A longer continuance, and both the unity and indepen- Chapter I dence of the German nation could no longer be saved except by a triumphant display of force. Questions of national independence or unification such as these, and the similar ones which confronted Italy forty years ago, demanded the stern arbitrament of war, by which alone the right to independence or to national unity can be vindicated, but when these achievements had once been confirmed, the one end of Prince Bismarck's policy was the maintenance of peace in Europe. In this he was successful, so far as the entire continent, with the exception of the Balkan peninsula, was concerned. His domination has given to Europe, with this one exception, thirty years of unbroken peace the longest period of repose in modern history. a con But the basis of his policy was avowedly not SO The basis of much a love of peace for its own sake, as, on the his policy. contrary, the fear of the consequences of war, and his method was the simplest imaginable, sistent and continually increasing preparation for war by universal military service, and the avowed determination to be ready to strike the first blow, when necessary, with greater swiftness and effectiveness than any possible opponent. After the peace of Frankfort, the conviction was well-nigh unanimous in the German Empire, that what had been won by the sword would ere long have to be defended by the sword; and the trend of public discussion in France has even yet hardly been calculated to remove that impression. It was, therefore, Chapter I universal military service. comparatively easy, in the first flush of national exultation, to establish the system of the utmost possible preparation for war, as practically the only guarantee of peace so far as the German Empire was concerned. Advantages of Nor is it fair, even from a cosmopolitan or philosophical point of view, wholly to condemn the system of universal military service, as it was first established in Prussia and is now in vogue in continental Europe. That it is a great school of manliness and discipline may readily be admitted, and the undoubted democratic element which its absolute impartiality introduces into a military monarchy is deeply significant and of far-reaching importance. During the continuance of Prince Bismarck in office the slightest criticism, even of the details of this system, seemed almost sacrilegious. Had he died in office, the force of tradition would probably have upheld his ideas almost, if not quite, up to the economic breaking point. The retirement of the great Chancellor eight years before his death must be considered in many respects one of the most fortunate occurrences for the German people. It afforded a period of transition of incalculable value. The reduction of the term of service from three years to two1 is the outward sign of a change which would have been diffi 1 This proposal was adopted in 1896, and seems to have given general satisfaction, but the mere suggestion of such a change was denounced under Bismarck with a fury which, according to Georg von Bunsen, one of the noblest and most attractive of modern Germans, envenomed and wasted the best years of a life full of the brightest promise. See Marie von Bunsen, Georg von Bunsen, p. 182. cult, if not impossible, under a continuance of his Chapter I régime. With his death, on July 30, 1898, his own countrymen as well as the world at large felt that an important chapter of European history had closed. The system of "Blood and Iron" had accomplished its work. A generation had grown to manhood who An outlived had never seen a great European war, and whose knowledge of problems which permitted of none but a bloody solution was derived solely from study and tradition. The insecure, burdensome, and wasteful character of the existing so-called "guarantees of peace" could no longer escape discussion and unanswerable demonstration. The first manifestations of a Far Eastern problem of world-wide significance threw a specially lurid light upon the useless and dangerous divisions with which the civilized powers 1 The most important example of this fact is the remarkable volume of Dr. Eugen Schlief, Der Friede in Europa, eine völkerrechtliche Studie, published in 1892. Combining profound learning with sound judgment and common sense, the author of this book, to which reference will repeatedly be made hereafter, not only demonstrates the practicability of substituting an International Federation for Justice, for the unstable equilibrium of universal armaments, but almost prophetically forecasts the calling and, to a great extent, the results of the Peace Conference. He even suggests (p. 490) the initiative of Russia, and his discussion of the political problems involved shows statesmanlike insight and diplomatic tact. The remarkable speech of the Emperor Francis Joseph of AustriaHungary to the Delegations, in November, 1891, quoted in Schlief's book, p. 134, may also be cited as an expression which would hardly have been made during Prince Bismarck's continuance in power, and which was in direct contradiction to the "barracks-philosophy" referred to above. Chapter 1 were confronting a situation fraught with grave possibilities. In seemingly hopeless darkness the world anxiously awaited a sign of the dawn of another and a better era, and in the fulness of time it came. Text of the THE RESCRIPT OF THE RUSSIAN EMPEROR At the regular weekly reception of the diplomatic representatives accredited to the Court of St. Petersburg, held at the Foreign Office in that city on Wednesday, August 24 (12th, old style), 1898, each visitor was surprised to receive from Count Mouravieff, the Russian Foreign Minister, a lithographed communication, which read as follows: "The maintenance of general peace, and a possible reduction of the excessive armaments which weigh upon all nations, present themselves in the existing condition of the whole world, as the ideal towards which the endeavors of all Governments should be directed. "The humanitarian and magnanimous ideas of His Majesty the Emperor, my August Master, have been won over to this view. In the conviction that this lofty aim is in conformity with the most essential interests and the legitimate views of all Powers, the Imperial Government thinks that the present moment would be very favorable for seeking, by means of international discussion, the most effectual means of insuring to all peoples the benefits of a real and durable peace, and, above all, of putting an end to the progressive development of the present Chapter I armaments. "In the course of the last twenty years the longings for a general appeasement have become especially pronounced in the consciences of civilized nations. The preservation of peace has been put forward as the object of international policy; in its name great States have concluded between themselves powerful alliances; it is the better to guarantee peace that they have developed, in proportions hitherto unprecedented, their military forces, and still continue to increase them without shrinking from any sacrifice. "All these efforts nevertheless have not yet been able to bring about the beneficent results of the desired pacification. The financial charges following an upward march strike at the public prosperity at its very source. "The intellectual and physical strength of the nations, labor and capital, are for the major part diverted from their natural application, and unproductively consumed. Hundreds of millions are devoted to acquiring terrible engines of destruction, which, though to-day regarded as the last word of science, are destined to-morrow to lose all value in consequence of some fresh discovery in the same field. "National culture, economic progress, and the production of wealth are either paralyzed or checked in their development. Moreover, in proportion as the armaments of each Power increase so do they less Text of the. |