Germany, The Next Republic? Part 13

"Where one year ago Dr. Dryander, the quiet white-haired man who is court preacher, pleaded for an hour for peace in the services marking the Kaiser's birthday, this year his sermon was a fiery defence of Germany's cause and a militant plea for Germany to steel herself for the decisive battle every one believes is coming.

"In this changed spirit he reflected the sentiment of the German people. His sermon of Sat.u.r.day has evoked the deepest approval everywhere.

"'We know,' be said, 'that before us is the decisive battle which can be fought through only with the greatest sacrifices. But in all cases of the past G.o.d has helped us, and G.o.d will fight for us to-day, through our leaders and our soldiers. We neither willed nor wanted this war--neither the Kaiser nor the people. We hoped for peace as the Kaiser extended his peace proposal, but with unheard of frivolity and insults our enemies slapped the back of the Kaiser's extended hand of peace.

"'To such enemies there is only one voice--that of the cannon. We continue the war with a clear conscience and with trust in G.o.d that he will bring us victory. G.o.d cannot--he will not--permit the German people to go down.'"

"G.o.d WILL NOT PERMIT THE GERMAN PEOPLE TO GO DOWN"

CHAPTER IX

THE BERNHARDI OF THE SEAS

After the break in diplomatic relations the slogan of German Militarism became:

"Win or lose, we must end the war."

To many observers it seemed to be insanity coupled with desperation which caused the Kaiser to defy the United States. There was no doubt that Germany was desperate, economically, morally and militarily.

While war had led German armies far into enemy territory, it had destroyed German influence throughout the world; it had lost Germany's colonies and Pacific possessions and it had turned the opinion of the world against Germany. But during the time Germany was trying to impress the United States with its sincerity after the _Suss.e.x_ incident the German Navy was building submarines. It was not building these ships to be used in cruiser warfare. It was building them for the future, when submarine war would be launched on a big scale, perhaps on a bigger scale than it had ever before been conducted.

After the new blockade of the Allied Coast was proclaimed, effective Feb. 1, 1917, some explanation had to be made to convince the public that the submarine war would be successful and would bring the victory which the people had been promised. The public was never informed directly what the arguments were which convinced the Kaiser that he could win the war by using submarines. But on the 9th of February there appeared a small book written by Rear Admiral Hollweg ent.i.tled: "Unser Recht auf den Ubootkrieg." (Our Right in Submarine Warfare.) The ma.n.u.script of this book was concluded on the 15th of January, which shows that the data which it contained and the information and arguments presented were those which the Admiralty placed before the Kaiser on his birthday. The points which Rear Admiral Hollweg makes in his book are:

1. America's unfriendly neutrality justifies a disregard of the United States;

2. The loss of merchant ships is bringing about a crisis in the military and economic conditions of the Allies;

3. England, as the heart of the Entente, must be harmed before peace can be made;

4. Submarines can and must end the war.

This book is for the German people a naval text book as General von Bernhardi's book, "Germany and the Next War," was a military text book.

Bernhardi's task was to school Germany into the belief in the unbeatableness of the German army. Hollweg's book is to teach the German people what their submarines will accomplish and to steal the people for the plans her military leaders will propose and carry through on this basis.

The keynote of Hollweg's arguments is taken from the words of the German song: "Der Gott der Eisen wachsen Liesz," written by Ernst Moritz Arndt. Hollweg quotes this sentence on page 23:

"Lieber ein Ende mit Schrecken, als ein Schrecken ohne Ende."

("Rather an end with Terror than Terror without End.")

In the chapter on "The Submarine War and Victory" the writer presents the following table:

Status of merchant ships in 1914:

Sunk or Captured Percentage

England (Exclusive of colonies) .......... 19,256,766 2,977,820 15.5 France .............. 2,319,438 376,360 16.2 Russia .............. 1,053,818 146,168 13.8 Italy ............... 1,668,296 314,290 18.8 Belgium ............. 352,124 32,971 9.3 j.a.pan ............... 1,708,386 37,391 0.22

(Figures for Dec. 1916 estimated) The World Tonnage at beginning of war was.... 49,089,553 Added 1914-16 by new construction............ 2,000,000 ---------- 51,089,553

Of this not useable are:

Tonnage Germany ... 5,459,296 Austria ... 1,055,719 Turkey ... 133,158

In Germany and Turkey held enemy shipping .......... 200,000

Ships in U. S. A... 2,352,764

Locked in Baltic and Black Sea ......... 700,000

Destroyed enemy tonnage ........... 3,885,000 ---------- Total 13,785,937

Destroyed neutral tonnage (estimated) 900,000 ---------- 14,685,937

Requisitioned by enemy countries for war purposes, transports, etc.

England ....... 9,000,000 France ........ 1,400,000 Italy ......... 1,100,000 Russia ........ 400,000 Belgium ....... 250,000 ---------- 12,150,000 ---------- 26,835,937 ---------- Remaining for world freight transmission still useable at the beginning of 1917............ 24,253,615 tons

To the Entente argument that Germany has not considered the speedy construction of merchant ships during war time the author replies by citing Lloyd's List of December 29, 1916, which gave the following tonnage as having been completed in British wharves:

1913 .......... 1,977,000 tons 1914 .......... 1,722,000 tons 1915 .......... 649,000 tons 1916 .......... 582,000 tons

"These figures demonstrate that England, which is the leader of the world as a freight carrier is being harmed the most." Admiral Hollweg cites these figures to show that ship construction has decreased in England and that England cannot make good ship losses by new construction.

On page 17 Rear Admiral Hollweg says:

"We are conducting to-day a war against enemy merchant vessels different from the methods of former wars only in part by ordinary warships. The chief method is by submarines based upon the fundamentals of international law as dictated by German prize court regulations. The German prize regulations were at the beginning of the war based upon the fundamental principles of the London Declaration and respected the modern endeavours of all civilised states to decrease the terrors of war. These regulations of sea laws were written to decrease the effects of the unavoidable consequences of sea warfare upon non-combatants and neutrals. As far as there have been changes in the regulations of the London Declaration during the war, especially as far as changes in the contraband list have been extended, we Germans have religiously followed the principle set by the English of, 'an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.'"

On page 19 he states:

"Americans would under no circ.u.mstances, not even to-day, if they were faced by a superior sea power in war, refuse to follow this method of warfare by the ruthless use of pirate ships. May our submarine campaign be an example for them! The clever cruiser journey of U-53 off the Atlantic Coast gave them clearly to understand what this method was. Legally they cannot complain of this warfare. The other neutrals cannot complain either against such sea warfare because they have ever since the Middle Ages recognised the English method of sea warfare."

[Ill.u.s.tration: The New Weather Cape]

In the chapter ent.i.tled "The Opponent," on page 27 the author says: