"In 1880, your England led the world in the output of pig iron, producing nearly eight million tons to four million tons produced by the United States.
"In 1910, the United States produced twenty-seven million tons, Germany fifteen million tons, and Great Britain ten million tons.
"In 1856 an Englishman named Perkins first produced a coal tar dye.
"In 1910, Germany exported nine and a half million pounds worth, while Great Britain exported only £336,000 worth.
"So you see Germany has beaten England in peace as you will see we shall beat her in war."
Then he spat into the fire, put his pipe away, and as he was going out to bed flung this final shot:
"And there again we differ from you English. That is why we go into this divine struggle as a grim and serious business. One great united army with a hymn to God, and one great battle cry, 'Deutschland Uber Alles.' You English take it as what you call 'a jolly sport,' with your battle cry, 'Are we down-hearted?' and your battle hymn, 'It's a long long way to Tipperary,' ah-ha-ho"—and he laughed his way up to his bedroom.
I sat looking into the dying flames, dwelling upon all his jibes.
I thought how each German felt he was a cog in the immense national machine, and had his work systematised. I could then understand how that killed initiative in the individual, and why Germany had not made any great discoveries in science or manufacture, but had simply stolen ideas of other countries and adapted them to her own ends.
Grandpa Goche had spoken of coal tar dye, then I recalled how Germany had also taken Marconi's wireless invention and Germanised it; how it had taken the French and the English ideas in airship and aeroplane construction and worked upon them; how even the English town planning movement was imitated. In the latter case I remembered reading that the "Unter den linden" had been widened by the process of pushing the dwellings back until they each housed 60 families. Germany, on this occasion, had grabbed the idea but missed the spirit, in the absence of which town planning is merely a name.