III. The Punishment of Germany.
Without stopping to give any serious thought to the matter, some people assert, "You cannot punish a nation." If not, why not? Ask a student of history, and he will tell you, without hesitation, "Decidedly, yes. Ever since the days of Sodom and Gomorrah, countless tribes, cities, states and nations have been soundly punished for their crimes."
To-morrow, or soon after, Germany, the arch-criminal of nations, will be up before the bar of Christian Civilization for sentence. In courts of justice it is customary to review the criminal record of the accused before judgment is pronounced. It is now a case of Germany to the bar, to face her police record.
Guilty nations are no more immune from punishment for their crimes than are individuals guilty of high crimes. By their acts the German people now are heaping up dire punishment for themselves. The world is losing, with tremendous rapidity, its original and totally erroneous impression that "the German people" are innocent of the crimes that have been committed under the German uniform and the black-vulture flag.
The mental attitude of President Wilson as it was expressed in his message to Congress as late as April 2, 1917, is not the mental attitude to-day of the American people at large. He said: "We have no quarrel with the German people. We have no feeling towards them but of sympathy and friendship. It was not upon their impulse that their government acted in entering upon this war."
All the world outside of Germany now knows full well that Kaiser Wilhelm, representing the whole German people, is the man who started the war, who keeps it going, and who brought the war's consequences upon Germany. He pressed the button, with the united and enthusiastic approval of "the German people." It is an undeniable fact that from the very beginning until now the people of Germany have gloried and exulted in the war, and steadily have acclaimed the ruthless leaders who have directed it,—Wilhelm, Bissing, Hindenberg, Tirpitz and Zeppelin. In spite of all their losses and miseries, even to-day the "German people" are absolutely devoted to the Kaiser, and cheerfully swallow all the lies that his cabinet and the Reichstag hand out to them. Why should even one American deceive himself about the millions of Germans who are at heart as mean and as cruel as Tirpitz and Zeppelin? Remember that German women hawk and spit in the faces of heroes who happen to be their prisoners!
There is much idle talk in newspaper correspondence about "unrest in Germany," and a "demand for a change." All that empty talk is only an effort to throw dust into the eyes of the world, and deceive the enemies of Germany. There has been no change of heart at Berlin, and there never will be.
Beyond a doubt, Arthur S. Draper is absolutely right when he assures us that the German people are devoted to the Kaiser and kaiserism, and that under no circumstances will Wilhelm and the Hohenzollerns be kicked off the throne. Mr. Draper says that even if a change is made, it will be to a "constitutional monarchy" under the Kaiser; which we know would be no change whatsoever! We know what Germany will be like under the Chinless Hero (?) of Verdun.