New York Times Current History: The European War, Vol 1, No. 1: From the Beginning to March, 1915, With IndexVarious
History
New York Times Current History: The European War, Vol 1, No. 1: From the Beginning to March, 1915, With Index
Various
World War, 1914-1918
We now come to armaments. I have seen it suggested that the destruction
of Essen, Wilhelmshaven, and Heligoland ought to be a condition of peace
with Germany. Certainly the disappearance of these phenomena would be a
gain to the world. So would the disappearance of Rosyth and Toulon. It
seems to me, however, very improbable that their destruction or
dismantling by international command would occur after hostilities have
ceased, or could usefully so occur. If the French Army on its way to
Berlin can treat the Krupp factory as the German Army on its way to
Paris treated Rheims Cathedral, well and good! In fact, most excellent!
And if the British Navy can somehow emasculate Wilhelmshaven and
Heligoland I shall not complain that its behavior has been purely
doctrinaire. But otherwise I see nothing practical in the
Essen-Wilhelmshaven-Heligoland suggestion. Nor in the project for
dethroning the Kaiser and sending him and his eldest son to settle their
differences in St. Helena! The Kaiser--happily--is not a Napoleon, nor
has he yet himself accomplished anything big enough or base enough to
merit Napoleon's fate. Any dethroning that may enliven the gray monotony
of the post-bellum era at Potsdam should and will be done by the German
soldiers themselves. Even in international politics it is futile to try
to meddle in other people's private affairs.
Disarmament in Germany can be achieved by the exercise of one principle,
and one principle only. That principle is the principle of mutuality. A
scheme in which every nation will proportionately share should be
presented to Germany, and she should be respectfully but quite firmly
asked to participate in it. There would be no sense in saying to
Germany: "You must disarm." The magic words would be: "We are going to
disarm, and so are you, whether you want to or not." As to the procedure
of disarmament--whether it shall be slow or fast, whether it shall
include destruction or be content with mere omission to renew, how the
proportions shall be decided, who shall give the signal to begin--here
are matters which I am without skill or desire to discuss. All I know
about them is that they are horribly complicated, unprecedentedly
difficult, and bursting with danger; and that they will strain the
wisdom, patience, and ingenuity of the negotiators to the very utmost.
*Three Vital Points.*
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account