But the people of America made no mistakes of that kind. They recognized that so long as the United States was not at war with Germany, the sympathy of all Americans of German descent would be against the Allies. That was as natural as it is for water to run down hill. But when war with Germany was declared, after a multitude of insults and injuries and too many efforts at avoidance, the native American felt no serious misgiving regarding the great body of Americans of German ancestry. All that they did fear was the crazy possibilities of individual hot-heads; and it was pointed out to German-Americans that the insane and treasonable acts of such irresponsibles might easily involve great masses of perfectly innocent people. The Americans of German descent sternly forbade all such folly by their people, and it will be a pleasure for the historians of these times to record the fact that the German-born Americans have, as a mass, elected to be Americans first, and the others have wisely feared to be openly hostile to the United States.
Except the Anarchists, Socialists and I.W.W's., American ideals have made lasting impressions upon many of our people whose veins contain foreign blood, though not upon all. Young Ernest and Heinrich are in the National Guard, and lads August and Herman are in the Boy Scouts, busy saluting the flag; and all are quite ready to fight for the only home country that they know. They are not in the ranks of the alien malcontents who are organized to fight all American efforts at national defense. But we will deal with that element.
The brutal German government, and the odious Junkers, now frantically lying to the people of Germany and ruthlessly concealing the truth from them, have few allies in the United States save the spies and traitors planted here for spy purposes. There will be no "uprising of Germans" here. The extinguishment by the Providence Journal of the reptilian Bernstorff, the chuckleheaded Boy-Ed, the blundering Papen, and Dumba the easy mark, effectually ended the treasonable plots that aided very materially in opening the chasm between the United States and Germany, and driving the United States whole-heartedly into the war. Dumba has been decorated for his part in all this, and we hope his fellow plotters will be equally appreciated.
But there are some capital blunders that Germany never makes. Her people are an absolute unit, in body, spirit and resources, in backing up the leaders of the nation in the hour of strife and danger. She does not make the mistake of tolerating traitors and assassins at home. If her soldiers mutinied on the firing line, and refused to fight the enemy, as some rotten-hearted Russian soldiers recently have done most disastrously, Germany would not make the mistake of letting one of them live to tell it. In solidarity, unity of purpose and devotion to the nation's policy, the German people are a shining example to America. They are more devoted to a bad cause than our slackers and traitors are to a good one. It is high time for us to teach our traitors some severe lessons; and I warn them, one and all: Beware!
And now what about Germany's crimes? In the next chapter, let us see.
II. The Crimes of Germany.
In the affairs of the individual and the state, we hear a lot about "crime" and "criminals"; but it is an idiotic fact that the greatest of all crimes, those committed by nations on a vast scale, rarely are spoken of as crimes, and easily are condoned after the fighting stops. The world calls them either "wars" or "atrocities"; and the men who instigate them never are spoken of as criminals, and never are punished as such. Is it not curious?
Still less is the author of an inexcusable war, or a series of brutal atrocities, hanged, or shot, or even permanently imprisoned for his crimes. What fools these mortals be!
In our civilization, a wife who ends long years of torture by killing a brutal husband, always is tried, sentenced, and either imprisoned for life, or executed. This asinine world is most virtuous in the punishment of weak individuals; but we notice that it rarely tackles the job of meting out real justice to the greatest of all criminals. After this war is over, will any criminal, either at Berlin or Constantinople, be hanged or shot for the deliberate slaughter of 1,500,000 helpless Armenians, or for any of the hideous crimes committed in this war? Not on your life. Mushy-hearted individuals will advise that they be treated "magnanimously," and will urge that we "become friends."