"VAE VICTIS"

It is seldom that the Frenchman, speaking of Germany, can remain absolutely cool and impartial--and little wonder; so that when General Taufflieb, of the French Army, who has an article in the current issue of "The Outlook", makes his statements with the calmness of an unbiased observer, he lends no inconsiderable amount of power to his words. What he says is, in substance, only what all of us know but most have forgotten: Germany must be watched.

History, we are told, has a habit of repeating itself. The conquered Prussians, by means of an apparently harmless system of military training, were able to put on the field at Waterloo a force of men that turned the tide against Napoleon; today, "The Reichstag has voted a law to establish universally courses in physical training, lasting from one to two years, for all young men under twenty-five. Under an inoffensive name it has in reality created a complete system of intensive military training." The comparison is obvious.

"Wars and rumours of wars" are always disagreeable--and the one who screams of war is equally so. But the historical truth remains that the conquered city or nation has nearly always overcome its victor in turn, either mentally or physically; witness the fall of Rome and the power she wielded throughout the Middle Ages. The German question is more than the German question--it is the ever-recurring struggle of feudalism against chivalry, pride in power against peaceful advancement. The philosophy of Nietzsche and the kultur of Ludendorff are not things lightly to be reckoned with or disposed of; less so now that they are driven to intrench themselves. The spoils may belong to the victors; but unless the victors know how to make good use of them, they are more harmful than otherwise; "vae victis" sounds very well on paper!

We may not necessarily agree with the General's statement that "Germany is preparing actively for a war of revenge which will break out the day after the Allied troops shall have come back across the Rhine"; but when an expert on war warns us that war is coming, it is undoubtedly the part of wisdom to listen to him.