Face to Face with Kaiserism

by James W. Gerard

WHEN GERMANY WILL BREAK DOWN

I remember a picture exhibited in the Academy at London, some years ago, representing a custom of the wars of the Middle Ages.

A great fortress besieged, frowns down on the plain under the cold moonlight. From its towering walls the useless mouths are thrust forth—if refused food by the enemy, to die—the children, the maimed, the old, the halt, the blind, all those who cannot help in the defence, who consume food needed to strengthen the weakened garrison.

Every country of the world to-day is in a state of siege, is conserving food and materials, but not yet has Germany sent forth her useless mouths, to Holland, to Scandinavia and to Switzerland, a sign that not yet is the pinch of hunger in the Empire imperative.

Since I arrived in America in March, 1917, I have been like Cassandra, the prophetess fated to be right, but never believed. I said then Germany would never break because of starvation, or fail because of revolution, and that her man-power was great.

We have not made sacrifices enough in this war, there are too many useless mouths. I believe that there are in the States of New York and Pennsylvania alone 175,000 professional chauffeurs, a great number of them employed on automobiles not used for business or trucking. And then think of the thousands of skilled mechanics employed in garages and factories repairing and making mere pleasure vehicles. If all these chauffeurs (nearly all with some knowledge of machinery) and mechanics were put at work building ships or making rifles there would be no loss to the country, but certain overfed women and their poodles would have to walk, greatly to the advantage of their health and figures.

Private automobiles disappeared very quickly in Germany. At first a man who could not reach his business in any other way was allowed to use his own automobile but even these soon went out of commission and then bicycles were forbidden except for rides to and from business, work or school. A few ramshackle taxicabs still survive in Berlin at the railway stations, driven by benzol instead of gasoline and shod with spring tires. No one can keep a taxi waiting, it is subject when waiting to be commandeered by the first comer.

Gradually as we realise the gravity of the conflict our lives will become more earnest and luxuries will be given up to meet the changed condition. There must be a committee who will tide over the workers in luxury industries and help them to learn new war trades. This was done in Germany by the great organisation of the Woman's Service. Already Fifth Avenue dressmakers have dismissed many of their workers, who, being without resources, should receive assistance and advice until they have learned other trades.

Our farmers are entitled to cheaper labour. Why should not enemy aliens work our farms? We do not propose to make the Austrian and German and Hungarian women agricultural slaves as the Germans made the Russian women caught by the war within the borders of Germany, nor have we the right, I believe, to force civilian prisoners to work. But we can give these civilian men instead of meat twice a day, now given them, the same food which the Germans give their prisoners, until the enemy aliens volunteer to work in our fields. They should, of course, work as in Germany under guard. They should be used also in mines, factories, etc. The sooner we use every ounce of war energy, the sooner we shall beat Germany and obtain a lasting peace.

Eventually forced by the hopelessness of the economic situation, the nerve of Germany will break. There is a suicide point in the German character. The German has been sustained since the war by victories somewhere. No defeats were brought home to the German people. Viewed from inside the German Empire what are the loss of a few villages on the West front or even of distant colonies compared to the conquest of Belgium, of the richest part of France, of thousands of square miles of Russia, of Roumania, Montenegro and Serbia? With the exception of a very small bit of Alsace the war is being fought far from German territory. The German can swagger down the streets of the capitals of his enemies, in Brussels, Belgrade, Bucharest, Warsaw and Cettinje and Prussian greed exacts tribute from rich cities from Lille on the West to Wilna far within the frontiers of Russia.