Newspaper Page Text
September, 1914
THE ATL ANTI AN
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to six fold the power to a voter in a small county to that
granted the voter in a large county.
Not claiming to have definite knowledge on this point,
it cannot be made as a positive statement, but it is our
belief that there is not another state in the Union that
would stand for such a system as this except Georgia.
It denies the fundamental principle of Democracy, and
the sooner that the people of Georgia get a club to put
it out of business, the sooner will they be real Demo
crats.
As a matter of fact, it is not too strong a statement
to say that any man who supports such a system as this
is not a Democrat in any honest sense, but is a fellow
who wants to get something for nothing.
The War in Europe
The world is confronted with the greatest war which
has ever cursed humanity. Vast armies are marching
and countermarching over the European fields, carrying
devastation wherever they move, destroying property to
an incalculable amount, and making of the sections in
which they operate a human slaughter-house.
Perhaps it had to come. It has been brewing for years
as the result of a number of underlying causes: The
mutual hatred of German and French, of German and
Russian; the mutual jealousy of German and English
man ; the Balkan volcano, which is never entirely quies
cent; the insane desire of Austria for domination in the
Balkans; the equally strong desire of Russia for access
to the Mediterranean. All these are among the under
lying causes. Beyond these, however, the primary
causes of the present struggle are to be found in the
growth of Democracy in the German Empire, and in
the German desire to become the dominating world
power. The outbreak between Austria and Servia was
merely the spark that ignited the powder, and in that
outbreak Austria was the catspaw of Germany.
For thirty years the German Kaiser has been a stand
ing menace to the peace of Europe. He has restrained
himself all these years because he never felt quite ready.
Latterly he has brought the German army to the highest
pitch of perfection ever attained by any military force
in the world, and he felt strong enough to carry forward
his plans.
The pressure of the Democratic movement in Ger
many has, to some extent, forced his hand; and he has
made use of an old devise favored by autocrats—which
is to precipitate a foreign war in order to smother inter
national troubles.
While the German Government, which is responsible
for this great cataclysm, deserves no consideration, the
German people, who have to do the fighting and suffer
ing, are entitled to our sympathy, though they are not
altogether blameless. Let us for a moment consider their
case. Sixty millions of aggressive and forceful people
are locked up in a territory smaller than the State of
Texas. They can find relief only in two ways—one by
peaceful emigration, the other by the conquests of war.
The German temperament is naturally domineering, and
this easily leads them in the direction of war rather than
of peaceful emigration. While the Kaiser is more great
ly to be blamed for the present conflagration than all
other men, he is not altogether to blame, because the
German people are in sympathy with any movement that
will add to their territorial possessions, and they have
been so long familiar with militarism that the wicked
ness of war does not impress them as it should.
How this great war will end no man can be certain.
If it lasts for any length of time, Germany must be
worsted. It is reasonable to expect that Germany, by
reason of its greater readiness and its superior organ
ization, will win some advantages in the first part. But
France and England are both fighting almost for
national existence, and bearing that in mind, and bear
ing in mind further the staying qualities of the British
people, it seems to be a reasonable calculation, even
though in the beginning Germany may gain some ad
vantages, that in the end she must lose. It may not be
forgotten that England fought Napoleon for fifteen
years, and in the end won. It would have been well for
the German Emperor to have taken that fact into ac
count before going to war with such readiness and so
much big talk about God being with him—for God is no
more on the side of wholesale murder than he is on the
side of individual murder. The Commandment: “Thou
shalt not kill” applies to nations as well as to individuals.
Unpatriotic Americans
The present European War has brought into vivid
light the condition of our financial status with Europe.
It appears that we owe Europe large sums of money
which they want to collect in gold, and which our Govern
ment is reluctant to see so paid, as it does not want the
gold to be sent out of the country.
The hard-working people of the United States pro
duce such a vast volume of exportable wares that our
exports exceed, in value, our imports by hundreds of mil
lions yearly. Notwithstanding this enormous excess of
exports, which (ordinarily) would mean that the rest of
the world was in our debt, it appears that WE are al
ways in debt. There are three causes: The first is that
the large amount of European capital invested in va
rious ways in our country has to be paid dividends or
interest yearly. Second: The gambling traffic carried
on by the New York Stock Exchange, and which involves
just as close relationship with the gamblers of Europe
as it does with the gamblers of America with the re
sult that, at a troubled time in Europe, the European
gamblers unload upon the Stock Exchange their hold
ings, calling for an immense sum of money. The third
cause is the worst. It is due to those unpatriotic Ameri
cans, whose money was made in this country, who thin 1 '
the country from which they draw their money is not
good enough for them, and who spend their incomes
trapseing up and down Europe, because the toadyism and
flunkyism of the so-called lower classes, over there, cater
to their self-conceit and add to their self-importance.
They love to have people stand with their hats in their
hands waiting for tips, and they love to be kow-towed
to by these humble folk who live off of the gratuities 0.1
the rich.
A certain small percentage of the people who visit
Europe go there for legitimate reasons; but the expendi
ture of our citizens in Europe is now estimated at around
four hundred million dollars yearly, and at least three-
quarters of this is spent by the expatriated Americans
who have recently been howling with lusty vigor for
the United States Government to assist them in getting