Prepare War

Pacific Press Publishing Association · Mountain View, California · Jul 30, 1912

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 39, No. 29.

(See Joel 3: 9-12)

A GERMAN professor and privy councilor, Baron von Stengel, is publishing a book designed to convince the German people of the absolute necessity for keeping up its preparations for war. He denounces the efforts of the peace party as dangerous to German interests. He does not believe that a European court would do justice by Germany in the event of a conflict of interests.

"Where remote centuries will see an era of 'eternal peace' does not for the moment enter into the question. Clearer is the fact that the peace movement constitutes a revolution as regards present constitutional law, and means the destruction of the independence of individual states, which must enter into a world federation; that, therefore, it opposes decisively the national idea. From this point of view a further spread of the peace movement in Germany must be regretted. . . . The political condition of the German empire is dangerous. Germany may be described as 'ringed round with foes.' . . . For that reason, the German empire must not pursue a peace-loving policy in the sense meant by the friends of peace and by the peace movement. It can not diminish its strong armaments, reduce its standing army to the condition of a police posse, sell its battle-ships as old iron, and oblige itself to submit all disputes which may arise to the International Arbitration Court at The Hague. It were nothing less than political suicide for Germany to disarm in the faith that in case of an international dispute its rights would be assured by The Hague Court."—Present Truth.