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Show THE WORLD'S WAR By LEVI EDGAR YOUNG, Professor of American History, University of Utah. Article II. j 1" OR hundreds of years, in fact, since H the day when nations rose to play a part in the development of civilization, governments have attempted to extend their sway over neighboring peoples, and to bring them under domuyon by colonization and the introduction of the arts of government snd culture. This was true of Persia in ancient days, it was true of the Roman Ro-man empire, it was the rule with Charlemagne Char-lemagne in the ninth century. In mod-era mod-era times nations have gone onto the high seas and made conquests. England and Spain, France and Russia claimed atone time America. England colonized and won out by the arts of peace. The eighteenth century saw England taking Parts of Asia, and during the past 300 years she has extended a sway over Parts of the world, until now "the sun "ever sets on British possessions." The United States has extended its power over the Hawaiian and Philippine islands, and owns Alaska, a land far away from the original area of our government. gov-ernment. We call such a policy of extending ex-tending dominion the policy of imperialism. imperial-ism. Now imperialism has benefited the world, it has brought uncivilized peoples peo-ples into touch with more civilized centers, cen-ters, and the policy of extending the Powers of government has introduced culture and all the factors conducive to better life. Liko everything else in his-toi?, his-toi?, imperialism at its best is learned D.T national experience. When our colonies in 1776 declared 1 thoir freedom from Encland. and the , government of the United States was i; wganized, England learned the better 3 ay of governing colonies, and today 5 jier far-off possessions are not only loyal I hut show a lasting gratitude for what f je British government has done for tji She has introduced civilization Australia; she has given her splcn- government to India, and has fought parts of Africa under thebe-..'P1 thebe-..'P1 influence of her religious and civic fe- Thef.came is true of France, only on a smaller scale. The United States has followed the policy of peaceful acquisition, ac-quisition, and wherever and whenever new lands and foreign peoples have been taken, the government has introduced by educational methods the hotter culture cul-ture and life of the age. Imperial policies poli-cies with nations are always in keeping with their ideals of government and institutions in-stitutions at home. If the nation is democratic, the policy abroad is democratic; demo-cratic; if the nation is military, the policy abroad is militaristic, and'there-fore and'there-fore crushing, for the world is fast learning that military power is" not conducive con-ducive to tho development of that true democracy which is the right of human hu-man beings today. Lying at the root of this war is the imperialistic policy 'of Germany. For many years Germany has watched with jealous eye the expansion of the United States into the Pafie, and for over a century England has been a force to set Germany burning with the lust of commercial com-mercial supremacy. With the expanse of the nations within, new lands are sought for economic power. Ever since the days when Venice and Genoa were the great centers of trado and commerce in the thirteenth century, Asia has been sought for her undeveloped resources and wealth. Columbus was attempting to find a short route to India when he discovered America. For the past 100 vears European nations have seen their power enhanced by the acquirements of land beyond their original domain. European Eu-ropean nations have vied with one another an-other for the Mediterranean, and through Turkey to the rich lands of the orient" both Russia sad Germany have desired to go. In the southern part of Europe are a number of small independent nations, the most important of which are Serbia, Bulgaria and Rumania. These nations have always been the bone of contention with larger powers in the north. The peoples are a mixture of Slavonic and Latin blood, and have not progressed as fast as the lamer neighboring nations na-tions But their 'lands and domains have been sought after, for through them a nation might not only control a large part of the Mediterranean commerce com-merce and trade, but could go into Asia and on to India. The great cause of the Russo-Japanese war was the encroachment en-croachment of Russia on China and Japanese interests in the far east; and during the last twenty-five years Germany Ger-many has been doing great acts to obtain ob-tain dominion in Asia Minor and Persia. Per-sia. The policy of Germany has been to increase her economic power. Let us see just how. Germany is about the size of the two states, Colorado and Wyoming together. Yet with this geographical area there is a population of 63,000,000 peoyle. Naturally, the country is not self-sustaining, yet nearly every foot of land is used, a'nd the farming is naturally intensive. in-tensive. With the growth of population popula-tion as well as the growing demands of the people, it is all quite natural that Germany, like the other nations of Europe, Eu-rope, should seek new lands to colonize, and larger areas for the producing of the necessities of life. It is the old question the short route to India and the far east. It has been a burning question since the days of Columbus. A book has been recentlv written and published entitled, "The" Bagdad Rail-1 wav, " by Professor Morris Jasfrow, Jr., which takes up the subject of the desire of the European nations to obtain the lands of the near east. Professor Jas-trow Jas-trow shows that the Bagdad railway, connecting Constantinople with the Persian Per-sian gulf, is the highway that from times "immemorial has been sought for bv the nations of the west, and whoever who-ever has controlled the route has controlled con-trolled the rich lands of Mesopotamia, noted from of old for its great and va-yed va-yed agriculture. This route has fig-'7red fig-'7red in the German ambitions to reach India, and in Great Britain's determination determina-tion that it shall not. When this oldest of the caravan routes was replaced by a railroad. Professor Jastrow points out that this contributed more than any other complication to create the condition condi-tion needed for tho great war of today. Dr. Jastrow justly concludes that this great highway was sought by Germany in order that she might have an outlet to the far east. Policy of Conquest. Now this policy of the European nations na-tions to acquire land and power has been common more or less to all of them, and has been a means of upsetting upset-ting economic conditions of Europe since the days of Columbus. Civilization is always attended by greater wants and needs of peoples. These bring greater demands for the material things of life. With the German policy of " conquest went the fundamental compact between Prussian rulers and the people. The rulers taught the principle that the state is all, and for the state the people live. There grew up, as pointed out before, the army, which Prussia has idealized from of old, and into which the people have fallen with all the powers they possess. Germany then has practiced a policv of conquest, and for forty years has been waiting her chance to establish estab-lish claims to vast territory in the near east. There has grown up a united fatherland, with an industrial progress unprecedented in the world's history. Germany, building up her great military machine to back up her policy of Imperialism, Im-perialism, naturallv had her statesmen expressing themselves as to thr destiny of the empire. ''From tho fullness of the heart the mouth speakeih.'' Germany Ger-many spoke, and, to her shame, backed up words of policy with her great army. One of the most stimulating books on the war that has fallen into my hands, is ''German Imperialism and Interna tional Law," by Jacques Marquis de Dam Pierre, in which the celebrated French scholar shows how Germany has substituted a military imperialism for international law and the laws of simple sim-ple humanity. Says Pierre: The more and more yjrgent appeal for an energetic policy which should exact either peaceably or by force and preferably by force the acquiescence ac-quiescence of Europe in the extension exten-sion of the frontiers of Germany, was bound some day to provoke a i conflict which would end in a European war. The fact is that the whole German people have been awaiting, for at least two generations, genera-tions, the kind of messianic era in which, a world war should afford an opportunity for repairing the injustices injus-tices of international treaties, at the discussion of which their representatives repre-sentatives had not been able, as thev thought, to secure for the Germanic Ger-manic race a sufficient place in the universe. Imprecnated with tho idea that everything is perniissable if it is done for the sake of the fatherland: that might overrules laws, or, rather, creates new laws; and that the duty of the strong is to emnlov every possible means for reducing and eliminating the weak, the German people, transformed into a nation of arms, have only converted con-verted into action the notions which have been bequeathed to and inculcated into them from infancy. The logic, natural to the masses has corroborated the actions of the higher administration to such purpose pur-pose that, from the commander in - chief down to the last lnndwehrs-rinnn, lnndwehrs-rinnn, from the distinguished diplomat diplo-mat down to the most humble school teacher, there reigns in modern Germany the most remarkable national na-tional unanimity. The spirit of German imperial ideal ism is shown in one of the remarkable German books of the age, "Deutschland und der Xaechste Grieg" (Germany and tho next war), by Bernhardi. In a chapter of this book entitled "Wc.lt-macht "Wc.lt-macht Ober N'iedergang " (World Power or Downfall), Bernhardi shows that Germany Ger-many was prepared for that hour wdien she should launch forth a campaign of war tlmt would rnako her supreme in the world; and it was Heinrich Froben-ius Froben-ius who, in his "German Kingdom," remarked re-marked that Germans are awaiting "the fatal hour for the German empire. War is to come; war is our destiny; the power of Germany shall be supreme in the world." Germany has been looking towards neighboring nations with a view of bringing about their spoliation and downfall, should they stand in the way of Germany's imperialism, and it appears ap-pears that she has had designs on Belgium Bel-gium for years, ilannenberg, the German Ger-man historian, remarks in his "The Greatness of Germany": "It is imperative that Holland, with her royal family, her European territory and her colonics in South America and the East and West Indies, should enter the German empire as a stale of the bund. The same applies to Belgium." The German philosophy for the past fifty years is impregnated with the idea that war is justifiable as a thing in and of itself, fechiller and Knerncr have extolled the clorips of a national war, and writers like Nietzsche, Treitschke and Bernhardi have bused their thoory of the powers of state upon the motto that "might makes right." In fact, Bnrnhardi, in his "Germany and the Germans," begins his book with this: i "For man languishes in peace; Insolent peace is the grave of courage; Law is the friend of the weak. It aims only to make all things equal; It would like to reduce all the world to one level; But War allows Might to reveal itself It Taises everything above the commonplace, common-place, It breeds courage even in the coward." Inflames AH Europe. But another great cause may be stated as to Germany's interpretation of human hu-man rights and the theory that "might makes right." It is tho false notion of lifo and its meaning that is promulgated promul-gated by the evolution of tho German universities, like Ernest Haeckel. Professor Pro-fessor Haeckcl is a professor yet, I believe, be-lieve, at the University of Jena, where I heard him in !)0,'i. ' He has written many books, all based on the Darwinian theory of evolution. He is Hmong Germany's Ger-many's greatest scholars. His principal princi-pal idea in his philosophy is tho subordination sub-ordination of the individual to the "community and of organization." In his "Riddle of the Universe" is a chapter chap-ter called "Our Monistic, Religion," in vhich Haeckcl gives us tho thought that has influenced all Germany more or less; religion is based on monism; monism is tho belief that one sole substance exists, ex-ists, "God and nature," or body and spirit. The spirit develops through the material; spirit, manifests itself in life, power, will. Strength is tho ideal nf the beintis who survive. In fact, the survival of the fittest is the survival of the powerful or men of strength. Hence Might, Power, Ambition. "Might makes right." One can easily discern how Haeckel and the German people read their ethics into the tlieory of monism. Can it be wondered at that Germany awaited Ihe hour when her gmat "might" machine would inflame all Europe and the world in funeral? It is not a fallacy in reason rea-son to say that from what I have pointed point-ed out, such a nation should stoop to the lowest acts of barbarism in the war turned loose by Prussia in llill. Arti'le Til will appear next Sunday. |