[[7]] "As we look back, we survey the long road which England has traversed in a century. Towards the end of the eighteenth century the leading man was the landlord and behind him the breitspurig comfortable farmer; towards the middle of the nineteenth century it was the manufacturer and behind him the industrial workers, ripening into trade unionists and members of co-operative societies; to-day it is the financier and behind him the broad masses of the rentiérs." Op. cit., p. 322.
[[8]] There may, however, be regulation, although this is, for any one nation, a difficult operation.
[[9]] See Burgess' "Homeland."
[[10]] In his celebrated book, "The Nation in Arms," the late Field-Marshall von der Goltz shows how necessary is the sense of the imminence of war to the maintenance of the prestige of the officer class, which, as he states, is "chosen from the German aristocracy." He quotes approvingly the words of Decken: "Now, when in consequence of a long peace the memories of past services have become completely obliterated, and there is no immediate prospect of a war, the citizens take more and more note of the burden of the upkeep of an army, and attempt to convince themselves of the uselessness of this institution." To which Von der Goltz adds: "The present day (1883), especially in Germany is favourable in this respect to the officer class. Great and successful wars have enhanced its renown, and have moderated the envy of others. But should peace endure for several decades to come, it may again become necessary to remind the people that external favours may, without harm, be extended to the military profession, and especially to the officers."—Popular edition, London, 1914, p. 25.
CHAPTER XI
THE APPEAL OF IMPERIALISM
It is a significant fact that despite a democratic opposition to imperialism it is precisely the democratic nations, England and France, which are most imperialistic. The British public seems always willing to make sacrifices to extend the Empire, and an almost equal enthusiasm is found among great sections of the French democracy. Also in Germany, when an election was fought in 1907 upon a colonial issue, thousands who usually voted the Socialist ticket gave their adhesion to the imperialists.
Such a popular adhesion is essential to the success of an imperialistic policy. The masses need not be consulted upon the first steps but they are urgently called into conference when trouble begins and "pacification" or war is necessary. Your financier, with all his money, is helpless against the rival ambitions of a great nation, and, he must have the support of his own country, its navy, army, credit, and millions of patriotic citizens. How is he to secure this support?