afterward.”  Manufacturers are essentially inventors of cannons and guns and dreadnoughts, incidentally self-supporting men.  Bankers are here to finance the army and incidentally to make money.  Physicians are here to heal the wounded soldiers.  Gymnasiums are founded to train soldiers.  Women are here to breed soldiers, and militarism is the path that will bring Germany to her place in the sun.  The youth is first of all to be a soldier and incidentally to be a man.  No one has indicted Germany’s militarism in stronger language than the distinguished German-American, Carl Schurz.  In words that burn the great statesman expressed his hatred of the imperialism and militarism against which he helped to organize a revolution that led to his flight to this country.  Of late Americans have been asking themselves certain questions.

The American Ideal vs. the German.

What will be the result if Germany is allowed to seize any smaller State whose territory and property she covets?  Is all Europe to become an armed camp?  What is the meaning of this German professor’s article in The North American Review, written two or three years ago, in which he says that once she is victorious the Monroe Doctrine will go and the United States will receive the “thrashing she so richly deserves”?  Must we then go over to the military ideal?  If Germany supports 8,000,000 soldiers out of 66,000,000, must we withdraw from productive industry 12,000,000 men for at least two or three of the best years of their young life?  Must we start in on a programme of ten dreadnoughts a year instead of building ten colleges and universities for the same sum of money?  Of late Americans who love their country have been searching their own hearts.  Merchants hitherto busied with commerce are asking themselves whither this country is drifting.  Is Germany to compel us to become a vast military machine?  This military question is a subject of discussion on the street cars and in the stores, at the dining room table.  No articles in paper and magazine are so eagerly read and analyzed.  The American ideal is not a military machine, but a high quality of manhood.  To make men free, with the gift of self-expression; to make men wise through the public school and the free press; to make men self-sufficing and happy in their homes, through freedom of industrial contracts; to make men sound in their manhood through religious liberty for Jew and Gentile and Catholic and Protestant—­these are our national ideals.  America stands at the other pole of the universe from imperialism and militarism.  So far from being willing to desert the political faith of the fathers, this war has confirmed our confidence in self-government.  Liberty to grow, freedom to climb as high as industry and ability will permit, liberty to analyze and discuss the views of President, Congress, Governor—­these are our rights.  In a military autocracy there can be no liberty of the printing press.  If a man criticises the Kaiser, he goes to jail; in this