Rpvieic iif Reiieirs 



Topics of the Month. 



41 



men took the trouble to know and to try to under- concerning the progress of events in Russia from his 

 stanil one another. own standpoint of a reformer, and " Review of Re- 



Profe^snr Vasilyev has promised to write to me views " readers will benefit accordingly. 



ENGLISH INTERVIEWS. 



LXXXVII.-THE ANGLO-GERMAN 



The happy conclusion of the Algeciras Conference 

 has opened the door wide for the active cultivation 

 of the Anglo-Gennan entente. But it is well to be 

 reminded by the appearance of the book, •■ Muni- 

 cipal Studies and International Friendship," that 

 Germans did not wait until the Morocco Question 

 was out of the way to make overtures of friendship 

 to the British nation. Dr. Lunn, who has honour- 

 ably distinguished himself for many years past by 

 the energy and public spirit with which he has 

 seized the opportunities afforded by his business 

 to promote friendly intercourse between different 

 nations, has rendered a new service to the cause of 

 human progress by his action in promoting the 

 Anglo-German entente. The cause of the reunion of 

 Christendom owed much to Dr. Lunn's enterprise in 

 bringing together the representatives of the various 

 Christian Churches at Grindelwald and Lucerne. 

 To these conferences was largely due the formation 

 of the Free Church Federation, which played so 

 ■conspicuous a part in the defeat of the late Govern- 

 ■ ment. He has for some years past been busily en- 

 gaged in promoting the friendship of nations by 

 organising and conducting a series of municipal 

 visits, which have brought him into personal rela- 

 tions with the President of the United States, the 

 Kings of Sweden and Norway, and last but bv no 

 means least with the German Kaiser. This good 

 work, largely ignored at home, where superior per- 

 sons sniff at a business man who deliberately selects 

 a line of business which enables him to render ser- 

 vice to cherished ideas, has been much better ap- 

 preciated abroad, where Dr. Lunn is recognised as 

 a valuable commis voyagcur of peace and goodwill. 



When Dr. Lunn called at Mowbrav House with 

 the proofs of his book I asked him what he thought 

 'f the prospects of the Anglo-German entente. 



" So far as the German nation is concerned, the 



prospects are of the brightest. In no countrv into 



which I have led my municipal pilgrims, not even in 



the United States of America, have the British stu- 



I dents been rt-cei\-ed with more hearty welcome." 



I "Has the old bad feeling subsided altogether?' 



" I don't know what you mean by the old bad 

 feeling. I was in Germany when what the news- 

 papers called our strained relations were supposed 

 to be almost at the breaking-point, and I ne^er came 

 across a single unfriendly German, nor was I greeted 

 with a single hostile word." 



" What time was that ?" 



" I went to Berlin in March last year to arrange 

 for the visit, and we returned at midsummer. I saw 



ENTENTE: DR. HENRY LUNN. 



exervbody, from the Kaiser to the man in the street, 

 and evervwhere I only heard one opinion — the Ger- 

 mans want to be friends, and they seized upon every 

 opportunit}" of demonstrating their friendliness in 

 the most kindlv and enthusiastic fashion. In fact, 

 we were quite embarrassed by the warmth of their 

 hospitality." 



" Where did vou see the Kaiser ?' 



•• At the Court Ball in the White Hall of the 

 Palace at Berlin. You may form some idea of the 

 spirit in which we were welcomed when 1 tell you 

 that not onlv were we invited to the ball, but the 

 punctilios of Court etiquette were waived in order 

 to enable us to attend it without Court dress. It 

 was on my first visit, to arrange the preliminaries of 

 the municipal tour. The Kaiser received us — Lord 

 Lyveden and myself — most kindly. He expressed 

 his gratification at the contemplated visit of the 

 representatives of British municipalities, and invited 

 us to visit the Palace at Potsdam. From that 

 moment evervthing was done, not only by the Ger- 

 man Ministers, but by the German municipal authori- 

 ties, to make our visit a success." 



" But was this not a mere act of personal cour- 

 tesv ; one of the ordinary amenities of international 

 intercourse ?" 



•' Not at all. As Count Bernstorff said, our visit 

 was welcomed because it was hoj>ed by the German 

 Government and the German people that it would 

 do something to draw the two nations together, to 

 remove national misunderstandings, and to demon- 

 strate the fact that the German nation is animated 

 bv the most friendly feelings towards the English 

 people." 



" Did you find this feeling widespread?" 



■' It was universal. We visited Aachen, Cologne, 

 and Berlin. It would be difBcult to say which city 

 was most demonstrative. If we had been a eortege 

 of Princes we could not have had a more royal wel- 

 come. Every- want was anticipated. We were oxer- 

 whelmed with receptions and banquets. One most 

 remarkable episode of our visit to Berlin was that 

 the usual toast to the Emperor was waived in order 

 to enable Social Democrats to dine with Ministers 

 of the Empire at the banquet given in our honour." 



" Did the municipal authorities regard your visit 

 as a political affair?" 



•' I should rather sav that they treated it as a 

 national demonstration of friendliness and goodwill. 

 .\s the spokesman of the Aachen Municipality said, 

 ' Real politics, thank God, are not an affair of news- 

 papers and music-halls, but are in the hands of 



