THE CITIZEN ARMY OF HOLLAND 



611 



man armies might try to force the mouth 

 of the Scheldt and make Antwerp a naval 

 port for the benefit of their submarines 

 and warships. During many anxious 

 weeks the people of the Netherlands have 

 had the unpleasant sensation that the 

 General Staff of the German armies was 

 figuring and computing the exact debit 

 and credit side of a violation of Dutch 

 territory. Often it seemed that the next 

 morning might bring the news of a Ger- 

 man invasion. But every time thus far 

 the careful accountants of the efficient 

 Imperial Staff must have come to the 

 conclusion that an invasion of Dutch ter- 

 ritory would cause more harm than good. 

 The troops which had been massed on 

 the southern frontier of Holland disap- 

 peared ; the guns went rumbling back 

 across the heavily paved roads of Flan- 

 ders, and the port of Antwerp remains 

 closed to this day. 



The activity of the Dutch army, how- 

 ever, has not been directed exclusively 

 against the eastern neighbors. Holland 

 knows that it would provide an excellent 

 thoroughfare to the Rhine region and the 

 steel works of the Krupp family; there- 

 fore every quarter mile of the entire 

 coast is guarded day and night. The 

 sand-dunes, which provide a wonderful 

 natural barrier, have been fortified with 

 hidden guns and well-covered positions 

 for machine guns. The towns and vil- 

 lages situated behind the dunes are well 

 garrisoned, and an excellent system of 

 roads running parallel with the coast en- 

 abled the Dutch Government to transport 

 artillery and infantry to any threatened 

 spot within less than an hour. Torpedo 

 boats and a flotilla of submarines patrol 

 the coast at all times. Thus far they have 

 been able to save the lives of many ship- 

 wrecked sailors, but they have not been 

 called upon to do active service. 



FIREPROOF THOUGH SURROUNDED BY FIRE) 



All this is in keeping with the heavy 

 sacrifices which the Dutch people have 

 for years made for the defense of their 

 country. They do not intend to use their 

 army for any purpose of aggrandize- 

 ment ; they do not expect that the few 

 hundred thousand men which they are 

 capable of bringing into the field will ever 

 decide the fate of Europe ; but they in- 



tended to create an army and a navy of 

 such strength that any enemy who should 

 wish to attack the small country would 

 be obliged to reckon the cost before he 

 dare to make the attack. 



They made a soldier of every man 

 capable of bearing arms. They prepared 

 the principal part of the country for im- 

 mediate inundation, and then quietly 

 made it known to their neighbors that 

 they would regard a nation which should 

 cross their frontier as their enemy. 



The result thus far has been beneficent 

 to the small Kingdom. The conflagra- 

 tion has spread to all parts of Europe. 

 This little triangle of sand and marshes, 

 situated right in the middle of the terri- 

 ble upheaval, has been spared. Unless 

 unforeseen circumstances shall happen, 

 Holland will not take part in the war. 

 The outlay of countless hard-earned mil- 

 lions and the willingness of all men to 

 submit to a few months of drill has ac- 

 complished this feat. 



Together with Switzerland and Den- 

 mark and Norway and Sweden, Holland 

 owes its salvation to its own labors and 

 sacrifices. It was a lesson which was not 

 easily learned, but which will not lightly 

 be forgotten after the terrible example 

 of Belgium. 



THE TRAGIC LESSON BEQUEATHED BY OED 

 HOEEAND 



It is a sad reflection that just one hun- 

 dred years ago Holland was in the same 

 position in which her southern neighbor 

 finds herself at the present moment. The 

 old Dutch Republic of the sixteenth and 

 seventeenth centuries had grown too rich 

 in the eighteenth century. Millions for 

 tribute, but not a cent for defense had 

 become the watchword of the self-con- 

 tented rentiers, whose grandfathers had 

 amassed fortunes and who were not will- 

 ing to spend a penny of their comfortable 

 dividends upon either an army or a navy. 

 Whenever they needed soldiers they hired 

 a few regiments of Germans or Scotch- 

 men. They allowed the ships of the navy, 

 which had made their country the leader 

 of Europe's foreign policies, to rot in the 

 harbors, and for over forty-three years 

 did not spend a guilder for the mainte- 

 nance of the fleet. 



