OCR Text |
Show GERMAN HYSTERIA. Americans can afford to regard the harassing of Ambassador Gerard and his staff by the Berlin government with Mime degree of indulgence, if not amusement. amuse-ment. The Germans accomplished nothing noth-ing except their own humiliation. They suspected us of little and mean conduct toward their own nationals, and they proceeded to be as little and menu as they thought wc were. When it was demonstrated that we had not interfered with Ambassador Bernstorff in any way and that we had not imprisoned the crews of the interned ships the Berlin government, which had meantime disgraced dis-graced itself by violating the first principles prin-ciples of international courtesy, not only as between neutral and neutral, but as between belligerent and belligerent, permitted per-mitted our ambassador to make his way out of the country. In the first days of the war the English ambas:ador was treated with similar discourtesy as he traveled toward the border. Americans can understand that the German people are in a state of hysteria when they put faith in such reports as were circulated concerning our treatment treat-ment of their ambassador and of the crews of interned ships. Germany is, in truth, a madhouse. Reason has been quite eclipsed by passion and emotion. The people have become the puppets of thy3 government. Their passions are aroused by false reports, vh'vJitjQX its own purpose, the government permits to circulate. They are no longer free agents. They have been drugged by their government and are living in a land of horrid dreams. Now the German government is finding find-ing excuses to hold the Americana who were taken prisoner on the Yarrowdale. They want them as hostages with which to threaten us in the accepted Prussian style. There are so few Americans left in Germany that " f rightfulness ' ' on a large scale is impossible, but the Berlin government desires to keep a few Americans Ameri-cans as hostages. Perhaps the Berlin government suspects us of planning to burn subjects of the kaiser at the stake or to boil them in oil. But whether that suspicion is harbored or not, Berlin intends in-tends to have a few American prisoners on hand when the war begins. |