Throughout the summer and fall there appeared in various newspapers, including the influential Frankfurter Zeitung, inspired articles about the possibilities of annexing the industrial centres and important harbours of Belgium.  In Munich and Leipsic a book by Dr. Schumacher, of Bonn University, was published, entitled, “Antwerp, Its World Position and Importance for Germany’s Economic Life.”  Another writer named Ulrich Bauschey wrote a number of newspaper and magazine articles for the purpose of showing that Germany would need Antwerp after this war in order to successfully compete with Holland, England and France in world commerce.  He figured that the difference between the cost of transportation from the Rhine Valley industrial cities to Antwerp and the cost of transportation from the Rhine Valley to Hamburg and Bremen would be great enough as to enable German products to be sold in America for less money than products of Germany’s enemies.

These articles brought up the old question of the “freedom of the seas.”  Obviously, if the Allies were to control the seas after the war, as they had during the war, Germany could make no plans for the re-establishment of her world commerce unless there were some assurances that her merchant fleet would be as free on the high seas as that of any other nation.  During the war Germany had talked a great deal about the freedom of the seas.  When the Lusitania was torpedoed von Jagow said in an interview that Germany was fighting for the free seas and that by attacking England’s control, Germany was acting in the interests of the whole world.  But Germany was really not sincere in what she said about having the seas free.  What Germany really desired was not freedom of the seas in peace time because the seas had been free before the war.  What Germany wanted was free seas in war time,—­freedom for her own merchant ships to go from Germany to any part of the world and return with everything except absolute contraband.  Germany’s object was to keep from building a navy great enough to protect her merchant fleet in order that she might devote all her energies to army organisation.  But the freedom of the seas was a popular phrase.  Furthermore it explained to the German people why their submarine warfare was not inhuman because it was really fighting for the freedom of all nations on the high seas!

[Illustration:  This is the photograph of von Hindenburg which very German has in his home.]

While these public discussions were going on, the fight on the Chancellor began to grow.  It was evident that when the Reichstag met again in September that there would be bitter and perhaps a decisive fight on von Bethmann-Hollweg.  The division in Germany became so pronounced that people forgot for a time the old party lines and the newspapers and party leaders spoke of the “Bethmann parties” and the “von Tirpitz party.”  Whether the submarine should be used ruthlessly against all