History of the American Negro in the Great World War Part 3

A TYPICAL GROUP OF "Y" WORKERS, SECRETARY SNYDER AND STAFF. Y.M.C.A. NO.7, CAMP GRANT, ILLINOIS.

PRESIDENT WOODROW WILSON (AT HEAD OF TABLE) AND HIS WAR CABINET. LEFT-W.G. MCADOO SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY; THOMAS W. GREGORY, ATTY. GENL.; JOSEPHUS DANIELS, SEC. OF NAVY; D.F. HOUSTON, SEC. OF AGRICULTURE; WILLIAM B. WILSON, SEC. OF LABOR. RIGHT-ROBERT LANSING, SEC. OF STATE; NEWTON D. BAKER, SEC. OF WAR; A.S. BURLESON, POSTMASTER-GENERAL; FRANKLIN K. LANE, SEC. OF INTERIOR; WILLIAM C. REDFIELD, SEC. OF COMMERCE.

With a war likely to involve the greater part of Europe hanging on the issue, it was a time for cool judgment, sober statesmans.h.i.+p and careful action on all sides. Months should have been devoted to an investigation.

But Germany and Austria did not want a sober investigation. They were afraid that while it was proceeding the pretext for war might vanish. As surmised above, they also may have feared that the responsibility for the act would be placed in quarters that would be embarra.s.sing to them.

On July 23, 1914, just twenty-five days after the murder, Austria delivered her demands upon Serbia and placed a time limit of forty-eight hours for their acceptance. With the fate of a nation and the probable embroiling of all Europe hanging on the outcome, forty-eight hours was a time too brief for proper consideration. Serbia could hardly summon her statesmen in that time. Nevertheless the little country, realizing the awful peril that impended, and that she alone would not be the sufferer, bravely put aside all selfish considerations and practically all considerations of national pride and honor.

The records show that every demand which Austria made on Serbia was granted except one, which was only conditionally refused. Although this demand involved the very sovereignty of Serbia-her existence as a nation-the government offered to submit the matter to mediation or arbitration. But Austria, cats-pawing for Germany, did not want her demands accepted. The one clause was inserted purposely, because they knew it could not be accepted. With Serbia meeting the situation honestly and going over ninety percent of the way towards an amicable adjustment, the diplomacy that could not obtain peace out of such a situation, must have been imbecile or corrupt to the last degree.

An American historian discussing causes in the early stages of the war, said:

"The German Imperial Chancellor pays no high compliment to the intelligence of the American people when he asks them to believe that 'the war is a life-and-death struggle between Germany and the Muscovite races of Russia', and was due to the royal murders at Sarajevo.

"To say that all Europe had to be plunged into the most devastating war of human history because an Austrian subject murdered the heir to the Austrian throne on Austrian soil in a conspiracy in which Serbians were implicated, is too absurd to be treated seriously. Great wars do not follow from such causes, although any pretext, however trivial, may be regarded as sufficient when war is deliberately sought.

"Nor is the Imperial Chancellor's declaration that 'the war is a life-and-death struggle between Germany and the Muscovite races of Russia' convincing in the slightest degree. So far as the Russian menace to Germany is concerned, the Staats-Zeitung is much nearer the truth when its editor, Mr. Ridder, boasts that 'no Russian army ever waged a successful war against a first-cla.s.s power.'

"The life-and-death struggle between Germany and the Muscovite races of Russia is a diplomatic fiction invented after German Autocracy, taking advantage of the Serbian incident, set forth to destroy France. It was through no fear of Russia that Germany violated her solemn treaty obligations by invading the neutrality of Belgium and Luxemburg. It was through no fear of Russia that Germany had ma.s.sed most of her army near the frontiers of France, leaving only six army corps to hold Russia in check. Germany's policy as it stands revealed by her military operations was to crush France and then make terms with Russia. The policy has failed because of the unexpected resistance of the Belgians and the refusal of Great Britain to buy peace at the expense of her honor."

A nearer and equally clear view is expressed for the French by M. Clemenceau, who early in the war said: "For twenty-five years William II has made Europe live under the weight of a horrible nightmare. He has found sheer delight in keeping it in a state of perpetual anxiety over his boastful utterances of power and the sharpened sword.

"Five threats of war have been launched against us since 1875. At the sixth he finds himself caught in the toils he had laid for us. He threatened the very springs of England's power, though she was more than pacific in her att.i.tude toward him.

"For many years, thanks to him, the Continent has had to join in a giddy race of armaments, drying up the sources of economic development and exposing our finances to a crisis which we shrank from discussing. We must have done with this crowned comedian, poet, musician, sailor, warrior, pastor; this commentator absorbed in reconciling Hammurabi with the Bible, giving his opinion on every problem of philosophy, speaking of everything, saying nothing." M. Clemenceau summed up the Kaiser as "another Nero; but Rome in flames is not sufficient for him-he demands the destruction of the universe."

The Socialist, Upton Sinclair, speaking at the time, blamed Russia as well as Germany and Austria. He also inclined to the view that the a.s.sa.s.sination at Sarajevo was instigated by Austria. He said: "I a.s.sert that never before in human history has there been a war with less pretense of justification. It is the supreme crime of the ages; a blow at the very throat of civilization. The three nations which began it, Austria, Russia and Germany, are governed, the first by a doddering imbecile, the second by a weak-minded melancholic, and the third by an epileptic degenerate, drunk upon the vision of himself as the war lord of Europe. Behind each of These men is a little clique of blood-thirsty aristocrats. They fall into a quarrel among themselves. The pretext is that Serbia instigated the murder of the heir apparent to the Austrian throne. There is good reason far believing that as a matter of fact this murder was instigated by the war party in Austria, because the heir apparent had democratic and anti-military tendencies. First they murder him and then they use his death as a pretext for plunging the whole of civilization into a murderous strife."

Herman Ridder, editor of the Staats-Zeitung of New York contributed a German-American view. Mr. Ridder saw the handwriting on the wall and he very soundly deprecated war and pictured its horrors. But he could not forget that he was appealing to a large cla.s.s that held the German viewpoint. He therefore found it necessary to soften his phrase with some hyphenated sophistry. He dared not say that Germany was the culprit and would be the princ.i.p.al sufferer. His article was: "Sooner or later the nations engaged in war will find themselves spent and weary. There will be victory for some, defeat for others, and profit for none. There can hardly be any lasting laurels for any of the contending parties. To change the map of Europe is not worth the price of a single human life. Patriotism should never rise above humanity.

"The history of war is merely a succession of blunders. Each treaty of peace sows the seed of future strife.

"War offends our intelligence and outrages our sympathies. We can but stand aside and murmur 'The pity of it all. The pity of it all.'

"War breeds socialism. At night the opposing hosts rest on their arms, searching the heavens for the riddle of life and death, and wondering what their tomorrow will bring forth. Around a thousand camp fires the steady conviction is being driven home that this sacrifice of life might all be avoided. It seems difficult to realize that millions of men, skilled by years of constant application, have left the factory, the mill, or the desk to waste not only their time but their very lives and possibly the lives of those dependent on them to wage war, brother against brother.

"The more reasonable it appears that peace must quickly come, the more hopeless does it seem. I am convinced that an overwhelming majority of the populations of Germany, England and France are opposed to this war. The Governments of these states do not want war.

"War deals in human life as recklessly as the gambler in money.

"Imagine the point of view of a commanding general who is confronted with the task of taking a fortress; 'That position will cost me five thousand lives; it will be cheap at the price, for it must be taken.'

"He discounts five thousand human lives as easily as the manufacturer marks off five thousand dollars for depreciation. And so five thousand homes are saddened that another flag may fly over a few feet of fortified masonry. What a grim joke for Europe to play upon humanity."

There were not wanting those to point out to Mr. Ridder that the sacrifice of life could have been avoided had Germany and its tool Austria, played fair with Serbia and the balance of Europe. Also, his statement that the government of Germany did not want the war has been successfully challenged from a hundred different sources.

H.G. Wells, the eminent English author, contributed a prophecy which translated very plainly the handwriting on the wall. He said: "This war is not going to end in diplomacy; it is going to end diplomacy.

"It is quite a different sort of war from any that have gone before. At the end there will be no conference of Europe on the old lines, but a conference of the world. It will make a peace that will put an end to Krupp, and the spirit of Krupp and Kruppism and the private armament firms behind Krupp for evermore."

Austria formally declared war against Serbia, July 28, 1914. During the few days intervening between the dispatch of the ultimatum to Serbia and the formal declaration of war, Serbia and Russia, seeing the inevitable, had commenced to mobilize their armies. On the last day of July, Germany as Austria's ally, issued an ultimatum with a twelve hour limit demanding that Russia cease mobilization. They were fond of short term ultimatums. They did not permit more than enough time for the dispatch to be transmitted and received, much less considered, before the terms of it had expired. Russia demanded a.s.surances from Austria that war was not forthcoming and it continued to mobilize. On August 1, Germany declared war. France then began to mobilize.

Germany invaded the duchy of Luxemburg and demanded free pa.s.sage for its troops across Belgium to attack France at that country's most vulnerable point. King Albert of Belgium refused his consent on the ground that the neutrality of his country had been guaranteed by the powers of Europe, including Germany itself, and appealed for diplomatic help from Great Britain. That country, which had sought through its foreign secretary, Sir Edward Grey, to preserve the peace of Europe, was now aroused. August 4, it sent an ultimatum to Germany demanding that the neutrality of Belgium be respected. As the demand was not complied with, Britain formally declared war against Germany.

Italy at that time was joined with Germany and Austria in what was known as the Triple Alliance. But Italy recognized the fact that the war was one of aggression and held that it was not bound by its compact to a.s.sist its allies. The sympathies of its people were with the French and British. Afterwards Italy repudiated entirely its alliance and all obligations to Germany and Austria and entered the war on the side of the allies. Thus the country of Mazzini, of Garibaldi and Victor Emmanuel, ranged itself on the side of emanc.i.p.ation and human rights.

The refusal of Italy to enter a war of conquest was the first event to set the balance of the world seriously thinking of the meaning of the war. If Italy refused to join its old allies, it meant that Italy was too honorable to a.s.sist their purposes; Italy knew the character of its a.s.sociates. When it finally repudiated them altogether and joined the war on the other side, it was a terrific indictment of the Germanic powers, for Italy had much more to gain in a material way from its old alliance. It simply showed the world that spirit was above materialism; that emanc.i.p.ation was in the air and that the lamp of civilization might be dimmed but could not be darkened by the forces of evil.

CHAPTER III.

MILITARISM AND AUTOCRACY DOOMED.

GERMANY'S MACHINE-HER SCIENTIFIC ENDEAVOR TO MOLD SOLDIERS-INFLUENCE ON THOUGHT AND LIVES OF THE PEOPLE-MILITARISM IN THE HOME-THE STATUS OF WOMAN-FALSE THEORIES AND FALSE G.o.dS-THE SYSTEM ORDAINED TO PERISH-WAR'S SHOCKS-AMERICA INCLINES TO NEUTRALITY-GERMAN AND FRENCH TREATMENT OF NEUTRALS CONTRASTED-EXPERIENCES OF AMERICANS ABROAD AND ENROUTE HOME-STATUE OF LIBERTY TAKES ON NEW BEAUTY-BLOOD OF NEGRO AND WHITE TO FLOW.

Those who had followed the Kaiser's att.i.tudes and their reflections preceeding the war in the German military party, were struck by a strange blending of martial glory and Christian compunction. No one prays more loudly than the hypocrite and none so smug as the devil when a saint he would be.

During long years the military machine had been under construction. Human ingenuity had been reduced to a remarkable state of organization and efficiency. One of the princ.i.p.al phases of Kultur was the inauguration of a sort of scientific discipline which made the German people not only soldiers in the field, but soldiers in the workshop, in the laboratory and at the desk. The system extended to the schools and universities and permeated the thought of the nation. It particularly was reflected in the home; the domestic arrangements and customs of the people. The German husband was the commander-in-chief of his household. It was not that benevolent lords.h.i.+p which the man of the house a.s.sumes toward his wife and family in other nations. The stern note of command was always evident; that att.i.tude of "attention!" "eyes front!" and unquestioning obedience.

German women always were subordinate to their husbands and the male members of their families. It was not because the man made the living and supported the woman. Frequently the German woman contributed as much towards the support of the family as the males; it was because the German male by the system which had been inculcated into him, regarded himself as a superior being and his women as inferiors, made for drudgery, for child-bearing, and for contributors to his comforts and pleasures. His att.i.tude was pretty much like that of the American Indian towards his squaw.

Germany was the only nation on earth pretending to civilization in which women took the place of beasts of burden. They not only worked in the fields, but frequently pulled the plow and other implements of agriculture. It was not an uncommon sight in Germany to see a woman and a large dog harnessed together drawing a milk cart. When it became necessary to deliver the milk the woman slipped her part of the harness, served the customer, resumed her harness and went on to the next stop. In Belgium, in Holland and in France, women delivered the milk also, but the cart always was drawn by one or two large dogs or other animals and the woman was the driver. In Austria it was a strange sight to foreigners, but occasioned no remark among the people, to see women drawing carts and wagons in which were seated their lords and masters. Not infrequently the boss wielded a whip.

The pride of the German nation was in its efficient workmen. Friends of the country and its system have pointed to the fact of universal labor as its great virtue; because to work is good. Really, they were compelled to work. Long hours and the last degree of efficiency were necessary in order to meet the requirements of life and the tremendous burdens of taxation caused by the army, the navy, the fortifications and the military machine in general; to say nothing of the expense of maintaining the autocratic pomp of the Kaiser, his sons and satellites. Every member of the German family had his or her task, even to the little three-year-old toddler whose business it was to look after the brooms, dust rags and other household utensils. There was nothing of cheerfulness or even of the dignity of labor about this. It was hard, unceasing, grinding toil which crushed the spirits of the people. It was part of the system to cause them to welcome war as a diversion.

To the German mind everything had an aspect of seriousness. The people took their pleasures seriously. On their holidays, mostly occasions on which they celebrated an event in history or the birthday of a monarch or military hero, or during the hours which they could devote to relaxation, they gathered with serious, stolid faces in beer gardens. If they danced it was mostly a c.u.mbersome performance. Generally they preferred to sit and blink behind great foaming tankards and listen to intellectual music. No other nation had such music. It was so intellectual in itself that it relieved the listeners of the necessity of thinking. There was not much of melody in it; little of the dance movement and very little of the lighter and gayer manifestations of life. It has been described as a sort of harmonious discord, typifying mysterious, tragic and awe-inspiring things. The people sat and ate their heavy food and drank their beer, their ears engaged with the strains of the orchestra, their eyes by the movements of the conductor, while their tired brains rested and digestion proceeded.

To the average German family a picnic or a day's outing was a serious affair. The labor of preparation was considerable and then they covered as much of the distance as possible by walking in order to save carfare. In the parade was the tired, careworn wife usually carrying one, sometimes two infants in her arms. The other children lugged the lunch baskets, hammocks, umbrellas and other paraphernalia. At the head of the procession majestically marched the lord of the outfit, smoking his cigar or pipe; a suggestion of the goose-step in his stride, carrying nothing, except his dignity and military deportment. With this kind of start the reader can imagine the good time they all had.

MILITARISM AND AUTOCRACY DOOMED Joy to the German mind in ma.s.s was an unknown quant.i.ty. The literature on which they fed was heavier and more somber than their music. When the average German tried to be gay and playful he reminded one of an elephant trying to caper. Their humor in the main, manifested itself in coa.r.s.e and vulgar jests.

For athletics they had their turn vereins in which men went through hard, laborious exercises which made them muscle-bound. Their favorite sports were hunting and fencing-the desire to kill or wound. They rowed some but they knew nothing of baseball, boxing, tennis, golf or the usual sports so popular with young men in England, France and America. Aside from fencing, they had not a sport calculated to produce agility or nimbleness of foot and brain.

Their emotions expanded and their sentiments thrilled at the spectacle of war. Uniforms, helmets and gold lace delighted their eyes. The parade, the guard mount, the review were the finest things they knew. To a people trained in such a school and purposely given great burdens that they might attain fort.i.tude, war was second nature. They welcomed it as a sort of pastime.

In the system on which Kultur was based, it was necessary to strike deeply the religious note; no difference if it was a false note. The German ear was so accustomed to discord it could not recognize the true from the false. The Kaiser was heralded to his people as a deeply religious man. In his public utterances he never failed to call upon G.o.d to grant him aid and bless his works.

One of the old traditions of the Fatherland was that the king, being specially appointed by G.o.d, could do no wrong. To the thinking portion of the nation this could have been nothing less than absurd fallacy, but where the majority do not think; if a thing is a.s.serted strongly and often enough, they come to accept it. It becomes a belief. The people had become so impressed with the devoutness of the Kaiser and his a.s.sumption of Divine guidance, that the great majority of them believed the kaiser was always right; that he could do no wrong. When the great blow of war finally was struck the Kaiser asked his G.o.d to look down and bless the sword that he had drawn; a prayer altogether consistent coming from his lips, for the G.o.d he wors.h.i.+pped loved war, was a G.o.d of famine, rapine and blood. From the moment of that appeal, military autocracy and absolute monarchy were doomed. It took time, it took lives, it took more treasure than a thousand men could count in a lifetime. But the a.s.sault had been against civilization, on the very foundation of all that humanity had gained through countless centuries. The forces of light were too strong for it; would not permit it to triumph.

The President of the United States, from the bedside of his dying wife, appealed to the nations for some means of reaching peace for Europe. The last thoughts of his dying helpmate, were of the great responsibility resting upon her husband incident to the awful crisis in the lives of the nations of earth, that was becoming more p.r.o.nounced with each second of time.

The Pope was stricken to death by the great calamity to civilization. A few minutes before the end came he said that the Almighty in His infinite mercy was removing him from the world to spare him the anguish of the awful war.

The first inclination of America was to be neutral. She was far removed from the scenes of strife and knew little of the hidden springs and causes of the war. Excepting in the case of a few of her public men; her editors, professors and scholars, European politics were as a sealed book. The president of the United States declared for neutrality; that individual and nation should avoid the inflaming touch of the war pa.s.sion. We kept that att.i.tude as long as was consistent with national patience and the larger claims of HUMANITY and universal JUSTICE.

As an evidence of our lack of knowledge of the impending conflict, a party of Christian men were on the sea with the humanitarian object in view of attending a world's peace conference in Constance, Germany-Germany of all places, then engaged in trying to burn up the world. Arriving in Paris, the party received its first news that a great European war was about to begin. Steams.h.i.+p offices were being stormed by crowds of frantic American tourists. Martial law was declared. The streets were alive with soldiers and weeping women. Shops were closed, the clerks having been drafted into the army. The city hummed with militarism.