Our situation became more serious since we were obliged to build a navy for the protection of our welfare, which, in the last analysis, was not based on the 10 billions yearly to which German exports and imports amounted. The supposition that we built this navy for the purpose of attacking and destroying the far stronger English fleet is absurd, since it would have been impossible for us to win victory on the water because of the discrepancy between the two navies. Moreover, we were striding forward in the world market in accordance with our desires and had no cause for complaint. Why, then, should we wish to jeopardize the results of our peaceful labours?
In France the idea of revenge had been sedulously cultivated ever since 1670-1871; it was fostered, with every possible variation, in Literary, political and military writings, in tue emeer corps, in schools, associations, political circles.
1 can well understand this spirit. Looked at from the healthy national standpoint, it is, after all, more honourable for a nation to desire revenge for a blow received than to endure it without complaint.
But Alsace-Lorraine had been German so for many centuries it was stolen by France and taken back by us in 1871 as our property. tence, a war of revenge which had as its aim the conquest of thoroughly German territory was unjust and immoral. For us to have yielded on this point would have been a slap in the face to our sentiments of nationality and justice. Since Germany could never voluntarily return Alsace-Lorraine to France, the French dream could be realized only by means of a victorious war which should push forward the French boundary posts to the left bank of the Rhine.
Germany, on the con, had no reason for staking what she had won in 1870-1871, so the course for her to pursue was to maintain peace with France, all the more because of the fact that the comb.uauion of the powers against the German-Austrian Dual Alliance was continually becoming more apparent.
As to Russia, the mighty empire of the Tsars was clamouring for an outlet on the sea to the southward. This was a natural ambition and. not to be harshly judged. In addition, there was the Russian-Austrian conflict of influence, especially in Servis, which also concerned Germany in so far as Germany and Austria-Hungary were allies.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.