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October, 1914 purposes. The dealings with these nations should be greatly facilitated by the war insurance risk which the government is carrying. A widely organized campaign should now be carried on for South American trade for this is a field in which the least disturbance is to be feared. Our bankers should now supplement the work of our manufacturers by extending banking fa- cilities through branch banks in all South American countries. The present European conflict should mean a great deal to us in a commercial sense though others are paying a sorry price for our advantage. The European Conflict The world-wide topic today is the European conflict. It is discussed everywhere and frequently to the exclu- sion of any other subject; yet scarcely two months ago no one would have dreamed that such a conflict was possible. It has already proved conclusively the fal- lacy of the assertion that the preservation of peace depends upon preparedness for war. This war would never have occurred were it not for the marvelous military machine which Germany has built during the past twenty years and which is now at the very apex of perfection. causes of this war, or to put the blame where it prop- erly belongs, unless he has read the White Papers of Great Britain and Germany. Great Britain submitted her case promptly to the people by the publication of all the documents that passed between her and the va- tious powers. Germany immediately followed suit and both of these papers may now be obtained from any news stand for a nominal sum. One carmot read these papers without becoming convinced that Germany was behind Austria's ultimatum to Servia and was the one nation that declined to mediate even when all the other powers, including Austria, were willing to do so. There is only one conclusion to be reached and that is that Prussian militarism has driven the German people into war. There is no doubt whatever that the great mass of the German nation did not want war. Why should they? Their prosperity has been' abounding during the past twenty years. The evidence is con- clusive, however, that the Prussian war party wanted war and they got it. There is no question however that at this moment the whole of Germany is a unit for the war; the German people now believe that all the world is against them and that they are fighting for their very existence. They believe they are fighting a war of defense whereas in point of fact, as everyone knows, it is a war of aggression, deliberately planned by the great Prussian war party. : Anyone who reads the British White Paper knows to what length Sir Edward Grey went to preserve peace. Not until the very last minute did he abandon the hope of peace and in order to lend strength to his plea for an amicable settlement he had already made it quite plain to Germany that if the neutrality of Bel- gium should be violated England would be drawn in. If one were to attempt to put one's finger upon any THE MARINE REVIEW No one is competent to discuss the 391 one person more responsible for the war than any oth- er he would select the German ambassador at Vienna. He made rebuffs to Sir Edward Grey's advances at every step and has now proved to have been familiar | with the Austrian ultimatum to Servia before it was sent and he endorsed every word of it. He wanted war from the beginning and was one of the great obstacles in the way of peace. There is no doubt whatever that the Kaiser himself was mightily sur- prised when England declared war against Germany. It was one of the things that he did not expect and it has undoubtedly troubled him greatly ever since. For ten years past the relations between Germany . and Great Britain have been most cordial and there is every reason why they should be so as both nations have practically sprung from the same-stock.. The aim of, German diplomacy for a decade has been to maintain a state of the utmost friendliness and understanding with Great Britain, but her diplomats entirely misread the British character if they thought for a moment that bribes or threats or any commercial advantage would cause them to break a written promise. Nations are measured by the times through which they. pass and posterity is the judge of their conduct. England would have gone down into history covered with shame if she had failed to protect her little neighbor ; but she will be remembered forever as the nation that went to war on account of a scrap of paper. Those who are acquainted with the temper of the British people know that this war will have only one ending no matter what it costs. It will not cease until Prussian militarism is crushed. This war is in fact a struggle of de- mocracy against a military aristocracy that must be swept away forever. The military system of Prussia has no place in modern times. It is a relic of me- dievalism. "The expeditionary force as detailed for foreign service has been safely landed on French soil. The embarkation, transportation and disembarkation of men and stores were alike carried through with the greatest possible precision and without a single casualty." In that brief statement was announced: the safe land- ing of British troops in France. During the two weeks that the transports were busy in this work not a single line concerning the affair was published in a British newspaper. Of course, such a movement could not possibly have been carried out without many know- ing of it, as down all the roads through Kent and Hampshire great trains of transports and artillery were rumbling day and night. No one, however, asked any questions; the King's farewell telegram to the troops at Southampton was never published ; and not a word leaked out from any source whatever until the last man was safe on French soil. The most impress- ive silence has been maintained as to names and places ever since. So well are the British army's movements kept secret that villages only five miles off the road of advance are unaware of its presence. ,