Again, France had recently passed a law forcing every young man to put three years in military service instead of two.  This would increase France’s standing army by 50 per cent.  The German people, who up to this time had been very docile and very obedient to the military rule, were showing signs of discontent.  The Socialists, a party who represented the working people largely, and who were strongly opposed to war, had been growing very fast.  In the last election, they had gained many representatives in the German congress, and had cast over 4,000,000 votes.  The only thing that kept them from having a majority in the Reichstag (the German congress) was the fact that in some districts, the voters of the other parties combined against them.  In this way, the military class still held control of the German government, but it was afraid that it would not be for long.

With nearly half the able-bodied men in the country spending their time drilling and doing guard duty, the other half of the population had to earn money enough to support their own families and also the families of the men in the army.  As one writer has put it, “Every workingman in Europe carried a soldier on his back who reached down and took the bread out of his platter.”

The program of Bismarck was still in the minds of the military leaders of Germany.  The military class must rule Prussia, Prussia must rule Germany, and Germany must be the greatest power in Europe.  To their minds, war between Germany and her allies and the rest of Europe must come.  Being warriors by trade and having nothing else to do, they saw that, if the great war were postponed much longer, the chances of Germany’s winning it would grow less and less.  France and Russia were growing stronger and Germany was unable to catch up to England’s navy.  It should be remembered that this class made up a small part only of the German nation.  Their influence was all out of proportion to their numbers.  They controlled the government, and the government controlled the schools and the newspapers.  The people believed what they were told.  They were simply parts of the war machine.  Bismarck’s policy had been to crush his enemies one by one.  He never entered a war until he was sure that Prussia was bound to win it.  In like fashion, the German military chiefs of 1914 hoped to conquer France and Russia before England was ready.  It was the old story as told by Shakespeare.  “Our legions are brim full, our cause is ripe.  The enemy increaseth every day.  We, at the height, are ready to decline.”

Russia, too, was having her troubles.  After the czar had promised the nation a constitution and had agreed to allow a duma or parliament to be called together, the military class, who were trying to keep the common people under control and in ignorance as much as possible had been able to prevent the duma from obtaining any power.  It had much less freedom than the German Reichstag.  It was permitted to meet and to talk, but not to pass laws.  If any member spoke his mind freely, he was sent to Siberia for life.  There were murmurs and threats.  There were labor troubles and strikes.  The people of Russia, especially those living in cities, were learning how little freedom they had, compared with citizens of other countries, and the time seemed ripe for a revolution.