Unfortunately, however, diplomacy is brought in to support this side or that: and ambassadors have to speak in severe terms if a Chinese mandarin does not favour our so-called "nationals," or if corrupt Turkish officials are not sufficiently squeezable to suit our "patriotic" purposes. Our armaments are big not merely to protect the nation's honour, but to provide large dividends for speculative concerns held in private hands. [16] Turkey has now thrown in her lot with Germany. INVESTING MONEY ABROAD The truth is, of course, that the honourable name of commerce is now used to cover very different kinds of enterprise. We used to export goods; now we export cash. Wealthy men, not being content with the sound, but not magnificent interest on home securities, take their money abroad and invest in extremely remunerative--though of course speculative--businesses in South Africa, or South America, concerned with rubber, petroleum, or whatnot. Often they subscribe to a foreign loan--in itself a perfectly legitimate and harmless operation, but not harmless or legitimate if one of the conditions of the loan is that the country to which it is lent should purchase its artillery from Essen or Creusot, or its battleships from our yards. For that is precisely one of the ways in which the traffic in munitions of war goes on increasing and itself helps to bring about a conflagration. Financial enterprise is, of course, the life-blood of modern states. But why should our army and navy be brought in to protect financiers? Let them take their own risks, like every other man who pursues a hazardous path for his own private gain. Private investment in foreign securities does not increase the volume of a nation's commerce. The individual may make a colossal fortune, but the nation pays much too dearly for the enrichment of financiers if it allows itself to be dragged into war on account of their "_beaux yeux_." IDEAL AIMS