German rule, or have German ideals imposed upon us, and having demonstrated that, the Allies must show that they in their turn have no intention of imposing their ideals or their rule or their dominance upon German peoples.  The Allies must show after this war that they do not desire to be the masters of the German peoples or States, but their partners and associates in a Europe which none shall dominate, but which all shall share.”—­From “Shall this War End German Militarism?” by Norman Angell.

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GERMAN PUBLIC OPINION IN 1913 WITH REGARD TO THE IMPENDING WAR.

The Report on this subject given in the French Yellow Book (Section 5) throws much light on the attitude of the various classes in Germany.  In favour of peace (it says) are “the large mass of workmen, artisans, and peasants, who are peaceful by instinct”; a considerable number of non-military nobility, and of “manufacturers, merchants, and financiers of minor importance, to whom even a victorious war would bring bankruptcy”; also a vast number of those who are continually in a state of “suppressed revolt against Prussian policy,” like the “Government and ruling classes of the great southern States, Saxony, Bavaria, Wurtemburg,” and so forth.

On the other hand, in favour of war are the great, mainly Prussian, war party, consisting of the military aristocracy and nobility “who see with terror the democratization of Germany and the growing force of the Socialist party”; “others who consider war as necessary for economic reasons found in over-population and over-production, the need of markets and outlets”; the great bourgeoisie, “which also has its reasons of a social nature—­the upper middle class being no less affected than the nobility by the democratization of Germany ... and, finally, the gun and armour-plate manufacturers, the great merchants who clamour for greater markets, and the bankers who speculate on the Golden Age and the indemnity of war.  These, too, think that war would be good business.”

The whole paper is too long for extensive citation here, but is well worth reading.

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POLITICAL IGNORANCE IN GERMANY.

“On Tuesday last at the Union Society Mr. Dudley Ward, late Berlin correspondent of the Daily Chronicle and other English papers, and Fellow of St. John’s College, dealt with ’The War from the German Point of View.’  Mr. Ward’s profound knowledge of Germany, especially since 1911, and his obvious attempt to review recent events with impartiality, was a revelation to Cambridge, and a very large audience showed its enthusiastic appreciation of his ability and his frankness.

“Mr. Ward emphasized particularly the astonishing political ignorance of the German people as a whole, an ignorance quite unintelligible to any one unacquainted with their Press and their political institutions.  Public opinion, as he said, counts for little in Germany, and the Government can generally guide it into any direction it may please, and this fact is essential to the understanding of the events—­diplomatic events—­which led to the declaration of war.”—­From the “Cambridge Magazine,” December 5, 1914.