minutiæ of commerce which makes it impossible to compete with such
methods. One article after another is attacked, as opportunity offers;
British manufacture is killed; and Germany acquires a monopoly. No trade
is safe; its turn may not have come.
Much has been said about British manufacture of dyestuffs, and much
nonsense has been written about the lack of young British chemists to
help in their manufacture. There is no lack of able inventive young
British chemists. Owing to the unfairness of German competition by
methods just exemplified, a manufacturer, as a rule, does not care to
risk capital in the payment of a number of chemists for making "fine
chemicals." He finds "heavy chemicals" simpler. I do not wonder at his
decision, though I lament it. There are also other reasons. The duty on
methyl alcohol (for which no rebate is given) makes it impossible to
introduce economically methyl groups into dyes; the restrictions
incident on the use of duty-free alcohol do not commend themselves to
manufacturers; these constitute other obstacles in the way of the
British color maker. Lastly, our patent regulations are even yet not
what they might be, although an attempt has recently been made to
improve them. The British manufacturer is thus trebly handicapped.
Besides, the English competitor is at a disadvantage owing to what may
be termed systematic and fraudulent attacks, for which no redress has
been obtainable. Thus the manufacturers of Sheffield still complain, I
suppose justly, that German articles for foreign consumption bear the
words "Sheffield steel" stamped upon them. I myself have been approached
by a German swindler with the proposition that I should assist his firm
in infringing patents; he was surprised and pained to learn that I did
not consider his proposal an honorable one.
Nor are methods like these confined to business or manufacture; they
have greatly affected British shipping. Our shipping companies, in good
faith, have associated themselves with others in "conferences,"
apparently for the mutual advantage of all, forgetting that behind the
German companies lay the powerful mass of the German State. Tramp
steamers, and with them cheap freights to the East, have been
eliminated. The Royal Commission on Shipping Rings, which met some years
ago, referring to the system obtaining in Germany, and fostered by the
German Government, on charging through rates on goods from towns in the
interior to the port of destination, observed in its report: "Such rates
constitute a direct subsidy to the export trade of German manufacturers,
and an indirect subsidy to those German lines by whom alone they are
available. And as they are only rendered possible by the action of the
German Government, it appears to us that the British lines can in no way
be held responsible for the preferences which these rates afford to
German goods." Now, our Government pays large mail subsidies to many of
our shipping companies. Could these not be so utilized that it would
become impossible for Germans to capture our trade by indirect state
bounties?
These are a few examples (and your greater knowledge will enable you to
supplement them with many others) of the methods which have been
employed against us by Germans with the co-operation--nay, the active
support--of their State.
Of late a new factor has appeared. The German Imperial Chancellor made
his noteworthy (or notorious) remark about a "scrap of paper." And Dr.
von Bethmann-Hollweg, speaking in the Reichstag, acknowledged openly
that the German Nation had been guilty of a "wrong" to Belgium. This
breach of faith has the approval of the whole German people. Do they
realize what it means? Are they not aware that no treaty, political or
otherwise, with the German people is worth the paper it is written on?
That the country and its inhabitants have forfeited all claims to trust?
That no one, in future, should make a bargain with a German, knowing
that he is a dishonorable and dishonored man?... Germany has made many
blunders--an almost inconceivable number of blunders; but this
blundering crime is surely the culminating point of blunder. Did any
nation ever before deliberately throw away its political, commercial,
financial, and social credit to no purpose? To gain what? England as an
adversary, and the contempt of the whole civilized world. Her treatment
of the poor Belgian civilians has added to contempt, loathing and scorn.
Now, gentlemen, you see our problem. At, the end of this war we shall
have Germans again as trade rivals; if there is a German State our
German rivals will be backed by their State. They will, as they have
done before, steal our inventions, use trickery and fraud to oust us
from world markets, and we know now that we need not expect any bargain
to be binding. I am not a commercial man; science is supposed to be
above such trickery. Yet I read a few days ago, not as a single example,
but only as the last I happen to remember, an article by a
distinguished American professor, protesting with great moderation that
an important scientific generalization which he published in 1902 had
been annexed, without acknowledgment, by a versatile and adroit
professor in the University of Berlin--an acquaintance of my own--in the
year 1906; and it was not until 1910 that the latter was made to confess
his guilt, with much subterfuge and blustering.
Commerce, indeed, is in Germany regarded as war; we now know it, and we
must meet war by war. How is that war to be waged?
I can see only two methods. One is recommended by a writer in The
Observer of the 10th inst., who acknowledges himself to have been a
lifelong free trader. His remedy is a 25 per cent. duty on all German
goods, and on German goods only, imported (or rather offered for import)
into Great Britain and her colonies, and also that German passenger
liners and freight boats should not be allowed to call at any one of the
ports of the empire. His reasons are fully stated in his letter; it is
signed "A City Merchant."
The other method is perhaps less apt to offend free trade
susceptibilities; it is to impose on what remains of our opponents at
the conclusion of this war free trade for a term of years. It remains to
be seen whether we shall be powerful enough to insist on this measure,
or to persuade our allies that it is one likely to fulfill the proposed
end. It is, so far as I see, the only other alternative.
Those who are thoroughly convinced of the benefits of free trade should
welcome this suggestion, unless, indeed, they think that such a blessing
is not deserved by Germany. On the other hand, they may comfort
themselves with the certain knowledge that no possible punishment
inflicted on the Germans could possibly be more galling and repulsive to
them. Doubtless, too, it would suit the books of our allies very well,
who could impose on German goods any duty they thought fit, and deposit
their surplus and inferior goods in Germany at a price which would defy
competition. But these are questions which I must leave to those more
conversant with the merits and demerits of free trade and protection
than I am.
Whatever view you take, you cannot but acknowledge that the situation
calls for early and anxious deliberation, and well-thought-out and firm
action; and it must be action taken as a nation--through our
Government--whatever the political complexion of the Government may be
at the close of the war. It is for you, as members of the Employers'
Parliamentary Association, to make up your minds what you wish to do;
above all, to agree, and to take steps to force the Government in power
to carry out your wishes.
BELGIUM.
By EDITH WHARTON.
[From King Albert's Book.]
_La Belgique regrette rien._
Not with her ruined silver spires,
Not with her cities shamed and rent,
Perish the imperishable fires
That shape the homestead from the tent.
Wherever men are stanch and free,
There shall she keep her fearless state,
And, homeless, to great nations be
The home of all that makes them great.
Desired Peace Terms for Europe
Outlined by Proponents for the Allies and for Germany
_The following forecast of the terms of peace which the Allies could
enforce upon Germany and Austria is made for The New York Times Current
History by a former Minister of France, one of the leading publicists of
the French Republic:_
The Allies will decline to treat with any member of the Hohenzollern or
Hapsburg family or any delegates representing them and will insist on
dealing with delegations representing the German and Austro-Hungarian
people elected by their respective Parliaments or by direct vote of the
people, if they so desire.
The Allies will facilitate in every possible way negotiations between
Austria-Hungary and Italy with a view to the latter obtaining the
southern part of the Tyrol, known as Trentino, and the Peninsula of
Istria, known as Trieste.
The 200 miles "strait" channel (Dardanelles, Sea of Marmora, and
Bosporus,) between Turkey in Europe and Turkey in Asia, is to be
declared free to the ships of all nations, and under the direction of an
international commission, which will also administer Turkey in Europe
and form a permanent court of arbitration for all questions which may
arise among Rumania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro, and Greece. In
settling the status of Albania respect will be paid to the wishes of the
inhabitants.
Alsace and Lorraine, after rectifications of the French boundary line in
accordance with the wishes of the inhabitants, are to be annexed to
Belgium, whose permanent neutrality will be guaranteed by the powers.
Schleswig-Holstein is to be returned to Denmark and the Kiel Canal made
an international waterway, under either an international commission or a
company which will operate it as the Suez Canal is operated.
Poland is to be declared an autonomous State under the protection of
Russia, and its boundaries are to be restored as they were in 1715.
The Allies will also entertain a proposition for the restoration of the
independence of Hungary and the geographical integrity of the country as
it was in 1715.
The delegates representing the German people must pledge themselves that
military conscription shall be abolished among them for a period of
twenty-five years.
The status of all German colonies and protectorates is to be settled by
a joint commission appointed by the Governments of England, Japan, and
France.
The ownership of Italy and Greece to the Aegean Islands, now in their
respective possessions, is to be confirmed by the powers and guarantees
shall be given that the said islands shall not be fortified.
The ownership of England to the Island of Cyprus is to be confirmed by
the powers and her protectorate over Egypt acknowledged.
The Mediterranean Sea is to be declared a "maritime area" to be policed
by England, France, and Italy.
_Here is the declaration of peace terms by the Central Committee for
National Patriotic Organization of England:_
Great Britain can never willingly make peace with Germany until the
power of Prussian militarism is completely destroyed and there is no
possibility of our children or our children's children being forced
again to fight for the national existence. As far as we are concerned,
this is a fight to a definite finish. We must either win all along the
line or we must be completely defeated and our empire destroyed. Our
allies fully share the same conviction. The thousands of lives already
lost, and, alas! still to be lost, will have been tragically wasted if
the German menace remains to terrorize Europe and to stunt the progress
of civilization. In order to convince public opinion that the only peace
worth having is a peace absolutely on our own terms, a Central Committee
for National Patriotic Organization has been formed from the members of
all the four political parties. The committee will, in addition, take
steps to lay a clear statement of the British case before neutral
countries. Both the tasks it has undertaken are of the first importance,
and it should have the support of every patriot.
GERMANY'S PROGRAM.
_Professor Ernst Haeckel, the militant German zoologist, supplies, in an
interview in the Berliner Tagesblatt, the following summary:_
Freedom from the tyranny of England to be secured as follows:
1. The invasion of the British piratical State by the German
Army and Navy and the occupation of London.
2. The partition of Belgium, the western portion as far as
Ostend and Antwerp to become a German Federal State; the
northern portion to fall to Holland, and the southeastern
portion to be added to Luxemburg, which also should become a
German Federal State.
3. Germany to obtain the greater part of the British colonies
and of the Congo State.
4. France to give up a portion of her northeastern provinces.
5. Russia to be reduced to impotency by the re-establishment
of the Kingdom of Poland, which should be united with
Austria-Hungary.
6. The Baltic Provinces of Russia to be restored to Germany.
7. Finland to become an independent kingdom and be united with
Sweden.
_An article by Georges Clemenceau, in L'Homme Enchaîné, reports the
following view of the German terms accredited to Count Bernstorff,
German Ambassador at Washington:_
One of my friends in America informs me of a curious conversation
between an influential banker and the German Ambassador, Count
Bernstorff. The banker, who had just handed over a substantial check for
the German Red Cross, asked Count Bernstorff what the Kaiser would take
from France after the victory.
The Ambassador did not seem the least surprised at this somewhat
premature question. He answered it quite calmly, ticking off the various
points on his fingers as follows:
1. All the French colonies, including the whole of Morocco,
Algeria, and Tunis.
2. All the country northeast of a straight line from
Saint-Valéry to Lyons, that is to say, more than one quarter
of French territory, including 15,000,000 inhabitants.
3. An indemnity of 10,000,000,000 francs, ($2,000,000,000.)
4. A tariff allowing all German goods to enter France free
during twenty-five years, without reciprocity for French goods
entering Germany. After this period the Treaty of Frankfurt
will again be applied.
5. The suppression of recruiting in France during twenty-five
years.
6. The destruction of all French fortresses.
7. France to hand over 3,000,000 rifles, 2,000 cannon, and
40,000 horses.
8. The protection of all German patents without reciprocity.
9. France must abandon Russia and Great Britain.
10. A treaty of alliance with Germany for twenty-five years.
_Dr. Bernhard Dernburg, late German Colonial Secretary of State, has
published an article in The Independent, in which this forecast
appears_:
1. Germany will not consider it wise to take any European territory, but
will make minor corrections of frontiers for military purposes by
occupying such frontier territory as has proved a weak spot in the
German armor.
2. Belgium belongs geographically to the German Empire. She commands the
mouth of the biggest German stream; Antwerp is essentially a German
port. That Antwerp should not belong to Germany is as much an anomaly as
if New Orleans and the Mississippi delta had been excluded from
Louisiana, or as if New York had remained English after the War of
Independence. Moreover, Belgium's present plight was her own fault. She
had become the vassal of England and France. Therefore, while "probably"
no attempt would be made to place Belgium within the German Empire
alongside Bavaria, Württemberg, and Saxony, because of her non-German
population, she will be incorporated in the German Customs Union after
the Luxemburg pattern.
3. Belgian neutrality, having been proved an impossibility, must be
abolished. Therefore the harbors of Belgium must be secured for all time
against British or French invasion.
4. Great Britain having bottled up the North Sea, a mare liberum must be
established. England's theory that the sea is her boundary, and all the
sea her territory down to the three-mile limit of other powers, cannot
be tolerated. Consequently the Channel coasts of England, Holland,
Belgium, and France must be neutralized even in times of war, and the
American and German doctrine that private property on the high seas
should enjoy the same freedom of seizure as private property does on
land must be guaranteed by all nations. This condition Herr Dernburg
accompanies by an appeal to the United States duly to note, and Britain
is making commercial war upon Germany.
5. All cables must be neutralized.
6. All Germany's colonies are to be returned. Germany, in view of her
growing population, must get extra territory capable of population by
whites. The Monroe Doctrine bars her from America, therefore she must
take Morocco, "if it is really fit for the purpose."
7. A free hand must be given to Germany in the development of her
commercial and industrial relations with Turkey "without interference."
This would mean a recognized sphere of German influence from the Persian
Gulf to the Dardanelles.
8. There must be no further development of Japanese influence in
Manchuria.
9. All small nations, such as Finland, Poland, and the Boers in South
Africa, if they support Germany, must have the right to frame their own
destinies, while Egypt is to be returned, if she desires it, to Turkey.
These conditions, Herr Dernburg concludes, would "fulfill the peaceful
aims which Germany has had for the last forty-four years." They show, in
his opinion, that Germany has no wish for world dominion or for any
predominance in Europe incommensurate with the rights of the 122,000,000
Germans and Austrians.
THE BRITISH VOLUNTEERS.
By KATHERINE DRAYTON MAYRANT SIMONS, JR.
We are coming, Mother, coming
O'er the seas--your Younger Sons!
From the mighty-mouthed Saint Lawrence
Or where sacred Ganges runs,
We are coming for your blessing
By a ritual of guns!
We are coming, Mother, coming
On the way our fathers came!
For their spirits rise to beckon
At the whisper of your name;
And we come that you may knight us
By your accolade of flame!
We are coming, Mother, coming!
For the death is less to feel
Than to hear you call unanswered?
'Tis the Saxon's old appeal,
And we come to prove us worthy
By its ordeal of steel!
Chronology of the War
Showing Progress of Campaigns on All Fronts and Collateral Events from
Jan. 31, 1915, up to and Including Feb. 28, 1915.
Continued from the last Number.
CAMPAIGN IN EASTERN EUROPE
Feb. 1--Russians retake Borjimow trenches and capture men of Landsturm;
severe cold hampers operations in Galicia.
Feb. 2--Germans advance, with heavy losses, southward toward the Vistula
and eastward between Bejoun and Orezelewo.
Feb. 3--Russians again pour into Hungary as Austrians yield important
positions; German position north of the Vistula is insecure.
Feb. 4--Von Hindenburg hurls 50,000 men at Russian lines near Warsaw.
Feb. 5--Russians reported to have killed 30,000 Germans under Gen.
Mackensen; Russians recapture Gumine.
Feb. 6--General German offensive is looked for; Russians shift troops in
East Galicia and Bukowina.
Feb. 7--Germans rush reinforcements to East Prussia; second line of
trenches pierced by Russians near Borjimow; Austrians resume attacks on
Montenegrin positions on the Drina.
Feb. 8--Russian cavalry sweeps northward toward East Prussia; Russians
move their right wing forward in the Carpathians but retire in Bukowina;
Germans shift 600,000 troops from Poland to East Prussia, using motor
cars; Italians say that 15,000 Germans died in attempting to take
Warsaw.
Feb. 9--Austro-German forces attack Russians at three points in the
Carpathians; Russians begin the evacuation of Bukowina, where Austrians
have had successes; Russians make a wedge in East Prussia across
Angorapp River.
Feb. 10--Fierce fighting in the Carpathian passes; Russians are
retreating from Bukowina.
Feb. 11--Russians fall back in Mazurian Lake district; they still hold
Czernowitz.
Feb. 12--Von Hindenburg, as a result of a several days' battle, wins a
great victory over the Tenth Russian Army in the Mazurian Lake region,
part of the operations taking place under the eyes of the Kaiser; more
than 50,000 prisoners are taken, with fifty cannon and sixty machine
guns; the Russians retreat in disorder across the frontier, their loss
in killed and wounded being estimated at 30,000; a second line of
defense is being strengthened by the Russians; Paris announces the
complete failure of German offensive in Poland.
Feb. 14--Russians check Germans in Lyck region; battle raging in
Bukowina; Albanians invade Servia and force Servians to retreat from the
frontier.
Feb. 15--Russian lines hold in the north; Austrians state that Bukowina
has been entirely evacuated by the Russians; Germans retake Czernowitz.
Feb. 16--Germans occupy Plock and Bielsk; Russians fall back in North
Poland; Austrians win in Dukla Pass; Servians drive back Albanian
invaders.
Feb. 17--Germans prepare for attack along whole Russian front; cholera
and typhus gain headway in Poland.
Feb. 18--Belgrade bombarded; Germans try to cut off Warsaw.
Feb. 19--Germans abandon march to Niemen; they march toward Plonsk from
two directions; they occupy Tauroggen.
Feb. 20--Germans repulsed at Ossowetz; Russians bombard Przemysl;
Germans capture French Hospital Corps in East Prussia.
Feb. 21--Russians force fighting from East Prussia to Bukowina.
Feb. 22--Russians make progress in Galicia and the Carpathians; it is
said that German and Austrian armies are being merged.
Feb. 23--Russians force Germans back along the Bobr; Germans assemble
greater forces at Przanysz; Russians destroy two Austrian brigades
between Stanislau and Wyzkow; Austrians repulsed near Krasne.
Feb. 24--Russians have successes in the Carpathians near Uzrok Pass.
Feb. 25--Germans besiege Ossowetz; Russians gain in the Carpathians and
again invade Bukowina; Russian wedge splits Austrian Army in the
Carpathians; fighting on Stanislau Heights.
Feb. 26--Fighting in progress on a 260-mile front; battle in north sways
to East Prussian frontier; Germans retire in Przanysz region; Germans
claim capture of eleven Russian Generals in Mazurian Lake battle; snow
and intense cold hinder operations in Bukowina.
Feb. 27--Germans retire in the north; Russians recapture Przanysz;
German battalion annihilated on the Bobr; Russians advance in Galicia
and claim recapture of Stanislau and Kolomea; stubborn fighting north of
Warsaw.
Feb. 28--Russians are attacking along whole front; Germans checked in
North Poland and many taken prisoners; General Brusiloff's army is
claimed by the Russians to have thus far captured 188,000 Austrians.
CAMPAIGN IN WESTERN EUROPE.
Feb. 1--Germans evacuate Cernay and burn Alsatian towns as French
advance.
Feb. 3--Germans try to retake Great Dune; Allies make gains in Belgium;
fighting at Westende.
Feb. 5--Allies are making a strong offensive movement in Belgium.
Feb. 7--British take German trenches at Guinchy.
Feb. 9--Germans again bombard Rheims, Soissons, and other places;
fighting on skis is occurring in Alsace.
Feb. 14--Germans are making preparations for an offensive movement in
Alsace.
Feb. 16--French forces gain in Champagne and advance on a two-mile
front; fighting in La Bassée.
Feb. 18--Allies make offensive movements; Germans give up Norroy.
Feb. 23--Germans use Austrian twelve-inch howitzers for bombardment of
Rheims.
Feb. 26--French gain on the Meuse.
Feb. 28--Germans advance west of the Vosges, forcing French back four
miles on a thirteen-mile front; French gain in Champagne, taking many
trenches.
CAMPAIGN IN AFRICA.
Feb. 3--Portugal is sending reinforcements to Angola, much of which is
in German hands, although there has been no declaration of war between
Portugal and Germany; some of the anti-British rebels in South Africa
surrender.