In the germ-man’s smile is incarnated “Deutschland über Alles” and its correlative, “The end justifies the means.” We in America have produced exponents--criminal exponents--of a similar psychology, and we have generally (when we could catch them) hung or electrocuted or imprisoned for life these moral perverts, in order to make the world a safer and cleaner place to live in. Only a little while ago the State of New York electrocuted a man who, having set up his individual “Ueber Alles and General Justification” court, had proceeded cheerfully to introduce malignant germs and other deadly things into the foods and medicines of his wife’s parents, who stood between himself and fortune. Here we have an exact parallel. Those defenceless old people were doing him no wrong. They in fact admired and trusted him, just as Rumania and Belgium and America only a little while ago admired and trusted Germany. They stood in his way, however, and from the “Ueber Alles” standpoint any means for their removal was warranted. Secret assassination is an ancient art. It has been practised in every age and in every nation and its votaries have been hunted down and exterminated by decent people. To-day, for the first time in the history of the world, we have the spectacle of stealthy death for the defenceless adopted as a government policy. For the decency and safety of mankind the allied nations have highly resolved that the government which promotes such a policy must “perish from the earth.” ALBERT BIGELOW PAINE. [Illustration] “_A Tid-Bit for ‘The Sick Man’_” The nearness to America of the European theatre of war so greatly fills our minds with the contest there raging that we give but little thought to the progress of events in the far countries tributary to the Tigris River. For a time, the heroic resistance of General Townsend to the Turkish forces which surrounded him aided by the natural obstacles of river and climate, claimed a share of our interest, and later, the splendid and successful work achieved by the new British army under General Maude, awakened renewed interest in a campaign designed to split Islam into two parts: one, acknowledging the domination of the Turk and his German masters; the other, a new Caliphat of Bagdad, Arabian, rather than Turkish, looking to the ideals of justice and freedom, rather than to the rule of the sword; finding its inspiration in the tradition of the enlightened and humane Haroun-al-Raschid, rather than the warring, bloody conquerors and Muhammed and Sulìman. Still later, the northward progress of British arms extended over the greater part of Palestine, and the capture of Jerusalem brought the sacred places of Israel and of Christianity within the control of Christendom after five centuries of Turkish occupation.