Nothing short of victory.  There can be no arrangement, no agreement, no parley with or confidence in these modern scions of darkness —­Hohenzollerns, Hindenburgs, Zudendorffs and their tools.  Propaganda must not cease; the eyes of Germans still capable of sight must be opened.  But, as the President says, force must be used to the limit—­force for a social end as opposed to force for an evil end.  There are those among us who advocate a boycott of Germany after peace is declared.  These would seem to take it for granted that we shall fall short of victory, and hence that selfish retaliative or vindictive practices between nations, sanctioned by imperialism, will continue to flourish after the war.  But should Germany win she will see to it that there is no boycott against her.  A compromised peace would indeed mean the perpetuation of both imperialism and militarism.

It is characteristic of those who put their faith in might alone that they are not only blind to the finer relationships between individuals and nations, but take no account of the moral forces in human affairs which in the long run are decisive,—­a lack of sensitiveness which explains Germany’s colossal blunders.  The first had to do with Britain.  The German militarists persisted in the belief that the United Kingdom was degenerated by democracy, intent upon the acquisition of wealth, distracted by strife at home, uncertain of the Empire, and thus would selfishly remain aloof while the Kaiser’s armies overran and enslaved the continent.  What happened, to Germany’s detriment, was the instant socialization of Britain, and the binding together of the British Empire.  Germany’s second great blunder was an arrogant underestimation of a self-reliant people of English culture and traditions.  She believed that we, too, had been made flabby by democracy, were wholly intent upon the pursuit of the dollar—­only to learn that America would lavish her vast resources and shed her blood for a cause which was American.  Germany herself provided that cause, shaped the issues so that there was no avoiding them.  She provided the occasion for the socializing of America also; and thus brought about, within a year, a national transformation which in times of peace might scarce in half a century have been accomplished.

Above all, as a consequence of these two blunders, Germany has been compelled to witness the consummation of that which of all things she had most to fear, the cementing of a lasting fellowship between the English speaking Republic and the English speaking Empire.  For we had been severed since the 18th Century by misunderstandings which of late Germany herself had been more or less successful in fostering.  She has furnished a bond not only between our governments, but—­what is vastly more important for democracy—­a bond between our peoples.  Our soldiers are now side by side with those of the Empire on the Frontier of Freedom; the blood of all is shed and mingled for