PATER’S CHATS WITH THE BOYS.

Otago Witness, Issue 3160, 7 October 1914, Page 76

PATER’S CHATS WITH THE BOYS.

“PATER” AND THE GERMANS. A fortnight ago I wrote that I blamed the Germans as well as the Kaiser for the devastating war now in progress. “E. H.” thinks that what I wrote is the result of a ‘‘shallow judgment,” and sends a letter which she hopes I will not' refuse to publish. Nor shall I. To justify my judgment would take more space than can be spared just now to meet ‘‘E. H.’s” arguments. The Russian analogy will not do for many reasons. To give just one. The Russians are uneducated, and are dominated by the nobility, as in Germany. Have the methods adopted by aducated revolutionists done more harm than good ? I am not so sure they have, because a measure of reform has been granted. What seem backsets are often advances when a perspective view is taken. English history is fidl of these backsets, but it is afterwards seen that they are progressive stepping-stones. The French Revolution was a drastic medicine, but it did good. No, what has happened in Russia is not applicable when discussing Germany. General von Bernhardi, in bis ‘‘Germany and the Next War,” says that Germany must become the leading world-nation. Why? Because it has always been the pioneer in religion, ethics, philosophy, education, the sciences, and arts —everything, in fact. Well, if that is so, the nation as a whole should be sufficiently educated to know that the mailed fist and the electoral, narliamentary, and federal systems in Germany are absolutely out of date, and should be abolished or revised. Educated men ought not to tolerate a political thraldom; hut if they allow the destinies of the nation to be controlled by Junkerdom [boys might remember that “j'’ is pronounced as “y”l, then they, as educated men, are allowing others to usurp their political rights, and are therefore to blame. Uneducated men burst out in blind fury, and are slaughtered wholesale; educated men try constitutional means, and, if they fail, strike down the despots. Laud, Stafford, King Charles I, and King James II axe examples in English history. As highly educated, Germany has not gone to extremes, because it hasn’t been sufficiently interested, and so has the Government it deserves. This war will awaken the indifferent, and Junkerdom and the Divine Right of Kings will probably disappear. But educated Germany is to blame for allowing them to exist. The prohibitionist argument is bad, too. Prohibitionists are aggressively active, not complaisantly inactive, and are actually in the majority; but if ‘‘E. H.” is going to infer from my reasoning that prohibitionists are to blame for drunkenness, then the sooner prohibitionists absolutely refuse to vote for any man who will not give a majority of one a chance to test its theory the better it will he. When Germans in the majority show the same activity that prohibitionists here do, then they will oust Junkerdom or have a revolution ; til] then, educated Germany is as much to blame for the present war as militant Prussianism is. I think “E. H.” would be interested in reading the Investors’ Review for August 8. It contains some very plain, robust English on German tactics; but in one article, “Alas! Fight We Must,” the editor lets ns know clearly that he has no quarrel with the German peonle: “But in our detestation of Prussian militarism gone insane, and of the egregious insolent Prussian bully, let us not bo unjust to the German peonle. for there are Germans and Germans. Outside Brandenburg, and perhaiis Pomerania with o+ho- eonGn-uoria dktricts, such as East and West Prussia, the swaggering Junker is loathed and hated as much, one may sav. as he is in France. Belgium, and Holland. The peoples of Saxonv. Westphalia, Bavaria, of South and Middle Germany, are now subiect peoples, and have been dragged at the heels of Prussian militarism until they have well-nigh become weary of their lives. . . . There ou'dit to be no indiscriminate hostility to Germans as such ; they are victims of this war even ns we are, and the sufferings it will inflict upon them are likelv to be great enonn-h to throw the whole race back in civilisation at least 50 years.” But if all these and hate the swaggering Junker, whv have they been so easy-going as not to wipe him out? Let mo add a note that will seem to imtifv the position “E. IT.” takes nn. A friend of mine who travelled extensively in Germany manv vears ago asked some friends of his in Konmeherg whv they put. up with Prussian militarism. The answer was something like this; If your mother.and fathers had told von the horrible stories of ranine and plunder and unmentionable horrors that their mothers and fathers saw or had to put, up with in Napoleonic times, yon would put up with militarism or anything else that would prevent similar experiences. And I’ll leave it at that to-day. JUSTICE TO THE GERMANS. Dear “Pater,” —T find the following in your Ohat for September 2. Otago Witness: “It is said, however, that if the Kaiser and

his war lords have been- guilty of bringing this hell-lire of a war upon the world, we must not blame the Germans as a whole. But I do. All nations deserve the government they have, and are responsible lor the acts of those governments.” Now, if you will allow mo to say so, I think this is a very shallow judgment, '.hero a certain amount of truth in the dictum tuat each nation deserves the government it has,-—and wo may as well apply to ourselves this partial truth. But it is far tiuer to say that the government and the social conditions of a country arc the product of conditions past and present much more than of the choice of the living generation. Take the Russians. It may be said truly that oppression and corruption could not rule in Russia were the masses spirited and intelligent. But has the Russian inoujik had any chance of becoming spin ted and intelligent i And, since “opprtssion maketh a wise man mad,” it is little wonder that the intelligent classes in Russia nive sought freedom by methods that have done more harm than good. ', ou ® a J'» " e as Citizens delegate our P 'If 1 1° °, Cls ' vc are responsible as well - net 'd scarcely remind you that m Germany the voting strength ’ of the people is not according to numbers, but is 1 S IV 9 an artificial preponderance j \ e T -! a , ncec classes and the Conservative Mmtary party. Thus even were there y " u . lnoric al preponderance against militarm it could not take effect. And once a RinTff. r°?i mittod war - 1 think you will that the masses have no choice—or , tte—Jn the matter. Then a nation 1 -V m T a '’cry loose sense bo regarded In / al ! nations there are all sorts 1 ,°°P °» bad, and indifferent—mostly tfie latter,—and all sorts of conflicting ideals, boine ideals and characteristics come to the top and fix the national typo. Thus two 0 the strongest British characteristics are enterprise and love of personal liberty; two strong German ones arc thoroughness and °y? ° f , or der. But all sorts of moral and political ideas are to be found among both S° s, f of the hundreds of thousands of German Socialists who for years have been fighting against German militaribm i ,-nnsf l6 ff ie un 'Y ers , al lavv the innocent must suffer with the guilty. But this law need not lead p to involve the innocent in the moral condemnation that should be resf,l \? . 9 1 the guilty. W ere the American abolitionists responsible for slavery? Are the prohibitionists here and at Homo responh* for , th A that is a national d sgrace . Are the many men and women ""o Jook their means and opportunities as a sacred trust involved in the guilt of those who spend their lives in frivolity and selfish luxury ? If not, neither, are the many Germans who are working for social righteousness involved in the guilt of the war and the treacheries and cruelties that havg attended it. And the far greater number of Germans who are, on the whole well meaning, but who are blinded by national bias and by ignorance and passion are as much and as little to blame as corresponding classes amongst ourselves. What w-o all need, English and Germans alike, is knowledge, justice, and charity. We British have been rarely favoured by our insular position and our consequent history. But it has taken us a long and hard struggle to win the political freedom wo now enjoy. And terrible economic injustice still prevails among us. The nations who are behind us in political freedom may rather deserve credit for what they have done or attempted, than condemnation for what they have failed to do. It may well be that as the outcome of this war the Germans will secure greater demo cratic rights, and thus for them, too, good may come out of evil. But in the meantime let us' exercise towards them common sense, and justice, and a little charity. Hoping you will not refuse to publish my letter, — 1 am, etc., * ’ E. H. Dunedin, September 14.