"Is there a single reason to be found, either in the traditions of his race, or in his own character, or in the logic of Prussian militarism, which can justify, any clear-thinking mind in believing that William is a Pacifist?"
Hardly had that number of May 1 appeared when the German Emperor made his speech at Königsberg! In his cups, the King of Prussia reveals his true nature, just as a champagne cork flies from a badly wired bottle. After giving expression once again to his animosity towards France, he borrows from us one of the famous dicta of Monsieur Prudhomme—
"The duty of an Emperor," he declared, "is to keep the peace, and I am determined to do it; but should I be compelled to draw the sword to preserve peace, Germany's blows will fall like hail upon those who have dared to disturb it."
Next, in the neighbourhood of the Russian frontier, he used the following provocative language: "I will not permit that any one should touch my eastern provinces and he who tries to do so, will find that my power and my might are as rocks of bronze."
Sire, beware! The God of the Hohenzollern will prove to you before long that your power and your might, those rocks of bronze, are no more in His hands than a feather tossed in the wind; He will show you that a tricky horse can unseat you, regardless of your dignity, when you take your favourite ride, the road to Peacock island, with your august brother-in-law.
Say what you will, the Prussians have not yet acquired either wit or good taste! There is proof of this not only in the speeches of William II at Konigsberg, but even more convincing, in that which was delivered before the Reichstag by that famous strategist, our conqueror de Moltke, on the subject of the proposed increase in the peace-footing effectives.
One must read the whole speech to get an idea of the sort of nonsense that "honorable" Germans are prepared to listen to. In urging the vote of credit, "the Victor" said: "Confronted with the fundamental problem of the army, the question of money is of secondary importance; for what becomes of your prosperous finances in war-time?"
Having proved that conquerors are the greatest benefactors of the human race, M. de Moltke goes on to declare that it is not the rulers, but the peoples, who want war to-day. In Germany, it is "the cupidity of the classes whom fate has neglected"; it is also the socialists who decline to vote more soldiers because they desire to trouble the world's peace and expect "to sacrifice hundreds of thousands of lives in the next war and to threaten the existence of morality and civilisation."
I do not know whether my readers can make head or tail of this speech—I certainly cannot—but its intention is plain enough. William II has been careful to emphasise it, by declaring that the increase in the peace strength of the army is intended to reinforce the eastern and western frontiers. Several officious newspapers (we no longer call them reptile, but to do so would make them more authoritative) sum up the matter in these words—
"The nearer the peace-footing of the troops on our frontiers approaches to war-strength, the more effectively these troops are provided with everything necessary to enable them to leave within three hours of receiving marching orders, the more secure becomes Germany's position."