2. The preservation of the new economic and military lines of communication between Berlin on the one side and Vienna, Budapest, Sofia, and Constantinople on the other. These are, indeed, the bonds which have enabled Berlin to reduce to practical slavery the Poles, Czechs, Jugo-Slavs, and Roumanians,—the adversaries of Pan-Germany,—and then, without changing any names or long-established frontiers, to make Austria-Hungary and Bulgaria vassal-states of Berlin, and, consequently, active elements of Central Pan-Germany. Finally, if the present order of things in Central Europe is preserved, Germany can maintain the Hamburg-Bagdad line. This would be assured by the adoption of the formula, ‘peace without indemnities and annexations.’ This is easily proved. As we have already seen, even if Germany were to withdraw in the East and West, the stipulation ‘no indemnities’ would permit her to give back the territories stolen from Russia, France, Belgium, and Roumania in a condition of complete economic, physical, and moral collapse: in a word, sucked dry. By reason, too, of the principle of ‘no indemnities,’ the reconstruction of these devastated countries would be another cause of financial exhaustion for France, Russia, Belgium, and Roumania, already overburdened with the costs of the war. But, even assuming that the Germans withdraw from these occupied territories to the East and West,—although at present there is no reason for seriously considering such an eventuality,—no one in his senses could believe that they would give up Serbia unless forced to do so by the most ruthless methods; for Serbia, by reason of her geographic position, is absolutely essential to the existence of Central Pan-Germany, on which, in turn, Germany’s vast advantages depend. Of course, it is easy to imagine that Germany would give her signature to treaties of settlement, even involving Serbia. But treaties signed by Germany have no value whatever. ‘We snap our fingers at treaties,’ said the Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin to Mr. Gerard, American Ambassador at Berlin. Besides, even supposing that Berlin were party to a treaty concerning Serbia, this treaty might allow Serbia to exist in theory, but not in fact. We must look the situation in the face: Serbia is one great graveyard. Her population has been systematically butchered by the Bulgarians, with German approval. Serbia is utterly ruined: the Bulgaro-Austro-Germans have taken everything.