HONS AND HOLLAND.

Waipawa Mail, Volume XXXVI, Issue 7740, 24 June 1916, Page 4

HONS AND HOLLAND.

AN INVASION FEARED. FAILURE OF CAMPAIGN OF* LIES. (By LOUIS RAEMAEKERS). On which side* will Holland enter the war? I have heard this question asked many times in England during the last few days when the grave news about the precautions that were being taken in my country was coming through. Believe me, no Dutchman who knows anything at all about the situation lias any doubts about it whatsoever. It is difficult for English people to understand the situation as it appears to the Dutch. Let me try to explain. The Germans are a curious mixture of great cunning and stupidity. Their stupidity is more especially evident when they think they understand the psychology of other peoples. They are now thinking they may succeed in making us believe that the presence of their armies in Holland is necessary for our protection! The Dutch, of course, laugh at the idea except for a very small and quite unimportant pro-German party. But the Germans are in earnest, or pretend to be, and you will have noticed that proGerman Dutch papers were quick to circulate the lie that the precautions of the Dutch Government were taken in consequence of a decision made at the Allies’ Conference in Paris. NOT TO BE BRIBED.

As far back as the first three months of the war three Germans in Amsterdam tried to buy the services of a very well-known Dutch journalist who was connected with many Dutch provincial newspapers. The facts are well known, and were subsequently published in the “Telegraaf” and other papers. This journalist was offered a fortune if he would start a campaign in his papers to persuade the people that it was necessary to call in the German soldiers and marines to defend our harbors against an invasion by the English. The idea was to create a public opinion which would bring pressure to bear on the Dutch Government.

‘ ‘ So you wish me to drop poison in the ears of the people?” said the journalist. “Yes,” answered the Germans. “But I am already anti-German.” “That does not matter. If you will do this you can ask what price you like marks ” The journalist refused and informed the authorities. There is no question that this has always been the object of the German Government. For more than fifty years German politicians and professors have spoken of us as Germans and as being geographically the door of the German house. Frederick List, a great German writer, said: “Holland belongs to Germany as much as Brittany and Normandy to France, and so long as Holland remains independent Germany can never develop to her full strength any more than France could when these two provinces belonged to England. ’ ’ That expresses the attitude of the German Government and the German people to-day, although it was written before the middle of the last century. I have seen maps circulated in Germany showing what they think will he the extent of her Empire in 1020, and Holland is included in the black expanse which engulfs nearly all Europe.

DUTCH SYMPATHIES. The Dutch were never a people to study foreign politics. In the South African war their sympathies were with the Boers, and now they see Englishman and Boer lighting side by side against the common enemy. The Dutch have been told by industrious German agents that England covets their colonies —a ridiculous suggestion that is not taken seriously in our country. Without our colonies we would be entirely dependent upon Germany for our supplies. It is perfectly obvious that England, for her own sake, is as keenly anxious to preserve the political and economical independence of Holland as the Dutch themselves. Now the Germans are in such a position that they cannot win the war either on (lie western front, the eastern front, or the Balkan.front. They must try a new way. There remain only Denmark and Holland. Denmark wonld.be of no value to them compared with the tremendous possibilities of Holland. It is to the German frontier that tin 1 Dutch troops have been moved. 'fhe Germans want copper, rubber, gold, and foodstuffs, and there are great stores of all these in Holland. ! am quite sure that all the numerous German firms in Holland have amassed great stores ready for the German armies when they come. The Dutch Government has several times stopped the accumulation of these* stores on our eastern frontier.

WHAT I INTEND TO DO. In my country I think there are a quarter of a million Germans. There are many thousands of them in Amsterdam and almost every German is a spy. I estimate that there are also thousands of military spies. The Germans know all our weaknesses and our strength. Near Limburg, in a district where there are quite unimportant villages, they have built numerous railways. The grass has _ been growing between the rails for thirtyfive years, and there were no trains running when I was there, and I have spent ten years in the neighborhood. . Within the next few weeks we shall see whether the Germans consider themselves strong enough to “hack a way” through. The concentration of their troops on our frontier was surely part of a carefully laid plan, the development of which we shall soon witness. It was as deliberate as the sinking of the Tubantia and the Pulembang. I should imagine that the sinking of these vessels was done with the avowed object of provoking a sharp note from the Dutch Government and such an outburst of feeling in Holland as would give the Germans a pretext for declaring war and making an attempt at securing the mouth of the Rhine, which they have so long coveted.

I am so convinced that my views are correct that, although forty-seven years of age, I have decided to volunteer for service in the Dutch'army. The German armies will meet with a warm reception when they do cross the frontier, but it is idle to under-

estimate the power of the invaders. It is well known that os a last resort we have a powerful means of* defence in the flooding of vast areas of the country between our frontiers and the principal towns. But the Germans are perfectly aware of this plan and know very much more about it than the average Dutchman.