And let America keep in mind the fact that this Germany has expressed the greatest hostility for America. "Let America look out when this war is finished," and "I will stand no nonsense from America after this war," said the Kaiser to Ambassador Gerard. In 1898 Count von Goetzen said, in substance, "About fifteen years from now my country will begin a great war; in a few weeks we shall have taken Paris; in three months we shall occupy London; then we will turn to America. We will take some billions of dollars from America in indemnities; we will put you in your right relation with Germany and we will take charge of the Monroe Doctrine for ourselves." "We are keeping books on you Americans," said Major Liebster. "It is a long account, and we have not missed a detail. We are keeping the account in black and white; rest assured that it will be presented to you some day for settlement." In 1901 Freiherr von Edelsheim of the German General Staff wrote a book on sea power, in which he briefly outlined a German plan for the conquest of America and said: "Germany is the only power in a position to conquer America." If once we and our allies let go our grip, if we grow soft, if we falter and fail, be very sure we and our children shall pay to the full the penalty. I heard Major Murphy say that the Captain of the Arabic, who had gone down with his torpedoed ship and had been rescued from the sea, told him that as long as he stayed on the bridge of that sinking vessel, every time he rang a bell to the engine room he got the answering signal. I know no story of heroism in all this war that moves me more than this. Have you ever been in the engine room of a great liner where the sides come close together and you can put your fingers on the steel plates and know that just a fraction of an inch beyond, the deep green waters of the sea are running? Then take your stand with these thirty or forty stokers and engineers; the ship is sinking, you know that the life boats are putting off, rafts are being launched and men are leaping into the sea. Now turn and look up that narrow and twisting iron stairway and watch for the first green gleam of foam-flecked waters to come cascading down, and then every time the bell rings give back the answering signal. Our Ship of State has pushed out into a stormy sea; the officers are on the bridge, the lookout at the prow; the fortunate men are at the gun. To us, far in the interior, there comes the humbler task of keeping the fires burning on which depends the vital element of speed, but wherever you stand, whatever your work, see to it that when your call comes you can give back the answering signal. And there is so much that we can do.