It is the private profit made from war by a few that makes it so hard to stop the ruin by war of the many. The awful waste of war has been made clear, and yet the most monstrously wasteful war of history is now being fought. It has been urged that the huge debts owing for old wars made new wars impossible, but stupendous new war loans are now being made. The people of Europe were said to have reached the limit of endurance of war burdens, but they are bending their backs for a heavier load. America has expressed deep sympathy in the past for the war-ridden and burden-bearing nations of Europe, overlooking apparently, at least in recent years, some important facts. Germany makes no hypocritical pretenses to being a nation of peace. She is avowedly a nation of warriors and believes in war. But she gets something for what she spends besides soldiers and battleships. While she has been perfecting the most stupendous and perfectly organized war machine that has ever existed in the world, she has perfected just as gigantic and splendidly effective machinery for conducting the affairs of peace. Her people may well smile in their sleeves at us when we condole with them about the heavy war burdens that have been loaded upon them. They have at least got something effective and efficient for their money. We have got practically nothing. Germany has, it is true, spent huge sums for armament, but at the same time she has developed her internal resources, constructed vast public improvements, planted great forests, and built a system of waterways that is the marvel of the world. Have we done the same? No. Why not? Because we are told by the guardians of Uncle Sam's exchequer that we cannot afford it. We spend so much money on our army and navy,--a quarter of a billion dollars a year--for which we get nothing in return,--not even national defense,--that we are told we cannot afford to enter upon any great plans for internal improvements, or stop floods, or regulate rivers, or build a genuine waterway system. _And the people stand for it, and allow themselves to be "led by the nose as asses are."_ This, of course, is very gratifying to the speculators and exploiters who are gathering into their own capacious grab-bags what is left of the natural resources of the country. When this reason is added to their interest in armor-plate factories, it may account for some of their zeal for militarism. And of course they realize the necessity for a good large standing army that will keep the people from being troublesome when they discover that their heritage has been stolen from them. Any little incident like the French Revolution would be excessively annoying to the intrenched interests in this country. An army looks good to them, and the latch-string is always out, socially, to the members of the military caste who greatly enjoy the hospitality of the gilded caste.