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Show GERMANY'S CONSCIENCE. (ieminny's eonseienee ia troubling t. Christian men, who never were in ae-con ae-con with tho philosophic, theories of the - pan-Gerniauists, who never believed that might makes right, that the state could do no wrong, that necessity justified the breaking of sacred contracts and the violation of every law,, human and divine, di-vine, are beginning to be restless under the domination of tho Von Bethmann-Hollwegs, Bethmann-Hollwegs, the Count von Roventlows, the Von . Bernhardis, the Von Tlrpitzes and Von Ilindenburgs. One is reminded of the remorse of Macbeth after the murder of Duncan when the shaken thane reveals to his wife the delirium of his tortured soul. "Methought I heard a voice cry, 'Sleep no more! ' Macbeth does murder sleep, the innocent inno-cent sleep; Sleep that knits up the ravelled sleeve of care Balm of hurt minds, great nature's second course Still it cried, 'Sleep no more' to all : the house; 'Glamis hath murdered sleep ' " Lady Macbeth, who does not yet feel the strain of an overburdened conscience, con-science, tries to restore some measure of firmness and courage to the mind and heart of her husband, but without avail, for he cries: "How is't with me, when every noise appals me? What hands are here? Ha! They pluck out mine eyes! Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood Clean from my hand? No; this, my hand, will rather The multitudinous seas incarnadine, Making the green one red." The pan-Gerniauists, the ministers of v state, the kaiser and the war chiefs generally are not disturbed by ' these quakings of the spirit. They agree that the war must be fought to a finish, that the ''will to power" must not unbend until Germany has obtained annexations annexa-tions and indemnities, until, in, a word, Germany has achieved the entire programme pro-gramme mapped out when war was derided de-rided upon. But great masses of the people of the Fatherland cannot look upon the events of the war without profound misgivings. While the military and political lords babbled about a war of defense and the "iron ring" of enemies who were alleged to be responsible for the war the Germau conscience was tranquil. But now the government has thrown off the mask. H admits with little or no equivocation that Germany is no longer fighting war of defence, but is determined de-termined to battle ,on until it obtains all the plunder it has sought secretly for years. The reasoning people of Germany cannot escape the conclusion that the war never was a war of defense, and that all along they have been the victims vic-tims of calculated deception. Something of the conscience-stricken feelings of the people is voiced boldly by Mathias Krzberger of the Center party, the Romau Catholic political partv organized iu the. days of Bismarck's Bis-marck's ' ' Kulturliampf. " In those dnys of persecution even the "iron chrtircellor ! ' was compelled to capitulate, and it would not be surprising if Von. Beth mann-Hollweg, despite the kaiser 's renewed expressions of confidence, were forced from power. Horr Eibcrgor made a threat which will not fall idly upou the ears of the emperor and his war lords. lie declared that unless the government abandoned its programme of annexations and indemnities the Center Cen-ter party would form "a coalition with the socialists, lie also condemned the L'-boat warfare, and added: "it the government does not separate sepa-rate from the pan-Germnnists the entire oeialist party and others will rally behind the opposition." A vear or two before the war it was the Center party that saved the government gov-ernment from a socialist victory. Onlv by the combined efforts of all the parties were the socialists prevented from taking tak-ing control of whatever parliamentary power exists in Germany. Now the Center Cen-ter party threatens to join with the so-sinlists so-sinlists against the government. Thai an mean nothing more nor less than a majority against the government. The kaiser, of course, could continue despot i-ratiy i-ratiy to wage war, but he would find ' :- ' -ol,;vl hW- nnmlf . ,1-npr.d lard in the end hi- throne o v r r 1 1 1 r n c 1 . Tt w-ulil lie ulutinn. 'I lie chancellor hurled the rea'ly I clui re that Kr.hciger was u n pa trio! b But that is a question ot conditions and ciri-unist.anee. It is not always unpa-ti'i.d unpa-ti'i.d ic I o oppose the government, even in war. 'heiL opposition is backed by the voice of the majority there is apt to be reason to it. At all events the conscience of Germany Ger-many is awakening. The dreadful formulas for-mulas of blood and iron which appealed to a people drilled through forty years iu tin: groove of a ftereotypea philosophy philoso-phy are beginning to lose their driving-power. |