will not and cannot learn the lesson of federation and cooeperation so long as a large mass of their people have no voice and no knowledge except of their particular business.  Compare the miles of railway in proportion to population with the same proportion in the United States—­or the telephones, or the use of the mails, or of bank checks; or make any other practical measure you like.  Every time, you’ll come back to the discouraging fact that the masses in Europe are driven as cattle.  So long as this is true, of course, they’ll be driven periodically into wars.  So many countries, so many races, so many languages all within so small an area as Europe positively invite deadly differences.  If railroads had been invented before each people had developed its own separate language, Europe could somehow have been coordinated, linked up, federated, made to look at life somewhat in the same way.  As it is, wars will be bred here periodically for about another thousand years.  The devil of this state of things is that they may not always be able to keep their wars at home.

For me, then, except England and the smaller exceptions that I have mentioned, Europe will cut no big figure in my life.  In all the humanities, we are a thousand years ahead of any people here.  So also in the adaptabilities and the conveniences of life, in its versatilities and in its enjoyments.  Most folk are stolid and sad or dull on this side of the world.  Else how could they take their kings and silly ceremonies seriously?

     Now to more immediate and definite impressions.  I have for a year
     had the conviction that we ought to get into the war—­into the
     economic war—­for the following among many reasons.

     1.  That’s the only way to shorten it.  We could cause Germany’s
     credit (such as she has) instantly to collapse, and we could hasten
     her hard times at home which would induce a surrender.

     2.  That’s the only way we can have any real or important influence
     in adjusting whatever arrangements can be made to secure peace.

     3.  That’s the best way we can inspire complete respect for us in
     the minds of other nations and thereby, perhaps, save ourselves
     from some wars in the future.

     4.  That’s the best way we can assert our own character—­our
     Americanism, and forever get rid of all kinds of hyphens.

     5.  That’s the only way we shall ever get a real and sensible
     preparedness, which will be of enormous educational value even if
     no military use should ever be made of our preparation.

     6.  That’s the only way American consciousness will ever get back to
     the self-sacrificing and patriotic point of view of the Fathers of
     the Republic.

     7.  That’s the best way to emancipate ourselves from cranks.