reaction 



The Days of a Man 1913 



A true In the course of my discussion I laid special stress 



indictment on ^ f act fa^ tne or g an i ze d war-system had per- 



verted and poisoned ("verdreht und vergiftet") all 

 teaching of history, patriotism, and even religion. 

 From a German officer I quoted: "Another land may 

 possess an army ; the army possesses Germany." 1 



When I had finished, a representative of the Flot- 

 tenverein (Navy League) politely asked permission 

 to speak briefly. Said he, in substance: 



If we were to take a thousand German conscripts and ask all 

 who believed in universal military service to hold up his hand, 

 every one would do so. If we should take a hundred veterans of 

 the war with France and ask each to say whether the experience 

 had made him a better man, then each would say "Yes." 



To my surprise the audience, hitherto almost 

 abnormally quiet, now lost its air of patient deference, 

 breaking out into loud, unanimous "boos" which 

 they kept up until the speaker left the stage for the 

 street. The following evening, however, the Navy 

 League brought on a great cinema of the German 

 fleet, apparently as a counter-irritant. At subsequent 

 meetings in other places I had no interruptions or 

 heckling of any kind. Doubtless those who dissented 

 stayed away, and to be allowed the use of a hall by 

 the council of a German city guaranteed the program 

 of a society from unseemly interference. 



j n Wiesbaden I was the guest of August Weddegen, 

 a retired merchant from New York, a man of substance 

 and considerable literary appreciation something 

 of a poet, in fact. Having returned with pleasant 

 anticipation to his beloved native town, he found 

 himself sadly disgusted with Prussian control and espe- 



1 "JSin andres Land bgsitzt fin Heer; das Heer besitzt Deutschland" 



CS363 



