AS MINISTER TO GERMANY-1879-1881 535 



in new forms. Generally it was sprung by some man who 

 had left Germany just at the age for entering the army, 

 had remained in America just long enough to secure nat- 

 uralization, and then, without a thought of discharging 

 any of his American duties, had come back to claim ex- 

 emption from his German duties, and to flaunt his Ameri- 

 can citizen papers in the face of the authorities of the 

 province where he was born. This was very galling 

 to these authorities, from the fact that such Americans 

 were often inclined to glory over their old schoolmates 

 and associates who had not taken this means of escaping 

 military duty; and it was no wonder that these brand- 

 new citizens, if their papers were not perfectly regular, 

 were sometimes held for desertion until the American 

 representative could intervene. 



Still other cases were those where fines had been im- 

 posed upon men of this class for non-appearance when 

 summoned to military duty, and an American minister 

 was expected to secure their remission. 



In simple justice to Germany, it ought to be said that 

 there is no foreign matter of such importance so little 

 understood in the United States as this. The average 

 American, looking on the surface of things, cannot see 

 why the young emigrant is not allowed to go and come as 

 he pleases. The fact is that German policy in this re- 

 spect has been evolved in obedience to the instinct of 

 national self-preservation. The German Empire, the 

 greatest Continental home of civilization, is an open camp, 

 perpetually besieged. Speaking in a general way, it has 

 no natural frontiers of any sort neither mountains nor 

 wide expanses of sea. Eastward are one hundred and 

 thirty millions of people fanatically hostile as regards 

 race, religion, and imaginary interests; westward is an- 

 other great nation of forty millions, with a hatred on all 

 these points intensified by desire for revenge; northward 

 is a vigorous race estranged by old quarrels; and south 

 is a power which is largely hostile on racial, religious, and 

 historic grounds, and at best a very uncertain reliance. 



