play as you watch the distant view of banners and crucifixes -and white-robed acolytes. Especially attractive are the children’s -processions held on White Sunday--the Sunday following Easter--when -the ceremony of first communion takes place. No steps are omitted to -make the occasion impressive. Every little child in Cologne down to -the poorest wears a white frock and a wreath of white roses. They come -with their parents in large numbers during the morning to say a prayer -in the cathedral--tiny children, so they seem, to be struggling with -the great mysteries of faith. We passed a small hillside church in the -Bergische Land on the afternoon of White Sunday at the moment when a -procession of children was coming out. It was a pretty sight: the fair -heads crowned with flowers and every child carrying a gold-and-white -lily in its hand; fond and anxious parents shepherding their lambs, and -provided with cloaks and umbrellas in the event of rain. - -These simple ceremonies give warmth and character to the countryside, -but quite apart from religious exercises of the nature I have -described, the whole of Cologne pours into the Bergische Land in -the course of a fine Sunday afternoon. Various light railways issue -from the city and, running across the plain, penetrate the valleys -at various points. From the Dom Platz at Cologne you may, if fired -by the spirit of adventure, take your choice of three trams to the -Bergische Land. One will carry you in some forty minutes to the -Königsförst, formerly a royal forest at the foot of the hills; -another in fifty minutes to Bensberg, a charming old town crowned by -an eighteenth-century castle in the Palladian style. The castle with -its domes has dignity and character; it is now used as a barracks for -French coloured troops. From the tiny acropolis to which the city -clings--in spring half smothered by the white and pink of its cherry -and plum and apple orchards--is the finest of all the views over the -plain. Or you may journey for an hour northwards along the Rhine, -passing through Mülheim--a widely scattered district of factories--till -you come to the pleasant little town of Berg Gladbach. Here through a -third gateway you may enter the wooded hills and valleys stretching to -the east. - -Only there will be certain disadvantages if you conduct these -explorations on the Sabbath, for the Boche in his best clothes is of -the same mind, and the trams are crowded to a point of suffocation hard -to endure on a hot summer’s day. But all the same the experience of -a Sunday excursion is by no means to be missed, for then you see the -life of the people as it is. What light-hearted, cheerful crowds they -are! Families, father, mother, and children, out for the day together, -troops of young people with knapsacks and mandolines tramping for miles -through the woods, singing as they march, and as often as not waving -their hands and calling out “Good day” in English. - -The group instinct of the German is very noticeable in his -holiday-making. Picnic parties abound, clatches of children in the -care of nuns and priests; more prosperous families out for the day in -wonderful chars-à-bancs and wagonettes which are covered with green -boughs and wreaths of flowers. In summer it is a point of honour for -picnic parties to decorate their carriages in this way. I have often -seen horses drawn up by the roadside in the neighbourhood of the -Königsförst or Bensberg while the occupants were employed in cutting -down branches and converting the conveyance into a green bower. - -Village feasts are common, and great is the excitement when a Kermess -is held. The village is decorated from end to end, and the principal -street is lined with booths and stalls. Merry-go-rounds, swing-boats, -shooting-galleries cater for the amusement of the spectators, while -dancing goes on in the inns and cafés. May-day festivities are a -feature of the countryside, and the village belle may find her house -decorated on May morning with a may-bush hung on a tall pole by an -admiring suitor. If there is competition between suitors, more than -one bush may be hung on the house, and the various lovers under such -circumstances endeavour each to carry his bush into the air at a higher -point than that of his rival or rivals. One fair lady this last year, -so the story runs, found her may-bush decorated with a miniature figure -in khaki hanging head downwards. Intimacy with British soldiers was -frowned upon in the locality, and the village applauded the reproof -thus administered to an erring beauty who had fraternised with the -enemy. - -One-horse cabs of archaic design survive in the more remote villages, -and on Sunday afternoons the elderly local plutocrats may be seen -solemnly taking the air in a conveyance of this character. The -aged horse does his work in leisurely fashion, and if the rate of -progression is slow, the dignity of the passengers loses nothing by -the fact. No village is really remote, owing to the network of light -railways spread about the country. Yet despite the proximity of Cologne -and the constant influx from the industrial districts on the Rhine, -the village people appear to retain their simple habits and rustic -outlook on life. They work hard, but they also enjoy life thoroughly in -a simple way. It is this high standard of simple enjoyment among town -and country people alike with which any traveller must be struck in the -Rhineland, a better state of affairs surely than the enforced gloom of -many an English village, where feasts and dancing would be regarded -as a desecration of the Sabbath, and men are forced to drink and loaf -for lack of something better to do. German education is open to grave -indictment as regards the spirit and temper it has bred, but withal the -Germans are an educated people, and an educated people knows how to -employ its leisure. - -The longer you live in the Occupied Area, the more sphinx-like the -riddle it presents--the riddle of reconciling the behaviour of these -decent, self-respecting people among whom you find yourself with the -actions of that collective entity, Germany, who figures as the outcast -of Europe. “It’s all put on,” some people say. But this theory of -sustained hypocrisy becomes ridiculous over a period of many months, -especially when you have mixed unknown in the crowd and seen the -Germans at work and play among themselves. Some other explanation must -be found for a psychology so bewildering. Love of God’s out-of-doors is -always a redeeming element in every human being, and it is an element -which can in no sense be denied to our late enemies. The town folk -enjoy the beauties of the country in a quiet, self-respecting way with -a minimum of rowdiness. It is not a question just of hanging about -cafés and beerhouses. These places on a fine day are crowded, but -they are crowded with parties whose dusty boots and draggled clothes -show they have been far afield. The children carry bunches of flowers -or green boughs. Sometimes a tired little one rides on a father’s -shoulder. Knapsacks are produced, from which a meal sadly frugal in -quality and quantity emerges. Coffee or beer is ordered, and the party -sit down to eat and take a rest. - -As at every other point in German life, children play a great part in -these excursions. Hard though the times, parents pinch and save to see -the children are well and neatly dressed. A white frock in summer for -the girls--a bit of fur round the collar of the coat in Winter for -the boys--these things are a point of honour. But boots have become a -terrible problem to most working-class homes, as many a peasant has -told us. It is certainly not easy to associate ideas of hunger and -defeat with these respectable Sunday pleasure-seekers. But as I have -said before, superficial impressions must be discounted in Germany, and -there are always the thin legs and pasty faces of the children to pull -you up short if you try to thrust aside ugly memories of reports and -statistics and official inquiries. - -Often as I have sat among the Sunday crowds in the little hill towns -have I reflected on the worldly wisdom of Machiavelli, who, like -Bismarck, if bad was long-headed. Machiavelli took the view that you -must either destroy your enemy or so behave that you may turn him -into a good neighbour. One thing is very clear: Germany will never be -destroyed. What steps, if any, are we taking to turn her into a good -neighbour? - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -IN SEARCH OF A FISHING - - -Long ago in Winnipeg I remember finding two young French girls in the -immigrants’ reception camp. I inquired if they had come to Canada -alone. Whereat the elder with a fine gesture replied, “O non, nous -ne sommes pas seules, mais mon père est allé en ville acheter des -terres.” In a spirit no less spacious and confident we set out one fine -afternoon to find a fishing. The Army of Occupation is desperately -interested in fishing; so, like the “terres” of which my Winnipeg -friend spoke, good fishing is hard to come by. Consequently much -reticence on the subject exists, not to say craft. The trout streams of -the Bergische Land or in the Eiffel are set in ideal surroundings from -the fisherman’s point of view. All that is lacking on many occasions is -the trout. The country folk are fond of talking of miraculous draughts -of fishes which existed in the days before the war. The old gentleman -who hires out rods by the day, when confronted with an empty bag, will -explain elaborately that this unfortunate result is due to the fact -that the British soldiers have caught so many trout; things are not -what they used to be. Personally I am a little sceptical about these -disclaimers and the shifting of the responsibility on to the broad back -of the Occupation. Not that any feeling exists against Thomas Atkins -in the British bridgehead. It is pleasant throughout our area to talk -to the villagers and to hear their friendly remarks about the troops. -Of course there were some bad characters and some bad behaviour. But -Atkins, kindly and easygoing, has been a missionary of reconciliation -in many a German village. Women will tell you that they helped with the -house and were kind to the children; “any English person is sure of a -welcome in a village where English soldiers have been.” - -So despite some lapses on the part of the Army over trout--there are -stories of hand grenades used in streams--we set out with confidence to -explore some valleys on the back side of Söllingen, where, according to -rumour, trout of large size and merit abounded in ideal streams. Our -chauffeur had a German friend who knew of a fishing. The afternoon was -before us, so we set out to find the friend. - -For a time we went north along the Rhine, past the great factory -of Leverkusen--famous for its dyes, and during the war one of the -most important of German munition works. Our way lay amid the many -industrial establishments which mark the high road to Düsseldorf, -and I looked with envy on their smokeless chimneys. Beyond Opladen -we turned off to the right and, with the bewildering rapidity which -happens in this district, found ourselves in a few minutes in a purely -rural valley. Here were orchards and open meadows and black and white -houses. We twisted in and out along various side-roads, till the road -itself showed signs of ending in a secluded valley where a mill-pond, -a mill, and a miller came into view. The miller was the chauffeur’s -friend. They shook hands solemnly and exchanged greetings. Then we were -introduced--was there any fishing to let? He, the chauffeur, knew from -previous experience that the stream was well thought of. The miller was -friendly but could give us little help. The proprietor was just dead, -the upper stream was let, there were no trout now in the lower pond. -But he had a friend, Herr Hermann Hollweg, who owned a Bade-anstalt in -a neighbouring village. Herr Hollweg most certainly would put us in the -way of getting a fine trout stream. - -Back again we went, therefore, to hunt up the Bade-anstalt and Herr -Hermann Hollweg. We ran him to earth without much difficulty--a -second polite and courteous gentleman, but again full of regrets that -he had no fishing to let. Herr Hollweg produced a large map of the -countryside. At Nägelsbaum he had a friend, Herr Holbach, who assuredly -would be able to produce trout. Would we kindly mention his name and -Herr Holbach would do his best for us? Before we left would we like to -see his Bade-anstalt? Certainly, we replied, and so we were led through -a scrupulously clean kitchen, to emerge in an open-air swimming bath -of extraordinary size and appointments for a small village. A group -of boys and girls were swimming and splashing about in the water. On -a terrace above the bath was a café where various people were having -refreshments. Behind that was a large concert hall where, according -to Herr Hollweg, the company danced on Sundays. Nothing has struck me -more in Germany than the excellent and wholesome way in which popular -amusements are arranged. Probably the industrial workers from the -surrounding district pour out to Herr Hollweg’s bath and café and -concert hall on Sundays. But why, one asks, is it impossible to secure -similar amenities for an English town and village, where loafing and -drinking are often the dismal alternative amusements of the Sabbath? - -We complimented Herr Hollweg on his establishment and then set out -in pursuit of Herr Holbach. Our road lay through the characteristic -scenery of the Bergische Land: little villages set deep in their -orchards; rich pastures, wheat fields already turning golden under the -summer sun. Woods of beech and oak and lime covered the low hills. In -the early days of the Occupation, British troops had been quartered -in this part of the perimeter, a point about which we were left in no -doubt. The inhabitants from whom we stopped to ask the way countered my -German by a fine flow of English. Small compliments about their prowess -in this respect causes the Boche face to be wreathed in smiles. One -young woman knew all about Herr Holbach. Yes, he had a large pond with -“much fish”--a form of words of which I was growing a trifle tired. -Down the hill we went again till a large dam came into view--that -part of the story at least was true. Also there must be some earnest -expectation or hope of fish, judging by the depressing number of rods -which were dangling over the bank. We walked on to the damhead, and -there encountered a hero in charge of two rods. He had lived in America -and spoke English fluently. No, we had come to the wrong place for -trout; this was carp-fishing--witness the rods. Were there any carp? Oh -yes. Upon which he plunged down to the water’s edge and produced a net -with two large fish in it. Herr Holbach, who lived in a house across -the dam, might have some trout-fishing, but he was doubtful about this. - -Our latest friend had served in the Navy, and we fell into general -conversation with him. As is usual when talking to German working-men, -I was struck by a sense of weariness and horror in all he said about -the war. Their rulers had been mad, that was his view; the war had -brought nothing but utter misery, there ought never to be another one; -they were happy and prosperous before, now they were ruined. Our talk -on the damhead was yet another proof that if the League of Nations ever -becomes a going concern, it will draw its strength, not from the upper -classes, many of whom are rooted in the ways of the old diplomacy, but -from the humble folk like our fisherman whose souls have been branded -in the furnace of war. - -But the afternoon was going on, and though we had had much pleasant -conversation, the fishing still eluded us. Herr Holbach’s house, or -rather farm, stood on the bank of another lake, and there, apparently, -in addition to agriculture he turned an honest penny by letting out -boats or arranging facilities for swimming. - -Herr Holbach proved as pleasant as his predecessors, but equally -elusive on the subject of trout. No, he dealt solely in carp; then came -the familiar leitmotiv for which I was waiting--the English soldiers -had taken all the trout. But he had a friend, Herr Richard Klassen, -at Witzhelden, who had fishing to let and enormous trout. It was very -expensive, but the trout were of a size and vigour under which any -ordinary rod would bend to breaking point. His advice to us was to go -and interview Herr Klassen, recommended to that end by Herr Holbach. -The sun was drawing to the west and long shadows were beginning to fall -over the hills and glades. If indeed it was to be our fate perpetually -to chase trout from one valley to another in this smiling land, -there might be a worse lot. We turned our car, and once again, hope -triumphing over experience, we set out in search of Herr Klassen. - -Herr Klassen, so our instructions ran, lived near the church in -Witzhelden. We found the house in possession of a girl, who to our -surprise showed signs of alarm at the sight of a uniform. However, -her face cleared up when we explained we had come about fishing. -Herr Klassen was in the hayfield; she would fetch him. Meanwhile, a -neatly-dressed elderly man with a lump of putrid meat in his hand came -up the road and took off his hat politely. This was Herr Klassen’s -brother. The gentleman was, like his niece, a trifle nervous at seeing -us, but became garrulous when our errand was revealed. We came from -Cologne did we--then of course we knew of the most regrettable incident -which had overtaken the Klassen family last week. No? Was it possible -we had not heard--they had been fined five thousand marks for having -firearms in the house;--the whole family were devoted to sport and they -had various shooting guns they had not given up. - -Hence these tears. We expressed sympathy with the family troubles, but -said it was foolish not to have mentioned the various fowling-pieces -of whose innocent intentions Herr Klassen spoke with such conviction. -However, he showed no resentment that the long arm of British law had -touched him in his remote village, though, as the hero of the hour, his -feelings were clearly a little hurt that we had no knowledge of his -fame. At this moment up came Herr Richard Klassen, hot and perspiring -from the hayfield. - -Yes, he had a pond, and he had a lot of trout. They were not very big -as yet, but they would soon grow; was he not feeding them on lumps -of the dead cow whose remains had caused me to get to windward of -his brother. Would we like to see the pond? Nothing was easier. Down -another small valley, therefore, we plunged again till the road came to -an end, and a pretty path through a wood brought us out on the shore -of a secluded pond. It was a peaceful scene, with the warm sunlight on -the wood and the water, and the sweet smell of new-cut hay reaching -us from a neighbouring meadow. As we walked we admired the beauty of -the country. This moved Herr Klassen to a flow of words: the country -was beautiful, but men were bad; since the war there was no honour, -no goodness, no morality. It was all greed and grab, “Wucher” and -“Schieber.” And the end would be Bolshevism. Herr Klassen’s lack of -faith in human nature was demonstrated practically by the barbed-wire -entanglements which surrounded his trout pond. Along the narrow track -by the water’s edge were various, almost invisible, contrivances -destined to show whether any trespasser had come that way. Here at last -were some trout, if only little ones. But little trout grow, and Herr -Klassen was emphatic that if we would come back in a fortnight or three -weeks we should have good sport. As for payment, it was to be strictly -by results--no fish, no cash. All fish caught were paid for at so much -a pound--a very fair arrangement. - -It was pleasant to linger by the water-side in the evening sunshine, -and, pipes and cigarettes being produced, the talk slid east and west -over matters of greater moment than the trout. We had been joined by a -friend of Herr Klassen’s, a wag with red hair and freckled face who -poked fun at his neighbour with great vigour. Freckles had been to the -war, Herr Klassen had not--the women and the Church would not let him -go, declared the former; at which Herr Klassen raised protesting hands -to heaven. Both men spoke with evident alarm of Bolshevism. Another -war was bound to come, only next time it would be a Bolshevist war. -It must be remembered this pleasant Bergische Land is not so very far -removed from the Ruhr district, and that at Remscheid only a few miles -away there had been shootings and murders. The spectre of anarchy and -red revolution has come very near homes such as Herr Klassen’s, and -for revolution a small farmer of his type has nothing but horror. We -asked about the new Republican Government. It moved neither man to -much enthusiasm. Weakness can never inspire enthusiasm, and the policy -pursued by the Allies towards Germany has made it impossible for any -government to be strong. Herr Klassen said what they wanted was a -constitutional monarchy like England. They were doubtful of Republics. -France was a Republic and they did not want to be like France. - -We talked of the war and the peace and the threatening condition of -affairs in Eastern Europe. Both men called down fire from heaven on -the Poles. No German can speak of a Pole in measured language. Soon -there would be a Bolshevist army in Warsaw, and then what was going to -happen to Germany? Freckles, who had fought on the Eastern Front, spoke -well of the Russians. They were brave men, so he said, and if properly -armed and properly led would fight as well as the Germans. They had no -chance in the war; men could not fight with spades and hayforks. They -were mown down like sheep because they had often neither rifles nor -guns. Klassen had had a Russian prisoner working on his farm and had -found him a good fellow. Freckles, who was, I gathered, not a man of -property, was rather attracted by some of the anti-capitalist ideas of -the Bolsheviks. Klassen was talking bitterly of the Schiebers and the -terrific price of food and goods in Germany--capitalism was a curse. -“What are you but a capitalist,” retorted Freckles with a grin; “you -have four cows and some land and a pond full of trout”--before which -sally Klassen, who was clearly at the mercy of his more nimble-witted -friend, collapsed entirely. “What about the arms, too,” said Freckles -with another grin and a wink in our direction. Klassen turned to us as -eagerly as his brother. Of course we had heard of the law proceedings -in Cologne at which he had been fined? No? His face fell on realising -the limited span of his fame; it was a terrible affair; he did not know -how he should get the money for the fine. - -We packed both men into the car and took them back to the village, -where we parted with mutual goodwill. “In a fortnight, then,” said -Klassen, “you will come again when the fish are bigger. Yes, you can -bring a friend too if you wish.” - -So we said good evening and, consoled by the discovery of a secret pond -if we had failed to secure a length of stream, travelled westwards -towards the setting sun and Cologne. - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -WHO PAYS? - - -To the traveller passing from the devastated regions of France to -the hills and valleys of the Rhineland, there is something almost -scandalous in the impression of wealth and solidity conveyed by the -latter country. “These people have not suffered in the war at all,” -said an English woman in Cologne to me indignantly; “look at the -worldwide misery they have provoked; look at the state of France, and -then see how lightly the Germans themselves have escaped: everything -intact and their country untouched.” - -But has Germany really escaped so lightly? Untouched her country may -be; intact in one vital particular it certainly is not. Bricks and -mortar can in time be replaced, shell holes can be filled in, and the -plough pass again over the devastated fields. But at a date when the -material destruction of France will be, let us hope, to a large extent -repaired, Germany will still be paying for the sins of her rulers -in the bodies of a generation a large proportion of which will be -enfeebled and diseased. It is an insidious form of payment, lacking in -obviousness or dramatic quality. But its ultimate thoroughness ought -to satisfy even the moralists who demand that an entity called Germany -should be punished, quite irrespective of the guilt or innocence of -the actual person on whom the punishment falls. - - * * * * * - -A mile or more below the Hohenzollern bridge, where four kings of -Prussia on their bronze horses survey a world fashioned now on other -lines than those contemplated by Prussian arrogance, the Rhine flows -along a ribbon of green strand which serves as a recreation ground for -the children of the district. Here on a summer evening we sometimes -walk and watch young Germany at play: children of all ages bathing, -paddling, shouting, laughing, amusing themselves in a hundred different -ways, while their parents sit in little groups, the women sewing or -knitting, the men with their pipes. - -Children abound in Germany. They swarm in droves in every direction. -Surely, you say, these hunger stories must have been exaggerated! -The rising generation does not appear to be much affected, judging -by its numbers. To the casual observer there seems to be very little -amiss with these Rhineland children. My first impression was that they -compared favourably with many children in our own industrial centres. -The German working-classes are self-respecting folk, and however -slender their resources in food and clothing during the war, they made -the most of them. Also it must be remembered the Rhineland is one of -the richest provinces, agriculturally no less than commercially, in the -Empire, and that the British Occupation had resulted in nine months of -adequate feeding before I saw Cologne. - -Nevertheless, after a time I found myself modifying my first favourable -impression. The clothes of the poorest children are neat and tidy. -But large numbers of the children, trim though their appearance, are -pinched and pasty-faced. Under the short skirts bare legs are seen -often thin and rickety. Little by little my attention was arrested by -two facts: first, that these crowds of children were all apparently -very much of an age; secondly, that the proportion of babies to -children seemed extraordinarily small. Below the age of two and a half -to three the juvenile population comes to an abrupt halt. After a time, -intrigued during my walks by the relative absence of babies, I took to -counting perambulators or babies in arms. The numbers were strikingly -small. Motoring through Bonn one Sunday afternoon in 1919 when the -family life of the town had turned out into the streets and gardens, I -counted six babies in all. The explanation is simple. Statistics show -that there has been a rise in the death rate of German children between -two and six of over 49 per cent. during the years 1913-1917. Among -school children from six to fifteen the death rate rose 55 per cent. in -1918 as compared with 1913. As for the older children, their apparent -uniformity of age is largely due to arrested development. Many of them -are much older than they seem. Of course there is no general rule. -Some children look astonishingly well and plump if others are thin and -pasty-faced. - -Coming home one evening along the banks of the river, we passed two -typical working-class families, each supplied with a perambulator. One -held the fattest and rosiest baby imaginable. I admired Heinrich, and -was told he was nine months old--born at the time of the Armistice. -Whatever the prenatal conditions of the mother, the baby had not -suffered. But the other child--a little girl of eighteen months--its -memory haunts me still. A tiny shrivelled face looked up at me under -the bravery of a blue-and-white bonnet; tragic haunting eyes set in an -emaciated body. My mind harked back, as I looked, to the devastated -areas and to the cruel sufferings and losses of France. But here, on -the frail body of this unhappy German child, war had set its seal as -unmistakably as among the crater holes and shattered buildings of the -line. Conqueror and conquered we looked at each other, till I the -conqueror could look no more. Do any robust spirits still survive, I -wonder, who take the view that an occasional war is a good thing--that -it freshens every one up and makes for briskness and efficiency? Is it -possible, after all we have endured and are still enduring, that large -numbers of people in a mood of helpless fatalism are already talking -about “the next war”; while many of them are actively encouraging -policies and popular sentiments, the logical outcome of which is a -future conflict even more ghastly than the last one? - -Meanwhile, the martyred child life of Europe cries to heaven against -this theory. The sufferings of the Central Empires in this respect have -been heaviest. “Tu l’as voulu, Georges Dandin.” Germany, in pulling -down the pillars of Europe, has involved all this for her own people. -But why, one asks, should the heaviest toll be paid by those who have -least measure of responsibility? Why should the Junkers and horrid -old gentlemen covered with decorations, who made the war, be living -comfortably on their estates while the children of the working-classes -have perished? It is the natural instinct of every decent person to -shield a child from suffering, and as I watch the boys and girls -playing on the banks of the Rhine, the whole question of the war -takes on an aspect from which every vestige of glamour and chivalry -and romance has vanished. These merry children at their games: it is -on them that the hand of Britain’s sea-power, however unwittingly, -has rested in its heaviest form. The British people would repudiate -with anger any idea of making war on children. But war has a horrible -vitality of its own and goes its own way, moulding men more than it is -moulded by them. These things follow inexorably from the very character -of modern warfare, which is no more a struggle between armies, but -between nations. Noncombatants have ceased to exist, and those who make -wars must reckon on babies as cannon fodder. - -So long as there are wars, the weapon of the blockade is inevitable. -We were fighting for our lives and had no choice but to use it. The -German submarine campaign was directed to the starvation of England, -and bitterly though they complain of our blockade, their own minds -were set on identical ends so far as we were concerned. But blockade -means infant mortality on an appalling scale, and if statesmen and -militarists are indifferent to such things, it is to be hoped the -democracies of the world will view matters differently. So far as -Germany is concerned it is through her children she is hit. - -The Occupied Areas have suffered the least of any in Germany. Yet even -in this relatively favoured land the state of affairs is bad enough. -In Bonn, for some reason, things seem to have been worse than in -Cologne. I shall never forget the feeling of utter helplessness with -which I saw a group of rickety-looking Bonn children staring hungrily -into the windows of a chocolate shop. We took them in and gave them -sweets; there were no cakes or buns to be had, and bread is rationed. -Poor children, they gathered round us in a state of frantic excitement -when we produced slabs of chocolate. The fatuity of our own action was -miserably apparent. For these children were only typical of hundreds -of thousands of cases all over Europe, and even so their circumstances -were far better than what obtains in many other countries. Children, -of course, cannot grow up and be healthy without milk, and milk is -unobtainable in the towns. The municipality doles out a limited supply -to invalids, nursing mothers, and babies, but children above a certain -age never see fresh milk, and tinned milk is too expensive a luxury -to figure in the daily dietary of the working-classes. Most German -children have nothing but “ersatz” coffee to drink in its unqualified -nastiness. The distribution of food on fair lines has proved a great -failure in Germany, and the prolonged malnourishment of the children is -likely to have consequences of the gravest character. - -A shattered house, a ruined village tell their own very obvious tale. -Physical deterioration is a subtle thing far less easy to recognize or -to estimate. It is only little by little that one realises the state of -affairs produced by the blockade and the degree to which the morale of -the whole nation has been undermined by starvation. It is true that the -Germans cling desperately to what sorry comfort they can derive from -the theory that their armies in the field were never defeated--that -they were brought down at the last by hunger. They still assure you -their armies were magnificent--never were there such soldiers. But -towards the end rations failed, and morale broke through stories of -starvation at home. “We had not plenty of bully beef like you,” said -a German soldier to us; “you did not get letters saying your wife and -children had nothing to eat. We could have gone on fighting if we -had had food.” He spoke with that curious lack of resentment which is -a constant puzzle among these people. Consistent and growing hunger -spread over a term of years is not a pleasant experience. Germany, -unlike France, has been spared the horrors of the invader on her soil. -But no mistake could be greater than to imagine that the war she -provoked has proved a frolic for her, while all the rest of the world -suffered. - -A Report by Professor Starling and two British colleagues, on “Food and -Agricultural Conditions in Germany,” gives the results of an official -inquiry made by the British Government as to food and health questions -in the spring of 1919. The Report shows an increased number of deaths -among the civilian population, from 1915 to 1918, of more than -three-quarters of a million persons as compared with normal pre-war -estimates. In plain language, three-quarters of a million people have -died from starvation or the consequences of underfeeding. In the last -year of the war the civilian death rate was up 37 per cent. The infant -and child mortality figures quoted above are taken from this Report. -To the number of deaths must be added the very much larger proportion -of children and adults who survive with constitutions permanently -impaired. Discoursing learnedly of the number of calories required -to keep a normal man in normal health, Professor Starling shows that -the Germans were living on just half the necessary amount. There were -great inequalities between town and country, owing to the reluctance of -the country districts to surrender the food they produced. The urban -populations, of course, suffered most. - -The three British investigators give a sorry account of the children -they examined in the schools, hospitals, public kitchens. Some -people may say that the fewer German babies in the world the better. -I feel certain, however, that no theoretical holder of that view -would act upon it when brought face to face with some of these -hollow-eyed children you see in the streets. Professor Starling and -his colleagues visited Berlin and Upper Silesia, as well as the -Occupied Territories. Everywhere they found the same condition of -mental and moral prostration, of apathy, and lowered vitality. Disease -has flourished, of course, in the wake of starvation. The statistics -of consumption show an alarming increase in the percentage of people -attacked. Enfeebled bodies, young and old, cannot resist the inroads -of infectious complaints. Matters grow steadily worse as the eastern -frontiers are approached. Beyond, in Poland and Russia, a state of -affairs exists about which most people, happily for themselves, have -not sufficient imagination to form a clear picture. - -German conditions have not sunk to levels of misery so profound as -those which exist elsewhere, but they are bad enough to afford a useful -standard as to the situation in Austria, Russia, and other countries. -That luxury and great extravagance exist side by side with dire want -and starvation is a feature of the fatal coil which is throttling -the economic life of Europe. Thoughtless travellers are often misled -by a superficial appearance of prosperity in the main streets of big -towns. Newspaper correspondents seek from time to time to decry the -existing misery by giving accounts of the gay life in some cities and -the excellent food obtainable at a price in large restaurants. The -fact that food of such a kind can be had does not prove the unreality -of starvation. All that it proves is a complete breakdown in rationing, -and failures in distribution operating most unfairly in favour of the -rich. The good dinner paid for at a fancy price is only a link in the -chain. At the other end are families whose destitution is the greater -because the inefficiency of control has made the serving of such a -dinner possible. - -When the history of the war comes to be written, the question of food -production and distribution in Germany will prove a suggestive no less -than a tragic page. The German machine, admirable for carrying out a -carefully devised military policy, was useless for meeting unforeseen -contingencies which call for public spirit rather than for regulation. -The failure to grapple with the food question was complete. German -officialism seems to have collapsed helplessly before the problem -of distribution and rationing. Though fresh milk is unobtainable -in Cologne to-day--except the special supplies rationed by the -municipality--it can be had in the country ten miles out. Considerable -efforts were made during the war to provide a limited amount of milk -for children and nursing mothers. But with better distribution the -supplies available might have gone much further. The Government of a -country cannot have it both ways, as the Prussian autocrats found to -their cost. It cannot at one and the same time exact and obtain docile -obedience to a machine and simultaneously develop that free spirit of -public co-operation which was the salvation of England during the war. -In our own country public opinion rose to the occasion with a will. All -classes worked together to make rationing a success, and the brilliant -improvisations of the Ministry of Food carried the nation over a -crisis of unparalleled magnitude in a manner highly creditable to every -one concerned. - -Let us admit at once that our food problem did not approach that of the -Germans in difficulty. For one thing, the problem of distribution was -largely solved for us by the fact that we relied mainly on imported -supplies on which the Food authorities could lay their hands at the -ports. In Germany, on the contrary, 85 per cent. of the food was -produced within her own borders. Self-producers firmly determined -to be self-consumers are not easy to deal with. Then again, though -there was shortage and inconvenience, we were never really hungry. -Greedy and selfish people exist among all classes and nations, and -we had our share of both. But making the largest allowance for the -greater difficulties of the Germans, the moral is, I think, striking -as regards the spirit which a free people can show in a time of stress -as against the dragooned temper of a military nation. Military rules -could not deal with the food question. In a matter which necessarily -was independent of sabre-rattling, no pressure of an independent public -opinion seems to have filled the gap. - -The struggle between town and country to get possession of the food -supplies was severe. Every German is full of complaints about the -selfishness of the country people. Not only did they keep enough -food for themselves--which, after all, was natural--but they lived -in plenty while the towns starved. It may be said broadly that there -was no hunger or any particular suffering among the people on the -land. Among the industrial classes, estimated at from twenty-eight to -thirty millions of the population, the suffering on the other hand -was severe. But even to this rule there were many exceptions. Wealth, -always a weapon of dominant value, is of supreme importance when hunger -is abroad, and this weapon was used mercilessly by the prosperous -classes. The working-classes who were earning large wages were in many -cases able to pay for additional food; the people who bit the dust were -primarily the minor professional and official classes. - -Among the words added to the German vocabulary by the war is that of -Schleichhandel--illicit trading. Schleichhandel permeated the whole -national life. The Schleichhändlers--the little brothers of the -Schiebers or profiteers--were rampant. The Schiebers and other wealthy -families had Schleichhändlers in their pay whose business it was to -find them food. From highest to lowest the same spirit obtained. All -accounts agree as to the extraordinarily demoralising consequences of -illicit trading on the morale of the race. Professor Starling states -that, had the existing food supplies been distributed on a fair and -equitable basis, there would have been enough to go round, and the -effects of the blockade might to a large extent have been countered. -If the attempt was made, it failed lamentably. The terrible winter -of 1916-1917, known as the “swede winter”--owing to the failure of -potatoes--will never be forgotten by the present generation of Germans. - -Matters have improved somewhat during the year 1919-1920. But the -prices of food and necessaries of life are still so high that, despite -the considerable rise in wages, many working-people cannot afford to -pay for adequate nourishment. The present food shortage is still great -and, owing to the absence of feeding stuffs and manures, stock and -land have both deteriorated. Supplies remain, therefore, at a level -far below that of pre-war production, a circumstance aggravated by the -world shortage and the financial chaos of the country. - -Three special consequences have resulted from this state of affairs. -There has been, in the first place, an extraordinary embitterment -of feeling between town and country; the urban classes bear the -agriculturists a deep grudge for the part they played in the war and -the prosperity they acquired by exploiting their neighbours. - -Secondly, there has been a great intensification of class hatred as -between rich and poor. The ordinary German artisan or shopkeeper speaks -with intense bitterness of the upper classes. They were selfish, they -were hard, they were greedy, they did nothing for the poor, they lived -in comfort while others starved. The well-to-do classes apparently -were shameless at grabbing at all they could get. The average German -does not believe any rich person could or would act otherwise. Talking -to Germans about our respective war shortages, I have mentioned more -than once that I had various friends in England who, having farms and -producing food, kept their own households on the rationed allowance -and sent the rest to market. The look of absolute incredulity on their -faces made me realise they thought I was pitching a fine but wholly -preposterous tale to the credit of my own country. It was obvious -they did not believe a word I said. The behaviour of the German upper -classes in this time of testing has had, and is likely to have, very -considerable reactions on the political situation. That the Junkers -and militarists have brought this particular form of discredit on -themselves is all to the good. It will tell heavily against such -doubtful chances as exist of their achieving even a measure of -political rehabilitation. - -An English person brought in contact with these melancholy facts can -only reflect with legitimate pride on the different spirit shown in -our own country. No aristocracy in Europe has come through the war -with credit so high as that of the British upper classes. From the -throne downwards, men and women alike, they pulled their weight in the -boat as good citizens, bore their full share of death and suffering, -and contributed an adequate quota to the united effort of the nation. -I have found no evidence in Germany of that mutual goodwill between -classes which was a hopeful and encouraging feature in our own land. -German life in this, as in many other respects, has to be reconstituted -from the foundations upwards. - -The third outstanding social reaction of the war is the degree to which -ordinary standards of honesty and fair dealing have broken down between -man and man. The food shortage, and the cheating to which it led, -appears to have entered largely into the matter. Thoughtful Germans -deplore the moral debacle which has overtaken the country. Profiteering -has been quite shameless. The “Schiebers” have exploited a disastrous -economic situation, and many large fortunes were made during the war. -The strange paradox of extremes of wealth and poverty goes on side by -side. Even the official classes have shown themselves on occasions as -selfish as the landowners and the profiteers, and no less unscrupulous -in exploiting the advantages of their position. So late as August -1920 ugly charges were brought by the Socialists against the Mayor of -Cologne and other City Fathers with reference to the milk and butter -supply of the town. The facts which came to light proved that there -had been, at the very lowest, culpable slackness in administration -and gross favouritism in the distribution of available supplies. City -councillors had milk while sick children had none. The anger created by -these revelations is easily understood. - -While corruption permeates the upper and middle levels, robbery and -crime are widespread among the working-classes. Thieving has become -a normal quantity in daily life; crimes of all kinds are common. -Official figures were published in Cologne during July 1920, showing -the large increase in criminality throughout the district as compared -with the previous year. Serious crimes had increased by 45 per cent., -housebreaking 44 per cent., robberies in shops, warehouses, etc., 95 -per cent., minor robberies 85 per cent. Every man’s hand is against -his neighbour; suspicion and fear poison the whole spirit of communal -life. Hunger, and the general sense of demoralisation born of defeat -and downfall, are responsible in the main for the increase in petty -thefts. Railway wagons and warehouses containing food are robbed -systematically. War is not a good school for enforcing the catechismal -injunction about keeping your hands from picking and stealing. An -invading army takes what it wants where it can find it, and the habit -once acquired is not easily lost. - -Every class of society in Germany to-day feels that, bad as things -are, much worse probably has yet to come. A sentiment akin to despair -is widespread. The business community, confronted with an economic -situation quite hopeless in its outlook, give way in many cases to -helpless fatalism about the future. Restraints are thrown off, and -despair expresses itself frequently in wild extravagance. With the -sword of an indefinite indemnity hanging over them, wealthy Germans -feel that a spell of riotous living in which their capital disappears -is preferable to handing over the latter to their enemies. The -working-people, confronted not only with food shortage, but with the -abnormal cost of clothing and other necessaries, grow more and more -restless. All this is a dangerous temper, not only hostile to economic -and social recovery, but a premium on revolution. If Allied policy -is directed to creating this temper, then it must be congratulated -on a success not always conspicuous as regards its efforts in other -fields. The policy pursued, however, has its dangers. A hungry country, -balancing the possible advantages of revolution, can pay no indemnity -nor make reparation for damage done. One or two axioms in this matter -are self-evident. If Germany is to pay her indemnity, she must work; -she cannot work unless food and raw materials are forthcoming in -adequate quantities; with her finances in ruins she cannot begin to -reorganise them unless told what definite charges she has to meet; -if she is to carry out her obligations, she must have a stable -government which commands confidence at home and is treated with some -consideration abroad. It is quite easy to pursue a policy which will -make the fulfilment of all or any of these conditions impossible. -But how far a deepening of the present confusion will serve the ends -of the Allies, let alone promote the cause of peace, is a mark of -interrogation hung in menacing fashion to-day over the welter of -Europe. - - - - -CHAPTER X - -CERTAIN CITIES AND THE SAAR BASIN - - -A fine spring morning, ten days’ leave, a motor car, the open road -calling us to new sights and fresh adventures--in such good case we -left Cologne one April forenoon for Wiesbaden. The plum blossom was -over, but the apple blossom was in great beauty all the way. Why, one -asks, cannot English roads be planted with trees whose shade is a -blessing to the traveller in the summer months? And again, what happens -to the fruit on the myriad trees which grow along the highways of -Germany? Are German little boys endowed with virtue of such abnormal -quality that they survive the chronic temptations to which they must -be subjected in the matter of pears, and apples, and plums? Even the -ingenious theory that the apples are cooking ones, designed if stolen -to inflict adequate punishment on youthful stomachs, cannot explain -away these innumerable orchards and long avenues of fruit trees. The -Rhineland is a garden of enchantment when the blossom is in flower. It -is a hard saying that any sight on earth can be more beautiful than an -English spring at its best. And yet, with memories of an April in the -Rhineland, I am bound at least to hesitate. - -Thanks to the absence of smoke, there is nothing to sully the purity of -the air. The vivid green of the fields, the yellow splashes of mustard, -the varied tints of tree, and bush, and blossom--all this melts and -glows together in the clear sunlight. Wherever the road touches the -great river, the beauty of deep flowing waters is added to the scene. -The Rhine maidens themselves must surely be at play in the sunshine as -the Rhine sweeps by hill and vineyard. Their laughter and joyous song -can be heard by fancy’s ear. Forget the presence of road, railway, and -villa, and on that piece of jutting rock Siegfried must have talked -with the three sisters and mocked their entreaties about the ring. The -great world of Wagner’s music is connected in a special sense with -the Rhine. The elemental beings with whom he peopled its banks and -waters are more in the picture than prosaic tourists of our own type. -Withal, who are we to grumble at the latter-day comforts of motor cars -and broad highways which bring these delights within our reach? So -we picnicked by the roadside in great contentment of spirits while a -lark sang overhead. Wisely was it once written, “there will always be -something to live for so long as there are shimmery afternoons.” - -Coblenz, which we reached in due course, is a shabby city magnificently -situated at the junction of the Rhine and the Mosel. No town in the -Rhineland lies so nobly, overlooked as it is by the great rock of -Ehrenbreitstein. The river front of Coblenz is second to none in -the whole course of the stream. Yet the town itself is cramped and -curiously dirty for a German city. It gives the impression of a poor -place which has dropped behindhand in the race. Even the American -occupation and the presence of the Rhineland High Commission have not -galvanised it into life. Since the ratification of peace the Rhineland -High Commission, one of the costly bodies set up by the Treaty, is -technically the governing authority in occupied Germany. England, -France, and Belgium are all represented on it, but by one of the -ironies of the situation, though the Commission has its headquarters -at Coblenz in the American area, America, being independent of the -Peace Treaty, holds aloof. The wish to provide Germany with a civilian -administration was no doubt excellent in theory, but the Germans -are somewhat puzzled by the anomalous position of a body of this -character alongside armies of occupation, and still more suspicious as -to the flavour of permanence which civilian administration suggests. -The Commission produces large numbers of ordinances, of which it is -very proud, but it is not paper regulations, however excellent, but -the power to enforce them which matters in a country under military -occupation. That power rests not with the Rhineland High Commission, -but with the armies. To the armies the Commission must turn when it -wants anything done. - -Administration, to be satisfactory, must correspond with the real facts -of any given situation. The Allied Armies are in Germany as conquerors, -and by right of conquest only. No civilian government set up under -such conditions can be in a sound position, for civilian government is -rooted in the consent of the governed--a consent which is certainly not -forthcoming in this case. The long term of military occupation imposed -by the Peace Treaty is open to very grave objection. Five years coupled -with conditions under which Germany could have made a real effort to -pay her indemnity would have been reasonable. Fifteen years, the period -provided for in the French area, is very like an attempt at annexation. -Security is never achieved through a régime of alien domination, -and the temper bred in turn by alien domination destroys all hope of -security. Occupation for a short period was not only inevitable but -desirable. Prolonged for years, it is oppressive and mischievous. This -being the case, the presence of foreign gentlemen in frock coats and -top hats will not sweeten the unpalatable fact of occupation to the -Boche. The officials of the Rhineland High Commission, many of whom are -soldiers, appear sometimes in uniform, sometimes in civilian clothes; a -blending of garments typical perhaps of the anomalies which beset the -Commission in doing its work. - -Meanwhile, Coblenz must benefit by the foreign influx into the town. -The Americans fly a colossal flag over the famous fortress which crowns -the summit of Ehrenbreitstein. It is quite the largest flag in the -Occupation. The Stars and Stripes are no less conspicuous over every -public building in American occupation. If the technical position of -the United States in Europe is a little uncertain at the moment, at -least there is no doubt about her flag. We English adopt a different -policy, and are not given to making our flag too cheap--a fact for -which some of us are grateful. There is a great deal to be said for the -Zulu custom of not allowing your most sacred things to be spoken about. - -At Coblenz we left the river to attack the high land lying between the -Rhine and Wiesbaden. We first went up the valley of the Lahn through -Ems and Nassau. Both towns, watering-places of a conventional and -familiar type, were at that season of the year deserted, but Ems, with -its memories of the Franco-Prussian War and the intrigues of Bismarck, -has a painful interest of its own. The Germans, with their mania for -monuments, had commemorated the spot where the French Ambassador in -1870 received an answer from the Emperor William which was the prelude -to hostilities. Is this slab one, I wonder, that Republican Germany -will care to preserve when ridding itself of other souvenirs of the -Hohenzollerns? - -Beyond Nassau we struck up a great plateau with wonderful views, and so -along what is known as the Bader Strasse to Schwalbach and Wiesbaden. -The high land we crossed was a continuation of the Taunus mountains, at -the feet of which Wiesbaden lies. The colouring was wonderful in the -evening light as we motored along the ridge of the hills. Field and -forest were bathed in a bath of blue; blue mist like some enchanter’s -garment hung over the far distance. The rolling country at our feet was -fertile and well cultivated, but the sense of space and distance and -of mountains beyond redeemed any sense of sophistication which must -result from a too obvious agriculture. Beech woods abounded, woods just -caught by that moment of the spring when the delicate green buds begin -to open on the lower branches of the trees, while all is brown above, -and under foot lies the old gold carpet of last year’s leaves. Spring -that week was in the brief but exquisite phase when she resembles a -primitive Italian picture; all the coming beauty foreshadowed but none -of it clearly expressed. Only here and there was the brown of the buds -touched by the green of the young leaves. The call had, however, gone -forth. Up every hillside, among the russet company of the woods, April -waved her white ensign of cherry and blackthorn. I am glad to have -travelled along the Bader Strasse on such a day in the fourth month of -the year. - -From the beauties of nature to the elegances of man was an inevitable -step on dropping into Wiesbaden. There seems something very suitable in -the French occupation of this attractive city. The French temperament, -the French genius, are more at home here than in any other German town -I know. Wiesbaden is less “echt Deutsch,” more international in its -atmosphere, than what is usual in the Fatherland. It is a fine town -with broad boulevards and a good many shops. The large Kur Haus is -surrounded by beautiful gardens. German taste frolics, after its usual -fashion, within doors where gilt and plush abound and everything is -costly, vulgar, and comfortable. But apart from this lapse it is a very -attractive town, and the French are fortunate to be housed in it. The -Occupation seems to work smoothly, and there were no obvious signs of -discontent among the German population. - -Diplomatic relations were a trifle strained between the Allies on the -occasion of our visit, Frankfurt having been occupied by the French -the week before. Over this step the English had shaken their heads. -There had been a collision between the French troops and the people -in the town; some shooting had taken place. We had neither passes nor -permits, but we bluffed our way into Frankfurt on the Sunday afternoon -by the simple expedient of going there. It was no one’s business -apparently to stop a car in which British officers were driving. We -passed through the French sentries without being challenged, and found -ourselves in the town. Frankfurt is a large ugly city with wide streets -and solid-looking buildings. The population was out promenading in its -best Sunday clothes. The streets were crowded, and everything appeared -quite normal. French soldiers of course abounded, and here and there -a stray Belgian was to be seen, Belgium having sent up a few men as -a sign of moral support to France in her enterprise. We were clearly -the only English in the place. I wondered if these Frankfurters would -take the view that we were the advance guard of an English detachment. -However, the attitude of the populace was quite polite. We went to tea -at the Carlton Hotel, which sounded homelike. The big hall was filled -with Germans who surveyed us with some curiosity. But the waiters and -the management tumbled over each other in their anxiety to be civil. -We drove round the town before returning to Wiesbaden and paid a -pilgrimage to Goethe’s house, which unfortunately was closed. At the -Opera House we found a curious state of affairs: French soldiers with -machine guns crowding the steps of the main entrance, while people were -going into some performance through a side-door. - -A feature of the afternoon’s run, and not a pleasant one, was the -presence of the French coloured troops in the district. Technically the -coloured troops had been withdrawn from the town itself, but they were -in force in the suburbs. Frankfurt is a large city, and its outskirts -stretch for a long distance into a thickly populated industrial area. -A Moroccan battalion in brown jibbahs with red trimming and yellow -tarbouches were hardly soldiers whose presence we should have welcomed -in Birmingham or Manchester had they been introduced by an occupying -enemy power. Large numbers of colonial troops are used by France in her -Army of Occupation. That their presence causes great resentment among -the Germans is understandable. France’s case is that her population has -suffered heavily owing to a war forced upon her by Germany, and that, -with a French man-power depleted and weary, a large colonial army is a -necessity. Whatever the necessity, it is very unfortunate that coloured -troops should be introduced into a country where the complications of -black and yellow races are unknown. White men do not take kindly in -European towns to being policed by Africans or Asiatics. An occupying -army presents moral problems of sufficient difficulty without any -gratuitous additions caused by the introduction of Senegalese and -Moroccans. - -At the same time, so far as outrages are concerned, a great deal of -exaggeration has taken place about the French employment of these -troops. Undesirable though the presence of black or coloured men in the -cities of Central Europe, I have no reason to think that they have been -conspicuous for bad or immoral behaviour. Germans have admitted as much -to me. They hate the use of the black troops, but the objection is one -based on general principle, not on specific crimes. Naturally pressmen -and publicists work the black-troops question for all it is worth, -and feeling on the subject runs high. The Germans lose no opportunity -of exploiting any opening presented by mistakes in Allied policy. But -exaggeration is always a boomerang and recoils on the head of those who -use it. - -The following day in dripping rain we motored through Mainz to Bingen, -and then across the slate mountains of the Hunsrück and the Hochwald to -Trier and the valley of the Mosel. The fine Roman remains, especially -the Porta Nigra, lend great dignity and character to latter-day Trier. -The cathedral, one of the oldest churches in Germany, has succumbed to -the common disease, fatal to its type, of “a thorough restoration.” -Its interior presents the ordinary bathroom appearance, with concrete -walls painted to represent stones, plus vile modern frescoes, which is -the hard latter-day lot of many fine old Romanesque churches throughout -the Rhineland. One could weep over the destruction of these ancient -monuments and the clumsy unseeing hands which have been laid on them at -such obvious expenditure, not only of money, but of a most misguided -care. - -After Trier our troubles began. We were making our way to Metz via -Saarbrücken. Crossing the hills into the Saar basin our car developed -trouble with a bearing, and at Mettlach, some miles from Saarbrücken, -it was clear our journey was temporarily at an end. Saarbrücken is -not an ideal spot in which to be marooned for several days. But all -situations have their compensations, and to this accident, irritating -as it was, I owe my acquaintance with the Saar valley and the peculiar -state of affairs existing there. - -The situation in the Saar raises in concrete form certain general -criticisms of the Peace Treaty of which I have spoken more in detail -in a later chapter. The Saar provisions of the Treaty[1] gave rise to -a good deal of misgiving at the time among some of the most staunch -supporters of Allied policy. Such misgivings are not likely to be -dissipated by any visit to the area itself. The wicked destruction -of the French coal mines is regarded, and regarded rightly, as a -demonstration of Prussian militarism at its worst. Particularly -infamous were the efforts of the German military authorities during the -last weeks of the war. Surface destruction of the mines was inevitable -owing to the colliery area lying across the line of battle. But the -worst damage was done in a spirit of pure wantonness and without any -military justification during the retreat of the German Army in the -autumn of 1918. It was the last kick of the militarists, and they did -their work thoroughly. - -I am glad to think that I heard Herr Sollman, a Socialist leader in -Cologne, denounce this action in the strongest possible terms amid the -applause of a large audience. But the havoc done cannot be made good by -words of regret, however genuine. That France has the right to exact -the very fullest material compensation from Germany for damage done -during the war, especially in this matter of coal, is a proposition so -self-evident as hardly to require statement. Not only the mind of the -Allies but the moral opinion of the whole world was ranged behind the -claim. The German Social Democrats are equally prepared to admit the -claim. Herr Sollman, in the speech delivered after the Spa Conference -to which I have referred above, stated that in view of the wanton -destruction of the French mines, Germany should regard it as a debt of -honour to deliver all the coal she could spare to France. - -A Peace, however, which was aiming, not merely at exacting -punishment--punishment which must necessarily fall on shoulders quite -different from those responsible for the original crime--but at the -ultimate amelioration of racial and national animosities, would have -kept two principles steadily in mind. First, that reparation though -adequate should be as prompt as circumstances allowed; secondly, -that reparation should have as few ragged and irritating edges as -possible--that it should be organised strictly on business lines and -not on lines calculated to exasperate and inflame national feeling. -The end in view should be adequate material payments. If, however, -reparation is to be used as an instrument of punishment and diverted -from economic to political ends, general confusion is bound to result. -What punishes does not pay; payment means to a large extent the waiving -of punishment. It is impossible to have it both ways. - -The Saar situation throws both of these principles in relief. In order -to meet the just claims of France, was it necessary to annex a purely -German district for fifteen years, to set up a separate government -wholly alien to the wishes and spirit of the people, and then to -call in the League of Nations to bless the sorry business? Are these -provisions of the Peace Treaty likely to further the ostensible end -in view, namely, the delivery of so many tons of coal annually from -the Saar to France? On the other hand, if the occupation of the Saar -is intended to punish Germany for her sins, has France any reason to -think, after her own experience in Alsace-Lorraine, that provinces -governed against their will are likely to be a source of comfort -and pleasure to the power in possession? The Saar has been a solid -German block for centuries. The district is strongly German in feeling -and sentiment. A less encouraging centre for an experiment in alien -government could not well have been found. With a mixed population the -dubious game of playing off one element against another can at least -be attempted. Even that consolation is lacking in the Saar. Out of a -population of over 600,000, the French element is practically nil. -Further, as a method of popularising the League of Nations with the -Germans, the mutual introduction via the Saar hardly seems a happy one. - -I have been in every portion of the Occupied Area and have had -various opportunities of studying the temper of the people. Generally -speaking, that temper is good in the Rhineland proper, and a visitor -is not conscious of any obvious friction. A straightforward military -occupation, disagreeable though it may be for the conquered race, is -laid down in precise terms. Every one knows what to expect, and the -situation is for the most part accepted with philosophy. Very different -were matters in the Saar. You could not walk down the main street of -Saarbrücken without feeling the atmosphere charged with hostility. -The spirit of the town was angry and disgruntled. Every German to -whom we spoke seemed on the verge of an outburst. We found ourselves -not a little embarrassed by the obvious desire to confide grievances -to us about the French--grievances naturally which we had no desire -to hear. Hotel waiters are beings who usually float with the times -and are not concerned to challenge authority. But without one word of -warning a Saarbrücken waiter, who knew England well, broke into words -of angry declamation. How should we English like a foreign commission -to come and take a piece out of Yorkshire and hand it over to an alien -government? Should we accept such a state of affairs without protest: -should we be worth anything if we did? I retorted sharply with some -remark about Alsace-Lorraine, but I knew the ground was unsound. -Until two wrongs make a right, the Saar occupation must lead to many -searchings of heart among Allied nations who have any regard for -consistency in political professions of faith. - -Why has the League of Nations undertaken this task? Thankless tasks the -League has no right to shirk; a false position such as this is another -matter. The Treaty provides for two Commissions under the League: one a -Boundary Commission of which a British officer is Chairman; the other -a Governing Commission over which a Frenchman presides. The Boundary -Commission has to delimitate the frontiers of the temporary state, -and in separating towns and villages, all purely German, one from -another to make the economic division between friends and relations -as little harsh as possible. It is not desired, for example, that a -village should be cut off from its water supply, or that workmen should -be forced to cross a frontier in the course of their daily toil. The -Commission hears the views of the inhabitants, and has shown them every -consideration in its power. Even so, very hard cases are bound to -arise owing to the homogeneous character of the country. The frontier -line is necessarily arbitrary and artificial. Friends and kinsmen find -themselves separated one from another; villages divided from their -natural markets by the barrier of a French customs system. - -For the whole directing power in the area is France; everything else -is camouflage. France supplies the occupying troops, France controls -the customs and the railways; a Frenchman is head of the Governing -Commission. Though there are practically no Frenchmen in the Saar, -French names are being given in some cases to the towns and villages. -The mines have been handed over absolutely to France for fifteen -years. At the end of fifteen years the Saar inhabitants may decide by -plebiscite whether they desire to be French, to be German, or to remain -under the League of Nations. If they elect to be German, Germany must -repurchase the mines on a gold basis. The whole arrangement is an -admirable illustration of the “heads I win, tails you lose” principle. -But a few brief years ago we were very insistent that we were fighting -for justice and right, and again I ask what is the League of Nations -doing in this galley? - -The various members of the two Commissions are clearly desirous of -dealing justly with the inhabitants, but it hardly seems possible for -a body of men, however honourable and well intentioned, to overtake a -position so radically unsound in itself. The lines of government for -the Saar, laid down by the Peace Treaty, are a premium on friction and -intrigue. Also it is very unlikely that this fancy occupation is going -to result in a large output of coal. Colliers are kittle cattle, as we -all know, and they do not like being irritated. Nothing and no one can -make them work unless they choose. The occupation of an enemy country -is a military act which a war may render inevitable. But military -occupation as a means to economic ends is a clumsy weapon. Effective -as a threat in the event of non-fulfilment of contract, as an agent -of production it is the worst of instruments. The cussedness of human -nature comes into full play, and people who will work hard to avoid an -occupation become sulky and inactive when handed over to a conqueror. - -The effort to create a Saar state, definitely separated from Germany -for a term of years, cannot be justified by any of our own professions -during the war. We have yet to reap the full fruits of the mistake. The -new conditions have mobilised, of course, the passionate resentment of -the inhabitants, and friction exists at every turn. The Germans lose -no opportunity of giving all the trouble they can. Whatever grit they -can throw into the machine they throw with a will. His words frequently -pass between the Governing Commission and the German Government in -Berlin. The whole atmosphere is one of moral ca’ canny and obstruction. -It is idle to blame the Germans for making the most of the ready-made -grievances with which they have been presented. Those to blame are the -short-sighted politicians of Versailles who could imagine that such an -apple of discord as the Saar could be flung down in Europe without the -further embitterment of every passion which it was the first duty of -statesmanship to allay. - -Could not the coal to which France has a clear right be obtained under -simpler and better conditions than those of temporary annexation, -however much disguised? Would France herself not have benefited by -more coal and less friction? When the Boundary Commission has done its -work there will be only one British representative left in the Saar, -and there are no British permanent officials. The country is penned in -between Lorraine and French occupied territory. Censorship of news is -strict, and the inhabitants are wholly in the hands of the Governing -Commission. Unless members of the League of Nations bestir themselves -so that the control of the League shall not be an empty phrase, a great -deal may go on in this remote district which if realized would be -highly distasteful to the best mind of the Allies themselves. - -Our personal experiences in Saarbrücken were quite pleasant. During -our troubles with the car we received a good deal of helpfulness from -a variety of stray people. The erring machine had been put on a truck -at Mettlach and was to come by train to Saarbrücken. We met the train -in due course, but there was no car. We met other trains, but nothing -happened. At 10 P.M. we invaded the signalman’s box and unfolded our -tale of woe. I can never say enough for the real courtesy and kindness -shown us by the operator in charge. For two solid hours till midnight -he telephoned up and down the line trying to discover the whereabouts -of the truck. One station after another was rung up. “I have here -an English colonel whose motor car broke down at Mettlach and who -arranged for it to come on by the evening train.” Over and over again -the opening phrase was repeated till I knew it by heart. In intervals -of ringing up the various stations our new friend conversed with us -amiably. He was a demobilized sailor, had been in the Scarborough -and Hartlepool raids and had fought at Jutland. He spoke regretfully -of the pleasant times in old days spent with the British Navy, -especially at Kiel, just before the outbreak of war. “You met them in -different fashion at Jutland, did you not?” I suggested. He raised his -shoulders deprecatingly. He told us that during the Scarborough raid -the attacking ships had been saved by the fog. He had also fought in -a U-boat, but was not to be drawn on that subject, of which he was -clearly shy. “We had to do our duty,” he said briefly. In between our -conversations the telephone bell tinkled gaily, but the night was going -on and there was still no trace of the missing truck. Then at last -a satisfied “So” from the telephone raised our spirits. A train had -just come in. The car was in the goods yard; we could get it in the -morning. We parted from our good Samaritan with real gratitude. Railway -servants are not an overpaid class in Germany, but not one penny -would he accept for the pains and trouble taken on our account. He was -a true gentleman, our Saarbrücken signalman, and when Germany rears -a few more of his type and kind she will have less trouble with her -neighbors and find life more pleasant for herself. At the motor repair -shop the men worked with a will and repaired the car in what seemed a -surprisingly short time. Whatever the German upper classes may be, the -German working-man is a very decent fellow, civil, well educated, hard -working. Over and over again the same moral is driven home. There are -good and bad elements in Germany. What has the Peace Treaty done to -reinforce the better elements? - -The Saar basin in the upper waters is highly industrialized. The -manufacturing areas lie near the source, a fact which is uncommon in -the case of most rivers. The lower waters, as they approach their -junction with the Mosel near Trier, flow through a hilly and beautiful -country purely agricultural in character. Saargemünd, Saarbrücken, -Saarlouis are all manufacturing and colliery centers. Saarbrücken -itself, a dirty, unattractive town of one hundred thousand inhabitants, -is the centre of the coal area, which before the war had an annual -output of eleven million tons. Crossing the hills from Trier and -journeying up stream to Saarbrücken, all the grimy apparatus of mines, -furnaces, slag heaps, etc., make their appearance from Saarlouis -onwards. Even so, the small collieries, towns, and villages compared -favorably with our own. They are not overcrowded, and open spaces, -fields, and even orchards are to be found breaking up the sordid -paraphernalia of dumps and pitheads. The natural features of the -river valley are beautiful, and even on the upper waters have not -been wholly destroyed. Woods are preserved at many points. Here, as -elsewhere in Germany, industrial life has not been allowed to get -thoroughly out of hand. - -One feature at least of the Saar valley impressed us painfully as we -motored back to Trier--the miserable condition of the children and -the appalling proportion of bandy legs. As I have said elsewhere, the -effects of underfeeding during the war are distributed very unevenly -throughout Germany. Some districts seem to have suffered little or -none at all. Not so the Saar, where, judging by that unfailing test, -the children, the population must have gone through very hard times. I -heard of an innocent inquiry of an English child made in the Saar area: -“Mother, why do the children’s feet here turn in the wrong way?” In the -answer to that question lies the tragedy which has overtaken the child -life of our enemies. - - -NOTE - -Since writing the above impressions of the Saar in April 1920, there -has been serious trouble in that area. A dispute arose at the end -of July between the Governing Commission and the German permanent -officials, as to the conditions of service under which these officials -should be taken over. Security of tenure is a matter of jealous concern -to the Germans, for it is no secret that France is very anxious to -see the last of some of the existing Prussian officials. The latter -are no less determined to resist any doors being opened through which -foreigners might enter. In the opinion of the officials, the new -regulations rendered their position much less secure than formerly -and offered wider scope for dismissal on other grounds than those of -efficiency. The right of combination was also restricted. Further, they -were required to take an oath of fidelity. - -The officials objected to these provisions, and demanded that they -should be confirmed in all rights and privileges in which they were -possessed on November 11, 1918. No satisfactory settlement of the -dispute was forthcoming, and the officials went on strike. Railways, -posts, telegraphs were paralysed throughout the area. This action was -followed by a general strike of the whole community. The French hurried -up troops. Saarbrücken was patrolled by cavalry, infantry, machine -guns, and tanks. House-to-house searchings took place. Many people -were arrested, others left the district. The Governing Commission in -a proclamation openly accused the Berlin Government of inciting the -whole trouble, and of spending large sums of money for purposes of -disloyal agitation. The Berlin Government retorted by a Note no less -acrimonious. Each side charged the other with intrigue and breaches of -the Peace Treaty. It must always be remembered the Governing Commission -represents the League of Nations and that the League is involved in -these proceedings. The strike dragged on for a time and then came to an -end. - -The position as I write is obscure. The censorship in the Saar is -very severe. English papers publish little or no news from the area. -A silence on the subject no less profound envelops periodically the -German Press. It is difficult, therefore, to form any judgment as to -the rights and wrongs of the dispute in view of the limited material -available. But the strike itself is a symptom of the ugly spirit -ruling in the Saar district, the dangers of which were obvious when -we were in Saarbrücken. Probably both sides are right in their charges -of mutual intrigue. It is clear that each Government has only one -desire, namely, to exasperate and hinder the other. Germany protests -loudly against the French attempt to change the German character of -the district. France retorts that perfidy and bad faith are the true -hall-marks of the Prussian. All this is inherent in the situation -actually created, and if it causes surprise to the creators of that -situation they must be simple-minded folk. The plan evolved is one that -not only asks for but demands trouble, and the trouble is there. - -Practical administration becomes a nightmare under such conditions, and -that this particular nightmare should persist for the fifteen years -contemplated by the Peace Treaty is a prospect sufficiently dismal for -all who have to face the waking realities. - - - - -CHAPTER XI - -FROM METZ TO VERDUN - - -There is something grim and forbidding about the name of Metz. The -tragedy of shame and defeat with which it was connected during the -Franco-Prussian War hangs round it like a sombre garment. I for one -associated it always in my thoughts with a dark menacing fortress, the -very stones of which cried aloud the tale of France’s humiliation and -the ruthless might of her conquering foe. Historical events have the -power of lending their own colour to the names of localities where -great dramas have played themselves out. Sometimes the very nature of -a place--I take three at random, Mycenae, Blois, Glencoe--harmonises -completely with the sense of tragedy. No one could associate the -shores of Lake Trasimene with the idea of trippers on the beach, or -the plains of Borodino with swings and roundabouts. Yet to this rule, -if it be a rule, Metz is a complete exception. Instead of a gloomy -fortress it is a delightful French town, ideally situated in the -basin of the Mosel. The Mosel breaks up at this point into several -channels, and Metz disposes of itself in somewhat Venetian fashion -among the various branches. The main portion of the town is situated -on a low crest overlooking the stream. The crest falls away to the -river below, gardens, houses, and terraces clinging to the slopes. To -the west across the plain rises a range of hills. From the vantage -point of the Esplanade--the beautiful public gardens on the terraces -above the Mosel--the view of the surrounding country is very fine. The -fortifications of Metz, being of the latest type, are naturally not in -evidence. But the distant hills which rise in such calm beauty from -the plain are honeycombed with everything that is deadly in modern -military equipment. Villages and vineyards may be on their surface, but -the hand of man has been concerned there with other matters than those -of the plough or winepress. No traveller surely can look at the hills -beyond Metz without a catch in the throat? For through them runs the -road to Gravelotte and Mars-la-Tour, and so beyond to a place of glory -and endurance greater than theirs--Verdun, shattered and destroyed, but -inviolate and unconquered in the midst of her ruins. - -Few districts in Europe are so important in military history as the -country which lies in the neighbourhood of Metz. We came by train from -Saarbrücken, our car being under repair, and nearly every mile of the -way had been a path of destiny for France in 1870. A French customs -official, not a genial specimen of his kind, charged us roundly with -having contraband concealed under the maps spread about the carriage. -We assured him our business at the moment was concerned with history -and geography and not illicit trading, and after shaking the offending -sheets he disappeared with an unfriendly grunt. - -The heights of Spicheren are within sight of Saarbrücken. Here -on August 6, 1870, was fought one of the early battles in the -Franco-Prussian War--an indecisive action which was to prove, however, -a strand in the great coil spread round the French armies. To the -east of Metz lies the fateful battlefield of August 14, when after a -desperate struggle centring in particular round Colombey and Nouilly, -the French were forced to give way and the German pincers began to -close in on the doomed city. The history of the 1870 war, that tale -of heroism and mismanagement, is painful beyond bearing to read. It -moves with the precision and inevitableness of a Greek tragedy--France, -so sound at heart, yet superficially so rotten, matched against the -supreme technical skill of a painstaking people guided by the wholly -non-moral purpose of a Bismarck. From the conflict, as it was then, of -the iron with the earthenware pot, only one end could result. Yet - - “Nor kind nor coinage buys - Aught above its rate.” - -Germany in the person of her rulers bartered in 1870 the first -principles of justice and morality between states. To-day she is paying -the price of that moral treachery on a level of humiliation to which -1870 held no parallel, while a ruined world also bears its testimony to -the eternal truth that, as members one of another, the sin and failure -of the one involves confusion and disaster for all. - -Lorraine is a smiling land with rolling plains and hills. Villages, -solid and well-built, lie among their orchards in the folds of -the undulating fields. Important though the mineral wealth of the -province, agriculture plays a part hardly second in value as regards -its resources. The rich red soil is highly cultivated, and farming is -carried on with the thoroughness one associates, alas, with continental -methods alone. The red-tiled roofs of the farmhouses lend a sense -of warmth and colour to the landscape. Especially beautiful is the -contrast when the warm madder-coloured gables rise out of a foam of -fruit blossom. Truly a land to win and to hold the affections of its -children. To see it for the first time, no longer under alien rule but -liberated and restored to the Motherland, was a glad experience of -travel. Indefensible though the German rape of the protesting provinces -in 1870, the case of Lorraine, predominantly and overwhelmingly French -in population and sentiment, was perhaps the greater outrage. A people -annexed against their will are not easy citizens to handle, as for -over forty years French resistance passive and active taught Prussian -officialism. - -Thiers fought desperately for the retention of Metz in the peace -negotiations following on the 1870 war. Bismarck, whose ends were -attained by the war itself, was not implacable on the subject. -Personally he favoured the payment of a larger indemnity in lieu of -the city. Military opinion was violently hostile to this proposal, and -with cynical indifference the Chancellor let the soldiers have their -way. To visit Metz in 1920 is to realise how the soul of the city -kept itself free and aloof, heavy though the material yoke imposed -on it. The town is French in every respect. The Germans have added -solid public buildings of practical value in the shape of an excellent -railway station, post office, banks, etc. As a material proposition, -Metz returns to France much richer than when torn away. But the purely -French character of the streets and houses defied all efforts of the -conqueror at any true absorption within the German Reich. The new -buildings lie, like scorned and wealthy parvenus, on the outskirts. -Within are narrow streets, tall houses and shuttered windows--all -the indefinable genre and elegance which French taste and French -architecture bring with them. When the hour of liberation came, Metz -reverted to her natural allegiance with as little difficulty as a -prisoner casts off some hated garment of servitude. - -Sign painters must have driven a brisk trade after the Armistice. Not -only have all the names of the streets become French again, but the -names of shops have undergone a similar transformation. So hastily -has the work been done in many cases that the half-obliterated German -letters may be seen under the new paint. Business was clearly urgent -in those early days and the transfer of names to the winning side -permitted of no delay. - -The fine fourteenth-century Gothic cathedral is a great adornment to -Metz. The lofty windows, slender and austere, and the splendid glass -still speak of the soul of the Middle Ages no less than of the skill -and cunning hand of the mediaeval builder and craftsman. Yet not -these abiding beauties but a freak decoration of the exterior is what -attracts the average traveller to Metz Cathedral to-day. Under German -rule the church had undergone a “thorough restoration,” ominous words -which, as I have said elsewhere, are the knell of doom to many a fine -building in Germany. French skill was apparently successful in staving -off the barbarisms common in the Rhineland, and the interior has not -suffered. But the addition of a Gothic west portal in 1903 gave William -II. a priceless opportunity of masquerading among saints and holy men -on the new façade. Such a chance possibly did not often come his way. -Certainly he availed himself of it eagerly. He appears, therefore, -on the façade in the guise of the prophet Daniel. The statue is well -executed, though the sculptor, whether or not intentionally, has -endowed the prophet with a sinister expression, especially when viewed -from certain angles. The statue has been allowed to remain, but after -the Armistice the hands were fettered with chains, and in that felon’s -guise William II. still surveys the cathedral square from under the -cowl of his prophet’s cloak. - -I have referred in another chapter to the problem presented to -Republican Germany by the redundance of Hohenzollern statues. Metz had -been endowed with more than its fair share of Prussian effigies. “If -you do not like your conquerors, you shall at least have plenty of them -too look at” seems to have been the principle adopted. Hohenzollerns -major and minor abounded therefore in every public place. A huge -equestrian statue of William I. had been erected in the centre of the -Esplanade. The Emperor, with whiskers of a particularly bristling and -aggressive order, flourished a baton in the direction of the French -border. It was certainly not by accident that the statue was designed -to look across the hills to the west, and to convey a challenge to -which France on her side was not slow to reply. - -Whatever the embarrassments of a reformed Germany as regards its -former reigning house, naturally they did not weigh with the people of -Metz. The inhabitants after the Armistice rose _en masse_, tore down -the statues of the Hohenzollerns, and generally destroyed every outer -symbol of Prussian domination. The effigy of William I. was overthrown -by an excited crowd, and pictures of the event show the monarch on -the ground while men, women, and children shake their fists at the -prostrate form. The plinth, stripped of its ornaments and inscriptions, -was allowed to remain, and with every possible haste the temporary -figure of a victorious poilu was erected in order to replace that of -the Kaiser. This figure was no longer _in situ_ at the time of our -visit, and the plinth awaits its permanent memorial. The hard-worked -German phrase, “Von seinem dankbaren Volk,” is still visible though -half effaced on the plinth, but on the west side looking towards Verdun -the Hohenzollern devices have been replaced by the three electric words -crisp with victory, “On les a.” - -We English, who for centuries have never known the bitterness of -alien conquest--among whom no tradition even survives of its sting -and misery--can enter very faintly either into the anguish or the joy -of countries conquered and then subsequently redeemed. Few stories of -the war are more moving than the tales told of the entry of the French -troops into Metz and Strasbourg. Indescribable enthusiasm prevailed -among the French population. Not only were the liberating legions -greeted with garlands and banners, but weeping men and women followed -the French generals and prayed to be allowed to kiss their hands or -touch the hem of their garments. On the Porte Serpinoise, the ancient -gateway of the city, a long inscription has recently been erected which -tells the tale of Metz in recent times from the treachery of Bazaine -to the reunion with France in 1918. About this inscription there is -little of the calm and measured language of the message usually carved -in stone. The words are burning and passionate, torn from the heart of -suffering, turned though it be at the last to joy. That the years of -“separation cruelle” to which the gateway bears testimony were bitter -indeed no one could doubt who has stood by the Porte Serpinoise and -read its record of both defeat and victory. But has the world even -yet laid to heart the moral of the German seizure of these provinces? -Has France herself, greatest of all sufferers, applied the lesson to -her own circumstances? Coming to Metz from Saarbrücken with a vivid -recollection of all we had seen and heard there, I turned from the -Porte Serpinoise with an uneasy question in my mind. When the first -enthusiasms subside and the flowers and the garlands have faded, -the practical business of life remains. The government of a mixed -population is never an easy task, and the redeemed provinces will make -heavy demands on the wisdom and generosity of France. - -Alsace-Lorraine was in fact indulging in all the joys of a general -strike at the time of our visit. Post, telegraph, railway service, -everything was at a standstill the day after our arrival. The trouble -had arisen apparently over the replacement of German employés, now -French subjects, by other French workmen. The long and stubborn -resistance offered by the provinces to German rule is sufficient proof -of the healthy spirit of independence which inspires the population. -But even under the new order, the people of Alsace-Lorraine are likely -to show a spirit no less vigorous in all that concerns their local -affairs. Bureaucratic interference even with the German side of the -population may easily give rise to resentment throughout the whole -community. German bureaucracy, heavy handed though it was, had the -merit of being efficient. French administration would do well to avoid -situations in which irritated citizens begin to make comparisons not -always favourable to those at present in authority. - -We hired a car which took us, or rather shook us, to Verdun. The road -crosses some of the most famous of the 1870 battlefields, especially -Gravelotte and Mars-la-Tour. The road first climbs the lofty ridge of -hills lying to the west of Metz, on the top of which lies an open -plateau. Fortifications and defences were obvious everywhere. It was -clear, from the masses of barbed-wire entanglements which we passed -at various points, that the Germans had intended to defend Metz if -necessary in the last war. Further, the road along which we travelled -must have been their main artery of supply to Verdun. We saw the -remains of their light railways running in various directions. Dumps -of wire still remained and traces of dumps of ammunition. The light -railways had been ploughed up by the returning peasantry. Yet as we -approached the area of devastation an obvious question arose--why were -these railways not preserved for the task of reconstruction and the -demands on transport reconstruction involves? - -We halted at the famous ravine of Gravelotte, where on August 18, 1870, -the terrible struggle took place which decided the fate of Metz. Here, -as everywhere else on the 1870 battlefields, all traces of the German -monuments to the dead have disappeared. The graves in the cemeteries -were untouched, but the eagles had been knocked off the monuments. -Unquestionably the presence of these German memorials on land robbed -from France presented the French Government with a difficult problem. -No doubt many of the “Denkmals” were boastful and vainglorious, after -the usual German fashion in these matters. Clearly they had no place on -redeemed French soil. I could not feel, however, the situation had been -handled very wisely as regards the memorials to the fallen soldiers. -Nothing would have given me greater pleasure than to have pulled at -the rope which dragged William I. from his plinth. The ignominious -overthrow of statues of kings and princes of a ruling house so -directly responsible for the miseries of Europe is a symbol of victory -over the evil principles for which they stood. - -But the soldiers who died doing their duty do not belong to the same -category as the men who plotted the war. Many of the monuments blown -up were merely records of regiments who fought and fell, and had their -historical value. Their destruction has caused great bitterness among -the German section in the province, and no end is served by the further -creation of bad blood between people who are forced to live together. -The 1870 war and its terrible consequences are not to be wiped out by -blowing up a few obelisks. The man who dies fighting bravely for his -country, however much duped as to the righteousness of the cause for -which he gives his life, has a claim to consideration at the hands of a -generous foe. The dignified way out of the difficulty would have been -for the French to call upon the Germans to remove their monuments. -We felt this the more on reaching Mars-la-Tour, the scene of another -fierce battle. The frontier fixed after 1870 ran between Gravelotte -and Mars-la-Tour. On the Mars-la-Tour side of the frontier stands a -wonderful French monument which commemorates the heroism and tragedy -of 1870. A woman symbolising France holds in her arms a dying soldier, -whose head she crowns with laurel. But she is in no way concerned with -the agony gathered next her heart. Her eyes are fixed, not on the dying -man, but grimly, steadily across the frontier. She looks across the -hills of her own lost province, and the fixity of her gaze conveys -a spiritual challenge to that other statue on the crest above the -Mosel--the statue of William I. conquering and insolent. Further, from -the hand of the dying man falls a musket. But two babes playing at the -woman’s feet catch the musket before it lies in the dust and raise it -once more in the air. - -This monument, a striking example of its class, is executed with a full -measure of French skill and artistic power. But there cannot be the -least misunderstanding as to its meaning. Every line breathes revenge -and a day of reckoning to come. Mars-la-Tour was occupied by the -Germans in the first days of the recent war. It must, I think, be put -to the credit of the military authorities that, during the four and a -half years that this memorial was in their power, no damage of any kind -was done to it. - -Gravelotte and Mars-la-Tour are both dirty ramshackle villages, with -middens out in the street blocking the entrance to the houses. Perhaps -the inhabitants of frontier villages are inspired by a justifiable -pessimism as to the futility of building decent dwelling-houses. -Certainly the standard of life seems unusually low. Shortly after -leaving Mars-la-Tour we began to pick up occasional signs of war, signs -which, of course, multiplied as we entered the plain of the Woevre, -and began to draw near the ridge of hills to the west on the far side -of which Verdun lies. One battlefield is painfully like another. The -destroyed villages and desolate fields told the same tale of death and -suffering which is impressed on the long belt of devastation running -across the Continent. Yet to me in future a cowslip field will always -bring with it memories of Verdun. The familiar yellow flowers were -growing in sheets by the roadside, striving, as it were, pathetically -to throw the cover of their freshness and grace across the stricken -land. - -The interest of Verdun, apart from its heroic defence, lies in the fact -that the line of attack being very intensive was relatively small, -and owing to the hilly and varied nature of the ground it is possible -to visualise more or less accurately the various attacks and counter -attacks. We approached Verdun from the south-west, a point from which -the damage was relatively small. The whole of the Verdun ridge on which -the forts are situated runs north and south, and commands the plain of -the Woevre to the east and the valley of the Meuse to the west. All -this district was formerly a great forest. On the southern slopes we -found the trees practically intact. We turned to the right and, keeping -along the top of the ridge, had our first view of the valley of the -Meuse, and Verdun with its twin towers lying far below us in the plain. - -Verdun, never a considerable city, has nevertheless emerged into fame -on more than one occasion in the course of its long history. It gives -its name to the one event of capital importance in the evolution of -modern Europe. The Treaty of Verdun in 843 may be taken as the starting -point of the long struggle between France and Germany. Under this -Treaty the united empire of Charlemagne was broken up between his three -grandsons. France and Germany parted company, never to meet again -during the course of the next thousand years but on terms of fire and -sword. Revolutionary France offered its own example of frightfulness -at Verdun. The city was taken by the Prussians in 1792. The struggle -was not of an embittered character, and some young ladies of the city -not only welcomed the conquerors but presented them with sweets. -Fraternising with the enemy was not included apparently in the then -revolutionary interpretation of fraternity, and three of the girls were -sent to the scaffold when the French retook Verdun after Valmy. The -little place sustained a siege of three weeks in 1870, and surrendered -with the full honours of war after a gallant resistance. - -But at Verdun as elsewhere the scale of events has been flung utterly -out of focus by the recent struggle, to which history has no parallel. -The town itself has suffered cruelly. Every other house is a ruin. -But at least it never yielded, never bowed the head to the conqueror. -How near, terribly near, the Germans came to complete success, we -appreciated better on the spot than anything we had been led to believe -by the official communiqués issued at the time. A discreet veil was -flung over the German capture of Fort Douaumont. As a matter of fact -not only was the fort taken, but the Germans penetrated for a mile and -a half further westward beyond that point. One remaining fort alone -lay between them and their prey. Heroic though the defence, it is -clear that but for the Somme offensive and the diversion of forces it -entailed, Verdun itself must have fallen. - -Fort Vaux and Fort Douaumont are the central points of interest in the -defence, but every yard of the district is full of poignant and tragic -association. Trees and vegetation had disappeared before we reached -Fort Vaux. The ground had become a mere crater field. It was almost -impossible to believe that this blasted hillside and neighbouring -ravines had once formed part of a beautiful forest. As to Douaumont, -little of the fort remains beyond a heap of rubble and rubbish. -Imagination stumbles and halts as to what the bombardment must have -been which could blast fortress and land alike out of being. Still -more impossible is it to gauge the human endurance which could survive -any experience so hideous as the fighting which raged round these key -points. Just below Douaumont is a trench where a French platoon was -overwhelmed and enfiladed by German fire. The ground fell in, burying -the men where they stood. The bodies have not been removed, and the -tops of the rifles can still be seen sticking out of the ground. The -trench is enclosed by barbed wire to keep the tourist at bay, but I -hope that this gruesome sight may not be perpetuated for the benefit of -the tripper. The tourist invasion of the battlefields is inevitable, -but it is intolerable if they bring with them to soil which is sacred -anything of the orange peel and ginger-beer bottle atmosphere. Two or -three chars-à-bancs filled with visitors were already on the ground, -early though the season. However, they were mercifully cowed into -silence by the all-pervading desolation. - -All the hillsides round Verdun are scarred with the marks of trenches. -Every name, every ridge in the district is famous. We looked on a -given heap of ruins and remembered with what anxiety and suspense -the name of this or that obscure village filled half the world a few -years since. There was a tangle of wire in many places, though much -clearance of the battlefield has gone on. Here and there the roots of -the unconquerable trees had begun to throw up a sort of scrub. Here and -there coarse grass and coarser brambles were hiding the shell holes. -But on the hillsides about Vaux and Douaumont, Froide Terre, Poivre, -and Haudromont, there was no sign of life. The subsoil had been blasted -out of existence, and vegetation had not been able up till then to -reassert itself. - -The area of destruction round Verdun extends for a long distance, -and the general impression left by the ruined villages is painful in -the extreme. In the area of moving battle the land is not destroyed, -but the houses are mostly in ruins. The task of reconstruction is -formidable indeed, and there were few signs in April 1920 that it was -being grappled with on adequate lines. People were beginning to creep -back, it is true, to their ruined homes, but under circumstances which -seemed very undesirable. The ruins had been patched up in some places, -and the owners were living among them in a state of indescribable and -insanitary squalor. There were no signs of a big scheme of reparation, -which should have aimed first and foremost at the scrapping of these -small dirty centres and starting new villages on fresh sites. The -average French village is apt to be a dirty place. The sanitary -conditions left by a bombardment are better imagined than described. - -I cannot help feeling that the inhabitants of the devastated areas have -a most real grievance as regards this question of reconstruction. The -French Government has wholly failed to deal with it up to the present -on a big scale. Progress has been made with areas in the north; other -districts, of which Verdun is an example, remain practically untouched. -The French complain that they cannot get work-people or materials. I -cannot say from what causes the deadlock springs, but the evidences -of deadlock in the Verdun district are complete. One feels this state -of affairs to be a terrible hardship for the poor people concerned. -One of the reparation proposals put forward by the German Government -is a scheme for rebuilding and re-equipping the devastated areas. It -excites, naturally, a chorus of disapproval from greedy contractors and -other people who would like the money allocated for houses, furniture, -and implements to go into their pockets. But in the interests of the -inhabitants--surely the paramount interest--any scheme which would deal -promptly with the problems concerned with the return to normal life -among the ruined villages should be examined closely. - -Further, England and America ought not to miss their opportunities -in this respect. The movement for the adoption by English centres of -French towns and villages is wise and generous, and if widely spread -through the United States as well as our own country should result -in substantial assistance to the victims of the war. The basis of -any adequate reparation scheme must be national. But destruction so -great leaves ample scope for additional voluntary assistance. It is -often whispered--one of the unfriendly whispers which circulate in -corners--that the French are over-willing to let other people shoulder -the burthen of the devastated areas. Whether or not the wealthy French -could have made greater efforts on behalf of their compatriots, the -position of England and America in this matter remains unaffected. They -cannot err on the side of over-generosity. The sufferings of the poor -and humble in the devastated areas have been atrocious. In so far as we -render France every material assistance within our power, our position -is the stronger if from time to time we are forced to cry halt about -matters concerning her general policy. Between the Allies there may be, -indeed there must be at times, differences which are fundamental as -regards their outlook on post-war problems. But on one point there can -only be complete unity of feeling and idea--sympathy for the innocent -victims on whom the material brunt of the war has fallen in its most -acute form; whole-hearted desire to make good the losses endured. - - - - -CHAPTER XII - -IN ALSACE - - -Never have I appreciated more fully than during the months I have lived -in Germany the many advantages of an island people. No more detestable -fate can exist than to be a border state of mixed population, snatched -as the chances of fate and history may dictate from one domination to -another. With the unhappy example of Ireland before our eyes, we are -not lacking in experience of the difficulties which arise from the -presence of two races and two religions in one country. When to these -internal differences are added the ambitions and intrigues of warring -Powers, each hungrily desirous of increasing its coast at the expense -of its neighbors, the lot of the inhabitants of the debatable zone is -seen to be unenviable indeed. National self-aggressiveness is always -accentuated when unhappily yoked with the rival claims of another -stock. Temperaments and points of view may be irreconcilable, but -each side is forced to contend for its daily bread in the same area -and to clash hourly or daily over the task. The problem in government -presented by such a situation is at the best of times distracting. When -inflamed by old memories of grievances and suffering, of wrongs given, -wrongs endured, it becomes almost insoluble. Only a being from another -planet endowed with infinite wisdom might be able to deal justly and -impartially with so great a tangle. But the very fact that such a -being would be remote from the passions surging round him, would rob -him of knowledge essential to their understanding. The hard-worked -phrase, self-determination, beloved by the sloppy-minded, never touches -the root of real bi-racial difficulties. When two sets of people in -one place wish to self-determine themselves in opposite senses, what -then? Only along the lines, not of self-aggression, but of loyalty to -a common ideal of justice and fair play, can reasonable men on both -sides grope towards some sort of compromise. But almost invariably the -actual course of events has been to destroy the very possibility of -mutual forbearance. Hatred, sinister child of arrogance and injustice, -stifles men and women within the evil circle it has forged. And the -circle continues pitilessly to revolve, the oppressors of to-day being -sometimes the oppressed of yesterday, but, whichever side is uppermost, -the bond of hatred remaining close and unbroken. - -The German wrong done to France in 1870 was at the same time a -supreme political blunder. At the time of the Franco-Prussian War, -Alsace-Lorraine had been French for nearly two hundred years and was -strongly French in sentiment. There was no real case for restitution -to Germany on geographical or historical grounds. For generations -life in the border provinces touching the Rhine had been in a state -of flux. The rigid territorial demarcations of our own time were then -non-existent. Frontiers and population were both fluid. Baedeker, whose -national bias in matters both of art and history makes the Handbook on -Germany often very unreliable, writes of the “seizing” of Strasbourg -by Louis XIV. and the “restoration” of the city after 1870. Cities and -provinces, according to our modern ideas, were tossed about ruthlessly -in the seventeenth century, but Alsace-Lorraine having become -thoroughly French had no wish to find itself restored to the Fatherland -and brought within the circle of Prussian philanthropic effort. Even -Alsace, more predominantly German in origin than Lorraine, had in 1870 -no desire for other allegiance but that of France. The provinces were -torn, protesting and unhappy, from the motherland of their adoption. -Bismarck, great and unscrupulous genius, whose clear-sighted vision in -matters of practical statecraft was only equalled by his entire lack -of moral sense, knew that a bad mistake had been made. “I do not like -the idea of so many Frenchmen being in our house against their will,” -he remarked uneasily. But Bismarck, whose time and thoughts had been -devoted with devilish ingenuity and success to manœuvering France into -war and putting her in the wrong over the process, had at the critical -point, so it would seem, not sufficient energy left to resist the -annexationist clamour of the Prussian generals. He yielded to military -pressure, thus leaving an open sore in the side of Europe, which in the -end was to involve his own creation of the new-made German Empire in -ruin. - -To-day the provinces are French again, while the conscience of the -world applauds a righteous act of restitution. It would be foolish, -however, to deny that the return of Alsace-Lorraine after forty-seven -years of German rule, with a German population very largely increased, -does not present an administrative problem to France of exceptional -difficulty. Lorraine, as I have said elsewhere, has kept its French -character very much intact throughout the years of oppression. The -problem of Alsace is harder to solve. - -My first vivid recollection of Paris as a child is being taken to the -Place de la Concorde to see the figure of Strasbourg draped in her -mourning weeds. It was with real emotion that after the Armistice I -saw the statue, all symbols of loss and servitude removed, throned -equally with her sister cities who encircle the great square. A visit -to Strasbourg itself in the dawn of its liberation is a satisfactory -and stimulating experience. The many vicissitudes of its history have -left a clear architectural mark on the town. Strasbourg lies, a little -way removed from the left bank of the Rhine, in the centre of a fertile -plain. Looking southwards, the line of the Vosges mountains stretches -far away to the right; equally far to the left across the river runs -the line of the Black Forest. So near the borders of Switzerland, -it is something of a surprise to find the Rhine flowing tranquilly -through this wide flat land already far removed from the mountains of -its birth. Before railways and modern methods of communication had -made light of rivers and mountains, Strasbourg, commanding the gap of -Belfort between the Vosges and the Jura, was a key point of the highest -importance. Here lay the broad and easy highway from France to Germany. -Along this path swept Napoleon in his invasions of the Rhineland. The -strategical value of the position was recognised by the Romans, who -had a camp at this point. No less important was it commercially in the -Middle Ages, for thanks to its position, Strasbourg was a necessary -centre of exchange for the trade of France, Germany, and Switzerland. -Manufactures have been developed on some scale by the Germans since -1870, but it is as one of the great marts of Central Europe that -Strasbourg has achieved its fame. - -The mediaeval character of the buildings survives to an unexpected -extent in many of the narrow streets. A small canalised stream, the -Ill, encloses the centre of the town, and the gabled houses which -cluster on the water’s edge, sadly insanitary though they must be, are -wholly satisfying to the eye. May health experts and social reformers -long be kept at bay from the old quarters of Strasbourg! The type of -house which lends unique character to the city has a deep-pitched -slanting roof broken by small dormer windows. The red tiles, flecked -with green, have been mellowed by age into a subdued colour of great -beauty. The houses, with wide lattice windows, are often decorated -with wood carvings, sometimes old, often restored. The gables which -lend so much character to this class of architecture are treated with -considerable freedom and variety; the crow’s-foot gable introduced by -the Dutch to South Africa is not uncommon here. The beautiful colour -of the tiles which glow and shimmer in the sunshine is like a warm and -rosy cloak flung over the town. Flowers not infrequently decorate the -broad window ledges, and give life and colour to the narrow streets -and passages. Striking indeed is the framework of such a house for -an Alsatian woman wearing the national headdress with its voluminous -black bows, when she appears at the window to tend her geraniums and -marguerites, or to pass the time of day with neighbours in the street -below. - -The influence of mediaeval Germany on the old streets and buildings of -Strasbourg can be seen at a glance. Superimposed on this foundation -is a town essentially French in character and architecture. -Eighteenth-century France has left behind it the type of high French -house, elegant and well-proportioned, characteristic of a period at -once correct and dignified. It is curious to notice how Strasbourg and -Metz adopted a similar attitude to the architectural improvements of -the conqueror. The spirit of both cities is identical in this respect. -Like Metz, pre-1870, Strasbourg keeps itself to itself, aloof and -reserved, within the confines of the surrounding Ill. On the further -banks, the modern German buildings encircle the old kernel with all -the material comfort and ugliness of the latter-day German town. -The solid reinforced-concrete houses, the large public buildings, -the wide streets and squares breathe a spirit from which the older -Strasbourg seems to remove the hem of her garment with fastidious -contempt--“What mean ye by these stones?”--and it is not fantastic to -read the moral and political struggles of this oft-disputed city of the -marches in the vivid contrasts of its architecture. Between mediaeval -and seventeenth-century Strasbourg there is no strife. But pre-1870 -Strasbourg, humiliated, aristocratic, reveals a passionate antagonism -towards the conquering parvenu to whom the city owes its present -material prosperity. The Kaiser’s palace, a building, monotonous and -vulgar, of the type which reproduces itself in a dozen German cities, -adorns one of the modern squares. As at Metz, the empty plinths -of destroyed statues testify to the passing of the Hohenzollerns. -Allegorical figures on one or two modern buildings, bereft of their -heads, were something of a puzzle. I could only conclude that the -former reigning house, with its mania for self-portraiture, had -disguised themselves in such cases as Virtues or Graces. - -I have spoken of the beauty of the tiled roofs. The famous cathedral -built of red sandstone strikes a similar note of warmth and colour. -Incredibly fine and delicate is the work on arch and buttress; -too fine, too delicate perhaps, for ornament is surely at its best -in that wonderful moment of Gothic at once austere and noble when -ornament serves a strictly architectural end. The famous west front of -Strasbourg Cathedral, for all the individual beauty of its carving--the -Wise and the Foolish Virgins alone well repay a long journey--is -a decorative façade entirely divorced from any architectural end. -Similarly with the gossamer-like tracery of the spire. The lines -are beautiful, but somehow you feel that the Kingdom of Heaven must -be stormed by more violent means than those of so fairy-like an -inspiration. Can such a structure really survive the next storm? The -question springs involuntarily to the mind, and in it lies a point -of reproach. It is one you would never ask yourself when looking at -the spires at Chartres. The fine apse of the minster testifies to the -Romanesque plan on which the building was begun. Then it was captured -by Gothic in its most airy and fantastic mood. It ranks, and ranks -rightly, among the great cathedrals of Europe. Yet, since buildings -and human beings tend to reproduce each other’s characteristics in a -strange and intimate way, it leaves the impression that, as may happen -with some character of real value and worth, its feet are a little off -the ground, and so the quality of the whole suffers. Ruskin, who first -saw Strasbourg when a boy of fourteen, writes in _Præterita_ that with -all its “miracles of building” he was “already wise enough to feel the -Cathedral stiff and ironworky.” But the high roofs and rich wooden -fronts of the houses excited and impressed him greatly. - -With the great astronomical clock, beloved of sightseers, I was frankly -a little bored. The cathedral is carefully closed at 11.30, so that -you are forced to pay for a ticket to come in at 12 o’clock when the -twelve apostles and the cock perform. A series of little figures creak -in and out, while two rather aggressive Suisses shout explanations -and thrust picture-postcards on the spectators. More satisfactory is -the museum, where a small collection of pictures, admirable for a -provincial town, can be visited. A delightful park called the Orangerie -ministers to those social amenities of life the secret of which is -so much better understood on the Continent than in Great Britain. -The numerous cafés and beer gardens of the continental town make the -partaking of food and drink--especially of drink--a simple respectable -affair, wholly robbed of the vicious and degrading associations which -invest the liquor trade at home. - -The crowds gathered in the cafés on a Sunday afternoon gave us a good -opportunity of studying the men and women of Strasbourg. I had the -impression of a mixed type special to itself and largely independent -of its parent stocks. It is wholly different from that of the tall -blond men and women we see in Cologne. Neither is it entirely French. -The Alsatians tend to be dark and short, somewhat solid too in build, -though the unmistakable elegance of French clothes lends a frequent -touch of distinction to passers-by in the streets. Such elegance is -unknown in Germany proper. Appalling too in its confusion of tongues -is the language spoken: a bastard jumble of French and German which -has ceased to have any resemblance to either. You speak in French, -the people reply in German; you try German, only to be countered in -the vilest of patois. In the end I fell back on English as the least -unintelligible of the three languages. As regards the difficult -bilingual question, I do not know on what ultimate policy the French -have decided. For the moment both French and German names appear in -the streets, and public places such as the railway station. It is -to be hoped there will be no departure from this policy. Suppress a -language, and it flourishes with that zest and vigour derived from -persecution alone. The Germans, being stupid people, never learnt this -lesson either in Poland or Alsace-Lorraine. The French, as a really -intelligent race, are in a better position to avoid what is at all -times a gross mistake. The lessons of history are usually disregarded, -and it would appear that politicians as a body are singularly inept as -regards the application of past precedents to present events. Yet the -great moral of the pacification of South Africa and the principles it -illustrates is one on which Europe in its present chaos would do well -to reflect. - -The general appearance of the town throughout Sunday was merry and -light-hearted. Bands and processions were the order of the day. A -parade of ancient firemen during the morning must have included all the -surviving heroes of 1870. Young Alsace was bringing itself up no less -vigorously on Boy Scout lines. Every organisation which could march was -marching to a fanfare of trumpets and a flying of flags. Strasbourg -is the stronghold of the German section of Alsace, yet even among -individuals I did not notice any appearance of discontent or hostility. -The sullen black looks we had seen in the Saar were absent here. - -The proposition in government, however, with which the French find -themselves confronted is a difficult one. The problem of population is -specially intricate. The German element preponderates considerably in -Alsace, but a German name may often conceal French sympathies. Every -effort was made by the conquerors after 1870 to stimulate immigration -from German stocks of whose loyalty there could be no doubt. Many -Germans have come into the country during the last forty years, but the -line of demarcation between them and the German Alsatians proper is -an impossible one to draw administratively. The type of shrill voice -which on all and every occasion clamours for policies which would -aggravate the existing confusion of Europe is loud in its demands -that the Germans should be turned out. The French Government have had -the good sense up to the present not to pursue so mad a course. The -friction which has arisen over the inevitable replacement of German by -French officials has been a warning, no doubt, as to the consequences -likely to follow from any attempt at wholesale expulsion. During the -spring changes in personnel on the Alsace-Lorraine railways led, as I -have mentioned in the previous chapter, to a general strike in both -provinces. - -The question of military service is tangled and difficult. Germany is -now free from conscription, a blessing whole-heartedly appreciated -by her working population. Alsace-Lorraine, on the contrary, has to -contribute its quota to the French armies. Thousands of ex-German -soldiers have already been called upon to serve with the French -colours. The cruel fate of French Alsatians, conscripted by Germany -and forced to fight against France, has harrowed the conscience of -European public opinion for many years past. France must see to it that -she does not pursue a policy towards the German Alsatians which will -sooner or later alienate the sympathy of Europe from her as surely -as it was alienated from Prussia. At the moment she holds all the -cards in her hand. She can afford to play the big game, the generous -game, which is the only one capable of meeting the present situation. -Forty-seven years of German bullying and efficiency left the sentiment -of Alsace-Lorraine predominantly French. The rape of the provinces -had long been regarded as an injury to the comity of nations. Outside -the Central Empires and their adherents the whole world rejoiced with -France in the hour of restitution. Now she has exchanged the position -of the person wronged, to that of the person in possession, something -of romance and sympathy evaporates inevitably. The test is no longer -that of sentiment and feeling, but of the hard facts of government, -well or ill handled. - -Under the heel of the oppressor, France taught the world how firm -and enduring national sentiment can become. No material benefits of -Prussian rule, considerable though they were, could reconcile the -Alsatians to the injury done to their rights as free people. Now that -a large German population passes under French control, France will be -wise to give no opportunity for the cultivation of a national sentiment -among the German Alsatians as bitter as that of the last forty years -among the French. In all that concerns the practical and material -organisation of life, German efficiency is much greater than French. -They understand the gas and water affairs of life thoroughly. France’s -advantage lies in the keenness and admirable clarity of her spirit, her -powers of wit and of intuition, her fine sense in all that concerns the -heart and mind of man. Wholly devoid of sentimentality, no nation can -approach the French clearness of vision and touch when at their best. -But on the administrative side the Frenchman is often less happy. The -German is painstaking and very thorough; the Englishmen has a natural -instinct for finding a way out of serious difficulties through the -application of a rough-and-ready code of behaving decently to decent -people. The Frenchman is apt to tie himself up in red tape. A French -bank in Metz refused to give us any money on a French draft especially -arranged for our tour. We were told to call again in a fortnight. A -German bank in Saarbrücken gave us all the money we wanted on the draft -scorned by the Metz gentlemen, six of whom were brought to look at us -before we were turned down. As a method of conducting business the -proceedings did not strike us as efficient. - -The administrative problem of Alsace-Lorraine can only be a difficult -one. French bureaucrats admittedly can be both corrupt and unwise, and -it is on the enduring qualities of the French spirit that France must -draw if she is to make a success of the government of her restored -provinces. A true pacification of the German elements resulting in -a general loyalty to France would be a signal victory for French -statesmanship. - -The question of the compensating advantages presented by -Alsace-Lorraine as against the devastations in Northern France, -raises an issue about which French opinion is peculiarly sensitive. -On this delicate ground any English writer is bound to tread warily. -France will never admit, or permit it to be said, that any element of -compensation enters into the case. The provinces were stolen from her; -now they have been restored at the cost of over a million French lives -and untold sufferings. From the point of view of abstract justice and -ideal right this contention is doubtless true. But it breaks down -before the humdrum questions presented by population, trade, revenue. -The provinces were irretrievably lost to France and could only be -regained at the price of a successful war. It must be a considerable -satisfaction to any friend of France to feel that the crater holes -of the devastated areas are at least set off by the recovery of two -rich and prosperous provinces, 5605 square miles in extent, with a -population of 1,874,014 people. The case of France otherwise would -have been aggravated to a desperate degree. She at least enters here -and now into possession of an undevastated area, bringing with it -considerable compensations in population, minerals, agriculture, and -all that these imply as regards trade and taxation. The provinces -return vastly improved in their material equipment, thanks to the -German capital spent on them. The asset restored is far richer than the -asset lost. The set-off, of course, is in no sense equal to what has -been destroyed, but it is a substantial element in the case, and one to -which, frankly, too little attention is ever paid when questions of war -losses are discussed. - -It is an interesting experience to motor through the Vosges at a point -where the line, so fiercely contended in the north, peters out, so to -speak, under conditions which by contrast seem mild if not actually -ladylike. We motored to St. Dié by way of the Odilienberg and Saales, -returning over the Col de Schlücht to Münster and Colmar, and so back -to Strasbourg. Our chauffeur, an Alsatian, warned us we must expect -terrible scenes on reaching Saales: since 1870 the French frontier. The -warning proved how little experience he had had of the grim business -of war on the main lines of attack and defence. - -The rampart of the Vosges falls away sharply to the plain on its -eastern side, and from the convent crowning the heights of the -Odilienberg a wonderful bird’s-eye view exists of the mountains and -the plain: Strasbourg and the silver streak of the Rhine dimly visible -in the distance, far, far away beyond, the still dimmer line of the -Black Forest mountains. The convent itself, a favourite “viewpoint” -for trippers to the Vosges, has, thanks to its restaurant and café, a -curiously secular appearance. The good nuns apparently drive a brisk -trade in souvenirs and picture-postcards, the restaurant catering as -much for the needs of the body as the prayers of the faithful for the -soul. The wooded heights of the Vosges, sometimes beech, sometimes -pine, varied by splendid scarlet patches of mountain-ash berries at -their best, are threaded by excellent roads. In the neighbourhood of -Saales we braced ourselves, thanks to the exhortations of the driver, -to resume our acquaintance with the horrors of the line. But a few -damaged houses, and here and there a shattered tree, proved how lightly -by comparison this district had escaped. Woods and fields were in a -normal condition, and vigorous efforts had clearly been made to deal -with the shattered houses. - -The scenery of the Col de Schlücht is very fine. A country to be really -appreciated must be seen on foot, and motoring is at best but an -unsatisfactory makeshift for the busy. To the true vagabond, as Borrow -and Robert Louis Stevenson understood the term, the friendly hills of -the Vosges must offer many attractions as a wandering ground. Our time -being limited, we were grateful to the motor for the cinematograph -impression we were able to carry away. Fighting of a more serious -character had taken place on the Col de Schlücht than at Saales. It -was along this road the French made their original thrust into Alsace -at the beginning of the war, when for a brief period they occupied -Colmar in the plain below. Driven back by the Germans with heavy -losses, the line was stabilised for some years at a point near the head -of the pass. Even so the unfailing test of the trees showed that the -destruction had not been complete. Münster at the foot of the pass was -a heap of ruins. Here for a time artillery fire must have been heavy. -But we passed rapidly out of the zone of battle; a great contrast in -this respect to the plain of the Woevre where, mile after mile before -Verdun is reached, the aspect of the landscape along the road from Metz -is desolate and desolating in the extreme. - -The agricultural value of the great plain of Alsace must be -considerable. The land is rich and well cultivated. Corn, potatoes, -and beetroot flourish. Crops of maize and fields of tobacco point to -the warmth of the climate. Hops and vines are grown on a scale which -does not indicate much enthusiasm for the Pussyfoot movement. Hops are -trained on rather a different principle from that usual in Kent, and -the long trailing festoons of leaves and flowers languish one towards -another like so many elegant and swooning beauties. Tobacco factories -and breweries have been established in Strasbourg by the Germans; -engine works and foundries also contribute to its wealth. But despite -the commercial and manufacturing activities which have turned a city -of 78,000 people in 1870 to one of 170,000 in 1911, the strength -of Alsace remains rooted in its agriculture and its agricultural -population. Except Strasbourg, and in a lesser degree Mülhausen, -there are no big towns. From the land has come in the main the brave -spirit which carried the people through years of gloom and foreign -domination. That the same spirit will triumph over the difficulties of -reconstruction must be the hope of all friends of France. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII - -SOME ELECTIONEERING IMPRESSIONS - - -I - -German political life is in the main a sealed book to the British -public. Many people take but a tepid interest in the politics of their -own country. To grapple with the intricacies of parties and programmes -in a foreign land is an effort quite beyond the will or the power of -the average citizen. Yet Germany plays, and is bound to play for years -to come, so dominant a part in every calculation and forecast made -by her neighbours, that it is of considerable importance to try and -realise what forces are at work among her own people. - -Constitutional life in Germany has had many vicissitudes. When the -tragic history of our own times comes to be written, future historians -will probably regard the failure of the Frankfurt deputies in 1848 -to solve the problem of German unity on a democratic basis as the -most fatal date in modern history. The unity which the “Professors’ -Parliament” failed to achieve was welded together triumphantly by -Bismarck, twenty-three years later, through blood and iron. To the cult -of blood and iron Germany henceforth dedicated itself, and for many -years, with striking success. But even within the Empire the system had -its challengers, as the spread of Socialist doctrines and the successes -of the Social Democrats proved. When the military régime collapsed -in defeat and confusion in the autumn of 1918, it was to the despised -democratic elements that Germany owed her escape from utter ruin. - -Little or no attention has ever been paid to the astonishing feat of -constitutional reorganisation which was carried through after the -flight of the Emperor. Complete military disaster had overtaken the -country; revolution and anarchy were abroad in the land. Yet on the -morrow of these events not only was a Republic proclaimed, but a German -Government came into being which worked out a democratic constitution -based on universal suffrage and full ministerial responsibility of the -cabinet to the elected representatives of the people. The history of -parliaments contains no more surprising page. Women were enfranchised, -lists of voters prepared, and within a few weeks of the Armistice, -elections were held which brought into existence a provisional National -Assembly whose business it was to carry on the hard task of government -till the first Reichstag of the new Republic could subsequently be -elected. How all this was done in the time is a mystery, especially -having in mind the endless delays to which our own last Franchise Bill -gave rise, and the difficulties pleaded as regards the revision of -voters’ lists. The temper of the hour and the mood of the conquering -Allies did not permit of one word of praise for a constitutional _tour -de force_ carried through under conditions of overwhelming difficulty. -But it would be unjust and ungenerous not to recognise to-day with -what dogged determination the German democrats, inexperienced and -untried as they were in government, handled the half-foundering ship -they were called upon to save. To make a success of the task was an -impossibility under the circumstances for them or for any set of men. -But that they kept the ship afloat, in view of the seas breaking over -it, is little short of a marvel. - -The man who played a thoroughly creditable part in the hour of collapse -was Hindenburg. Unlike other distinguished members of the ruling class -he did not run away when the game was up, but stood by his country -through the grim business of defeat and surrender. Without a shred of -sympathy for the Republican Government, he gave that government loyal -assistance as regards the withdrawal of the armies. No man in Germany -to-day commands more universal respect than the old Field-Marshall. -Amid the flood of recriminations which German statesmen, generals, and -admirals have poured on each other, Hindenburg has displayed reticence -and generosity which do him entire credit. The inclusion of his name in -the list of War Criminals is of all Allied ineptitudes since the Peace -perhaps the greatest. - -The National Assembly lasted for about fifteen months. In June 1920 -Germany went to the polls to elect the first Reichstag of the Republic. -Not the faintest interest in the event was taken by the British public. -Yet whatever the result, it could only react on the whole future of -European reconstruction. - -Current conceptions at home remain astonishingly crude as to the -position in Central Europe. The man in the street, brought up in the -true milk of the word as preached by the Yellow Press, is still of -opinion that Germany is as militant and as threatening as ever, and -that, should we be so foolish as to stop sitting on her head, she -would promptly overrun Europe again. Suggest that Germany with her -fleet sunk, her merchant shipping confiscated, her colonies lost, her -army disbanded, her war material surrendered, her railway system in -ruins, her food shortage considerable, is hardly in a position at the -moment to make an unprovoked attack on any one, and the said person -hints darkly in reply at hidden divisions on the Eastern Frontier; -at an alliance between the Bolshevists and the German Government; -at a military menace little less serious than what existed in 1914. -It is surprising that people of this type are not more in conceit -with themselves after the Allied victory, and fail so completely in -appreciation of what the conquering armies have done. The German -legions, perfectly trained and equipped after years of preparation, -and with the whole resources of the German Empire behind them, could -not achieve the preliminary pounce on Paris in 1914. Is the present -Republican Government in any better position to succeed where they -failed? A nation broken by hunger and defeat may become a centre of -disease, dangerous to its neighbours owing to the poison spread through -the whole international system. But any talk of external military -adventure, apart from sporadic insurrections, is absurd. - -The old united Germany with its strong centralised military government -is a thing of the past. Instead of which we have a Germany, weak, -disorganised, distracted, split into various factions each at mortal -strife with the other. The position is full of danger and grave -internal crisis; it may menace the foundations of European society, but -the danger is disruptive and from within, not the menace of external -legions. Political parties in Germany are split up into numerous and -bewildering subdivisions. The Independent Socialists and Communists -form a group to the extreme left, with more or less Bolshevist ideals. -But, broadly speaking, there are two main sections, the democratically -minded people who desire the evolution of a peaceful and constitutional -republic, and the reactionaries who, while paying a certain lip-service -to democratic principles, at heart detest the whole business. - -It will be the eternal reproach to Allied policy that it has done -nothing whatever to help the better elements in Germany to consolidate -their position. On the contrary, by the intolerable economic penalties -of the Peace it has pushed German democracy into a slough of despond -and handed over all the vantage points to its enemies. The measure -of the vast blunder committed in this respect is clear enough to any -one who, like myself, has had the opportunity of attending political -meetings held in Germany. To be living in a country torn by a fierce -election campaign and to be taking no part in the fray was a novel -experience for me. The placards with which Cologne was covered and -the heated articles in the German newspapers made me, like an old -war-horse, sniff battle from afar. At least I was anxious to try to -gather as a spectator how German men and women were really feeling and -thinking on this critical occasion. Political meetings have their own -atmosphere and tell their own tale, and the opportunity of hearing and -judging for myself was too good a one to miss. - -I confess it was with a certain amount of trepidation that I made my -way for the first time into a German public meeting. Naturally I had no -desire to be recognised as an English woman, and, the conditions being -wholly novel, I was not clear beforehand how far I should be able to -lie low and conceal the fact of my nationality. However, seeing that -the Social Democrats advertised a meeting to which women were specially -invited, I plucked up my courage, reflected on the not infrequent and -slightly chastening occasions when I have been addressed by Germans in -German, bought a Socialist paper which I displayed conspicuously, and -walked into the gathering. Neither then nor on any subsequent occasion, -let me say, did I experience the smallest difficulty in slipping in -amongst the crowd and hearing the proceedings in entire comfort. - -It was a warm evening, and the great hall of the Gürzenich, the -old banqueting-room of mediaeval Cologne, was only half full. The -audience--about equal numbers of men and women--were well-dressed, -entirely decorous folk. The long hair and red ties of orthodox -Socialism were absent. German meetings are detestably unpunctual. -Advertised generally for 8 P.M., they seldom start till twenty -minutes later, and the audience meekly accepts conditions of delay -which would rouse an English meeting to fury. The principal speaker -of the evening was Fräulein S., of Hamburg, a member of the National -Assembly. At 8.20 a procession of earnest-looking women slowly mounted -the platform. They wore coloured blouses and dark skirts, and their -hair was scratched back tightly off their heads--a true hall-mark of -feminine virtue in all climes and among all nations. The chairwoman had -fortified herself with a large dinner-bell, and rang a peal, apparently -to give herself courage, on opening the proceedings. Restoration of -order was unnecessary, for the audience sat in stolid silence on the -appearance of the speakers, not even extending to them the perfunctory -greeting with which an English audience heartens the platform victims -before the sacrifice. No encouraging cheers greeted the advent of a -pleasant-looking lady who, armed with a folio of MS., made her way to -the reading-desk. Fräulein S. spoke, or rather read, for an hour in a -clear, cultivated voice. She outlined the constructive policy of the -Social Democrats or Majority Socialists, whose platform approximates to -what was known as the Liberal-Labour position in English politics. The -party is, however, definitely pledged to nationalisation. The speaker -led off with the blockade, which is the King Charles’s Head of every -political meeting in Germany. Their enemies, she declared, accused -the Social Democrats of bringing Germany into her present desperate -straits. Not the revolution, however, but the dire consequences of the -blockade were responsible for the troubles of the people. Fräulein -S.’s chief interests lay obviously in the field of social reform. She -outlined a programme which was strangely familiar in many respects. -The unmarried mother and the question of religious education in the -schools were in the forefront of the battle. The temper of the meeting, -it must be owned, was very tepid, but the depressing silence was broken -by a few cheers when these subjects were handled. Another old friend -appeared with Fräulein S.’s emphatic assertion that no school teacher -should be compelled to resign her appointment on marriage. The lady -then dealt at some length with finance and the incidence of taxation. A -thoughtful, well-expressed speech--withal a trifle dull. - -The reading of manuscript in a large hall has a curiously deadening -effect on an audience, and judging by what I have heard, the women -politicians of Germany--and be it also said many of the men--have not -as yet learnt to emancipate themselves from the tyranny of elaborately -prepared lectures. This was noticeable in the case of the speakers who -followed Fräulein S. She was succeeded at the reading-desk by a dark, -heavy-browed, energetic-looking girl, who infused a welcome note of -vigour, not to say violence, into the proceedings. This young woman -was a school teacher of obviously advanced views, and spoke well and -fluently. She made short shrift of religious education in schools. -Priests and catechisms vanished under her touch as she flourished the -Socialist banner and belaboured her political adversaries with a series -of witticisms which evoked rounds of applause. Yet she too had a folio -of notes, and now and again when a word failed, a sudden pause in the -flow of oratory, a hasty turning of sheets showed that the thunder, -effective as it was, had been carefully prepared. - -These little difficulties were still more noticeable in the case of -the next speaker, an old lady wearing spectacles and a black bonnet, -whose witticisms (the drift of which I was quite unable to follow) -delighted the audience. Her notes had got mixed, and when she lost her -thread--which happened frequently--some moments were spent hunting it. -Quite undismayed, however, by these interruptions, the old lady held -to her task gallantly. She was clearly a favourite, and the carefully -prepared jokes resulted in loud laughter. I was sorry to miss the point -of these jests, but I was left with the impression that public meetings -in Germany, as in England, are ready to be amused with very small beer. -The ladies were succeeded by one or two men speakers, who all chanted -the praises of the Social Democrats and introduced variants of another -familiar theme--poll early and poll straight. After this the chairwoman -performed energetically again on the dinner-bell--did any member of -the audience desire to speak? Hardly had the sounds died away when -she declared the meeting over. I was waiting for the real fun of the -fair to begin with questions, but found myself, with the rest of the -company, in the street. - -Encouraged by this first attempt, I made a round of the meetings -held by the leading parties, gatherings at which night after night I -listened to views as wide asunder as the poles. The proceedings were -considerably more lively than at the women’s meeting, and on more than -one occasion feeling ran high. Yet the proceedings were astonishingly -orderly as compared with the uproarious election meetings which are -common enough at home. Interruptions were not of a sustained character, -and during the campaign I saw no meeting broken up. I can only marvel, -however, at the easy lot of a German candidate, for questions and -heckling play a very small part in the campaign. The carefully prepared -conundrums which harass the existence of the British Parliamentary -candidate, the game of thrust and tierce, are unknown here. I was -disappointed by the absence of the familiar figure in the back row who -rises, waggling a minatory forefinger, and the words, “I want to ask -the candidate,” etc. The odds are against the heckler in Germany, for -what is called the “discussion” consists of objectors coming on to the -platform and making speeches of protest, surrounded by the candidate or -candidates and their supporters. As I have already remarked, meetings -begin late, speeches are very lengthy, and by the time the party -candidates sitting in a row on the platform have each said his say the -hour stands long after 10 P.M., and the audience begins to go home. - -Naturally I was specially interested in the women speakers and the -general bearing of women at these gatherings. The impression made upon -me was that if German women attained full political emancipation at -a bound through the revolution in November 1918, they have already -laid a firm hand on their new rights. Large numbers of women were -present at every meeting I attended--a fact which made my own presence -possible. A fair proportion of women had sat in the National Assembly -(the first provisional Parliament elected after the revolution), and -were candidates for the new Reichstag. It is a satisfactory feature -that, though the progressive feminist spirits are naturally more -numerous among the Social Democrats and Minority Socialists, the -various Conservative parties also support women candidates. If the -British voters at the last General Election showed no mind of any kind -to return women to Parliament, German women have fared better. But the -difference in the electoral system probably tells in their favour. - - -II - -German political organisation differs widely from anything with which -we are familiar. The small constituencies represented by one or two -members have no existence here. The country is divided into large -electoral areas, and each party has a list of candidates qualified for -the position by the votes of their respective supporters. On polling -day you are implored to vote, therefore, not for a person but for a -list, the list being headed by the name of the leading candidate. A -definite quota of votes given to a party elects a member automatically. -The personal element in elections which is so conspicuous a feature -of our own public life has practically no existence in Germany. The -struggle is one of principles far more than of personalities. This -state of affairs tells against a candidate of special gifts, but on the -other hand it neutralises the unfair influence of the purse, and gets -rid of much of the polite bribery which enters into political life at -home. There is no question here as at Eatonswill of kissing the babies -or shaking hands specially washed for the occasion. Further, areas are -too large to make handsome subscriptions to local charities a factor -in success. A millionaire could not stand the strain of subsidising -portions of a province. - -Another curious feature of a General Election in Germany is the -inadequacy of the Press arrangements. The papers supporting the various -factions give the list of their own candidates, and these lists -appear on the electioneering placards which are in great evidence. -But I wholly failed to obtain any general list of the candidates in -the Cologne area, let alone a list for the whole country. Equally -difficult was it after the poll to get a detailed list of the losses -and gains. Totals appeared but no names. It was necessary to hunt -through a variety of party organs to find which of the candidates had -been qualified as members by the quota of votes given to the party. -Though I spent my time buying newspapers, I was never able to find a -list setting out the new Reichstag in tabular form, with parties and -localities attached to the various names. Electioneering literature -was poor stuff, and the occasional picture posters not inspiring. -The Deutschnationale had a dramatic placard of a drowning man sinking -beneath heavy seas, to whom a lifebuoy with D.N.P. is being thrown -as his one chance of salvation. But the subject of the placard could -hardly have thrilled the electors. Posters devoted to the general -turpitude of the other man’s views were common, and followed familiar -lines. But certainly neither Press nor posters could compare with the -organisation of the written and printed word which exists during a -General Election in the United Kingdom. - -It was an interesting experience night after night to watch a country -groping its way along political paths but recently opened. The -multiplicity of parties into which Germany is split is very confusing -to a foreigner. The lines of demarcation in some cases are hard to -grasp, and the political life of the Republic would gain in vigour and -directness if certain of the groups were combined under one banner. - -The two main groups, right and left, into which German political life -falls are split up into various factions. The Socialist Party is -divided into a constitutional right wing, the Social Democrats, and a -revolutionary left wing, the “Unabhängige” or Independent Socialists. -Since the revolution, various parties have been busily engaged changing -their names, a fact which does not simplify the situation, as the old -ones still survive in current conversation. The former Liberals--whose -views have nothing in common with Liberalism in the English sense--are -included to-day in a variety of Capitalist and Conservative groups from -the Demokraten (mildly Liberal in our sense of the word) on the left to -the Deutschnationale Partei on the right. This last-named tabernacle -shelters the Junker and Agrarian elements, and is reactionary to the -core. But it is less dangerous than the party which has risen into -power of late and bids fair to be thoroughly mischievous, namely, the -Deutsche Volkspartei. This is the party of Herr Stinnes and the “schwer -Industrie.” It includes the great manufacturers and capitalists, -as well as large sections of the Bourgeoisie, has ample funds at -its command, and despite some perfunctory patter about democracy, -is bitterly anti-democratic in feeling and outlook. These two main -divisions of the Socialists and the Bourgeoisie face each other with -uncompromising hostility. But the situation is further complicated by -a clerical element standing between them, with which happily our own -politics are untroubled. - -The fervour and depth of Catholicism on the Rhineland has been one -of the many surprises of Germany to me. In the Rhineland, therefore, -questions affecting Church and State are much to the fore, especially -the burning question of religious education in the schools. But the -cross-correspondences between the Zentrum, the orthodox Catholic -party, and the other groups are most bewildering. There are Christian -Socialists and Socialists who are very much the reverse. The Zentrum -has cooperated for certain purposes with the Social Democrats, which -has resulted in a split in its own ranks and the formation of a new -party of clerical extremists known as the Christliche Volkspartei. - -Amid the welter of parties two conclusions force themselves on the -observer. First, the orderly democratic elements in Germany are having -a hard struggle to survive; second, it is essential for the Allies to -have a responsible Government in Germany with principles approximating -to those of the democratic peoples. To such a Government alone can -they look for the execution of Germany’s Treaty obligations. Yet they -have taken no steps to secure this end. I often think that Europe will -make final shipwreck over the mistaken idea of German military unity -still so firmly screwed into popular imagination at home. Could we but -grasp the profound internal cleavage of ideas and ideals in Germany -itself, common-sense, if no higher consideration, might suggest the -importance of strengthening the hands of the only party from which we -have anything to hope. - -The democratic Government which came into existence at the time of the -revolution has had an impossible task. It was confronted by hunger, -defeat, despair, and the miseries which resulted from the blockade. -It was not a strong Government--how could it be? Democracy is but a -plant of struggling growth in Germany. The nation has had no training -in self-government, and the efficient bureaucracy which still more or -less survives is steeped in the old bad traditions. That under these -circumstances the new Government was open to suspicion at every turn -is natural enough. A more far-sighted policy, however, inspired by -some faith and hope for the future would have realised that these -struggling democratic ideals, if feeble, were sincere and would not -have withheld all help from them. Also that the powerful internal -enemies, the revolutionaries on the one hand, the reactionaries on the -other, were waiting their opportunity to destroy them. Such a policy, -could it have illumined the councils of Versailles, might at least -have seen the folly of associating the first efforts in democratic -government in Germany with rebuffs and humiliations of all kinds. The -German working-man means to stand by the revolution, but hunger and -general demoralisation are openings on which the reactionaries and -revolutionaries are not slow to seize. - -These reflections were driven home to me in a most emphatic way -at a meeting of the Deutsche Volkspartei which was addressed by a -distinguished professor from Berlin. The Deutsche Volkspartei excites -peculiar wrath in Socialist circles. The Junkers and the Right Wing -extremists, left to themselves, are not dangerous. But this great -Conservative capitalist block, fortified? by the funds of the big -business men and the “schwer Industrie,” is considered, and rightly, a -formidable adversary. - -The Professor’s speech was in its own way first-rate. From premises -which personally I detested he developed his theme with extraordinary -ability, piling argument upon argument with a cumulative force which -swept everything before it. Personally I was very thankful it did not -fall to my lot to answer some of the points scored. - -The Gürzenich Hall was crowded on this occasion, and the fashionable -ladies who sat on the platform belonged to a different world from -that of the Social Democratic women of an earlier meeting. As regards -the masculine supporters of the Volkspartei, I was reminded of Mr. -Keynes’s famous description of the present House of Commons, “a lot -of hard-faced men who looked as though they had done very well out of -the war.” This was particularly the case with the chairman, who had -“schwer Industrie” written all over him. The Professor’s personality -was more attractive than that of many of his supporters--a grey-haired, -grey-bearded man, with a fine head and full strong voice. He spoke -without a note of any kind, never once hesitating for a word. He -dealt skilfully with occasional interruptions, for the meeting was not -composed of unanimous supporters. - -The speech began characteristically with a eulogy of Bismarck. -Bismarck had been reproached for a policy of blood and iron and force. -But blood and iron and force, not the pratings of the democratic -visionaries of the National Assembly at Frankfurt in 1848, had created -and sustained modern Germany. It was the absence of blood and iron -which was responsible for their present downfall. Not that the armies -in the field were ever defeated; Germany’s downfall sprang from the -blockade and the fanatical hatred of England. Yet not from the blockade -alone: all might have been saved but for the revolution which had -brought about their final undoing. It was the traitors from within, -not the enemies from without, who had finally wrecked and destroyed -Bismarck’s work. Social Democracy had been the ruin of the country. -It had delivered the nation tied and bound into the hands of their -enemies. Democracy, what was democracy? The firstfruits of German -democracy had been the Treaty of Versailles with its intolerable -burdens. Belief in democratic principles; trust in the professions of -democratic leaders? The speaker laughed bitterly. Had not President -Wilson proclaimed that America was fighting German militarism, not the -German people? Had not Lloyd George said the same thing, and that no -yard of German soil was desired by the Alliance? The Social Democrats -might believe these fables, on the strength of which they sold the pass -to the bitter enemies of the Fatherland. The result was the Treaty of -Versailles. The Socialists talked of a peace of reconciliation, of -international relations, of stretching out hands to the democracies -in other countries. What folly to trust to such shifting sands, which -had resulted in the German people being swallowed up in misery. The -Social Democrats had promised them freedom. “Freedom,” said the speaker -with bitter scorn; “are you free in the Rhineland?” No; there was only -one way by which a happier future could be reached--the re-creation -of Germany on strong nationalist lines; a Germany resting on force, -purged of democratic and international follies, with her eyes fixed -on herself and the principles of Bismarck well to the fore again. To -do this the defeat of Social Democracy and Socialism at the polls was -the first essential. A Government must be returned which would know -how to safeguard the welfare of the Fatherland. Unceasing work was an -essential of reconstruction; the eight hours’ day was another colossal -blunder recently made. Here and there the speaker threw an occasional -sop to the democratic Cerberus. Perhaps it was true that they had -relied a little too much on force alone in the past, and had forgotten -the old idealistic teaching of the poets and philosophers. And again -the rule of bayonets was over; government now rested on the will of the -people--a good old tag which appeared towards the end of the speech. -If the Volkspartei have their way, how much will shortly remain of the -will of the people in Germany? - -Now for an English woman sitting unperceived and unrecognised among a -German audience this speech was not pleasant hearing. Naturally, the -speaker glided easily over the rotten ice of Germany’s responsibility -for the war. He had nothing to say as to the original crime of German -militarism, the real starting point of his tale of woe. For him -history began with the Peace, an indefensible position. Nevertheless -all he had to say on that subject drove home every doubt people like -myself have felt as to the scrapping by the Peace of the fundamental -principles for which we fought the war. The speech was a practical -illustration of how the Treaty itself has played straight into the -hands of the German reactionaries, how it has brought democratic -professions into utter contempt, how it has made the lot of a German -democratic Government practically impossible. - -The speech of the evening was received with rapturous applause, though -elements of dissent were not unrepresented. But, as I have said before, -German political meetings are not arranged with a view to helping the -heckler. It is one thing to fire off questions from the body of the -hall, quite another to go upon the platform and make a reasoned speech -of protest surrounded by your enemies. Even so the “discussions” are -at times sufficiently lively. A nice old working-man, with clothes so -patched that the original pattern had almost disappeared, sat next -me in my corner. He was obviously full of protest at the speech, and -obviously anxious to explain his objections to me. But the necessities -of my incognito demanded strict silence, for my speech I knew would -betray me if I became involved in conversation however interesting. So -I was forced to assume an attitude of haughty aloofness, much though I -regretted the latter. - -When the Berlin gentleman sat down, another prop of the Volkspartei, -an elderly and spectacled lady, advanced to the reading-desk fairly -staggering under a load of MS. “Lieber Gott!” said two young men -sitting in front of me when she had said half a dozen words. Seizing -their hats, they fled forthwith. I bore with the portentous dullness -of the lady for a few minutes and then fled in my turn. The evening -though interesting had not been agreeable. There had been too much -truth in many of the taunts hurled by the Professor at the democratic -professors of the Allies and their “faithful guardianship” of the -principles of liberty and justice. The miserable state of confusion to -which the pundits of the Peace Conference have reduced Europe is only -too apparent to any one living on the Continent. But to have the moral -enforced and adorned by a German is poor work for an English woman. - - -III - -One outstanding impression which I have carried away from political -meetings in Germany is the easy life of a German parliamentary -candidate. So far as I could judge, these happy individuals saunter -through a campaign with relative ease and leisure. Instead of a hectic -evening spent in rushing from one meeting to another, candidates sit -for hours listening to one another’s oratory. The absence of heckling -and questions makes the delivery of long political treatises, which are -but mildly challenged, a simple task. There are of course exceptions, -and some meetings, notably Socialist ones, announce a “discussion,” -at which feeling runs high. But the average German audience is very -long-suffering, and tolerates bores and speeches of inordinate length -which would empty an English gathering. The whole spirit of a German -meeting is hostile to interruptions. I have heard a man who interjected -a harmless remark torn to pieces by the speaker, with the obvious -approval of the audience. - -All of which is perhaps a mark of the political inexperience of the -people and that despairing German habit of taking for granted what -is told them. Nowhere more than in Germany does one thank heaven for -the intractability and argumentativeness of the British democracy. -Intellectual docility lies at the root of many German crimes, and along -the path of criticism probably lies the way of political regeneration. - -Liberal and Conservative principles are much the same all the world -over, and the German political parties which embody them are easy to -recognize whatever their names. But the clerical element which cuts -across political life in Catholic Germany has no parallel in English -politics, and produces some curious eddies in the stream. The Zentrum, -the orthodox Catholic Party, cannot be reproached with clericalism -in the bad sense of the word. German Catholicism includes mildly -Socialistic elements, and the Zentrum joined with the Social Democrats -in forming the present Government. It is largely a working-class party, -and stands for what we should call moderate Liberal views. But at the -same time it is grounded in principles of religious education and that -religious view of the State to which modern democratic feeling is -increasingly hostile. Joint makers of the Coalition, no two parties -at the moment abuse each other more heartily than the Zentrum and the -Majority Socialists. Despite its present influence, it is difficult, -therefore, to judge what the future holds for the Zentrum. Meanwhile, -a certain section of zealots and intriguers have broken away from the -original Catholic Party to form the Christliche Volkspartei. The -seceders declare that by holding any traffic with the Social Democrats -the Zentrum has been faithless to the first principles of religious -education. It was incumbent on them, therefore, however heart-breaking -the task, to withdraw the hem of their garments from the accursed thing -and stand for Christian fundamentals in their original purity. Behind -all of which professions lurks a very pretty intrigue. - -I was favourably impressed at a Zentrum meeting both by the audience -and the speakers. I came away feeling that they were decent people -holding moderate views with honesty and a certain liberality of view. -Unlike the Deutschnationale and the Volkspartei, they do not desire the -destruction of the Republic, while paying it perfunctory lip-service. -One speaker, a priest, declared emphatically against any restoration of -the monarchy, and his remarks were received with cheers. The capitalist -element was clearly unrepresented on the platform. The body of the hall -was filled with the same working-class element largely represented in -the crowds which flock on Sunday mornings to Cologne Cathedral. The -Zentrum is a strong party, and whatever electoral successes it may win -at the polls are not likely to be hostile to social reform on cautious -lines. - -Very different is the position as regards the seceding body, that of -the Christliche Volkspartei. I attended a meeting of the new party, and -fell among proceedings which were refreshingly lively. It was a curious -audience, generally speaking on a plane just above working-class level, -but including more well-to-do and moneyed interests. They were not a -pleasant set of people. Some looked fanatics; others undiluted scamps. -A large number of women were present who cheered with great vigour. -Enthusiasm was boundless, but was countered at the back of the hall by -very definite opposition. - -When the speakers and candidates took their place on the platform, -cheers greeted the appearance of a sinister-looking priest with -intrigue written all over him. This was the celebrated Father Kastert, -whose political activities of late have made no small stir in the -Rhineland. The various candidates got to work, and I have never heard -texts and Christian ideals hurled about a platform with such vigour, -and, according to English standards, with such entire lack of reserve. -Several of the speakers, judging by their appearance, might have -engaged in shady commerce, which made their declamations about the -supreme importance of religious education the more interesting. - -Shortly after the meeting began, a blind gentleman, venerable -in appearance and with a large white beard, was shepherded with -ostentatious care on to the platform. I suspected a trophy, judging -by the exaggerated marks of respect with which he was received by -Father Kastert and his friends. He was, in fact, a leading supporter of -the Zentrum, who had seceded to the new party. The old gentleman was -propped up, and when he began to speak, despite his tottering steps and -shaking hands, proved a veritable Bull of Bashan. The Sermon on the -Mount and the Temptation in the Wilderness formed part of a political -pot-pourri mixed up with the misdeeds of the Social Democrats. I was -sitting by chance among a nest of zealots, who greeted these remarks -with hysterical applause. A youth, still wearing field grey, suddenly -jumped up in emphatic protest. General uproar resulted. “Aus mit -dem Kerl!” shouted several ladies round me. My spirits rose at the -prospect of seeing some one turned out with German thoroughness, but -the young man thought better of it, and sat down again hastily. The -chairman rang his bell, and after a time the meeting proceeded. Among -this curious company of hypocrites applauding principles clearly remote -from their practice I was struck by one working-man candidate, who -spoke with obvious sincerity as well as simplicity. No workman, he -said, could look for joy in his work unless that work were grounded in -Christ. Christ was the root, Christ was the foundation, Christ was the -workman’s stay and support. Happily in England we do not discuss the -Founder of Christianity on political platforms after the manner of this -meeting. But in this solitary case the note of sincerity rang true, and -I was grateful for it. - -The candidates said their say, and then the real “turn” of the -evening began with a lengthy discourse from Father Kastert. Father -Kastert, despite all disclaimers to the contrary, is regarded as the -protagonist of the Rhineland Republic, a matter about which there are -many mutterings and murmurings in the Occupied Area. As such he is -an object of abhorrence to all patriotic Germans. Various elements -enter into the Rhineland Republic intrigue. The annexationist party -in France are naturally in favour of it; good Catholics are told that -self-determination for the Rhineland means getting rid of Prussian -Protestant officials; clericals are promised more power in a State -dominated by clerical influences; greedy financiers are heartened -by the prospect of escaping any way from the full burdens of the -indemnity. Every decent German looks on the movement as one of supreme -treachery to the Fatherland in its hour of defeat and overthrow, and on -Father Kastert as the arch-traitor. - -That Father Kastert and his following are violently assailed is only -natural. His lengthy speech on this occasion took the form of an -apologia. His visit to General Mangin was only concerned with securing -a greater measure of liberty for the Rhineland during the Occupation, -and in hastening the close of the Occupation itself; away with the -abominable lie that he was in French pay and serving French ends; all -that he sought was to free the Rhineland from the Jewish influences -rampant both in Prussia and Berlin and to secure the fullest measure of -self-determination. On the whole the Father, though like all priests -a good speaker, proved less of a personality than I expected. I am -quite unable to judge how far the charges brought against him are just. -The Christliche Volkspartei is the political instrument formed by him -for carrying out his projects, whatever they may be. Father Kastert -would appear to draw his support from singularly unworthy elements in -German public life; people who are ready to traffic with the enemies of -yesterday for the sake of such bread-and-butter advantages as may be -obtained from the intercourse. A bad peace opens the door to intrigues -of many kinds. But the security of Europe or France is not to be -achieved by buffer states of the type contemplated by the supporters of -the Rhineland Republic. - -The French Chauvinists who air schemes for the annexation of the -left bank of the Rhine are mischievous people. It is hard to believe -that one French person endowed with a grain of good sense could lend -an ear to so mad a proposal. Where Germany failed ignominiously -in Alsace-Lorraine, the French are hardly likely to succeed in the -Rhineland. But foolish talk of this character tends very appreciably -to exasperate and embitter German public opinion, and brings new -elements of hatred and unrest into a situation which was bad enough -already. Many Germans are convinced that France intends to spring some -annexationist coup upon them, and is only waiting for an opportunity -to strike again. Suspicions of this kind destroy any hope of improved -relations between the two countries. Goodwill can be at the best a -plant of very slow and painful growth between the nations. Intrigue -makes its existence impossible. The Rhine is German to the core in -race, language, and sentiment. Even a whisper as to the possibility -of detaching it from the rest of the country is a premium on a fresh -outbreak of anger and exasperation. The unhappy situation existing -in the Saar Basin may have its compensations if it provides an -anti-annexationist moral too strong to be disregarded. - - -IV - -Polling day came and went. Despite a certain amount of nervous chatter -beforehand of disturbances and riots, the elections took place in -complete tranquillity. Not a dog barked through the length and breadth -of Germany. In Cologne, at least, no one would have suspected that -any event of importance was taking place. The ordinary Sunday crowds -promenaded peacefully, as is their habit, to and fro along the Rhine. -The Independent Socialists, with singular delicacy and nice feeling, -plastered the outer walls of the cathedral during the night with their -electioneering placards, and in gigantic red letters painted the -words “Wahlt Liste Fries” on the threshold of the west door. Otherwise -everything about the town was quiet and normal. - -As for the result of the Election, it was very much what was to be -expected under the circumstances--a result in the highest degree -unsatisfactory, if they but knew it, to the British democracy. The -reactionaries and the extreme Socialists gained at the expense of the -moderate men. The Independent Socialists--the Unabhängige--negligible -at the last election, increased their strength four-fold, and instead -of twenty-two hold eighty-one seats in the new Reichstag. They swept -the great industrial districts of the west, an ironical commentary -on the hysterics of the English papers which insisted that the Ruhr -disturbances were a put-up job by the German Government destined to -veil a new attack on France. No less striking were the gains of the -Deutsche Volkspartei, who increased their numbers from twenty-one to -sixty-two seats. The Zentrum with sixty-eight instead of eighty-eight -seats lost substantially, but while yielding ground was not routed. -The Christliche Volkspartei was beaten off the field. The discomfiture -of Father Kastert and the upholders of the Rhineland Republic was -complete. The serious feature of the Elections was the downfall of the -Social Democrats, the largest and most influential of the three parties -forming the Müller Government. Their numbers fell from one hundred -and sixty-three to one hundred and twelve. No less complete was the -discomfiture of the Demokraten or Moderate Radicals--the left wing of -the Bourgeois parties--who at the best lived cramped and uncomfortable -lives between the Social Democrats on the one hand and the -Conservative groups on the other. Their numbers fell from seventy-five -to forty-five seats. Secrecy of the ballot does not in Germany prohibit -analysis of the totals polled, and the women’s vote taken as a whole -was clearly thrown on the reactionary side. Gratitude is not a factor -which counts in political life, and the Social Democrats to whom the -women owe their enfranchisement suffered severely at their hands. - -On the morrow of the poll, therefore, the Müller Government then in -power found that its majority had disappeared, and that the Bourgeois -groups reckoned together were in a majority as compared with the two -Socialist parties. In the good old days for which many Germans sigh, -nothing would have happened in the seats of the mighty, whatever the -complexion of a Reichstag returned at a General Election. But under -the new constitution established by the revolution, a Government in -power must hold its authority from the elected representatives of the -people. Since, however, both the Zentrum and the Demokraten had been -associated with the Müller Government, a political deadlock of great -difficulty at once arose. For some days the hitherings and thitherings -between the various groups kept political Germany on the tiptoe of -excitement. The Independent Socialists held aloof and refused entirely -to be associated in any Government with the Majority Socialists. The -Majority Socialists refused with equal firmness to have anything to -do with a Cabinet in which their deadly enemies the Volkspartei would -necessarily play a leading part. The Zentrum with its sixty-eight -seats and Liberal leanings clearly held the balance of power between -the conflicting parties. The political crisis lasted for a fortnight, -during which period Germany was practically without a Government. -This state of affairs was considerably aggravated by the approach -of the Spa Conference and the necessity to have a German Cabinet in -existence with whom negotiations could be carried on. Finally, after -many days of uncertainty, a new Coalition Government emerged with Herr -Fehrenbach, the Zentrum leader, as Chancellor. The new Government is -largely Zentrum with a dash of Demokraten, but the sinister influence -of the Volkspartei is dominant in its counsels. The Government can -command no clear majority. It is confronted with a solid block of -Socialist opposition. The Social Democrats, whatever the attitude of -the Independents, are not likely to hamper the new Cabinet in vital -questions of external politics. But in daily life it will be forced to -lead the uneasy existence of playing off the various groups against -each other. It is a weak Government at a moment when strength is -essential, and such strength as it possesses is largely of the wrong -kind. - -This upshot, as I see it, is wholly devoid of comfort to any one who -desires the rehabilitation of Germany on right lines. The election is -the writing on the wall which even at the eleventh hour should command -the attention of the little ring of politicians who control the Entente -policy. This shifting of German opinion to the right and to the left is -an ominous sign. The party standing for ordered democratic development -has been knocked out. The British public should try to realise it has -been killed by the Allied policy. That it was worth supporting is -proved by the fact that, despite heavy losses, the Social Democrats -still remain the largest individual group in the new Reichstag. We -have refused to discriminate between the good and bad elements in -political Germany. Our hand has rested as heavily on a democratic as -it would rightly have done on a Junker Government. The shackles forged -by the Allies have in the first place reduced the only administration -to impotence to which they could look for the fulfilment of the just -demands of a revised Treaty. Economic and political recovery has -been made an impossibility owing to the policy pursued. As a result, -hunger, despair, and general misery have driven large sections of the -working-classes into the arms of the Communists. They have lost faith -and hope in a constitutional party whose weakness has been so great. -They are out for the short cut of violent means in order to better -conditions which they regard as intolerable. - -Meanwhile the Deutsche Volkspartei and all the wealthy and reactionary -elements in the country have been no less eager to stamp upon the -smoking flax of a democratic Germany. On the Friday and Saturday -before the poll I attended meetings respectively of the Volkspartei -and the Social Democrats. In each case speeches were made typical of -the two sets of ideas at war in Germany to-day. On this occasion the -Volkspartei speakers hardly took the trouble to camouflage their real -opinions, though one pastor spoke eloquently of the “Liberalisms” -of which they were the guardians--a claim which moved me to secret -mirth. The arguments were developed on the same lines as those I have -described above, only on this occasion the cloven hoof was still -more obvious. The revolution and the Republic were the root causes -of Germany’s present misery. The view of the Volkspartei that a -Constitutional Monarchy was the best form of government was unchanged, -though they “accepted” the Republic. Soon they hoped the old red and -white and black colours would wave over them again--a remark which -roused frantic applause from the large and enthusiastic audience. -Internationalism and the League of Nations were condemned in unsparing -terms. Who were the Allies to advance these principles? Let them cease -to boycott Germans in all parts of the world, and let France bring to -an end the scandal of her black troops in the Occupied Areas. Then they -might begin to talk about internationalism. As for England, no country -pursued its policy with more consistent and single-eyed devotion to its -own interests. Germany could only be remade on the basis of a strong -and efficient nationalism. A new spirit was abroad in the land and, -granted the defeat of the Socialists and Social Democrats, all that had -been lost might be regained. - -Very different was the tone and temper of the meeting of the Social -Democrats on the following night. From first to last not one word was -said with which I, as an English Liberal, was out of harmony. Any -democratic audience in Great Britain would have found itself in entire -sympathy with the general views expressed. The audience was typically -working-class; quiet, orderly people, who made on me an unmistakable -impression of underfeeding and suffering. The shabby field-grey -uniforms converted to civilian use served to heighten the curious -earthen look noticeable on so many faces here. Food is plentiful now -in the Occupied Area, but the cost of living is so high, many families -remain ill-nourished. Fresh milk is unobtainable; during the many -months I have been in Cologne I have never seen a drop. Over and over -again the same question is driven home with overwhelming force: can -even the most volatile and opportunist of politicians imagine that the -unspecified millions of the indemnity, or, indeed, any indemnity at -all, can be collected from a nation which is not in a position to eat -or work? - -Herr Meerfeld, the leader of the Social Democrats in Cologne, and Frau -Röhl were the principal speakers at this final gathering. Both were -members of the National Assembly; Frau Röhl unfortunately has not -survived the deluge which has overwhelmed many of her colleagues. A -capable-looking woman with golden hair, she reminded me a little of -Mary Macarthur, though lacking in the magnetism and stature, moral no -less than physical, of the English trade-union leader. Herr Meerfeld’s -speech was a merciless indictment of the former militarist Government -and its colossal blunders in connection with the war. In his first -words he struck the keynote of all that followed: “We will have no more -war. What we want in future is a ‘Peace-Kultur’”--that untranslatable -word which in so many varied forms finds its place in the political -utterances of all parties--“we seek a revision of the Treaty of -Versailles, but we seek it through a policy of reconciliation and -understanding with the democracies in other countries.” The failures -of the military party to make peace when an honourable peace was still -possible, the rejection of President Wilson’s offers of mediation, -the folly and crime of the unrestricted U-boat campaign--all these -subjects were handled in a spirit which astonished me. A pamphlet on -sale at the meeting, “Wer trägt die Schuld an unserem Elend?” (Who -bears the responsibility for our misery?), of which I bought a copy, -was packed with a damning array of facts, many of them unknown to me, -as to the part played by the Kaiser’s Government during the war. “The -German people have been lied to, and deceived, and betrayed,” cried the -speaker. “We were told that the U-boat campaign would bring England -to her knees in three months!” German mentality is a baffling thing, -but I hardly expected that this remark would be received with shouts -of good-natured laughter. The long arm of England’s sea-power has been -no laughing matter for Germany, but throughout this campaign I was -specially struck with the absence of hostility shown to England. Even -at the Volkspartei meetings I listened in vain for the note which shows -itself unmistakable when an audience is deeply roused. The justice and -fair dealing which have marked the British Occupation have contributed -primarily to this end. - -A quaint little woman dressed in black came on to the platform to make -a few remarks during the discussion. At first she was almost inaudible, -but her voice gathered force and courage as she proceeded. She had -been a Red Cross nurse during the war, so she said. Nothing could have -been more scandalous than the pilfering by the officers in charge of -stores and comforts destined for wounded men. She had to stand by -helplessly and watch robbery and corruption of all kinds going on at -the expense of the sufferers. “These heroes who filled their pockets,” -she concluded naïvely, “always declared they were great patriots. -Please vote to-morrow for the patriotism of the Social Democrats, which -won’t rob sick men.” Even more pathetic was the appeal of a working-man -on whom disease had clearly laid a fatal hand. He addressed the meeting -as “dear brothers and sisters,” which raised a laugh. But there was -nothing comic about the few words spoken. He had starved, so he said, -during the war. Wars meant nothing but misery and starvation. Let them -support the Social Democrats and then there would be no more war. He -was followed by a Communist youth, who in languid and superior tones -struck the first note of dissent by adjuring those present at the -meeting not to vote at all. If, however, they felt irresistibly driven -to the polls, the only mitigation of a bad act would be to vote for -the Independent Socialists. General uproar resulted from this advice, -a fat man near me rising from his seat and shouting with fury, “I know -how you’ll vote. You’re the sort that votes Zentrum.” The Communist -highbrow did not stop to see the end of the storm he had provoked, but, -having said his say, discreetly fled before Herr Meerfeld could deliver -a highly chastening reply. He left the hall pursued by the execrations -of my neighbour, who showed signs of vaulting over the chairs and -continuing the argument in more forcible fashion in the street. The -general tone of the meeting, apart from this incident, was serious and -appreciative, but it lacked any of that electric quality which thrills -a party on the eve of victory. I came away uneasy as to the result--an -uneasiness more than justified by the issue. - -As for the future, it lies, as I write, on the knees of dark and -doubtful gods. The British people found it hard to acquire the habit -of war and to make war thoroughly. To-day it seems as hard a task to -recover the habit of peace and make peace thoroughly. As I have said -before, so long as we persist in regarding Germany as a political -unit solidly inspired by the old military spirit, and of using a -sledge-hammer to it on all occasions, the resettlement of Europe -becomes an impossibility. The moral of the Kapp Putsch has been -completely ignored in Allied countries. Yet it was highly suggestive as -to the changed conditions which now rule. A militarist plot was nipped -in the bud by the German working-classes who retaliated with the weapon -of a general strike. I do not know what better proof of good faith the -German democrats could have given as to their determination to have no -more to do with the old régime. The cry of “give us back our Junkers” -will never arise unless democracy itself is wholly discredited. We can -take no risks with Germany, and there is no question of her escape -from the penalties of the war she provoked, and the burdens which in -consequence she must bear. Common-sense points, however, to the Allies -giving a fair chance to the democratic elements from whom, and from -whom alone, we have anything to hope as regards the future. We may make -Germany’s burden impossible, in which case, sooner or later, general -collapse and chaos must follow--chaos and collapse which will certainly -not be confined within the borders of this country. Or we may make the -burden possible, and not deny a place for repentance to the men and -women who are struggling against heavy odds to remake their country on -principles which are the basis of our own freedom. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV - -HATRED - - -It is, I fear, true that national hatreds are in the main created and -kept alive by the educated and upper classes. Working men and women -throughout the world, absorbed as they are in daily toil and often -preoccupied about the next meal, have no leisure for the cultivation -of abstract sentiments. With a greater simplicity of outlook they -take people and things as they find them and do not theorise about -their faults. The scholastic attitude as regards hatred is an ironical -commentary on some of the byways into which education is apt to stray. -Professors--German professors in particular--are notorious for their -bloodthirstiness. The ordinary fighting soldier, who has been over -the top half a dozen times, is a man of peace compared with certain -ferocious persons of academic distinction. The brandishing of quills -has apparently a more permanently disturbing effect on character than -the hurling of hand grenades. The man in the trench has, after all, -a certain tie of fellowship with the man in the trench opposite. -They are linked together by a common sense of duty fulfilled and of -horrors equally endured. Each knows that the other is a man very much -like himself, sick with the misery and dirt of the whole business, -whose heart in all probability is yearning just in the same way for a -wife, and home, and child. Men under these circumstances do not give -themselves up to abstract hatreds. - -But among civilians, a man or woman’s gift of warlike talk is often -in inverse ratio to any sort of personal capacity to shoulder the -responsibilities of battle. Women are always apt to be more bitter than -men because their measure of personal sacrifice in the war has been -invariably less. They have seen their loved ones perish and the light -of happiness quenched in their own lives. It is not easy for them to -think steadily of the great ideals for which men died, and to realise -that bitterness breeds a spirit which makes the fulfilment of such -ends impossible. The case of the professors is even worse. In Germany -the subservience of high academic authorities to the most abominable -doctrines of the militarists was a grave and sinister feature in the -history of the years preceding the war. The beating of tom-toms by men -presumably of education goes a long way to justify the jibe of the “New -Ignorance” applied to education by Mr. James Stephens. Education left -to itself is just a force, and if it throws off the right sort of moral -controls, becomes, as the whole history of latter-day Germany proves, a -very dangerous force. Probably in Germany to-day there is no class more -bitter, no class more full of hatred and the desire for revenge, than -that of the professors. But a similar attitude may often be found among -well-to-do people of all races, people who, whether or not they have -been educated in the real sense of the term, have had the opportunities -and advantages which spring from worldly status and prosperity. - -No side of the Occupation has been more interesting than the points of -contact it has provided between the English and the Germans. Social -intercourse on the upper levels is non-existent. Germany and England -were at war when the Rhineland was occupied, and the relations then -inevitable between conqueror and conquered have remained unaltered. -Many of the English families now living in Cologne can hardly be -conscious that they are in a foreign country. The English military -community lives a life apart. At hardly any point, except in the shops, -do they come in contact with the Germans. The large majority of English -people, men and women alike, do not speak the language, and few make -any effort to learn it. - -It is not easy to say what impressions of Germany and the Germans -many of these people will bring away. Opinion on the subject varies -considerably, and the views expressed are as wide asunder as the -poles. Some people admit frankly that their judgment and outlook have -been modified considerably by all they have seen and heard. Others -brought a stock-in-trade of prejudices from England and have guarded -it jealously from any contact with facts. If an Occupation following -on a war has any moral value, it is that necessarily it brings the -enemies of yesterday in touch, and so helps to break down a certain -amount of prejudice and to soften bitter feeling. Thus the way is paved -to the resumption, sooner or later, of normal relations. It is easy to -hate the abstract entity Germany. It is less easy to hate individual -Germans who may prove on acquaintance to be estimable people. Little -of this modifying influence has made itself felt on the Occupation. -Many women, and some officers, declare that the behaviour of the Boche -is rude and insolent; that he jostles English women in the streets, -and is generally lying and dishonest in all his ways. Circumstantial -stories are related in this sense. It has been stated in my presence -that a certain lady could not use the trams owing to the gross -incivility of the conductors. I am left wondering how far people who -have these experiences provoke them by trailing their coats. Obviously, -English women who talk loudly in a tram about “the beastly Boche” may -find themselves in trouble with their fellow-passengers, the German -ignorance of foreign languages not being as great as their own. - -Speaking for myself, I have never received one rude or uncivil word -from man, woman, or child during the year I spent in Germany. I went -about sometimes wearing the official arm-band, and therefore obviously -English; sometimes not. I have never noticed the smallest difference -in the behaviour of the people on the pavements or in the street cars. -Tram conductors I have found almost without exception a polite and -efficient body of men. All great cities contain a proportion of gross -and undesirable people. Cologne is no exception to this rule, but the -particular elements are not more conspicuous here than elsewhere. So -far from hostility, I have received much courtesy and consideration -from Germans with whom I came into casual touch. I am not denying -the reality of other people’s contrary experiences. I can only state -my own. Temperament is a mirror which deflects the passage of facts, -and some of the English in Cologne have arrived at fixed judgments -about Germany before setting foot in the country. If they find the -inhabitants civil they at once call them servile, if they show spirit -they denounce them as insolent. In Cologne drawing-rooms English -women will sometimes discuss the Germans much in the spirit of the -Mohammedans who sat in a circle and spat at a ham. I have never been -able to understand on what grounds they founded that extreme view. -Upper-class Germany has vanished from the Occupied Areas, and no -one regrets their disappearance. But as regards the humbler classes -with whom we of the Occupation come in touch, the working-men and -country-folks, the shopkeepers, small business people and minor -bureaucracy, I have no hesitation in saying that they are, generally -speaking, hard-working civil people, correct in their attitude and -bearing. Reasonable people should find no difficulty in maintaining -the superficial amenities of life with them, even under the abnormal -conditions which have thrown us together. - -However varied the views among the officer class, the rank and file of -the Army have settled down to friendly relations with the Germans--too -friendly many people think. Men who have never understood the French -temperament or outlook find themselves very much at home in Germany. -From time to time agitated articles appear in the English papers -deploring the fact that English soldiers are “getting to like Germans,” -and calling on some one to do something drastic. The fact that the -bow of hatred does not remain tense and strung, as desired by some -people, will certainly cause no regret to those who are appalled by the -perils of the present state of Europe. Better relations between nations -will, I believe, be built up ultimately on working-class levels. The -diplomacy of the politicians in power is too bitter and too tortuous -to further the cause of European reconstruction. From this point of -view the Occupation has been wholly to the good, inasmuch as tens of -thousands of Englishmen who have passed through the country have gone -home with a saner appreciation of the situation. - -German households, on whom many of these men were quartered, found -to their amazement that instead of proving, as they feared, demons -incarnate, the British soldiers were good-hearted, good-tempered -fellows who shared the family life, peeled potatoes, and played with -the children. The soldiers on their side appreciated the kindly -treatment they received and were touched by the many evidences of -hunger and suffering among the working-classes. Some day I hope we -shall have a “Book of Decent Deeds” showing that among all belligerents -there is another side to war besides that of atrocities. We may smile -at the true story of the British Tommy writing home to his mother to -send him a feeding-bottle, with tubes and apparatus complete, for a -German baby in his billet who was in a poor way owing to the lack of -these things. The German mother burst into tears when she was given the -bottle which meant the difference between life and death to the child. -But such an act and the Spirit it breathes is a ray of light in the -darkness. - -Loud protests are sometimes made by well-fed, well-to-do people as to -the impropriety of helping the starving children of Central Europe. -Very different was the attitude of the soldiers who had overthrown the -German military power. It is to the eternal honour of the conquering -army which marched into the Rhineland, that its first act was one of -pity and mercy to the hungry women and children of Cologne. It was -necessary for the Commander-in-Chief, Lord Plumer, to telegraph to -the Peace Conference that, unless supplies were forthcoming for the -underfed German civilians, he could not be responsible for the effect -on the discipline of the Army. The soldiers were up in arms at the -spectacle of starvation, and nothing could prevent them, contrary to -orders, from sharing their rations with the enemy. - -I think the question of hatred is one which calls for clear thinking -at the present crisis in the world’s history. Many people imagine that -when they have abused the Boche in round terms they have “done their -bit” towards squaring the accounts of devastated France or Belgium. All -that they have done is to feed and sustain the spirit which led in the -first place to the devastations. Whatever enormities Germany may have -committed during the war, the task of punishment is not the problem of -supreme urgency which here and now confronts us all. What we are face -to face with is the question as to whether civilisation as a whole -can survive the blows rained on it. The responsibility of Germany for -this state of affairs is at the moment less important than the rescue -of civilisation from the brink of the chasm on which it is trembling. -It is useless to go on saying that Germany must be punished or that -Germany must pay, if in fact the actual policy pursued is calculated to -involve conquerors and conquered alike in common ruin. At times it is -difficult to avoid the gloomy conclusion that we are approaching the -end of a cycle of history, and that a period of darkness and chaos bids -fair to overwhelm a world incapable of saving itself. The economic and -political condition of Europe is grave in the extreme. In every country -wild forces are surging upwards, the peril of which lies in the absence -of any powers of moral and spiritual counteraction. The strain of the -war has swallowed up the spiritual reserves of the world, and its -moral credit is not only exhausted but overdrawn. - -No nation ever went to war in a spirit more grave and more responsible -than that in which the British people accepted the German challenge. -The call to arms is invariably a great and inspiring moment. At such a -time men and women realise that they are caught up and raised on the -wing of ideals greater than themselves. But it is part of the evil of -war that the longer it lasts the more black and the more bitter the -spirit it breeds. From August 1914 and the hush of consecration which -fell on the nation, to December 1918 and what was well described by a -distinguished publicist as the “organized blackguardism” of the General -Election, is a falling away in temper and standard almost unbearable to -contemplate. - -I have often wondered whether the men and women who lent themselves -casually to “hatred stunts” during the war ever realised what cruel -suffering was caused to a large number of humble and obscure folk. Now -that the spirit of sanity and moderation is making itself heard again, -English people must surely look back with shame on the treatment meted -out to inoffensive enemy aliens. Busybodies obsessed by spy mania were -merely a source of nuisance and ridicule to the Secret Service. That -Service was highly efficient, and its agents were quite capable of -doing their work without the interference of officious amateurs. The -German wife and the English woman with a German husband were in many -cases treated as outcasts. Years of residence in England, even the fact -of children fighting with the British Army, did not serve in many cases -to mitigate the violence and hatred of their neighbours. The German -wives of English subjects, and the English wives of Germans, were -naturally in a painful and trying position and one which was bound to -excite prejudice. The degree, however, to which a group of men within -Parliament, and a section of the Press without, sought deliberately -to inflame the lowest passions of the mob in this matter, is the most -sordid page in the history of the war. Helpless, friendless, without -money, unable to make their voices heard, these unhappy people, treated -as pariahs both in the land of their birth and in that of their -adoption, were hunted from pillar to post. - -Periodically “intern-them-all” campaigns were worked up which led to -obscure Germans of proved respectability being locked up. Many of these -people had English wives and families, who suffered severely through -the removal of the breadwinner. English women were forced to take -refuge in Germany from the persecutions of their own countrymen. What -are we to think of the spirit and policy which could drive from the -shores of England--England the home of Liberty, England the safe asylum -of the oppressed--women of our own race who found the treatment meted -out to them too hard to be endured? - -Wives and families landed in Germany not speaking one word of the -language, to be welcomed naturally by a spirit as hard and bitter as -any they had left. The lot of English wives resident in Germany was -unenviable. But I do not gather that enemy aliens were treated with -a greater measure of harshness in Germany during the war than what -occurred in England. Many English women living in Germany throughout -the war did not suffer in any marked degree from the hostility of their -neighbours. Naturally these would-be pogroms never catch the right -person. Rich people who may be really mischievous escape; the poor man -is hunted. The Junkers whom it would be satisfactory to punish are -living in comfort and prosperity on their estates. The poor starve and -are driven down into inconceivable depths of misery both of body and -soul. - -Even to-day the position of many English women in Germany who are -married to Germans is most pitiful. Under the Peace Treaty the Allies -reserved the power to retain and liquidate all property belonging -to German nationals. I am not concerned at this point to raise the -question as to how far this precedent of confiscation may prove a -double-edged weapon in the capitalist world. But again, it is not -the rich man who suffers. Large fortunes can always take care of -themselves. The people who have been ground to powder by this provision -are women with tiny incomes or annuities, the complete stopping -of which has meant literal starvation. Most painful cases of this -character came to my notice in the Rhineland. In some instances women -are told that if they leave their husbands and return to England -the money will be paid. Is a war fought for “truth and justice” to -eventuate in alternatives of such a character? Are women, at the end -of an agonising experience, to choose between husbands they may love -and the stark fact of starvation? I heard of one English woman, too -proud to beg or receive alms, who came by stealth and searched the -swill-tubs of a mess in order to pick out food from it. The British -military authorities have shown invariable sympathy and kindness to -these unfortunates. They have done what lay in their power to mitigate -the circumstances. Soldiers do not fail in compassion to the poor -and needy. The little group of politicians conspicuous for their -Hun-hunting activities have not served with the colours. The British -Army fights its enemies in the field. It does not persecute women -and decrepit old men. But the soldiers cannot alter the confiscation -clauses of the Treaty which press with such peculiar hardship on people -of small incomes. If these clauses are directed to searching the -pockets of the Stinnes and the Krupps, let exceptions at least be made -on the lower levels. The Treaty of Versailles in many of its provisions -merely reflects the current hatreds of the hour. Modification of these -clauses is inevitable when the wave of passion has subsided. - -Not sorrow, loss, and suffering, but the temper born and bred of war, -is its real and essential evil. The ruthless and cruel spirit which -dominated the German war-machine and the many crimes committed are -mainly responsible for the bitterness which was developed among the -British peoples during the struggle. However natural the growth of -this temper, its survival to-day is a menace to the future of the -world. Hatred when it takes possession of the soul of a man or woman -is a wholly corroding and destructive force. Where hatred abides the -powers of darkness have their being, ready to sally forth and work -havoc anew. Meanwhile the breaking of this coil promises to be no easy -task. The war let loose in every country a new and evil force called -propaganda--in plain language, organised lying. It is one of the -foibles of propagandists that they insist on speaking of themselves as -super-George Washingtons. But during the war any fiction which came to -hand was good enough so long as it served to inflame national hatreds. -Propaganda during the last years of the struggle did a great deal to -obscure the moral issues for which we were fighting. It corrupted both -character and temper. But the propaganda genie, having emerged from its -bottle in clouds of smoke and dirt, entirely refuses to subside now the -struggle is over. It is one of the horrid forces with vitality derived -from the war which continues to pursue an independent existence. It is -the weapon-in-chief for keeping open sores and exasperating passions -which good sense would try to allay. Nations catch sight of each -other dimly through mists of misrepresentation and bitterness. Truth -and justice disappear in the welter, and without truth and justice -the practical affairs of the world drift daily towards an ultimate -whirlpool of chaos. - -Great, therefore, as I see it is the responsibility of all who to-day -throw their careless offerings on the altars of hatred, so that the -flames of discord flare up anew. The men and women who talk and act -thus must try to realise that the world is reaching its limit of -endurance, and the situation calls not for any post-war fomenting of -the terrible legacy of strife, but for a truce of God between victors -and vanquished. No prejudices are harder to shift than those which -ignorance has exalted into moral principles of the first order. Thought -is apt to be an unpleasant and disturbing process; the clichés of -hatred are easy to use--why alter them when they round off a sentence -so well? But unless some movement can develop between nations, unless -the forces of destruction can be checked, then civilisation in the form -we know it would appear to be doomed. - -Germany has still a whole volume of bitter truth to learn as to the -part she has played in the world catastrophe provoked by her rulers. -Until she recognises and admits the evil done she cannot regain her -place in the fellowship of nations. But after the great bartering of -ideals represented by the Treaty of Versailles, the Allies are hardly -in a position to preach sermons to her day in and day out on moral -failures. The practical fact which confronts us all is that the world -is in ruin, and that where the politicians have failed hopelessly the -decent people of all nations have to get together and make it habitable -again. To dismiss the German nation as a gang of criminals unfit for -human intercourse may be a magnificent gesture on the part of the -thoughtless. But it is not business. There are good Germans and bad -Germans, Germans animated by a quite detestable spirit, others who are -conscientious and high-minded. The wholesale indictment of a nation is -as absurd as the wholesale indictment of a class. Human nature falls -into types of character far more than into social and racial divisions. -In the ultimate issue society is divided into two sets of people: those -who behave decently and those who do not. People of the first type -have a common kinship whatever their race or colour, and the need for -asserting that kinship was never more urgent than at present. - -If the world is to survive, tolerable social, economic, and political -relations must be resumed sooner or later between enemy countries. It -is of the first importance that the better elements in Germany should -be encouraged and strengthened, so that through their influence a new -spirit should animate the general German outlook on life. When no -effort is made to discriminate, when good and bad are branded alike in -one sweeping condemnation, hope of improvement vanishes. A nation to -whom all place for repentance is denied loses heart and ceases to try. -Reasonable men cannot make their voices heard under such conditions. -Anger and bitterness at what is considered unfair treatment surge -upwards again, and from them the desire for revenge is born anew. It is -foolish to kick a man repeatedly in the face and then to complain that -he does not behave like a gentleman. If the spirit of hatred is to rule -in Europe we are heading straight for another war. This eventuality -should, I think, be recognised clearly by the hotheads of all nations. - -Germany cannot continue indefinitely to fulfil the function of the -whipping-boy of Europe. The Junkers and soldiers who made the war, and -were responsible for all that was cruel and brutal in its conduct, -have disappeared. Owing to gross mismanagement in connection with the -war criminals, many Germans guilty of specific acts of cruelty who -should have been dealt with severely have slipped through the net. But -where statesmanship has blundered inexcusably, it is unjust to visit -vicariously on a whole community the sins of a class or of individuals. -To do so is to destroy any chance of the growth of a better spirit -among the German people as a whole. I recall the words of farewell -addressed to me by a saleswoman in a Cologne shop to whom I was saying -good-bye: “When you go back to England, tell your countrymen that -we are not such dreadful people as they think, and ask them also to -remember that we too have our pride and our self-respect.” - -Many Germans are as much blinded by hatred as to our actions and -motives as we are about theirs. We recognise with angry exasperation -the measure of their misconceptions about ourselves. Is it not possible -that misconceptions may exist on our side as to the character and -attitude of, anyway, some Germans? We are sore, and sad, and bitter. -So are countless Germans who are convinced that their lives have -been ruined by our jealousy and ambition. Is it humanly possible to -carry on the business of life in a nightmare world, where millions of -human beings view each other through glasses so distorted? The moral -deadlock at the moment is complete. It can only be solved by the -spread of a new spirit of truth and charity. That cannot arise till -reasonable men and women of all nations, realising the perils which -confront us one and all, try and form unbiassed judgments, not only -of each other’s actions, but what is perhaps even more important, of -each other’s motives and principles. In all this there is no question -of slurring over evil where evil exists, or condoning wrong where -wrong has been done. It is a question of seeing these things in their -true scale and right proportion. Righteous anger may rouse a sense of -repentance where hatred only hardens and embitters. The wrath of man -has had its full play through years of strife and horror. Judged as a -constructive force, its fruits up to the present have been meagre. Is -it possible that, after all, Paul of Tarsus was right, and that the -fruits of the spirit, joy, peace, and righteousness, do not lie along -this particular path? In so far as the spirit of hatred is cultivated -and encouraged, it perpetuates all that is worst in war, without any of -the redeeming qualities of heroism and self-sacrifice which make war -tolerable. Hatred breeds hatred, strife further strife, violence yet -more violence. From this vicious circle, so long as we allow ourselves -to turn in it, there is no escape. Faith, hope, and charity alone can -break the wheel of torment in which at present we revolve, and bring -about the necessary moral and spiritual _détente_ without which the -world must surely perish. - -Peace is not a question of documents and treaties. The world is still -in a condition of bitter strife, because the spiritual values which -make peace in the real sense possible are at present wholly lacking in -the relations of the respective nations. I am driven to the conclusion -that in this, as in other respects, the instinct of the great mass of -the people throughout Europe is sounder and better than that of their -rulers. Whatever the schemes and intrigues of a tortuous diplomacy, -it is already clear that the working-classes are determined not to be -made pawns in any fresh war of aggression. The German working-man is -saturated with the misery of war. He will have no more of it unless -some policy of oppression, suicidal in its character, re-creates the -temper and spirit of the post-Jena period. Among my memories of Germany -I dwell on none with more hope than an incident which befell us one -spring evening in the Eifel. We were spending Sunday at Nideggen, a -village perched high on its red volcanic cliffs above the valley of a -delectable trout stream. We stopped in the course of our walk to admire -a cottage garden where peas and beans were growing with mathematical -diligence and regularity. Care had obviously been lavished on every -plant and flower of the little plot, which lay on a sunny slope facing -south. The owner who was hard at work among the peas, seeing our -interest, asked if we would like to go over his garden. We accepted the -invitation willingly, and he conducted us with pride from one end to -the other of his tiny kingdom. He was an admirable type of peasant, a -tall grave man with honest eyes and courteous manners. He combined some -market-gardening with his business of stone-mason. The conversation -drifted as usual to the war. He had served in a pioneer corps but -had come through, “Gott sei dank,” unscathed. Of war or the possible -recurrence of war he spoke with that intense horror which marks all -the German working-classes. Never must such a thing happen again, he -said; never must there be another war. My mind fled across the seas to -a corner of Kent where I was well assured on this fine spring evening, -another friend of mine, one William Catt, a son of the soil, just as -honest and simple, just as devoted to his home and family, was also -attending to peas and runner beans. William Catt too had served in the -war. What crazy system could send those two good men with rifles in -their hands to shoot each other? The Nideggen peasant had reflected to -some purpose on “Earth’s return for whole centuries of folly, noise, -and sin.” Spade in hand he looked across the fair landscape at our -feet, where the river lay like a silver streak winding among woods and -meadows. Then he turned to me and said very seriously, “For a thousand -years men have been mad; now we must all learn to be more reasonable.” - -Would that the diplomatists of all countries could take to heart words -so true and so wise! Here was the spirit which alone can create and -sustain the League of Nations. While the political wire-pullers of -Europe seek to make of the League the unhappy pushball of their own -intrigues, this German working-man had the root of the matter in him. -May his vision of a world in which men are learning to be “reasonable” -wax from dim hope into full and perfect realisation. - - - - -CHAPTER XV - -THE GERMAN VIEW OF ENGLAND - - -Personally I am under considerable obligations to August Lomberg, -Rektor in Elberfeld. His _Präparationen zu deutschen Gedichten_ for -the purposes of instruction in schools has been a lantern to my way -and a light unto my path on the somewhat rugged slopes of the German -Parnassus. August Lomberg’s is the hand which has stayed my often -stumbling feet when I first aspired to Goethe and Schiller, deities -sitting enthroned aloft and remote. Guides to poetry are irritating -books in one’s own language. What a poet has to say, and what he means, -are strictly private matters between the reader and himself. The views -of a third person may even be regarded as an intrusion, not to say an -impertinence. But when you are struggling with the verbal intricacies -of a new tongue, guides to knowledge assume a very different light. -So, I repeat, I am under many obligations to August Lomberg, Rektor in -Elberfeld. As so often happens with German authors, he has taught me -more incidentally than the surface content of his works. The Rektor has -clearly a complete and painstaking acquaintance with the whole range of -German literature. But his observations concerning the poets were, to -me at least, of less value than the revelation of his own type of mind -and general outlook on life. - -August Lomberg is a garrulous writer. His explanations are largely -historical as well as literary. Every line breathes a narrow and -aggressive patriotism of the type which has made the name of Germany -detested. The great poets of the Liberation period have sung both of -freedom and oppression on a note which rings clear and true to any -lover of liberty. The Elberfeld Rektor, commenting on this verse long -before 1914, can only do so in terms of abuse of France. To him a poet -is really important, not for some immortal gift to the sum-total of -the world’s truth and beauty, but for the degree to which he may have -added new stops to the full-sounding organ swelling the note of German -excellence. The ironical anti-patriotic strain in Heine fills the -Rektor with undisguised horror. So great is his reprobation of Heine -as a world citizen, that he can with difficulty begin to do justice to -him as a poet. And though like Wordsworth’s Nun he is breathless with -adoration before the genius of Goethe, I more than suspect that at -heart Goethe’s indifference to patriotic questions is a sore trial to -him. - -These volumes of Lomberg’s are well-known school-books in Germany. -Hence their value as indicating a certain trend of thought. If the -English are ever to form a reasoned judgment of the Germans, it is -essential to understand something of that peculiar herbage on which the -minds of teachers and pupils alike have been pastured. But Herr Lomberg -has not been content to rest on his laurels as regards a critical study -of the German classics. War poetry has also claimed his attention and -his explanations. One afternoon in a bookshop I stumbled by chance on a -volume of German war poetry. I bought it and went on my way rejoicing. -I knew something by then of the general outlook of my friend the -Rektor’s mind, and felt sure that his observations on the World-War -would be worth reading. So indeed they proved. - -The poems themselves were of very poor quality. Nothing remotely -comparable to the verse of Rupert Brooke or Julian Grenfell or of -half a dozen other English writers adorned these drab pages. Unless -Germany has produced something better than the mediocre collection -brought together by the Rektor, her inferiority in one respect at least -to England is outstanding. Leaving literary values aside, the normal -note struck was one of a boastful and irritating patriotism. The early -poems, written in the days when Germany was still flushed by hopes of a -speedy and overwhelming victory, are noisy and aggressive. One writer -exults over the air raids. “We have flying ships, they have none,” -he shouts stridently. No less great is the enthusiasm for the U-boat -exploits. The limits of degradation were reached by a poem about a -pro-German fish in the North Sea. The fish kept company with a U-boat -and followed the various sinkings with great interest. One day the -U-boat sank first a cargo of sugar, next of lemons, thirdly of rum. -The fish brewed a toddy of these various ingredients, and drank tipsy -toasts to the U-boat. I suppose the poem was intended to be funny. Of -humour it had none. The mentality it revealed was amazing. - -As the first hopes of easy victory evaporated, a note of stress and -anguish replaces that of the original bluster. A poem on Ypres was -noticeable in this respect. But the particular interest of the book lay -to me in the Rektor’s explanations about the English. A fount of venom -overflows whenever the name of Britain is mentioned. He sets forth in -his own inimitable way how England, owing to her acute jealousy of -Germany, had deliberately provoked the war. England’s sordid anxieties -about her menaced commercial supremacy lay at the root of this action. -Having plotted war and declared it at her own time, she then proceeded -to wage it on the most barbarous lines. English soldiers murdered -the wounded, concealed machine guns in their Red Cross wagons, and -immolated whole platoons of innocent German soldiers by an abominable -misuse of the white flag. The wickedness, the perfidy, the treachery -of England, the outrages committed by her against every law of God and -man--the Rektor lashes himself into a white heat on these themes. No -less fulsome and subservient is the writer in his praise of the Kaiser -and the Crown Prince. Germany’s passion for peace, a peace destroyed -only by the intrigues of a jealous and wicked world, is enlarged on -over and over again. - -This book, like its predecessors, is intended for use in schools. We -can form some judgment, therefore, of the facts and fancies which -writers of the Lomberg type thrust as historical truth on the rising -generation. The influence of such statements can hardly be exaggerated, -and much similar poison has flowed through the whole German school -system. German school literature is a real mine of information to any -one who wants to study the root causes of latter-day German mentality. -Little wonder that animosities and misunderstandings rend nations in -twain when truth is subordinated to the worst purposes of political -and interested propaganda. Children are malleable stuff, and certain -long-sighted Teutons realised perfectly that what is driven into a -child in the first impressionable years abides through life. - -The accident of improving my limited knowledge of the German -language brought me in contact with primers and readers covering all -standards and classes. In making my way from the Child’s First Reader -to the volumes in use in High Schools, I learnt a good deal more -than the actual study of words and grammar. From the Infants’ to the -Upper Standards one note was struck again and again with monotonous -regularity--praise of the Army, glorification of the Hohenzollerns. I -came into rapid conflict with my Child’s First Reader when on the first -page I was confronted with a little poem saying that, though a tiny -child, my great aim in life should be to shoot straight and grow up -into a fine soldier. Then came a fulsome hymn to the Kaiser swearing -lifelong fidelity to that noble man. Then followed a series of short -stories, no less fulsome, about the goodness and greatness of the Royal -Family. The book of course included other material, but glorification -of the Hohenzollerns permeated its pages, and the same thing repeated -itself exactly in all the following standards. - -Thoroughly bored with the Child’s Reader, I tried some of the more -advanced books only to find an elaborated edition of the same theme. -One priceless story in a middle-standard book told a marvellous tale -about the adventures of a humble family in Berlin, the Empress, the -Emperor’s daughter, and a cow. The curtain rises on a child weeping -bitterly in a Berlin park. The beautiful and tender-hearted Princess -drives by in a glittering phaëton lined with plush and drawn by two -spanking ponies. Flinging the reins to a groom, she hastens to the -assistance of poverty in distress. A tale of woe is in due course -unfolded. A family, humble but virtuous, have lost a cow on which the -entire prosperity of the household pivoted. The Princess comforts the -weeping child, gives her money, and says that though the matter lies -beyond her powers, her mother will certainly call and deal with the cow -situation. The Princess is as good as her word. To the stupefaction of -the district, a royal carriage containing the Empress visits the humble -home the next day. The Empress administers more consolation; virtue -is to be upheld in the hour of trial. A cow is following immediately -from the royal farm; indeed it is on its way, lowing, so to speak, -at the moment in the streets of Berlin. The anxieties of the family -consequently will be at an end. The paralysed couple, falling flat on -their faces, stammer suitable words of gratitude and praise. Thanks to -the cow and the prestige attaching to it, the family fortunes prosper -exceedingly. The whole district tumbles over itself in the effort to -drink a glass of Imperial milk. But unhappily one day the woman is -knocked down and mortally hurt in a street accident. Lying in the -hospital at the point of death, the matron sees there is something on -her mind. On inquiry the patient replies that if only once again she -could see her benefactress, the Empress, and hold her hand, she would -die content. The matron, being apparently a person of ample leisure, -sets off at once to the palace to find the Empress. She is interviewed -by a lady-in-waiting, who declares it is impossible for her to see the -august one. Unfortunately it happens to be Prince Joachim’s birthday -and the festivities in connection with it are about to begin; the -Empress cannot possibly be disturbed. But the stout-hearted matron -is not to be daunted by any lady-in-waiting or any birthday party. -She gives battle vigorously on behalf of her dying patient. “Who are -you,” she says reprovingly, “to stand between the mother of her country -and the humblest of her children.” The lady-in-waiting, routed and -overwhelmed, retires hastily to tell the Empress. Her discomfiture is -completed by grave reprimands from the august one that any time should -have been wasted at so critical a moment in bringing the facts to her -knowledge. Poor Prince Joachim is caught in the backwash of these -events. His birthday party is wrecked. The Empress hurries off to the -bedside of the dying woman, but not before the table groaning under -the weight of Joachim’s birthday cakes and flowers has been stripped -of half its adornments. With her arms full of roses the Empress enters -the hospital ward. The expiring patient gives a cry of joy and, after -an exchange of suitable sentiments, dies, holding the Kaiserin’s -hand. Even after death the connection of the humble family with the -Hohenzollerns is maintained. Even more permanent than the prestige -conferred by the cow is the prestige of the tombstone, erected in the -cemetery at the Imperial expense, with an inscription bearing the -Empress’s name. - -Other stories no less grotesque redound to the credit of the Emperor or -the gallantry of the Crown Prince. Home workers were marked down as the -special preserve of the Crown Princess. Sweated industries in Berlin -might in fact exist to afford a channel for the altruistic impulses of -the royal lady. One by one the various key points of the Hohenzollern -family were dealt with in this fashion. The glorification of the Army -went on as steadily side by side. - -All this, of course, is systematic propaganda carried out with -characteristic thoroughness and, be it added, clumsiness. For even -among the Germans it failed in many cases to carry conviction. I -remonstrated with my Fräulein--herself a school teacher: “How can you -bring your children up on this wretched stuff; with a country like -yours so rich in history and legend, surely there is something more -inspiring to teach than this nonsense about cows and sweated workers?” -Fräulein shrugged her shoulders. The ferment of the revolution was -working in her naturally liberal mind, and the unaccustomed liberty -of thought and action which the revolution had brought in its wake -moved her not a little. But she found it difficult to part with the -sheet anchors of the past, and respect for the Imperial family was -screwed very tightly into the average professional German. She admitted -the stories were stupid, but said that the Kaiser was the symbol of -Germany’s greatness and they had always been taught to revere him. -Since the revolution the Social Democrats have made an end of Kaiser -worship in the schools. Pictures and portraits have vanished. All -totems of the faith have disappeared. Apparently the children were -very much upset when they were first forbidden to sing hymns to the -Kaiser. There were tears when the portraits were removed. The German -mind, naturally docile, yearns for some concrete expression of faith -to which it can rally. Of all fields schools offer the greatest scope -to the corrupting influence of propaganda. And through the schools -Imperial Germany twisted and distorted the spirit of the people with -consequences no less dire to themselves than to the rest of the world. - -One of the irritating facts about Germany to-day is that she refuses -to say she is sorry. We English are outraged by the fact that no -sense of guilt or of moral responsibility appears to have touched -the spirit of the people. It is not a question of dragging Germany -about in a white sheet and a candle from shrine to shrine, but of some -guarantee that there shall be no repetition of events so lamentable. -The best guarantee for the future is a clear recognition of what -was wrong in the past. Truth permeates very slowly through German -mentality, and few Germans seem to realise that they or their rulers -have brought the world to the very brink of ruin; that millions of -lives have perished as the result of their insensate ambitions. They -are conscious, painfully conscious of the miseries of Germany to-day. -But that civilisation as a whole is staggering under the blow they -dealt it--this aspect of the situation apparently never strikes them. -Facts which jump to our eyes as English people make no more impression -on them than they would on a blind man. Over and over again I have -been baffled by coming up against a blank wall of non-comprehension as -regards circumstances about which there is no dispute. - -A personal experience in this sense, at once exasperating and amusing, -overtook me on a journey between Cologne and Paris. I shared my -cabin in the sleeping-car with a German lady from Cassel, a typical -fair-haired, solid-looking Prussian. We exchanged the ordinary -politenesses of travellers thrown together on the road. I was -interested to hear that not only did the lady conduct a large business -enterprise in Cassel, but that she was a prop of the Volkspartei -and took a keen interest in politics. She spoke of Bolshevism and -the Red Peril with the fear and disgust always noticeable in the -German Bourgeoisie. The train by which we were travelling crossed the -devastated area in the night. Before going to bed my companion asked -me whether we should see anything of the ravaged districts. I replied -that I thought it would be too dark for any view of the country. It -happened, however, that I woke up at 3 A.M. and, drawing the blind, -found we were just moving out of Péronne. It was a grey July dawn, -with driving rain, which intensified the unspeakable desolation of the -Somme. Tragic beyond words were the massacred orchards. In some cases -the stumps of trees not wholly cut through were throwing up fresh -leaves in a painful effort after new life. My heart was stirred at the -thought of my Prussian stable companion slumbering peacefully in the -bunk above. She had wanted to see devastations; devastations she should -see. - -“Gnädige Frau,” I said in a firm loud voice, “wake up. We are in the -middle of the devastated area, you had better look at it.” Sounds as -though a person had been disturbed from deep sleep issued from the -top berth. Personally I do not like to think what I should have said -or done had a strange woman in the train woke me up at 3 A.M. But -Prussian docility responded to an order. Gnädige Frau got down meekly -from her berth and established herself at the window. A suitable -flow of exclamations and adjectives then took place: “entsetzlich,” -“furchtbar,” “schrecklich,” “böse,” and so on. Comfortably wrapped up -in my bunk I surveyed the scene with virtuous satisfaction, feeling -that I was bringing home the war to one Prussian at least in an -entirely right spirit and manner. Gnädige Frau, however, turned my -flank with the military efficiency of her race. To my intense disgust -I found that the text I had provided by this view of the Somme only -led to an elaborate sermon on the devastations of the Russians in -East Prussia. “You cannot imagine what awful things were done by -those terrible Cossacks,” said the lady, “and how our poor cities -were ruined. The rich German towns have had to become godparents -to whole districts in the devastated area.” She rattled on in this -sense as though the German legions had never set foot in France. I -replied tartly that I hoped the trifling inconveniences experienced -in East Prussia might afford some scale by which she could measure -the sufferings of France, but I could only feel my moral lesson had -miscarried sadly. Still, I got her out of her bunk at 3 A.M. and the -morning was not only wet but chilly. - -I have mentioned this story because it is very typical of the average -German obtuseness which has an exasperating effect on their former -enemies. We are bound, however, to try and study patiently the root -causes of this vast moral myopia, because in it lies the key to the -whole German attitude to the war. This myopia cannot be appreciated -without some grasp of the real points of failure in the German -character. During the war they haunted our imaginations as wily and -strenuous children of the devil. In fact they are a very stupid, -very insensitive, very docile people. Their ideas are as limited and -often as absurd as those which people the nursery. Still worse, they -are incapable apparently of understanding what other races think and -feel. They have many excellent qualities, and an admirable capacity -for hard work and patient research. But they do, I believe, possess -three more skins than the ordinary man. Mixed up with the docility and -unlimited power for submission to authority, runs a considerable strain -of brutality which throws back to the unpleasant habits of the remote -Germanic tribes. They can be and are very brutal to each other, as -well as to their enemies. People so constituted were doomed to become -the tools of miscreants in high places. - -The average German, for all his powers of hard work and his marvels of -applied science, is at bottom little better than a stupid child. His -docility, his credulity, his lack of any real subtlety of spirit have -left him at the mercy of the monstrous theories preached and practised -by the ruling military class. Like a child he believed all he was -told; like a child he was immensely proud of the vainglorious bombast -of military trappings. Children too, it must be remembered, can be -both cruel and callous. Unless this attitude of mind is realised, the -riddle of German mentality appears as insoluble. But granted a docile -and stupid people, governed by a ruthless military class endowed with -the same practical diligence and ability as the mass of the nation, and -no less insensitive to the finer issues of the spirit, all that has -happened falls into place. - -For years past a certain view of England as a sinister and aggressive -power was preached steadily for their own ends by the military party. -On the outbreak of war the German people were told that England was -bent on the destruction of their country. They were fed on tales of -atrocities and horrors. It was represented to them that Germany was -fighting for her life a war of defence. Even in a country like our own, -in which liberty is an old-established principle, the censorship and -other conditions imposed by war resulted in a great darkening of truth -and knowledge. But in a country like Germany, with no representative -government, with no freedom, with a Press wholly subservient to the -ruling junta, it is not astonishing that the people as a whole -blundered on to ever lower depths of ignorance and prejudice. - -I have described the sort of food on which the German school child is -reared. No less instructive are the German memoirs which have been -published recently, for they show in turn the view impressed on the -adult population. Bethmann-Hollweg, Admiral von Tirpitz, Ludendorff, -Bernstorff, Hindenburg, have all had their say on the war. With the -exception of Hindenburg, who observes a generous reticence about his -colleagues, the general tone of these memoirs is one of acrimonious -controversy. One is reminded of a group of naughty schoolboys caught -out in some misdeed, each saying, “Please, teacher, it was the other -fellow.” Admiral von Tirpitz’s _Recollections_ is the longest and most -garrulous of these volumes. It is a book of absorbing interest, and -throws a flood of light on the origins of the war. Here we see laid -bare the whole spirit which provoked the conflict. Here, too, we see -that even among the German governing class, this spirit in the extreme -form represented by Admiral Tirpitz himself met in some quarters with -opposition. If one person deserves to be hanged in connection with the -war, then the halter should surely be placed round the neck of the old -Admiral. - -Von Tirpitz reveals himself in these pages as an able but most -unsympathetic figure. He lays the lash generously about his colleagues, -and the Emperor in particular is not spared. Creator of the German -Navy, he lays bare the whole ruthless spirit animating the German -war lords. English readers will notice with interest, and perhaps -some surprise, the view of themselves and their country on which -the Admiral enlarges. According to Von Tirpitz, the growth of the -German Navy was not only directed towards making any English attack on -German trade risky, but served the philanthropic purpose of supporting -the non-Anglo-Saxon races in their struggle for freedom against the -intolerable dictatorship of British sea-power. It was, in fact, the -special mission of the German Empire to free the world from the -strangling tyranny of the Anglo-Saxons. The English reader learns with -surprise as he makes his way through these volumes how ruthless was the -spirit in which England marked Germany down for destruction. Finally, -through craft and Machiavellian principles of the worst kind, she -accomplished her end. While German statesmen were weak, vacillating, -and hopelessly pacific, a succession of English Governments, Radical no -less than Conservative, animated one and all by the same fell purpose, -only waited for the appropriate moment to fall on the European Simon -Pure. - -Lord Haldane during his visit to Berlin in 1912 figures as a skilled -and determined mock negotiator, adamant as to concessions on the -English side, but bent on sowing discord among German statesmen and -reducing the fleet to impotence. Tirpitz accuses him of an evil -conscience. Did not Lord Haldane shut his eyes to the wholly pacific -intentions of Germany and invent a Berlin war party with which to -inflame public opinion in England? - -The Admiral speaks feelingly of the “armed battue” against Germany. -He lays his hand on his heart and declares that in 1914 the German -Empire was “the least preoccupied of all the Great Powers with -possibilities of war.” Yet in spite of “our suicidal love of peace” -the world would persist in laying the guilt of all that had happened -on Germany. “It is really extraordinary how unpopular we are,” cries -the Admiral naïvely in one of his letters. But he sticks to his point. -The historical guilt of England is irrefutably clear. The “old pirate -state” has once again torn Europe to pieces. Thanks to the most brutal -methods she has secured a victory, and liberty and independence have -perished. But the Admiral is not only concerned to abuse England. He -deals faithfully with his own countrymen. If on the one hand English -readers obtain a fresh insight through German eyes into their own -villainies, they obtain information possibly less fantastic as to the -discord which raged inside the German war-machine. If in the interests -of truth we are compelled to say that the Germans overrated our powers -of conducting a war with supreme efficiency, it is clear that we were -no less at fault in attributing super qualities to our enemies. - -When these various memoirs are read side by side and compared, they -reveal strife, division, and hesitation of a remarkable kind in the -higher direction of the war. Tirpitz, as head of the war party, writes -with extraordinary bitterness of Bethmann-Hollweg the Chancellor. No -words are bad enough for the man who had struggled sincerely enough, -according to his lights, for the preservation of peace between England -and Germany. His hesitations, vacillations, errors of policy are dealt -with in a ferocious spirit. But the Army and even the Navy do not -escape severe criticism. “The end of July 1914 found us in a state of -chaos,” writes the Admiral. The generals made “frightful mistakes,” the -war was one of “missed opportunities,” the Navy in particular was never -allowed to do its work. The troops were heroic, but “the hereditary -faults of the German people and the destructive elements among them” -led to the downfall of the whole nation. - -The popular view of Germany, which most English people held during -the war, was that for forty years the German nation from the -Emperor downwards had pursued the definite and determined end of -the destruction of England. The real situation appears to have been -far more complex. To credit the Emperor and his entourage with an -inflexibility of purpose so great is to rate their capacity far too -high. The mediocre statesmen of our own generation were not Bismarcks. -They were incapable of the far vision, the sinister purpose, the iron -will of the old Chancellor. Unlike him they did not know when to stop. -An influential section among the soldiers was certainly bent on a war -of aggression and pursued this end with unfaltering determination. They -had considerable influence both among the Press and the professors. -Consequently they loomed large in the public eye. But even among the -governing class, as Tirpitz’s angry complaints reveal, there were -certain weak-kneed statesmen who were anxious to pursue a pacific -policy. As for the German nation as a whole, the unparalleled growth -of the Socialist party during recent years proves that the views of -the German militarists were meeting with considerable opposition among -sections of their own countrymen. - -The militarists largely controlled the machine and were therefore -in the stronger position. An autocratic form of government and an -Executive divorced from all control by Parliament made the Socialist -vote, large though it was, of no practical value in determining policy. -The General Election of 1912, when the Socialists and Progressives -who had definitely challenged the Chauvinism of the Government secured -considerable gains in the Reichstag, caused dismay in military circles. -It is clear that the dread of democratic control was one of the causes -which impelled the soldiers to bring matters to a head. A shadow had -fallen on their power which a successful war, so they thought, would -dispel. Had Germany possessed a democratic constitution which would -have given due weight and place to the anti-military elements, it -is difficult to believe that the war would ever have occurred. It -was a race between the forces making respectively for peace and for -aggression, and time was on the side of the former. - -The military party consequently forced the pace and precipitated -the conflict. That on the outbreak of war the whole German nation, -Socialists included, closed its ranks and presented a united front -to the enemy is natural enough. The view of the defensive war was -widespread, and German myopia could not see straight about the -threatening character of the armaments which had been piled up. But -between the guilt of the rulers, which is black indeed, and the guilt -of the nation as a whole, wide discriminations should in justice be -made. If it were not so the future outlook, dark as it is at the -moment, would be quite hopeless. - -The part played in the middle of this welter by the arrogant and -inferior figure on the throne is not easy to determine. The Emperor -was not necessarily insincere when he expressed his abstract desire -for peace. But his vanity was flattered by the vision of himself as -Supreme War Lord ashore and afloat of a submissive Europe. He did not -necessarily want to fight. He wanted very much to be in a position -which enabled him to bully. Probably the governing classes in Germany -held much the same view. The Emperor lent himself to the creation -of huge armies and a threatening fleet, and then expressed surprise -that his perpetual sabre-rattling and histrionic performances created -anger and alarm throughout Europe. Other nations refused to think -that Dreadnoughts were built as pets, or that armaments were piled -up for the purposes of ceremonial salutes. Having surrounded himself -with material of this character, he was in all probability genuinely -appalled when the inevitable explosion occurred. He had no real wish to -trade with the devil, but he was always in and out of the shop, turning -over the wares and listening to the flatteries of the salesman. A man -of his type was bound, sooner or later, to become the tool of villains -with a purpose clearer than his own. - -Lord Haldane in his book _Before the War_ has given an account, both -sane and dispassionate, of the causes and forces which led up to -the struggle. He analyses with admirable clarity the weakness and -the strength of the German machine. In a striking passage he draws -attention to a fact too little realised by the vast majority of English -people, namely, that highly organised though the German nation might -be on its lower levels, on the top storey not only confusion but chaos -existed. Instead of a Cabinet representing the majority of an elected -Parliament to whom it was bound to submit its policy, the governing -body in Germany was an irresponsible group of men animated by wholly -divergent ideas. - -In the centre of this group was a vain, feather-headed monarch, not -devoid of good impulses, and at times of generous feeling, but cursed -with an instability of character which made him lend an ear first to -the promptings of one counsellor and then of another. The Emperor -swayed from side to side according to the fancy of the moment; at one -time drawing close to the war party, at another inclining to the more -sober counsels of the peace party. Such a temperament does not improve -with the flight of years. Time only deepened in the Emperor’s mind the -sense of his own importance in the eyes of God and man. His unstable -brain was more and more bemused with ideas of power and infallibility. -Already in 1891 he had caused deep resentment throughout working-class -Germany by a speech to young recruits at Potsdam. He referred in -acrimonious terms to the Socialist agitations, and went on to say: “I -may have to order you to shoot down your relations, your brothers, -even your parents--which God forbid!--but even then you must obey my -commands without murmuring.” Criticism was treasonable; criticism was -therefore not audible, but the words were never forgotten nor forgiven. -Vanity and megalomania steer an erratic course, and the consequent -vagaries of German high diplomacy kept Europe in a chronic state of -nerves which deepened the general sense of anxiety and suspicion. - -Since the revolution the diplomatic documents in the Berlin archives -relating to the plot against Serbia, together with the Emperor’s -marginal notes, have been published by order of the new German -Government. The war has produced no volume more painful than that of -Karl Kautsky in which these documents are set forth. The revelation -is of the blackest, so far as the Emperor is concerned. His personal -responsibility for creating the situation which led to the war is -established beyond question. His marginal notes, always foolish and -often vulgar, are almost incredible in their criminal levity. The -Emperor comments, for instance, on the most solemn and impressive of -Sir Edward Grey’s warnings to the German Ambassador, Prince Lichnowsky, -in the words “the low cur!” We watch this vain unstable figure flitting -with a lighted torch round the powder magazine of Europe. With the -lives of millions in his hand, the mediocre intelligence of the Emperor -seemed unable to forecast the elementary consequences of his own acts. -At the start his sole object in view was the dismemberment of Serbia -and the creation of a new Balkan situation. The German Ambassador in -Vienna, who counselled moderation in the demands made on the Serbian -Government, was reprimanded severely. William was concerned to stir -up his more sluggish ally, Austria, to warlike purpose. If Russia -objected--well, never mind about Russia. The implications of a general -European war do not seem to have occurred to him. When as huntsman he -laid on the hounds, the magnitude of the quarry was not apparent. Later -on, when the chasm into which he had dragged the world dawned before -him in its appalling immensity, he shrank back aghast on the brink. -But too late. The terrible vitality of deeds had taken charge of the -situation and hurried on the tragedy to its final consummation. - -A curious point arises not only from the study of the Kautsky -documents, but of the various German memoirs which have appeared. The -primary responsibility of the Emperor for staging the scene is proved -beyond doubt. But he was away yachting in the weeks before the war, -and it is not clear with whom the further responsibility rests for -converting the Serbian intrigue into the wider act of world aggression. -At this point history has further secrets to reveal. The Great General -Staff were in all probability determined not to let slip so golden an -opportunity, and engineered matters in the sense of war during the -Emperor’s absence. - -Strangely enough, Tirpitz, though ultimately more responsible for the -war than any one else in Germany, did not want to fight in August -1914. His fleet was not ready and had yet to attain its maximum -strength. He denounces Bethmann-Hollweg’s refusal of Sir Edward -Grey’s proposed conference as a capital blunder. War at that moment -should in his opinion have been averted. Germany was not sufficiently -prepared. Further, the old Admiral with great shrewdness deplores the -sabre-rattling against England on various occasions. Do not irritate -your enemy until you are ready to fight him, was his principle. - -It is a strange fact that Bethmann-Hollweg, who had always desired -peace, seems to have lost his head completely in the crisis and showed -a fatal obduracy which might have been expected from Tirpitz. The -conference for which Sir Edward Grey pressed would in all probability -have avoided the war. Bethmann-Hollweg wanted peace, yet he banged -the door on the one possibility of maintaining it. One gathers the -impression of a group of men groping blindly on the edge of a precipice -over which finally they hurl themselves. But the hand which pushed them -into decisions, certainly unwelcome to some of the actors, has yet to -be revealed. We know it must in effect have come from a man or group -of men among the military party. The exact personalities are not at -present clear. - -The German memoirs written by statesmen of the old régime, which throw -so much light incidentally on the tragedy of Europe, must be read in -detail in order to obtain any real appreciation of their atmosphere. -Their great value lies in the fact that they make the German view of -England more intelligible. We are able to measure the vast distortion -of truth as it has reached the average German, and the profound -misconceptions under which he labours. Exasperated though we may feel -by such aberrations, we begin to understand why the rank and file of -the German nation, trained from their youth in subservience to the -ruling house, still believe they were the attacked, not the attackers, -in the war. I have heard recently of Germans meeting pre-war English -friends with personal feelings quite unchanged. The English found, -however, to their bewilderment that the Germans, out of delicacy to -their feelings, would not discuss the war--it must be, so they hinted, -terrible for them to realise the crimes England had committed both in -her unjustifiable attack on Germany and in her practical conduct of the -war. Naturally as English they would desire to avoid any reference to -so painful a subject. - -Hence Germany’s reluctance to say she is sorry. So far she will not -admit there is anything to be sorry for. Never was there a nation more -exasperatingly devoid of the spirit of self-criticism. Everything -German is perfect in the eyes of a German. In the crash which has -overtaken the nation little realisation exists of the moral issues -involved. Among the Socialist party alone would much difficult -and unpalatable truth appear to be permeating. At the meeting of -the Second International held in Geneva during August 1920, the -responsibility of the Kaiser’s Government for the outbreak of the war -was admitted in precise terms by the German Socialists. The wrong -done to France in 1870 in the matter of Alsace-Lorraine, the wrong -done to Belgium in 1914 and the just claims of reparation, were all -acknowledged and incorporated into a formal resolution. Though the -Bourgeoisie may clasp their hands tightly over eyes and ears, the -Socialists at least have no illusions as to the crimes and follies of -the Imperial Government. But, crushed as they are by the heavy burthens -of the Peace, they are more concerned to dwell on the trials of the -present than the failures of the past. - -What we should remember, I think, is that the bulk of the German -nation did its duty in the war just as we did ourselves. Alongside -the organised atrocities and brutalities which disgraced the higher -direction of the military machine, must be set the courage and -self-sacrifice of large numbers of humble people. The average German -fought for his Fatherland with a conviction just as great as that of -the average Frenchman or Englishman. In view of the rigid censorship -which ruled, it is clear that the rank and file knew little or nothing -of many deeds which outraged the conscience of the civilised world. -They served a bad cause with a fortitude from which it would be -ungenerous to withhold praise. The future peace of the world lies in -the hope that their powers of loyalty and service may be turned to -other and better ends. - -Meanwhile the existing veils of ignorance and misconception can only be -raised by a frank and free contact of men and women of both nations -who are not afraid to come together and face facts however unpalatable. -These distorted values can only be redressed through a determined -effort to seek truth for itself undeterred by false conceptions of -national honour. A nation which claims to be great should be great -enough to admit the wrong she has done. Germany must learn to see -straight about herself before peace in the real sense can be restored -between her and nations who have suffered grievously through her -action. Peace is here and now the urgent need of the world, but peace -cannot live if perpetually pelted by prejudices and ignorances. The -Supreme Charity has not left us without guidance in this matter, and as -on another famous occasion, let the man or woman in the happy position -of having no fault come forward to cast the first stone. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI - -WATCHMAN--WHAT OF THE NIGHT? - - -It is probable that at no moment in the history of the world has a -spirit of disillusion been so widespread and so profound as at the -present time. Not only apparently have the high ideals which sustained -us during the war evaporated completely, but they have yielded place to -a sullen exasperation and ill-will dangerous in its temper and purpose. -Moral war-weariness has sapped mind and body to such an extent that no -powers of resilience remain. Suspicion as between class and class and -nation and nation corrodes the foundations of life. Surly ill-will and -a wholly anti-helpful attitude permeates the grudging performance of -essential social services. People and classes pursue their own ends -with complete disregard as to their reactions on other sections of -society. Self-interest reigns supreme. The joy as of comrades of the -open road faring together in a spirit of common service and brotherhood -appears to have vanished. In England unrest and discontent wholly -refuse to yield to the opportunist devices of a Government to whom all -principles are mere questions of expediency. But England, mercifully -for herself, whatever her spiritual sickness, knows nothing of the -stark levels of practical misery and starvation on to which millions -of continental people have been driven. We have no standard with which -to gauge misery and hunger on a scale so appalling as that which has -overtaken the dwellers of Eastern Europe. At times one wonders how -it is that England, so great, so generous, so magnanimous in her -traditional policy, has apparently neither eyes to see nor ears to hear -what is going on. The voice of Gladstone could once rouse the country -to a white flame of indignation over the sufferings of an oppressed -people. But with the tragedy of Europe before our eyes; with women and -children perishing by the thousand; with a volume of discontent growing -and surging among every nationality, England, always the world’s hope -in matters of practical justice, seems incapable of rousing herself -to action worthy of her own great tradition. Instead of some fine and -generous appreciation of the world’s woes, she looks on dully and from -afar. - -America has for the moment withdrawn from the European chaos. Her -reasons for doing so are intelligible, but the result has been a -disaster for the rest of the world. It is not a question, as so many -Americans think, of a desire to exploit the better financial position -of the United States. It is because America with many faults and -crudities has a driving power of idealism behind her--the same motive -force which brought her into the war. Some American business men and -supporters of the great financial interests have sought--as is the -habit of their kind--to exploit the post-war situation to their own -profit. As against this must be set qualities of a very different -character among the mass of the people. America’s absence from the -European council-chamber involves the loss of a great influence -at once restraining and constructive. We cannot measure fully as -yet the infinite damage caused by her withdrawal from the task of -Reconstruction. We know, however, that no blow since the Peace has -been so severe. America was particularly fortunate in some of the -representatives sent to Europe during the war--men of the highest -capacity and honour. Through her absence every undesirable force or -principle has gathered weight. Conversely every force working for good -has been weakened. - -The rest of the world looks on in an attitude as helpless as that -of the former combatants, as month by month the shattered fabric of -European life sags yet wider. The post-war chaos appears so complete -that men turn from it in despair. Moral disillusion and weariness have -their counterparts in recklessness and wild extravagance. There is a -sense of an approaching Twilight of the Gods; of a collapse of the -foundations of society. Therefore let us eat, drink, and be merry, on -the brink of the chasm though it be, before the darkness swallows us up. - -How is it that a war fought for principles and ideals so clear and so -noble as those which animated us at the outset of the struggle can have -resulted in a condition of practical moral bankruptcy? Of that moral -bankruptcy the Treaty of Versailles is the sign and witness. On the -plane of practical politics it may be said that the world could have -survived the war, but it is doubtful whether it can survive the Peace. -Yet the Peace only registers the sickness which has invaded our souls. -Indeed, from one aspect it may be asserted that the present situation, -dark and threatening though it be, is not devoid of consolation of a -lofty and austere character. The moral bankruptcy which has overtaken -the world is in itself the most august testimony to the inexorable -truth of moral principle. Because the light in the spirit of man has -burned so low, we are able to estimate what darkness falls when the -lamp is untrimmed. The very chaos we deplore is the result of outraged -moral laws, neglect of which brings a sure Nemesis in its train. Just -in so far as the world has forsaken abiding standards of justice, -truth, and mercy, the world has been stricken down. We are perishing -to-day owing to failures in principle, and health can only return -when principle is no longer flouted but resumes its reign over men’s -souls. The tricks and turns of an opportunist policy cannot stem the -rising flood of restlessness and disgust. The world grows daily more -sick of men who have not sufficient character to make their cleverness -tolerable. Thus viewed, our present confusion is fraught with profound -spiritual significance. - -In this, despite grave present peril, lies the chance of salvation. -History has never known so great and so terrible a testimony to the -inexorable character of moral law, and the reality of Divine Truth -which it is death to challenge. _Docet umbra_, and in the darkness -which has fallen, we who stand in the shadow may learn anew of the -vision which shines behind all earth-drawn clouds; and so, may be, lay -firmer hold on those forgotten truths which, alike to men and nations, -bring peace at the last. If even now the better side of human nature -will rally to the task of rescue, the future may yet be saved. The -terrible sufferings of those who have fallen by the way cannot be made -good. But if the nations will rouse themselves to make a determined -moral effort, any repetition of such sufferings may be checked. - -The greatest and gravest charge which can be brought against Germany is -not so much that she killed men’s bodies and laid waste their houses -and lands, as that she has poisoned the soul of Europe. The evil spirit -let loose by the Prussian theory of life has reacted throughout the -world. It has darkened counsel and silenced the voice of charity and -moderation. Not to be dragged down to the level of the person who has -wronged you is the hardest of all moral tests. It was one which proved -too hard for the conquerors in this war. The Peace was bound to have -been very stern towards Germany and very exacting in its demands. -Severity was inherent in the situation. Wrongs had been committed which -called for judgment; balances had to be redressed. The more necessary -was it, in view of these stern measures, to adhere strictly to -principles of justice and honour in our treatment of Germany; to give -neither history nor a defeated foe any justification for the charge -that in the hour of victory we cast behind us principles for which we -fought. - -The degree to which the Terms of Peace violated both the letter and -spirit of conditions laid down in the Armistice is a blot on the Treaty -which must be painful to all honourable men. The Allies would have been -within their rights in insisting on the unconditional surrender of -Germany. But conditions having been permitted, they should have been -adhered to. Mr. Lloyd George and President Wilson had indicated on -various occasions that peace made with a democratic Germany would be of -a different character from a peace made with the Hohenzollerns still in -power. But Germany, having rid herself of her Emperor and of her former -Government, found that the treatment meted out to the new Republic -differed in no particular from what would have been justifiable had the -Emperor remained on the throne. The conscience of the world has been -troubled by these things, and by an uneasy sense of undertakings given -but not fulfilled. - -Those of us who see in the Peace a supreme failure in constructive -statesmanship do not take that view because we are pacifists or have -some sentimental wish “to be kind to Germany.” So long as the issue of -the war hung in doubt it was our duty to make war to the last man and -the last shilling. With the evil spirit dominating Imperial Germany, -neither truce nor parley was possible. The effort frequently made in -pacifist circles to represent the war as a general dog-fight, for which -all the nations involved have a common responsibility, is not only -bad history but bad morality. Victory creates, however, a wholly new -situation. War, in certain terrible cases, is the necessary prelude -to a settlement. But of itself it settles nothing, any more than an -operation essential to check the spread of disease is a natural or -healthy process. The surgeon’s knife is merely a means to an end--the -recovery of normal life by a normal and healthy body. The knife is -not kept flourished permanently over the patient’s head or turned -periodically in the wound. - -The great charge against the Peace is its failure to envisage a normal -and healthy life for Europe. Our quarrel against its provisions is -that they are in many cases fully as short-sighted and as lacking -in imagination as what Prussians themselves might have evolved. -The precedents of Brest-Litovsk, at which we raised our hands in -justifiable horror, are not agreeable ones to follow. The fatal flaw -of the Peace is that it does not look beyond the period of punishment -and reparation to an ultimate pacification of Europe. It lays down no -principles for the establishment of good relations between nations. Its -economic provisions are a nightmare calculated to lay a strangle-hold -on any possible recovery of European trade and commerce. With a world -crying out for goods and that increased production which can alone -bring about a drop in prices, the Peace Treaty is directed to keeping -one of the greatest producers, namely Germany, in chains, while a -group of little states, erected as military buffers of the most futile -character, are allowed to distract themselves and their neighbours by -the erection of tariff walls behind which they carry on crazy forms of -economic guerilla warfare. - -Let us admit that the difficulties of the Peace were quite enormous and -that mistakes and blunders were inevitable. Criticism is roused not -so much by the practical provisions of the Treaty as by the general -spirit animating it. It is, in effect, a peace of revenge uninspired -by one generous gesture as regards the future. It is a peace of tired -old men with their eyes fixed on the hatreds and animosities of the -past, and their minds obsessed by the territorial jealousies of the -old diplomacy. Consequently it has outraged and disgusted the young -generation just stepping from school and college into the political -arena. Youth is generous and impulsive; it is the age of chivalry and -high ideals. The younger men and women ask what this Treaty is doing -for the future, at what point it is binding up the wounds of Europe, -what contribution it makes towards creating that “new world” of which -politicians discoursed so eloquently. The rising generation has a right -to demand an answer to these questions. It is their future which is -at stake in the matter. The provisions of the Peace are burthens laid -upon their shoulders. Naturally they are concerned with the contents -of the load. But from no direction comes any satisfactory reply to -these inquiries, only the dull echo returned by barriers of hatred and -negation. - -Yet another consequence results from this state of affairs, the -seriousness of which has not, I think, been fully grasped. The failures -of democratic statesmen, so called, in this matter of the Peace have -jeopardised the whole principle of democratic government. “If this is -the best that the statesmen of the three great democracies can produce, -then away with such a sham and failure as democracy has proved itself -to be. Let us try something else.” This spirit is stirring in many -quarters. It leads young minds, at once eager and disappointed, to -explore the alternatives of anarchism, direct action, Bolshevism, and -the rest. We may deplore the direction in which their ideas are moving. -Let politicians in power recognise, however, that this spirit of revolt -is rooted in the vast failures of the old diplomacy. Is there yet time -to recognise the hopeless dead end into which we have blundered and to -retrace our steps along a better way? The first condition is to purge -our minds from some of the illusions which run riot among the men who -control the machine. The peace of Europe cannot be secured by any -variation of the old tortuous adjustments concerned with the balance of -power. Strategical frontiers, military dispositions, the creation of -buffer states, leave the problem exactly where it stood. Neither will -the effort to reduce a feared and hated enemy to a condition perilously -akin to that of economic servitude dispel the menace of a future appeal -to arms. No nation can lay enduring shackles on the life of another, as -the history of Germany from Jena to Leipzig proves conclusively. But as -that suggestive period also shows, the effort to oppress and dominate, -so far from crushing the spirit of a people, rouses it to the highest -point of effort and endeavour. The German poets of the Liberation -period have sung in vain if they have not taught that lesson to an -unheeding world. - -The peaceful relations of nations cannot be achieved through the -strategy of force and the tactics of hatred. A change of heart, a new -moral orientation are essential if the world is not once again to -become a shambles. Such a spirit can only permeate the existing welter -little by little. We cannot afford to take risks with the ruthless -and wicked people who in many instances control the destinies of -nations. But the touchstone of statesmanship at the present time is -the degree to which it is helping or it is hindering the forces which -make for sanity and reconciliation; the degree to which it clears away -barriers or helps to erect them. Nations, like individuals, can only -live and grow through what is highest and best in themselves. Further, -unless nations are prepared to treat each other with some measure of -confidence and goodwill, and to have some sort of faith in each other’s -good intentions, the moral chaos remains insoluble. - -It is my earnest wish in this matter to write with complete -understanding and sympathy of the position of France. French fears -regarding the future are largely responsible for the tone and temper -of the Peace. The fact is so well known that I cannot feel any useful -purpose is served by a refusal frankly to face the issues involved. -The Entente, if it is to flourish, must draw its strength from truth -and candour. It cannot live on shams and make-believes. The better -mind of England is disturbed increasingly over the policy pursued -by the Entente, and feels that the influence of France is dragging -us along a path remote from the traditional views of the British -democracy. We must recognise this fact and face its implications, if -sooner or later a point of sharp collision is to be avoided between the -two countries. France and England are united by ties of a sacred and -abiding character. Side by side have they upheld the torch of liberty -while the foundations of the world rocked. The blood of their sons has -been poured out on hundreds of battlefields in a common defence of -liberty. The courage and the fortitude of France during the struggle -was an example and an inspiration to the whole Alliance. Why are we -conscious, therefore, to-day of so heavy a fall in all those values -which made France heroic during the war? Again we must bring patience -and understanding to a situation fraught with possibilities so grave of -future trouble. - -France to-day is dominated by two sentiments, one is hatred, the other -is fear. Both are evil counsellors, both are destroyers of life. France -through fear is pursuing a policy the only result of which can be to -make the confirmation of her fears inevitable. Now, it is not for us -English while recognising these facts to pass any sort of censorious -judgment on them. Had we suffered like France, had we endured what she -has been called upon to endure, in all probability our own spirit would -have been even more black and more bitter. Such powers of detachment -as we may possess do not imply the least merit on our part. It is only -because relatively we have suffered less that we can afford possibly -to be more broad and more generous in our outlook. France for the -last fifty years has lived under the shadow of a nightmare. Enticed -into war in 1870 by the devilish skill of Bismarck, she was forced -to drink to the full of the German cup of humiliation. Marvellous -though her economic and political recovery after the war, she could -feel no security about her eastern frontier. The aggressive character -of German diplomacy cast a deepening shadow on her life. Periodically -she was threatened; periodically she was insulted. Finally came a -climax of horror--the invasion of her soil, the devastation of town and -country, the agony of four and a half years of a war unparalleled in -its ghastliness. Little wonder, therefore, that France sees red all the -time and that she demands an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. - -I often think that if in the course of the war it had so happened that -a strip of German soil near the Rhine had been laid waste, it might in -the long run have promoted the peace of Europe. I do not say this from -any desire to destroy German homes or cause suffering to German women -and children. But one of the difficulties in dealing with France to-day -is that she feels that her wounds gape wider than those of any other -nation. She is haunted by the horror of her own experience, to which no -enemy country affords a parallel. Her devastated areas do not, so to -speak, cancel out. Had they cancelled out, even in a limited measure, -she would have lost something of the sense of unique and peculiar -outrage which fills France to-day with a bitterness as of death. Let -me repeat it is not for us to pass any censorious judgment on this -attitude. Unlike France, we are not up against the fence of a land -frontier with an hereditary foe on the other side. But we fail in our -duty if in a spirit of entire friendliness and understanding we do not -urge her to consider where this policy is leading. - -The quarrel between Germany and France is a very old story. It did not -start, as many people imagine carelessly, in 1870. Long before that -date a barrier of bitter memories had already been piled up between the -two countries. Germany too has had her grievances, heavy grievances, -in the past against France. Louis XIV. carried fire and sword through -the Rhineland and Palatinate during the wars of the Spanish Succession. -His generals left an imperishable memory of outrage. The Napoleonic -occupation laid a hand of iron subsequently on the German people. -Read the poets of the Liberation period, Arndt, Rückert, Körner, -Schenkendorf, and realise how deep that iron bit into the soul of the -nation. Travel among the Rhineland towns and study their history. It -is one long record of French occupation and destruction either in the -seventeenth or early nineteenth century--Mainz, the cathedral used as a -magazine and barracks; Cologne, horses stabled in the cathedral nave; -Speyer, town and cathedral ravaged with fire and sword by the generals -of Louis XIV., ruffians who exhumed and scattered to the winds the -bones of eight German emperors; Worms, reduced in 1689 to a smouldering -heap of ruins; Aachen, Bonn, Coblenz, Baden, all with bitter memories -of military conquest and occupation. - -If I draw attention to these old unhappy far-off things it is not from -any desire to rake gratuitously among painful memories of the past. -But the German attitude towards France can never be understood unless -due weight is given to these black and bitter pages in their earlier -relations. France must face candidly the historical truth that Prussian -militarism came into being as a reply to the aggressions first of Louis -XIV., then of Napoleon. The sins of older generations of French rulers -have been visited on innocent heads, but the sins were there. The -memory of French tyranny in former years was the driving force which -welded the German states together. To the average German 1870 appeared -the vindication of his national honour, the signal proof that the -humiliations of the Napoleonic period were wiped out. Once again the -old coil of evil is seen unfolding itself in a monotonous succession of -wrongs done and revenge exacted, the revenge creating new wrongs which -in turn lead to further strife. - -Are we prepared to weave yet further sequences of this disastrous -character? Or shall the spirit of man rise up and say the coil must be -broken? - -It is this problem that has to be faced with both tact and candour -so far as the French are concerned. We sympathise to the full with -their sufferings and their wrongs. All that is best, however, in the -British democracy will neither sympathise with nor support policies -which if pursued to their logical ends can only work fresh havoc for -Europe. It is strange that the French, after their bitter experience -of 1870, seem unable to apply lessons wholly learnt by themselves as -to the strength of national feeling. It is impossible to stifle the -spirit of a people whatever it may be. Germany failed completely in -her effort to crush France. It is no less hopeless for France to think -that she can crush Germany. Yet at bottom the destruction of Germany -is the aim of the Chauvinists, who have considerable influence at the -moment in the direction of French policy. For people of this type -the European situation is the same to-day as it was in 1912. It is -as though the years 1914-1918 had not happened. The German nightmare -oppresses them as much as it has ever done. They still envisage Germany -as a great military power whose existence is one long menace to the -security of France. They want to see Germany crippled beyond the hope -of restoration, though with an entire lack of logic they also want -Germany to pay them large sums of money. Many French soldiers and -politicians feel it is a great mistake to miss the present golden -opportunity for making, as they think, a complete end of a formidable -enemy. Among them are men who would welcome any pretext which might -justify the further crushing of Germany. Theory reacts of course on -practice. The actual policy pursued in the Occupied Area is often -irritating and exasperating in the highest degree. Feeling between -the Germans and the French has to my knowledge grown more sore and -more bitter during the last year. But pinpricks will not produce the -indemnity, and an atmosphere of general exasperation does not promote -the best interests of France. Judged by rough-and-ready standards of -expediency, it ought to be clear that less than forty millions of -people cannot coerce indefinitely more than sixty millions of tough, -hard-working men and women. This blunt truth governs the present -situation. Such a policy if pursued is bound to fail. But before it -breaks down in the turmoil of another war it may extinguish the last -hope of saving European civilisation. Europe presents to-day common -needs and common problems. It will recover as a whole or collapse as a -whole. No illusion can be more fatal than the theory that the safety -and prosperity of one member of the European family can be secured by -the dismemberment and destruction of another. Statesmanship, while -securing for France necessary material guarantees of safety, should -have sought to win her round to a wiser appreciation of the principles -on which her future security must rest. Similarly as regards Germany; -while exacting adequate reparation and reducing her militarists to -impotence, statesmanship should no less seek to encourage the growth -of a new temper among her people which will, by making them decent and -responsible members of the European family, render any repetition of -past horrors impossible. - -Lamentable indeed was the failure of the Peace Conference to make -any contribution to these fundamental principles. The Peace Treaty -registers accurately the violences and hatreds of the war. To the -creation of a better state of affairs in the future it makes no -contribution of any kind. Whatever the attitude of France, the -moral failure of England and America as regards the exercise of any -restraining influence is far more culpable. The collapse of President -Wilson, a man of high ideals but without the power of dealing with -facts needful to give them practical effect, is one of the most tragic -chapters in history. Mr. Lloyd George, gifted as he is with vision and -imagination, could have thrown the light of his indisputable qualities -had he so willed over the chaos of Europe. Unhappily he became involved -in a sordid chapter of domestic politics, the consequences of which -hung round his neck like a millstone. The present chaos of Europe is -in no small degree a consequence of the General Election of December -1918 and the temper and policies it inculcated. The British nation was -rushed on that occasion with fatal results to the cause of permanent -peace. The Peace Conference met at Paris in an atmosphere charged with -passion, and passion weighted the scales at every critical issue. -Meanwhile the democracies of the world, impotent to control peace -negotiations the spirit and policy of which became increasingly -unacceptable to all thinking people, looked on helplessly while the -unwieldy vessel of the Conference, buffeted first by one influence and -then by another, drifted on a stormy sea of opportunism towards the -rocks of strife. As for the result, it was well denounced as the Peace -of Dragon’s Teeth by Mr. J. L. Garvin, who throughout the tests of war -and peace devoted his eloquence and great powers of idealism to the -cause first of victory and then of European appeasement. - -The Treaty as it stands has sown the world with fresh discord, and -ultimately can lead to nothing but repudiation and revenge. Still -further, the Treaty as it stands is unworkable. Already it shows -signs of breaking down under the weight of its own contradictions. By -demanding too much it bids fair to create a situation in which nothing -will be obtainable. It is not business to tell a bankrupt he must -pay thirty shillings in the pound, and at the same time sit on his -head so as to make it impossible for him to earn thirty pence. If a -bankrupt is to discharge his debts, he must be put into a position to -earn. If he is to be loaded with chains, that spectacle may have its -own satisfaction, but it will not produce money on the credit side. -A hungry bankrupt Germany cannot work to pay off the indemnity on -which France has just claim. If Europe crumbles further; if Bolshevism -finds a new recruiting ground in the anger and despair of a whole -people--where is France likely to stand in this matter of payment? - -We must in common fairness recognise how serious are the difficulties -even of a well-intentioned German Government in carrying out the -demands it has to meet. The people as a whole are inexperienced -politically. The nation has had no training in self-government. It -has been run in the past by a highly efficient bureaucracy saturated -in autocratic and Bismarckian traditions. To-day the old machinery of -government is in ruins. We cannot expect that Germany with a wave of -the wand can suddenly produce public men and civil servants of the type -with which we are familiar. The cry that the government is in the hands -of men “steeped in militarism” is far from untrue. The real problem, -however, is to find men of any sort of training or experience in -government work outside the close ring of Prussianism. Inevitably the -public has to rely, anyway for the present, on officials trained in the -old theory that a lie was a virtue so long as it served the State. - -From this grave disadvantage there is no immediate escape, and the -circumstance calls for special vigilance and care in our relations with -the German official classes. We can, however, help or hinder the growth -of another spirit. In so far as we support a democratically constituted -German Government and give it some encouragement and consideration, we -shall tend to produce men of a new type. But if these early steps in -democratic government are at each stage to be associated with rebuffs -and humiliations, we play straight, as I have pointed out in an earlier -chapter, into the hands of the military party. The old gang, though -they dare not raise their heads at the moment, are a compact body -among themselves, and desire nothing so ardently as the failure of -constitutional government in Germany. We cannot expect German mentality -to be changed in a night. The new forces must be given time and space -in which to develop. - -Further, they must be given encouragement. The situation in Germany -to-day is in many respects dark and difficult. The reactionary forces -are entrenched strongly in more than one direction. We must not -ignore the evil influence of some tens of thousands of embittered and -irreconcilable soldiers and of certain officials of the old régime, -whose careers have been broken and who have nothing to hope from any -constitution acceptable to the democratic mind of Europe. Again, the -old fire-eating doctrines are still to the fore at many centres of -education and have an unfortunate influence on the student life--a -serious fact borne out by much evidence. Thirdly, there is the -danger of the irrecoverable rifle in the back garden--an impossible -administrative problem, as we have found to our cost in Ireland. -Undesirable factors of this character will have proportionate weight -in Germany just so far as the spirit of unrest and despair spreads -through the people. They can only be reduced to insignificance through -the establishment of an ordered and settled government which is in a -position to maintain a decent level of life for the nation, and a life -consistent with a fair measure of national self-respect. - -The revision of the Peace Treaty on lines which will bring it into -harmony with enduring principles of justice and right is the crying -need of the hour. A practical point in connection with the present -situation should not be overlooked. The Germans know as well as we do -that modifications of the Treaty are inevitable. So long, however, as -the present unhappy instrument holds the field, the doubtful clauses -offer a most undesirable scope for duplicity and intrigue. The men -of the old tradition to whom I have just referred are experts in -fishing in troubled waters. They have sufficient skill to play off -Allied scruples and hesitations one against another. What we should -aim at is a Treaty just and reasonable in its demands, stripped of -provisions which involve exasperating administrative problems. Above -all, the Treaty should be revised to command the moral assent of the -Allied democracies, an assent wholly lacking in the case of the Treaty -of Versailles. Then the provisions should be enforced rigidly, and -the German Government made plainly to understand that there is to be -neither humbug nor shirking about their fulfilment. There cannot be two -opinions about Germany making the fullest material restitution in her -power for injuries done. Opinions may and do differ fundamentally as to -the manner and spirit in which these claims should be put forward. - -If politicians and statesmen turn a deaf ear to the cry of a world -in distress and to a growing demand that the policies pursued should -be reasonable and constructive, the voice of the people themselves -swelling in volume bids fair to overwhelm all triflers with peace. For -despite the bluster of the fire-eaters and a Press which encourages -their empty violence, the world is sick of blood and strife. Germany -has suffered such a defeat as history has never known. Sixty millions -of people, however, virile, disciplined, hard-working, cannot be -obliterated from the map. Greatly though certain zealots may desire the -complete annihilation of the German tribes, vapourings of this kind are -remote from the realm of practical politics. The statesmanship which at -the moment haunts the Chancellories of Europe would not appear to be -of very high quality. But statesmanship of an order infinitely higher -might well recoil appalled from such problems as would result from any -general collapse of the German Government and people. - -A far-sighted policy, which while never failing in fairness is withal -generous and reasonable, is as the poles removed from that of a weak -sentimentality which refuses to face the difficult facts of the present -situation. The withdrawal of any great nation from the urgent task of -work and production means loss and detriment to the world at large. -Hence the need to let Germany both eat and work; more, the need to -help her start afresh. She lies a beaten and prostrate nation to-day. -We may push her over the brink and so precipitate new catastrophes. Or -without sentiment and without illusion we may take a longer view; we -may direct our policy towards ultimate ends of appeasement, towards the -establishment of a saner and a better Europe unhaunted by the menace -of vast aggressive forces, towards the recovery by Germany herself of -her old birthright of music, poetry, and philosophy bartered by her -for evil dreams of world power and domination. That new order cannot -be founded on any basis of enduring hatred. We cannot offer the ideal -of the League of Nations with the one hand, and policies which resolve -themselves into starvation and oppression with the other. The policies -are incompatible, and we must choose between them. - -The miserable suggestion frequently advanced, that as a victorious -Germany would have ground us to powder, we should do to her as she -would have done to us, cannot be sustained for a moment. Is our policy -to be directed by German standards and influenced by German principles? -All along we have proclaimed loudly that the war was fought so that the -spirit and the principles of Germany should no longer terrorise the -world. To adopt her principles, even in some modified form, is to give -her in defeat a victory lost by her in the field. Our moral pretensions -in this struggle have been very high ones, and moral pretensions are -intolerable unless some effort is made to live up to them. - -Not all the dark and sordid happenings which wait inevitably on five -years of world conflagration, not all the dragging in the mire of many -a noble idea, should make us forget the great principles of liberty -and justice which drew us originally into the war. It was no idle -phrase that England staked everything for an ideal when the wrong done -to Belgium brought her into the field. At no moment in her history -has she risen to moral heights so great as when she stepped forth in -August 1914 to vindicate the cause of the oppressed. The principles to -which she consecrated herself in that supreme moment of testing demand -a service no less inexorable from us to-day, though to hold by them -steadily in the dark and stony ways of peace is proving, as we all know -to our cost, a test of endurance greater far than that of the actual -conflict. Yet surely failure at this point is to fail our dead most -miserably--the men who died with the light of a great vision in their -eyes: that vision of a world purged from evil through their sacrifice. -No miracles of leadership won the war. It was won by the grit and by -the endurance of the great mass of the British peoples. And where -statesmanship has failed, we look to the rank and file of the nation -to win the peace. It rests with our countrymen to see that there is no -further deepening of the ruts of hatred and mutual ignorance, for what -England wills in this matter is decisive as regards the future. - -And France--France who was in such a special sense the soul of the -war? Is it too much to ask that France, despite her sufferings and -sacrifices, should brace herself for one supreme effort, nobler than -all which have gone before--the effort to make herself greater than the -wrong done to her? Then would her triumph over the dark and evil forces -which brought about the war be supreme indeed. France who means so much -to the mind of Europe, who has given to it eternal principles of truth -and liberty--will not France in this matter rise to the level of her -own heroic stature? - -The established democracies of the world have in these troubled times -to hold up each others arms. So long as the great Republic of the West -stands aloof, the chain of brotherhood and common effort is broken -at a vital point. The darkness is greater, the task infinitely more -hard, because she has withdrawn her companionship from what should -have been a united purpose. The intervention of America led to the -complete overthrow of Germany. Without her great resources flung on -the Allied side the war must have had a very different end resulting -in compromise, not victory. We appreciate her difficulties; we do not -presume to dictate. We would, however, beg her to remember she too -has responsibilities as regards the burthen of Europe. But though -the action of the United States may have made the goal of European -appeasement more remote, more difficult to attain, the goal itself is -clear. - -The Watch on the Rhine is of value just so far as it helps to clear our -minds as to the true objectives that we are seeking. The soldiers have -done their work well and truly in the war. Their task accomplished, its -results have now passed largely into other hands. Our unworthiness -and unfitness to carry so great a responsibility are but too painfully -apparent. Yet the responsibility is there. The dead have in special -measure left a sacrifice to be perfected. The torch fell lighted from -their hands. Supreme shame would it be if it suffers extinction through -the sordid ambitions and mean desires of men who live because other men -have died. The threat of moral bankruptcy, real as it is, can only be -averted through a steady devotion to ideal ends. Those ideal ends have -been sung by one of our younger poets in words which, to me at least, -sum up the faith I have endeavoured haltingly to express as regards the -future: - - “This then is yours; to build exultingly - High and yet more high - The knowledgeable towers above base wars - And sinful surges, reaching up to lay - Dishonouring hands upon your work, and drag - From their uprightness your desires to lag - Among low places with a common gait. - That so Man’s mind not conquered by his clay, - May sit above his fate - Inhabiting the purpose of the stars, - And trade with his Eternity.” - - -THE END - - - - -FOOTNOTE: - - -[1] Section iv. Part iii. - - - - -TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES: - - - Italicized text is surrounded by underscores: _italics_. - - Obvious typographical errors have been corrected. - - Inconsistencies in hyphenation have been standardized. - - Archaic or variant spelling has been retained. - - The cover image for this eBook was created by the transcriber using - the original cover and is entered into the public domain. - - - - - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WATCHING ON THE RHINE *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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Markham—A Project Gutenberg eBook - </title> - <link rel="icon" href="images/cover.jpg" type="image/x-cover"> - <style> - -body { - margin-left: 10%; - margin-right: 10%; -} - - h1,h2,h3 { - text-align: center; - clear: both; -} - -p { - margin-top: .51em; - text-align: justify; - margin-bottom: .49em; -} - -hr { - width: 33%; - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 2em; - margin-left: 33.5%; - margin-right: 33.5%; - clear: both; -} - -hr.tb {width: 45%; margin-left: 27.5%; margin-right: 27.5%;} -hr.chap {width: 65%; margin-left: 17.5%; margin-right: 17.5%;} -@media print { hr.chap {display: none; visibility: hidden;} } - -div.chapter {page-break-before: always;} -h2.nobreak {page-break-before: avoid;} - -table { - margin-left: auto; - margin-right: auto; -} - -.tdr {text-align: right;} -.tdc {text-align: center;} - -.pagenum { - position: absolute; - left: 92%; - font-size: smaller; - text-align: right; - font-style: normal; - font-weight: normal; - font-variant: normal; - text-indent: 0; -} - -.blockquot { - margin-left: 17.5%; - margin-right: 17.5%; -} - -.x-ebookmaker .blockquot { - margin-left: 7.5%; - margin-right: 7.5%; -} - -.bb {border-bottom: 3px solid; } - -.center {text-align: center;} - -.right {text-align: right;} - -.smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} - -.allsmcap {font-variant: small-caps; text-transform: lowercase;} - -.ph1 {text-align: center; font-size: large; font-weight: bold;} -.ph2 {text-align: center; font-size: xx-large; font-weight: bold;} -.ph3 {text-align: center; font-size: x-large; font-weight: bold;} - -div.titlepage {text-align: center; page-break-before: always; page-break-after: always;} -div.titlepage p {text-align: center; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5; margin-top: 2em;} - -.xxlarge {font-size: 175%;} - -.large {font-size: 125%;} - -.x-ebookmaker .hide {display: none; visibility: hidden;} - -.figcenter { - margin: auto; - text-align: center; - page-break-inside: avoid; - max-width: 100%; -} - -.footnote {margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 10%; font-size: 0.9em;} - -.footnote .label {position: absolute; right: 75%; text-align: right;} - -.fnanchor { - vertical-align: super; - font-size: .8em; - text-decoration: - none; -} - -.poetry-container {text-align: center;} -.poetry {display: inline-block; text-align: left;} -.poetry .verse {text-indent: -2.5em; padding-left: 3em;} -.poetry .first {text-indent: -3em; padding-left: 3em;} -.poetry .center {text-align: center;} -@media print { .poetry {display: block;} } -.x-ebookmaker .poetry {display: block; margin-left: 3em;} - -.transnote {background-color: #E6E6FA; - color: black; - font-size:smaller; - margin-left: 17.5%; - margin-right: 17.5%; - padding: 1em; - margin-bottom: 1em; - font-family:sans-serif, serif; } - -</style> -</head> -<body> -<p style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of Watching on the Rhine, by Violet R. Markham</p> -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online -at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: Watching on the Rhine</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Violet R. Markham</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: December 30, 2022 [eBook #69662]</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</p> - <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left'>Produced by: David E. Brown and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)</p> -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WATCHING ON THE RHINE ***</div> - -<div class="figcenter hide"><img src="images/coversmall.jpg" width="450" alt=""></div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h1><span class="bb">WATCHING ON THE RHINE</span></h1> - -<p class="ph3">VIOLET R. MARKHAM</p> -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<div class="blockquot"> -<p>“<i>That which was to be done by war and arms in Latium -has now been fully accomplished by the bounty of the gods -and the valour of the soldiers. The armies of the enemy -have been cut down.... It now remains to be considered -how we may keep them in the observance of perpetual -peace.... Ye can therefore ensure to yourselves perpetual -peace so far as the Latins are concerned, either by -adopting severe or conciliatory measures. Do ye choose -to take harsh measures against people who have surrendered -and who have been conquered? Ye may destroy -all Latium.... Do ye wish to follow the example of your -forefathers and augment the power of Rome by conferring -the citizenship on the people you have beaten? Materials -for extending your power by the highest glory are at hand.... -But whatever determination ye wish to come to, it is -necessary that it be speedy. So many states have ye in a -condition of suspense between hope and fear.</i>”</p> - -<p class="right"><i>Livy viii. 13.</i></p> -</div></div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/i_title.jpg" alt=""></div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> -<div class="titlepage"> - -<p><span class="xxlarge">WATCHING ON THE<br> -RHINE</span></p> - -<p>BY<br> - -<span class="large">VIOLET R. MARKHAM</span><br> - -<small>AUTHOR OF “SOUTH AFRICA PAST AND PRESENT,”<br> -“THE SOUTH AFRICAN SCENE,” ETC.</small></p> - -<p>NEW <img src="images/i_titlelogo.jpg" alt=""> YORK<br> -GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY</p> -</div> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p class="center">COPYRIGHT, 1921,<br> -BY GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY</p> - -<p class="center">PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA</p> -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak">FOREWORD</h2> -</div> - -<div class="blockquot"> -<p>“Here then will we begin the story: only -adding thus much to that which hath been said, -that it is a foolish thing to make a long prologue -and to be short in the story itself.”</p> -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_vii">[vii]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CONTENTS</h2> -</div> - -<table> - -<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER I</td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr" colspan="2"><small>PAGE</small></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">The Approach</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_11"> 11</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER II</td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Cologne and the Occupation</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_20"> 20</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER III</td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">The Kölner Dom</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_42"> 42</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER IV</td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">On the Dom Platz</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_54"> 54</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER V</td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Billets</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_65"> 65</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER VI</td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Christmas in Cologne</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_76"> 76</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER VII</td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">The Bergische Land</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_83"> 83</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER VIII</td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">In Search of a Fishing</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_95"> 95</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER IX</td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Who Pays?</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_104"> 104</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER X<span class="pagenum" id="Page_viii">[viii]</span></td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Certain Cities and the Saar Basin</span>    </td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_119"> 119</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER XI</td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">From Metz to Verdun</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_139"> 139</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER XII</td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">In Alsace</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_156"> 156</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER XIII</td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Some Electioneering Impressions</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_172"> 172</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER XIV</td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Hatred</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_206"> 206</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER XV</td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">The German View of England</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_223"> 223</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER XVI</td></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Watchman—What of the Night?</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_247"> 247</a></td></tr> -</table> - -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_ix">[ix]</span> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_x">[x]</span> -<p class="ph2">WATCHING ON THE RHINE</p> -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_11">[11]</span> -<p class="ph2">WATCHING ON THE<br> -RHINE</p> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER I<br> - -<small>THE APPROACH</small></h2> - -<p class="center"><i>July 1919</i></p> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">Four a.m.</span>: the slowly moving engine comes to a standstill -with a jolt which wakes me from the uneasy half-sleep -of a train journey. I lift a corner of the blind and -look out. It is the grey hour before the dawn, when -night still wrestles with morning for the possession of -the coming day. A ruined building lit up by a station -flare stares at me stark and desolate. In the quarter -light a long street of battered houses is also dimly visible. -Lille! We have come through the worst of the devastated -area in the night, but the hall-mark of the invader lies -stamped on the big industrial town, the very name of -which is associated henceforth with suspense, with -anguish, with triumph. The military train begins to -move again cautiously over temporary bridges and a -permanent way not as yet permanently repaired. We -are far removed from the days when continental expresses -and sleeping-cars swept in a few hours from -one capital to another. The miracle is to be in this slow-moving<span class="pagenum" id="Page_12">[12]</span> -train at all which links the British base in France -with the occupied German area. Ruined houses look in -through the window, phantom buildings of which nothing -but the outer walls remain. Yet, as I strain my eyes in -the dim light, I see something else; something which -was not visible when I last visited a devastated area in -March—here and there a house already rebuilt, stacks -of bricks neatly piled, rubbish sifted and cleared, stones -laid in order for the mason’s hand. Yes, there has been -“cleaning up” during the last five months—the most -tragic cleaning up which can ever befall a nation. And -clearly France, with her amazing energy and recuperative -powers, has already flung herself into the task of repairing -the desolate places. It is a grim and mighty task -which awaits our Ally.</p> - -<p>Stricken though the towns, the land, desolate, barren, -uncultivated, has a pathos all its own. As we move ever -eastwards and the dawn comes up in the sky, the nakedness -of the fields invaded by coarse grass and weeds -symbolises the sufferings of France. But in the growing -light evidences appear in the fields of the same brave spirit -which is reclaiming the towns. Here and there a half-destroyed -farmhouse has been patched up, and a thin -cloud of smoke rises from the battered chimney. Across -the silent fields a team of horses is being led out to work; -a woman drives out her cows or is seen surrounded by -clamorous poultry. France may be sorely wounded, but -the spirit of France cannot be destroyed. France, for all -her losses, has hope in her heart, and amid the desolation -of war, hope, like some beautiful flower, blossoms once -again.</p> - -<p>Eastward, always eastward, for we are bound through<span class="pagenum" id="Page_13">[13]</span> -the lands of the conquering victim to those of the humbled -oppressor. With every mile the visible signs of war grow -less, though houses and buildings along the railway show -marks of gunfire long after the land has regained its -normal aspect. First and last, districts through which -the railways pass have suffered most both in advance and -retreat; a fact to which the scarred stations bear witness.</p> - -<p>By the time the sun is shining brightly we have passed -beyond the outer fringes of desolation and are again in a -prosperous-looking land. The sight of Maubeuge recalled -many an anxious moment during the great German -invasion of 1914. Outwardly the town appeared to have -suffered but little. As we crossed the Belgian frontier a -general view of the country as seen from the carriage -windows conveyed the same impression. The soil was -well cultivated, the houses in good order. There are no -evidences of the presence of a hostile army beyond the -occasional destruction of a bridge blown up during the -German retreat. The spiritual yoke of an enemy occupation -for four and a half years must have been intolerable, -but material damage was clearly confined to the -first and last days of the war. And Belgium has the -matter in hand. She is at work, working, working all -the time. From countless buildings the Belgian flag -waving in the sunshine proclaimed the glad tidings of a -land released from its invaders and restored to its original -place among nations. The little valleys of the Ardennes, -the factory chimneys of Liège, seem at one in telling the -same tale of liberty regained. There is an indescribable -air of gaiety among the people on the roadside, a sense -of laughter and merry-making. Aerschot, Dinant, Louvain -would, of course, tell a different tale, but in southern<span class="pagenum" id="Page_14">[14]</span> -Belgium it would seem that the grip of the invader was -of a different quality from his strangle-hold on France.</p> - -<p>Still eastward, and now with a thrill of indescribable -emotion we find ourselves at Herbesthal, the German -frontier. Before us in the sunshine lie the broad fertile -plains of the people whose rulers have deluged the world -with blood and tears. One remembers with bowed head -the many million lives laid down before we handful of -British folk could journey thus far into the country of the -enemy who had challenged our very existence. With the -memory of shattered and devastated France before our -eyes, we think with sternness no punishment can be too -severe in expiation of the crime under whose consequences -the world is staggering to-day. A train-load of German -prisoners, homeward bound, runs into the station. They -cheer, not very loudly or energetically, it is true, but -nevertheless they cheer as once again they touch the soil -of the Fatherland. From the windows we catch sight -of eager, excited faces among the shabby men in their -faded uniforms. Insensibly the heart softens. They too -have gone through hardship and suffering, just ordinary -men glad to be home again, eager to see wife and child -and sweetheart. And then, as the train rolls forward, suddenly -on the threshold of the enemy’s land comes the -remembrance of those noble words, one of the few great -utterances which illumine the darkness and the passions -of war, “Patriotism is not enough, I must have no hatred -or bitterness in my heart.”</p> - -<p>The hands of brutal men could not touch the serenity -of Edith Cavell’s soul. On the threshold of a cruel -death her spirit had soared above the hideous welter of -passion and brutality all around. She saw these things in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_15">[15]</span> -the light of eternity; saw also the ultimate good of life -express itself, not in the narrow terms of race, but in -abiding spiritual values. The demand for vengeance -which followed on her death has to a large extent obscured -the greatness of her message. Yet Edith Cavell indicated -expressly that vengeance was not the way. No individual -during the war has thrown a ray of light more -clear on the turmoil of the struggle. But the path she -trod is not an easy one, and many who honour her name -shrink from a task of self-conquest so great as what she -indicates.... No hatred and no bitterness: and we are -English people crossing the German frontier for the first -time after the war.... What has Edith Cavell to say -to each one of us?</p> - -<p>Aix-la-Chapelle—Aachen—with its memories of Charlemagne, -King of the Franks, lies some ten miles within -the German frontier. Few outward signs of its venerable -history survive in the busy manufacturing centre of to-day. -The cathedral, founded by Charlemagne, where the -ashes of the great monarch lie buried, rises—an incongruous -and protesting relic—among factories, tall chimneys, -and all the ugly apparatus of modern industry. -Aachen is in Belgian occupation, and we stare from our -carriage windows at a mixed throng of Belgian soldiers, -British Tommies, and German civilians, with whom the -station is crowded.</p> - -<p>It is a little difficult to express in words the conflict -of feelings in your mind as you enter Germany. You -are certainly prepared for something dramatic. It is -almost with a shock you realise that German civilians are -not equipped with hoofs and horns or other attributes of -a Satanic character. After all, they look just like any<span class="pagenum" id="Page_16">[16]</span> -one else: tidy, well-dressed, self-respecting people—the -typical German crowd of old days. But certainly you -expected to see some outward and visible signs of military -occupation, apart from the familiar sight of khaki -soldiers; visions of a Germany bristling with guns; of -burgomasters and high officials walking about with -halters, actual or metaphorical, round their necks; of a -sullen, conquered people casting looks of hatred on conquerors -who move among them in no small peril of their -lives. If such is the anticipation, it proves to be ludicrously -remote from the reality. The outstanding fact in -the occupied territory, and one which fills an English -visitor with ever-growing amazement, is the complete -acquiescence of the Germans in the situation. Life is -astonishingly normal. Khaki soldiers have replaced -grey-coated soldiers. Otherwise everything seems to -go on exactly as before. These amazing people, outwardly -at least, do not appear to mind that their country -is occupied by hostile armies. The Germans on the Aachen -platform were moving about and talking in a placid, undisturbed -manner. Their indifference to the British and -Belgian soldiers appeared to be absolute. A picture rose -before my eyes of an English station occupied by German -troops: would equal apathy and indifference have -been shown under such conditions? In this as in many -other respects the German psychology is a riddle to which -no answer seems forthcoming, and it is a riddle the perplexity -of which will be found to deepen with every hour -spent in the occupied territory.</p> - -<p>Between Aachen and Cologne the train runs through -a district rich in natural resources, both mineral and agricultural. -We pass many large factories of modern construction<span class="pagenum" id="Page_17">[17]</span> -in which, thanks to smoke-saving apparatus, the -dirt of our own industrial districts has been avoided. -Those factories are not idle. It is true not every large -chimney is smoking, but some chimneys in every group -show that work is going on. The Rhineland industries -are to a large extent independent of imported material, -and the activities in this district cannot be taken as an -index to the rest of Germany. Similarly with the soil. -Agricultural experts tell us that taken as a whole the soil -of Germany is naturally poor. Only immense scientific -care and attention made it possible in pre-war days for -the land to yield 85 per cent. of the nation’s food. But -here in the Rhineland the quality of the crops must strike -the most casual traveller. With the thin English harvest -in mind, I can only marvel at these bumper crops—the -thick yellow corn, the potatoes, the roots, the mealies, the -general impression of agricultural prosperity. The land -is in perfect order. Every twig looks as though it had -been put in splints. Whatever else has suffered, prisoners’ -labour, or labour of some kind, has kept the land clean -and in order. Compare the large areas of devastation -in France with this fat, smiling country bearing no visible -signs of any kind of war, and the bitterness in many -French hearts seems very natural. It is difficult to associate -stories of want and starvation with a rich country -like this. Yet it was quite clear that at the last Germany -was brought to her knees by hunger. The surface impression -of prosperity in one particular district may be -misleading—the reality may prove on closer acquaintance -to be of grimmer stuff!</p> - -<p>Already a hundred questions beset my mind as Cologne -Cathedral comes into sight. There is something typically<span class="pagenum" id="Page_18">[18]</span> -German about the unwieldy appearance of the Kölner -Dom crowned with its preposterous spires. Many years -had passed since I was last in Cologne. As the line ran -through the clean, well-built suburbs, I remembered -vaguely an hotel on the Dom Platz, and a general impression -of tall, robust men drinking beer and eating -large meals. From a dusty shelf in memory’s cupboard -came the recollection of some careless remark made to an -English friend—I hoped there would never be war between -England and Germany, because judging by the -physique of the men, war with them would be no trifling -affair....</p> - -<p>The train has drawn up in the fine Haupt Bahnhof. -Two W.A.A.C. administrators, courteous and businesslike, -examine tickets and visas. A large German standing -meekly, hat in hand, before the fair-haired English -girl stamping his pass is eloquent as to some lessons taught -by the Occupation. Amazing is the scene which breaks -on the traveller on emerging from the railway station. -Khaki-clad soldiers swarm in every direction. Soldiers, -soldiers; they overflow the railway station, the square, the -Hohenzollern bridge. The Dom rises grim and protesting -from a sea of khaki. Government lorries lumber -down the streets; the square in front of the Excelsior -Hotel, where a modest Union Jack over the door proclaims -the presence of G.H.Q., is crowded with cars. Every -branch of the service is here in force. Uniformed women -on whom the Boche gazes with peculiar annoyance are -common. Selected W.A.A.C. administrators are carrying -on responsible work of various kinds. Searching German -women passengers whose clothes are found to be<span class="pagenum" id="Page_19">[19]</span> -stuffed with sausages must have its humours as well as -its drawbacks.</p> - -<p>The W.R.A.F. is here as a force. Army nurses in -red and grey and the blue of the V.A.D.’s vary the -monotony of the prevalent mustard colour. Here and -there one sees the blue headdress of a British Empire -Leave Club worker, the girls who do much for the entertainment -of Thomas Atkins in a foreign town. -Y.M.C.A., Church Army, and half a dozen other organisations -are all to the fore. Atkins must be a much-amused -man with so many willing workers to cater for his -needs. This is the Army of Occupation as it came up -from the fields of victory over 200,000 strong. Large -numbers of troops are quartered, not only in Cologne, -but throughout the occupied area and the bridgehead. -But demobilisation has already laid its hand on this great -force. The sluices are drawn and civilian life will shortly -reclaim the lads who crowd the town and area. It is a -wonderful sight to have seen, a wonderful moment in -history to have experienced. The German goes about -his work in the middle of this English crowd apparently -as unconcerned as his fellow-countrymen at Aachen and -Düren. But what at heart is he thinking of it all? What -actions and reactions are likely to result from this strange -assembly of people thrown together by the compelling -force of the sword on the banks of the Rhine?</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_20">[20]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER II<br> - -<small>COLOGNE AND THE OCCUPATION</small></h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">During</span> the war we thought and talked with anguish -daily of that line of trenches stretching from Switzerland -to the sea where men suffered and died. Even the most -unimaginative were stirred to emotion by stories of the -strange semi-subterranean existence which modern conditions -of warfare had imposed on the armies of Europe. -To-day another line stretches for a distance nearly as -great along the banks of the Rhine, but the men composing -it are no longer compelled to dwell as troglodytes. -The German word for Armistice, “Waffenstillstand,” -literally “the standing still of the weapons,” expresses -very graphically the conditions under which the Armies -of Occupation live. The line has moved east from the -horrors and desolation of devastated France to the rich -provinces of the left bank of the Rhine. Cannons are -silent; bombs drop no more. But the weapons, though -standing still, are there, and determine the strange existence -which we Allies lead among a conquered people.</p> - -<p>Along the line of the Rhine, therefore, lie the armies of -the conquering powers in a peace their guns have ensured -and maintain. The French hold the southern end with -their headquarters at Mainz, and Wiesbaden, most attractive -of spas, as a centre of refreshment in the lighter -moments of life. Next come the Americans at Coblenz, -then the English at Cologne, finally the Belgians in the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_21">[21]</span> -north. As time has gone on the English occupation has -become smaller and smaller, while the French has increased -proportionately. Nobody quite knows what -position the Americans hold at Coblenz, for America has -not signed the Peace Treaty, and her forces remain in -theory entirely independent of obligations which apply -to the signatory powers. But, thanks to the wise and -statesmanlike guidance of the American Commander-in-Chief, -General Allen, an anomalous position has in practice -worked without friction.</p> - -<p>As for the life we lead in Occupied Germany, certainly -during the early days very few people at home were -able to appreciate the measure of its comfort and security. -On returning to England for the first time on a visit -from Cologne, I was met by many anxious inquiries from -friends and relatives. Was it really safe for me to be -in such a place? Of course I never walked about the -town alone? Did the Germans spit at me? Perhaps out -of fear they repressed that natural inclination, but of -course they were as insolent as they dared under the circumstances? -Had we machine guns at every street corner -ready to fire? Others in the same breath, both militant -and inconsequent—of course I never spoke to the brutes, -but naturally I laid it across them if I did ... it was to -be hoped I had lost no opportunity of rubbing in their -enormities. Two pictures out of many rose before my -mind as I listened to these remarks....</p> - -<p>A hot August evening in Cologne. A large crowd -fills the Zoological Gardens, where an open-air concert -is being held. Singers from Cologne and other opera -houses have given us selections of German, French, and -Italian music in a spirit entirely catholic. Equally catholic<span class="pagenum" id="Page_22">[22]</span> -is their reception by the large and appreciative cosmopolitan -crowd. In front of the open-air stage, Germans, -French, English, and Americans sit side by side -at little tables drinking beer or Rhine wine. The music -is heard in complete silence, even Thomas Atkins compelled -thereto by the <i>genius loci</i>. On the terrace of the -neighbouring restaurant dinner is proceeding. Numerous -German families, the girls in muslin frocks and summer -hats, are out together for the evening. At a table next -to ours a small group of men, unmistakably soldiers, are -dining together. They are all in plain clothes, but two -of them wear in their buttonholes the minute, -scarcely visible black-and-white ribbon of the Iron -Cross. The German prima-donna sings the well-known -air from <i>La Bohème</i>. She is loudly applauded by all -present, by no one more energetically than by a French -officer sitting near me. As darkness comes on, illuminations -add their gaiety to the scene, pink and white lights -shining among the dark leaves. A peaceful, happy gathering, -with laughter, and music, and beer—the music and -the beer both of excellent quality. Forget for a moment -that the uniforms are khaki, not grey, put back the clock -five years, and who would suspect the tragic bonds of -blood and strife in which the company are united? Is the -war a dream or a nightmare? Is Europe white with the -bones of the millions who have died; is Germany itself -staggering on the edge of ruin and starvation? If so, -how can this musical fête, this peaceful bourgeois gathering, -be possible; the enemies of yesterday eating and -drinking and applauding side by side as though nothing -had happened? What does it all mean? What is one -doing there oneself?...</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_23">[23]</span>Again: near the house in which we live a chronic fair -goes on every afternoon. Swing-boats, roundabouts, -shooting-galleries, all the various side-shows of an English -country feast are here. Drinks, ice-cream, and refreshments -are no less to the fore. Music, that monotonous -braying music which always accompanies a merry-go-round, -goes on mechanically for many hours. Here -Thomas Atkins gathers in force. The thrifty Boche, in -fact, has created the whole fair for his entertainment at -a modest price. It is characteristic of the race that they -not only accept the British Occupation with entire acquiescence, -but endeavour by every means in their power to -turn it to good account. Notices in English explain the -nature of the side-shows. All prices are marked in plain -figures. Reprehensible though it may be, Gretchen not -infrequently is to be seen on the roundabouts and in the -swing-boats with the said Thomas. Picture-postcards, -trinkets, souvenirs, are all for sale. The shooting-galleries -are crowded by soldiers still anxious to let off their -piece in a more harmless fashion than on the scarred battle-line -far away to the west. The Germans are out to -amuse, the English to be amused. Perfect good temper -animates both buyers and sellers. Introspection is hardly -the hall-mark of the soldier in the ranks, and the English -lads who lounge about from booth to booth never give a -thought to the amazing situation in which they find themselves. -Many of them on demobilisation leave Cologne -with real regret. It is a clean, decent place, with more -than decent beer. After all Fritz is not such a bad fellow.... -In the long and varied history of Britain’s rule -overseas has the Pax Britannica ever held sway under -conditions so strange as these? As darkness falls the fair<span class="pagenum" id="Page_24">[24]</span> -is lit up by great flares, and the scene grows more and -more animated. Cologne, with large resources in the -shape of a cheap fuel supply in its immediate neighbourhood, -is well off both as regards light and heat. But at -last all is silent. Curfew has rung for the Germans, the -Last Post for the English. That desperate tune repeated -for hours by the merry-go-round is mercifully at an end -for the night. To-morrow it will all begin again, and so -on day after day....</p> - -<p>What are we to make of the civility of these people -among whom we live as conquerors? How can it be -reconciled with their arrogance and brutality when they -had the upper hand in France and Belgium? These -middle-class families, these quiet, respectable working-class -people enjoying their simple pleasures, what part -did they take in the insults heaped on prisoners and captives? -Did these parents and children rejoice and cheer -when submarines sent other women and children to their -deaths? What kind of conscience do they carry for the -war? How can they outwardly at least bear so little -grudge against the people who have beaten them? With -whom does the responsibility for the war rest? During -the struggle many of us would have vowed Burke was -at fault in his great axiom that you cannot indict a nation. -Germany seemed to us then to be the very spirit of wickedness -incarnate. Here face to face it seems more difficult. -What baffling chameleon-like quality do these people possess, -that they can outrage the conscience of the -whole world and yet give one the impression that as -individuals many of them are kindly, decent folk?</p> - -<p>The riddle seems insoluble, and I do not pretend to -have any key to it. German mentality is so constituted<span class="pagenum" id="Page_25">[25]</span> -that it is violent and arrogant in success, chastened and -polite in defeat. That the whole nation is consciously -playing a part seems hard to believe. They are too clumsy -in mind and body for so continuous an effort of deception, -too thick about the ankles and too thick about the wits. -Some of the English in Cologne call them servile. Personally -the adjective hardly seems to me to meet the case. -But they are curiously correct, even courteous. I went -about Cologne, on arrival, Baedeker in hand, as any -pre-war tourist might have done. Both in trams and -trains I received, more than once, small civilities from -Germans who put me on my way seeing that I was a -stranger. As an English woman I marvelled at their -civility. It was the same in the shops. The family in -whose house we were billeted on my first arrival, were, I -am sure, far less embarrassed by my advent than I was -at the prospect of using their rooms. I was haunted by -a sense of the rage with which I should have endured the -presence of a German woman in my house. But after a -day or two I ceased to have scruples about a situation -which apparently did not trouble them. It was a relief to -accept their attitude to us, as it might be, of hosts and -paying guests to whose comfort they desired to contribute. -Daily we exchanged small civilities. Naturally -we were careful to leave no ragged edges in such a situation. -Often I speculated on the transformation scene -which might have resulted from a change in our respective -positions. The old housekeeper had the hall-mark of -the Prussian on her. I should be sorry to be within her -reach as a prisoner. But the lady of the house, who -had lost two sons in the war, appeared to be a kindly -soul. She was a good musician, and I furtively and unsuccessfully<span class="pagenum" id="Page_26">[26]</span> -ransacked the music she put at my disposal -to find a copy of the Hymn of Hate.</p> - -<p>A pleasant Fräulein comes to talk German with me -daily, and from her, directly and indirectly, I have learnt -much which interests me about the German attitude. I -was fortunate in the chance which threw us together, for -she is an attractive, broad-minded girl, singularly free -from prejudice and bitterness. During an acquaintance -extending over many months we have learnt to know and -like each other, and have long since forgotten we are -technically enemies. My Fräulein has lived both in England -and France and has friends in both countries. Her -lover and her brother were killed in the war. Another -brother survives, more dead than alive. The hunger pinch -was severe in the Rhineland, which was always better off -than other parts of Germany. Of air raids she spoke -with unmistakable horror. Bombs had fallen in her near -neighbourhood on one occasion, so she told me; it was a -case of spending every night in the cellar. All this came -as a surprise to me, because not a brick seems out of -place in Cologne. Still more was I interested by her -denunciations of evils which sounded strangely familiar. -Profiteering, it was scandalous what had gone on! All -the horrible people who had made money out of the war -and the sufferings of the nation. The new rich were a -disgrace. The Government had been very slack in dealing -with them. And then the skulkers, the shameful young -men who went to earth in reserved occupations and offices -and did not go to fight. Food? They had starved in the -towns, so ineffective was the system of distribution. The -country people who grew the food took care not to part -with it. The new Government? She shrugged her<span class="pagenum" id="Page_27">[27]</span> -shoulders in despair. Since the Revolution things had -gone from bad to worse. Every one was discontented, -especially all the work-people, who spend their time demanding -higher wages and shorter hours. And servants, -there were none left. No girls would go out to work; -they had all been spoilt by high wages in munition works.</p> - -<p>As I listened I rubbed my eyes, and wondered if I -were sitting in London or Cologne. How often at home -had one listened to complaints of this very type about the -shortcomings of the working-classes, always pointed by -the remark that, however wicked, the efficient Hun Government -managed these things much better in Germany. -And yet apparently every complaint with which we were -familiar in England was also in full blast here. Always -with one great difference, to which I must refer again in -another chapter: the Germans for years were hungry, -and they fought the war with starvation slowly eating out -their hearts.</p> - -<p>A remark current in England, and sometimes heard -even on the Rhine, is to the effect that the Germans do -not know they are beaten. Do not know they are beaten? -Should we know we were beaten if great districts of our -country were occupied by enemy armies; if we had German -officers and their wives and families quartered in our -houses; if our officials had to take their orders from occupying -Prussians; if all our barracks and public buildings -and places of amusement were taken over; if the opera and -theatre had to conform to German rules; if the tennis -courts, the golf club, the polo ground, the racecourse -were all monopolised by Germans, and we obtained by -an act of grace on the part of our conquerors such privileges -as they might think well to bestow on us? If that<span class="pagenum" id="Page_28">[28]</span> -were our fate, should we labour under much doubt as to -the hard facts of the situation?</p> - -<p>Superficially it is true that life seems to flow in very -normal channels in Cologne. But, in fact, the country is -beaten flat and cannot at the moment stand alone. However -bitter the cup of humiliation, better the presence -of a conqueror who has kept order, provided food, administered -even-handed justice, and dealt fairly between -man and man, than the horrors of hunger and revolution. -As for the French, it cannot be expected that France with -the memories of 1870 and 1914 burnt deep into her very -marrow, France dragged twice through the fire, can approach -the tasks of occupation in the same spirit as the -more detached Britons who have less to forget. Set an -Englishman to administer the country of his worst enemy, -and that country at once becomes an administrative problem, -to be run on the best possible lines. The Watch on -the Rhine yet again has proved the half-unconscious -genius of our race for government, which is at one and -the same time just, firm, and sensible.</p> - -<p>We have been very fortunate in our military administration. -Those in command are able, far-sighted men, -who have known how to take a broad view and a long -view of Germany’s present position. The blood-thirsty -old women of both sexes whose one object in life is to -perpetuate the hatreds and violences of the war are civilian -products. The fighting soldiers are at one and the same -time more generous, and in the true sense more pacific. -They realise the chasm on the brink of which Germany -stands shivering. They also realise the truth, still but -dimly grasped in England, that a general collapse on the -part of Germany will be disastrous, not only for her, but<span class="pagenum" id="Page_29">[29]</span> -for the rest of the world. No one will benefit by a spread -of anarchy through Central Europe, least of all ourselves. -The men who have smashed the German war-machine -have taken the measure of their foe. No nonsense of -any kind would be tolerated. When an order is given -it has to be obeyed. They are equally devoid of sentimentality -and false illusions. But they realise the appalling -task with which the new German Government is -struggling, and the importance of a successful outcome -to that struggle. And it is their aim to make it possible -for the country to stagger to its feet again, to put an end -to starvation, to set industry going, to preserve law and -order. Also they will admit frankly they have found -many of the Germans with whom they have had to deal -capable and amenable.</p> - -<p>The German civilian officials and the police work under -the military authorities, and have worked without difficulty -or friction. The Occupation has a fine and honourable -record. The behaviour of the troops has been good. -Soldiers have won real popularity in the country districts. -Incidents and brawls will of course occur from time to -time among large bodies of men, but they have had no -racial or political significance. The forces on the Rhine -are at present one of the great factors making for peace -and order in Europe. Not for the purposes of military -adventure or conquest, but as a constructive administrative -machine, the present British régime in the Occupied -Area is an admirable instrument.</p> - -<p>To an island race like ourselves, dwelling in a land -long inviolate, there is something peculiarly humiliating -in the thought of an enemy occupation. But it must be -remembered that the German, in this as in many other<span class="pagenum" id="Page_30">[30]</span> -respects, is made of tougher stuff. Invasion is to him -an old and familiar story. The Rhineland in particular -has been overrun time after time. Neither is it any novelty -for the French to find themselves again in provinces -on which in the past French armies have left their mark -repeatedly. It is an old story, this quarrel between -France and Germany, and to date it from 1870 is to err in -historical perspective.</p> - -<p>Yet disciplined and submissive though the German is -to the harsh verdicts of war—never harsher than when -applied by himself—there must be some peculiar sting -in the presence of the enemy on the banks of the Rhine. -For every national sentiment the nation possesses centres -round the river famed in song and story. German patriotic -literature of the “Wacht am Rhein” type is mediocre -in quality, but it is eloquent of the spirit of the people. -Even Heine, cynic and often anti-patriot, sings proudly -of “der heilige Strom.” In periods of defeat and oppression -Germans of an older date have found in the -cleansing waters of the great stream a symbol of hope -and regeneration. Few foreigners even can resist the -spell of the Rhine. Mighty rivers have a message to -give to the restless heart of man as their waters sweep by, -eternal yet ever changing. Cradled in mountain snows -virginal and remote, destined in the end to know the -final purification and joyousness of the ocean, the course -of any famous river as it flows from mountain to plain, -from village to town, becomes an image of the flight of -time and the vicissitudes of human life.</p> - -<p>The romantic stretches of the Rhine lie south of Bonn. -Here are castles and vineyards, and scenes of many a -legendary exploit. At Bonn the long gorge beginning at<span class="pagenum" id="Page_31">[31]</span> -Bingen comes to an end, and the Rhine enters the broad -plain in which Cologne is situated. Often sullied and defiled -by the factories on its banks, nothing can destroy -the sense of grandeur as the great volume of water sweeps -forward to its fate. A hard lot for such a river to be -caught in the end by the mud shallows and flats of Holland, -and to make its final way to the sea broken up into -countless minor streams!</p> - -<p>At Cologne the Rhine is still untroubled by any sense -of the doom which awaits it. The river takes a wide bend -as it approaches the town, a lucky chance which is admirable -from the aesthetic point of view. The traffic -is very considerable. Huge barges bearing coal, iron, -and all manner of merchandise are dragged up stream -by powerful tugs. At night the view from the banks is -mysterious and beautiful. A great net of twinkling lights -cast over town and quays is reflected a hundredfold in -the dark waters. Lights from the barges, anchored alongside -the banks after the day’s work, twinkle back in reply -to the messages from the shore. Everything seems astir, -as though town and river were moved by some dim half-earthly -emotion. When morning comes it will reveal -that many of these fairy lights only mark the presence -of factories and workshops. But night with her indigo -mantle has given another and more mysterious turn to -the scene. The massive Hohenzollern bridge which spans -the river exactly opposite the Dom is a typical expression -of the spirit of modern Germany—strong, powerful, -practical. It is a fine bridge, and I have so much to -say in criticism of German taste that I am glad for once -in a way to note the entire success with which they have -handled an architectural problem concerned with the carrying,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_32">[32]</span> -at one and the same time, of railway lines, trams, -and passenger traffic. Especially fine is the bridge at -night, when it hangs like a chain of light across the river; -trams and trains passing like swift-moving constellations -among the firmament of the illuminated spans and -pillars. The awkward mass of the Dom lies in close -proximity to the bridge, but they do not interfere with -one another.</p> - -<p>The bronze equestrian figures of the four Hohenzollern -kings which guard the two ends of the bridge are among -the few satisfactory examples of modern monuments -which I have seen in Germany. Generally speaking, the -country is bespattered with statues of the Hohenzollerns, -the artistic merit of which is nil. Never did a reigning -house impose itself so mercilessly, in bronze, stone, and -iron, on a docile people. Cologne, needless to say, has an -ample share of imperial statues. The Emperor William I. -had a head which in particular did not lend itself to plastic -treatment; his whiskers, which jump at one from -innumerable squares, have a tendency to rouse my worst -passions. There is little humorous in the state of Germany -to-day, but the onlooker can extract some minor -entertainment from the squabbles which rage in official -and unofficial German circles as to the fate of the Hohenzollern -statues. The Socialists, in fiery language, complain -that the mind of young Germany is being corrupted -by these flaunting images of an oppressive autocracy, and -demand that the statues be consigned to the decent obscurity -of the cellars of the local museum. The -bourgeoisie are equally loud in the demand that the -statues should be treated as historical relics and left where -they are. The topic bids fair to become the hardy annual<span class="pagenum" id="Page_33">[33]</span> -of Socialist perorations. Meanwhile there is other work -to be done and the Hohenzollerns remain.</p> - -<p>Life in Cologne is very pleasant for the occupying -army. As with the Hohenzollern bridge, so with the -town itself—it is typical of the material excellence which -before the war marked the German organisation of practical -life. German local authorities throughout the country -have kept a firm and admirable grasp on the town-planning -of their large modern cities. The individualism -of the speculative builder is not allowed to run riot here. -Not only are the new quarters in Cologne well and solidly -built, but open spaces abound. Fortifications can have -their sanitary uses, for near the antiquated forts in the -suburbs stretches a broad belt of open country devoted -to allotments and market gardens. There are no signs -of the jerry-builder running up shoddy houses to the -detriment of future generations. Except in the old quarters -of the town along the Rhine there are no obvious -slums. Yet Germany, like all the rest of the world, is -feeling the shortage of houses which has been an economic -consequence of the war, and complaints of overcrowding -are common.</p> - -<p>But the real interest of Cologne lies elsewhere than -in the prosperous latter-day development of the town. -The wide streets and boulevards encircle the kernel of a -famous mediaeval city. And mediaeval Cologne goes -back to a still older foundation. The modern buildings -and opulent dwelling-houses of the Ring smother, but -cannot wholly obliterate, the memories of the Empress -Agrippina and the settlement, called after her, Colonia -Agrippina—subsequently Colonia—Köln.</p> - -<p>My friend, Mr. John Buchan, always declares that<span class="pagenum" id="Page_34">[34]</span> -countries which have been romanised stand in a wholly -different category from savage lands, such as Prussia, -which have never known that great civilising influence. -The Rhineland, with its more liberal culture and gentler -manners than Germany east of the Elbe, is a good illustration -of this theory. Rome has been here, and where -Rome has passed some element of quality abides. Famous -among the Roman settlements, Cologne played a part no -less important in mediaeval history. A leading member -of the Hanseatic League, the relations between Cologne -and London in the fifteenth century were close. If we -rule Cologne to-day, Cologne at an earlier date has dictated -to us. In the reign of Edward III, foreign trade in -the city of London was largely conducted through the -corporation of Cologne merchants established in the Steelyard. -The internal life of Cologne was torn in mediaeval -times by fierce dissensions. Nevertheless, mediaeval German -art owed much of its development in painting and -architecture to the artists and master builders of the lower -Rhine.</p> - -<p>After the sixteenth century Cologne, like other cities -of the Hanseatic League, lost much of its importance, and -the place fell to a low ebb for more than two centuries. -Its rise into new prosperity during the nineteenth century -registers various phases in the great national revival which -took place throughout Germany, and also the considerable -social improvements which, it must be admitted, followed -on Prussian rule.</p> - -<p>The traces of mediaeval Cologne are sadly obliterated. -Of the Roman period practically nothing remains. The -Germans are desperate people in all matters concerning -the upkeep and restoration of ancient buildings. They<span class="pagenum" id="Page_35">[35]</span> -are terribly painstaking and have the best intentions, unhappily -with dire results. No words in Baedeker lay so -cold a hand on my heart as the frequent phrase, “the -church has in recent times undergone a thorough restoration.” -Thorough in their vandalism such efforts are. -Meagrely endowed with artistic taste, no nation in the -world lays hands so heavy and so obliterating on the -monuments of the past. The one idea apparently is to -make everything clean and tidy. To this end interiors of -ancient Romanesque churches are covered with a pitiless -layer of reinforced concrete on which lines are scratched -to represent stones. German taste further revels in modern -mosaics of a gross and gaudy character sprawling -over wall and vault. Church after church in the Rhineland -have I seen ruined in such fashion. In Cologne -the noble proportions of ancient Romanesque buildings, -such as the Apostelkirche, the Gereonskirche, Santa Maria -im Capitol, stagger under the weight of the artistic atrocities -they are forced to carry.</p> - -<p>The ex-Emperor was one of the worst offenders in -these matters. His vain and restless spirit exacted incense -as connoisseur and art critic no less than as war -lord. An entourage of docile snobs hastened to encourage -him in this view, and he was allowed to destroy -at will the beauty of various churches which, thanks to -his fiat, have lost all their essential quality. The Altenberger -Dom in the Bergische Land, a model in miniature -of Cologne Cathedral and an exquisite example of early -Gothic, was immolated in this way thanks to a visit from -the Emperor. He declared that the church must be restored, -as it did not look clean. To-day the interior presents -the appearance of a bathroom.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_36">[36]</span>This being the typical German spirit in matters artistic, -it is hardly surprising that many precious relics of the past -have gone under in Cologne. The fine old Rathhaus still -remains, but the mediaeval town walls have inevitably -succumbed to the needs of modern traffic and expansion. -At several points the old gates have been left standing, -forlorn-looking objects marooned among the substantial -buildings of the last twenty years. Broad though the -highway of the Ring, beyond which modern Cologne -spreads outwards, the principal streets in the neighbourhood -of the Dom Platz are unusually narrow. The -mediaeval houses have vanished; the cramped space of -the mediaeval street remains.</p> - -<p>The Höhe Strasse, the principal thoroughfare, is -crowded with people throughout the day. In the evening -it is almost impossible to elbow your way through the -dense mass of sightseers. A pedestrian must make up his -mind to float along with the great stream of traffic and -reach his destination when borne there on the current. -Here are the principal shops, and shopping and bargains -have played a considerable part in the life of the Army of -Occupation. Bargains were certainly to be had in the -early days before old stocks were exhausted, but their -elusive delights have long since vanished from the scene. -Prices have soared as the mark fell in value, and did not -fall in turn when the mark improved. They stand to-day -at a high level even for the English, who benefit by the -exchange. How the German population can afford to buy -anything at figures so exaggerated in marks is a mystery.</p> - -<p>The fluctuation of the exchange is another matter in -which the Army of Occupation takes a deep interest. We -inquire with real concern daily as to the health of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_37">[37]</span> -mark, the caprices of which baffle most forecasts. These -constant fluctuations in the value of money are very demoralising -for every one concerned. Naturally such a -situation is a premium on speculation, and for the German -merchant and shopkeeper the lack of stability has disastrous -consequences.</p> - -<p>The real necessities of Germany to-day lie below the -surface, and it is very difficult to associate at first sight -any ideas of poverty or disaster with the crowds of well-dressed -people in the streets. The overflowing population -of the big German towns is very striking. It is -hard to believe they have had any real losses in the war. -Men, women, and children; children, women, and men: -it is always the same story. The Germans are a very -plain race; few of them have any pretensions to good -looks. But, men and women alike, they are tall and -powerfully built, and convey an outstanding impression of -physical strength and vigour.</p> - -<p>And what have they done with their wounded? That -is a perpetual puzzle to the English. It is a matter of very -rare exception to see a lamed, or maimed, or blinded man. -One poor wreck without arms or legs who frequented the -Höhe Strasse in a little trolley was a familiar figure. But -the injured lads who have become too sad a feature of our -town and village life seem to be non-existent here. Yet -the heavy German casualties must have left their mark on -the people. Why, therefore, are there so few signs of -wounded men? I have heard it said that with the removal -of the German military hospitals following on the -Occupation, other arrangements had to be made for the -disabled, and that many left the district. Whether this -is true or not I cannot say. Germans are proverbially<span class="pagenum" id="Page_38">[38]</span> -skilful at tucking out of sight all signs of their drunken -and disreputable classes. Something of the same kind -has happened apparently with the wounded. When one -comes to the children, the toll of the war becomes apparent -in a very different way. As regards adults, the -superficial impression received is that neither physique -nor population has suffered. I should add that all superficial -impressions of German life to-day require to be -discounted heavily. All the evidence goes to prove that -the very real suffering in the country lies beneath the -surface, and that the rich people and the profiteers who -crowd shops and cafés give no true measure of the condition -of the masses.</p> - -<p>Overwhelmingly military though the aspect of Cologne -in the early days of the Allied victory, the civilian character -of the town has re-emerged, as during the course of -months the great Army of the original Occupation has -shrunk to a moderate garrison. To-day the impression is -merely that of an English reserve in a foreign land. The -garrison conducts itself, officers and ranks alike, after the -ordinary fashion of garrisons all the world over. Work -is done and done thoroughly; for the rest there are the -normal amusements, dancing, sports, and games.</p> - -<p>The Deutsches Theater, which is in English hands, -has made a spirited and successful attempt to bring first-rate -English drama within reach of the Occupying Army. -But the greatest factor in recreation undoubtedly has been -the Opera. The opportunity of hearing night after night -the best music of all schools, classical and modern, is one -for which we have had much cause to be thankful. The -repertoire is not only large, but wholly catholic in spirit. -No foolish demand exists to place French and Italian<span class="pagenum" id="Page_39">[39]</span> -music under a ban: the Germans have the good sense to -recognise that genius transcends all boundaries of race. -The great classical masterpieces of Beethoven, Mozart, -Gluck can be heard as well as those of Wagner, Strauss, -and the lighter works of Puccini, Bizet, Massenet, Mascagni, -Offenbach, Gounod. The performances of the -Ring are particularly fine; and the passion of the Kapellmeister, -Herr Klemperer, for Mozart makes the production -of these exquisite operas specially interesting. If the -Germans have not eyes to see, no nation in the world have -ears so fine to hear. In matters musical they are doubly -and trebly gifted—the whole artistic expression of the race -appears to have found an outlet in this direction. The -Cologne Opera House lives up to the best pre-war standards. -There are no stars, but, what is infinitely preferable, -a high level of ensemble and a unity of artistic expression -between the singers and the instrumentalists which can -never exist in scratch companies held together by celebrities. -The scenery and staging are excellent and show -real artistic merit of a kind unusual in Germany. The -orchestra too is first-rate—a fine and flexible instrument -in the hands of its conductor.</p> - -<p>It is unfortunate that the English have to no small -extent imported the bad English habit of talking during -orchestral passages. In the early days of the Occupation -not a sound was ever heard in the body of the house. As -time went on a familiar and unpleasant murmur became -from time to time more noticeable. Explanations as to -the involved relationships of the Wagner heroes and -heroines when sought and given in the course of a performance -are peculiarly exasperating to other people in -the near vicinity of the earnest inquirer. It is a curious<span class="pagenum" id="Page_40">[40]</span> -sight during the intervals to see the German audience -in couples promenading solemnly round the large “foyer” -while the English and French look on. But even casual -meeting-places between the two races are rare. Life in -Cologne flows in two distinct channels, between which -there is no communication of any kind. For the large -majority of the English, Germans have no existence—what’s -Hecuba to them or they to Hecuba? There is -nothing aggressive about the British Occupation. The -Army goes about its business, acts justly, and avoids unnecessary -pinpricks and irritations. The bitterness of the -war has left a considerable aftermath which colours conversation, -but the inherent British sense of decency and -fair play rules the situation in practice. It would offend -that sense of fair play to keep kicking a man, however -much disliked, when he was down and out.</p> - -<p>The Germans on their side have learnt fully to appreciate -the merits of the British rule. Well-to-do people -have a lively sense of the protection and security afforded -by the Occupying Army. The German bourgeoisie live -in terror of the new might of the working-classes. -Though the first impression on arrival may be one of -comfort and prosperity, there is in fact but a very thin -veneer of order covering anarchy below. Germans speak -with dismay of the appalling increase in crime and theft -since the war. Hunger is responsible for much of the -petty pilfering which goes on, but it is clear that all -manner of violent elements hide their heads out of fear -and fear alone. The German police are responsible for -the normal daily life of the town and area, but Thomas -Atkins, good-natured and indifferent, is the power behind -the throne, and it is thanks to his presence that the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_41">[41]</span> -German writ runs and is obeyed among the Rhinelanders.</p> - -<p>At the same time I am sceptical as to the spread of -Bolshevist ideas on any large scale among the German -nation outside certain industrial circles. The genius of -the race is essentially law-abiding and orderly. If it is -allowed to eat and to work, and is not kept artificially -in a state of hunger and unemployment, the country will, -I believe, in time settle down. Bolshevism is a disease -drawing its strength from hunger and despair. It is only -dangerous when such conditions exist or are provoked by -a short-sighted policy of fear and reprisals. “Oh, I -should like to see Germany go Bolshevist for a time and -all the people killing one another,” was the genial remark -I overheard once in England, the speaker being an English -civilian. I do not think this wish will be gratified, but -what the speaker and his kind forget is that Bolshevism -is a disease which can be treated by no <i>cordon sanitaire</i>, -and that the spread of ruin and confusion in Central -Europe means that the same evil spectres will knock assuredly -at our own doors. The fatal habit of “thinking -war” still dominates whole classes of people throughout -the Allied countries. But the business of the hour is -peace, and to be a laggard about peace to-day is as criminal -as to have been a laggard about war when Europe -and civilisation stood menaced.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_42">[42]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER III<br> - -<small>THE KÖLNER DOM</small></h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">In</span> the Wallraf-Richartz Museum, where, after the manner -of German collections, pictures and antiques, both -good and bad, jostle each other with small regard to quality, -a series of modern frescoes execrable in colour and -design decorate the main staircase. The artist has been -at pains to cover the walls with various incidents, allegorical -and otherwise, in the long history of Cologne. -The final fresco is the most entertaining of the series. It -represents the scene in 1842 when Frederick William IV. -visited Cologne on a memorable occasion. In this year -work was resumed on the ruined and neglected shell of -the cathedral, and the citizens of Cologne dedicated themselves -anew to the task of making a success of the failure -of centuries. The King attended in person to inaugurate -the great effort. Frederick William had many of the -showy and histrionic qualities for which his great-nephew -was conspicuous, and like William II. was by way of -having a great deal of taste in artistic matters—most of -it bad. Blessed with the gift of fluent speech, he adored -ceremonial occasions, especially those on which he could -pose before Europe as a patron of the Muses.</p> - -<p>In the Wallraf-Richartz Museum fresco the foundation -stone of the new building has been well and truly -laid. Brawny workmen in the foreground haul about -imposing blocks of stone and deal purposefully with a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_43">[43]</span> -huge floral decoration. Frederick William, on a platform -raised above the assembled company, is looking heavenwards -with rapt expression, as though following through -the clouds the flight of some fiery chariot. Particularly -impressive is a row of city fathers in full evening dress, -wearing decorations, who with hands tightly clasped -across their stomachs stand meek and simpering in the -royal presence.</p> - -<p>This ludicrous painting is an unworthy memorial of -what was in fact a high and spirited adventure. The -completion of the Dom after centuries of failure and -decay was a great task, finely conceived and finely carried -through. The wave of national feeling and national self-consciousness, -which developed and spread through Germany, -from the middle of the last century onwards, -found a practical symbol to which it could rally in this -work of reconstruction. As year by year columns and -towers rose higher on the banks of the Rhine, and the -great neglected fane began to assume the lines dreamt of -centuries before by its long-dead architect, the German -saw in this miracle an image of the resurrection of his -own country. Germany had been a ruin, destroyed and -at the feet of a conqueror. Germany too had triumphed -over destruction and failure. Through her new-found -unity she was rising, like the walls of the cathedral, to -a position of power and authority undreamt of before. -Little wonder that the rejoicings held in honour of the -final completion of the work in 1880, a date following -closely on the Franco-Prussian War, assumed a national -character and were invested with considerable pomp and -circumstance.</p> - -<p>No cathedral in the world has had so strange and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_44">[44]</span> -chequered a history as that of Cologne. The hearts of -many master builders were broken over it. The mediaeval -difficulties of construction were enormous. The building -even of the beautiful thirteenth-century choir suffered -severely from the fierce civic and ecclesiastical feuds -which raged at that time between the town and the archbishops. -Many legends are connected with the name of -Meister Gerhard, the architect whose main ideas are embodied -in the Dom as it stands to-day. Germany is under -debt to France for the greatest of her Gothic churches. -To Amiens, where Gerhard lived and studied, Cologne -Cathedral owes its inspiration. The thirteenth-century -choir, an architectural gem of the first order, follows -closely the lines of Amiens Cathedral. Few examples of -early Gothic are more pure or more perfect. Meister -Gerhard, in despair at the delays which beset his work, -entered, so the story runs, into a very unsuccessful wager -with the devil as regards the completion of the cathedral. -When the bet was lost he flung himself, to save his soul, -from the scaffolding. There is no evidence to show that -Meister Gerhard came to a violent end, but the story is -significant as a testimony to the difficulties from which -the building of the Dom suffered. These difficulties became -accentuated in the time of Meister Gerhard’s successors. -The choir fortunately struggled to completion, -and in 1322 the bones of the Three Kings, the most -precious of all Cologne relics, were deposited with great -pomp in their new shrine. But the noble design of the -nave fell on evil days, and after the varying vicissitudes -of several generations work was finally abandoned, leaving -a great torso instead of the church as originally -planned. For centuries the half-completed aisles mocked<span class="pagenum" id="Page_45">[45]</span> -the vision of the early master builders. Little by little -the nave, which was shut off by a wall from the choir, fell -into complete decay. In 1796 it was used by the occupying -French Army as a magazine and stable. Some progress -had been made with the south tower before work -was finally abandoned. But in modern times trees were -growing in the ruins of the tower, and a derelict crane, -stranded high aloft on a pile of stones and rubbish, was an -object of interest to casual visitors.</p> - -<p>Withal a vague hope persisted through the centuries -that some day, somehow, Cologne Cathedral would stand -on the banks of the Rhine in the majesty of the completed -design of which Meister Gerhard had dreamt. For centuries -the hope seemed vain indeed. When some years -after the War of Liberation the architect Zwirner championed -the idea of a completed Dom, the response of -popular enthusiasm was immediate and complete. The -building as finished follows faithfully the ideas of the -mediaeval architect, a fact for which we have to thank an -extraordinary chapter of accidents.</p> - -<p>The story of the original plans, which were recovered -in the loft of an inn, reads like a fairy tale. Before -the Napoleonic wars the plans of the cathedral were kept -in the chapter-house. During the French occupation, at -the beginning of the nineteenth century, they were removed -for greater safety to a Benedictine monastery. The -monastery was broken up and the forgotten and neglected -designs came eventually into the possession of a private -family, who used the great sheets of parchment for drying -beans. Subsequently the son of the house went to Darmstadt -for educational purposes. His anxious mother -thought the young man’s clothes would be kept clean and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_46">[46]</span> -dry if his box were lined with the stout parchment sheets -which had rendered useful service in the case of the -beans. The youth took up his residence in Darmstadt at -the Gasthaus zur Traube. Internal evidence shows that, -once away from the vigilant maternal eye, the care of his -clothes must have suffered. The coverings intended to -protect his garments from dust and damp were cast aside -with youthful recklessness. The scrolls, still carrying -their hidden treasure of the great design of the west end -of the cathedral, were thrown away and consigned as -litter to the loft of the inn. There they were discovered -by a carpenter sufficiently intelligent to appreciate their -importance. From his hands they passed into those of a -painter, and eventually after a journey via Paris were -returned to Cologne. They hang to-day in a chapel of -the choir.</p> - -<p>The stone from which the cathedral is built is quarried -in the Drachenfels. Unfortunately it is soft and perishable, -and constant repairs are necessary. Nearly a million -sterling was spent on completing the building, a modest -sum for so considerable a work judged by the spacious -standards of our own spendthrift time. The funds were -raised from pious founders, from state help, and from -lotteries. Whether or not you admire the exterior of the -cathedral—personally the answer is in the negative—there -can be nothing but praise for the enterprise which -made a success of the failure of the centuries and the fine -solid work to which the completed Dom bears witness. In -1880, six hundred years after the original founding of the -cathedral by Archbishop Conrad, the final stone of the -giant blossom crowning the south tower was swung into -place in the presence of the Emperor William <span class="allsmcap">I.</span></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_47">[47]</span>Not only in Cologne, but throughout the whole of Germany, -the completion of the cathedral was a signal for -an outburst of pride and joy. National enthusiasm knew -no bounds. There were festivals and feastings and -pageants. Looking back on the rejoicings from our own -standpoint of a stricken world, we can recognise of what -tragic events they were the starting point. To keep a -cool head when steering on a full tide of success is a test -of character more severe in its searching than the patient -bearing of adversity. Under that test the new-made German -Empire broke down rapidly. By 1880 Germany -was launched on the career which, soon transcending all -that is legitimate in national virility and self-consciousness, -was to bring her ultimately, through pride and aggression, -to defeat and downfall.</p> - -<p>From the cannon captured in the French war a bell -known as the Kaiser-Glocke was cast, which became in a -special sense the tutelary genius of the cathedral. Only -on rare and solemn occasions was the Kaiser-Glocke heard. -Then as its deep note boomed across the waters of the -Rhine, the citizens of Cologne thrilled with proud memories -of conquest and restored national life. The cannon -of a conquered foe are symbols of death, destruction, and -defeat. To convert them as trophies of victory into bells -which call men and women to the service of God and the -worship of the Prince of Peace, is an act of paganism -removed as by the poles from rudimentary Christian ethic. -But though the mills of God grind slowly they grind exceeding -small, as the fate of the great bell was to prove.</p> - -<p>In the spring of 1918, owing to the acute shortage of -metal, the Kaiser-Glocke shared the doom of many other -of the fine Cologne church bells. To-day its great chamber<span class="pagenum" id="Page_48">[48]</span> -stands bare and empty. The people of the town were -in despair. The passing of the bell was to them a symbol -of the passing of victory. But the grim needs of the -hour in the matter of munitions had to be met at any cost. -Born of the things of death, to the things of death the -bell returned. Reconverted into a gun, and lost on the -Western Front—was ever warning more sombre as to -the vanity of human desires and the perils which wait on -human arrogance?</p> - -<p>As to the architectural merits of the cathedral, opinion -is and is likely to remain divided. To me at least the exterior -is thoroughly unsatisfactory. Especially when -viewed from a distance the proportions though massive -are ungainly. It dominates the plain by its size, an unwieldy -colossus too high for its length. The openwork -spires sit heavily on the towers, and lack the great élan -and heavenward spring of buildings such as Chartres or -Salisbury. But the interior is a different matter. I cannot -explain why proportions which externally fail to satisfy -are harmonious and beautiful within. The choir, -the apse, the long forest of columns carrying the nave, -the spring of the vast western arch between the towers—all -this is Gothic in its strength and beauty. The splendid -glass of the north aisle has vanished temporarily. It -was taken down during the air-raids period, and the hour -of its restoration is likely to tarry. Much of the remaining -glass is poor and modern, and the general effect of the -nave suffers severely from this fact.</p> - -<p>In the course of months I have learnt to know Cologne -Cathedral intimately and under many different aspects. It -is what a cathedral should be, the central pulse of the -religious life of the town. Unlike the barren preaching<span class="pagenum" id="Page_49">[49]</span> -houses to which Protestantism has reduced the old Gothic -churches, the great building has warmth and atmosphere. -Before the shrines and altars, at all hours throughout the -day, rich and poor alike may be found at prayer. Sometimes -I have seen three or four little children come in -shyly, hand in hand, and kneel down before the High -Altar. Then, having fulfilled the duty with which they -have been clearly charged by their elders, they may be -found outside a moment later, chattering and playing, -on the great flight of steps leading down to the square. -Sometimes peasant women with their market baskets will -come in for a moment and bend low before the Mother -of God. Under the coloured scarves are humble patient -faces, lined with care and want. The heavy baskets rest -for a brief space on the broad pavement of the aisle as -these poor children of the soil, kneeling among the fruits -of their labours, raise inarticulate prayers to heaven.</p> - -<p>At no point can the German character produce contradictions -so supreme as over the question of religion. The -extent to which the practice of religion, however exact -and devout, can remain external to a man’s life is an unhappy -fact with which all religious systems and creeds are -too familiar. Germany perhaps supplies the supreme example. -But to any one like myself who has seen a good -deal of Catholic worship in Germany, the puzzle is necessarily -acute. In no country of the world, certainly in no -Catholic country, have I ever found myself among congregations -so earnest and so devout. Catholicism in the -Rhineland has a touch of almost Protestant austerity, -thanks to which its services are wholly devoid of the -tawdry fripperies which will often make the hearing of -Mass, say in Italy or in parts of France, seem perfunctory<span class="pagenum" id="Page_50">[50]</span> -and insincere. In Catholic Germany the services strike a -note of great dignity and reverence. There is no talking, -no moving about, no coming and going. Among the -thousands of English people who have passed through -Cologne since the Occupation, few have any knowledge of -the extraordinary congregations which, Sunday after Sunday, -fill the cathedral to overflowing; congregations three -parts composed of men of all ages and conditions. A -Franciscan monk, Father Dionysius, whose fame is widely -spread throughout the Rhineland, holds these great congregations -spellbound week by week.</p> - -<p>Men of God, those sons of the Spirit who arise wherever -the Spirit listeth, transcend all limits of race and creed -and clime. To that rare company this German monk belongs. -An orator of the first rank, it is not his oratory -which compels, but the nobility of his personality and -the purely spiritual appeal of his doctrine. The face is -not typically ecclesiastical—it is too broad, too fine, too -human. It has humour also, for the Father can use at -will the lash of a fine irony.</p> - -<p>It may not be popular to attribute such qualities to a -German. “How can you go and listen to one of these -brutes?” is a remark more than once addressed to me in -Cologne. But in putting on record my impressions of -Germany, it is not my object to minister to race hatreds, -but to describe things good and bad alike as I saw them. -The riddle of the German at prayer is difficult indeed. We -write him off as a brute and a materialist. Yet will our -own countrymen, artisans, professional men, shopkeepers, -stand for hours and listen to doctrines dealing with the -first principles of faith and of the things which concern a -man’s soul? What would be the feelings of the average<span class="pagenum" id="Page_51">[51]</span> -Church of England clergyman if, instead of a thin and -depressing congregation mainly composed of elderly -ladies, men in the prime of life crowded out his church? -For great though the reputation of Father Dionysius, -there is nothing peculiar in the Dom services. Other -churches are equally well attended and equally full. The -atmosphere is perfectly genuine and sincere. There is -nothing hypocritical about it. The people mean what they -are saying at the time they say it. And then before one’s -eyes rises the memory of a whole series of evil and ugly -deeds—cruelty to prisoners, callousness to suffering, arrogance, -brutality, a cynical disregard of the first principles -which in any decent society regulate the relations between -man and man. Where has the application of religion gone -wrong? I have often wondered what the services in the -Dom must have been during the weeks when the full agony -of defeat and surrender fell upon the Germans—black -hours for preacher and for congregation alike.</p> - -<p>The service at which Father Dionysius preaches on -Sunday morning is a short sung mass following on High -Mass. There is no choir, but the congregation themselves -sing old German chorales while mass is going on. Every -seat in the nave is filled nearly an hour before the service -begins: to obtain standing room in the neighbourhood -of the pulpit it is necessary to be there at least twenty -minutes beforehand. By the time mass begins, the vast -nave and side aisles of the cathedral are crowded from the -doors to the altar. The effect of the thousands of voices -singing the fine old German music in unison is without -parallel in my experience. No act of congregational -worship in which I have ever taken part can be compared -with it. The music, soaring under the great vaulted roof,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_52">[52]</span> -seems to be caught up in the forest of arches and to echo -back again to earth.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="first">“Hier liegt vor Deiner Majestät</div> -<div class="verse">Im Staub die Christenschaar,</div> -<div class="verse">Das Herz zu Dir, o Gott, erhöht,</div> -<div class="verse">Die Augen zum Altar.”</div> -</div></div> - -<p>The service begins with this ancient chorale, and as -voice after voice joins in the effect is indescribable. During -the solemn moments of the mass practically the whole -congregation kneels. Often as I have watched some fat -square-headed German singing the words of petition and -penitence, or bending humbly before the Host, I have -asked myself in utter bewilderment what it all means. -How are we to reconcile the discrepancy between the -sincerity and devotion of such worshippers, and the -darker, more sinister sides of the German character? The -Rhineland, a Catholic country civilised originally by -ancient Rome, is not Prussia. But it is thoroughly German -in sentiment and outlook. “Pious Cologne” had a -bad reputation for the treatment of our prisoners. I have -known personally two officers who were spat upon by -well-dressed women in the railway station. Stories well -attested were told me of wounded prisoners who were -insulted when marched through the streets. Many cases -of cruelty, often of gross cruelty, are proved. To shut -our eyes to such facts, or to minimise them, is as foolish -as to write off the whole German people as bred of Beelzebub. -The passions roused by years of bitter warfare -do not subside with any formal signing of peace. Yet to -see things steadily, and to see them whole, is of all difficult -principles the most essential in our relations with -Germany.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_53">[53]</span>The future of Europe and of Western civilisation -largely turns on our power to place these discrepant facts -side by side, to recognise that both are true and then to -strike some balance between them. It is extraordinarily -difficult to judge what the incidence of brutality was -among the Germans during the war; how far it was natural, -how far deliberately stimulated by those in authority. -Our own gallant Hun hunters, who glowed with patriotic -pride and satisfaction over the persecution of some -wretched hairdresser or inoffensive nursery governess, -are a sorry proof as to the ease with which vile instincts -can be cultivated and spread. The overwhelming majority -of the English in Cologne arrive with rigid ready-made -ideas about the country and people, and they do not -part from them willingly. They feel it below their dignity -to study the Boche dispassionately, to watch him at -work, at play, at prayer. But if we are concerned in this -distracted world not to rest perpetually in the barren measures -of strife, then it may be worth while to consider dispassionately -what qualities the Germans possess which -hold out some hope for the future. From this aspect it -seems to me that Cologne Cathedral and its congregations -are worthy of attention. The heart of every man is an -altar, neglected, desecrated perhaps, but never forfeiting -its right to serve the divine purpose. The sacred fire may -burn low, but so long as one votary remains, holden -though his eyes may be, the fire can never know extinction. -A spark from heaven may fall again upon the -ashes so that they blaze upwards into a pure light of truth -and knowledge. Is it for us to say that no such spark can -fall, that the shrine must remain forever unworthy?</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_54">[54]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER IV<br> - -<small>ON THE DOM PLATZ</small></h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">If</span> the Dom is the central point of the religious life of -Cologne, the Dom Platz is no less the central point of -official and ceremonial life in the town. During the last -eighteen months the massive towers of the cathedral have -looked down on strange and, to German eyes, unwelcome -scenes. It is all part of the German temperament to -have a great affection for reviews, and parades, and -processions. What is obvious and pompous makes a real -appeal. When in old days the Uhlans clattered down the -street and sabres were rattled, the average German standing -meekly on the pavement was filled with pride at this -visible demonstration of “Weltmacht.” Among the minor -trials of the Occupation, the absence of the great military -displays common under the old régime has been a sorrow -to the natives of Cologne. One morning a military band -struck up under the windows where I was talking with -my Fräulein. She nearly jumped from her seat and I -saw her eyes fill with tears: “We had such wonderful -bands in old days,” she said sadly. But the large majority -of her fellow-citizens are less sensitive. “Quand on n’a -pas ce que l’on aime il faut aimer ce que l’on a”—a sensible -doctrine on which apparently the Boche acts. For his -habit of turning up in large numbers at every function -held by the English on the cathedral square is sufficiently -surprising.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_55">[55]</span>Can we imagine a German parade held in front of Buckingham -Palace to which the inhabitants of London would -flock? We should, full of rage and mortification, be -burying our heads and ears in the remotest quarters of the -suburbs. But the Germans, in this as in other respects so -strangely constituted, have apparently no feelings on the -subject. They attend in large numbers and follow the -proceedings with deep interest. On occasions when I -have been among the crowd myself, I have not seen or -heard any signs of hostility. In early days the conscript -Army of the Occupation was hardly up to the standard -which Prussianism had exacted of its legions. But criticism -at least was never audible. There have been reviews -in later times on the Dom Platz which could hold -their own with any of the past. Often have I longed to -see what was going on inside the shaved square heads of -the spectators as the British troops marched by. What -were the Germans thinking about these trained and disciplined -men belonging to the conquering Army they had -been taught to despise? For how great a gamut of failure -and disillusion these khaki-clad ranks must stand!</p> - -<p>The Tanks are always impressive as they lumber along, -menacing as some prehistoric monster. They must be unpleasant -objects to meet on the battlefield if your side -does not happen to hold the counter to them. Many German -eyes follow them as they waddle about the square. -In lighter vein, the Highlanders, as always abroad, excite -a great deal of interest. “We saw your Scottish troops,” -is the invariable remark after a review, and then follow -endless inquiries as to the why and wherefore of such -extraordinary clothes. A ring of Germans at a race -meeting collected round the very excellent band of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_56">[56]</span> -Black Watch and applauding the music is a memory which -survives. In the early days of the Occupation it was an -order to salute the colours and remove hats when God -Save the King was played. But though the order has long -since been repealed the habit persists. The large majority -of German hats come off when the National Anthem begins. -With a different government and ideals a people -so tractable might have been led in a direction widely different -from that which has overwhelmed themselves and -others in ruin.</p> - -<p>Many striking ceremonies have been held in the Dom -Platz under English rule. Great figures and great names -concerned with the making of history have played their -parts in them. We have welcomed the generals to whom -France owes her salvation—Joffre, who came unofficially -and seemed a little bored at being shown off; Foch, the -conqueror, who arrived early one cold spring morning -only to find Germans, anxious to have a look at him, -clinging figuratively to every crocket of the cathedral. -Photographers are busy on these occasions; very interesting -is a picture of Marshal Joffre and Sir William Robertson -standing alone together on the north terrace of the -cathedral. The steps were strewn at the moment with unhewn -blocks of stone brought there for restoration purposes. -The stone, solid and rugged, seemed to symbolise -the characters of both men—soldiers not easily moved -from their purpose or their duty. We have received the -Army Council in state, and the politicians have looked at -the crowd and the crowd at the politicians. Mr. Winston -Churchill—grey frock coat and top hat to match—has -been duly admired. We have commemorated great events -and decorated our brothers in arms among the Allied<span class="pagenum" id="Page_57">[57]</span> -Armies. Then on the morrow, in sharp contrast to the -military display; may follow some great Catholic ceremonial, -wholly German in character.</p> - -<p>Religious processions lend much variety and colour to -street life in Cologne. Throughout the summer months -each parish has a procession every Sunday morning; -long rows of priests, nuns, children, and parishioners -walk through the streets carrying banners, flowers, -and emblems. The central point of the procession is the -canopy under which the priest carries the Host. Red-robed -acolytes swing censers as they move slowly along. -Altars are erected at convenient halting points in the -streets, where prayers are said and hymns chanted. The -pavement is strewn with green boughs, houses are decorated, -and the faithful erect shrines with crucifixes, sacred -images, candles, flowers, etc. These local festivals culminate -in the most famous of all Cologne processions—that -of Corpus Christi. On that day every ecclesiastic, -great and small, from the Archbishop downwards, as well -as every Catholic guild and society, take part in an elaborate -and impressive tour of the town. The vestments -are of a gorgeous character. The uniforms worn by -the guilds are of quaint design and many-coloured. The -centuries roll backwards, and for a brief space the finger -of the Middle Ages touches the modern city. The procession -concludes with a service in the cathedral, and the -great company of people winding across the square with -banners and emblems and passing up the steps suggests -some mediaeval picture. Religious processions are the -only German pageants which survive to-day on the Dom -Platz. One event alone on the square, brief but memorable, -has concerned conquerors and conquered alike—the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_58">[58]</span> -first commemoration of the Armistice on 11th November -1919. Yet of all my recollections of the square it -remains the most impressive.</p> - -<hr class="tb"> - -<p>A bitter morning with a blizzard driving across the -river; snowflakes drift disconsolately over the square, as -though doubtful of trying conclusions with the sombre -pile of the cathedral surveying the scene with gloomy -aloofness. Under foot dirt and slush. From every corner -of the square whistles a wind which pierces through -furs and coats. Yet the usual crowd of German spectators -are there, pressing as is their wont on the ranks -of the men in khaki who line the square. No less crowded -are the cathedral steps, on which stand a row of trumpeters. -I came late, to find to my surprise that my neighbours -are nearly all Germans. In spite of the dreadful -weather there is little movement among the crowd. People -speak under their breath, as though in the presence of -some great solemnity. English and Germans alike, we -are thinking of our dead. For a moment we draw near -to one another in the consciousness of common sorrow, -common loss, common pride. The snow drives in our -faces, the merciless wind searches out the shivering crowd -cowering under its umbrellas.</p> - -<p>Then the hour strikes, and a word of command rings -out from the half-obliterated square, where the khaki -lines can be seen dimly through the driving snow. Umbrellas -are lowered; cruel though the weather, German -hats are all removed. A lad standing near me, obviously -cold and shivering, shows signs of keeping his cap on; an -older German man has it off in a moment. The trumpeters -step forward on the cathedral steps, and in a silence<span class="pagenum" id="Page_59">[59]</span> -broken only by the moaning of the wind the Last Post -is heard. For most British folks those familiar notes, -which salute the sinking sun and say farewell to the dead, -are at all times full of poignant memory. But never -surely have they been heard under conditions more poignant -than in the heart of an enemy town on the first anniversary -of the Armistice. Is it two minutes or two -hours that we stand in that unbroken silence—no sound, -no murmur, no movement from the dense crowd? For -the men and women on the square, be they British or -German, what memories are packed into those tense moments! -The snow falls fitfully: again a word of command -is heard: the brief ceremony is over.</p> - -<p>So we salute our glorious dead, and who is ungenerous -enough in such an hour to withhold respect from the -brave men among our foes who fell in the service of their -country doing their duty as simply as those whose names -and memories we cherish? “So long as men are doing -their duty, even if it be greatly under a misapprehension, -they are leading pattern lives,” writes Robert Louis Stevenson. -Strife and bitterness belong to the things -temporal. We may rest assured that the heroes of all -races who meet and greet each other in Valhalla will drink -without hatred in their hearts from the cup of reconciliation.</p> - -<hr class="tb"> - -<p>Felix von Hartmann, Cardinal Archbishop of Cologne, -is dead. For a week he has lain in state in the crypt of -the Gereonskirche, watched by day and by night by monks -and nuns who pray unceasingly for the repose of his soul. -Round the bier ablaze with candles pours a steady stream -of spectators and mourners. The faithful have come in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_60">[60]</span> -their thousands to bid farewell to the chief shepherd of -the flock. For the Archbishop of Cologne is the greatest -ecclesiastical dignitary in Germany. Cologne is the premier -See, and in old days the rank of its Archbishop stood -second only to that of the Emperor; Cardinal von Hartmann’s -death must have stirred some painful memories -in the breast of the Amerongen exile. Emperor and -Cardinal, despite their differences of faith, were firm -friends. Felix von Hartmann was a Prussian of the -Prussians, and united by many personal ties to the Kaiser. -Even in death the face had lost nothing of its pride and -haughtiness. He looked every inch of a Prince of the -Church and a ruler of men as he lay at the last on his -bier. The gorgeous vestments, the pastoral staff, the -great ring worn on the red gloves covering the nerveless -hands: all this was impressive and dignified. But it was -not a countenance even in the great calm of death which -bore much trace of the milder Christian virtues.</p> - -<p>Cardinal von Hartmann took a violently pro-national -line about the war. Race hatreds and animosities were -fanned, not discouraged by him. His correspondence with -Cardinal Mercier shows how perfunctory were his efforts -as regards any alleviation of the lot of prisoners or the -civilian victims of the struggle. Bitterly anti-English, -the proud Prussian Cardinal must have suffered a full -measure of humiliation when he lived to see his cathedral -city in British Occupation. Some Tommies unacquainted -with Catholic ritual, who saw him in the street one day -wearing a mitre and greeted him as Father Christmas, -roused his special ire. A man of war rather than a man -of peace, the British authorities were under no obligations -to him as regards any assistance with their task. Now<span class="pagenum" id="Page_61">[61]</span> -he lies dead it falls to their lot, by an irony specially cruel -in the Archbishop’s case, to keep order at his funeral.</p> - -<p>In old days, so my Fräulein tells me, the funeral of an -Archbishop of Cologne was a tremendous event. The -Emperor in all probability would have attended in person. -The occasion would have lent itself to a great military -display, soldiers lining the route, the Prussian Guard adding -lustre to the scene. Shorn of all its pomp and ceremony -must the occasion necessarily be in view of the Occupation. -But it was the weather which conspired to make -a melancholy event still more depressing. Never have I -seen a more dismal ceremony than that of the Archbishop’s -funeral, which was held, of course, within the Dom. Rain -and sleet descended mercilessly, while squalls of wind -swept the square. The long procession of priests, monks, -nuns, students, and children was wet and draggled. The -white-robed choristers and the acolytes carrying ineffectual -candles were no less dripping. Particularly miserable -looked a detachment of unfortunate orphan children whose -thin clothes and shoes were soaked by the penetrating -rain. The monks and nuns and other ecclesiastics had -provided themselves sensibly with umbrellas, but withal -the wonderful vestments with their lace and embroidery -must have suffered severely. There is always a wind on -the Dom Platz, and to-day the angry gusts led to many -struggles between umbrellas and their holders. In default -of soldiers the numerous student guilds in their -many-coloured uniforms had turned out in force. They -alone with their banners struck a note which varied the -drabness of the scene. But the pitiless rain beat down on -them and caused the gay flags to hang faded and colourless. -It was as though some wind devil had established<span class="pagenum" id="Page_62">[62]</span> -itself opposite the main entrance of the cathedral and was -bent on plaguing the Archbishop’s mourners. Banner after -banner was caught by the wind and overthrown at that -point; portly ecclesiastics were swept off their feet; nuns -held on despairingly to their great white caps which -threatened to fly away. Despite the leaden sky and pouring -rain the square was crowded with spectators.</p> - -<p>Keeping the line were a few British Military Police -mounted on their fine grey horses. England is not given -to pompous advertisements of her strength, and the might -of the Empire is symbolised rather than represented by -this handful of men. At the head of the whole procession, -as it wound its way singing solemn chants from the -Gereonskirche to the cathedral, rode a detachment of the -same mounted police. As the familiar grey horses appeared, -who could fail to reflect on the ironical staging of -events in which Fate so often seems to delight? It is -not only that the accounts are balanced. A spirit of fine -mockery appears not infrequently over the audit. That -the police of the detested enemy power should clear the -way when Cardinal von Hartmann of all men was carried -to his last resting-place, is a circumstance to give pause to -the proud when life flows apparently in prosperous channels.</p> - -<p>At last came the modest black bier, drawn by two decrepit-looking horses, -in which the coffin of the Cardinal -was placed. As was becoming in a Prince of the Church, -there were no flowers or decorations of any kind. A group -of high ecclesiastics surrounded the bier, and the melancholy -chanting of the choristers, together with the prayers -of the priests, rose like incense to the grey unfriendly -heaven. Everything was wet and cold and drab and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_63">[63]</span> -shabby. Perhaps the most dismal touch in a dismal ceremonial -was the unusual sight of two German officers in -full uniform who walked behind the coffin. They had -come by permission from the Bridgehead to do honour -to the Archbishop. These forlorn-looking representatives -of the broken military power, what bitter memories the -situation must hold for them as they find themselves face -to face with the khaki police keeping order in Cologne!</p> - -<p>The bier halted before the west door of the Dom. -Black-robed monks carried the coffin swiftly up the steps. -As it passed within the great main portal the thick black -line of the spectators broke at last, and a vast crowd of -people poured across the square and followed the procession -through the open doors into the cathedral. The -crowd was so dense that you might have thought all -Cologne was on the square. Yet the vast Dom had no -difficulty in absorbing the mass of men and women who -flocked up the steps and disappeared within. When -shortly afterwards I made my own way across to the -cathedral, there was still ample room in the nave to move -about freely. The choir was hung in black and silver -and myriad electric lights defined the exquisite outlines of -the pointed arches. The coffin rested under a black and -silver catafalque. Everything was severe and dignified -without one tawdry note. The solemn funeral mass was -very lengthy. A brother bishop preached about the virtues -and qualities of the dead Cardinal. Then at a given -moment all the bells—those that remain of the cathedral—were -tolled, and from every church in Cologne bells tolled -in reply. The coffin had been lowered to its resting-place -near the High Altar; Felix von Hartmann had vanished -forever from the scene of his labours. The weather,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_64">[64]</span> -whimsical to the last, had changed its mind while the -service was going on. I came out into bright sunshine -on the cathedral steps. Having ruined the procession -and soaked the pious, it was now pleased to be fine.</p> - -<p>Unfortunately I was not in Cologne for the more cheerful -ceremony of the enthronement of the new Archbishop, -Dr. Schultz. Cardinal von Hartmann’s successor is at -present a somewhat unknown quantity in public affairs. -But if he lacks the commanding appearance and aristocratic -features of his predecessor, Dr. Schultz is in many -ways a more attractive personality. His face is wise and -benevolent; a face which gives the impression not only of -goodness but of good sense. Republican rule in Germany -must result in many changes in the relations of the Church -and State. Hot controversy already rages about various -points, in particular the burning question of religious -education in the schools. That men of wisdom and moderation -should hold high positions in Germany is a matter -of importance, not only to their own country but to -the Allies as well. Honesty and goodwill on the part of -all concerned are essential to the growth of a better understanding. -If the new Archbishop of Cologne can make -some contribution to this end, he will have deserved well -of his country and his church.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_65">[65]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER V<br> - -<small>BILLETS</small></h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">Every</span> billet has its crab. To that rule there is, I believe, -no exception. The crab may be physical or moral, but -the crab exists. Conquerors and conquered come up -against each other in a peculiarly intimate way when sheltered -by the same roof. Stop and reflect on the conditions -under which we English live in German houses, -and the marvel is not that friction sometimes arises, but -that friction is not chronic.</p> - -<p>Under the terms of the Peace Treaty the German -authorities in the Occupied Areas are bound to provide -housing, light, and firing, together with service, plate, and -house linen, for Allied officers and their families. The -number of rooms allotted varies according to rank, additional -rooms if wanted must be paid for by the officer in -question. Into the middle of these German families, -therefore, we arrive bag and baggage, occupy by rights -the principal rooms, while the owners squeeze into the -remainder as best they may. All of which is <i>la guerre</i>, -and when we reflect on the behaviour of the German -armies in France and Belgium, we can only feel that -Cologne and the Rhineland have little to grumble about. -The war was not of our making, and between the two -alternatives of sitting in the German houses or the Germans -sitting in ours, naturally we prefer the former.</p> - -<p>German houses reveal a great deal about the German<span class="pagenum" id="Page_66">[66]</span> -character. The spirit of a people is bound to impress itself -on their daily surroundings, and German virtues and -German faults are writ large over the residential quarters -of Cologne. On the material side the houses are -admirable. They are sound, well-built, excellent examples -of good solid workmanship. Excellent too are all the material -appointments. Hot and cold water, baths, electric -light, first-rate kitchen apparatus—every practical comfort -and convenience exists which simplifies life for the housewife. -Central heating is the rule. There are no fires -or fireplaces, though some houses have an open grate in -the principal room for auxiliary gas, or wood. At first -the hearthless rooms are very cheerless, but by degrees -you discover virtue in the even temperature of the -house. Also the saving in dirt and the saving in labour -are considerable. No less excellent are all the fittings, -window sashes, doors, floors, etc. Everything dovetails -perfectly; there are no draughts, no signs of jerry-building. -All that is material is handled with complete efficiency.</p> - -<p>But beauty—here we come to the ground with a crash. -Never were houses, taking them all round, so ugly and so -devoid of taste. The furniture and pictures give one a -pain across the eyes. <i>Objets d’art</i>, costly and incongruous, -are jumbled together in the wildest confusion. I -have been in drawing-rooms in which Flemish tapestries, -Japanese lacquer, Louis <span class="allsmcap">XV.</span> chairs, Meshrebiya work -from Cairo, Indian embroideries, bastard Jacobean chairs, -Chinese dragons, and modern Dresden shepherdesses were -locked together in a deadly conflict to which the Hindenburg -line must have been child’s play. Robust oil paintings -usually look down on the struggle. Admirable<span class="pagenum" id="Page_67">[67]</span> -though the German taste in music, the race appears to be -without eyes as regards the plastic arts. The degree to -which the things of the spirit have atrophied in modern -Germany is writ large across these dwelling-places. In -their material excellence, as in their aesthetic failures, they -are a true touchstone of the race.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile, surely no Army of Occupation was ever so -well housed or so comfortable as we are. Human nature -being what it is, competition about billets is naturally -keen. <i>Beati possidentes</i> is the happy state of those who -have secured the best accommodation in the palaces of -the local plutocracy. Yet withal some of us never shake -off a sense of discomfort and oppression as regards conditions -of life so radically artificial. There is something -very depressing in the general atmosphere of a conquered -people. Even when your personal relations with -the German household are pleasant, the feeling remains. -Too great a stream of blood and tears has flowed between -the Germans and ourselves. It is impossible to forget the -sufferings and trials which have led up to our presence -on the Rhine, even though the sufferings are not confined -to one side. A very small grain of imagination is necessary -in order to realise what a military occupation would -have meant to us. Admittedly, if the war had come to a -different end, we should have felt to the full the weight -of the Prussian jackboot. The Boche as a conqueror can -be intolerable—swollen-headed, swaggering, brutal. Victory -would have intensified tenfold every bad quality the -race possesses. But leaving aside any question of personal -outrage and indignity, what should we have felt -as to the hard fact of the conqueror established on our<span class="pagenum" id="Page_68">[68]</span> -hearths, even though the conqueror brought with him -standards of justice and decent behaviour?</p> - -<p>Let us imagine our houses invaded by Prussian officers -who would have demanded as by right the best rooms -and the best appointments. Let us further imagine they -bring German servants, who are installed in the basement -and have to work somehow with our English maids. I -often ponder the situation in the terms of my own household. -What I always feel is that, hard though it would -have been to endure the presence of the officers, the final -straw would have been the arrival of their womenkind -and children. The invasion of one’s home by fat German -Fraus would have proved the final and most bitter filling -up of the cup. As a race we should have taken the inevitable -billeting consequences of an occupation ill indeed. -Conflicts would have been numerous, and the -heavy Prussian hand would have driven us down into -even lower depths of misery.</p> - -<p>Now nothing of this sort exists in Cologne. Primarily -the English are not Germans, and cordially though many -of them detest the Boche, the English sense of decency -and fair play checks any furtive growths of Prussianism -among our own people. The average English person in -Cologne is not concerned to ruffle it as a conqueror, but -to enjoy life as much as possible under conditions so -pleasant and so comfortable. But also the Germans are -not English, and it is all part of the mental equipment of -these people that they accept, quite as a matter of course, -conditions which would drive us frantic. Nothing has -surprised me more than the philosophy with which they -endure our presence. Detestable as conquerors, they behave -exceedingly well as conquered. I can only conclude<span class="pagenum" id="Page_69">[69]</span> -this attitude is all part of the war game to which they -have been trained. They play to win and are ruthless -when the prizes fall to their lot. But equally they are -taught to take defeat without whining, and to accept its -trials as a matter of course. The Germans of the Occupied -Area have been, generally speaking, correct and dignified -in their attitude. They are neither subservient nor -aggressive. Their lack of imagination as a race, and the -three extra skins of which I have spoken elsewhere, no -doubt help them over situations which would be unendurable -to more sensitive people.</p> - -<p>But I must repeat every billet has its crab. English -society in Cologne is provided with two standing subjects -of small talk unknown to us at home. The hard-worked -weather is able to have a rest while we discuss in detail -the shortcomings and idiosyncrasies of our Fraus or the -hideousness of the furniture in our billets. “What a -trial for you to have to live with these dreadful pictures,” -is a common gambit when you go out to tea. As I have -said before, the utter lack of taste of the average German -house is apt to hit you between the eyes, and not only do -we examine each other’s billets with care, but criticism -is audible.</p> - -<p>It is to be hoped that the habit will not become chronic. -Otherwise some of us who are absent-minded will be in -difficulties when we return home. I can see myself looking -round the ugly house of a dear friend and remarking -genially, “What shocking taste the people who live here -must have—did you ever see such ghastly furniture?”</p> - -<p>But if we on our side discuss our Fraus, assuredly the -Fraus at their various Kaffee-Klatsches discuss their -English lodgers just as thoroughly. Much shaking of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_70">[70]</span> -heads and mutual commiseration must take place as the -cups go round. I have no doubt that one story caps another -as regards the enormities of the batmen, the dirt -and breakages in the kitchen, and the general fecklessness -and irresponsibility of the English women whose days are -spent not in housework but in pleasure.</p> - -<p>Our personal billeting experiences have been fortunate. -The house in which we have lived for many months is -small as Cologne houses go, but very comfortable. As I -have said before, the German house may fail in taste, but -it does not fail in the practical advantages of electric light -and bathrooms. Our Frau is a widow, a slight, dark, -nervous woman more French than German in appearance. -She knows her Europe, and travelled annually before the -war in Italy and France. French is the language in which -we converse. Her attitude towards us was from the first -entirely correct and civil; as time went on it has become -friendly and pleasant. Insensibly human and personal -relations grow up when people live together month after -month under the same roof. I shall be sorry to say -good-bye, and I hope her recollections of us will not be -unpleasant. But despite her politeness and self-control, I -have always felt that few women in Cologne can be more -tried by the fact of having strangers billeted on her. A -housewife with an almost fanatical sense of cleanliness -and order, engaged from morning till night in cleaning -and tidying, the advent of the English soldiery must have -been a burthen hard to bear. Yet like all her race, she -accepts the situation outwardly with calm whatever her -inner feelings. She was inclined to welcome our advent -as we succeeded a mess, and to have a mess in your house -is to the German Hausfrau a circle of Inferno to which<span class="pagenum" id="Page_71">[71]</span> -there is only one lower stage—having black troops put in.</p> - -<p>But if our relations with Madame have always been -pleasant, and I am indebted to her for many small acts -of kindness, heavy weather has obtained not infrequently -below stairs. The crab of our billet is Gertrude, the cross -cook who has lived with Madame for many years, and -has great weight with her. Gertrude is a lump of respectability, -virtue, and disagreeableness. She hates the English -with a complete and deadly hatred, and she leaves no -stone unturned to make things uncomfortable in the basement. -Hence a series of fierce feuds with a succession -of soldier servants. I admit the soldier servant is apt to -be a trial. How can he be otherwise? Domestic service -is a skilled art, and the Army can hardly be regarded as -a school for house parlourmaids. I am grieved to say -that there is no guile or deception to which an officer will -not stoop to secure, by fair means or foul, a batman -trained in a pantry. One pearl of great price have I -known, an exception to all rules. But good fellows though -many of them are, the average batman is apt to be casual -and inefficient. His execution among glass and crockery -is deadly. I have often wondered, judging from the -weekly holocaust, whether it is a rule among soldier servants -to play Aunt Sally in the basement with the tall thin-stemmed -German wine glasses whose days are so brief and -evil. Withal they are generally good-tempered fellows, -and in many houses get on quite well with the German -servants.</p> - -<p>But naturally no Englishman is prepared to receive -back-chat from a cross Hun. Consequently in the basement -sector of our own house skirmishing is chronic. For -some time Gertrude cooked for us, but as her culinary<span class="pagenum" id="Page_72">[72]</span> -performances were very moderate, it was no sorrow when -one day, after a pitched battle below stairs—a battle of -such intensity that murmurs of the strife floated up to us -even through the well-fitting doors—she flung down her -pots and pans and declared she would roast and boil no -more. Since then we have had our own German cook, -who has played the part of buffer state between the -contending camps, and a far greater measure of peace has -prevailed. But all this makes an undercurrent of unpleasantness -which reveals how thin is the crust of conventionality -on the top of which we live. Gertrude, when -the storms were at their worst, never failed to us personally -in respect and good manners, but her unfriendly -face, sour and virtuous, is a trial about the house. She -comes from Düren, which was heavily bombed during -the war. Though the Germans initiated air raids, the -return of these particular chickens to roost filled them -with panic and disgust. Perhaps life has been embittered -for Gertrude by the numerous evenings spent in the -cellar. Anyway she is an example of the German character -in its most unpleasant aspect.</p> - -<p>But even in our billet the housemaid, Clara, shows how -impossible it is to generalise about the Germans. Clara, -a great strapping wench twenty-three years old, is as -amiable and as good-tempered as Gertrude is the reverse. -Friendly and pleasant, her beaming face puts a smile on -the morning. No trouble is too great for her. First-rate -at her work—she never stops all day—she is at any time -prepared to do all manner of extraneous jobs for me -quite outside her duties. A girl of better disposition I -have never come across, simple and sincere. Clara has -just become engaged to a carpenter, and naturally the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_73">[73]</span> -household has been in a state of sympathetic flutter over -this affair of the heart. Clara has confided to me many -of her doubts and fears on the subject of matrimony. -Apparently her own parents were not a united couple, a -fact which gave her pause. However, her sister had -made a happy marriage, and the numerous perfections of -Hermann at last won the day.</p> - -<p>The ceremony of being “verlobt” was carried out recently -at Essen—the home of the married sister. One -wedding day is enough for most people. Not so the German, -who manages to wring two ceremonies out of the -event. The wedding day is preceded by a family gathering, -when the couple are formally betrothed. The wedding -ring is solemnly placed on the left hand, to be worn -there throughout the engagement, till on marriage it is -transferred to the right hand. To break off an engagement -once “verlobt” is almost as disgraceful as a divorce. -Clara must have looked like a rainbow on this great -occasion, judging by the description she gave me of the -various colours in her hat and gown. In thoroughly -German fashion, food figured prominently in her account -of this wonderful day. I suspect that a wish to get two -copious meals instead of one out of a marriage lies at the -root of the betrothal customs. “Wir haben so gut gegessen -und getrunken,” she said with a sigh of happy -recollection.</p> - -<p>Prices are too high, household effects too costly to -admit of immediate matrimony, a fact for which Madame -is very thankful. Madame thoroughly appreciates -Clara’s good qualities, and views the worthy Hermann -with nothing but hostility. If only some brave man -would carry off Gertrude! But there are limits to human<span class="pagenum" id="Page_74">[74]</span> -courage, and Gertrude’s face is a barrier to adventures of -the heart on the part of the stoutest would-be Bräutigam.</p> - -<p>When living in a German household it is very necessary -to lay down quite firm and definite rules as to your relations -with the family. It is unfortunately true that the -average German would misunderstand kindness and consideration, -unless it is also made perfectly clear that -certain things must be done and one will tolerate no -nonsense. A great deal of “trying on” takes place in -various billets, and it never does to give way. Frontiers -should be marked out with exactness, and adhered to no -less exactly. A race trained to obedience, the Germans -understand an order when they would take advantage of -a hesitating request. It is necessary in self-defence to -accept their mentality in this respect. The British point -of scruple arises in putting forward nothing that is unfair -or unjust. On this basis it is possible to live on pleasant -terms with the German occupiers. People’s billeting experiences -vary, of course, considerably. In many cases -they are the reflection of their own temperament. Some -people adapt themselves to the new conditions and handle -them sensibly. Others are always in trouble and are full -of grievances about the incivility of their Fraus.</p> - -<p>The Germans for whom I have the least sympathy in -billeting matters are the owners of the really large houses. -Very few members of the former governing class are to be -found in the Occupied Area, but the few who remain are -disagreeable people. The working-classes speak bitterly -of their selfishness during the war and class arrogance -under the old régime. These are the people who fostered -and fomented all that was arrogant and offensive in -latter-day German policy, and it is entirely just and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_75">[75]</span> -seemly that the British Army should enjoy the comforts -of their luxurious mansions. In an encounter of which -I heard between a batman and a German baroness lies -the whole philosophy of the Occupation. The baroness -was discovered by the officer’s wife billeted in her house -speechless with rage. Never in her life, so she declared, -had she been so insulted. Inquiries were made—batmen -and English servants are not allowed to be rude to German -householders. It then transpired that the lady, who -after the manner of German Fraus was in the habit of -haunting her basement at odd hours, found one afternoon -two English soldiers belonging to the household -sliding on the back stairs and whistling. The lady spoke -sharply and told them that whistling and sliding on the -banisters were “verboten.” Whereupon Thomas Atkins, -genial and undefeated, his hand on the stair rail, turned -to the angry baroness and remarked pleasantly, “Aye, -missus, but yer should have won the war, and then yer -could have come and slid down our back stairs and -whistled.”</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_76">[76]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER VI<br> - -<small>CHRISTMAS IN COLOGNE</small></h2> - -<p class="center"><i>Xmas 1919</i></p> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">Christmas-time</span> in Germany! I am haunted by the -recollection of the beautiful passage in Mr. Clutton -Brock’s <i>Thoughts on the War</i>, a book which many of us -read when no improbability seemed greater than that of -spending Christmas in Cologne in the wake of a British -Army of Occupation: “Forget for a moment the war -and wasted Belgium and the ruins of Rheims Cathedral, -and think of Germany and all that she means to the mind -among the nations of Europe. She means cradle songs -and fairy stories and Christmas in old moonlit towns, -and a queer, simple tenderness always childish and musical -with philosophers who could forget the world in -thought like children that play, and musicians who could -laugh suddenly like children through all their profundities -of sound.”</p> - -<p>In this same essay Mr. Clutton Brock goes on to say -how these Germans of the past were always spoken of as -“the good Germans,” and the world admired their innocence -and imposed upon it. Finally they grew tired of -being imposed upon, so they determined to put off their -childishness and take their place among the strong nations -of the world. What the consequences of that change of -attitude have been we all know too well. The good Germans—the -simple people who were bullied by their neighbours<span class="pagenum" id="Page_77">[77]</span> -till they made up their minds to be clever and -worldly! If this be the right reading of history, what -an immeasurable weight is added to the whole tragedy -of the war.</p> - -<p>It is to that older, more homely Germany one’s thoughts -turn at Christmastide. Our Christmas customs are largely -German in origin. Christmas trees and candles, Santa -Claus with his bag of gifts—all these things are in full -swing here. Which of us as a child has not thrilled over -<i>Grimm’s Fairy Tales</i>? And German toys! Not for a -moment would patriotism allow us to confess it, but at -heart we know we have missed, and continue to miss very -badly, the tin soldiers and other varied delights which in -old days reached us from the Fatherland. Cologne before -Christmas was placarded by a German peace society, begging -parents not to rouse military instincts in their children -by giving them tin soldiers. The notice was a -curious illustration of the many varied opinions surging -upwards in Germany to-day, none of which would have -dared to find expression under the old régime. But Germany -has certainly not disowned its militarism up to the -point of perfection aimed at by the enthusiasts of the -peace society in question. The Cologne community as a -whole made merry over this appeal, and certainly the -sale of tin soldiers in the shops did not seem to be affected -by it. Never were toy shops so enchanting and fascinating -as those of the Höhe Strasse and the Breite Strasse -in their Christmas finery. I flattened my nose forlornly -against the plate-glass windows, and mourned over the -fact that the total of summers and winters standing to -my account removed these delights beyond my reach. -Troops of excited children flocked in and round the shops,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_78">[78]</span> -but for many a German child the matter ended there. -Whatever benefits we English may gain by a low exchange, -the price of toys in marks this winter makes them -prohibitive to all except the well-to-do and the -“Schiebers,” the expressive name for profiteers.</p> - -<p>The German child normally is in a stronger position -about Christmas than the English child, for in this country -there are two great days for presents and festivities. -Early in December arrives St. Nicholas, bringing with -him cakes and nuts and sweets. His visits are paid, of -course, during the night, and shoes and stockings are, -with the hopefulness of youth, left by the bedside for -him to fill. On Christmas Day is the Christmas tree -with further cakes and presents and delights. German -brutality is always difficult to understand in view of the -position held by the children and the obvious wealth of -care and affection lavished on them. For in even greater -measure than in England is Christmas the children’s feast. -During the holiday season the affairs of their elders are -temporarily suspended, while the latter devote themselves -to a round of juvenile gaiety and amusement. Children’s -plays appear at the theatre, even the Opera House abandons -Mozart and Wagner and gives special performances -of <i>Hänsel und Gretel</i> for the benefit of juvenile audiences.</p> - -<p>I have no recollection of Germany more pleasant than -that of the Opera House filled in Christmas week with a -crowd of excited children come to listen to Humperdinck’s -delightful play. The white frocks filled stalls and boxes -like petals of a great bouquet. Large bows of ribbon on -the fair heads fluttered like banners in a breeze as the -adventures of Hänsel and Gretel and the witch were -followed with shrieks of excitement. On one side of me<span class="pagenum" id="Page_79">[79]</span> -sat a little English girl, holding on tight to her chair so -as not to spring out of it altogether; on the other, a little -German girl, with a hand thrust firmly into her mouth -in order to secure some measure of silence. But as the -adventures of the play deepened, the situation proved too -much for my small neighbour, who flung herself finally -with cries of excitement into her mother’s arms. I envied -the actors their audience. It must have been a joy to play -in an atmosphere of such entire appreciation. When the -culminating moment is reached, and clever Hänsel pops -the wicked witch into the oven destined for the children, -squeals of joy broke out all over the theatre: squeals only -to be renewed in intensity when the oven door was reopened -and the witch brought out cooked and browned in -the shape of an enormous gingerbread. Let us be thankful -for the unconsciousness of childhood, keeping alive -in the world great treasures of joy and laughter, when -the grim realities of post-war Europe oppress our souls.</p> - -<p>But if the toy shops and the theatres and the excitement -of the children leave nothing to be desired, the -weather has refused to play. Never can I remember so -damp and dripping and sodden a Christmas. Our cold -snap came in November. Then for a brief space we had -frosts and red sunsets: those pre-Christmas sunsets when -the German mother with a quaint materialism tells her -children that “das Christ-kind bäckt”—the Christ Child -is baking cakes for Christmas. But there was little baking -this year on the part of the Christ Child. Fog and -rain enveloped Cologne for days beforehand in a damp -and dripping mantle. In a foreign land I found myself -missing the hundred and one small duties which at home -have to be carried out at Christmas. It is dull work<span class="pagenum" id="Page_80">[80]</span> -ordering your presents by post. Even so it was all done, -and unless I went out in the wet and looked at the toy -shops there was nothing to show Christmas was at hand. -Finally I was struck by a bright idea. Why shouldn’t we -have a Christmas tree? Yes, and presents for the household, -including the cross cook. Peace has been signed, -and it is the season of peace and goodwill: so why not?</p> - -<p>First of all I sounded Maria—this was before the days -of the good-tempered Clara. Why shouldn’t we have a -Christmas tree—every other house in the street was getting -ready for one? Maria’s eyes glistened: she had had -no Christmas tree since the war, to see one again would -be a joy indeed. Yes, most certainly she would undertake -to buy a suitable tree if I wanted one. My next -business was to sound our Frau. She too lent a favourable -ear to my proposal. No, they had had no Christmas -tree since the war, but it would be pleasant to begin again. -She had plenty of decorations and candle-holders and -would be glad to lend them to me. Madame was as good -as her word, and produced boxes of crystal balls and -coloured tinsels and a solid wood block into which the tree -could be fixed. Throughout a wet and gloomy afternoon -Maria and I saw to the decorations, and on Christmas -Eve the tree was lit up and our mixed household held a -short and curious gathering in the dining-room.</p> - -<p>Whatever faults may be urged against the Germans, -they are certainly not lacking in a considerable measure -of personal dignity. The attitude of our Frau and her -maids was everything that was correct. They received -their small gifts with pleasure and praised the English -Christmas cake, slices of which were handed round. We -exchanged greetings and good wishes for Christmas and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_81">[81]</span> -the coming year, and the tree with its candles and tinsel -bravery was an object of much admiration. But could -the inner thoughts of any one of us in the room have been -revealed, how strange and painful must the texture have -proved!</p> - -<p>Of one thing I am certain: the surface of courtesy -and amenity between us and our foes has to be restored -little by little if we are aiming at a future, however distant, -purged of hatred and revenge. The first tentative -experiments can only be made between individuals whose -circumstances have flung them, like our Madame and ourselves, -into a personal relationship which is not unfriendly. -As I have said elsewhere, it is easy to hate the abstraction -called Germany, but for individual Germans one feels -either like, dislike, or indifference the same as for other -people. But the growth of a better understanding is likely -to be slow and laborious. Even when individuals as -individuals do not hate each other, events have dug a -chasm between the two nations. The Germans are so -curiously insensitive, it is always difficult to realise if -they feel things as we should feel them ourselves. But -the three German women who had had no Christmas -tree since the war and now were looking at a Christmas -tree provided by an English woman—what did the situation -mean for them? Though obviously pleased with -their gifts and the little ceremony, the khaki uniforms in -the room spoke of conquest, defeat, overthrow. And for -us too there came a flood of memories, memories of -friends lost, of young lives cut down in their prime, of -homes in England left stricken and empty this Christmastide -because the monstrous ambitions of Germany’s rulers -would have it so. And even as we talked and exchanged<span class="pagenum" id="Page_82">[82]</span> -the old Christmas messages of peace and drank each -other’s health, the room and the tree and the candles all -seemed to vanish, and in their place I saw the grey desolation -and havoc of Flanders, lines of dim figures advancing -to attack, rows of graves, silent, mournful.</p> - -<p>But if these things are not to have their repetition in a -future still more awful than the present we have known, -somehow, some way, men must learn the message of -Christmas, hard though it be in our distracted world, -“Peace on earth, goodwill towards men.” But for once -in a way the Revised Version has stepped in with a -deeper, more beautiful meaning than that of the old -familiar words, “Peace on earth to men of good will.” -Peace is not a casual condition. It does not arise automatically -when the roar of cannon dies away. It implies -effort, sacrifice, and consistent spiritual purpose. Treaties -and protocols cannot secure it; without goodwill peace is -stillborn. We went through the trials of the war with a -high heart and a great endurance. Are our hearts high -enough for the final adventure of goodwill?</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_83">[83]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER VII<br> - -<small>THE BERGISCHE LAND</small></h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">One</span> of the real advantages of life in Cologne is the -charm of the surrounding neighbourhood. Not that the -neighbourhood to which I refer is near at hand or very -accessible except by train or by motor car. Cologne lies -in the centre of a great fertile plain, through which the -Rhine flows nobly in that last stage of its career before -entering the mud flats of Holland. At a distance varying -from ten to fifteen miles the plain east and west is bounded -by a chain of low hills broken up, especially on the eastern -side, by delicious valleys. Here are woods and trout -streams, meadows and flowers. No district with which -I am acquainted is more adapted to walks, delightful without -being arduous, or to longer expeditions by motor. -These low hills commanding the plain abound in views of -extraordinary vastness and extent. The hills are so -easily climbed! Yet from their summits the wanderer -has the impression that the kingdoms of the earth lie -spread at his feet. For very little real exertion, therefore, -he has the impression of having mastered some Alpine -peak—an observation for which I hope I may be pardoned -by any member of the Alpine Club.</p> - -<p>From the eastern ridge, known as the Bergische Land, -the sunset view is one of special beauty. The cultivated -slopes and pasture lands fall away gently to the plain -below, in spring fresh with the vivid green of young grass<span class="pagenum" id="Page_84">[84]</span> -or corn, in autumn rich with harvest gold. In the distance, -chimneys stretching north and south reveal the -course of the Rhine, whose waters are hidden from view. -Far away to the left is the outline of the Siebengebirge -mounting guard over Bonn and the entrance to the romantic -reach of the stream known as the Rheingau. -Above the chimneys and the remote huddle of houses and -factories, the twin spires of Cologne Cathedral, their -clumsiness softened by distance, raise their symbol of -man’s hope and aspiration to heaven.</p> - -<p>The low range lying on the west side of Cologne known -as the Vorgebirge is less attractive than the Bergische -Land to the east. Industry preponderates on this side, for -the Vorgebirge is of special importance owing to the -famous black coal extracted from the hills. Here is dug, -without any apparatus of shafts or sinking, a special -brown deposit which, pressed and pounded, turns into -the briquettes on which Cologne relies for its light and -heat. The presence in the near neighbourhood of this -ample supply of cheap fuel has been a factor of the utmost -importance in the commercial development of Cologne. -We of the Occupation have learnt to bless the black -briquettes, which feed the central heating in winter and -give us abundant electric light throughout the year.</p> - -<p>How well these people manage their industrialism! -That is a reflection borne in upon me time and again in -the Rhineland. Prussianism, however bad for the soul, -was very efficient in the organisation of daily life. Wages -in Germany before the war were not high; the liberty -and rights of the worker were restricted in many directions. -On the other hand, no country in the world could -approach Germany in the excellence of its municipal<span class="pagenum" id="Page_85">[85]</span> -organisation and the many advantages of the population -as regards public services. German authorities excelled -in arrangements concerned with health, communication, -and amusement. Town planning and building operations -were controlled; cities were laid out and houses built on -lines destined to promote the welfare of the whole community. -The speculative builder was not allowed to wax -fat at the expense of his neighbours. Electric light is -supplied even in small villages, and an admirable service -of trams and light railways brings the amenities of life -within reach of the poorest.</p> - -<p>Amusements are dealt with in a rational spirit, which -makes for happiness and self-respect. Cafés, beer gardens -with concert rooms attached, are decent places, where -a man does not drink furtively but takes his glass of -wine or beer in the company of his family. Not only -have large towns a first-rate opera house and theatre, but -good music and good drama can be heard in quite small -places. Industry in particular has been brought to heel. -Factory chimneys are not allowed to pollute a district at -will or to poison the air with noxious fumes. A modern -school of painters has taught us to see qualities of strength -and even beauty in certain aspects of industry. But those -qualities cannot be obvious to the working-class wife who -has to struggle with the intolerable grime and dirt produced. -The strength of a nation is rooted in the homes -of a nation, and there are many districts in England where -no man can be proud of his home. Men and women -whose lot in life is cast in the Black Country, or who are -forced to dwell in the long, mean street of dirty houses -which extends from Nottingham to Leeds, might well<span class="pagenum" id="Page_86">[86]</span> -envy the better conditions of existence which obtain in -Germany.</p> - -<p>I have never seen any information as to the stages of -the Industrial Revolution in Germany. Naturally it came -at a later date than our own and was able to benefit by -our mistakes. But to what influence does it owe a character -so different? Here in the lower Rhineland there are -big industrial towns and great factories. These places -are not beautiful, but they lack the overpowering dirt and -ugliness of the manufacturing districts of Lancashire -and Yorkshire. All along the lower Rhine one factory -succeeds another, but they consume their own smoke and -fumes and are not allowed to tyrannise over the district. -Düsseldorf even more than Cologne is a great manufacturing -centre, and among other industries has large machine -and puddling works in its suburbs. But the public -gardens of the town, which are of great extent and -beauty, might be a hundred miles removed from a factory. -Leverkusen, the great dyeworks near Cologne, has -the appearance of a model village. It is all to the credit -of Germany that she has not allowed herself to be obsessed -by that spirit of helpless fatalism which has descended -on too many of the manufacturing districts and -towns in England. Men and women’s lives are spent -amid this grime, to the detriment of soul as well as body. -It is a valuable object lesson to learn that, granted energy -and a will to be clean, some of the drawbacks of an ugly -industrialism can be avoided for the workers.</p> - -<p>Lancashire and Yorkshire have one feature in common -with the German industrial centres on the lower Rhine. -Both have their own beautiful hinterland. The German -hinterland in question has nothing so grand and so austere<span class="pagenum" id="Page_87">[87]</span> -to show as the great heather-clad moors and rugged -dales of Yorkshire and Derbyshire. But withal the rural -districts of this smiling Bergische Land, with its wooded -valleys and running streams and black and white houses -buried deep among orchards, lie, so it seems, within a -stone’s throw of factories and workshops. Full of charm -are these little valleys, divided one from another by narrow -watersheds. All of a family, yet each possesses its -own features and has the impress of its own personality. -A trout stream almost invariably meanders along the -valley, sometimes finding its way through meadows of -long lush grass, Alpine in its greenness, sometimes flowing -among overhanging woods where the murmur of the -waters mingles with the rustling of the leaves or the -deeper, more melancholy note of the fir boughs. It is a -smiling, almost park-like land, richly cultivated and well -populated. There are no wild or desert places. Everything -perhaps is a trifle sophisticated. Many of the black -and white cottages, gabled and romantic, might have -stepped off the light-comedy stage. Here and there the -moated tower of some ruined Burg or an eighteenth-century -country house set back in a walled garden strikes -the same note. This is not Nature in her strength and -power, but Nature laughing, gay, forthcoming, a sylvan -goddess of woods and streams and meadows. “Intime” -is the word which best expresses her charm. Last, but -not least, Nature in the Bergische Land is a goddess of -the fruits of the earth.</p> - -<p>Spring is a season of wonder and beauty in the Rhineland. -The villages disappear in a cloud of pink and -white blossom. White and pink too are the country roads -lined with fruit trees. Beech trees abound; and has<span class="pagenum" id="Page_88">[88]</span> -Nature in her great spectacle of the changing year any -sight more beautiful than the first shy unfolding of the -young beech leaves? A little later come the chestnuts, -stately and self-important, carrying their white candles -on broad green candlesticks and lighting up the countryside -with so brave an illumination. Then follows the -deep-red blossom of the thorn, mingled with the purple -and yellow of lilac and laburnum. Under foot the emerald -green of the meadows is flecked yellow with cowslips. -Yellow too are the great fields of mustard, which in turn -yield place to carmine stretches of clover. It is a riot of -colour and beauty throughout the Bergische Land. The -high midsummer pomps find the cottage gardens a mass -of roses and other homely flowers. Finally the white -promise of spring gives way to the golden fulfilment of -autumn. The orchards bend low under the weight of -pear and apple and plum. And winter is no harsh thing -in the valleys, where the delicate tracery of the leafless -woods, detached against a frosty sky, has a charm as -great as the young foliage of spring.</p> - -<p>Though so little removed from the neighbourhood of -industry, there is practically neither grime nor contamination -about the Bergische Land. The German housewife, -as I have said, is happily spared that hand-to-hand -struggle with dirt which embitters existence for many an -English working woman. The decentralisation of industry -is much practised in Germany, and frequently -isolated factories will be found in country surroundings -which give employment to the immediate neighbourhood. -It is perhaps for this reason that the game is not a hopeless -one, that the extraordinary cleanliness of the German -village is due. It is quite an experience to walk or motor<span class="pagenum" id="Page_89">[89]</span> -through the villages on a Saturday evening when cleaning -operations are in full swing. The whole population is -out in the street tidying up. The oldest and the youngest -inhabitant alike are hard at work with buckets and besoms. -I am now able to appreciate why the Besom Binder always -figures so largely in German fairy tales. As soon as a -child can stagger it is provided with a besom three times -the size of itself and turned out to sweep. Tiny children -flourishing brooms will remain one of my permanent -impressions of Germany.</p> - -<p>Not only the doorstep of each individual house and the -strip of pavement in front of the door, but the street itself -is cleaned up thoroughly on Saturday night. There are -rinsings and scrubbings and washings and sweepings. -The midden is tidied and made as neat and trim as a -haystack. The woodstack is similarly squared, the blocks -piled with mathematical exactness one on the top of the -other. From the street itself every vestige of dirt and -dust is removed. You are almost afraid to breathe lest -anything should be disturbed. As for a motor car, its -intrusion on the scene is little short of a sacrilege. Until -dusk and after, the Saturday cleaning lasts. Then on -Sunday the village in its best clothes sits about at ease -on doorsteps and contemplates the fruits of its labours.</p> - -<p>Sunday in this Catholic land is a true feast day. It is -impossible not to admire the simple, wholesome way in -which the people, town and country alike, take their pleasures. -Churches are crowded in the morning, and it is -clear that the Catholic hierarchy keeps in very close touch -with its flock. But religious festivals, which are frequent, -have a pleasant social aspect and the population from -oldest to youngest clearly enjoy them. Sometimes in the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_90">[90]</span> -valleys of the Bergische Land you may meet a long procession -going on pilgrimage to a neighbouring shrine. -The sound of chanting and music is borne on the wind as -the company wind up the hillside. It is like a scene in a -play as you watch the distant view of banners and crucifixes -and white-robed acolytes. Especially attractive are -the children’s processions held on White Sunday—the -Sunday following Easter—when the ceremony of first -communion takes place. No steps are omitted to make -the occasion impressive. Every little child in Cologne -down to the poorest wears a white frock and a wreath -of white roses. They come with their parents in large -numbers during the morning to say a prayer in the cathedral—tiny -children, so they seem, to be struggling with -the great mysteries of faith. We passed a small hillside -church in the Bergische Land on the afternoon of White -Sunday at the moment when a procession of children was -coming out. It was a pretty sight: the fair heads crowned -with flowers and every child carrying a gold-and-white -lily in its hand; fond and anxious parents shepherding -their lambs, and provided with cloaks and umbrellas in -the event of rain.</p> - -<p>These simple ceremonies give warmth and character to -the countryside, but quite apart from religious exercises -of the nature I have described, the whole of Cologne -pours into the Bergische Land in the course of a fine -Sunday afternoon. Various light railways issue from -the city and, running across the plain, penetrate the valleys -at various points. From the Dom Platz at Cologne -you may, if fired by the spirit of adventure, take your -choice of three trams to the Bergische Land. One will -carry you in some forty minutes to the Königsförst,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_91">[91]</span> -formerly a royal forest at the foot of the hills; another -in fifty minutes to Bensberg, a charming old town crowned -by an eighteenth-century castle in the Palladian style. -The castle with its domes has dignity and character; it is -now used as a barracks for French coloured troops. -From the tiny acropolis to which the city clings—in -spring half smothered by the white and pink of its cherry -and plum and apple orchards—is the finest of all the -views over the plain. Or you may journey for an hour -northwards along the Rhine, passing through Mülheim—a -widely scattered district of factories—till you come to -the pleasant little town of Berg Gladbach. Here through -a third gateway you may enter the wooded hills and -valleys stretching to the east.</p> - -<p>Only there will be certain disadvantages if you conduct -these explorations on the Sabbath, for the Boche in his -best clothes is of the same mind, and the trams are -crowded to a point of suffocation hard to endure on a hot -summer’s day. But all the same the experience of a -Sunday excursion is by no means to be missed, for then -you see the life of the people as it is. What light-hearted, -cheerful crowds they are! Families, father, mother, and -children, out for the day together, troops of young people -with knapsacks and mandolines tramping for miles -through the woods, singing as they march, and as often -as not waving their hands and calling out “Good day” in -English.</p> - -<p>The group instinct of the German is very noticeable -in his holiday-making. Picnic parties abound, clatches -of children in the care of nuns and priests; more prosperous -families out for the day in wonderful chars-à-bancs -and wagonettes which are covered with green<span class="pagenum" id="Page_92">[92]</span> -boughs and wreaths of flowers. In summer it is a point of -honour for picnic parties to decorate their carriages in this -way. I have often seen horses drawn up by the roadside in -the neighbourhood of the Königsförst or Bensberg while -the occupants were employed in cutting down branches -and converting the conveyance into a green bower.</p> - -<p>Village feasts are common, and great is the excitement -when a Kermess is held. The village is decorated from -end to end, and the principal street is lined with booths -and stalls. Merry-go-rounds, swing-boats, shooting-galleries -cater for the amusement of the spectators, while -dancing goes on in the inns and cafés. May-day festivities -are a feature of the countryside, and the village belle may -find her house decorated on May morning with a may-bush -hung on a tall pole by an admiring suitor. If there -is competition between suitors, more than one bush may -be hung on the house, and the various lovers under such -circumstances endeavour each to carry his bush into the -air at a higher point than that of his rival or rivals. One -fair lady this last year, so the story runs, found her may-bush -decorated with a miniature figure in khaki hanging -head downwards. Intimacy with British soldiers was -frowned upon in the locality, and the village applauded -the reproof thus administered to an erring beauty who -had fraternised with the enemy.</p> - -<p>One-horse cabs of archaic design survive in the more -remote villages, and on Sunday afternoons the elderly -local plutocrats may be seen solemnly taking the air in a -conveyance of this character. The aged horse does his -work in leisurely fashion, and if the rate of progression -is slow, the dignity of the passengers loses nothing by the -fact. No village is really remote, owing to the network<span class="pagenum" id="Page_93">[93]</span> -of light railways spread about the country. Yet despite -the proximity of Cologne and the constant influx from the -industrial districts on the Rhine, the village people appear -to retain their simple habits and rustic outlook on life. -They work hard, but they also enjoy life thoroughly in a -simple way. It is this high standard of simple enjoyment -among town and country people alike with which any -traveller must be struck in the Rhineland, a better state -of affairs surely than the enforced gloom of many an -English village, where feasts and dancing would be regarded -as a desecration of the Sabbath, and men are -forced to drink and loaf for lack of something better to -do. German education is open to grave indictment as -regards the spirit and temper it has bred, but withal the -Germans are an educated people, and an educated people -knows how to employ its leisure.</p> - -<p>The longer you live in the Occupied Area, the more -sphinx-like the riddle it presents—the riddle of reconciling -the behaviour of these decent, self-respecting people -among whom you find yourself with the actions of that -collective entity, Germany, who figures as the outcast of -Europe. “It’s all put on,” some people say. But this -theory of sustained hypocrisy becomes ridiculous over a -period of many months, especially when you have mixed -unknown in the crowd and seen the Germans at work and -play among themselves. Some other explanation must -be found for a psychology so bewildering. Love of God’s -out-of-doors is always a redeeming element in every -human being, and it is an element which can in no sense -be denied to our late enemies. The town folk enjoy the -beauties of the country in a quiet, self-respecting way -with a minimum of rowdiness. It is not a question just<span class="pagenum" id="Page_94">[94]</span> -of hanging about cafés and beerhouses. These places on -a fine day are crowded, but they are crowded with parties -whose dusty boots and draggled clothes show they have -been far afield. The children carry bunches of flowers -or green boughs. Sometimes a tired little one rides on -a father’s shoulder. Knapsacks are produced, from -which a meal sadly frugal in quality and quantity emerges. -Coffee or beer is ordered, and the party sit down to eat -and take a rest.</p> - -<p>As at every other point in German life, children play -a great part in these excursions. Hard though the times, -parents pinch and save to see the children are well and -neatly dressed. A white frock in summer for the girls—a -bit of fur round the collar of the coat in Winter for the -boys—these things are a point of honour. But boots -have become a terrible problem to most working-class -homes, as many a peasant has told us. It is certainly not -easy to associate ideas of hunger and defeat with these -respectable Sunday pleasure-seekers. But as I have said -before, superficial impressions must be discounted in -Germany, and there are always the thin legs and pasty -faces of the children to pull you up short if you try to -thrust aside ugly memories of reports and statistics and -official inquiries.</p> - -<p>Often as I have sat among the Sunday crowds in the -little hill towns have I reflected on the worldly wisdom -of Machiavelli, who, like Bismarck, if bad was long-headed. -Machiavelli took the view that you must either -destroy your enemy or so behave that you may turn him -into a good neighbour. One thing is very clear: Germany -will never be destroyed. What steps, if any, are we -taking to turn her into a good neighbour?</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_95">[95]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER VIII<br> - -<small>IN SEARCH OF A FISHING</small></h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">Long</span> ago in Winnipeg I remember finding two young -French girls in the immigrants’ reception camp. I inquired -if they had come to Canada alone. Whereat the -elder with a fine gesture replied, “O non, nous ne sommes -pas seules, mais mon père est allé en ville acheter des -terres.” In a spirit no less spacious and confident we set -out one fine afternoon to find a fishing. The Army of -Occupation is desperately interested in fishing; so, like -the “terres” of which my Winnipeg friend spoke, good -fishing is hard to come by. Consequently much reticence -on the subject exists, not to say craft. The trout streams -of the Bergische Land or in the Eiffel are set in ideal -surroundings from the fisherman’s point of view. All -that is lacking on many occasions is the trout. The -country folk are fond of talking of miraculous draughts -of fishes which existed in the days before the war. The -old gentleman who hires out rods by the day, when confronted -with an empty bag, will explain elaborately that -this unfortunate result is due to the fact that the British -soldiers have caught so many trout; things are not what -they used to be. Personally I am a little sceptical about -these disclaimers and the shifting of the responsibility -on to the broad back of the Occupation. Not that any -feeling exists against Thomas Atkins in the British bridgehead. -It is pleasant throughout our area to talk to the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_96">[96]</span> -villagers and to hear their friendly remarks about the -troops. Of course there were some bad characters and -some bad behaviour. But Atkins, kindly and easygoing, -has been a missionary of reconciliation in many a German -village. Women will tell you that they helped with the -house and were kind to the children; “any English person -is sure of a welcome in a village where English soldiers -have been.”</p> - -<p>So despite some lapses on the part of the Army over -trout—there are stories of hand grenades used in streams—we -set out with confidence to explore some valleys on -the back side of Söllingen, where, according to rumour, -trout of large size and merit abounded in ideal streams. -Our chauffeur had a German friend who knew of a fishing. -The afternoon was before us, so we set out to find -the friend.</p> - -<p>For a time we went north along the Rhine, past the -great factory of Leverkusen—famous for its dyes, and -during the war one of the most important of German -munition works. Our way lay amid the many industrial -establishments which mark the high road to Düsseldorf, -and I looked with envy on their smokeless chimneys. -Beyond Opladen we turned off to the right and, with the -bewildering rapidity which happens in this district, found -ourselves in a few minutes in a purely rural valley. Here -were orchards and open meadows and black and white -houses. We twisted in and out along various side-roads, -till the road itself showed signs of ending in a secluded -valley where a mill-pond, a mill, and a miller came into -view. The miller was the chauffeur’s friend. They -shook hands solemnly and exchanged greetings. Then -we were introduced—was there any fishing to let? He,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_97">[97]</span> -the chauffeur, knew from previous experience that the -stream was well thought of. The miller was friendly but -could give us little help. The proprietor was just dead, -the upper stream was let, there were no trout now in the -lower pond. But he had a friend, Herr Hermann Hollweg, -who owned a Bade-anstalt in a neighbouring village. -Herr Hollweg most certainly would put us in the way of -getting a fine trout stream.</p> - -<p>Back again we went, therefore, to hunt up the Bade-anstalt -and Herr Hermann Hollweg. We ran him to -earth without much difficulty—a second polite and courteous -gentleman, but again full of regrets that he had no -fishing to let. Herr Hollweg produced a large map of -the countryside. At Nägelsbaum he had a friend, Herr -Holbach, who assuredly would be able to produce trout. -Would we kindly mention his name and Herr Holbach -would do his best for us? Before we left would we like -to see his Bade-anstalt? Certainly, we replied, and so -we were led through a scrupulously clean kitchen, to -emerge in an open-air swimming bath of extraordinary -size and appointments for a small village. A group of -boys and girls were swimming and splashing about in -the water. On a terrace above the bath was a café where -various people were having refreshments. Behind that -was a large concert hall where, according to Herr Hollweg, -the company danced on Sundays. Nothing has -struck me more in Germany than the excellent and wholesome -way in which popular amusements are arranged. -Probably the industrial workers from the surrounding -district pour out to Herr Hollweg’s bath and café and concert -hall on Sundays. But why, one asks, is it impossible -to secure similar amenities for an English town and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_98">[98]</span> -village, where loafing and drinking are often the dismal -alternative amusements of the Sabbath?</p> - -<p>We complimented Herr Hollweg on his establishment -and then set out in pursuit of Herr Holbach. Our road -lay through the characteristic scenery of the Bergische -Land: little villages set deep in their orchards; rich pastures, -wheat fields already turning golden under the summer -sun. Woods of beech and oak and lime covered the -low hills. In the early days of the Occupation, British -troops had been quartered in this part of the perimeter, -a point about which we were left in no doubt. The inhabitants -from whom we stopped to ask the way countered -my German by a fine flow of English. Small compliments -about their prowess in this respect causes the Boche -face to be wreathed in smiles. One young woman knew -all about Herr Holbach. Yes, he had a large pond with -“much fish”—a form of words of which I was growing -a trifle tired. Down the hill we went again till a large -dam came into view—that part of the story at least was -true. Also there must be some earnest expectation or -hope of fish, judging by the depressing number of rods -which were dangling over the bank. We walked on to -the damhead, and there encountered a hero in charge of -two rods. He had lived in America and spoke English -fluently. No, we had come to the wrong place for trout; -this was carp-fishing—witness the rods. Were there any -carp? Oh yes. Upon which he plunged down to the -water’s edge and produced a net with two large fish in it. -Herr Holbach, who lived in a house across the dam, might -have some trout-fishing, but he was doubtful about this.</p> - -<p>Our latest friend had served in the Navy, and we fell -into general conversation with him. As is usual when<span class="pagenum" id="Page_99">[99]</span> -talking to German working-men, I was struck by a sense -of weariness and horror in all he said about the war. -Their rulers had been mad, that was his view; the war -had brought nothing but utter misery, there ought never -to be another one; they were happy and prosperous before, -now they were ruined. Our talk on the damhead was -yet another proof that if the League of Nations ever -becomes a going concern, it will draw its strength, not -from the upper classes, many of whom are rooted in the -ways of the old diplomacy, but from the humble folk like -our fisherman whose souls have been branded in the -furnace of war.</p> - -<p>But the afternoon was going on, and though we had -had much pleasant conversation, the fishing still eluded -us. Herr Holbach’s house, or rather farm, stood on the -bank of another lake, and there, apparently, in addition -to agriculture he turned an honest penny by letting out -boats or arranging facilities for swimming.</p> - -<p>Herr Holbach proved as pleasant as his predecessors, -but equally elusive on the subject of trout. No, he dealt -solely in carp; then came the familiar leitmotiv for which -I was waiting—the English soldiers had taken all the -trout. But he had a friend, Herr Richard Klassen, at -Witzhelden, who had fishing to let and enormous trout. -It was very expensive, but the trout were of a size and -vigour under which any ordinary rod would bend to -breaking point. His advice to us was to go and interview -Herr Klassen, recommended to that end by Herr Holbach. -The sun was drawing to the west and long shadows were -beginning to fall over the hills and glades. If indeed it -was to be our fate perpetually to chase trout from one -valley to another in this smiling land, there might be a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_100">[100]</span> -worse lot. We turned our car, and once again, hope -triumphing over experience, we set out in search of Herr -Klassen.</p> - -<p>Herr Klassen, so our instructions ran, lived near the -church in Witzhelden. We found the house in possession -of a girl, who to our surprise showed signs of alarm at -the sight of a uniform. However, her face cleared up -when we explained we had come about fishing. Herr -Klassen was in the hayfield; she would fetch him. Meanwhile, -a neatly-dressed elderly man with a lump of putrid -meat in his hand came up the road and took off his hat -politely. This was Herr Klassen’s brother. The gentleman -was, like his niece, a trifle nervous at seeing us, but -became garrulous when our errand was revealed. We -came from Cologne did we—then of course we knew of -the most regrettable incident which had overtaken the -Klassen family last week. No? Was it possible we had -not heard—they had been fined five thousand marks for -having firearms in the house;—the whole family were -devoted to sport and they had various shooting guns they -had not given up.</p> - -<p>Hence these tears. We expressed sympathy with the -family troubles, but said it was foolish not to have mentioned -the various fowling-pieces of whose innocent intentions -Herr Klassen spoke with such conviction. However, -he showed no resentment that the long arm of -British law had touched him in his remote village, though, -as the hero of the hour, his feelings were clearly a little -hurt that we had no knowledge of his fame. At this -moment up came Herr Richard Klassen, hot and perspiring -from the hayfield.</p> - -<p>Yes, he had a pond, and he had a lot of trout. They<span class="pagenum" id="Page_101">[101]</span> -were not very big as yet, but they would soon grow; was -he not feeding them on lumps of the dead cow whose -remains had caused me to get to windward of his brother. -Would we like to see the pond? Nothing was easier. -Down another small valley, therefore, we plunged again -till the road came to an end, and a pretty path through -a wood brought us out on the shore of a secluded pond. -It was a peaceful scene, with the warm sunlight on the -wood and the water, and the sweet smell of new-cut hay -reaching us from a neighbouring meadow. As we walked -we admired the beauty of the country. This moved Herr -Klassen to a flow of words: the country was beautiful, -but men were bad; since the war there was no honour, no -goodness, no morality. It was all greed and grab, -“Wucher” and “Schieber.” And the end would be Bolshevism. -Herr Klassen’s lack of faith in human nature -was demonstrated practically by the barbed-wire entanglements -which surrounded his trout pond. Along the narrow -track by the water’s edge were various, almost invisible, -contrivances destined to show whether any trespasser -had come that way. Here at last were some trout, if only -little ones. But little trout grow, and Herr Klassen was -emphatic that if we would come back in a fortnight or -three weeks we should have good sport. As for payment, -it was to be strictly by results—no fish, no cash. All fish -caught were paid for at so much a pound—a very fair -arrangement.</p> - -<p>It was pleasant to linger by the water-side in the evening -sunshine, and, pipes and cigarettes being produced, -the talk slid east and west over matters of greater moment -than the trout. We had been joined by a friend of Herr -Klassen’s, a wag with red hair and freckled face who<span class="pagenum" id="Page_102">[102]</span> -poked fun at his neighbour with great vigour. Freckles -had been to the war, Herr Klassen had not—the women -and the Church would not let him go, declared the former; -at which Herr Klassen raised protesting hands to heaven. -Both men spoke with evident alarm of Bolshevism. Another -war was bound to come, only next time it would -be a Bolshevist war. It must be remembered this pleasant -Bergische Land is not so very far removed from the -Ruhr district, and that at Remscheid only a few miles -away there had been shootings and murders. The spectre -of anarchy and red revolution has come very near homes -such as Herr Klassen’s, and for revolution a small farmer -of his type has nothing but horror. We asked about the -new Republican Government. It moved neither man to -much enthusiasm. Weakness can never inspire enthusiasm, -and the policy pursued by the Allies towards Germany -has made it impossible for any government to be -strong. Herr Klassen said what they wanted was a constitutional -monarchy like England. They were doubtful -of Republics. France was a Republic and they did not -want to be like France.</p> - -<p>We talked of the war and the peace and the threatening -condition of affairs in Eastern Europe. Both men called -down fire from heaven on the Poles. No German can -speak of a Pole in measured language. Soon there would -be a Bolshevist army in Warsaw, and then what was going -to happen to Germany? Freckles, who had fought -on the Eastern Front, spoke well of the Russians. They -were brave men, so he said, and if properly armed and -properly led would fight as well as the Germans. They -had no chance in the war; men could not fight with spades -and hayforks. They were mown down like sheep because<span class="pagenum" id="Page_103">[103]</span> -they had often neither rifles nor guns. Klassen had had -a Russian prisoner working on his farm and had found -him a good fellow. Freckles, who was, I gathered, not -a man of property, was rather attracted by some of the -anti-capitalist ideas of the Bolsheviks. Klassen was talking -bitterly of the Schiebers and the terrific price of food -and goods in Germany—capitalism was a curse. “What -are you but a capitalist,” retorted Freckles with a grin; -“you have four cows and some land and a pond full of -trout”—before which sally Klassen, who was clearly at -the mercy of his more nimble-witted friend, collapsed -entirely. “What about the arms, too,” said Freckles with -another grin and a wink in our direction. Klassen turned -to us as eagerly as his brother. Of course we had heard -of the law proceedings in Cologne at which he had been -fined? No? His face fell on realising the limited span -of his fame; it was a terrible affair; he did not know how -he should get the money for the fine.</p> - -<p>We packed both men into the car and took them back -to the village, where we parted with mutual goodwill. -“In a fortnight, then,” said Klassen, “you will come -again when the fish are bigger. Yes, you can bring a -friend too if you wish.”</p> - -<p>So we said good evening and, consoled by the discovery -of a secret pond if we had failed to secure a length -of stream, travelled westwards towards the setting sun -and Cologne.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_104">[104]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER IX<br> - -<small>WHO PAYS?</small></h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">To</span> the traveller passing from the devastated regions of -France to the hills and valleys of the Rhineland, there is -something almost scandalous in the impression of wealth -and solidity conveyed by the latter country. “These people -have not suffered in the war at all,” said an English woman -in Cologne to me indignantly; “look at the worldwide -misery they have provoked; look at the state of -France, and then see how lightly the Germans themselves -have escaped: everything intact and their country untouched.”</p> - -<p>But has Germany really escaped so lightly? Untouched -her country may be; intact in one vital particular it certainly -is not. Bricks and mortar can in time be replaced, -shell holes can be filled in, and the plough pass again over -the devastated fields. But at a date when the material -destruction of France will be, let us hope, to a large -extent repaired, Germany will still be paying for the sins -of her rulers in the bodies of a generation a large proportion -of which will be enfeebled and diseased. It is an -insidious form of payment, lacking in obviousness or -dramatic quality. But its ultimate thoroughness ought -to satisfy even the moralists who demand that an entity -called Germany should be punished, quite irrespective of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_105">[105]</span> -the guilt or innocence of the actual person on whom the -punishment falls.</p> - -<hr class="tb"> - -<p>A mile or more below the Hohenzollern bridge, where -four kings of Prussia on their bronze horses survey a -world fashioned now on other lines than those contemplated -by Prussian arrogance, the Rhine flows along a -ribbon of green strand which serves as a recreation -ground for the children of the district. Here on a summer -evening we sometimes walk and watch young Germany -at play: children of all ages bathing, paddling, -shouting, laughing, amusing themselves in a hundred different -ways, while their parents sit in little groups, the -women sewing or knitting, the men with their pipes.</p> - -<p>Children abound in Germany. They swarm in droves -in every direction. Surely, you say, these hunger stories -must have been exaggerated! The rising generation does -not appear to be much affected, judging by its numbers. -To the casual observer there seems to be very little amiss -with these Rhineland children. My first impression was -that they compared favourably with many children in our -own industrial centres. The German working-classes are -self-respecting folk, and however slender their resources -in food and clothing during the war, they made the most -of them. Also it must be remembered the Rhineland is -one of the richest provinces, agriculturally no less than -commercially, in the Empire, and that the British Occupation -had resulted in nine months of adequate feeding -before I saw Cologne.</p> - -<p>Nevertheless, after a time I found myself modifying -my first favourable impression. The clothes of the poorest -children are neat and tidy. But large numbers of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_106">[106]</span> -children, trim though their appearance, are pinched and -pasty-faced. Under the short skirts bare legs are seen -often thin and rickety. Little by little my attention was -arrested by two facts: first, that these crowds of children -were all apparently very much of an age; secondly, that -the proportion of babies to children seemed extraordinarily -small. Below the age of two and a half to three -the juvenile population comes to an abrupt halt. After -a time, intrigued during my walks by the relative absence -of babies, I took to counting perambulators or babies in -arms. The numbers were strikingly small. Motoring -through Bonn one Sunday afternoon in 1919 when the -family life of the town had turned out into the streets -and gardens, I counted six babies in all. The explanation -is simple. Statistics show that there has been a rise in -the death rate of German children between two and six -of over 49 per cent. during the years 1913-1917. Among -school children from six to fifteen the death rate rose 55 -per cent. in 1918 as compared with 1913. As for the older -children, their apparent uniformity of age is largely due -to arrested development. Many of them are much older -than they seem. Of course there is no general rule. -Some children look astonishingly well and plump if -others are thin and pasty-faced.</p> - -<p>Coming home one evening along the banks of the river, -we passed two typical working-class families, each supplied -with a perambulator. One held the fattest and -rosiest baby imaginable. I admired Heinrich, and was -told he was nine months old—born at the time of the -Armistice. Whatever the prenatal conditions of the -mother, the baby had not suffered. But the other child—a -little girl of eighteen months—its memory haunts me<span class="pagenum" id="Page_107">[107]</span> -still. A tiny shrivelled face looked up at me under the -bravery of a blue-and-white bonnet; tragic haunting eyes -set in an emaciated body. My mind harked back, as I -looked, to the devastated areas and to the cruel sufferings -and losses of France. But here, on the frail body of this -unhappy German child, war had set its seal as unmistakably -as among the crater holes and shattered buildings -of the line. Conqueror and conquered we looked at each -other, till I the conqueror could look no more. Do any -robust spirits still survive, I wonder, who take the view -that an occasional war is a good thing—that it freshens -every one up and makes for briskness and efficiency? Is -it possible, after all we have endured and are still enduring, -that large numbers of people in a mood of helpless -fatalism are already talking about “the next war”; while -many of them are actively encouraging policies and popular -sentiments, the logical outcome of which is a future -conflict even more ghastly than the last one?</p> - -<p>Meanwhile, the martyred child life of Europe cries to -heaven against this theory. The sufferings of the Central -Empires in this respect have been heaviest. “Tu l’as -voulu, Georges Dandin.” Germany, in pulling down the -pillars of Europe, has involved all this for her own people. -But why, one asks, should the heaviest toll be paid -by those who have least measure of responsibility? Why -should the Junkers and horrid old gentlemen covered with -decorations, who made the war, be living comfortably on -their estates while the children of the working-classes -have perished? It is the natural instinct of every decent -person to shield a child from suffering, and as I watch -the boys and girls playing on the banks of the Rhine, the -whole question of the war takes on an aspect from which<span class="pagenum" id="Page_108">[108]</span> -every vestige of glamour and chivalry and romance has -vanished. These merry children at their games: it is on -them that the hand of Britain’s sea-power, however unwittingly, -has rested in its heaviest form. The British -people would repudiate with anger any idea of making -war on children. But war has a horrible vitality of its -own and goes its own way, moulding men more than it -is moulded by them. These things follow inexorably -from the very character of modern warfare, which is no -more a struggle between armies, but between nations. -Noncombatants have ceased to exist, and those who make -wars must reckon on babies as cannon fodder.</p> - -<p>So long as there are wars, the weapon of the blockade -is inevitable. We were fighting for our lives and had no -choice but to use it. The German submarine campaign -was directed to the starvation of England, and bitterly -though they complain of our blockade, their own minds -were set on identical ends so far as we were concerned. -But blockade means infant mortality on an appalling scale, -and if statesmen and militarists are indifferent to such -things, it is to be hoped the democracies of the world will -view matters differently. So far as Germany is concerned -it is through her children she is hit.</p> - -<p>The Occupied Areas have suffered the least of any in -Germany. Yet even in this relatively favoured land the -state of affairs is bad enough. In Bonn, for some reason, -things seem to have been worse than in Cologne. I shall -never forget the feeling of utter helplessness with which -I saw a group of rickety-looking Bonn children staring -hungrily into the windows of a chocolate shop. We took -them in and gave them sweets; there were no cakes or -buns to be had, and bread is rationed. Poor children,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_109">[109]</span> -they gathered round us in a state of frantic excitement -when we produced slabs of chocolate. The fatuity of our -own action was miserably apparent. For these children -were only typical of hundreds of thousands of cases all -over Europe, and even so their circumstances were far -better than what obtains in many other countries. Children, -of course, cannot grow up and be healthy without -milk, and milk is unobtainable in the towns. The municipality -doles out a limited supply to invalids, nursing -mothers, and babies, but children above a certain age never -see fresh milk, and tinned milk is too expensive a luxury -to figure in the daily dietary of the working-classes. Most -German children have nothing but “ersatz” coffee to drink -in its unqualified nastiness. The distribution of food on -fair lines has proved a great failure in Germany, and the -prolonged malnourishment of the children is likely to -have consequences of the gravest character.</p> - -<p>A shattered house, a ruined village tell their own very -obvious tale. Physical deterioration is a subtle thing far -less easy to recognize or to estimate. It is only little by -little that one realises the state of affairs produced by the -blockade and the degree to which the morale of the whole -nation has been undermined by starvation. It is true that -the Germans cling desperately to what sorry comfort they -can derive from the theory that their armies in the field -were never defeated—that they were brought down at -the last by hunger. They still assure you their armies were -magnificent—never were there such soldiers. But towards -the end rations failed, and morale broke through -stories of starvation at home. “We had not plenty of -bully beef like you,” said a German soldier to us; “you -did not get letters saying your wife and children had<span class="pagenum" id="Page_110">[110]</span> -nothing to eat. We could have gone on fighting if we -had had food.” He spoke with that curious lack of -resentment which is a constant puzzle among these people. -Consistent and growing hunger spread over a term of -years is not a pleasant experience. Germany, unlike -France, has been spared the horrors of the invader on her -soil. But no mistake could be greater than to imagine -that the war she provoked has proved a frolic for her, -while all the rest of the world suffered.</p> - -<p>A Report by Professor Starling and two British colleagues, -on “Food and Agricultural Conditions in Germany,” -gives the results of an official inquiry made by the -British Government as to food and health questions in the -spring of 1919. The Report shows an increased number -of deaths among the civilian population, from 1915 to -1918, of more than three-quarters of a million persons -as compared with normal pre-war estimates. In plain -language, three-quarters of a million people have died -from starvation or the consequences of underfeeding. In -the last year of the war the civilian death rate was up 37 -per cent. The infant and child mortality figures quoted -above are taken from this Report. To the number of -deaths must be added the very much larger proportion of -children and adults who survive with constitutions permanently -impaired. Discoursing learnedly of the number -of calories required to keep a normal man in normal -health, Professor Starling shows that the Germans were -living on just half the necessary amount. There were -great inequalities between town and country, owing to -the reluctance of the country districts to surrender the -food they produced. The urban populations, of course, -suffered most.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_111">[111]</span>The three British investigators give a sorry account of -the children they examined in the schools, hospitals, public -kitchens. Some people may say that the fewer German -babies in the world the better. I feel certain, however, -that no theoretical holder of that view would act upon it -when brought face to face with some of these hollow-eyed -children you see in the streets. Professor Starling -and his colleagues visited Berlin and Upper Silesia, as -well as the Occupied Territories. Everywhere they found -the same condition of mental and moral prostration, of -apathy, and lowered vitality. Disease has flourished, of -course, in the wake of starvation. The statistics of consumption -show an alarming increase in the percentage of -people attacked. Enfeebled bodies, young and old, cannot -resist the inroads of infectious complaints. Matters -grow steadily worse as the eastern frontiers are approached. -Beyond, in Poland and Russia, a state of -affairs exists about which most people, happily for themselves, -have not sufficient imagination to form a clear -picture.</p> - -<p>German conditions have not sunk to levels of misery -so profound as those which exist elsewhere, but they are -bad enough to afford a useful standard as to the situation -in Austria, Russia, and other countries. That luxury -and great extravagance exist side by side with dire want -and starvation is a feature of the fatal coil which is -throttling the economic life of Europe. Thoughtless -travellers are often misled by a superficial appearance of -prosperity in the main streets of big towns. Newspaper -correspondents seek from time to time to decry the existing -misery by giving accounts of the gay life in some -cities and the excellent food obtainable at a price in large<span class="pagenum" id="Page_112">[112]</span> -restaurants. The fact that food of such a kind can be -had does not prove the unreality of starvation. All that -it proves is a complete breakdown in rationing, and failures -in distribution operating most unfairly in favour of -the rich. The good dinner paid for at a fancy price is -only a link in the chain. At the other end are families -whose destitution is the greater because the inefficiency of -control has made the serving of such a dinner possible.</p> - -<p>When the history of the war comes to be written, the -question of food production and distribution in Germany -will prove a suggestive no less than a tragic page. The -German machine, admirable for carrying out a carefully -devised military policy, was useless for meeting unforeseen -contingencies which call for public spirit rather than -for regulation. The failure to grapple with the food question -was complete. German officialism seems to have -collapsed helplessly before the problem of distribution -and rationing. Though fresh milk is unobtainable in -Cologne to-day—except the special supplies rationed by -the municipality—it can be had in the country ten miles -out. Considerable efforts were made during the war to -provide a limited amount of milk for children and nursing -mothers. But with better distribution the supplies -available might have gone much further. The Government -of a country cannot have it both ways, as the Prussian -autocrats found to their cost. It cannot at one and -the same time exact and obtain docile obedience to a -machine and simultaneously develop that free spirit of -public co-operation which was the salvation of England -during the war. In our own country public opinion rose -to the occasion with a will. All classes worked together -to make rationing a success, and the brilliant improvisations<span class="pagenum" id="Page_113">[113]</span> -of the Ministry of Food carried the nation over a -crisis of unparalleled magnitude in a manner highly -creditable to every one concerned.</p> - -<p>Let us admit at once that our food problem did not -approach that of the Germans in difficulty. For one thing, -the problem of distribution was largely solved for us by -the fact that we relied mainly on imported supplies on -which the Food authorities could lay their hands at the -ports. In Germany, on the contrary, 85 per cent. of the -food was produced within her own borders. Self-producers -firmly determined to be self-consumers are not -easy to deal with. Then again, though there was shortage -and inconvenience, we were never really hungry. Greedy -and selfish people exist among all classes and nations, and -we had our share of both. But making the largest allowance -for the greater difficulties of the Germans, the -moral is, I think, striking as regards the spirit which a -free people can show in a time of stress as against the -dragooned temper of a military nation. Military rules -could not deal with the food question. In a matter which -necessarily was independent of sabre-rattling, no pressure -of an independent public opinion seems to have filled the -gap.</p> - -<p>The struggle between town and country to get possession -of the food supplies was severe. Every German is -full of complaints about the selfishness of the country -people. Not only did they keep enough food for themselves—which, -after all, was natural—but they lived in -plenty while the towns starved. It may be said broadly -that there was no hunger or any particular suffering -among the people on the land. Among the industrial -classes, estimated at from twenty-eight to thirty millions<span class="pagenum" id="Page_114">[114]</span> -of the population, the suffering on the other hand was -severe. But even to this rule there were many exceptions. -Wealth, always a weapon of dominant value, is of supreme -importance when hunger is abroad, and this weapon -was used mercilessly by the prosperous classes. The -working-classes who were earning large wages were in -many cases able to pay for additional food; the people -who bit the dust were primarily the minor professional -and official classes.</p> - -<p>Among the words added to the German vocabulary by -the war is that of Schleichhandel—illicit trading. -Schleichhandel permeated the whole national life. The -Schleichhändlers—the little brothers of the Schiebers or -profiteers—were rampant. The Schiebers and other -wealthy families had Schleichhändlers in their pay whose -business it was to find them food. From highest to lowest -the same spirit obtained. All accounts agree as to the -extraordinarily demoralising consequences of illicit trading -on the morale of the race. Professor Starling states -that, had the existing food supplies been distributed on a -fair and equitable basis, there would have been enough to -go round, and the effects of the blockade might to a large -extent have been countered. If the attempt was made, it -failed lamentably. The terrible winter of 1916-1917, -known as the “swede winter”—owing to the failure of -potatoes—will never be forgotten by the present generation -of Germans.</p> - -<p>Matters have improved somewhat during the year 1919-1920. -But the prices of food and necessaries of life are -still so high that, despite the considerable rise in wages, -many working-people cannot afford to pay for adequate -nourishment. The present food shortage is still great<span class="pagenum" id="Page_115">[115]</span> -and, owing to the absence of feeding stuffs and manures, -stock and land have both deteriorated. Supplies remain, -therefore, at a level far below that of pre-war production, -a circumstance aggravated by the world shortage and the -financial chaos of the country.</p> - -<p>Three special consequences have resulted from this state -of affairs. There has been, in the first place, an extraordinary -embitterment of feeling between town and country; -the urban classes bear the agriculturists a deep grudge -for the part they played in the war and the prosperity -they acquired by exploiting their neighbours.</p> - -<p>Secondly, there has been a great intensification of class -hatred as between rich and poor. The ordinary German -artisan or shopkeeper speaks with intense bitterness of the -upper classes. They were selfish, they were hard, they -were greedy, they did nothing for the poor, they lived in -comfort while others starved. The well-to-do classes -apparently were shameless at grabbing at all they could -get. The average German does not believe any rich person -could or would act otherwise. Talking to Germans -about our respective war shortages, I have mentioned -more than once that I had various friends in England -who, having farms and producing food, kept their own -households on the rationed allowance and sent the rest to -market. The look of absolute incredulity on their faces -made me realise they thought I was pitching a fine but -wholly preposterous tale to the credit of my own country. -It was obvious they did not believe a word I said. The -behaviour of the German upper classes in this time of -testing has had, and is likely to have, very considerable -reactions on the political situation. That the Junkers and -militarists have brought this particular form of discredit<span class="pagenum" id="Page_116">[116]</span> -on themselves is all to the good. It will tell heavily -against such doubtful chances as exist of their achieving -even a measure of political rehabilitation.</p> - -<p>An English person brought in contact with these melancholy -facts can only reflect with legitimate pride on the -different spirit shown in our own country. No aristocracy -in Europe has come through the war with credit so high -as that of the British upper classes. From the throne -downwards, men and women alike, they pulled their -weight in the boat as good citizens, bore their full share -of death and suffering, and contributed an adequate quota -to the united effort of the nation. I have found no evidence -in Germany of that mutual goodwill between classes -which was a hopeful and encouraging feature in our own -land. German life in this, as in many other respects, has -to be reconstituted from the foundations upwards.</p> - -<p>The third outstanding social reaction of the war is the -degree to which ordinary standards of honesty and fair -dealing have broken down between man and man. The -food shortage, and the cheating to which it led, appears -to have entered largely into the matter. Thoughtful Germans -deplore the moral debacle which has overtaken the -country. Profiteering has been quite shameless. The -“Schiebers” have exploited a disastrous economic situation, -and many large fortunes were made during the war. -The strange paradox of extremes of wealth and poverty -goes on side by side. Even the official classes have shown -themselves on occasions as selfish as the landowners and -the profiteers, and no less unscrupulous in exploiting the -advantages of their position. So late as August 1920 ugly -charges were brought by the Socialists against the Mayor -of Cologne and other City Fathers with reference to the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_117">[117]</span> -milk and butter supply of the town. The facts which -came to light proved that there had been, at the very -lowest, culpable slackness in administration and gross -favouritism in the distribution of available supplies. City -councillors had milk while sick children had none. The -anger created by these revelations is easily understood.</p> - -<p>While corruption permeates the upper and middle -levels, robbery and crime are widespread among the -working-classes. Thieving has become a normal quantity -in daily life; crimes of all kinds are common. Official -figures were published in Cologne during July 1920, -showing the large increase in criminality throughout the -district as compared with the previous year. Serious -crimes had increased by 45 per cent., housebreaking 44 -per cent., robberies in shops, warehouses, etc., 95 per -cent., minor robberies 85 per cent. Every man’s hand is -against his neighbour; suspicion and fear poison the -whole spirit of communal life. Hunger, and the general -sense of demoralisation born of defeat and downfall, -are responsible in the main for the increase in petty -thefts. Railway wagons and warehouses containing food -are robbed systematically. War is not a good school for -enforcing the catechismal injunction about keeping your -hands from picking and stealing. An invading army takes -what it wants where it can find it, and the habit once -acquired is not easily lost.</p> - -<p>Every class of society in Germany to-day feels that, -bad as things are, much worse probably has yet to come. -A sentiment akin to despair is widespread. The business -community, confronted with an economic situation quite -hopeless in its outlook, give way in many cases to helpless -fatalism about the future. Restraints are thrown off, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_118">[118]</span> -despair expresses itself frequently in wild extravagance. -With the sword of an indefinite indemnity hanging over -them, wealthy Germans feel that a spell of riotous living -in which their capital disappears is preferable to handing -over the latter to their enemies. The working-people, -confronted not only with food shortage, but with the abnormal -cost of clothing and other necessaries, grow more -and more restless. All this is a dangerous temper, not -only hostile to economic and social recovery, but a premium -on revolution. If Allied policy is directed to creating -this temper, then it must be congratulated on a success -not always conspicuous as regards its efforts in other -fields. The policy pursued, however, has its dangers. A -hungry country, balancing the possible advantages of revolution, -can pay no indemnity nor make reparation for -damage done. One or two axioms in this matter are self-evident. -If Germany is to pay her indemnity, she must -work; she cannot work unless food and raw materials are -forthcoming in adequate quantities; with her finances in -ruins she cannot begin to reorganise them unless told what -definite charges she has to meet; if she is to carry out -her obligations, she must have a stable government which -commands confidence at home and is treated with some -consideration abroad. It is quite easy to pursue a policy -which will make the fulfilment of all or any of these -conditions impossible. But how far a deepening of the -present confusion will serve the ends of the Allies, let -alone promote the cause of peace, is a mark of interrogation -hung in menacing fashion to-day over the welter of -Europe.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_119">[119]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER X<br> - -<small>CERTAIN CITIES AND THE SAAR BASIN</small></h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">A fine</span> spring morning, ten days’ leave, a motor car, the -open road calling us to new sights and fresh adventures—in -such good case we left Cologne one April forenoon for -Wiesbaden. The plum blossom was over, but the apple -blossom was in great beauty all the way. Why, one -asks, cannot English roads be planted with trees whose -shade is a blessing to the traveller in the summer months? -And again, what happens to the fruit on the myriad trees -which grow along the highways of Germany? Are German -little boys endowed with virtue of such abnormal -quality that they survive the chronic temptations to which -they must be subjected in the matter of pears, and apples, -and plums? Even the ingenious theory that the apples -are cooking ones, designed if stolen to inflict adequate -punishment on youthful stomachs, cannot explain away -these innumerable orchards and long avenues of fruit -trees. The Rhineland is a garden of enchantment when -the blossom is in flower. It is a hard saying that any -sight on earth can be more beautiful than an English -spring at its best. And yet, with memories of an April -in the Rhineland, I am bound at least to hesitate.</p> - -<p>Thanks to the absence of smoke, there is nothing to -sully the purity of the air. The vivid green of the fields, -the yellow splashes of mustard, the varied tints of tree, -and bush, and blossom—all this melts and glows together<span class="pagenum" id="Page_120">[120]</span> -in the clear sunlight. Wherever the road touches the -great river, the beauty of deep flowing waters is added to -the scene. The Rhine maidens themselves must surely -be at play in the sunshine as the Rhine sweeps by hill and -vineyard. Their laughter and joyous song can be heard -by fancy’s ear. Forget the presence of road, railway, and -villa, and on that piece of jutting rock Siegfried must -have talked with the three sisters and mocked their entreaties -about the ring. The great world of Wagner’s -music is connected in a special sense with the Rhine. -The elemental beings with whom he peopled its banks -and waters are more in the picture than prosaic tourists -of our own type. Withal, who are we to grumble at the -latter-day comforts of motor cars and broad highways -which bring these delights within our reach? So we -picnicked by the roadside in great contentment of spirits -while a lark sang overhead. Wisely was it once written, -“there will always be something to live for so long as -there are shimmery afternoons.”</p> - -<p>Coblenz, which we reached in due course, is a shabby -city magnificently situated at the junction of the Rhine -and the Mosel. No town in the Rhineland lies so nobly, -overlooked as it is by the great rock of Ehrenbreitstein. -The river front of Coblenz is second to none in the whole -course of the stream. Yet the town itself is cramped -and curiously dirty for a German city. It gives the impression -of a poor place which has dropped behindhand in -the race. Even the American occupation and the presence -of the Rhineland High Commission have not galvanised -it into life. Since the ratification of peace the -Rhineland High Commission, one of the costly bodies set -up by the Treaty, is technically the governing authority<span class="pagenum" id="Page_121">[121]</span> -in occupied Germany. England, France, and Belgium -are all represented on it, but by one of the ironies of the -situation, though the Commission has its headquarters -at Coblenz in the American area, America, being independent -of the Peace Treaty, holds aloof. The wish to -provide Germany with a civilian administration was no -doubt excellent in theory, but the Germans are somewhat -puzzled by the anomalous position of a body of this -character alongside armies of occupation, and still more -suspicious as to the flavour of permanence which civilian -administration suggests. The Commission produces large -numbers of ordinances, of which it is very proud, but it -is not paper regulations, however excellent, but the power -to enforce them which matters in a country under military -occupation. That power rests not with the Rhineland -High Commission, but with the armies. To the -armies the Commission must turn when it wants anything -done.</p> - -<p>Administration, to be satisfactory, must correspond -with the real facts of any given situation. The Allied -Armies are in Germany as conquerors, and by right of -conquest only. No civilian government set up under -such conditions can be in a sound position, for civilian -government is rooted in the consent of the governed—a -consent which is certainly not forthcoming in this case. -The long term of military occupation imposed by the -Peace Treaty is open to very grave objection. Five years -coupled with conditions under which Germany could have -made a real effort to pay her indemnity would have been -reasonable. Fifteen years, the period provided for in -the French area, is very like an attempt at annexation. -Security is never achieved through a régime of alien domination,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_122">[122]</span> -and the temper bred in turn by alien domination -destroys all hope of security. Occupation for a short -period was not only inevitable but desirable. Prolonged -for years, it is oppressive and mischievous. This being -the case, the presence of foreign gentlemen in frock coats -and top hats will not sweeten the unpalatable fact of occupation -to the Boche. The officials of the Rhineland -High Commission, many of whom are soldiers, appear -sometimes in uniform, sometimes in civilian clothes; a -blending of garments typical perhaps of the anomalies -which beset the Commission in doing its work.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile, Coblenz must benefit by the foreign influx -into the town. The Americans fly a colossal flag over the -famous fortress which crowns the summit of Ehrenbreitstein. -It is quite the largest flag in the Occupation. -The Stars and Stripes are no less conspicuous over every -public building in American occupation. If the technical -position of the United States in Europe is a little uncertain -at the moment, at least there is no doubt about her -flag. We English adopt a different policy, and are not -given to making our flag too cheap—a fact for which -some of us are grateful. There is a great deal to be said -for the Zulu custom of not allowing your most sacred -things to be spoken about.</p> - -<p>At Coblenz we left the river to attack the high land lying -between the Rhine and Wiesbaden. We first went up the -valley of the Lahn through Ems and Nassau. Both towns, -watering-places of a conventional and familiar type, were -at that season of the year deserted, but Ems, with its -memories of the Franco-Prussian War and the intrigues -of Bismarck, has a painful interest of its own. The Germans, -with their mania for monuments, had commemorated<span class="pagenum" id="Page_123">[123]</span> -the spot where the French Ambassador in 1870 -received an answer from the Emperor William which was -the prelude to hostilities. Is this slab one, I wonder, that -Republican Germany will care to preserve when ridding -itself of other souvenirs of the Hohenzollerns?</p> - -<p>Beyond Nassau we struck up a great plateau with wonderful -views, and so along what is known as the Bader -Strasse to Schwalbach and Wiesbaden. The high land -we crossed was a continuation of the Taunus mountains, -at the feet of which Wiesbaden lies. The colouring was -wonderful in the evening light as we motored along the -ridge of the hills. Field and forest were bathed in a bath -of blue; blue mist like some enchanter’s garment hung over -the far distance. The rolling country at our feet was -fertile and well cultivated, but the sense of space and distance -and of mountains beyond redeemed any sense of -sophistication which must result from a too obvious agriculture. -Beech woods abounded, woods just caught by -that moment of the spring when the delicate green buds -begin to open on the lower branches of the trees, while -all is brown above, and under foot lies the old gold carpet -of last year’s leaves. Spring that week was in the brief -but exquisite phase when she resembles a primitive Italian -picture; all the coming beauty foreshadowed but none of it -clearly expressed. Only here and there was the brown of -the buds touched by the green of the young leaves. The -call had, however, gone forth. Up every hillside, among -the russet company of the woods, April waved her white -ensign of cherry and blackthorn. I am glad to have -travelled along the Bader Strasse on such a day in the -fourth month of the year.</p> - -<p>From the beauties of nature to the elegances of man<span class="pagenum" id="Page_124">[124]</span> -was an inevitable step on dropping into Wiesbaden. -There seems something very suitable in the French occupation -of this attractive city. The French temperament, -the French genius, are more at home here than in -any other German town I know. Wiesbaden is less “echt -Deutsch,” more international in its atmosphere, than what -is usual in the Fatherland. It is a fine town with broad -boulevards and a good many shops. The large Kur -Haus is surrounded by beautiful gardens. German taste -frolics, after its usual fashion, within doors where gilt -and plush abound and everything is costly, vulgar, and -comfortable. But apart from this lapse it is a very attractive -town, and the French are fortunate to be housed -in it. The Occupation seems to work smoothly, and there -were no obvious signs of discontent among the German -population.</p> - -<p>Diplomatic relations were a trifle strained between the -Allies on the occasion of our visit, Frankfurt having been -occupied by the French the week before. Over this step -the English had shaken their heads. There had been a -collision between the French troops and the people in the -town; some shooting had taken place. We had neither -passes nor permits, but we bluffed our way into Frankfurt -on the Sunday afternoon by the simple expedient of -going there. It was no one’s business apparently to stop -a car in which British officers were driving. We passed -through the French sentries without being challenged, and -found ourselves in the town. Frankfurt is a large ugly -city with wide streets and solid-looking buildings. The -population was out promenading in its best Sunday -clothes. The streets were crowded, and everything appeared -quite normal. French soldiers of course abounded,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_125">[125]</span> -and here and there a stray Belgian was to be seen, Belgium -having sent up a few men as a sign of moral support -to France in her enterprise. We were clearly the -only English in the place. I wondered if these Frankfurters -would take the view that we were the advance guard -of an English detachment. However, the attitude of the -populace was quite polite. We went to tea at the Carlton -Hotel, which sounded homelike. The big hall was filled -with Germans who surveyed us with some curiosity. But -the waiters and the management tumbled over each other -in their anxiety to be civil. We drove round the town -before returning to Wiesbaden and paid a pilgrimage to -Goethe’s house, which unfortunately was closed. At the -Opera House we found a curious state of affairs: French -soldiers with machine guns crowding the steps of the -main entrance, while people were going into some performance -through a side-door.</p> - -<p>A feature of the afternoon’s run, and not a pleasant one, -was the presence of the French coloured troops in the -district. Technically the coloured troops had been withdrawn -from the town itself, but they were in force in the -suburbs. Frankfurt is a large city, and its outskirts -stretch for a long distance into a thickly populated industrial -area. A Moroccan battalion in brown jibbahs -with red trimming and yellow tarbouches were hardly -soldiers whose presence we should have welcomed in -Birmingham or Manchester had they been introduced by -an occupying enemy power. Large numbers of colonial -troops are used by France in her Army of Occupation. -That their presence causes great resentment among the -Germans is understandable. France’s case is that her -population has suffered heavily owing to a war forced<span class="pagenum" id="Page_126">[126]</span> -upon her by Germany, and that, with a French man-power -depleted and weary, a large colonial army is a necessity. -Whatever the necessity, it is very unfortunate that coloured -troops should be introduced into a country where -the complications of black and yellow races are unknown. -White men do not take kindly in European towns to being -policed by Africans or Asiatics. An occupying army -presents moral problems of sufficient difficulty without -any gratuitous additions caused by the introduction of -Senegalese and Moroccans.</p> - -<p>At the same time, so far as outrages are concerned, a -great deal of exaggeration has taken place about the -French employment of these troops. Undesirable though -the presence of black or coloured men in the cities of -Central Europe, I have no reason to think that they have -been conspicuous for bad or immoral behaviour. Germans -have admitted as much to me. They hate the use -of the black troops, but the objection is one based on -general principle, not on specific crimes. Naturally pressmen -and publicists work the black-troops question for all -it is worth, and feeling on the subject runs high. The -Germans lose no opportunity of exploiting any opening -presented by mistakes in Allied policy. But exaggeration -is always a boomerang and recoils on the head of -those who use it.</p> - -<p>The following day in dripping rain we motored through -Mainz to Bingen, and then across the slate mountains of -the Hunsrück and the Hochwald to Trier and the valley -of the Mosel. The fine Roman remains, especially the -Porta Nigra, lend great dignity and character to latter-day -Trier. The cathedral, one of the oldest churches in -Germany, has succumbed to the common disease, fatal to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_127">[127]</span> -its type, of “a thorough restoration.” Its interior presents -the ordinary bathroom appearance, with concrete walls -painted to represent stones, plus vile modern frescoes, -which is the hard latter-day lot of many fine old Romanesque -churches throughout the Rhineland. One could -weep over the destruction of these ancient monuments and -the clumsy unseeing hands which have been laid on them -at such obvious expenditure, not only of money, but of a -most misguided care.</p> - -<p>After Trier our troubles began. We were making -our way to Metz via Saarbrücken. Crossing the hills -into the Saar basin our car developed trouble with a -bearing, and at Mettlach, some miles from Saarbrücken, -it was clear our journey was temporarily at an end. Saarbrücken -is not an ideal spot in which to be marooned for -several days. But all situations have their compensations, -and to this accident, irritating as it was, I owe my acquaintance -with the Saar valley and the peculiar state of -affairs existing there.</p> - -<p>The situation in the Saar raises in concrete form certain -general criticisms of the Peace Treaty of which I -have spoken more in detail in a later chapter. The Saar -provisions of the Treaty<a id="FNanchor_1" href="#Footnote_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> gave rise to a good deal of -misgiving at the time among some of the most staunch -supporters of Allied policy. Such misgivings are not -likely to be dissipated by any visit to the area itself. The -wicked destruction of the French coal mines is regarded, -and regarded rightly, as a demonstration of Prussian militarism -at its worst. Particularly infamous were the efforts -of the German military authorities during the last weeks of -the war. Surface destruction of the mines was inevitable<span class="pagenum" id="Page_128">[128]</span> -owing to the colliery area lying across the line of battle. -But the worst damage was done in a spirit of pure wantonness -and without any military justification during the retreat -of the German Army in the autumn of 1918. It -was the last kick of the militarists, and they did their -work thoroughly.</p> - -<p>I am glad to think that I heard Herr Sollman, a Socialist -leader in Cologne, denounce this action in the -strongest possible terms amid the applause of a large -audience. But the havoc done cannot be made good by -words of regret, however genuine. That France has the -right to exact the very fullest material compensation -from Germany for damage done during the war, especially -in this matter of coal, is a proposition so self-evident -as hardly to require statement. Not only the mind -of the Allies but the moral opinion of the whole world -was ranged behind the claim. The German Social Democrats -are equally prepared to admit the claim. Herr Sollman, -in the speech delivered after the Spa Conference -to which I have referred above, stated that in view of the -wanton destruction of the French mines, Germany should -regard it as a debt of honour to deliver all the coal she -could spare to France.</p> - -<p>A Peace, however, which was aiming, not merely at -exacting punishment—punishment which must necessarily -fall on shoulders quite different from those responsible -for the original crime—but at the ultimate amelioration -of racial and national animosities, would have kept two -principles steadily in mind. First, that reparation though -adequate should be as prompt as circumstances allowed; -secondly, that reparation should have as few ragged and -irritating edges as possible—that it should be organised<span class="pagenum" id="Page_129">[129]</span> -strictly on business lines and not on lines calculated to -exasperate and inflame national feeling. The end in view -should be adequate material payments. If, however, reparation -is to be used as an instrument of punishment and -diverted from economic to political ends, general confusion -is bound to result. What punishes does not pay; -payment means to a large extent the waiving of punishment. -It is impossible to have it both ways.</p> - -<p>The Saar situation throws both of these principles in -relief. In order to meet the just claims of France, was -it necessary to annex a purely German district for fifteen -years, to set up a separate government wholly alien to the -wishes and spirit of the people, and then to call in the -League of Nations to bless the sorry business? Are -these provisions of the Peace Treaty likely to further the -ostensible end in view, namely, the delivery of so many -tons of coal annually from the Saar to France? On the -other hand, if the occupation of the Saar is intended to -punish Germany for her sins, has France any reason to -think, after her own experience in Alsace-Lorraine, that -provinces governed against their will are likely to be a -source of comfort and pleasure to the power in possession? -The Saar has been a solid German block for centuries. -The district is strongly German in feeling and -sentiment. A less encouraging centre for an experiment -in alien government could not well have been found. -With a mixed population the dubious game of playing off -one element against another can at least be attempted. -Even that consolation is lacking in the Saar. Out of -a population of over 600,000, the French element is practically -nil. Further, as a method of popularising the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_130">[130]</span> -League of Nations with the Germans, the mutual introduction -via the Saar hardly seems a happy one.</p> - -<p>I have been in every portion of the Occupied Area and -have had various opportunities of studying the temper of -the people. Generally speaking, that temper is good in the -Rhineland proper, and a visitor is not conscious of any -obvious friction. A straightforward military occupation, -disagreeable though it may be for the conquered race, -is laid down in precise terms. Every one knows what to -expect, and the situation is for the most part accepted -with philosophy. Very different were matters in the -Saar. You could not walk down the main street of Saarbrücken -without feeling the atmosphere charged with -hostility. The spirit of the town was angry and disgruntled. -Every German to whom we spoke seemed on -the verge of an outburst. We found ourselves not a little -embarrassed by the obvious desire to confide grievances -to us about the French—grievances naturally which we -had no desire to hear. Hotel waiters are beings who -usually float with the times and are not concerned to -challenge authority. But without one word of warning -a Saarbrücken waiter, who knew England well, broke -into words of angry declamation. How should we English -like a foreign commission to come and take a piece -out of Yorkshire and hand it over to an alien government? -Should we accept such a state of affairs without protest: -should we be worth anything if we did? I -retorted sharply with some remark about Alsace-Lorraine, -but I knew the ground was unsound. Until two wrongs -make a right, the Saar occupation must lead to many -searchings of heart among Allied nations who have any -regard for consistency in political professions of faith.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_131">[131]</span>Why has the League of Nations undertaken this task? -Thankless tasks the League has no right to shirk; a false -position such as this is another matter. The Treaty provides -for two Commissions under the League: one a -Boundary Commission of which a British officer is Chairman; -the other a Governing Commission over which -a Frenchman presides. The Boundary Commission has -to delimitate the frontiers of the temporary state, and in -separating towns and villages, all purely German, one -from another to make the economic division between -friends and relations as little harsh as possible. It is not -desired, for example, that a village should be cut off from -its water supply, or that workmen should be forced to -cross a frontier in the course of their daily toil. The -Commission hears the views of the inhabitants, and has -shown them every consideration in its power. Even so, -very hard cases are bound to arise owing to the homogeneous -character of the country. The frontier line is -necessarily arbitrary and artificial. Friends and kinsmen -find themselves separated one from another; villages divided -from their natural markets by the barrier of a -French customs system.</p> - -<p>For the whole directing power in the area is France; -everything else is camouflage. France supplies the occupying -troops, France controls the customs and the railways; a -Frenchman is head of the Governing Commission. -Though there are practically no Frenchmen in the Saar, -French names are being given in some cases to the towns -and villages. The mines have been handed over absolutely -to France for fifteen years. At the end of fifteen years -the Saar inhabitants may decide by plebiscite whether they -desire to be French, to be German, or to remain under<span class="pagenum" id="Page_132">[132]</span> -the League of Nations. If they elect to be German, Germany -must repurchase the mines on a gold basis. The -whole arrangement is an admirable illustration of the -“heads I win, tails you lose” principle. But a few brief -years ago we were very insistent that we were fighting for -justice and right, and again I ask what is the League of -Nations doing in this galley?</p> - -<p>The various members of the two Commissions are -clearly desirous of dealing justly with the inhabitants, but -it hardly seems possible for a body of men, however -honourable and well intentioned, to overtake a position so -radically unsound in itself. The lines of government for -the Saar, laid down by the Peace Treaty, are a premium -on friction and intrigue. Also it is very unlikely that this -fancy occupation is going to result in a large output of -coal. Colliers are kittle cattle, as we all know, and they -do not like being irritated. Nothing and no one can -make them work unless they choose. The occupation of -an enemy country is a military act which a war may render -inevitable. But military occupation as a means to economic -ends is a clumsy weapon. Effective as a threat in -the event of non-fulfilment of contract, as an agent of -production it is the worst of instruments. The cussedness -of human nature comes into full play, and people who -will work hard to avoid an occupation become sulky and -inactive when handed over to a conqueror.</p> - -<p>The effort to create a Saar state, definitely separated -from Germany for a term of years, cannot be justified by -any of our own professions during the war. We have yet -to reap the full fruits of the mistake. The new conditions -have mobilised, of course, the passionate resentment of -the inhabitants, and friction exists at every turn. The<span class="pagenum" id="Page_133">[133]</span> -Germans lose no opportunity of giving all the trouble -they can. Whatever grit they can throw into the machine -they throw with a will. His words frequently pass between -the Governing Commission and the German Government -in Berlin. The whole atmosphere is one of moral -ca’ canny and obstruction. It is idle to blame the Germans -for making the most of the ready-made grievances with -which they have been presented. Those to blame are -the short-sighted politicians of Versailles who could -imagine that such an apple of discord as the Saar could -be flung down in Europe without the further embitterment -of every passion which it was the first duty of statesmanship -to allay.</p> - -<p>Could not the coal to which France has a clear right be -obtained under simpler and better conditions than those -of temporary annexation, however much disguised? -Would France herself not have benefited by more coal and -less friction? When the Boundary Commission has done -its work there will be only one British representative left -in the Saar, and there are no British permanent officials. -The country is penned in between Lorraine and French -occupied territory. Censorship of news is strict, and the -inhabitants are wholly in the hands of the Governing -Commission. Unless members of the League of Nations -bestir themselves so that the control of the League shall -not be an empty phrase, a great deal may go on in this -remote district which if realized would be highly distasteful -to the best mind of the Allies themselves.</p> - -<p>Our personal experiences in Saarbrücken were quite -pleasant. During our troubles with the car we received a -good deal of helpfulness from a variety of stray people. -The erring machine had been put on a truck at Mettlach<span class="pagenum" id="Page_134">[134]</span> -and was to come by train to Saarbrücken. We met the -train in due course, but there was no car. We met other -trains, but nothing happened. At 10 <span class="allsmcap">P.M.</span> we invaded the -signalman’s box and unfolded our tale of woe. I can -never say enough for the real courtesy and kindness shown -us by the operator in charge. For two solid hours till -midnight he telephoned up and down the line trying to -discover the whereabouts of the truck. One station after -another was rung up. “I have here an English colonel -whose motor car broke down at Mettlach and who arranged -for it to come on by the evening train.” Over -and over again the opening phrase was repeated till I -knew it by heart. In intervals of ringing up the various -stations our new friend conversed with us amiably. He -was a demobilized sailor, had been in the Scarborough -and Hartlepool raids and had fought at Jutland. He -spoke regretfully of the pleasant times in old days spent -with the British Navy, especially at Kiel, just before the -outbreak of war. “You met them in different fashion at -Jutland, did you not?” I suggested. He raised his shoulders -deprecatingly. He told us that during the Scarborough -raid the attacking ships had been saved by the fog. He -had also fought in a U-boat, but was not to be drawn on -that subject, of which he was clearly shy. “We had to -do our duty,” he said briefly. In between our conversations -the telephone bell tinkled gaily, but the night was -going on and there was still no trace of the missing truck. -Then at last a satisfied “So” from the telephone raised -our spirits. A train had just come in. The car was in -the goods yard; we could get it in the morning. We -parted from our good Samaritan with real gratitude. -Railway servants are not an overpaid class in Germany,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_135">[135]</span> -but not one penny would he accept for the pains and -trouble taken on our account. He was a true gentleman, -our Saarbrücken signalman, and when Germany rears a -few more of his type and kind she will have less trouble -with her neighbors and find life more pleasant for herself. -At the motor repair shop the men worked with a -will and repaired the car in what seemed a surprisingly -short time. Whatever the German upper classes may be, -the German working-man is a very decent fellow, civil, -well educated, hard working. Over and over again the -same moral is driven home. There are good and bad elements -in Germany. What has the Peace Treaty done to -reinforce the better elements?</p> - -<p>The Saar basin in the upper waters is highly industrialized. -The manufacturing areas lie near the source, a fact -which is uncommon in the case of most rivers. The lower -waters, as they approach their junction with the Mosel -near Trier, flow through a hilly and beautiful country -purely agricultural in character. Saargemünd, Saarbrücken, -Saarlouis are all manufacturing and colliery centers. -Saarbrücken itself, a dirty, unattractive town of one hundred -thousand inhabitants, is the centre of the coal area, -which before the war had an annual output of eleven -million tons. Crossing the hills from Trier and journeying -up stream to Saarbrücken, all the grimy apparatus -of mines, furnaces, slag heaps, etc., make their appearance -from Saarlouis onwards. Even so, the small collieries, -towns, and villages compared favorably with our own. -They are not overcrowded, and open spaces, fields, and -even orchards are to be found breaking up the sordid -paraphernalia of dumps and pitheads. The natural features -of the river valley are beautiful, and even on the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_136">[136]</span> -upper waters have not been wholly destroyed. Woods -are preserved at many points. Here, as elsewhere in Germany, -industrial life has not been allowed to get thoroughly -out of hand.</p> - -<p>One feature at least of the Saar valley impressed us -painfully as we motored back to Trier—the miserable condition -of the children and the appalling proportion of -bandy legs. As I have said elsewhere, the effects of underfeeding -during the war are distributed very unevenly -throughout Germany. Some districts seem to have suffered -little or none at all. Not so the Saar, where, judging -by that unfailing test, the children, the population must -have gone through very hard times. I heard of an innocent -inquiry of an English child made in the Saar area: -“Mother, why do the children’s feet here turn in the -wrong way?” In the answer to that question lies the -tragedy which has overtaken the child life of our enemies.</p> - -<h3>NOTE</h3> - -<p>Since writing the above impressions of the Saar in -April 1920, there has been serious trouble in that area. -A dispute arose at the end of July between the Governing -Commission and the German permanent officials, as to the -conditions of service under which these officials should be -taken over. Security of tenure is a matter of jealous -concern to the Germans, for it is no secret that France -is very anxious to see the last of some of the existing -Prussian officials. The latter are no less determined to -resist any doors being opened through which foreigners -might enter. In the opinion of the officials, the new regulations -rendered their position much less secure than formerly -and offered wider scope for dismissal on other<span class="pagenum" id="Page_137">[137]</span> -grounds than those of efficiency. The right of combination -was also restricted. Further, they were required to -take an oath of fidelity.</p> - -<p>The officials objected to these provisions, and demanded -that they should be confirmed in all rights and privileges -in which they were possessed on November 11, 1918. No -satisfactory settlement of the dispute was forthcoming, -and the officials went on strike. Railways, posts, telegraphs -were paralysed throughout the area. This action -was followed by a general strike of the whole community. -The French hurried up troops. Saarbrücken was patrolled -by cavalry, infantry, machine guns, and tanks. -House-to-house searchings took place. Many people were -arrested, others left the district. The Governing Commission -in a proclamation openly accused the Berlin Government -of inciting the whole trouble, and of spending -large sums of money for purposes of disloyal agitation. -The Berlin Government retorted by a Note no less acrimonious. -Each side charged the other with intrigue and -breaches of the Peace Treaty. It must always be remembered -the Governing Commission represents the League -of Nations and that the League is involved in these proceedings. -The strike dragged on for a time and then came -to an end.</p> - -<p>The position as I write is obscure. The censorship in -the Saar is very severe. English papers publish little or -no news from the area. A silence on the subject no less -profound envelops periodically the German Press. It is -difficult, therefore, to form any judgment as to the rights -and wrongs of the dispute in view of the limited material -available. But the strike itself is a symptom of the ugly -spirit ruling in the Saar district, the dangers of which<span class="pagenum" id="Page_138">[138]</span> -were obvious when we were in Saarbrücken. Probably -both sides are right in their charges of mutual intrigue. -It is clear that each Government has only one desire, -namely, to exasperate and hinder the other. Germany -protests loudly against the French attempt to change the -German character of the district. France retorts that -perfidy and bad faith are the true hall-marks of the Prussian. -All this is inherent in the situation actually created, -and if it causes surprise to the creators of that situation -they must be simple-minded folk. The plan evolved -is one that not only asks for but demands trouble, and the -trouble is there.</p> - -<p>Practical administration becomes a nightmare under -such conditions, and that this particular nightmare should -persist for the fifteen years contemplated by the Peace -Treaty is a prospect sufficiently dismal for all who have -to face the waking realities.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_139">[139]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER XI<br> - -<small>FROM METZ TO VERDUN</small></h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">There</span> is something grim and forbidding about the name -of Metz. The tragedy of shame and defeat with which it -was connected during the Franco-Prussian War hangs -round it like a sombre garment. I for one associated it -always in my thoughts with a dark menacing fortress, -the very stones of which cried aloud the tale of France’s -humiliation and the ruthless might of her conquering foe. -Historical events have the power of lending their own -colour to the names of localities where great dramas -have played themselves out. Sometimes the very nature -of a place—I take three at random, Mycenae, Blois, Glencoe—harmonises -completely with the sense of tragedy. -No one could associate the shores of Lake Trasimene -with the idea of trippers on the beach, or the plains of -Borodino with swings and roundabouts. Yet to this rule, -if it be a rule, Metz is a complete exception. Instead of a -gloomy fortress it is a delightful French town, ideally -situated in the basin of the Mosel. The Mosel breaks -up at this point into several channels, and Metz disposes -of itself in somewhat Venetian fashion among the various -branches. The main portion of the town is situated on a -low crest overlooking the stream. The crest falls away -to the river below, gardens, houses, and terraces clinging -to the slopes. To the west across the plain rises a range -of hills. From the vantage point of the Esplanade—the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_140">[140]</span> -beautiful public gardens on the terraces above the Mosel—the -view of the surrounding country is very fine. The -fortifications of Metz, being of the latest type, are naturally -not in evidence. But the distant hills which rise in -such calm beauty from the plain are honeycombed with -everything that is deadly in modern military equipment. -Villages and vineyards may be on their surface, but the -hand of man has been concerned there with other matters -than those of the plough or winepress. No traveller -surely can look at the hills beyond Metz without a catch -in the throat? For through them runs the road to -Gravelotte and Mars-la-Tour, and so beyond to a place -of glory and endurance greater than theirs—Verdun, shattered -and destroyed, but inviolate and unconquered in -the midst of her ruins.</p> - -<p>Few districts in Europe are so important in military -history as the country which lies in the neighbourhood -of Metz. We came by train from Saarbrücken, our car -being under repair, and nearly every mile of the way had -been a path of destiny for France in 1870. A French -customs official, not a genial specimen of his kind, charged -us roundly with having contraband concealed under the -maps spread about the carriage. We assured him our -business at the moment was concerned with history and -geography and not illicit trading, and after shaking the -offending sheets he disappeared with an unfriendly grunt.</p> - -<p>The heights of Spicheren are within sight of Saarbrücken. -Here on August 6, 1870, was fought one of the -early battles in the Franco-Prussian War—an indecisive -action which was to prove, however, a strand in the great -coil spread round the French armies. To the east of -Metz lies the fateful battlefield of August 14, when after<span class="pagenum" id="Page_141">[141]</span> -a desperate struggle centring in particular round Colombey -and Nouilly, the French were forced to give way and -the German pincers began to close in on the doomed city. -The history of the 1870 war, that tale of heroism and mismanagement, -is painful beyond bearing to read. It moves -with the precision and inevitableness of a Greek tragedy—France, -so sound at heart, yet superficially so rotten, -matched against the supreme technical skill of a painstaking -people guided by the wholly non-moral purpose -of a Bismarck. From the conflict, as it was then, of the -iron with the earthenware pot, only one end could result. -Yet</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="first">“Nor kind nor coinage buys</div> -<div class="verse">Aught above its rate.”</div> -</div></div> - -<p>Germany in the person of her rulers bartered in 1870 the -first principles of justice and morality between states. -To-day she is paying the price of that moral treachery on -a level of humiliation to which 1870 held no parallel, -while a ruined world also bears its testimony to the eternal -truth that, as members one of another, the sin and failure -of the one involves confusion and disaster for all.</p> - -<p>Lorraine is a smiling land with rolling plains and hills. -Villages, solid and well-built, lie among their orchards in -the folds of the undulating fields. Important though the -mineral wealth of the province, agriculture plays a part -hardly second in value as regards its resources. The rich -red soil is highly cultivated, and farming is carried on -with the thoroughness one associates, alas, with continental -methods alone. The red-tiled roofs of the farmhouses -lend a sense of warmth and colour to the landscape. -Especially beautiful is the contrast when the warm -madder-coloured gables rise out of a foam of fruit blossom.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_142">[142]</span> -Truly a land to win and to hold the affections of -its children. To see it for the first time, no longer under -alien rule but liberated and restored to the Motherland, -was a glad experience of travel. Indefensible though the -German rape of the protesting provinces in 1870, the case -of Lorraine, predominantly and overwhelmingly French -in population and sentiment, was perhaps the greater outrage. -A people annexed against their will are not easy -citizens to handle, as for over forty years French resistance -passive and active taught Prussian officialism.</p> - -<p>Thiers fought desperately for the retention of Metz in -the peace negotiations following on the 1870 war. Bismarck, -whose ends were attained by the war itself, was -not implacable on the subject. Personally he favoured -the payment of a larger indemnity in lieu of the city. -Military opinion was violently hostile to this proposal, -and with cynical indifference the Chancellor let the soldiers -have their way. To visit Metz in 1920 is to realise -how the soul of the city kept itself free and aloof, heavy -though the material yoke imposed on it. The town is -French in every respect. The Germans have added solid -public buildings of practical value in the shape of an excellent -railway station, post office, banks, etc. As a material -proposition, Metz returns to France much richer -than when torn away. But the purely French character -of the streets and houses defied all efforts of the conqueror -at any true absorption within the German Reich. -The new buildings lie, like scorned and wealthy parvenus, -on the outskirts. Within are narrow streets, tall houses -and shuttered windows—all the indefinable genre and elegance -which French taste and French architecture bring -with them. When the hour of liberation came, Metz<span class="pagenum" id="Page_143">[143]</span> -reverted to her natural allegiance with as little difficulty -as a prisoner casts off some hated garment of servitude.</p> - -<p>Sign painters must have driven a brisk trade after the -Armistice. Not only have all the names of the streets become -French again, but the names of shops have undergone -a similar transformation. So hastily has the work -been done in many cases that the half-obliterated German -letters may be seen under the new paint. Business -was clearly urgent in those early days and the transfer of -names to the winning side permitted of no delay.</p> - -<p>The fine fourteenth-century Gothic cathedral is a great -adornment to Metz. The lofty windows, slender and -austere, and the splendid glass still speak of the soul of -the Middle Ages no less than of the skill and cunning -hand of the mediaeval builder and craftsman. Yet not -these abiding beauties but a freak decoration of the exterior -is what attracts the average traveller to Metz -Cathedral to-day. Under German rule the church had -undergone a “thorough restoration,” ominous words -which, as I have said elsewhere, are the knell of doom to -many a fine building in Germany. French skill was apparently -successful in staving off the barbarisms common -in the Rhineland, and the interior has not suffered. -But the addition of a Gothic west portal in 1903 gave -William II. a priceless opportunity of masquerading -among saints and holy men on the new façade. Such a -chance possibly did not often come his way. Certainly he -availed himself of it eagerly. He appears, therefore, on -the façade in the guise of the prophet Daniel. The statue -is well executed, though the sculptor, whether or not intentionally, -has endowed the prophet with a sinister expression, -especially when viewed from certain angles.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_144">[144]</span> -The statue has been allowed to remain, but after the -Armistice the hands were fettered with chains, and in -that felon’s guise William II. still surveys the cathedral -square from under the cowl of his prophet’s cloak.</p> - -<p>I have referred in another chapter to the problem presented -to Republican Germany by the redundance of -Hohenzollern statues. Metz had been endowed with more -than its fair share of Prussian effigies. “If you do not -like your conquerors, you shall at least have plenty of -them too look at” seems to have been the principle adopted. -Hohenzollerns major and minor abounded therefore in -every public place. A huge equestrian statue of William I. -had been erected in the centre of the Esplanade. The -Emperor, with whiskers of a particularly bristling and aggressive -order, flourished a baton in the direction of the -French border. It was certainly not by accident that the -statue was designed to look across the hills to the west, -and to convey a challenge to which France on her side -was not slow to reply.</p> - -<p>Whatever the embarrassments of a reformed Germany -as regards its former reigning house, naturally they did -not weigh with the people of Metz. The inhabitants after -the Armistice rose <i>en masse</i>, tore down the statues of the -Hohenzollerns, and generally destroyed every outer symbol -of Prussian domination. The effigy of William I. was -overthrown by an excited crowd, and pictures of the -event show the monarch on the ground while men, women, -and children shake their fists at the prostrate form. The -plinth, stripped of its ornaments and inscriptions, was -allowed to remain, and with every possible haste the temporary -figure of a victorious poilu was erected in order -to replace that of the Kaiser. This figure was no longer<span class="pagenum" id="Page_145">[145]</span> -<i>in situ</i> at the time of our visit, and the plinth awaits its -permanent memorial. The hard-worked German phrase, -“Von seinem dankbaren Volk,” is still visible though half -effaced on the plinth, but on the west side looking towards -Verdun the Hohenzollern devices have been replaced by -the three electric words crisp with victory, “On les a.”</p> - -<p>We English, who for centuries have never known the -bitterness of alien conquest—among whom no tradition -even survives of its sting and misery—can enter very -faintly either into the anguish or the joy of countries conquered -and then subsequently redeemed. Few stories of -the war are more moving than the tales told of the entry -of the French troops into Metz and Strasbourg. Indescribable -enthusiasm prevailed among the French population. -Not only were the liberating legions greeted with -garlands and banners, but weeping men and women followed -the French generals and prayed to be allowed to -kiss their hands or touch the hem of their garments. -On the Porte Serpinoise, the ancient gateway of the city, -a long inscription has recently been erected which tells -the tale of Metz in recent times from the treachery of -Bazaine to the reunion with France in 1918. About this inscription -there is little of the calm and measured language -of the message usually carved in stone. The words are -burning and passionate, torn from the heart of suffering, -turned though it be at the last to joy. That the years of -“separation cruelle” to which the gateway bears testimony -were bitter indeed no one could doubt who has -stood by the Porte Serpinoise and read its record of both -defeat and victory. But has the world even yet laid to -heart the moral of the German seizure of these provinces? -Has France herself, greatest of all sufferers, applied<span class="pagenum" id="Page_146">[146]</span> -the lesson to her own circumstances? Coming to -Metz from Saarbrücken with a vivid recollection of all -we had seen and heard there, I turned from the Porte -Serpinoise with an uneasy question in my mind. When -the first enthusiasms subside and the flowers and the -garlands have faded, the practical business of life remains. -The government of a mixed population is never -an easy task, and the redeemed provinces will make heavy -demands on the wisdom and generosity of France.</p> - -<p>Alsace-Lorraine was in fact indulging in all the joys -of a general strike at the time of our visit. Post, telegraph, -railway service, everything was at a standstill the -day after our arrival. The trouble had arisen apparently -over the replacement of German employés, now French -subjects, by other French workmen. The long and stubborn -resistance offered by the provinces to German rule -is sufficient proof of the healthy spirit of independence -which inspires the population. But even under the new -order, the people of Alsace-Lorraine are likely to show a -spirit no less vigorous in all that concerns their local affairs. -Bureaucratic interference even with the German -side of the population may easily give rise to resentment -throughout the whole community. German bureaucracy, -heavy handed though it was, had the merit of being efficient. -French administration would do well to avoid situations -in which irritated citizens begin to make comparisons -not always favourable to those at present in authority.</p> - -<p>We hired a car which took us, or rather shook us, to -Verdun. The road crosses some of the most famous of -the 1870 battlefields, especially Gravelotte and Mars-la-Tour. -The road first climbs the lofty ridge of hills lying<span class="pagenum" id="Page_147">[147]</span> -to the west of Metz, on the top of which lies an open -plateau. Fortifications and defences were obvious everywhere. -It was clear, from the masses of barbed-wire -entanglements which we passed at various points, that the -Germans had intended to defend Metz if necessary in the -last war. Further, the road along which we travelled -must have been their main artery of supply to Verdun. -We saw the remains of their light railways running in -various directions. Dumps of wire still remained and -traces of dumps of ammunition. The light railways had -been ploughed up by the returning peasantry. Yet as we -approached the area of devastation an obvious question -arose—why were these railways not preserved for the task -of reconstruction and the demands on transport reconstruction -involves?</p> - -<p>We halted at the famous ravine of Gravelotte, where -on August 18, 1870, the terrible struggle took place which -decided the fate of Metz. Here, as everywhere else on -the 1870 battlefields, all traces of the German monuments -to the dead have disappeared. The graves in the -cemeteries were untouched, but the eagles had been -knocked off the monuments. Unquestionably the presence -of these German memorials on land robbed from France -presented the French Government with a difficult problem. -No doubt many of the “Denkmals” were boastful and -vainglorious, after the usual German fashion in these matters. -Clearly they had no place on redeemed French -soil. I could not feel, however, the situation had been -handled very wisely as regards the memorials to the fallen -soldiers. Nothing would have given me greater pleasure -than to have pulled at the rope which dragged William I. -from his plinth. The ignominious overthrow of statues<span class="pagenum" id="Page_148">[148]</span> -of kings and princes of a ruling house so directly responsible -for the miseries of Europe is a symbol of victory -over the evil principles for which they stood.</p> - -<p>But the soldiers who died doing their duty do not -belong to the same category as the men who plotted the -war. Many of the monuments blown up were merely -records of regiments who fought and fell, and had their -historical value. Their destruction has caused great bitterness -among the German section in the province, and -no end is served by the further creation of bad blood between -people who are forced to live together. The 1870 -war and its terrible consequences are not to be wiped out -by blowing up a few obelisks. The man who dies fighting -bravely for his country, however much duped as to the -righteousness of the cause for which he gives his life, has -a claim to consideration at the hands of a generous foe. -The dignified way out of the difficulty would have been -for the French to call upon the Germans to remove their -monuments. We felt this the more on reaching Mars-la-Tour, -the scene of another fierce battle. The frontier -fixed after 1870 ran between Gravelotte and Mars-la-Tour. -On the Mars-la-Tour side of the frontier stands -a wonderful French monument which commemorates the -heroism and tragedy of 1870. A woman symbolising -France holds in her arms a dying soldier, whose head she -crowns with laurel. But she is in no way concerned with -the agony gathered next her heart. Her eyes are fixed, -not on the dying man, but grimly, steadily across the -frontier. She looks across the hills of her own lost province, -and the fixity of her gaze conveys a spiritual challenge -to that other statue on the crest above the Mosel—the -statue of William I. conquering and insolent. Further,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_149">[149]</span> -from the hand of the dying man falls a musket. -But two babes playing at the woman’s feet catch the -musket before it lies in the dust and raise it once more in -the air.</p> - -<p>This monument, a striking example of its class, is executed -with a full measure of French skill and artistic -power. But there cannot be the least misunderstanding -as to its meaning. Every line breathes revenge and a -day of reckoning to come. Mars-la-Tour was occupied -by the Germans in the first days of the recent war. It -must, I think, be put to the credit of the military authorities -that, during the four and a half years that this -memorial was in their power, no damage of any kind was -done to it.</p> - -<p>Gravelotte and Mars-la-Tour are both dirty ramshackle -villages, with middens out in the street blocking the entrance -to the houses. Perhaps the inhabitants of frontier -villages are inspired by a justifiable pessimism as to the -futility of building decent dwelling-houses. Certainly -the standard of life seems unusually low. Shortly after -leaving Mars-la-Tour we began to pick up occasional signs -of war, signs which, of course, multiplied as we entered -the plain of the Woevre, and began to draw near the -ridge of hills to the west on the far side of which Verdun -lies. One battlefield is painfully like another. The destroyed -villages and desolate fields told the same tale of -death and suffering which is impressed on the long belt -of devastation running across the Continent. Yet to me -in future a cowslip field will always bring with it memories -of Verdun. The familiar yellow flowers were growing -in sheets by the roadside, striving, as it were, pathetically<span class="pagenum" id="Page_150">[150]</span> -to throw the cover of their freshness and grace -across the stricken land.</p> - -<p>The interest of Verdun, apart from its heroic defence, -lies in the fact that the line of attack being very intensive -was relatively small, and owing to the hilly and varied -nature of the ground it is possible to visualise more or -less accurately the various attacks and counter attacks. -We approached Verdun from the south-west, a point from -which the damage was relatively small. The whole of -the Verdun ridge on which the forts are situated runs -north and south, and commands the plain of the Woevre -to the east and the valley of the Meuse to the west. All -this district was formerly a great forest. On the southern -slopes we found the trees practically intact. We -turned to the right and, keeping along the top of the ridge, -had our first view of the valley of the Meuse, and Verdun -with its twin towers lying far below us in the plain.</p> - -<p>Verdun, never a considerable city, has nevertheless -emerged into fame on more than one occasion in the -course of its long history. It gives its name to the one -event of capital importance in the evolution of modern -Europe. The Treaty of Verdun in 843 may be taken as -the starting point of the long struggle between France -and Germany. Under this Treaty the united empire of -Charlemagne was broken up between his three grandsons. -France and Germany parted company, never to meet -again during the course of the next thousand years but -on terms of fire and sword. Revolutionary France offered -its own example of frightfulness at Verdun. The city was -taken by the Prussians in 1792. The struggle was not -of an embittered character, and some young ladies of the -city not only welcomed the conquerors but presented them<span class="pagenum" id="Page_151">[151]</span> -with sweets. Fraternising with the enemy was not included -apparently in the then revolutionary interpretation -of fraternity, and three of the girls were sent to the scaffold -when the French retook Verdun after Valmy. The -little place sustained a siege of three weeks in 1870, and -surrendered with the full honours of war after a gallant -resistance.</p> - -<p>But at Verdun as elsewhere the scale of events has -been flung utterly out of focus by the recent struggle, to -which history has no parallel. The town itself has suffered -cruelly. Every other house is a ruin. But at least -it never yielded, never bowed the head to the conqueror. -How near, terribly near, the Germans came to complete -success, we appreciated better on the spot than anything -we had been led to believe by the official communiqués -issued at the time. A discreet veil was flung over the German -capture of Fort Douaumont. As a matter of fact -not only was the fort taken, but the Germans penetrated -for a mile and a half further westward beyond that point. -One remaining fort alone lay between them and their -prey. Heroic though the defence, it is clear that but for -the Somme offensive and the diversion of forces it entailed, -Verdun itself must have fallen.</p> - -<p>Fort Vaux and Fort Douaumont are the central points -of interest in the defence, but every yard of the district -is full of poignant and tragic association. Trees and vegetation -had disappeared before we reached Fort Vaux. -The ground had become a mere crater field. It was almost -impossible to believe that this blasted hillside and -neighbouring ravines had once formed part of a beautiful -forest. As to Douaumont, little of the fort remains beyond -a heap of rubble and rubbish. Imagination stumbles<span class="pagenum" id="Page_152">[152]</span> -and halts as to what the bombardment must have been -which could blast fortress and land alike out of being. -Still more impossible is it to gauge the human endurance -which could survive any experience so hideous as the -fighting which raged round these key points. Just below -Douaumont is a trench where a French platoon was overwhelmed -and enfiladed by German fire. The ground fell -in, burying the men where they stood. The bodies have -not been removed, and the tops of the rifles can still be seen -sticking out of the ground. The trench is enclosed by -barbed wire to keep the tourist at bay, but I hope that this -gruesome sight may not be perpetuated for the benefit of -the tripper. The tourist invasion of the battlefields is inevitable, -but it is intolerable if they bring with them to -soil which is sacred anything of the orange peel and ginger-beer -bottle atmosphere. Two or three chars-à-bancs -filled with visitors were already on the ground, early -though the season. However, they were mercifully cowed -into silence by the all-pervading desolation.</p> - -<p>All the hillsides round Verdun are scarred with the -marks of trenches. Every name, every ridge in the district -is famous. We looked on a given heap of ruins and -remembered with what anxiety and suspense the name of -this or that obscure village filled half the world a few -years since. There was a tangle of wire in many places, -though much clearance of the battlefield has gone on. -Here and there the roots of the unconquerable trees -had begun to throw up a sort of scrub. Here and there -coarse grass and coarser brambles were hiding the shell -holes. But on the hillsides about Vaux and Douaumont, -Froide Terre, Poivre, and Haudromont, there was no -sign of life. The subsoil had been blasted out of existence,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_153">[153]</span> -and vegetation had not been able up till then to -reassert itself.</p> - -<p>The area of destruction round Verdun extends for a -long distance, and the general impression left by the ruined -villages is painful in the extreme. In the area of moving -battle the land is not destroyed, but the houses are mostly -in ruins. The task of reconstruction is formidable indeed, -and there were few signs in April 1920 that it was -being grappled with on adequate lines. People were beginning -to creep back, it is true, to their ruined homes, -but under circumstances which seemed very undesirable. -The ruins had been patched up in some places, and the -owners were living among them in a state of indescribable -and insanitary squalor. There were no signs of a big -scheme of reparation, which should have aimed first and -foremost at the scrapping of these small dirty centres and -starting new villages on fresh sites. The average French -village is apt to be a dirty place. The sanitary conditions -left by a bombardment are better imagined than described.</p> - -<p>I cannot help feeling that the inhabitants of the devastated -areas have a most real grievance as regards this -question of reconstruction. The French Government has -wholly failed to deal with it up to the present on a big -scale. Progress has been made with areas in the north; -other districts, of which Verdun is an example, remain -practically untouched. The French complain that they -cannot get work-people or materials. I cannot say from -what causes the deadlock springs, but the evidences of -deadlock in the Verdun district are complete. One feels -this state of affairs to be a terrible hardship for the poor -people concerned. One of the reparation proposals put -forward by the German Government is a scheme for rebuilding<span class="pagenum" id="Page_154">[154]</span> -and re-equipping the devastated areas. It excites, -naturally, a chorus of disapproval from greedy contractors -and other people who would like the money allocated -for houses, furniture, and implements to go into -their pockets. But in the interests of the inhabitants—surely -the paramount interest—any scheme which would -deal promptly with the problems concerned with the return -to normal life among the ruined villages should be -examined closely.</p> - -<p>Further, England and America ought not to miss their -opportunities in this respect. The movement for the adoption -by English centres of French towns and villages is -wise and generous, and if widely spread through the -United States as well as our own country should result -in substantial assistance to the victims of the war. The -basis of any adequate reparation scheme must be national. -But destruction so great leaves ample scope for additional -voluntary assistance. It is often whispered—one of the -unfriendly whispers which circulate in corners—that the -French are over-willing to let other people shoulder the -burthen of the devastated areas. Whether or not the -wealthy French could have made greater efforts on behalf -of their compatriots, the position of England and America -in this matter remains unaffected. They cannot err on -the side of over-generosity. The sufferings of the poor -and humble in the devastated areas have been atrocious. -In so far as we render France every material assistance -within our power, our position is the stronger if from -time to time we are forced to cry halt about matters concerning -her general policy. Between the Allies there may -be, indeed there must be at times, differences which are -fundamental as regards their outlook on post-war problems.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_155">[155]</span> -But on one point there can only be complete unity -of feeling and idea—sympathy for the innocent victims -on whom the material brunt of the war has fallen in its -most acute form; whole-hearted desire to make good the -losses endured.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_156">[156]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER XII<br> - -<small>IN ALSACE</small></h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">Never</span> have I appreciated more fully than during the -months I have lived in Germany the many advantages of -an island people. No more detestable fate can exist than -to be a border state of mixed population, snatched as -the chances of fate and history may dictate from one domination -to another. With the unhappy example of Ireland -before our eyes, we are not lacking in experience of the -difficulties which arise from the presence of two races and -two religions in one country. When to these internal -differences are added the ambitions and intrigues of warring -Powers, each hungrily desirous of increasing its -coast at the expense of its neighbors, the lot of the inhabitants -of the debatable zone is seen to be unenviable indeed. -National self-aggressiveness is always accentuated -when unhappily yoked with the rival claims of another -stock. Temperaments and points of view may be irreconcilable, -but each side is forced to contend for its daily -bread in the same area and to clash hourly or daily over the -task. The problem in government presented by such a -situation is at the best of times distracting. When inflamed -by old memories of grievances and suffering, of -wrongs given, wrongs endured, it becomes almost insoluble. -Only a being from another planet endowed with -infinite wisdom might be able to deal justly and impartially -with so great a tangle. But the very fact that such<span class="pagenum" id="Page_157">[157]</span> -a being would be remote from the passions surging round -him, would rob him of knowledge essential to their understanding. -The hard-worked phrase, self-determination, -beloved by the sloppy-minded, never touches the -root of real bi-racial difficulties. When two sets of people -in one place wish to self-determine themselves in opposite -senses, what then? Only along the lines, not of self-aggression, -but of loyalty to a common ideal of justice -and fair play, can reasonable men on both sides grope towards -some sort of compromise. But almost invariably -the actual course of events has been to destroy the very -possibility of mutual forbearance. Hatred, sinister child -of arrogance and injustice, stifles men and women within -the evil circle it has forged. And the circle continues pitilessly -to revolve, the oppressors of to-day being sometimes -the oppressed of yesterday, but, whichever side is uppermost, -the bond of hatred remaining close and unbroken.</p> - -<p>The German wrong done to France in 1870 was at -the same time a supreme political blunder. At the time -of the Franco-Prussian War, Alsace-Lorraine had been -French for nearly two hundred years and was strongly -French in sentiment. There was no real case for restitution -to Germany on geographical or historical grounds. -For generations life in the border provinces touching the -Rhine had been in a state of flux. The rigid territorial -demarcations of our own time were then non-existent. -Frontiers and population were both fluid. Baedeker, -whose national bias in matters both of art and history -makes the Handbook on Germany often very unreliable, -writes of the “seizing” of Strasbourg by Louis XIV. and -the “restoration” of the city after 1870. Cities and provinces, -according to our modern ideas, were tossed about<span class="pagenum" id="Page_158">[158]</span> -ruthlessly in the seventeenth century, but Alsace-Lorraine -having become thoroughly French had no wish to find itself -restored to the Fatherland and brought within the -circle of Prussian philanthropic effort. Even Alsace, -more predominantly German in origin than Lorraine, -had in 1870 no desire for other allegiance but that of -France. The provinces were torn, protesting and unhappy, -from the motherland of their adoption. Bismarck, -great and unscrupulous genius, whose clear-sighted vision -in matters of practical statecraft was only equalled by his -entire lack of moral sense, knew that a bad mistake had -been made. “I do not like the idea of so many Frenchmen -being in our house against their will,” he remarked -uneasily. But Bismarck, whose time and thoughts had -been devoted with devilish ingenuity and success to -manœuvering France into war and putting her in the -wrong over the process, had at the critical point, so it -would seem, not sufficient energy left to resist the annexationist -clamour of the Prussian generals. He yielded -to military pressure, thus leaving an open sore in the side -of Europe, which in the end was to involve his own creation -of the new-made German Empire in ruin.</p> - -<p>To-day the provinces are French again, while the conscience -of the world applauds a righteous act of restitution. -It would be foolish, however, to deny that the return -of Alsace-Lorraine after forty-seven years of German -rule, with a German population very largely increased, -does not present an administrative problem to -France of exceptional difficulty. Lorraine, as I have said -elsewhere, has kept its French character very much -intact throughout the years of oppression. The problem -of Alsace is harder to solve.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_159">[159]</span>My first vivid recollection of Paris as a child is being -taken to the Place de la Concorde to see the figure of -Strasbourg draped in her mourning weeds. It was with -real emotion that after the Armistice I saw the statue, -all symbols of loss and servitude removed, throned equally -with her sister cities who encircle the great square. A -visit to Strasbourg itself in the dawn of its liberation -is a satisfactory and stimulating experience. The many -vicissitudes of its history have left a clear architectural -mark on the town. Strasbourg lies, a little way removed -from the left bank of the Rhine, in the centre of a fertile -plain. Looking southwards, the line of the Vosges mountains -stretches far away to the right; equally far to the -left across the river runs the line of the Black Forest. So -near the borders of Switzerland, it is something of a surprise -to find the Rhine flowing tranquilly through this -wide flat land already far removed from the mountains -of its birth. Before railways and modern methods of -communication had made light of rivers and mountains, -Strasbourg, commanding the gap of Belfort between the -Vosges and the Jura, was a key point of the highest importance. -Here lay the broad and easy highway from -France to Germany. Along this path swept Napoleon in -his invasions of the Rhineland. The strategical value of -the position was recognised by the Romans, who had a -camp at this point. No less important was it commercially -in the Middle Ages, for thanks to its position, Strasbourg -was a necessary centre of exchange for the trade -of France, Germany, and Switzerland. Manufactures -have been developed on some scale by the Germans since -1870, but it is as one of the great marts of Central -Europe that Strasbourg has achieved its fame.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_160">[160]</span>The mediaeval character of the buildings survives to -an unexpected extent in many of the narrow streets. A -small canalised stream, the Ill, encloses the centre of the -town, and the gabled houses which cluster on the water’s -edge, sadly insanitary though they must be, are wholly -satisfying to the eye. May health experts and social -reformers long be kept at bay from the old quarters of -Strasbourg! The type of house which lends unique character -to the city has a deep-pitched slanting roof broken by -small dormer windows. The red tiles, flecked with green, -have been mellowed by age into a subdued colour of great -beauty. The houses, with wide lattice windows, are often -decorated with wood carvings, sometimes old, often restored. -The gables which lend so much character to this -class of architecture are treated with considerable freedom -and variety; the crow’s-foot gable introduced by the -Dutch to South Africa is not uncommon here. The beautiful -colour of the tiles which glow and shimmer in the -sunshine is like a warm and rosy cloak flung over the -town. Flowers not infrequently decorate the broad window -ledges, and give life and colour to the narrow streets -and passages. Striking indeed is the framework of such -a house for an Alsatian woman wearing the national headdress -with its voluminous black bows, when she appears at -the window to tend her geraniums and marguerites, or to -pass the time of day with neighbours in the street below.</p> - -<p>The influence of mediaeval Germany on the old streets -and buildings of Strasbourg can be seen at a glance. Superimposed -on this foundation is a town essentially French -in character and architecture. Eighteenth-century France -has left behind it the type of high French house, elegant -and well-proportioned, characteristic of a period at once<span class="pagenum" id="Page_161">[161]</span> -correct and dignified. It is curious to notice how Strasbourg -and Metz adopted a similar attitude to the architectural -improvements of the conqueror. The spirit of -both cities is identical in this respect. Like Metz, pre-1870, -Strasbourg keeps itself to itself, aloof and reserved, -within the confines of the surrounding Ill. On the further -banks, the modern German buildings encircle the old -kernel with all the material comfort and ugliness of the -latter-day German town. The solid reinforced-concrete -houses, the large public buildings, the wide streets and -squares breathe a spirit from which the older Strasbourg -seems to remove the hem of her garment with fastidious -contempt—“What mean ye by these stones?”—and it is -not fantastic to read the moral and political struggles of -this oft-disputed city of the marches in the vivid contrasts -of its architecture. Between mediaeval and seventeenth-century -Strasbourg there is no strife. But pre-1870 Strasbourg, -humiliated, aristocratic, reveals a passionate antagonism -towards the conquering parvenu to whom the city -owes its present material prosperity. The Kaiser’s palace, -a building, monotonous and vulgar, of the type which reproduces -itself in a dozen German cities, adorns one of -the modern squares. As at Metz, the empty plinths of -destroyed statues testify to the passing of the Hohenzollerns. -Allegorical figures on one or two modern buildings, -bereft of their heads, were something of a puzzle. -I could only conclude that the former reigning house, -with its mania for self-portraiture, had disguised themselves -in such cases as Virtues or Graces.</p> - -<p>I have spoken of the beauty of the tiled roofs. The -famous cathedral built of red sandstone strikes a similar -note of warmth and colour. Incredibly fine and delicate is<span class="pagenum" id="Page_162">[162]</span> -the work on arch and buttress; too fine, too delicate perhaps, -for ornament is surely at its best in that wonderful -moment of Gothic at once austere and noble when ornament -serves a strictly architectural end. The famous west -front of Strasbourg Cathedral, for all the individual -beauty of its carving—the Wise and the Foolish Virgins -alone well repay a long journey—is a decorative façade -entirely divorced from any architectural end. Similarly -with the gossamer-like tracery of the spire. The lines are -beautiful, but somehow you feel that the Kingdom of -Heaven must be stormed by more violent means than those -of so fairy-like an inspiration. Can such a structure -really survive the next storm? The question springs involuntarily -to the mind, and in it lies a point of reproach. -It is one you would never ask yourself when looking at -the spires at Chartres. The fine apse of the minster testifies -to the Romanesque plan on which the building was -begun. Then it was captured by Gothic in its most airy -and fantastic mood. It ranks, and ranks rightly, among -the great cathedrals of Europe. Yet, since buildings and -human beings tend to reproduce each other’s characteristics -in a strange and intimate way, it leaves the impression -that, as may happen with some character of real value -and worth, its feet are a little off the ground, and so the -quality of the whole suffers. Ruskin, who first saw -Strasbourg when a boy of fourteen, writes in <i>Præterita</i> -that with all its “miracles of building” he was “already -wise enough to feel the Cathedral stiff and ironworky.” -But the high roofs and rich wooden fronts of the houses -excited and impressed him greatly.</p> - -<p>With the great astronomical clock, beloved of sightseers, -I was frankly a little bored. The cathedral is carefully<span class="pagenum" id="Page_163">[163]</span> -closed at 11.30, so that you are forced to pay for a -ticket to come in at 12 o’clock when the twelve apostles -and the cock perform. A series of little figures creak in -and out, while two rather aggressive Suisses shout explanations -and thrust picture-postcards on the spectators. -More satisfactory is the museum, where a small collection -of pictures, admirable for a provincial town, can be -visited. A delightful park called the Orangerie ministers -to those social amenities of life the secret of which is so -much better understood on the Continent than in Great -Britain. The numerous cafés and beer gardens of the continental -town make the partaking of food and drink—especially -of drink—a simple respectable affair, wholly -robbed of the vicious and degrading associations which invest -the liquor trade at home.</p> - -<p>The crowds gathered in the cafés on a Sunday afternoon -gave us a good opportunity of studying the men -and women of Strasbourg. I had the impression of a -mixed type special to itself and largely independent of -its parent stocks. It is wholly different from that of the -tall blond men and women we see in Cologne. Neither -is it entirely French. The Alsatians tend to be dark and -short, somewhat solid too in build, though the unmistakable -elegance of French clothes lends a frequent touch of -distinction to passers-by in the streets. Such elegance is -unknown in Germany proper. Appalling too in its confusion -of tongues is the language spoken: a bastard jumble -of French and German which has ceased to have any -resemblance to either. You speak in French, the people -reply in German; you try German, only to be countered -in the vilest of patois. In the end I fell back on English -as the least unintelligible of the three languages. As regards<span class="pagenum" id="Page_164">[164]</span> -the difficult bilingual question, I do not know on -what ultimate policy the French have decided. For the -moment both French and German names appear in the -streets, and public places such as the railway station. It -is to be hoped there will be no departure from this policy. -Suppress a language, and it flourishes with that zest and -vigour derived from persecution alone. The Germans, -being stupid people, never learnt this lesson either in Poland -or Alsace-Lorraine. The French, as a really intelligent -race, are in a better position to avoid what is at all -times a gross mistake. The lessons of history are usually -disregarded, and it would appear that politicians as a -body are singularly inept as regards the application of past -precedents to present events. Yet the great moral of the -pacification of South Africa and the principles it illustrates -is one on which Europe in its present chaos would -do well to reflect.</p> - -<p>The general appearance of the town throughout Sunday -was merry and light-hearted. Bands and processions -were the order of the day. A parade of ancient firemen -during the morning must have included all the surviving -heroes of 1870. Young Alsace was bringing itself up no -less vigorously on Boy Scout lines. Every organisation -which could march was marching to a fanfare of trumpets -and a flying of flags. Strasbourg is the stronghold of -the German section of Alsace, yet even among individuals -I did not notice any appearance of discontent or hostility. -The sullen black looks we had seen in the Saar were absent -here.</p> - -<p>The proposition in government, however, with which -the French find themselves confronted is a difficult one. -The problem of population is specially intricate. The German<span class="pagenum" id="Page_165">[165]</span> -element preponderates considerably in Alsace, but a -German name may often conceal French sympathies. -Every effort was made by the conquerors after 1870 to -stimulate immigration from German stocks of whose -loyalty there could be no doubt. Many Germans have -come into the country during the last forty years, but the -line of demarcation between them and the German Alsatians -proper is an impossible one to draw administratively. -The type of shrill voice which on all and every -occasion clamours for policies which would aggravate the -existing confusion of Europe is loud in its demands that -the Germans should be turned out. The French Government -have had the good sense up to the present not to pursue -so mad a course. The friction which has arisen over -the inevitable replacement of German by French officials -has been a warning, no doubt, as to the consequences -likely to follow from any attempt at wholesale expulsion. -During the spring changes in personnel on the Alsace-Lorraine -railways led, as I have mentioned in the previous -chapter, to a general strike in both provinces.</p> - -<p>The question of military service is tangled and difficult. -Germany is now free from conscription, a blessing -whole-heartedly appreciated by her working population. -Alsace-Lorraine, on the contrary, has to contribute its -quota to the French armies. Thousands of ex-German -soldiers have already been called upon to serve with the -French colours. The cruel fate of French Alsatians, conscripted -by Germany and forced to fight against France, -has harrowed the conscience of European public opinion -for many years past. France must see to it that she does -not pursue a policy towards the German Alsatians which -will sooner or later alienate the sympathy of Europe from<span class="pagenum" id="Page_166">[166]</span> -her as surely as it was alienated from Prussia. At the -moment she holds all the cards in her hand. She can -afford to play the big game, the generous game, which -is the only one capable of meeting the present situation. -Forty-seven years of German bullying and efficiency left -the sentiment of Alsace-Lorraine predominantly French. -The rape of the provinces had long been regarded as an -injury to the comity of nations. Outside the Central -Empires and their adherents the whole world rejoiced -with France in the hour of restitution. Now she has -exchanged the position of the person wronged, to that -of the person in possession, something of romance and -sympathy evaporates inevitably. The test is no longer -that of sentiment and feeling, but of the hard facts of government, -well or ill handled.</p> - -<p>Under the heel of the oppressor, France taught the -world how firm and enduring national sentiment can become. -No material benefits of Prussian rule, considerable -though they were, could reconcile the Alsatians to the -injury done to their rights as free people. Now that a -large German population passes under French control, -France will be wise to give no opportunity for the cultivation -of a national sentiment among the German Alsatians -as bitter as that of the last forty years among the French. -In all that concerns the practical and material organisation -of life, German efficiency is much greater than -French. They understand the gas and water affairs of -life thoroughly. France’s advantage lies in the keenness -and admirable clarity of her spirit, her powers of wit and -of intuition, her fine sense in all that concerns the heart -and mind of man. Wholly devoid of sentimentality, no -nation can approach the French clearness of vision and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_167">[167]</span> -touch when at their best. But on the administrative side -the Frenchman is often less happy. The German is painstaking -and very thorough; the Englishmen has a natural -instinct for finding a way out of serious difficulties -through the application of a rough-and-ready code of behaving -decently to decent people. The Frenchman is apt -to tie himself up in red tape. A French bank in Metz -refused to give us any money on a French draft especially -arranged for our tour. We were told to call again in a -fortnight. A German bank in Saarbrücken gave us all -the money we wanted on the draft scorned by the Metz -gentlemen, six of whom were brought to look at us before -we were turned down. As a method of conducting -business the proceedings did not strike us as efficient.</p> - -<p>The administrative problem of Alsace-Lorraine can -only be a difficult one. French bureaucrats admittedly can -be both corrupt and unwise, and it is on the enduring -qualities of the French spirit that France must draw if she -is to make a success of the government of her restored -provinces. A true pacification of the German elements resulting -in a general loyalty to France would be a signal -victory for French statesmanship.</p> - -<p>The question of the compensating advantages presented -by Alsace-Lorraine as against the devastations in Northern -France, raises an issue about which French opinion is -peculiarly sensitive. On this delicate ground any English -writer is bound to tread warily. France will never admit, -or permit it to be said, that any element of compensation -enters into the case. The provinces were stolen from her; -now they have been restored at the cost of over a million -French lives and untold sufferings. From the point of -view of abstract justice and ideal right this contention is<span class="pagenum" id="Page_168">[168]</span> -doubtless true. But it breaks down before the humdrum -questions presented by population, trade, revenue. The -provinces were irretrievably lost to France and could only -be regained at the price of a successful war. It must be -a considerable satisfaction to any friend of France to -feel that the crater holes of the devastated areas are at -least set off by the recovery of two rich and prosperous -provinces, 5605 square miles in extent, with a population -of 1,874,014 people. The case of France otherwise would -have been aggravated to a desperate degree. She at least -enters here and now into possession of an undevastated -area, bringing with it considerable compensations in population, -minerals, agriculture, and all that these imply as -regards trade and taxation. The provinces return vastly -improved in their material equipment, thanks to the German -capital spent on them. The asset restored is far -richer than the asset lost. The set-off, of course, is in no -sense equal to what has been destroyed, but it is a substantial -element in the case, and one to which, frankly, -too little attention is ever paid when questions of war -losses are discussed.</p> - -<p>It is an interesting experience to motor through the -Vosges at a point where the line, so fiercely contended in -the north, peters out, so to speak, under conditions which -by contrast seem mild if not actually ladylike. We motored -to St. Dié by way of the Odilienberg and Saales, -returning over the Col de Schlücht to Münster and Colmar, -and so back to Strasbourg. Our chauffeur, an Alsatian, -warned us we must expect terrible scenes on -reaching Saales: since 1870 the French frontier. The -warning proved how little experience he had had of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_169">[169]</span> -grim business of war on the main lines of attack and -defence.</p> - -<p>The rampart of the Vosges falls away sharply to the -plain on its eastern side, and from the convent crowning -the heights of the Odilienberg a wonderful bird’s-eye -view exists of the mountains and the plain: Strasbourg -and the silver streak of the Rhine dimly visible in the -distance, far, far away beyond, the still dimmer line of -the Black Forest mountains. The convent itself, a favourite -“viewpoint” for trippers to the Vosges, has, -thanks to its restaurant and café, a curiously secular appearance. -The good nuns apparently drive a brisk trade -in souvenirs and picture-postcards, the restaurant catering -as much for the needs of the body as the prayers of the -faithful for the soul. The wooded heights of the Vosges, -sometimes beech, sometimes pine, varied by splendid scarlet -patches of mountain-ash berries at their best, are -threaded by excellent roads. In the neighbourhood of -Saales we braced ourselves, thanks to the exhortations -of the driver, to resume our acquaintance with the horrors -of the line. But a few damaged houses, and here -and there a shattered tree, proved how lightly by comparison -this district had escaped. Woods and fields were in -a normal condition, and vigorous efforts had clearly been -made to deal with the shattered houses.</p> - -<p>The scenery of the Col de Schlücht is very fine. A -country to be really appreciated must be seen on foot, and -motoring is at best but an unsatisfactory makeshift for -the busy. To the true vagabond, as Borrow and Robert -Louis Stevenson understood the term, the friendly hills of -the Vosges must offer many attractions as a wandering -ground. Our time being limited, we were grateful to the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_170">[170]</span> -motor for the cinematograph impression we were able -to carry away. Fighting of a more serious character -had taken place on the Col de Schlücht than at Saales. -It was along this road the French made their original -thrust into Alsace at the beginning of the war, when for a -brief period they occupied Colmar in the plain below. -Driven back by the Germans with heavy losses, the line -was stabilised for some years at a point near the head -of the pass. Even so the unfailing test of the trees showed -that the destruction had not been complete. Münster -at the foot of the pass was a heap of ruins. Here for a -time artillery fire must have been heavy. But we passed -rapidly out of the zone of battle; a great contrast in this -respect to the plain of the Woevre where, mile after mile -before Verdun is reached, the aspect of the landscape along -the road from Metz is desolate and desolating in the -extreme.</p> - -<p>The agricultural value of the great plain of Alsace -must be considerable. The land is rich and well cultivated. -Corn, potatoes, and beetroot flourish. Crops of maize -and fields of tobacco point to the warmth of the climate. -Hops and vines are grown on a scale which does not indicate -much enthusiasm for the Pussyfoot movement. Hops -are trained on rather a different principle from that usual -in Kent, and the long trailing festoons of leaves and -flowers languish one towards another like so many elegant -and swooning beauties. Tobacco factories and -breweries have been established in Strasbourg by the -Germans; engine works and foundries also contribute to -its wealth. But despite the commercial and manufacturing -activities which have turned a city of 78,000 people -in 1870 to one of 170,000 in 1911, the strength of Alsace<span class="pagenum" id="Page_171">[171]</span> -remains rooted in its agriculture and its agricultural population. -Except Strasbourg, and in a lesser degree Mülhausen, -there are no big towns. From the land has come -in the main the brave spirit which carried the people -through years of gloom and foreign domination. That -the same spirit will triumph over the difficulties of reconstruction -must be the hope of all friends of France.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_172">[172]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER XIII<br> - -<small>SOME ELECTIONEERING IMPRESSIONS</small></h2> -</div> - -<h3>I</h3> - -<p><span class="smcap">German</span> political life is in the main a sealed book to the -British public. Many people take but a tepid interest in -the politics of their own country. To grapple with the -intricacies of parties and programmes in a foreign land -is an effort quite beyond the will or the power of the -average citizen. Yet Germany plays, and is bound to play -for years to come, so dominant a part in every calculation -and forecast made by her neighbours, that it is of -considerable importance to try and realise what forces -are at work among her own people.</p> - -<p>Constitutional life in Germany has had many vicissitudes. -When the tragic history of our own times comes -to be written, future historians will probably regard the -failure of the Frankfurt deputies in 1848 to solve the -problem of German unity on a democratic basis as the -most fatal date in modern history. The unity which the -“Professors’ Parliament” failed to achieve was welded -together triumphantly by Bismarck, twenty-three years -later, through blood and iron. To the cult of blood and -iron Germany henceforth dedicated itself, and for many -years, with striking success. But even within the Empire -the system had its challengers, as the spread of Socialist -doctrines and the successes of the Social Democrats<span class="pagenum" id="Page_173">[173]</span> -proved. When the military régime collapsed in defeat -and confusion in the autumn of 1918, it was to the despised -democratic elements that Germany owed her escape -from utter ruin.</p> - -<p>Little or no attention has ever been paid to the astonishing -feat of constitutional reorganisation which was -carried through after the flight of the Emperor. Complete -military disaster had overtaken the country; revolution -and anarchy were abroad in the land. Yet on the -morrow of these events not only was a Republic proclaimed, -but a German Government came into being -which worked out a democratic constitution based on -universal suffrage and full ministerial responsibility of -the cabinet to the elected representatives of the people. -The history of parliaments contains no more surprising -page. Women were enfranchised, lists of voters prepared, -and within a few weeks of the Armistice, elections -were held which brought into existence a provisional -National Assembly whose business it was to carry on the -hard task of government till the first Reichstag of the -new Republic could subsequently be elected. How all this -was done in the time is a mystery, especially having in -mind the endless delays to which our own last Franchise -Bill gave rise, and the difficulties pleaded as regards the -revision of voters’ lists. The temper of the hour and the -mood of the conquering Allies did not permit of one word -of praise for a constitutional <i>tour de force</i> carried through -under conditions of overwhelming difficulty. But it -would be unjust and ungenerous not to recognise to-day -with what dogged determination the German democrats, -inexperienced and untried as they were in government, -handled the half-foundering ship they were called upon<span class="pagenum" id="Page_174">[174]</span> -to save. To make a success of the task was an impossibility -under the circumstances for them or for any set of -men. But that they kept the ship afloat, in view of the -seas breaking over it, is little short of a marvel.</p> - -<p>The man who played a thoroughly creditable part in -the hour of collapse was Hindenburg. Unlike other distinguished -members of the ruling class he did not run -away when the game was up, but stood by his country -through the grim business of defeat and surrender. Without -a shred of sympathy for the Republican Government, -he gave that government loyal assistance as regards the -withdrawal of the armies. No man in Germany to-day -commands more universal respect than the old Field-Marshall. -Amid the flood of recriminations which German -statesmen, generals, and admirals have poured on -each other, Hindenburg has displayed reticence and generosity -which do him entire credit. The inclusion of his -name in the list of War Criminals is of all Allied ineptitudes -since the Peace perhaps the greatest.</p> - -<p>The National Assembly lasted for about fifteen months. -In June 1920 Germany went to the polls to elect the first -Reichstag of the Republic. Not the faintest interest in -the event was taken by the British public. Yet whatever -the result, it could only react on the whole future of -European reconstruction.</p> - -<p>Current conceptions at home remain astonishingly -crude as to the position in Central Europe. The man in -the street, brought up in the true milk of the word as -preached by the Yellow Press, is still of opinion that Germany -is as militant and as threatening as ever, and that, -should we be so foolish as to stop sitting on her head, she -would promptly overrun Europe again. Suggest that<span class="pagenum" id="Page_175">[175]</span> -Germany with her fleet sunk, her merchant shipping confiscated, -her colonies lost, her army disbanded, her war -material surrendered, her railway system in ruins, her -food shortage considerable, is hardly in a position at the -moment to make an unprovoked attack on any one, and -the said person hints darkly in reply at hidden divisions -on the Eastern Frontier; at an alliance between the Bolshevists -and the German Government; at a military menace -little less serious than what existed in 1914. It is -surprising that people of this type are not more in conceit -with themselves after the Allied victory, and fail so completely -in appreciation of what the conquering armies have -done. The German legions, perfectly trained and -equipped after years of preparation, and with the whole -resources of the German Empire behind them, could not -achieve the preliminary pounce on Paris in 1914. Is the -present Republican Government in any better position to -succeed where they failed? A nation broken by hunger -and defeat may become a centre of disease, dangerous to -its neighbours owing to the poison spread through the -whole international system. But any talk of external -military adventure, apart from sporadic insurrections, is -absurd.</p> - -<p>The old united Germany with its strong centralised -military government is a thing of the past. Instead of -which we have a Germany, weak, disorganised, distracted, -split into various factions each at mortal strife with the -other. The position is full of danger and grave internal -crisis; it may menace the foundations of European society, -but the danger is disruptive and from within, not -the menace of external legions. Political parties in Germany -are split up into numerous and bewildering subdivisions.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_176">[176]</span> -The Independent Socialists and Communists -form a group to the extreme left, with more or less Bolshevist -ideals. But, broadly speaking, there are two main -sections, the democratically minded people who desire the -evolution of a peaceful and constitutional republic, and -the reactionaries who, while paying a certain lip-service -to democratic principles, at heart detest the whole business.</p> - -<p>It will be the eternal reproach to Allied policy that it -has done nothing whatever to help the better elements in -Germany to consolidate their position. On the contrary, -by the intolerable economic penalties of the Peace it has -pushed German democracy into a slough of despond and -handed over all the vantage points to its enemies. The -measure of the vast blunder committed in this respect -is clear enough to any one who, like myself, has had the -opportunity of attending political meetings held in Germany. -To be living in a country torn by a fierce election -campaign and to be taking no part in the fray was a novel -experience for me. The placards with which Cologne was -covered and the heated articles in the German newspapers -made me, like an old war-horse, sniff battle from afar. -At least I was anxious to try to gather as a spectator how -German men and women were really feeling and thinking -on this critical occasion. Political meetings have their -own atmosphere and tell their own tale, and the opportunity -of hearing and judging for myself was too good a one -to miss.</p> - -<p>I confess it was with a certain amount of trepidation -that I made my way for the first time into a German public -meeting. Naturally I had no desire to be recognised -as an English woman, and, the conditions being wholly<span class="pagenum" id="Page_177">[177]</span> -novel, I was not clear beforehand how far I should be able -to lie low and conceal the fact of my nationality. However, -seeing that the Social Democrats advertised a meeting -to which women were specially invited, I plucked up -my courage, reflected on the not infrequent and slightly -chastening occasions when I have been addressed by Germans -in German, bought a Socialist paper which I displayed -conspicuously, and walked into the gathering. -Neither then nor on any subsequent occasion, let me say, -did I experience the smallest difficulty in slipping in -amongst the crowd and hearing the proceedings in entire -comfort.</p> - -<p>It was a warm evening, and the great hall of the Gürzenich, -the old banqueting-room of mediaeval Cologne, -was only half full. The audience—about equal numbers -of men and women—were well-dressed, entirely decorous -folk. The long hair and red ties of orthodox Socialism -were absent. German meetings are detestably unpunctual. -Advertised generally for 8 <span class="allsmcap">P.M.</span>, they seldom start till -twenty minutes later, and the audience meekly accepts -conditions of delay which would rouse an English meeting -to fury. The principal speaker of the evening was -Fräulein S., of Hamburg, a member of the National Assembly. -At 8.20 a procession of earnest-looking women -slowly mounted the platform. They wore coloured -blouses and dark skirts, and their hair was scratched -back tightly off their heads—a true hall-mark of feminine -virtue in all climes and among all nations. The chairwoman -had fortified herself with a large dinner-bell, and -rang a peal, apparently to give herself courage, on opening -the proceedings. Restoration of order was unnecessary, -for the audience sat in stolid silence on the appearance<span class="pagenum" id="Page_178">[178]</span> -of the speakers, not even extending to them the perfunctory -greeting with which an English audience heartens -the platform victims before the sacrifice. No encouraging -cheers greeted the advent of a pleasant-looking lady who, -armed with a folio of MS., made her way to the reading-desk. -Fräulein S. spoke, or rather read, for an hour in a -clear, cultivated voice. She outlined the constructive -policy of the Social Democrats or Majority Socialists, -whose platform approximates to what was known as the -Liberal-Labour position in English politics. The party -is, however, definitely pledged to nationalisation. The -speaker led off with the blockade, which is the King -Charles’s Head of every political meeting in Germany. -Their enemies, she declared, accused the Social Democrats -of bringing Germany into her present desperate -straits. Not the revolution, however, but the dire consequences -of the blockade were responsible for the troubles -of the people. Fräulein S.’s chief interests lay obviously -in the field of social reform. She outlined a programme -which was strangely familiar in many respects. The unmarried -mother and the question of religious education -in the schools were in the forefront of the battle. The -temper of the meeting, it must be owned, was very tepid, -but the depressing silence was broken by a few cheers -when these subjects were handled. Another old friend -appeared with Fräulein S.’s emphatic assertion that no -school teacher should be compelled to resign her appointment -on marriage. The lady then dealt at some length -with finance and the incidence of taxation. A thoughtful, -well-expressed speech—withal a trifle dull.</p> - -<p>The reading of manuscript in a large hall has a curiously -deadening effect on an audience, and judging by<span class="pagenum" id="Page_179">[179]</span> -what I have heard, the women politicians of Germany—and -be it also said many of the men—have not as yet -learnt to emancipate themselves from the tyranny of elaborately -prepared lectures. This was noticeable in the -case of the speakers who followed Fräulein S. She was -succeeded at the reading-desk by a dark, heavy-browed, -energetic-looking girl, who infused a welcome note of vigour, -not to say violence, into the proceedings. This young -woman was a school teacher of obviously advanced views, -and spoke well and fluently. She made short shrift of -religious education in schools. Priests and catechisms -vanished under her touch as she flourished the Socialist -banner and belaboured her political adversaries with a -series of witticisms which evoked rounds of applause. -Yet she too had a folio of notes, and now and again when -a word failed, a sudden pause in the flow of oratory, a -hasty turning of sheets showed that the thunder, effective -as it was, had been carefully prepared.</p> - -<p>These little difficulties were still more noticeable in -the case of the next speaker, an old lady wearing spectacles -and a black bonnet, whose witticisms (the drift of -which I was quite unable to follow) delighted the audience. -Her notes had got mixed, and when she lost her -thread—which happened frequently—some moments were -spent hunting it. Quite undismayed, however, by these -interruptions, the old lady held to her task gallantly. She -was clearly a favourite, and the carefully prepared jokes -resulted in loud laughter. I was sorry to miss the point -of these jests, but I was left with the impression that public -meetings in Germany, as in England, are ready to be -amused with very small beer. The ladies were succeeded -by one or two men speakers, who all chanted the praises<span class="pagenum" id="Page_180">[180]</span> -of the Social Democrats and introduced variants of another -familiar theme—poll early and poll straight. After -this the chairwoman performed energetically again on the -dinner-bell—did any member of the audience desire to -speak? Hardly had the sounds died away when she declared -the meeting over. I was waiting for the real fun -of the fair to begin with questions, but found myself, -with the rest of the company, in the street.</p> - -<p>Encouraged by this first attempt, I made a round of the -meetings held by the leading parties, gatherings at which -night after night I listened to views as wide asunder as the -poles. The proceedings were considerably more lively -than at the women’s meeting, and on more than one occasion -feeling ran high. Yet the proceedings were astonishingly -orderly as compared with the uproarious election -meetings which are common enough at home. Interruptions -were not of a sustained character, and during -the campaign I saw no meeting broken up. I can only -marvel, however, at the easy lot of a German candidate, -for questions and heckling play a very small part in the -campaign. The carefully prepared conundrums which -harass the existence of the British Parliamentary candidate, -the game of thrust and tierce, are unknown here. I -was disappointed by the absence of the familiar figure in -the back row who rises, waggling a minatory forefinger, -and the words, “I want to ask the candidate,” etc. The -odds are against the heckler in Germany, for what is -called the “discussion” consists of objectors coming on to -the platform and making speeches of protest, surrounded -by the candidate or candidates and their supporters. As -I have already remarked, meetings begin late, speeches -are very lengthy, and by the time the party candidates<span class="pagenum" id="Page_181">[181]</span> -sitting in a row on the platform have each said his say the -hour stands long after 10 <span class="allsmcap">P.M.</span>, and the audience begins -to go home.</p> - -<p>Naturally I was specially interested in the women -speakers and the general bearing of women at these gatherings. -The impression made upon me was that if German -women attained full political emancipation at a bound -through the revolution in November 1918, they have already -laid a firm hand on their new rights. Large numbers -of women were present at every meeting I attended—a -fact which made my own presence possible. A fair proportion -of women had sat in the National Assembly (the -first provisional Parliament elected after the revolution), -and were candidates for the new Reichstag. It is a satisfactory -feature that, though the progressive feminist -spirits are naturally more numerous among the Social -Democrats and Minority Socialists, the various Conservative -parties also support women candidates. If the British -voters at the last General Election showed no mind of any -kind to return women to Parliament, German women have -fared better. But the difference in the electoral system -probably tells in their favour.</p> - -<h3>II</h3> - -<p>German political organisation differs widely from anything -with which we are familiar. The small constituencies -represented by one or two members have no existence -here. The country is divided into large electoral areas, -and each party has a list of candidates qualified for the -position by the votes of their respective supporters. On -polling day you are implored to vote, therefore, not for a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_182">[182]</span> -person but for a list, the list being headed by the name -of the leading candidate. A definite quota of votes given -to a party elects a member automatically. The personal -element in elections which is so conspicuous a feature of -our own public life has practically no existence in Germany. -The struggle is one of principles far more than -of personalities. This state of affairs tells against a candidate -of special gifts, but on the other hand it neutralises -the unfair influence of the purse, and gets rid of much of -the polite bribery which enters into political life at home. -There is no question here as at Eatonswill of kissing the -babies or shaking hands specially washed for the occasion. -Further, areas are too large to make handsome -subscriptions to local charities a factor in success. A -millionaire could not stand the strain of subsidising portions -of a province.</p> - -<p>Another curious feature of a General Election in Germany -is the inadequacy of the Press arrangements. The -papers supporting the various factions give the list of -their own candidates, and these lists appear on the electioneering -placards which are in great evidence. But I -wholly failed to obtain any general list of the candidates -in the Cologne area, let alone a list for the whole country. -Equally difficult was it after the poll to get a detailed list -of the losses and gains. Totals appeared but no names. -It was necessary to hunt through a variety of party organs -to find which of the candidates had been qualified as -members by the quota of votes given to the party. Though -I spent my time buying newspapers, I was never able to -find a list setting out the new Reichstag in tabular form, -with parties and localities attached to the various names. -Electioneering literature was poor stuff, and the occasional<span class="pagenum" id="Page_183">[183]</span> -picture posters not inspiring. The Deutschnationale had a -dramatic placard of a drowning man sinking beneath -heavy seas, to whom a lifebuoy with D.N.P. is being -thrown as his one chance of salvation. But the subject -of the placard could hardly have thrilled the electors. -Posters devoted to the general turpitude of the other man’s -views were common, and followed familiar lines. But -certainly neither Press nor posters could compare with the -organisation of the written and printed word which exists -during a General Election in the United Kingdom.</p> - -<p>It was an interesting experience night after night to -watch a country groping its way along political paths but -recently opened. The multiplicity of parties into which -Germany is split is very confusing to a foreigner. The -lines of demarcation in some cases are hard to grasp, -and the political life of the Republic would gain in vigour -and directness if certain of the groups were combined -under one banner.</p> - -<p>The two main groups, right and left, into which German -political life falls are split up into various factions. -The Socialist Party is divided into a constitutional right -wing, the Social Democrats, and a revolutionary left wing, -the “Unabhängige” or Independent Socialists. Since the -revolution, various parties have been busily engaged -changing their names, a fact which does not simplify -the situation, as the old ones still survive in current conversation. -The former Liberals—whose views have nothing -in common with Liberalism in the English sense—are -included to-day in a variety of Capitalist and Conservative -groups from the Demokraten (mildly Liberal in our sense -of the word) on the left to the Deutschnationale Partei -on the right. This last-named tabernacle shelters the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_184">[184]</span> -Junker and Agrarian elements, and is reactionary to the -core. But it is less dangerous than the party which has -risen into power of late and bids fair to be thoroughly -mischievous, namely, the Deutsche Volkspartei. This -is the party of Herr Stinnes and the “schwer Industrie.” -It includes the great manufacturers and capitalists, as -well as large sections of the Bourgeoisie, has ample funds -at its command, and despite some perfunctory patter about -democracy, is bitterly anti-democratic in feeling and outlook. -These two main divisions of the Socialists and the -Bourgeoisie face each other with uncompromising hostility. -But the situation is further complicated by a clerical -element standing between them, with which happily -our own politics are untroubled.</p> - -<p>The fervour and depth of Catholicism on the Rhineland -has been one of the many surprises of Germany to -me. In the Rhineland, therefore, questions affecting -Church and State are much to the fore, especially the -burning question of religious education in the schools. -But the cross-correspondences between the Zentrum, the -orthodox Catholic party, and the other groups are most -bewildering. There are Christian Socialists and Socialists -who are very much the reverse. The Zentrum has cooperated -for certain purposes with the Social Democrats, -which has resulted in a split in its own ranks and the -formation of a new party of clerical extremists known as -the Christliche Volkspartei.</p> - -<p>Amid the welter of parties two conclusions force themselves -on the observer. First, the orderly democratic -elements in Germany are having a hard struggle to survive; -second, it is essential for the Allies to have a responsible -Government in Germany with principles approximating<span class="pagenum" id="Page_185">[185]</span> -to those of the democratic peoples. To such a -Government alone can they look for the execution of -Germany’s Treaty obligations. Yet they have taken -no steps to secure this end. I often think that Europe -will make final shipwreck over the mistaken idea of German -military unity still so firmly screwed into popular -imagination at home. Could we but grasp the profound -internal cleavage of ideas and ideals in Germany itself, -common-sense, if no higher consideration, might suggest -the importance of strengthening the hands of the only -party from which we have anything to hope.</p> - -<p>The democratic Government which came into existence -at the time of the revolution has had an impossible task. -It was confronted by hunger, defeat, despair, and the -miseries which resulted from the blockade. It was not a -strong Government—how could it be? Democracy is but -a plant of struggling growth in Germany. The nation -has had no training in self-government, and the efficient -bureaucracy which still more or less survives is steeped in -the old bad traditions. That under these circumstances -the new Government was open to suspicion at every turn -is natural enough. A more far-sighted policy, however, -inspired by some faith and hope for the future would -have realised that these struggling democratic ideals, if -feeble, were sincere and would not have withheld all help -from them. Also that the powerful internal enemies, the -revolutionaries on the one hand, the reactionaries on the -other, were waiting their opportunity to destroy them. -Such a policy, could it have illumined the councils of -Versailles, might at least have seen the folly of associating -the first efforts in democratic government in Germany -with rebuffs and humiliations of all kinds. The<span class="pagenum" id="Page_186">[186]</span> -German working-man means to stand by the revolution, -but hunger and general demoralisation are openings on -which the reactionaries and revolutionaries are not slow -to seize.</p> - -<p>These reflections were driven home to me in a most -emphatic way at a meeting of the Deutsche Volkspartei -which was addressed by a distinguished professor from -Berlin. The Deutsche Volkspartei excites peculiar wrath -in Socialist circles. The Junkers and the Right Wing extremists, -left to themselves, are not dangerous. But this -great Conservative capitalist block, fortified? by the funds -of the big business men and the “schwer Industrie,” is -considered, and rightly, a formidable adversary.</p> - -<p>The Professor’s speech was in its own way first-rate. -From premises which personally I detested he developed -his theme with extraordinary ability, piling argument upon -argument with a cumulative force which swept everything -before it. Personally I was very thankful it did not fall -to my lot to answer some of the points scored.</p> - -<p>The Gürzenich Hall was crowded on this occasion, and -the fashionable ladies who sat on the platform belonged -to a different world from that of the Social Democratic -women of an earlier meeting. As regards the masculine -supporters of the Volkspartei, I was reminded of Mr. -Keynes’s famous description of the present House of -Commons, “a lot of hard-faced men who looked as though -they had done very well out of the war.” This was particularly -the case with the chairman, who had “schwer Industrie” -written all over him. The Professor’s personality -was more attractive than that of many of his supporters—a -grey-haired, grey-bearded man, with a fine -head and full strong voice. He spoke without a note of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_187">[187]</span> -any kind, never once hesitating for a word. He dealt -skilfully with occasional interruptions, for the meeting -was not composed of unanimous supporters.</p> - -<p>The speech began characteristically with a eulogy of -Bismarck. Bismarck had been reproached for a policy -of blood and iron and force. But blood and iron and -force, not the pratings of the democratic visionaries of -the National Assembly at Frankfurt in 1848, had created -and sustained modern Germany. It was the absence -of blood and iron which was responsible for their -present downfall. Not that the armies in the field were -ever defeated; Germany’s downfall sprang from the blockade -and the fanatical hatred of England. Yet not from -the blockade alone: all might have been saved but for the -revolution which had brought about their final undoing. -It was the traitors from within, not the enemies from -without, who had finally wrecked and destroyed Bismarck’s -work. Social Democracy had been the ruin of -the country. It had delivered the nation tied and bound -into the hands of their enemies. Democracy, what was -democracy? The firstfruits of German democracy had -been the Treaty of Versailles with its intolerable burdens. -Belief in democratic principles; trust in the professions -of democratic leaders? The speaker laughed bitterly. -Had not President Wilson proclaimed that America was -fighting German militarism, not the German people? Had -not Lloyd George said the same thing, and that no yard -of German soil was desired by the Alliance? The Social -Democrats might believe these fables, on the strength of -which they sold the pass to the bitter enemies of the Fatherland. -The result was the Treaty of Versailles. The -Socialists talked of a peace of reconciliation, of international<span class="pagenum" id="Page_188">[188]</span> -relations, of stretching out hands to the democracies -in other countries. What folly to trust to such shifting -sands, which had resulted in the German people being -swallowed up in misery. The Social Democrats had -promised them freedom. “Freedom,” said the speaker -with bitter scorn; “are you free in the Rhineland?” No; -there was only one way by which a happier future could -be reached—the re-creation of Germany on strong nationalist -lines; a Germany resting on force, purged of democratic -and international follies, with her eyes fixed on -herself and the principles of Bismarck well to the fore -again. To do this the defeat of Social Democracy and -Socialism at the polls was the first essential. A Government -must be returned which would know how to safeguard -the welfare of the Fatherland. Unceasing work -was an essential of reconstruction; the eight hours’ day -was another colossal blunder recently made. Here and -there the speaker threw an occasional sop to the democratic -Cerberus. Perhaps it was true that they had relied -a little too much on force alone in the past, and had forgotten -the old idealistic teaching of the poets and philosophers. -And again the rule of bayonets was over; -government now rested on the will of the people—a good -old tag which appeared towards the end of the speech. -If the Volkspartei have their way, how much will shortly -remain of the will of the people in Germany?</p> - -<p>Now for an English woman sitting unperceived and unrecognised -among a German audience this speech was not -pleasant hearing. Naturally, the speaker glided easily -over the rotten ice of Germany’s responsibility for the -war. He had nothing to say as to the original crime of -German militarism, the real starting point of his tale of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_189">[189]</span> -woe. For him history began with the Peace, an indefensible -position. Nevertheless all he had to say on that -subject drove home every doubt people like myself have -felt as to the scrapping by the Peace of the fundamental -principles for which we fought the war. The speech was -a practical illustration of how the Treaty itself has played -straight into the hands of the German reactionaries, how it -has brought democratic professions into utter contempt, -how it has made the lot of a German democratic Government -practically impossible.</p> - -<p>The speech of the evening was received with rapturous -applause, though elements of dissent were not unrepresented. -But, as I have said before, German political -meetings are not arranged with a view to helping the -heckler. It is one thing to fire off questions from the -body of the hall, quite another to go upon the platform -and make a reasoned speech of protest surrounded by -your enemies. Even so the “discussions” are at times sufficiently -lively. A nice old working-man, with clothes so -patched that the original pattern had almost disappeared, -sat next me in my corner. He was obviously full of protest -at the speech, and obviously anxious to explain his -objections to me. But the necessities of my incognito -demanded strict silence, for my speech I knew would betray -me if I became involved in conversation however interesting. -So I was forced to assume an attitude of -haughty aloofness, much though I regretted the latter.</p> - -<p>When the Berlin gentleman sat down, another prop of -the Volkspartei, an elderly and spectacled lady, advanced to -the reading-desk fairly staggering under a load of MS. -“Lieber Gott!” said two young men sitting in front of -me when she had said half a dozen words. Seizing their<span class="pagenum" id="Page_190">[190]</span> -hats, they fled forthwith. I bore with the portentous dullness -of the lady for a few minutes and then fled in my -turn. The evening though interesting had not been agreeable. -There had been too much truth in many of the -taunts hurled by the Professor at the democratic professors -of the Allies and their “faithful guardianship” of -the principles of liberty and justice. The miserable state -of confusion to which the pundits of the Peace Conference -have reduced Europe is only too apparent to any one -living on the Continent. But to have the moral enforced -and adorned by a German is poor work for an English woman.</p> - -<h3>III</h3> - -<p>One outstanding impression which I have carried away -from political meetings in Germany is the easy life of a -German parliamentary candidate. So far as I could judge, -these happy individuals saunter through a campaign with -relative ease and leisure. Instead of a hectic evening spent -in rushing from one meeting to another, candidates sit for -hours listening to one another’s oratory. The absence of -heckling and questions makes the delivery of long political -treatises, which are but mildly challenged, a simple task. -There are of course exceptions, and some meetings, -notably Socialist ones, announce a “discussion,” at which -feeling runs high. But the average German audience is -very long-suffering, and tolerates bores and speeches of -inordinate length which would empty an English gathering. -The whole spirit of a German meeting is hostile to interruptions. -I have heard a man who interjected a harmless<span class="pagenum" id="Page_191">[191]</span> -remark torn to pieces by the speaker, with the obvious -approval of the audience.</p> - -<p>All of which is perhaps a mark of the political inexperience -of the people and that despairing German habit of -taking for granted what is told them. Nowhere more -than in Germany does one thank heaven for the intractability -and argumentativeness of the British democracy. -Intellectual docility lies at the root of many German -crimes, and along the path of criticism probably lies the -way of political regeneration.</p> - -<p>Liberal and Conservative principles are much the same -all the world over, and the German political parties which -embody them are easy to recognize whatever their names. -But the clerical element which cuts across political life in -Catholic Germany has no parallel in English politics, and -produces some curious eddies in the stream. The Zentrum, -the orthodox Catholic Party, cannot be reproached -with clericalism in the bad sense of the word. German -Catholicism includes mildly Socialistic elements, and the -Zentrum joined with the Social Democrats in forming the -present Government. It is largely a working-class party, -and stands for what we should call moderate Liberal -views. But at the same time it is grounded in principles -of religious education and that religious view of the -State to which modern democratic feeling is increasingly -hostile. Joint makers of the Coalition, no two parties at -the moment abuse each other more heartily than the -Zentrum and the Majority Socialists. Despite its present -influence, it is difficult, therefore, to judge what the future -holds for the Zentrum. Meanwhile, a certain section -of zealots and intriguers have broken away from the -original Catholic Party to form the Christliche Volkspartei.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_192">[192]</span> -The seceders declare that by holding any traffic -with the Social Democrats the Zentrum has been faithless -to the first principles of religious education. It was -incumbent on them, therefore, however heart-breaking the -task, to withdraw the hem of their garments from the -accursed thing and stand for Christian fundamentals in -their original purity. Behind all of which professions -lurks a very pretty intrigue.</p> - -<p>I was favourably impressed at a Zentrum meeting both -by the audience and the speakers. I came away feeling -that they were decent people holding moderate views with -honesty and a certain liberality of view. Unlike the -Deutschnationale and the Volkspartei, they do not desire -the destruction of the Republic, while paying it perfunctory -lip-service. One speaker, a priest, declared emphatically -against any restoration of the monarchy, and his -remarks were received with cheers. The capitalist element -was clearly unrepresented on the platform. The body of -the hall was filled with the same working-class element -largely represented in the crowds which flock on Sunday -mornings to Cologne Cathedral. The Zentrum is a -strong party, and whatever electoral successes it may win -at the polls are not likely to be hostile to social reform on -cautious lines.</p> - -<p>Very different is the position as regards the seceding -body, that of the Christliche Volkspartei. I attended a -meeting of the new party, and fell among proceedings -which were refreshingly lively. It was a curious audience, -generally speaking on a plane just above working-class -level, but including more well-to-do and moneyed -interests. They were not a pleasant set of people. Some -looked fanatics; others undiluted scamps. A large number<span class="pagenum" id="Page_193">[193]</span> -of women were present who cheered with great vigour. -Enthusiasm was boundless, but was countered at -the back of the hall by very definite opposition.</p> - -<p>When the speakers and candidates took their place on -the platform, cheers greeted the appearance of a sinister-looking -priest with intrigue written all over him. This -was the celebrated Father Kastert, whose political activities -of late have made no small stir in the Rhineland. -The various candidates got to work, and I have never -heard texts and Christian ideals hurled about a platform -with such vigour, and, according to English standards, -with such entire lack of reserve. Several of the speakers, -judging by their appearance, might have engaged in shady -commerce, which made their declamations about the supreme -importance of religious education the more interesting.</p> - -<p>Shortly after the meeting began, a blind gentleman, -venerable in appearance and with a large white beard, was -shepherded with ostentatious care on to the platform. I -suspected a trophy, judging by the exaggerated marks of -respect with which he was received by Father Kastert -and his friends. He was, in fact, a leading supporter of -the Zentrum, who had seceded to the new party. The -old gentleman was propped up, and when he began to -speak, despite his tottering steps and shaking hands, proved -a veritable Bull of Bashan. The Sermon on the Mount -and the Temptation in the Wilderness formed part of a -political pot-pourri mixed up with the misdeeds of the -Social Democrats. I was sitting by chance among a nest -of zealots, who greeted these remarks with hysterical -applause. A youth, still wearing field grey, suddenly -jumped up in emphatic protest. General uproar resulted.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_194">[194]</span> -“Aus mit dem Kerl!” shouted several ladies round me. -My spirits rose at the prospect of seeing some one turned -out with German thoroughness, but the young man -thought better of it, and sat down again hastily. The -chairman rang his bell, and after a time the meeting -proceeded. Among this curious company of hypocrites -applauding principles clearly remote from their practice -I was struck by one working-man candidate, who spoke -with obvious sincerity as well as simplicity. No workman, -he said, could look for joy in his work unless that -work were grounded in Christ. Christ was the root, -Christ was the foundation, Christ was the workman’s -stay and support. Happily in England we do not discuss -the Founder of Christianity on political platforms after -the manner of this meeting. But in this solitary case the -note of sincerity rang true, and I was grateful for it.</p> - -<p>The candidates said their say, and then the real “turn” -of the evening began with a lengthy discourse from -Father Kastert. Father Kastert, despite all disclaimers -to the contrary, is regarded as the protagonist of the -Rhineland Republic, a matter about which there are many -mutterings and murmurings in the Occupied Area. As -such he is an object of abhorrence to all patriotic Germans. -Various elements enter into the Rhineland Republic -intrigue. The annexationist party in France are -naturally in favour of it; good Catholics are told that -self-determination for the Rhineland means getting rid of -Prussian Protestant officials; clericals are promised more -power in a State dominated by clerical influences; greedy -financiers are heartened by the prospect of escaping any -way from the full burdens of the indemnity. Every decent -German looks on the movement as one of supreme<span class="pagenum" id="Page_195">[195]</span> -treachery to the Fatherland in its hour of defeat and -overthrow, and on Father Kastert as the arch-traitor.</p> - -<p>That Father Kastert and his following are violently assailed -is only natural. His lengthy speech on this occasion -took the form of an apologia. His visit to General -Mangin was only concerned with securing a greater -measure of liberty for the Rhineland during the Occupation, -and in hastening the close of the Occupation itself; -away with the abominable lie that he was in French pay -and serving French ends; all that he sought was to free -the Rhineland from the Jewish influences rampant both -in Prussia and Berlin and to secure the fullest measure -of self-determination. On the whole the Father, though -like all priests a good speaker, proved less of a personality -than I expected. I am quite unable to judge how far -the charges brought against him are just. The Christliche -Volkspartei is the political instrument formed by him for -carrying out his projects, whatever they may be. Father -Kastert would appear to draw his support from singularly -unworthy elements in German public life; people who -are ready to traffic with the enemies of yesterday for the -sake of such bread-and-butter advantages as may be obtained -from the intercourse. A bad peace opens the door -to intrigues of many kinds. But the security of Europe -or France is not to be achieved by buffer states of the type -contemplated by the supporters of the Rhineland Republic.</p> - -<p>The French Chauvinists who air schemes for the annexation -of the left bank of the Rhine are mischievous -people. It is hard to believe that one French person endowed -with a grain of good sense could lend an ear to so -mad a proposal. Where Germany failed ignominiously<span class="pagenum" id="Page_196">[196]</span> -in Alsace-Lorraine, the French are hardly likely to succeed -in the Rhineland. But foolish talk of this character -tends very appreciably to exasperate and embitter German -public opinion, and brings new elements of hatred and -unrest into a situation which was bad enough already. -Many Germans are convinced that France intends to -spring some annexationist coup upon them, and is only -waiting for an opportunity to strike again. Suspicions -of this kind destroy any hope of improved relations between -the two countries. Goodwill can be at the best a -plant of very slow and painful growth between the nations. -Intrigue makes its existence impossible. The -Rhine is German to the core in race, language, and sentiment. -Even a whisper as to the possibility of detaching -it from the rest of the country is a premium on a fresh -outbreak of anger and exasperation. The unhappy situation -existing in the Saar Basin may have its compensations -if it provides an anti-annexationist moral too strong -to be disregarded.</p> - -<h3>IV</h3> - -<p>Polling day came and went. Despite a certain amount -of nervous chatter beforehand of disturbances and riots, -the elections took place in complete tranquillity. Not a -dog barked through the length and breadth of Germany. -In Cologne, at least, no one would have suspected that -any event of importance was taking place. The ordinary -Sunday crowds promenaded peacefully, as is their habit, to -and fro along the Rhine. The Independent Socialists, -with singular delicacy and nice feeling, plastered the outer -walls of the cathedral during the night with their electioneering<span class="pagenum" id="Page_197">[197]</span> -placards, and in gigantic red letters painted the -words “Wahlt Liste Fries” on the threshold of the west -door. Otherwise everything about the town was quiet -and normal.</p> - -<p>As for the result of the Election, it was very much -what was to be expected under the circumstances—a result -in the highest degree unsatisfactory, if they but knew -it, to the British democracy. The reactionaries and the -extreme Socialists gained at the expense of the moderate -men. The Independent Socialists—the Unabhängige—negligible -at the last election, increased their strength four-fold, -and instead of twenty-two hold eighty-one seats in -the new Reichstag. They swept the great industrial districts -of the west, an ironical commentary on the hysterics -of the English papers which insisted that the Ruhr disturbances -were a put-up job by the German Government -destined to veil a new attack on France. No less striking -were the gains of the Deutsche Volkspartei, who increased -their numbers from twenty-one to sixty-two seats. The -Zentrum with sixty-eight instead of eighty-eight -seats lost substantially, but while yielding ground was not -routed. The Christliche Volkspartei was beaten off the -field. The discomfiture of Father Kastert and the upholders -of the Rhineland Republic was complete. The -serious feature of the Elections was the downfall of the -Social Democrats, the largest and most influential of the -three parties forming the Müller Government. Their -numbers fell from one hundred and sixty-three to one -hundred and twelve. No less complete was the discomfiture -of the Demokraten or Moderate Radicals—the left -wing of the Bourgeois parties—who at the best lived -cramped and uncomfortable lives between the Social Democrats<span class="pagenum" id="Page_198">[198]</span> -on the one hand and the Conservative groups on -the other. Their numbers fell from seventy-five to forty-five -seats. Secrecy of the ballot does not in Germany -prohibit analysis of the totals polled, and the women’s -vote taken as a whole was clearly thrown on the reactionary -side. Gratitude is not a factor which counts in political -life, and the Social Democrats to whom the women owe -their enfranchisement suffered severely at their hands.</p> - -<p>On the morrow of the poll, therefore, the Müller Government -then in power found that its majority had disappeared, -and that the Bourgeois groups reckoned together -were in a majority as compared with the two Socialist -parties. In the good old days for which many -Germans sigh, nothing would have happened in the seats -of the mighty, whatever the complexion of a Reichstag -returned at a General Election. But under the new constitution -established by the revolution, a Government in -power must hold its authority from the elected representatives -of the people. Since, however, both the Zentrum -and the Demokraten had been associated with the Müller -Government, a political deadlock of great difficulty at once -arose. For some days the hitherings and thitherings between -the various groups kept political Germany on the -tiptoe of excitement. The Independent Socialists held -aloof and refused entirely to be associated in any Government -with the Majority Socialists. The Majority Socialists -refused with equal firmness to have anything to do -with a Cabinet in which their deadly enemies the Volkspartei -would necessarily play a leading part. The Zentrum -with its sixty-eight seats and Liberal leanings clearly -held the balance of power between the conflicting parties. -The political crisis lasted for a fortnight, during which<span class="pagenum" id="Page_199">[199]</span> -period Germany was practically without a Government. -This state of affairs was considerably aggravated by the -approach of the Spa Conference and the necessity to -have a German Cabinet in existence with whom negotiations -could be carried on. Finally, after many days of -uncertainty, a new Coalition Government emerged with -Herr Fehrenbach, the Zentrum leader, as Chancellor. -The new Government is largely Zentrum with a dash of -Demokraten, but the sinister influence of the Volkspartei -is dominant in its counsels. The Government can -command no clear majority. It is confronted with a -solid block of Socialist opposition. The Social Democrats, -whatever the attitude of the Independents, are not -likely to hamper the new Cabinet in vital questions of -external politics. But in daily life it will be forced to -lead the uneasy existence of playing off the various groups -against each other. It is a weak Government at a moment -when strength is essential, and such strength as it -possesses is largely of the wrong kind.</p> - -<p>This upshot, as I see it, is wholly devoid of comfort -to any one who desires the rehabilitation of Germany on -right lines. The election is the writing on the wall which -even at the eleventh hour should command the attention -of the little ring of politicians who control the Entente -policy. This shifting of German opinion to the right and -to the left is an ominous sign. The party standing for -ordered democratic development has been knocked out. -The British public should try to realise it has been killed -by the Allied policy. That it was worth supporting is -proved by the fact that, despite heavy losses, the Social -Democrats still remain the largest individual group in the -new Reichstag. We have refused to discriminate between<span class="pagenum" id="Page_200">[200]</span> -the good and bad elements in political Germany. Our -hand has rested as heavily on a democratic as it would -rightly have done on a Junker Government. The shackles -forged by the Allies have in the first place reduced the -only administration to impotence to which they could look -for the fulfilment of the just demands of a revised Treaty. -Economic and political recovery has been made an impossibility -owing to the policy pursued. As a result, hunger, -despair, and general misery have driven large sections -of the working-classes into the arms of the Communists. -They have lost faith and hope in a constitutional -party whose weakness has been so great. They are out -for the short cut of violent means in order to better conditions -which they regard as intolerable.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile the Deutsche Volkspartei and all the wealthy -and reactionary elements in the country have been no less -eager to stamp upon the smoking flax of a democratic -Germany. On the Friday and Saturday before the poll I -attended meetings respectively of the Volkspartei and the -Social Democrats. In each case speeches were made -typical of the two sets of ideas at war in Germany to-day. -On this occasion the Volkspartei speakers hardly -took the trouble to camouflage their real opinions, though -one pastor spoke eloquently of the “Liberalisms” of which -they were the guardians—a claim which moved me to -secret mirth. The arguments were developed on the same -lines as those I have described above, only on this occasion -the cloven hoof was still more obvious. The revolution -and the Republic were the root causes of Germany’s -present misery. The view of the Volkspartei that a Constitutional -Monarchy was the best form of government -was unchanged, though they “accepted” the Republic.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_201">[201]</span> -Soon they hoped the old red and white and black colours -would wave over them again—a remark which roused -frantic applause from the large and enthusiastic audience. -Internationalism and the League of Nations were condemned -in unsparing terms. Who were the Allies to -advance these principles? Let them cease to boycott Germans -in all parts of the world, and let France bring to -an end the scandal of her black troops in the Occupied -Areas. Then they might begin to talk about internationalism. -As for England, no country pursued its policy with -more consistent and single-eyed devotion to its own interests. -Germany could only be remade on the basis of -a strong and efficient nationalism. A new spirit was -abroad in the land and, granted the defeat of the Socialists -and Social Democrats, all that had been lost might be -regained.</p> - -<p>Very different was the tone and temper of the meeting -of the Social Democrats on the following night. From -first to last not one word was said with which I, as an -English Liberal, was out of harmony. Any democratic -audience in Great Britain would have found itself in entire -sympathy with the general views expressed. The audience -was typically working-class; quiet, orderly people, -who made on me an unmistakable impression of underfeeding -and suffering. The shabby field-grey uniforms -converted to civilian use served to heighten the curious -earthen look noticeable on so many faces here. Food is -plentiful now in the Occupied Area, but the cost of living -is so high, many families remain ill-nourished. Fresh -milk is unobtainable; during the many months I have -been in Cologne I have never seen a drop. Over and -over again the same question is driven home with overwhelming<span class="pagenum" id="Page_202">[202]</span> -force: can even the most volatile and opportunist -of politicians imagine that the unspecified millions -of the indemnity, or, indeed, any indemnity at all, can -be collected from a nation which is not in a position to -eat or work?</p> - -<p>Herr Meerfeld, the leader of the Social Democrats in -Cologne, and Frau Röhl were the principal speakers at -this final gathering. Both were members of the National -Assembly; Frau Röhl unfortunately has not survived the -deluge which has overwhelmed many of her colleagues. A -capable-looking woman with golden hair, she reminded me -a little of Mary Macarthur, though lacking in the magnetism -and stature, moral no less than physical, of the -English trade-union leader. Herr Meerfeld’s speech was -a merciless indictment of the former militarist Government -and its colossal blunders in connection with the war. -In his first words he struck the keynote of all that followed: -“We will have no more war. What we want in -future is a ‘Peace-Kultur’”—that untranslatable word -which in so many varied forms finds its place in the political -utterances of all parties—“we seek a revision of the -Treaty of Versailles, but we seek it through a policy -of reconciliation and understanding with the democracies -in other countries.” The failures of the military party -to make peace when an honourable peace was still possible, -the rejection of President Wilson’s offers of mediation, -the folly and crime of the unrestricted U-boat campaign—all -these subjects were handled in a spirit which astonished -me. A pamphlet on sale at the meeting, “Wer -trägt die Schuld an unserem Elend?” (Who bears the -responsibility for our misery?), of which I bought a copy, -was packed with a damning array of facts, many of them<span class="pagenum" id="Page_203">[203]</span> -unknown to me, as to the part played by the Kaiser’s -Government during the war. “The German people have -been lied to, and deceived, and betrayed,” cried the speaker. -“We were told that the U-boat campaign would bring -England to her knees in three months!” German mentality -is a baffling thing, but I hardly expected that this -remark would be received with shouts of good-natured -laughter. The long arm of England’s sea-power has been -no laughing matter for Germany, but throughout this -campaign I was specially struck with the absence of hostility -shown to England. Even at the Volkspartei meetings -I listened in vain for the note which shows itself -unmistakable when an audience is deeply roused. The -justice and fair dealing which have marked the British -Occupation have contributed primarily to this end.</p> - -<p>A quaint little woman dressed in black came on to the -platform to make a few remarks during the discussion. -At first she was almost inaudible, but her voice gathered -force and courage as she proceeded. She had been a Red -Cross nurse during the war, so she said. Nothing could -have been more scandalous than the pilfering by the officers -in charge of stores and comforts destined for -wounded men. She had to stand by helplessly and watch -robbery and corruption of all kinds going on at the expense -of the sufferers. “These heroes who filled their -pockets,” she concluded naïvely, “always declared they -were great patriots. Please vote to-morrow for the patriotism -of the Social Democrats, which won’t rob sick -men.” Even more pathetic was the appeal of a working-man -on whom disease had clearly laid a fatal hand. He -addressed the meeting as “dear brothers and sisters,” -which raised a laugh. But there was nothing comic about<span class="pagenum" id="Page_204">[204]</span> -the few words spoken. He had starved, so he said, during -the war. Wars meant nothing but misery and starvation. -Let them support the Social Democrats and then there -would be no more war. He was followed by a Communist -youth, who in languid and superior tones struck the first -note of dissent by adjuring those present at the meeting -not to vote at all. If, however, they felt irresistibly -driven to the polls, the only mitigation of a bad act would -be to vote for the Independent Socialists. General uproar -resulted from this advice, a fat man near me rising from -his seat and shouting with fury, “I know how you’ll vote. -You’re the sort that votes Zentrum.” The Communist -highbrow did not stop to see the end of the storm he had -provoked, but, having said his say, discreetly fled before -Herr Meerfeld could deliver a highly chastening reply. -He left the hall pursued by the execrations of my neighbour, -who showed signs of vaulting over the chairs and -continuing the argument in more forcible fashion in the -street. The general tone of the meeting, apart from this -incident, was serious and appreciative, but it lacked any -of that electric quality which thrills a party on the eve of -victory. I came away uneasy as to the result—an uneasiness -more than justified by the issue.</p> - -<p>As for the future, it lies, as I write, on the knees of -dark and doubtful gods. The British people found it hard -to acquire the habit of war and to make war thoroughly. -To-day it seems as hard a task to recover the habit of -peace and make peace thoroughly. As I have said before, -so long as we persist in regarding Germany as a -political unit solidly inspired by the old military spirit, -and of using a sledge-hammer to it on all occasions, the -resettlement of Europe becomes an impossibility. The<span class="pagenum" id="Page_205">[205]</span> -moral of the Kapp Putsch has been completely ignored -in Allied countries. Yet it was highly suggestive as to -the changed conditions which now rule. A militarist plot -was nipped in the bud by the German working-classes -who retaliated with the weapon of a general strike. I -do not know what better proof of good faith the German -democrats could have given as to their determination to -have no more to do with the old régime. The cry of “give -us back our Junkers” will never arise unless democracy -itself is wholly discredited. We can take no risks with -Germany, and there is no question of her escape from the -penalties of the war she provoked, and the burdens which -in consequence she must bear. Common-sense points, -however, to the Allies giving a fair chance to the democratic -elements from whom, and from whom alone, we -have anything to hope as regards the future. We may -make Germany’s burden impossible, in which case, sooner -or later, general collapse and chaos must follow—chaos -and collapse which will certainly not be confined within -the borders of this country. Or we may make the burden -possible, and not deny a place for repentance to the -men and women who are struggling against heavy odds -to remake their country on principles which are the basis -of our own freedom.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_206">[206]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER XIV<br> - -<small>HATRED</small></h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">It</span> is, I fear, true that national hatreds are in the main -created and kept alive by the educated and upper classes. -Working men and women throughout the world, absorbed -as they are in daily toil and often preoccupied about the -next meal, have no leisure for the cultivation of abstract -sentiments. With a greater simplicity of outlook they -take people and things as they find them and do not -theorise about their faults. The scholastic attitude as -regards hatred is an ironical commentary on some of the -byways into which education is apt to stray. Professors—German -professors in particular—are notorious for -their bloodthirstiness. The ordinary fighting soldier, who -has been over the top half a dozen times, is a man of peace -compared with certain ferocious persons of academic distinction. -The brandishing of quills has apparently a more -permanently disturbing effect on character than the hurling -of hand grenades. The man in the trench has, after -all, a certain tie of fellowship with the man in the trench -opposite. They are linked together by a common sense -of duty fulfilled and of horrors equally endured. Each -knows that the other is a man very much like himself, -sick with the misery and dirt of the whole business, -whose heart in all probability is yearning just in the same -way for a wife, and home, and child. Men under these<span class="pagenum" id="Page_207">[207]</span> -circumstances do not give themselves up to abstract -hatreds.</p> - -<p>But among civilians, a man or woman’s gift of warlike -talk is often in inverse ratio to any sort of personal -capacity to shoulder the responsibilities of battle. Women -are always apt to be more bitter than men because their -measure of personal sacrifice in the war has been invariably -less. They have seen their loved ones perish and -the light of happiness quenched in their own lives. It is -not easy for them to think steadily of the great ideals for -which men died, and to realise that bitterness breeds a -spirit which makes the fulfilment of such ends impossible. -The case of the professors is even worse. In Germany -the subservience of high academic authorities to the most -abominable doctrines of the militarists was a grave and -sinister feature in the history of the years preceding the -war. The beating of tom-toms by men presumably of -education goes a long way to justify the jibe of the “New -Ignorance” applied to education by Mr. James Stephens. -Education left to itself is just a force, and if it throws off -the right sort of moral controls, becomes, as the whole -history of latter-day Germany proves, a very dangerous -force. Probably in Germany to-day there is no class -more bitter, no class more full of hatred and the desire -for revenge, than that of the professors. But a similar -attitude may often be found among well-to-do people of -all races, people who, whether or not they have been educated -in the real sense of the term, have had the opportunities -and advantages which spring from worldly status -and prosperity.</p> - -<p>No side of the Occupation has been more interesting -than the points of contact it has provided between the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_208">[208]</span> -English and the Germans. Social intercourse on the -upper levels is non-existent. Germany and England were -at war when the Rhineland was occupied, and the relations -then inevitable between conqueror and conquered have -remained unaltered. Many of the English families now -living in Cologne can hardly be conscious that they are in -a foreign country. The English military community lives -a life apart. At hardly any point, except in the shops, do -they come in contact with the Germans. The large majority -of English people, men and women alike, do not -speak the language, and few make any effort to learn it.</p> - -<p>It is not easy to say what impressions of Germany and -the Germans many of these people will bring away. Opinion -on the subject varies considerably, and the views expressed -are as wide asunder as the poles. Some people admit -frankly that their judgment and outlook have been -modified considerably by all they have seen and heard. -Others brought a stock-in-trade of prejudices from England -and have guarded it jealously from any contact with -facts. If an Occupation following on a war has any -moral value, it is that necessarily it brings the enemies -of yesterday in touch, and so helps to break down a certain -amount of prejudice and to soften bitter feeling. -Thus the way is paved to the resumption, sooner or later, -of normal relations. It is easy to hate the abstract entity -Germany. It is less easy to hate individual Germans who -may prove on acquaintance to be estimable people. Little -of this modifying influence has made itself felt on the -Occupation. Many women, and some officers, declare -that the behaviour of the Boche is rude and insolent; that -he jostles English women in the streets, and is generally -lying and dishonest in all his ways. Circumstantial stories<span class="pagenum" id="Page_209">[209]</span> -are related in this sense. It has been stated in my presence -that a certain lady could not use the trams owing to the -gross incivility of the conductors. I am left wondering -how far people who have these experiences provoke them -by trailing their coats. Obviously, English women who -talk loudly in a tram about “the beastly Boche” may find -themselves in trouble with their fellow-passengers, the -German ignorance of foreign languages not being as -great as their own.</p> - -<p>Speaking for myself, I have never received one rude -or uncivil word from man, woman, or child during the -year I spent in Germany. I went about sometimes wearing -the official arm-band, and therefore obviously English; -sometimes not. I have never noticed the smallest -difference in the behaviour of the people on the pavements -or in the street cars. Tram conductors I have found almost -without exception a polite and efficient body of men. -All great cities contain a proportion of gross and undesirable -people. Cologne is no exception to this rule, but -the particular elements are not more conspicuous here -than elsewhere. So far from hostility, I have received -much courtesy and consideration from Germans with -whom I came into casual touch. I am not denying the -reality of other people’s contrary experiences. I can only -state my own. Temperament is a mirror which deflects -the passage of facts, and some of the English in Cologne -have arrived at fixed judgments about Germany before -setting foot in the country. If they find the inhabitants -civil they at once call them servile, if they show spirit they -denounce them as insolent. In Cologne drawing-rooms -English women will sometimes discuss the Germans -much in the spirit of the Mohammedans who sat in a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_210">[210]</span> -circle and spat at a ham. I have never been able to understand -on what grounds they founded that extreme view. -Upper-class Germany has vanished from the Occupied -Areas, and no one regrets their disappearance. But as -regards the humbler classes with whom we of the Occupation -come in touch, the working-men and country-folks, -the shopkeepers, small business people and minor bureaucracy, -I have no hesitation in saying that they are, -generally speaking, hard-working civil people, correct in -their attitude and bearing. Reasonable people should find -no difficulty in maintaining the superficial amenities of -life with them, even under the abnormal conditions which -have thrown us together.</p> - -<p>However varied the views among the officer class, the -rank and file of the Army have settled down to friendly -relations with the Germans—too friendly many people -think. Men who have never understood the French temperament -or outlook find themselves very much at home -in Germany. From time to time agitated articles appear -in the English papers deploring the fact that English soldiers -are “getting to like Germans,” and calling on some -one to do something drastic. The fact that the bow of -hatred does not remain tense and strung, as desired by -some people, will certainly cause no regret to those who -are appalled by the perils of the present state of Europe. -Better relations between nations will, I believe, be built -up ultimately on working-class levels. The diplomacy -of the politicians in power is too bitter and too tortuous -to further the cause of European reconstruction. From -this point of view the Occupation has been wholly to the -good, inasmuch as tens of thousands of Englishmen who<span class="pagenum" id="Page_211">[211]</span> -have passed through the country have gone home with a -saner appreciation of the situation.</p> - -<p>German households, on whom many of these men were -quartered, found to their amazement that instead of proving, -as they feared, demons incarnate, the British soldiers -were good-hearted, good-tempered fellows who shared the -family life, peeled potatoes, and played with the children. -The soldiers on their side appreciated the kindly treatment -they received and were touched by the many evidences of -hunger and suffering among the working-classes. Some -day I hope we shall have a “Book of Decent Deeds” showing -that among all belligerents there is another side to -war besides that of atrocities. We may smile at the true -story of the British Tommy writing home to his mother -to send him a feeding-bottle, with tubes and apparatus -complete, for a German baby in his billet who was in a -poor way owing to the lack of these things. The German -mother burst into tears when she was given the bottle -which meant the difference between life and death to the -child. But such an act and the Spirit it breathes is a ray -of light in the darkness.</p> - -<p>Loud protests are sometimes made by well-fed, well-to-do -people as to the impropriety of helping the starving -children of Central Europe. Very different was the -attitude of the soldiers who had overthrown the German -military power. It is to the eternal honour of the conquering -army which marched into the Rhineland, that its -first act was one of pity and mercy to the hungry women -and children of Cologne. It was necessary for the Commander-in-Chief, -Lord Plumer, to telegraph to the Peace -Conference that, unless supplies were forthcoming for -the underfed German civilians, he could not be responsible<span class="pagenum" id="Page_212">[212]</span> -for the effect on the discipline of the Army. The soldiers -were up in arms at the spectacle of starvation, and -nothing could prevent them, contrary to orders, from sharing -their rations with the enemy.</p> - -<p>I think the question of hatred is one which calls for -clear thinking at the present crisis in the world’s history. -Many people imagine that when they have abused the -Boche in round terms they have “done their bit” towards -squaring the accounts of devastated France or Belgium. -All that they have done is to feed and sustain the spirit -which led in the first place to the devastations. Whatever -enormities Germany may have committed during the war, -the task of punishment is not the problem of supreme -urgency which here and now confronts us all. What we -are face to face with is the question as to whether civilisation -as a whole can survive the blows rained on it. The -responsibility of Germany for this state of affairs is at -the moment less important than the rescue of civilisation -from the brink of the chasm on which it is trembling. It -is useless to go on saying that Germany must be punished -or that Germany must pay, if in fact the actual policy -pursued is calculated to involve conquerors and conquered -alike in common ruin. At times it is difficult to -avoid the gloomy conclusion that we are approaching the -end of a cycle of history, and that a period of darkness -and chaos bids fair to overwhelm a world incapable of -saving itself. The economic and political condition of -Europe is grave in the extreme. In every country wild -forces are surging upwards, the peril of which lies in the -absence of any powers of moral and spiritual counteraction. -The strain of the war has swallowed up the spiritual<span class="pagenum" id="Page_213">[213]</span> -reserves of the world, and its moral credit is not only -exhausted but overdrawn.</p> - -<p>No nation ever went to war in a spirit more grave and -more responsible than that in which the British people -accepted the German challenge. The call to arms is invariably -a great and inspiring moment. At such a time -men and women realise that they are caught up and raised -on the wing of ideals greater than themselves. But it is -part of the evil of war that the longer it lasts the more -black and the more bitter the spirit it breeds. From August -1914 and the hush of consecration which fell on the -nation, to December 1918 and what was well described by -a distinguished publicist as the “organized blackguardism” -of the General Election, is a falling away in temper -and standard almost unbearable to contemplate.</p> - -<p>I have often wondered whether the men and women -who lent themselves casually to “hatred stunts” during the -war ever realised what cruel suffering was caused to a -large number of humble and obscure folk. Now that the -spirit of sanity and moderation is making itself heard -again, English people must surely look back with shame -on the treatment meted out to inoffensive enemy aliens. -Busybodies obsessed by spy mania were merely a source -of nuisance and ridicule to the Secret Service. That -Service was highly efficient, and its agents were quite -capable of doing their work without the interference of -officious amateurs. The German wife and the English -woman with a German husband were in many cases treated -as outcasts. Years of residence in England, even the fact -of children fighting with the British Army, did not serve -in many cases to mitigate the violence and hatred of their -neighbours. The German wives of English subjects, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_214">[214]</span> -the English wives of Germans, were naturally in a painful -and trying position and one which was bound to excite -prejudice. The degree, however, to which a group of -men within Parliament, and a section of the Press without, -sought deliberately to inflame the lowest passions of -the mob in this matter, is the most sordid page in the history -of the war. Helpless, friendless, without money, -unable to make their voices heard, these unhappy people, -treated as pariahs both in the land of their birth and in -that of their adoption, were hunted from pillar to post.</p> - -<p>Periodically “intern-them-all” campaigns were worked -up which led to obscure Germans of proved respectability -being locked up. Many of these people had English wives -and families, who suffered severely through the removal -of the breadwinner. English women were forced to take -refuge in Germany from the persecutions of their own -countrymen. What are we to think of the spirit and -policy which could drive from the shores of England—England -the home of Liberty, England the safe asylum -of the oppressed—women of our own race who found -the treatment meted out to them too hard to be endured?</p> - -<p>Wives and families landed in Germany not speaking -one word of the language, to be welcomed naturally by -a spirit as hard and bitter as any they had left. The lot -of English wives resident in Germany was unenviable. -But I do not gather that enemy aliens were treated with -a greater measure of harshness in Germany during the -war than what occurred in England. Many English -women living in Germany throughout the war did not suffer -in any marked degree from the hostility of their neighbours. -Naturally these would-be pogroms never catch<span class="pagenum" id="Page_215">[215]</span> -the right person. Rich people who may be really mischievous -escape; the poor man is hunted. The Junkers -whom it would be satisfactory to punish are living in -comfort and prosperity on their estates. The poor starve -and are driven down into inconceivable depths of misery -both of body and soul.</p> - -<p>Even to-day the position of many English women in -Germany who are married to Germans is most pitiful. -Under the Peace Treaty the Allies reserved the power to -retain and liquidate all property belonging to German nationals. -I am not concerned at this point to raise the question -as to how far this precedent of confiscation may prove -a double-edged weapon in the capitalist world. But again, -it is not the rich man who suffers. Large fortunes can -always take care of themselves. The people who have -been ground to powder by this provision are women with -tiny incomes or annuities, the complete stopping of which -has meant literal starvation. Most painful cases of this -character came to my notice in the Rhineland. In some -instances women are told that if they leave their husbands -and return to England the money will be paid. Is a war -fought for “truth and justice” to eventuate in alternatives -of such a character? Are women, at the end of an agonising -experience, to choose between husbands they may -love and the stark fact of starvation? I heard of one -English woman, too proud to beg or receive alms, who -came by stealth and searched the swill-tubs of a mess in -order to pick out food from it. The British military -authorities have shown invariable sympathy and kindness -to these unfortunates. They have done what lay in their -power to mitigate the circumstances. Soldiers do not fail -in compassion to the poor and needy. The little group of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_216">[216]</span> -politicians conspicuous for their Hun-hunting activities -have not served with the colours. The British Army fights -its enemies in the field. It does not persecute women and -decrepit old men. But the soldiers cannot alter the confiscation -clauses of the Treaty which press with such peculiar -hardship on people of small incomes. If these -clauses are directed to searching the pockets of the Stinnes -and the Krupps, let exceptions at least be made on the -lower levels. The Treaty of Versailles in many of its -provisions merely reflects the current hatreds of the hour. -Modification of these clauses is inevitable when the wave -of passion has subsided.</p> - -<p>Not sorrow, loss, and suffering, but the temper born -and bred of war, is its real and essential evil. The ruthless -and cruel spirit which dominated the German war-machine -and the many crimes committed are mainly responsible -for the bitterness which was developed among -the British peoples during the struggle. However natural -the growth of this temper, its survival to-day is a -menace to the future of the world. Hatred when it takes -possession of the soul of a man or woman is a wholly -corroding and destructive force. Where hatred abides the -powers of darkness have their being, ready to sally forth -and work havoc anew. Meanwhile the breaking of this -coil promises to be no easy task. The war let loose in -every country a new and evil force called propaganda—in -plain language, organised lying. It is one of the foibles -of propagandists that they insist on speaking of themselves -as super-George Washingtons. But during the war -any fiction which came to hand was good enough so long -as it served to inflame national hatreds. Propaganda during -the last years of the struggle did a great deal to obscure<span class="pagenum" id="Page_217">[217]</span> -the moral issues for which we were fighting. It -corrupted both character and temper. But the propaganda -genie, having emerged from its bottle in clouds of -smoke and dirt, entirely refuses to subside now the struggle -is over. It is one of the horrid forces with vitality -derived from the war which continues to pursue an independent -existence. It is the weapon-in-chief for keeping -open sores and exasperating passions which good sense -would try to allay. Nations catch sight of each other -dimly through mists of misrepresentation and bitterness. -Truth and justice disappear in the welter, and without -truth and justice the practical affairs of the world drift -daily towards an ultimate whirlpool of chaos.</p> - -<p>Great, therefore, as I see it is the responsibility of all -who to-day throw their careless offerings on the altars of -hatred, so that the flames of discord flare up anew. The -men and women who talk and act thus must try to realise -that the world is reaching its limit of endurance, and -the situation calls not for any post-war fomenting of the -terrible legacy of strife, but for a truce of God between -victors and vanquished. No prejudices are harder to -shift than those which ignorance has exalted into moral -principles of the first order. Thought is apt to be an unpleasant -and disturbing process; the clichés of hatred are -easy to use—why alter them when they round off a sentence -so well? But unless some movement can develop -between nations, unless the forces of destruction can be -checked, then civilisation in the form we know it would -appear to be doomed.</p> - -<p>Germany has still a whole volume of bitter truth to -learn as to the part she has played in the world catastrophe -provoked by her rulers. Until she recognises and admits<span class="pagenum" id="Page_218">[218]</span> -the evil done she cannot regain her place in the fellowship -of nations. But after the great bartering of ideals -represented by the Treaty of Versailles, the Allies are -hardly in a position to preach sermons to her day in and -day out on moral failures. The practical fact which confronts -us all is that the world is in ruin, and that where -the politicians have failed hopelessly the decent people of -all nations have to get together and make it habitable -again. To dismiss the German nation as a gang of criminals -unfit for human intercourse may be a magnificent -gesture on the part of the thoughtless. But it is not business. -There are good Germans and bad Germans, Germans -animated by a quite detestable spirit, others who -are conscientious and high-minded. The wholesale indictment -of a nation is as absurd as the wholesale indictment -of a class. Human nature falls into types of -character far more than into social and racial divisions. -In the ultimate issue society is divided into two sets of -people: those who behave decently and those who do not. -People of the first type have a common kinship whatever -their race or colour, and the need for asserting that kinship -was never more urgent than at present.</p> - -<p>If the world is to survive, tolerable social, economic, -and political relations must be resumed sooner or later -between enemy countries. It is of the first importance -that the better elements in Germany should be encouraged -and strengthened, so that through their influence a new -spirit should animate the general German outlook on life. -When no effort is made to discriminate, when good and -bad are branded alike in one sweeping condemnation, hope -of improvement vanishes. A nation to whom all place for -repentance is denied loses heart and ceases to try. Reasonable<span class="pagenum" id="Page_219">[219]</span> -men cannot make their voices heard under such -conditions. Anger and bitterness at what is considered -unfair treatment surge upwards again, and from them the -desire for revenge is born anew. It is foolish to kick a -man repeatedly in the face and then to complain that he -does not behave like a gentleman. If the spirit of hatred -is to rule in Europe we are heading straight for another -war. This eventuality should, I think, be recognised -clearly by the hotheads of all nations.</p> - -<p>Germany cannot continue indefinitely to fulfil the function -of the whipping-boy of Europe. The Junkers and -soldiers who made the war, and were responsible for all -that was cruel and brutal in its conduct, have disappeared. -Owing to gross mismanagement in connection with the -war criminals, many Germans guilty of specific acts of -cruelty who should have been dealt with severely have -slipped through the net. But where statesmanship has -blundered inexcusably, it is unjust to visit vicariously on -a whole community the sins of a class or of individuals. -To do so is to destroy any chance of the growth of a -better spirit among the German people as a whole. I recall -the words of farewell addressed to me by a saleswoman -in a Cologne shop to whom I was saying good-bye: -“When you go back to England, tell your countrymen -that we are not such dreadful people as they think, -and ask them also to remember that we too have our pride -and our self-respect.”</p> - -<p>Many Germans are as much blinded by hatred as to -our actions and motives as we are about theirs. We -recognise with angry exasperation the measure of their -misconceptions about ourselves. Is it not possible that -misconceptions may exist on our side as to the character<span class="pagenum" id="Page_220">[220]</span> -and attitude of, anyway, some Germans? We are sore, -and sad, and bitter. So are countless Germans who are -convinced that their lives have been ruined by our jealousy -and ambition. Is it humanly possible to carry on -the business of life in a nightmare world, where millions -of human beings view each other through glasses so distorted? -The moral deadlock at the moment is complete. -It can only be solved by the spread of a new spirit of -truth and charity. That cannot arise till reasonable men -and women of all nations, realising the perils which confront -us one and all, try and form unbiassed judgments, -not only of each other’s actions, but what is perhaps even -more important, of each other’s motives and principles. -In all this there is no question of slurring over evil where -evil exists, or condoning wrong where wrong has been -done. It is a question of seeing these things in their true -scale and right proportion. Righteous anger may rouse a -sense of repentance where hatred only hardens and embitters. -The wrath of man has had its full play through -years of strife and horror. Judged as a constructive -force, its fruits up to the present have been meagre. Is -it possible that, after all, Paul of Tarsus was right, and -that the fruits of the spirit, joy, peace, and righteousness, -do not lie along this particular path? In so far as the -spirit of hatred is cultivated and encouraged, it perpetuates -all that is worst in war, without any of the redeeming -qualities of heroism and self-sacrifice which make war -tolerable. Hatred breeds hatred, strife further strife, -violence yet more violence. From this vicious circle, so -long as we allow ourselves to turn in it, there is no escape. -Faith, hope, and charity alone can break the wheel of torment -in which at present we revolve, and bring about the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_221">[221]</span> -necessary moral and spiritual <i>détente</i> without which the -world must surely perish.</p> - -<p>Peace is not a question of documents and treaties. The -world is still in a condition of bitter strife, because the -spiritual values which make peace in the real sense possible -are at present wholly lacking in the relations of the respective -nations. I am driven to the conclusion that in this, -as in other respects, the instinct of the great mass of the -people throughout Europe is sounder and better than that -of their rulers. Whatever the schemes and intrigues -of a tortuous diplomacy, it is already clear that the working-classes -are determined not to be made pawns in any -fresh war of aggression. The German working-man is -saturated with the misery of war. He will have no more -of it unless some policy of oppression, suicidal in its -character, re-creates the temper and spirit of the post-Jena -period. Among my memories of Germany I dwell -on none with more hope than an incident which befell us -one spring evening in the Eifel. We were spending Sunday -at Nideggen, a village perched high on its red volcanic -cliffs above the valley of a delectable trout stream. -We stopped in the course of our walk to admire a cottage -garden where peas and beans were growing with mathematical -diligence and regularity. Care had obviously been -lavished on every plant and flower of the little plot, which -lay on a sunny slope facing south. The owner who was -hard at work among the peas, seeing our interest, asked -if we would like to go over his garden. We accepted the -invitation willingly, and he conducted us with pride from -one end to the other of his tiny kingdom. He was an -admirable type of peasant, a tall grave man with honest -eyes and courteous manners. He combined some market-gardening<span class="pagenum" id="Page_222">[222]</span> -with his business of stone-mason. The conversation -drifted as usual to the war. He had served in -a pioneer corps but had come through, “Gott sei dank,” -unscathed. Of war or the possible recurrence of war he -spoke with that intense horror which marks all the German -working-classes. Never must such a thing happen -again, he said; never must there be another war. My -mind fled across the seas to a corner of Kent where I was -well assured on this fine spring evening, another friend of -mine, one William Catt, a son of the soil, just as honest -and simple, just as devoted to his home and family, -was also attending to peas and runner beans. William -Catt too had served in the war. What crazy system could -send those two good men with rifles in their hands to shoot -each other? The Nideggen peasant had reflected to some -purpose on “Earth’s return for whole centuries of folly, -noise, and sin.” Spade in hand he looked across the fair -landscape at our feet, where the river lay like a silver -streak winding among woods and meadows. Then he -turned to me and said very seriously, “For a thousand -years men have been mad; now we must all learn to be -more reasonable.”</p> - -<p>Would that the diplomatists of all countries could take -to heart words so true and so wise! Here was the spirit -which alone can create and sustain the League of Nations. -While the political wire-pullers of Europe seek -to make of the League the unhappy pushball of their own -intrigues, this German working-man had the root of the -matter in him. May his vision of a world in which men -are learning to be “reasonable” wax from dim hope into -full and perfect realisation.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_223">[223]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER XV<br> - -<small>THE GERMAN VIEW OF ENGLAND</small></h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">Personally</span> I am under considerable obligations to August -Lomberg, Rektor in Elberfeld. His <i>Präparationen -zu deutschen Gedichten</i> for the purposes of instruction -in schools has been a lantern to my way and a light unto -my path on the somewhat rugged slopes of the German -Parnassus. August Lomberg’s is the hand which has -stayed my often stumbling feet when I first aspired to -Goethe and Schiller, deities sitting enthroned aloft and -remote. Guides to poetry are irritating books in one’s own -language. What a poet has to say, and what he means, -are strictly private matters between the reader and himself. -The views of a third person may even be regarded -as an intrusion, not to say an impertinence. But when -you are struggling with the verbal intricacies of a new -tongue, guides to knowledge assume a very different light. -So, I repeat, I am under many obligations to August -Lomberg, Rektor in Elberfeld. As so often happens with -German authors, he has taught me more incidentally -than the surface content of his works. The Rektor has -clearly a complete and painstaking acquaintance with the -whole range of German literature. But his observations -concerning the poets were, to me at least, of less value -than the revelation of his own type of mind and general -outlook on life.</p> - -<p>August Lomberg is a garrulous writer. His explanations<span class="pagenum" id="Page_224">[224]</span> -are largely historical as well as literary. Every line -breathes a narrow and aggressive patriotism of the type -which has made the name of Germany detested. The -great poets of the Liberation period have sung both of -freedom and oppression on a note which rings clear and -true to any lover of liberty. The Elberfeld Rektor, commenting -on this verse long before 1914, can only do so in -terms of abuse of France. To him a poet is really important, -not for some immortal gift to the sum-total of -the world’s truth and beauty, but for the degree to which -he may have added new stops to the full-sounding organ -swelling the note of German excellence. The ironical anti-patriotic -strain in Heine fills the Rektor with undisguised -horror. So great is his reprobation of Heine as a world -citizen, that he can with difficulty begin to do justice to -him as a poet. And though like Wordsworth’s Nun he is -breathless with adoration before the genius of Goethe, I -more than suspect that at heart Goethe’s indifference to -patriotic questions is a sore trial to him.</p> - -<p>These volumes of Lomberg’s are well-known school-books -in Germany. Hence their value as indicating a -certain trend of thought. If the English are ever to form -a reasoned judgment of the Germans, it is essential to understand -something of that peculiar herbage on which the -minds of teachers and pupils alike have been pastured. -But Herr Lomberg has not been content to rest on his -laurels as regards a critical study of the German classics. -War poetry has also claimed his attention and his explanations. -One afternoon in a bookshop I stumbled -by chance on a volume of German war poetry. I bought -it and went on my way rejoicing. I knew something by -then of the general outlook of my friend the Rektor’s<span class="pagenum" id="Page_225">[225]</span> -mind, and felt sure that his observations on the World-War -would be worth reading. So indeed they proved.</p> - -<p>The poems themselves were of very poor quality. -Nothing remotely comparable to the verse of Rupert -Brooke or Julian Grenfell or of half a dozen other English -writers adorned these drab pages. Unless Germany -has produced something better than the mediocre collection -brought together by the Rektor, her inferiority in one -respect at least to England is outstanding. Leaving literary -values aside, the normal note struck was one of -a boastful and irritating patriotism. The early poems, -written in the days when Germany was still flushed by -hopes of a speedy and overwhelming victory, are noisy -and aggressive. One writer exults over the air raids. -“We have flying ships, they have none,” he shouts stridently. -No less great is the enthusiasm for the U-boat exploits. -The limits of degradation were reached by a -poem about a pro-German fish in the North Sea. The -fish kept company with a U-boat and followed the various -sinkings with great interest. One day the U-boat sank -first a cargo of sugar, next of lemons, thirdly of rum. The -fish brewed a toddy of these various ingredients, and -drank tipsy toasts to the U-boat. I suppose the poem -was intended to be funny. Of humour it had none. The -mentality it revealed was amazing.</p> - -<p>As the first hopes of easy victory evaporated, a note -of stress and anguish replaces that of the original bluster. -A poem on Ypres was noticeable in this respect. But the -particular interest of the book lay to me in the Rektor’s -explanations about the English. A fount of venom overflows -whenever the name of Britain is mentioned. He sets -forth in his own inimitable way how England, owing to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_226">[226]</span> -her acute jealousy of Germany, had deliberately provoked -the war. England’s sordid anxieties about her menaced -commercial supremacy lay at the root of this action. Having -plotted war and declared it at her own time, she then -proceeded to wage it on the most barbarous lines. English -soldiers murdered the wounded, concealed machine -guns in their Red Cross wagons, and immolated whole -platoons of innocent German soldiers by an abominable -misuse of the white flag. The wickedness, the perfidy, -the treachery of England, the outrages committed by her -against every law of God and man—the Rektor lashes -himself into a white heat on these themes. No less fulsome -and subservient is the writer in his praise of the -Kaiser and the Crown Prince. Germany’s passion for -peace, a peace destroyed only by the intrigues of a jealous -and wicked world, is enlarged on over and over again.</p> - -<p>This book, like its predecessors, is intended for use in -schools. We can form some judgment, therefore, of the -facts and fancies which writers of the Lomberg type thrust -as historical truth on the rising generation. The influence -of such statements can hardly be exaggerated, -and much similar poison has flowed through the whole -German school system. German school literature is a real -mine of information to any one who wants to study the -root causes of latter-day German mentality. Little wonder -that animosities and misunderstandings rend nations -in twain when truth is subordinated to the worst purposes -of political and interested propaganda. Children -are malleable stuff, and certain long-sighted Teutons -realised perfectly that what is driven into a child in the -first impressionable years abides through life.</p> - -<p>The accident of improving my limited knowledge of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_227">[227]</span> -German language brought me in contact with primers and -readers covering all standards and classes. In making my -way from the Child’s First Reader to the volumes in use in -High Schools, I learnt a good deal more than the actual -study of words and grammar. From the Infants’ to the -Upper Standards one note was struck again and again -with monotonous regularity—praise of the Army, glorification -of the Hohenzollerns. I came into rapid conflict -with my Child’s First Reader when on the first page I -was confronted with a little poem saying that, though a -tiny child, my great aim in life should be to shoot straight -and grow up into a fine soldier. Then came a fulsome -hymn to the Kaiser swearing lifelong fidelity to that noble -man. Then followed a series of short stories, no less -fulsome, about the goodness and greatness of the Royal -Family. The book of course included other material, but -glorification of the Hohenzollerns permeated its pages, -and the same thing repeated itself exactly in all the following -standards.</p> - -<p>Thoroughly bored with the Child’s Reader, I tried some -of the more advanced books only to find an elaborated -edition of the same theme. One priceless story in a middle-standard -book told a marvellous tale about the adventures -of a humble family in Berlin, the Empress, the -Emperor’s daughter, and a cow. The curtain rises on a -child weeping bitterly in a Berlin park. The beautiful -and tender-hearted Princess drives by in a glittering -phaëton lined with plush and drawn by two spanking -ponies. Flinging the reins to a groom, she hastens to the -assistance of poverty in distress. A tale of woe is in due -course unfolded. A family, humble but virtuous, have -lost a cow on which the entire prosperity of the household<span class="pagenum" id="Page_228">[228]</span> -pivoted. The Princess comforts the weeping child, -gives her money, and says that though the matter lies beyond -her powers, her mother will certainly call and deal -with the cow situation. The Princess is as good as her -word. To the stupefaction of the district, a royal carriage -containing the Empress visits the humble home -the next day. The Empress administers more consolation; -virtue is to be upheld in the hour of trial. A cow -is following immediately from the royal farm; indeed -it is on its way, lowing, so to speak, at the moment in -the streets of Berlin. The anxieties of the family consequently -will be at an end. The paralysed couple, falling -flat on their faces, stammer suitable words of gratitude -and praise. Thanks to the cow and the prestige attaching -to it, the family fortunes prosper exceedingly. -The whole district tumbles over itself in the effort to -drink a glass of Imperial milk. But unhappily one day -the woman is knocked down and mortally hurt in a street -accident. Lying in the hospital at the point of death, -the matron sees there is something on her mind. On -inquiry the patient replies that if only once again she -could see her benefactress, the Empress, and hold her -hand, she would die content. The matron, being apparently -a person of ample leisure, sets off at once to the -palace to find the Empress. She is interviewed by a -lady-in-waiting, who declares it is impossible for her to -see the august one. Unfortunately it happens to be -Prince Joachim’s birthday and the festivities in connection -with it are about to begin; the Empress cannot possibly -be disturbed. But the stout-hearted matron is not -to be daunted by any lady-in-waiting or any birthday -party. She gives battle vigorously on behalf of her dying<span class="pagenum" id="Page_229">[229]</span> -patient. “Who are you,” she says reprovingly, “to stand -between the mother of her country and the humblest of -her children.” The lady-in-waiting, routed and overwhelmed, -retires hastily to tell the Empress. Her discomfiture -is completed by grave reprimands from the -august one that any time should have been wasted at so -critical a moment in bringing the facts to her knowledge. -Poor Prince Joachim is caught in the backwash of these -events. His birthday party is wrecked. The Empress -hurries off to the bedside of the dying woman, but not -before the table groaning under the weight of Joachim’s -birthday cakes and flowers has been stripped of half its -adornments. With her arms full of roses the Empress -enters the hospital ward. The expiring patient gives a -cry of joy and, after an exchange of suitable sentiments, -dies, holding the Kaiserin’s hand. Even after death the -connection of the humble family with the Hohenzollerns -is maintained. Even more permanent than the prestige -conferred by the cow is the prestige of the tombstone, -erected in the cemetery at the Imperial expense, with an -inscription bearing the Empress’s name.</p> - -<p>Other stories no less grotesque redound to the credit -of the Emperor or the gallantry of the Crown Prince. -Home workers were marked down as the special preserve -of the Crown Princess. Sweated industries in Berlin -might in fact exist to afford a channel for the altruistic -impulses of the royal lady. One by one the various key -points of the Hohenzollern family were dealt with in this -fashion. The glorification of the Army went on as steadily -side by side.</p> - -<p>All this, of course, is systematic propaganda carried -out with characteristic thoroughness and, be it added,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_230">[230]</span> -clumsiness. For even among the Germans it failed in -many cases to carry conviction. I remonstrated with my -Fräulein—herself a school teacher: “How can you bring -your children up on this wretched stuff; with a country -like yours so rich in history and legend, surely there is -something more inspiring to teach than this nonsense -about cows and sweated workers?” Fräulein shrugged -her shoulders. The ferment of the revolution was working -in her naturally liberal mind, and the unaccustomed -liberty of thought and action which the revolution had -brought in its wake moved her not a little. But she -found it difficult to part with the sheet anchors of the -past, and respect for the Imperial family was screwed -very tightly into the average professional German. She -admitted the stories were stupid, but said that the Kaiser -was the symbol of Germany’s greatness and they had -always been taught to revere him. Since the revolution -the Social Democrats have made an end of Kaiser worship -in the schools. Pictures and portraits have vanished. All -totems of the faith have disappeared. Apparently the -children were very much upset when they were first forbidden -to sing hymns to the Kaiser. There were tears -when the portraits were removed. The German mind, -naturally docile, yearns for some concrete expression of -faith to which it can rally. Of all fields schools offer -the greatest scope to the corrupting influence of propaganda. -And through the schools Imperial Germany twisted -and distorted the spirit of the people with consequences -no less dire to themselves than to the rest of the world.</p> - -<p>One of the irritating facts about Germany to-day is -that she refuses to say she is sorry. We English are outraged -by the fact that no sense of guilt or of moral responsibility<span class="pagenum" id="Page_231">[231]</span> -appears to have touched the spirit of the -people. It is not a question of dragging Germany about -in a white sheet and a candle from shrine to shrine, but -of some guarantee that there shall be no repetition of -events so lamentable. The best guarantee for the future -is a clear recognition of what was wrong in the past. -Truth permeates very slowly through German mentality, -and few Germans seem to realise that they or their -rulers have brought the world to the very brink of ruin; -that millions of lives have perished as the result of their -insensate ambitions. They are conscious, painfully conscious -of the miseries of Germany to-day. But that civilisation -as a whole is staggering under the blow they dealt -it—this aspect of the situation apparently never strikes -them. Facts which jump to our eyes as English people -make no more impression on them than they would on a -blind man. Over and over again I have been baffled by -coming up against a blank wall of non-comprehension as -regards circumstances about which there is no dispute.</p> - -<p>A personal experience in this sense, at once exasperating -and amusing, overtook me on a journey between Cologne -and Paris. I shared my cabin in the sleeping-car with a -German lady from Cassel, a typical fair-haired, solid-looking -Prussian. We exchanged the ordinary politenesses -of travellers thrown together on the road. I was -interested to hear that not only did the lady conduct a -large business enterprise in Cassel, but that she was a -prop of the Volkspartei and took a keen interest in politics. -She spoke of Bolshevism and the Red Peril with -the fear and disgust always noticeable in the German -Bourgeoisie. The train by which we were travelling -crossed the devastated area in the night. Before going<span class="pagenum" id="Page_232">[232]</span> -to bed my companion asked me whether we should see -anything of the ravaged districts. I replied that I thought -it would be too dark for any view of the country. It -happened, however, that I woke up at 3 <span class="allsmcap">A.M.</span> and, drawing -the blind, found we were just moving out of Péronne. -It was a grey July dawn, with driving rain, which intensified -the unspeakable desolation of the Somme. Tragic -beyond words were the massacred orchards. In some -cases the stumps of trees not wholly cut through were -throwing up fresh leaves in a painful effort after new -life. My heart was stirred at the thought of my Prussian -stable companion slumbering peacefully in the bunk -above. She had wanted to see devastations; devastations -she should see.</p> - -<p>“Gnädige Frau,” I said in a firm loud voice, “wake -up. We are in the middle of the devastated area, you had -better look at it.” Sounds as though a person had been -disturbed from deep sleep issued from the top berth. -Personally I do not like to think what I should have said -or done had a strange woman in the train woke me up at -3 <span class="allsmcap">A.M.</span> But Prussian docility responded to an order. -Gnädige Frau got down meekly from her berth and established -herself at the window. A suitable flow of exclamations -and adjectives then took place: “entsetzlich,” -“furchtbar,” “schrecklich,” “böse,” and so on. Comfortably -wrapped up in my bunk I surveyed the scene -with virtuous satisfaction, feeling that I was bringing -home the war to one Prussian at least in an entirely right -spirit and manner. Gnädige Frau, however, turned my -flank with the military efficiency of her race. To my intense -disgust I found that the text I had provided by this -view of the Somme only led to an elaborate sermon on<span class="pagenum" id="Page_233">[233]</span> -the devastations of the Russians in East Prussia. “You -cannot imagine what awful things were done by those terrible -Cossacks,” said the lady, “and how our poor cities -were ruined. The rich German towns have had to become -godparents to whole districts in the devastated area.” -She rattled on in this sense as though the German legions -had never set foot in France. I replied tartly that I hoped -the trifling inconveniences experienced in East Prussia -might afford some scale by which she could measure the -sufferings of France, but I could only feel my moral lesson -had miscarried sadly. Still, I got her out of her bunk -at 3 <span class="allsmcap">A.M.</span> and the morning was not only wet but chilly.</p> - -<p>I have mentioned this story because it is very typical of -the average German obtuseness which has an exasperating -effect on their former enemies. We are bound, however, -to try and study patiently the root causes of this vast moral -myopia, because in it lies the key to the whole German attitude -to the war. This myopia cannot be appreciated -without some grasp of the real points of failure in the -German character. During the war they haunted our -imaginations as wily and strenuous children of the devil. -In fact they are a very stupid, very insensitive, very docile -people. Their ideas are as limited and often as absurd -as those which people the nursery. Still worse, they are -incapable apparently of understanding what other races -think and feel. They have many excellent qualities, and -an admirable capacity for hard work and patient research. -But they do, I believe, possess three more skins than the -ordinary man. Mixed up with the docility and unlimited -power for submission to authority, runs a considerable -strain of brutality which throws back to the unpleasant -habits of the remote Germanic tribes. They can be and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_234">[234]</span> -are very brutal to each other, as well as to their enemies. -People so constituted were doomed to become the tools of -miscreants in high places.</p> - -<p>The average German, for all his powers of hard work -and his marvels of applied science, is at bottom little -better than a stupid child. His docility, his credulity, his -lack of any real subtlety of spirit have left him at the -mercy of the monstrous theories preached and practised -by the ruling military class. Like a child he believed all -he was told; like a child he was immensely proud of the -vainglorious bombast of military trappings. Children too, -it must be remembered, can be both cruel and callous. -Unless this attitude of mind is realised, the riddle of German -mentality appears as insoluble. But granted a docile -and stupid people, governed by a ruthless military class -endowed with the same practical diligence and ability as -the mass of the nation, and no less insensitive to the finer -issues of the spirit, all that has happened falls into place.</p> - -<p>For years past a certain view of England as a sinister -and aggressive power was preached steadily for their own -ends by the military party. On the outbreak of war the -German people were told that England was bent on the -destruction of their country. They were fed on tales of -atrocities and horrors. It was represented to them that -Germany was fighting for her life a war of defence. -Even in a country like our own, in which liberty is an -old-established principle, the censorship and other conditions -imposed by war resulted in a great darkening of -truth and knowledge. But in a country like Germany, -with no representative government, with no freedom, with -a Press wholly subservient to the ruling junta, it is not<span class="pagenum" id="Page_235">[235]</span> -astonishing that the people as a whole blundered on to -ever lower depths of ignorance and prejudice.</p> - -<p>I have described the sort of food on which the German -school child is reared. No less instructive are the German -memoirs which have been published recently, for -they show in turn the view impressed on the adult population. -Bethmann-Hollweg, Admiral von Tirpitz, Ludendorff, -Bernstorff, Hindenburg, have all had their say -on the war. With the exception of Hindenburg, who -observes a generous reticence about his colleagues, the -general tone of these memoirs is one of acrimonious controversy. -One is reminded of a group of naughty schoolboys -caught out in some misdeed, each saying, “Please, -teacher, it was the other fellow.” Admiral von Tirpitz’s -<i>Recollections</i> is the longest and most garrulous of these -volumes. It is a book of absorbing interest, and throws -a flood of light on the origins of the war. Here we see -laid bare the whole spirit which provoked the conflict. -Here, too, we see that even among the German governing -class, this spirit in the extreme form represented by -Admiral Tirpitz himself met in some quarters with opposition. -If one person deserves to be hanged in connection -with the war, then the halter should surely be placed round -the neck of the old Admiral.</p> - -<p>Von Tirpitz reveals himself in these pages as an able -but most unsympathetic figure. He lays the lash generously -about his colleagues, and the Emperor in particular -is not spared. Creator of the German Navy, he lays -bare the whole ruthless spirit animating the German war -lords. English readers will notice with interest, and -perhaps some surprise, the view of themselves and their -country on which the Admiral enlarges. According to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_236">[236]</span> -Von Tirpitz, the growth of the German Navy was not -only directed towards making any English attack on -German trade risky, but served the philanthropic purpose -of supporting the non-Anglo-Saxon races in their -struggle for freedom against the intolerable dictatorship -of British sea-power. It was, in fact, the special mission -of the German Empire to free the world from the -strangling tyranny of the Anglo-Saxons. The English -reader learns with surprise as he makes his way through -these volumes how ruthless was the spirit in which England -marked Germany down for destruction. Finally, -through craft and Machiavellian principles of the worst -kind, she accomplished her end. While German statesmen -were weak, vacillating, and hopelessly pacific, a succession -of English Governments, Radical no less than -Conservative, animated one and all by the same fell purpose, -only waited for the appropriate moment to fall on -the European Simon Pure.</p> - -<p>Lord Haldane during his visit to Berlin in 1912 figures -as a skilled and determined mock negotiator, adamant as -to concessions on the English side, but bent on sowing -discord among German statesmen and reducing the fleet -to impotence. Tirpitz accuses him of an evil conscience. -Did not Lord Haldane shut his eyes to the wholly pacific -intentions of Germany and invent a Berlin war party with -which to inflame public opinion in England?</p> - -<p>The Admiral speaks feelingly of the “armed battue” -against Germany. He lays his hand on his heart and -declares that in 1914 the German Empire was “the least -preoccupied of all the Great Powers with possibilities of -war.” Yet in spite of “our suicidal love of peace” the -world would persist in laying the guilt of all that had<span class="pagenum" id="Page_237">[237]</span> -happened on Germany. “It is really extraordinary how -unpopular we are,” cries the Admiral naïvely in one of -his letters. But he sticks to his point. The historical guilt -of England is irrefutably clear. The “old pirate state” -has once again torn Europe to pieces. Thanks to the -most brutal methods she has secured a victory, and liberty -and independence have perished. But the Admiral is -not only concerned to abuse England. He deals faithfully -with his own countrymen. If on the one hand English -readers obtain a fresh insight through German eyes -into their own villainies, they obtain information possibly -less fantastic as to the discord which raged inside the -German war-machine. If in the interests of truth we are -compelled to say that the Germans overrated our powers -of conducting a war with supreme efficiency, it is clear -that we were no less at fault in attributing super qualities -to our enemies.</p> - -<p>When these various memoirs are read side by side and -compared, they reveal strife, division, and hesitation of a -remarkable kind in the higher direction of the war. Tirpitz, -as head of the war party, writes with extraordinary -bitterness of Bethmann-Hollweg the Chancellor. No -words are bad enough for the man who had struggled -sincerely enough, according to his lights, for the preservation -of peace between England and Germany. His hesitations, -vacillations, errors of policy are dealt with in a -ferocious spirit. But the Army and even the Navy do -not escape severe criticism. “The end of July 1914 found -us in a state of chaos,” writes the Admiral. The generals -made “frightful mistakes,” the war was one of -“missed opportunities,” the Navy in particular was never -allowed to do its work. The troops were heroic, but<span class="pagenum" id="Page_238">[238]</span> -“the hereditary faults of the German people and the destructive -elements among them” led to the downfall of -the whole nation.</p> - -<p>The popular view of Germany, which most English -people held during the war, was that for forty years the -German nation from the Emperor downwards had pursued -the definite and determined end of the destruction -of England. The real situation appears to have been -far more complex. To credit the Emperor and his entourage -with an inflexibility of purpose so great is to -rate their capacity far too high. The mediocre statesmen -of our own generation were not Bismarcks. They -were incapable of the far vision, the sinister purpose, the -iron will of the old Chancellor. Unlike him they did not -know when to stop. An influential section among the -soldiers was certainly bent on a war of aggression and -pursued this end with unfaltering determination. They -had considerable influence both among the Press and -the professors. Consequently they loomed large in the -public eye. But even among the governing class, as -Tirpitz’s angry complaints reveal, there were certain weak-kneed -statesmen who were anxious to pursue a pacific -policy. As for the German nation as a whole, the unparalleled -growth of the Socialist party during recent -years proves that the views of the German militarists -were meeting with considerable opposition among sections -of their own countrymen.</p> - -<p>The militarists largely controlled the machine and were -therefore in the stronger position. An autocratic form of -government and an Executive divorced from all control -by Parliament made the Socialist vote, large though it -was, of no practical value in determining policy. The<span class="pagenum" id="Page_239">[239]</span> -General Election of 1912, when the Socialists and Progressives -who had definitely challenged the Chauvinism -of the Government secured considerable gains in the -Reichstag, caused dismay in military circles. It is clear -that the dread of democratic control was one of the causes -which impelled the soldiers to bring matters to a head. -A shadow had fallen on their power which a successful -war, so they thought, would dispel. Had Germany -possessed a democratic constitution which would have -given due weight and place to the anti-military elements, -it is difficult to believe that the war would ever have occurred. -It was a race between the forces making respectively -for peace and for aggression, and time was on -the side of the former.</p> - -<p>The military party consequently forced the pace and -precipitated the conflict. That on the outbreak of war the -whole German nation, Socialists included, closed its ranks -and presented a united front to the enemy is natural -enough. The view of the defensive war was widespread, -and German myopia could not see straight about the -threatening character of the armaments which had been -piled up. But between the guilt of the rulers, which is -black indeed, and the guilt of the nation as a whole, wide -discriminations should in justice be made. If it were not -so the future outlook, dark as it is at the moment, would -be quite hopeless.</p> - -<p>The part played in the middle of this welter by the -arrogant and inferior figure on the throne is not easy to -determine. The Emperor was not necessarily insincere -when he expressed his abstract desire for peace. But his -vanity was flattered by the vision of himself as Supreme -War Lord ashore and afloat of a submissive Europe. He<span class="pagenum" id="Page_240">[240]</span> -did not necessarily want to fight. He wanted very much -to be in a position which enabled him to bully. Probably -the governing classes in Germany held much the same -view. The Emperor lent himself to the creation of huge -armies and a threatening fleet, and then expressed surprise -that his perpetual sabre-rattling and histrionic performances -created anger and alarm throughout Europe. -Other nations refused to think that Dreadnoughts were -built as pets, or that armaments were piled up for the -purposes of ceremonial salutes. Having surrounded himself -with material of this character, he was in all probability -genuinely appalled when the inevitable explosion -occurred. He had no real wish to trade with the devil, but -he was always in and out of the shop, turning over the -wares and listening to the flatteries of the salesman. A -man of his type was bound, sooner or later, to become the -tool of villains with a purpose clearer than his own.</p> - -<p>Lord Haldane in his book <i>Before the War</i> has given an -account, both sane and dispassionate, of the causes and -forces which led up to the struggle. He analyses with -admirable clarity the weakness and the strength of the -German machine. In a striking passage he draws attention -to a fact too little realised by the vast majority -of English people, namely, that highly organised though -the German nation might be on its lower levels, on the -top storey not only confusion but chaos existed. Instead -of a Cabinet representing the majority of an elected Parliament -to whom it was bound to submit its policy, the -governing body in Germany was an irresponsible group -of men animated by wholly divergent ideas.</p> - -<p>In the centre of this group was a vain, feather-headed -monarch, not devoid of good impulses, and at times of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_241">[241]</span> -generous feeling, but cursed with an instability of character -which made him lend an ear first to the promptings -of one counsellor and then of another. The Emperor -swayed from side to side according to the fancy of the -moment; at one time drawing close to the war party, at -another inclining to the more sober counsels of the peace -party. Such a temperament does not improve with the -flight of years. Time only deepened in the Emperor’s -mind the sense of his own importance in the eyes of God -and man. His unstable brain was more and more bemused -with ideas of power and infallibility. Already in -1891 he had caused deep resentment throughout working-class -Germany by a speech to young recruits at Potsdam. -He referred in acrimonious terms to the Socialist agitations, -and went on to say: “I may have to order you -to shoot down your relations, your brothers, even your -parents—which God forbid!—but even then you must -obey my commands without murmuring.” Criticism was -treasonable; criticism was therefore not audible, but the -words were never forgotten nor forgiven. Vanity and -megalomania steer an erratic course, and the consequent -vagaries of German high diplomacy kept Europe in a -chronic state of nerves which deepened the general sense -of anxiety and suspicion.</p> - -<p>Since the revolution the diplomatic documents in the -Berlin archives relating to the plot against Serbia, together -with the Emperor’s marginal notes, have been -published by order of the new German Government. The -war has produced no volume more painful than that of -Karl Kautsky in which these documents are set forth. -The revelation is of the blackest, so far as the Emperor -is concerned. His personal responsibility for creating the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_242">[242]</span> -situation which led to the war is established beyond question. -His marginal notes, always foolish and often vulgar, -are almost incredible in their criminal levity. The Emperor -comments, for instance, on the most solemn and -impressive of Sir Edward Grey’s warnings to the German -Ambassador, Prince Lichnowsky, in the words “the -low cur!” We watch this vain unstable figure flitting -with a lighted torch round the powder magazine of Europe. -With the lives of millions in his hand, the mediocre -intelligence of the Emperor seemed unable to forecast the -elementary consequences of his own acts. At the start -his sole object in view was the dismemberment of Serbia -and the creation of a new Balkan situation. The German -Ambassador in Vienna, who counselled moderation -in the demands made on the Serbian Government, was -reprimanded severely. William was concerned to stir up -his more sluggish ally, Austria, to warlike purpose. If -Russia objected—well, never mind about Russia. The -implications of a general European war do not seem -to have occurred to him. When as huntsman he laid on -the hounds, the magnitude of the quarry was not apparent. -Later on, when the chasm into which he had -dragged the world dawned before him in its appalling -immensity, he shrank back aghast on the brink. But -too late. The terrible vitality of deeds had taken charge -of the situation and hurried on the tragedy to its final -consummation.</p> - -<p>A curious point arises not only from the study of the -Kautsky documents, but of the various German memoirs -which have appeared. The primary responsibility of the -Emperor for staging the scene is proved beyond doubt. -But he was away yachting in the weeks before the war,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_243">[243]</span> -and it is not clear with whom the further responsibility -rests for converting the Serbian intrigue into the wider -act of world aggression. At this point history has further -secrets to reveal. The Great General Staff were in all -probability determined not to let slip so golden an opportunity, -and engineered matters in the sense of war -during the Emperor’s absence.</p> - -<p>Strangely enough, Tirpitz, though ultimately more responsible -for the war than any one else in Germany, did -not want to fight in August 1914. His fleet was not ready -and had yet to attain its maximum strength. He denounces -Bethmann-Hollweg’s refusal of Sir Edward -Grey’s proposed conference as a capital blunder. War at -that moment should in his opinion have been averted. -Germany was not sufficiently prepared. Further, the old -Admiral with great shrewdness deplores the sabre-rattling -against England on various occasions. Do not irritate -your enemy until you are ready to fight him, was his -principle.</p> - -<p>It is a strange fact that Bethmann-Hollweg, who had -always desired peace, seems to have lost his head completely -in the crisis and showed a fatal obduracy which -might have been expected from Tirpitz. The conference -for which Sir Edward Grey pressed would in all probability -have avoided the war. Bethmann-Hollweg wanted -peace, yet he banged the door on the one possibility of -maintaining it. One gathers the impression of a group of -men groping blindly on the edge of a precipice over which -finally they hurl themselves. But the hand which pushed -them into decisions, certainly unwelcome to some of the -actors, has yet to be revealed. We know it must in effect -have come from a man or group of men among the military<span class="pagenum" id="Page_244">[244]</span> -party. The exact personalities are not at present -clear.</p> - -<p>The German memoirs written by statesmen of the old -régime, which throw so much light incidentally on the -tragedy of Europe, must be read in detail in order to obtain -any real appreciation of their atmosphere. Their -great value lies in the fact that they make the German -view of England more intelligible. We are able to measure -the vast distortion of truth as it has reached the -average German, and the profound misconceptions under -which he labours. Exasperated though we may feel by -such aberrations, we begin to understand why the rank -and file of the German nation, trained from their youth -in subservience to the ruling house, still believe they were -the attacked, not the attackers, in the war. I have heard -recently of Germans meeting pre-war English friends with -personal feelings quite unchanged. The English found, -however, to their bewilderment that the Germans, out of -delicacy to their feelings, would not discuss the war—it -must be, so they hinted, terrible for them to realise -the crimes England had committed both in her unjustifiable -attack on Germany and in her practical conduct of -the war. Naturally as English they would desire to avoid -any reference to so painful a subject.</p> - -<p>Hence Germany’s reluctance to say she is sorry. So -far she will not admit there is anything to be sorry for. -Never was there a nation more exasperatingly devoid of -the spirit of self-criticism. Everything German is perfect -in the eyes of a German. In the crash which has -overtaken the nation little realisation exists of the moral -issues involved. Among the Socialist party alone would -much difficult and unpalatable truth appear to be permeating.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_245">[245]</span> -At the meeting of the Second International -held in Geneva during August 1920, the responsibility of -the Kaiser’s Government for the outbreak of the war was -admitted in precise terms by the German Socialists. The -wrong done to France in 1870 in the matter of Alsace-Lorraine, -the wrong done to Belgium in 1914 and the just -claims of reparation, were all acknowledged and incorporated -into a formal resolution. Though the Bourgeoisie -may clasp their hands tightly over eyes and ears, -the Socialists at least have no illusions as to the crimes -and follies of the Imperial Government. But, crushed -as they are by the heavy burthens of the Peace, they are -more concerned to dwell on the trials of the present than -the failures of the past.</p> - -<p>What we should remember, I think, is that the bulk -of the German nation did its duty in the war just as we -did ourselves. Alongside the organised atrocities and -brutalities which disgraced the higher direction of the -military machine, must be set the courage and self-sacrifice -of large numbers of humble people. The average -German fought for his Fatherland with a conviction just -as great as that of the average Frenchman or Englishman. -In view of the rigid censorship which ruled, it is -clear that the rank and file knew little or nothing of many -deeds which outraged the conscience of the civilised world. -They served a bad cause with a fortitude from which it -would be ungenerous to withhold praise. The future -peace of the world lies in the hope that their powers of -loyalty and service may be turned to other and better -ends.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile the existing veils of ignorance and misconception -can only be raised by a frank and free contact<span class="pagenum" id="Page_246">[246]</span> -of men and women of both nations who are not afraid to -come together and face facts however unpalatable. These -distorted values can only be redressed through a determined -effort to seek truth for itself undeterred by false -conceptions of national honour. A nation which claims -to be great should be great enough to admit the wrong she -has done. Germany must learn to see straight about herself -before peace in the real sense can be restored between -her and nations who have suffered grievously through her -action. Peace is here and now the urgent need of the -world, but peace cannot live if perpetually pelted by -prejudices and ignorances. The Supreme Charity has not -left us without guidance in this matter, and as on another -famous occasion, let the man or woman in the happy position -of having no fault come forward to cast the first -stone.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_247">[247]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER XVI<br> - -<small>WATCHMAN—WHAT OF THE NIGHT?</small></h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">It</span> is probable that at no moment in the history of the -world has a spirit of disillusion been so widespread and -so profound as at the present time. Not only apparently -have the high ideals which sustained us during the war -evaporated completely, but they have yielded place to a -sullen exasperation and ill-will dangerous in its temper and -purpose. Moral war-weariness has sapped mind and body -to such an extent that no powers of resilience remain. -Suspicion as between class and class and nation and nation -corrodes the foundations of life. Surly ill-will and a -wholly anti-helpful attitude permeates the grudging performance -of essential social services. People and classes -pursue their own ends with complete disregard as to their -reactions on other sections of society. Self-interest reigns -supreme. The joy as of comrades of the open road faring -together in a spirit of common service and brotherhood -appears to have vanished. In England unrest and discontent -wholly refuse to yield to the opportunist devices -of a Government to whom all principles are mere -questions of expediency. But England, mercifully for -herself, whatever her spiritual sickness, knows nothing -of the stark levels of practical misery and starvation on -to which millions of continental people have been driven. -We have no standard with which to gauge misery and -hunger on a scale so appalling as that which has overtaken<span class="pagenum" id="Page_248">[248]</span> -the dwellers of Eastern Europe. At times one wonders -how it is that England, so great, so generous, so magnanimous -in her traditional policy, has apparently neither -eyes to see nor ears to hear what is going on. The voice -of Gladstone could once rouse the country to a white -flame of indignation over the sufferings of an oppressed -people. But with the tragedy of Europe before our eyes; -with women and children perishing by the thousand; with -a volume of discontent growing and surging among every -nationality, England, always the world’s hope in matters -of practical justice, seems incapable of rousing herself to -action worthy of her own great tradition. Instead of some -fine and generous appreciation of the world’s woes, she -looks on dully and from afar.</p> - -<p>America has for the moment withdrawn from the European -chaos. Her reasons for doing so are intelligible, -but the result has been a disaster for the rest of the -world. It is not a question, as so many Americans think, -of a desire to exploit the better financial position of the -United States. It is because America with many faults -and crudities has a driving power of idealism behind her—the -same motive force which brought her into the war. -Some American business men and supporters of the great -financial interests have sought—as is the habit of their -kind—to exploit the post-war situation to their own profit. -As against this must be set qualities of a very different -character among the mass of the people. America’s absence -from the European council-chamber involves the -loss of a great influence at once restraining and constructive. -We cannot measure fully as yet the infinite damage -caused by her withdrawal from the task of Reconstruction. -We know, however, that no blow since the Peace<span class="pagenum" id="Page_249">[249]</span> -has been so severe. America was particularly fortunate -in some of the representatives sent to Europe during the -war—men of the highest capacity and honour. Through -her absence every undesirable force or principle has gathered -weight. Conversely every force working for good -has been weakened.</p> - -<p>The rest of the world looks on in an attitude as helpless -as that of the former combatants, as month by month -the shattered fabric of European life sags yet wider. The -post-war chaos appears so complete that men turn from -it in despair. Moral disillusion and weariness have their -counterparts in recklessness and wild extravagance. There -is a sense of an approaching Twilight of the Gods; of a -collapse of the foundations of society. Therefore let us -eat, drink, and be merry, on the brink of the chasm though -it be, before the darkness swallows us up.</p> - -<p>How is it that a war fought for principles and ideals so -clear and so noble as those which animated us at the outset -of the struggle can have resulted in a condition of -practical moral bankruptcy? Of that moral bankruptcy -the Treaty of Versailles is the sign and witness. On the -plane of practical politics it may be said that the world -could have survived the war, but it is doubtful whether it -can survive the Peace. Yet the Peace only registers the -sickness which has invaded our souls. Indeed, from one -aspect it may be asserted that the present situation, dark -and threatening though it be, is not devoid of consolation -of a lofty and austere character. The moral bankruptcy -which has overtaken the world is in itself the most -august testimony to the inexorable truth of moral principle. -Because the light in the spirit of man has burned -so low, we are able to estimate what darkness falls when<span class="pagenum" id="Page_250">[250]</span> -the lamp is untrimmed. The very chaos we deplore is the -result of outraged moral laws, neglect of which brings a -sure Nemesis in its train. Just in so far as the world has -forsaken abiding standards of justice, truth, and mercy, -the world has been stricken down. We are perishing to-day -owing to failures in principle, and health can only -return when principle is no longer flouted but resumes -its reign over men’s souls. The tricks and turns of an -opportunist policy cannot stem the rising flood of restlessness -and disgust. The world grows daily more sick of -men who have not sufficient character to make their cleverness -tolerable. Thus viewed, our present confusion is -fraught with profound spiritual significance.</p> - -<p>In this, despite grave present peril, lies the chance of -salvation. History has never known so great and so terrible -a testimony to the inexorable character of moral law, -and the reality of Divine Truth which it is death to challenge. -<i>Docet umbra</i>, and in the darkness which has -fallen, we who stand in the shadow may learn anew -of the vision which shines behind all earth-drawn clouds; -and so, may be, lay firmer hold on those forgotten truths -which, alike to men and nations, bring peace at the last. -If even now the better side of human nature will rally to -the task of rescue, the future may yet be saved. The terrible -sufferings of those who have fallen by the way cannot -be made good. But if the nations will rouse themselves -to make a determined moral effort, any repetition -of such sufferings may be checked.</p> - -<p>The greatest and gravest charge which can be brought -against Germany is not so much that she killed men’s -bodies and laid waste their houses and lands, as that she -has poisoned the soul of Europe. The evil spirit let loose<span class="pagenum" id="Page_251">[251]</span> -by the Prussian theory of life has reacted throughout -the world. It has darkened counsel and silenced the voice -of charity and moderation. Not to be dragged down to -the level of the person who has wronged you is the hardest -of all moral tests. It was one which proved too hard -for the conquerors in this war. The Peace was bound to -have been very stern towards Germany and very exacting -in its demands. Severity was inherent in the situation. -Wrongs had been committed which called for judgment; -balances had to be redressed. The more necessary was -it, in view of these stern measures, to adhere strictly to -principles of justice and honour in our treatment of Germany; -to give neither history nor a defeated foe any -justification for the charge that in the hour of victory -we cast behind us principles for which we fought.</p> - -<p>The degree to which the Terms of Peace violated both -the letter and spirit of conditions laid down in the Armistice -is a blot on the Treaty which must be painful to all -honourable men. The Allies would have been within -their rights in insisting on the unconditional surrender of -Germany. But conditions having been permitted, they -should have been adhered to. Mr. Lloyd George and -President Wilson had indicated on various occasions that -peace made with a democratic Germany would be of a -different character from a peace made with the Hohenzollerns -still in power. But Germany, having rid herself -of her Emperor and of her former Government, found -that the treatment meted out to the new Republic differed -in no particular from what would have been justifiable -had the Emperor remained on the throne. The conscience -of the world has been troubled by these things, and by -an uneasy sense of undertakings given but not fulfilled.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_252">[252]</span>Those of us who see in the Peace a supreme failure in -constructive statesmanship do not take that view because -we are pacifists or have some sentimental wish “to be kind -to Germany.” So long as the issue of the war hung in -doubt it was our duty to make war to the last man and -the last shilling. With the evil spirit dominating Imperial -Germany, neither truce nor parley was possible. The -effort frequently made in pacifist circles to represent the -war as a general dog-fight, for which all the nations involved -have a common responsibility, is not only bad history -but bad morality. Victory creates, however, a wholly -new situation. War, in certain terrible cases, is the necessary -prelude to a settlement. But of itself it settles nothing, -any more than an operation essential to check the -spread of disease is a natural or healthy process. The -surgeon’s knife is merely a means to an end—the recovery -of normal life by a normal and healthy body. The knife -is not kept flourished permanently over the patient’s head -or turned periodically in the wound.</p> - -<p>The great charge against the Peace is its failure to -envisage a normal and healthy life for Europe. Our -quarrel against its provisions is that they are in many -cases fully as short-sighted and as lacking in imagination -as what Prussians themselves might have evolved. -The precedents of Brest-Litovsk, at which we raised our -hands in justifiable horror, are not agreeable ones to follow. -The fatal flaw of the Peace is that it does not look -beyond the period of punishment and reparation to an -ultimate pacification of Europe. It lays down no principles -for the establishment of good relations between nations. -Its economic provisions are a nightmare calculated -to lay a strangle-hold on any possible recovery of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_253">[253]</span> -European trade and commerce. With a world crying out -for goods and that increased production which can alone -bring about a drop in prices, the Peace Treaty is directed -to keeping one of the greatest producers, namely Germany, -in chains, while a group of little states, erected as -military buffers of the most futile character, are allowed -to distract themselves and their neighbours by the erection -of tariff walls behind which they carry on crazy -forms of economic guerilla warfare.</p> - -<p>Let us admit that the difficulties of the Peace were -quite enormous and that mistakes and blunders were inevitable. -Criticism is roused not so much by the practical -provisions of the Treaty as by the general spirit animating -it. It is, in effect, a peace of revenge uninspired by one -generous gesture as regards the future. It is a peace of -tired old men with their eyes fixed on the hatreds and animosities -of the past, and their minds obsessed by the territorial -jealousies of the old diplomacy. Consequently it -has outraged and disgusted the young generation just -stepping from school and college into the political arena. -Youth is generous and impulsive; it is the age of chivalry -and high ideals. The younger men and women ask -what this Treaty is doing for the future, at what point -it is binding up the wounds of Europe, what contribution it -makes towards creating that “new world” of which politicians -discoursed so eloquently. The rising generation -has a right to demand an answer to these questions. It -is their future which is at stake in the matter. The provisions -of the Peace are burthens laid upon their shoulders. -Naturally they are concerned with the contents of -the load. But from no direction comes any satisfactory<span class="pagenum" id="Page_254">[254]</span> -reply to these inquiries, only the dull echo returned by -barriers of hatred and negation.</p> - -<p>Yet another consequence results from this state of affairs, -the seriousness of which has not, I think, been fully -grasped. The failures of democratic statesmen, so called, -in this matter of the Peace have jeopardised the whole -principle of democratic government. “If this is the best -that the statesmen of the three great democracies can produce, -then away with such a sham and failure as democracy -has proved itself to be. Let us try something else.” -This spirit is stirring in many quarters. It leads young -minds, at once eager and disappointed, to explore the -alternatives of anarchism, direct action, Bolshevism, and -the rest. We may deplore the direction in which their -ideas are moving. Let politicians in power recognise, however, -that this spirit of revolt is rooted in the vast failures -of the old diplomacy. Is there yet time to recognise the -hopeless dead end into which we have blundered and to retrace -our steps along a better way? The first condition is -to purge our minds from some of the illusions which run -riot among the men who control the machine. The peace -of Europe cannot be secured by any variation of the old -tortuous adjustments concerned with the balance of power. -Strategical frontiers, military dispositions, the creation of -buffer states, leave the problem exactly where it stood. -Neither will the effort to reduce a feared and hated enemy -to a condition perilously akin to that of economic servitude -dispel the menace of a future appeal to arms. No -nation can lay enduring shackles on the life of another, -as the history of Germany from Jena to Leipzig proves -conclusively. But as that suggestive period also shows, -the effort to oppress and dominate, so far from crushing<span class="pagenum" id="Page_255">[255]</span> -the spirit of a people, rouses it to the highest point of -effort and endeavour. The German poets of the Liberation -period have sung in vain if they have not taught that -lesson to an unheeding world.</p> - -<p>The peaceful relations of nations cannot be achieved -through the strategy of force and the tactics of hatred. A -change of heart, a new moral orientation are essential if -the world is not once again to become a shambles. Such -a spirit can only permeate the existing welter little by little. -We cannot afford to take risks with the ruthless and -wicked people who in many instances control the destinies -of nations. But the touchstone of statesmanship at the -present time is the degree to which it is helping or it is hindering -the forces which make for sanity and reconciliation; -the degree to which it clears away barriers or helps -to erect them. Nations, like individuals, can only live and -grow through what is highest and best in themselves. -Further, unless nations are prepared to treat each other -with some measure of confidence and goodwill, and to -have some sort of faith in each other’s good intentions, -the moral chaos remains insoluble.</p> - -<p>It is my earnest wish in this matter to write with complete -understanding and sympathy of the position of -France. French fears regarding the future are largely responsible -for the tone and temper of the Peace. The fact is -so well known that I cannot feel any useful purpose is -served by a refusal frankly to face the issues involved. The -Entente, if it is to flourish, must draw its strength from -truth and candour. It cannot live on shams and make-believes. -The better mind of England is disturbed increasingly -over the policy pursued by the Entente, and -feels that the influence of France is dragging us along a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_256">[256]</span> -path remote from the traditional views of the British -democracy. We must recognise this fact and face its implications, -if sooner or later a point of sharp collision is -to be avoided between the two countries. France and England -are united by ties of a sacred and abiding character. -Side by side have they upheld the torch of liberty while -the foundations of the world rocked. The blood of their -sons has been poured out on hundreds of battlefields in a -common defence of liberty. The courage and the fortitude -of France during the struggle was an example and -an inspiration to the whole Alliance. Why are we conscious, -therefore, to-day of so heavy a fall in all those -values which made France heroic during the war? Again -we must bring patience and understanding to a situation -fraught with possibilities so grave of future trouble.</p> - -<p>France to-day is dominated by two sentiments, one is -hatred, the other is fear. Both are evil counsellors, both -are destroyers of life. France through fear is pursuing a -policy the only result of which can be to make the confirmation -of her fears inevitable. Now, it is not for us -English while recognising these facts to pass any sort -of censorious judgment on them. Had we suffered like -France, had we endured what she has been called upon -to endure, in all probability our own spirit would have -been even more black and more bitter. Such powers of -detachment as we may possess do not imply the least merit -on our part. It is only because relatively we have suffered -less that we can afford possibly to be more broad and -more generous in our outlook. France for the last fifty -years has lived under the shadow of a nightmare. Enticed -into war in 1870 by the devilish skill of Bismarck, -she was forced to drink to the full of the German cup of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_257">[257]</span> -humiliation. Marvellous though her economic and political -recovery after the war, she could feel no security -about her eastern frontier. The aggressive character of -German diplomacy cast a deepening shadow on her life. -Periodically she was threatened; periodically she was insulted. -Finally came a climax of horror—the invasion -of her soil, the devastation of town and country, the -agony of four and a half years of a war unparalleled -in its ghastliness. Little wonder, therefore, that France -sees red all the time and that she demands an eye for an -eye and a tooth for a tooth.</p> - -<p>I often think that if in the course of the war it had so -happened that a strip of German soil near the Rhine had -been laid waste, it might in the long run have promoted -the peace of Europe. I do not say this from any desire -to destroy German homes or cause suffering to German -women and children. But one of the difficulties in dealing -with France to-day is that she feels that her wounds -gape wider than those of any other nation. She is haunted -by the horror of her own experience, to which no enemy -country affords a parallel. Her devastated areas do not, -so to speak, cancel out. Had they cancelled out, even -in a limited measure, she would have lost something of -the sense of unique and peculiar outrage which fills France -to-day with a bitterness as of death. Let me repeat it is -not for us to pass any censorious judgment on this attitude. -Unlike France, we are not up against the fence of -a land frontier with an hereditary foe on the other side. -But we fail in our duty if in a spirit of entire friendliness -and understanding we do not urge her to consider -where this policy is leading.</p> - -<p>The quarrel between Germany and France is a very<span class="pagenum" id="Page_258">[258]</span> -old story. It did not start, as many people imagine carelessly, -in 1870. Long before that date a barrier of bitter -memories had already been piled up between the two -countries. Germany too has had her grievances, heavy -grievances, in the past against France. Louis XIV. carried -fire and sword through the Rhineland and Palatinate during -the wars of the Spanish Succession. His generals -left an imperishable memory of outrage. The Napoleonic -occupation laid a hand of iron subsequently on the German -people. Read the poets of the Liberation period, -Arndt, Rückert, Körner, Schenkendorf, and realise how -deep that iron bit into the soul of the nation. Travel -among the Rhineland towns and study their history. It -is one long record of French occupation and destruction -either in the seventeenth or early nineteenth century—Mainz, -the cathedral used as a magazine and barracks; -Cologne, horses stabled in the cathedral nave; Speyer, -town and cathedral ravaged with fire and sword by the -generals of Louis <span class="allsmcap">XIV.</span>, ruffians who exhumed and scattered -to the winds the bones of eight German emperors; Worms, -reduced in 1689 to a smouldering heap of ruins; -Aachen, Bonn, Coblenz, Baden, all with bitter memories -of military conquest and occupation.</p> - -<p>If I draw attention to these old unhappy far-off things -it is not from any desire to rake gratuitously among painful -memories of the past. But the German attitude towards -France can never be understood unless due weight -is given to these black and bitter pages in their earlier -relations. France must face candidly the historical truth -that Prussian militarism came into being as a reply to the -aggressions first of Louis <span class="allsmcap">XIV.</span>, then of Napoleon. The -sins of older generations of French rulers have been visited<span class="pagenum" id="Page_259">[259]</span> -on innocent heads, but the sins were there. The memory -of French tyranny in former years was the driving -force which welded the German states together. To the -average German 1870 appeared the vindication of his national -honour, the signal proof that the humiliations of the -Napoleonic period were wiped out. Once again the old -coil of evil is seen unfolding itself in a monotonous succession -of wrongs done and revenge exacted, the revenge -creating new wrongs which in turn lead to further strife.</p> - -<p>Are we prepared to weave yet further sequences of this -disastrous character? Or shall the spirit of man rise up -and say the coil must be broken?</p> - -<p>It is this problem that has to be faced with both tact -and candour so far as the French are concerned. We -sympathise to the full with their sufferings and their -wrongs. All that is best, however, in the British democracy -will neither sympathise with nor support policies -which if pursued to their logical ends can only work fresh -havoc for Europe. It is strange that the French, after -their bitter experience of 1870, seem unable to apply lessons -wholly learnt by themselves as to the strength of -national feeling. It is impossible to stifle the spirit of a -people whatever it may be. Germany failed completely -in her effort to crush France. It is no less hopeless for -France to think that she can crush Germany. Yet at bottom -the destruction of Germany is the aim of the Chauvinists, -who have considerable influence at the moment in -the direction of French policy. For people of this type the -European situation is the same to-day as it was in 1912. -It is as though the years 1914-1918 had not happened. -The German nightmare oppresses them as much as it has -ever done. They still envisage Germany as a great<span class="pagenum" id="Page_260">[260]</span> -military power whose existence is one long menace to the -security of France. They want to see Germany crippled -beyond the hope of restoration, though with an entire lack -of logic they also want Germany to pay them large sums -of money. Many French soldiers and politicians feel it -is a great mistake to miss the present golden opportunity -for making, as they think, a complete end of a formidable -enemy. Among them are men who would welcome any -pretext which might justify the further crushing of Germany. -Theory reacts of course on practice. The actual -policy pursued in the Occupied Area is often irritating and -exasperating in the highest degree. Feeling between the -Germans and the French has to my knowledge grown more -sore and more bitter during the last year. But pinpricks -will not produce the indemnity, and an atmosphere of -general exasperation does not promote the best interests -of France. Judged by rough-and-ready standards of expediency, -it ought to be clear that less than forty millions -of people cannot coerce indefinitely more than sixty millions -of tough, hard-working men and women. This blunt -truth governs the present situation. Such a policy if pursued -is bound to fail. But before it breaks down in the -turmoil of another war it may extinguish the last -hope of saving European civilisation. Europe presents -to-day common needs and common problems. It will recover -as a whole or collapse as a whole. No illusion can -be more fatal than the theory that the safety and prosperity -of one member of the European family can be secured -by the dismemberment and destruction of another. -Statesmanship, while securing for France necessary material -guarantees of safety, should have sought to win -her round to a wiser appreciation of the principles on<span class="pagenum" id="Page_261">[261]</span> -which her future security must rest. Similarly as regards -Germany; while exacting adequate reparation and -reducing her militarists to impotence, statesmanship -should no less seek to encourage the growth of a new -temper among her people which will, by making them -decent and responsible members of the European family, -render any repetition of past horrors impossible.</p> - -<p>Lamentable indeed was the failure of the Peace Conference -to make any contribution to these fundamental -principles. The Peace Treaty registers accurately the -violences and hatreds of the war. To the creation of -a better state of affairs in the future it makes no contribution -of any kind. Whatever the attitude of France, the -moral failure of England and America as regards the -exercise of any restraining influence is far more culpable. -The collapse of President Wilson, a man of high ideals -but without the power of dealing with facts needful to give -them practical effect, is one of the most tragic chapters -in history. Mr. Lloyd George, gifted as he is with vision -and imagination, could have thrown the light of his indisputable -qualities had he so willed over the chaos of -Europe. Unhappily he became involved in a sordid chapter -of domestic politics, the consequences of which hung -round his neck like a millstone. The present chaos of -Europe is in no small degree a consequence of the General -Election of December 1918 and the temper and policies -it inculcated. The British nation was rushed on -that occasion with fatal results to the cause of permanent -peace. The Peace Conference met at Paris in an atmosphere -charged with passion, and passion weighted -the scales at every critical issue. Meanwhile the democracies -of the world, impotent to control peace negotiations<span class="pagenum" id="Page_262">[262]</span> -the spirit and policy of which became increasingly unacceptable -to all thinking people, looked on helplessly -while the unwieldy vessel of the Conference, buffeted first -by one influence and then by another, drifted on a stormy -sea of opportunism towards the rocks of strife. As for -the result, it was well denounced as the Peace of Dragon’s -Teeth by Mr. J. L. Garvin, who throughout the tests -of war and peace devoted his eloquence and great powers -of idealism to the cause first of victory and then of -European appeasement.</p> - -<p>The Treaty as it stands has sown the world with fresh -discord, and ultimately can lead to nothing but repudiation -and revenge. Still further, the Treaty as it stands -is unworkable. Already it shows signs of breaking down -under the weight of its own contradictions. By demanding -too much it bids fair to create a situation in which -nothing will be obtainable. It is not business to tell a -bankrupt he must pay thirty shillings in the pound, and -at the same time sit on his head so as to make it impossible -for him to earn thirty pence. If a bankrupt is to -discharge his debts, he must be put into a position to earn. -If he is to be loaded with chains, that spectacle may have -its own satisfaction, but it will not produce money on -the credit side. A hungry bankrupt Germany cannot work -to pay off the indemnity on which France has just claim. -If Europe crumbles further; if Bolshevism finds a new -recruiting ground in the anger and despair of a whole people—where -is France likely to stand in this matter of -payment?</p> - -<p>We must in common fairness recognise how serious are -the difficulties even of a well-intentioned German Government -in carrying out the demands it has to meet. The people<span class="pagenum" id="Page_263">[263]</span> -as a whole are inexperienced politically. The nation -has had no training in self-government. It has been run -in the past by a highly efficient bureaucracy saturated in -autocratic and Bismarckian traditions. To-day the old -machinery of government is in ruins. We cannot expect -that Germany with a wave of the wand can suddenly produce -public men and civil servants of the type with which -we are familiar. The cry that the government is in the -hands of men “steeped in militarism” is far from untrue. -The real problem, however, is to find men of any sort of -training or experience in government work outside the -close ring of Prussianism. Inevitably the public has to -rely, anyway for the present, on officials trained in the -old theory that a lie was a virtue so long as it served the -State.</p> - -<p>From this grave disadvantage there is no immediate -escape, and the circumstance calls for special vigilance and -care in our relations with the German official classes. We -can, however, help or hinder the growth of another spirit. -In so far as we support a democratically constituted German -Government and give it some encouragement and -consideration, we shall tend to produce men of a new -type. But if these early steps in democratic government -are at each stage to be associated with rebuffs and humiliations, -we play straight, as I have pointed out in an -earlier chapter, into the hands of the military party. The -old gang, though they dare not raise their heads at the -moment, are a compact body among themselves, and desire -nothing so ardently as the failure of constitutional -government in Germany. We cannot expect German -mentality to be changed in a night. The new forces must -be given time and space in which to develop.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_264">[264]</span>Further, they must be given encouragement. The situation -in Germany to-day is in many respects dark and difficult. -The reactionary forces are entrenched strongly in -more than one direction. We must not ignore the evil influence -of some tens of thousands of embittered and irreconcilable -soldiers and of certain officials of the old -régime, whose careers have been broken and who have -nothing to hope from any constitution acceptable to the -democratic mind of Europe. Again, the old fire-eating -doctrines are still to the fore at many centres of education -and have an unfortunate influence on the student life—a -serious fact borne out by much evidence. Thirdly, -there is the danger of the irrecoverable rifle in the back -garden—an impossible administrative problem, as we -have found to our cost in Ireland. Undesirable factors of -this character will have proportionate weight in Germany -just so far as the spirit of unrest and despair spreads -through the people. They can only be reduced to insignificance -through the establishment of an ordered and -settled government which is in a position to maintain a -decent level of life for the nation, and a life consistent -with a fair measure of national self-respect.</p> - -<p>The revision of the Peace Treaty on lines which will -bring it into harmony with enduring principles of justice -and right is the crying need of the hour. A practical point -in connection with the present situation should not be -overlooked. The Germans know as well as we do that -modifications of the Treaty are inevitable. So long, however, -as the present unhappy instrument holds the field, -the doubtful clauses offer a most undesirable scope for -duplicity and intrigue. The men of the old tradition to -whom I have just referred are experts in fishing in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_265">[265]</span> -troubled waters. They have sufficient skill to play off -Allied scruples and hesitations one against another. What -we should aim at is a Treaty just and reasonable in its -demands, stripped of provisions which involve exasperating -administrative problems. Above all, the Treaty should -be revised to command the moral assent of the Allied -democracies, an assent wholly lacking in the case of the -Treaty of Versailles. Then the provisions should be enforced -rigidly, and the German Government made plainly -to understand that there is to be neither humbug nor -shirking about their fulfilment. There cannot be two -opinions about Germany making the fullest material restitution -in her power for injuries done. Opinions may and -do differ fundamentally as to the manner and spirit in -which these claims should be put forward.</p> - -<p>If politicians and statesmen turn a deaf ear to the cry -of a world in distress and to a growing demand that the -policies pursued should be reasonable and constructive, the -voice of the people themselves swelling in volume bids fair -to overwhelm all triflers with peace. For despite the -bluster of the fire-eaters and a Press which encourages -their empty violence, the world is sick of blood and strife. -Germany has suffered such a defeat as history has never -known. Sixty millions of people, however, virile, disciplined, -hard-working, cannot be obliterated from the -map. Greatly though certain zealots may desire the complete -annihilation of the German tribes, vapourings of -this kind are remote from the realm of practical politics. -The statesmanship which at the moment haunts the Chancellories -of Europe would not appear to be of very high -quality. But statesmanship of an order infinitely higher -might well recoil appalled from such problems as would<span class="pagenum" id="Page_266">[266]</span> -result from any general collapse of the German Government -and people.</p> - -<p>A far-sighted policy, which while never failing in -fairness is withal generous and reasonable, is as the poles -removed from that of a weak sentimentality which refuses -to face the difficult facts of the present situation. -The withdrawal of any great nation from the urgent task -of work and production means loss and detriment to the -world at large. Hence the need to let Germany both -eat and work; more, the need to help her start afresh. -She lies a beaten and prostrate nation to-day. We may -push her over the brink and so precipitate new catastrophes. -Or without sentiment and without illusion we may -take a longer view; we may direct our policy towards ultimate -ends of appeasement, towards the establishment of a -saner and a better Europe unhaunted by the menace of -vast aggressive forces, towards the recovery by Germany -herself of her old birthright of music, poetry, and -philosophy bartered by her for evil dreams of world -power and domination. That new order cannot be founded -on any basis of enduring hatred. We cannot offer -the ideal of the League of Nations with the one hand, -and policies which resolve themselves into starvation and -oppression with the other. The policies are incompatible, -and we must choose between them.</p> - -<p>The miserable suggestion frequently advanced, that as -a victorious Germany would have ground us to powder, -we should do to her as she would have done to us, cannot -be sustained for a moment. Is our policy to be directed -by German standards and influenced by German -principles? All along we have proclaimed loudly that -the war was fought so that the spirit and the principles<span class="pagenum" id="Page_267">[267]</span> -of Germany should no longer terrorise the world. To -adopt her principles, even in some modified form, is to -give her in defeat a victory lost by her in the field. Our -moral pretensions in this struggle have been very high -ones, and moral pretensions are intolerable unless some -effort is made to live up to them.</p> - -<p>Not all the dark and sordid happenings which wait inevitably -on five years of world conflagration, not all the -dragging in the mire of many a noble idea, should make -us forget the great principles of liberty and justice which -drew us originally into the war. It was no idle phrase -that England staked everything for an ideal when the -wrong done to Belgium brought her into the field. At -no moment in her history has she risen to moral heights -so great as when she stepped forth in August 1914 to -vindicate the cause of the oppressed. The principles to -which she consecrated herself in that supreme moment of -testing demand a service no less inexorable from us to-day, -though to hold by them steadily in the dark and stony -ways of peace is proving, as we all know to our cost, a -test of endurance greater far than that of the actual conflict. -Yet surely failure at this point is to fail our dead -most miserably—the men who died with the light of a -great vision in their eyes: that vision of a world purged -from evil through their sacrifice. No miracles of leadership -won the war. It was won by the grit and by the endurance -of the great mass of the British peoples. And -where statesmanship has failed, we look to the rank and -file of the nation to win the peace. It rests with our countrymen -to see that there is no further deepening of the -ruts of hatred and mutual ignorance, for what England -wills in this matter is decisive as regards the future.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_268">[268]</span>And France—France who was in such a special sense -the soul of the war? Is it too much to ask that France, -despite her sufferings and sacrifices, should brace herself -for one supreme effort, nobler than all which have gone -before—the effort to make herself greater than the wrong -done to her? Then would her triumph over the dark and -evil forces which brought about the war be supreme indeed. -France who means so much to the mind of Europe, -who has given to it eternal principles of truth and liberty—will -not France in this matter rise to the level of her -own heroic stature?</p> - -<p>The established democracies of the world have in these -troubled times to hold up each others arms. So long as -the great Republic of the West stands aloof, the chain of -brotherhood and common effort is broken at a vital point. -The darkness is greater, the task infinitely more hard, -because she has withdrawn her companionship from what -should have been a united purpose. The intervention of -America led to the complete overthrow of Germany. -Without her great resources flung on the Allied side the -war must have had a very different end resulting in compromise, -not victory. We appreciate her difficulties; we -do not presume to dictate. We would, however, beg her -to remember she too has responsibilities as regards the -burthen of Europe. But though the action of the United -States may have made the goal of European appeasement -more remote, more difficult to attain, the goal itself is -clear.</p> - -<p>The Watch on the Rhine is of value just so far as it -helps to clear our minds as to the true objectives that -we are seeking. The soldiers have done their work well -and truly in the war. Their task accomplished, its results<span class="pagenum" id="Page_269">[269]</span> -have now passed largely into other hands. Our unworthiness -and unfitness to carry so great a responsibility are but -too painfully apparent. Yet the responsibility is there. -The dead have in special measure left a sacrifice to be perfected. -The torch fell lighted from their hands. Supreme -shame would it be if it suffers extinction through -the sordid ambitions and mean desires of men who live -because other men have died. The threat of moral bankruptcy, -real as it is, can only be averted through a steady -devotion to ideal ends. Those ideal ends have been sung -by one of our younger poets in words which, to me at -least, sum up the faith I have endeavoured haltingly to -express as regards the future:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="first">“This then is yours; to build exultingly</div> -<div class="verse">High and yet more high</div> -<div class="verse">The knowledgeable towers above base wars</div> -<div class="verse">And sinful surges, reaching up to lay</div> -<div class="verse">Dishonouring hands upon your work, and drag</div> -<div class="verse">From their uprightness your desires to lag</div> -<div class="verse">Among low places with a common gait.</div> -<div class="verse">That so Man’s mind not conquered by his clay,</div> -<div class="verse">May sit above his fate</div> -<div class="verse">Inhabiting the purpose of the stars,</div> -<div class="verse">And trade with his Eternity.”</div> -</div></div> - -<p class="center">THE END</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p class="ph1">FOOTNOTE:</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_1" href="#FNanchor_1" class="label">[1]</a> Section iv. Part iii.</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<div class="transnote"> -<p class="ph1">TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES:</p> - -<p>Obvious typographical errors have been corrected.</p> - -<p>Inconsistencies in hyphenation have been standardized.</p> - -<p>Archaic or variant spelling has been retained.</p> - -<p>The cover image for this eBook was created by the transcriber using the original cover and is entered into the public domain.</p> -</div></div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WATCHING ON THE RHINE ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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