NOTES 665 



millionaire who is making immense profits by legitimate trade, 

 but who, by some sudden obsession or madness, is foolish 

 enough to attempt to rob another person of his watch! 

 Such a man is suddenly flung in a moment from the heights of 

 prosperity into the cell of the criminal— and all for what ? The 

 frequently-stupid press of the world is very fond of talking 

 about national ideals, aspirations, and rights. After all, what 

 are these things ? The ideals, aspirations, and rights generally 

 come to this when analysed— that one nation imagines itself 

 justified in seizing the goods of others. Except in a few special 

 cases, nearly all these claims are merely fraudulent, and are 

 put forward by designing politicians and other self-interested 

 schemers in order to befool the stupid proletariat for their own 

 advantage. If this is not the case, those who have caused the 

 war must face the alternative indictment, that they themselves 

 are fools ; and those who read Mr. Beck's summary will 

 probably decide that they are both. 



But the folly has lain not only with the Germans, but with 

 the innumerable busybodies who, though untrained in the 

 ways of reasoning and possessing neither special knowledge 

 nor attainments, think themselves capable of conducting all the 

 affairs of the world. Such have been the British faddists who 

 gave the German bandits their long-expected opportunity by 

 refusing to allow their country to prepare adequately for its 

 own protection and for the redemption of the guarantees which 

 it had given to other nations, such as the Belgians. Nor will 

 Mr. Beck's summing-up leave us without some sense of the 

 inefficiency of our party politicians. 



There is no evidence that before the war our Government 

 had ever clearly analysed the issues, had made any adequate 

 preparation to deal with the appalling disaster which the best 

 military experts then declared was imminent, or had even 

 decided upon the policy which they would adopt if a Continental 

 war were to break out. It has been said in the French press 

 that if Britain had firmly declared it would take the side of 

 France and Russia in the case of an aggressive war started by 

 Germany and Austria, this war would probably never have 

 taken place ; and Mr. Beck says, " Sir Edward Grey went so far 

 as to tell the German Ambassador that if this was not satis- 

 factory and if Germany would make any reasonable proposals 

 to preserve peace and Russia and France rejected it, ' His 



