68 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



relevancy, may be casually mentioned. The German war-ships, self- 

 interned at the Kiel canal, may at any time prove a very active menace; 

 much more probably than those Zeppelins, the very talk concerning 

 which has thrown a chill to the heart of England. It was premature; 

 the big Zeppelins are very vulnerable, rightly assailed, and — happily for 

 English comfort — they realize it. 



On the other side there lies the inviting coast of the former Danish 

 province of Schleswig. Behind the Sylt the waters are shallow, but it 

 would not be difficult to land an army there. In time something simi- 

 lar may be reckoned upon — a force, probably all British, with suitable 

 ordnance, to advance upon the canal and its fortifications on the north, 

 to demolish these at leisure, and afterwards try conclusions with the 

 fleet, unless it had slipped out, warily into the Baltic or boldly into the 

 North sea. This project of invasion is instanced, not as imminent, but 

 rather a strong possibility of the future. Its efficacy is found in facili- 

 tating operations, in affording a third " face " of attack. 



In considering the outcome the element of time is of course a very 

 uncertain quantity. But time is an ally of the Allies, the most stanch, 

 most certain and trustworthy ally. All told, Germany can perhaps 

 count upon about one hundred millions actually or nominally loyal to 

 her cause. Eussia, Britain, and France combined can count upon at 

 least six hundred million, with equal or greater confidence of loyalty. 

 Germany is badly handicapped. The greater general intelligence of her 

 population; its greater diffusion of freedom of thought; these in time 

 will begin to ask questions, to urge demands. 



During our civil war, a rude mountaineer was brought into camp as 

 a prisoner somewhere in east Tennessee. At first surly, at last he 

 softened. " Say ! " said he to his guard, " what anyway is you-uns 

 fightin' we-uns for ? " If ignorance could be brought to put so admir- 

 able an enquiry, how much more likely — at the right time — the "psy- 

 chological time," will intelligence ! 



Day after day, slowly the equality between opposing forces will be 

 diminished, replaced by increments of preponderance of the Allies. The 

 effective strength of numbers will slowly crumble on one side, slowly 

 accumulate for power of offense on the other. The very successes of 

 German arms point the way to her ultimate downfall. The day of the 

 facile fall of the Vauban-planned fortifications of Antwerp, added to by 

 every device of science and steel, was a great one for the cause of uni- 

 versal peace, far greater than anything effected by the Hague Tribunal, 

 or by all the peace treaties ever signed. The meaning is — or ought to 

 be — evident — that the day of armored defenses as defenses against the 

 ponderous ordnance constructed by the Krupps is at an end. Even at 

 this hour there are several object lessons to invite scrutiny, notably that 

 Verdun continues impregnable, not because of its being invulnerable as 



