[signed]G. de Leval Avocat la cour d'Appel de Bruxelles, Legal advisor to the American and British Legations in Belgium.
Good Old Bernstorff!
Then entrance of America in the war has been nothing short of a miracle—perhaps, with the Marne, the most wonderful miracle, among many others, which we have witnessed since August, 1914.
I do not wish to be misunderstood. I am not necessarily referring to supernatural influences. This will remain a matter of opinion—or rather of belief. I am merely speaking from the ordinary point of view of the main in the street concerning what is likely or not likely to happen in the world.
People have very generously admired Belgium's attitude, but anybody knowing the Belgians and their King might have prophesied Liege, and the Yser battle. Others have praised the timely interference of England and the self-sacrifice of the many thousand British volunteers who rushed to arms, during the early days of the war, to avenge the wrong done to a small people whose only crime was to stand in the way of a blind and ruthless military machine. But such an attitude was too much in the tradition of British fair play to come as a surprise to those who knew intimately the country and the people. Besides, from the Government's point of view, non-intervention would have been a political mistake for which the whole nation would have had to pay dearly in the near future, as subsequent events have conclusively shown.
But America? What had America to do in the conflict? She had not signed the treaties guaranteeing Belgium's neutrality. She was not directly threatened by German Imperialism. She had never taken any part in European politics. Her moral responsibility was not engaged and her immediate interest was to preserve to the end all the advantages of neutrality and to benefit, after the war, by the exhaustion of Europe…
I had the opportunity of seeing, a few days ago, the second contingent of American troops marching through London on their way to France. The Belgian flag flew from our window and, as we cheered the men, some of them, recognizing the colors, waved their hand towards us. And as I watched their bright smile and remembered the eager interest shown by so many citizens of the States to Belgian's fate, and the deep indignation provoked beyond the Atlantic by the German atrocities and by the more recent deportations, I was inclined to think, for one moment, that I had solved the problem, and that their sympathy for Belgium had brought these soldiers to the rescue. We are so easily inclined to exaggerate the part which one country is playing!
But as I looked at the men again, I was struck by the grim expression on their faces, the almost threatening determination of their light swinging step. And I soon realized that neither their sympathy for England, France or Belgium had brought them here. They had not come merely to fight for other peoples, they had their own personal grievance. they were not there only to help their friends, but also to punish their enemies.
As I turned in to resume my work, I heard a friend of mine who whispered, rubbing his hands: "Good old Bernstorff! Kind old von Paepen! Blessed old Ludendorf!"
And I understood that Germany had been our best champion, and that her plots, her intrigues, and her U boats had done more to convert America than our most eloquent denunciations. There is no neutrality possible in the face of lawlessness and Germanism. Sooner or later we feel that "he how is not with Him is against Him." And there is no compromise, no conciliation which might prevail against such feeling.