“What harm has Germany ever done to the United States? Turn over the pages of history. Remember brave General Steuben, a veteran of Frederick the Great, drilling with Washington’s soldiers at Valley Forge. Remember the German General De Kalb who fell pierced by red-coat balls and bayonets at the battle of Camden. Remember General Herckheimer with his band of German farmers who fought and died for American independence at the battle of Oriskany. “Then go to Greenwood cemetery and look at the graves of German soldiers, rows and rows of them, who gave their lives loyally for the Union at Antietam, at Bull Run and at Gettysburg. “The United States is a great nation with vast resources,” he went on, “but these have been largely wasted, owing to the inefficiency and corruption inevitable in all democracies.” “Your Imperial Highness does not think much of American efficiency?” The prince threw back his head with a snort of contemptuous amusement. “Ha! What can one expect from a government like yours? A government of incompetents, politicians, office seekers.” “I beg your pardon,” I protested. “I do not mean to offend you,” he laughed, “but hasn’t the whole world known for years that America was utterly defenceless? Haven’t you Americans known it since 1914? Haven’t you read it in all your newspapers? Hasn’t it been shouted at you from the housetops by all your leading men? “And yet your senators, your congressmen, your presidents and their cabinet officers did nothing about it, or very little. Is that what you call efficiency? America remained lacking in all that makes for military preparedness, did she not? And she tried to be a world power and defend the Monroe doctrine! She told Germany in 1915 what Germany might do with her submarines and what she might not do. Ha! We were at a disadvantage then, but we remembered! You, with your third-rate navy and your tenth-rate army, told us what we might do! Well, you see where your efficiency has brought you.” I sat silent until this storm should pass, and was just making bold to speak when the prince continued: “Do you know where America made her great mistake? Oh, what a chance you had and missed it! Why did you not declare war on Germany after our invasion of Belgium? Or after the sinking of the _Lusitania?_ Or after the sinking of the _Arabic?_ You had your justification and, with your money and resources, you could have changed the course of the great war. That is what we feared in Berlin. We were powerless to hurt you then and we knew you would have time to get ready. Yes, if America had gone into the war in 1915, she would be the greatest power on earth to-day instead of being a conquered province.” These words hurt. “America is a long way from being a conquered province,” I retorted.