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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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