| KING
GEORGE ,
look on the thousands and thousands of Germans in all parts of the British
Empire, in business, shipping, banking, etc., respected, received in all
English society, even sitting in Parliament. Emperor William, look
at the thousands of Englishmen in German Africa, in other German colonies
and all parts of the German Empire, living at peace under your flag.
If individuals of each country can prosper and be happy in these different
countries, it proves that the Brotherhood of Man is accepted and works out
in harmony among individuals. If this is so and nations are
aggregations of individuals, why cannot they live in peace?
The German in British colonies does not have to arm to protect
himself. Neither is the Englishman in Germany compelled to go armed.
Why then do not nations adopt the individual standpoint and abandon armies
and navies as a protection against each other?
Here is a wonderful example of the individual idea: In the United
States there are 12,000,000 foreign-born residents (in Chicago alone there
are more Germans than in any city in the world, except Berlin) and these
12,000,000 live under one flag in peace. If one flag covers
12,000,000 foreign-born residents in one country, all living in peace, a
world flag can fly over all the earth.
Want of acquaintance and the ignorance attending it is the cause of
international hate and distrust. If distrust were removed, the whole
world would live in peace, as the foreign population does in the
United States and other countries.
The logical inference is that if England and Germany devoted the cost of
but one war-ship to the exchange of friendly visits between the citizens
of each country, the war thought would be destroyed by the friendships
made. War would then appear as it is, an absurdity.
Dreadnoughts get out of date, but true friendships last
forever. The Dreadnought destroys; friendship builds up.
Is commercial success a reason for hate and jealously? Some nation
must lead; location and resources may contribute to this, but it must be
accepted.
Five men start out in life, having been schoolmates. They enter
business at the same time. At the end of twenty years one has been
very successful, the others only moderately so. There is no reason
why the other four should hate the successful one. Is it any reason
why they should arm themselves and murder him? If they filled their
minds with hate for this successful companion of their youth, it
would only retard their own progress.
The expenditures of Germany of the army and navy are about $312,000,000
per year. How much better it would be for the German Government to
use this money in sending their young men to all parts of the world to
study business. A Holland society now sends yong men to foreign
countries for a period of four years to help develp trade for the mother
country.
Syuppose Germany instead of spending money on her army and navy sent
312,000 trained young men every four years out into the world and allowed
them each $1,000 per year for four years. What would this do for the
commercial and shipping supremacy of Germany?
The annual expenditure for the army and navy would enable Germany to keep
an army of peace numbering 312,000 in foreign countries, developing German
trade relations. It would be better than building Dreadnoughts.
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