this of the people of the United States.
They thought that they were a nation of traders and money-getters in
love with the Almighty Dollar. As events proved, this idea was a fatal
mistake on the part of the Germans.

In entirely different ways, both Americans and Germans were taught that
they were the people above all other peoples in the world. The German
insolently sang "Germany above All" while the American good-naturedly
boasted his land as the freest, the noblest and best, leading all the
other countries and showing them the way to become greater and better.
The American people, however, did not intend to force their beliefs
upon other nations. But the Germans were led by the idea that German
Kultur would be a blessing for all mankind and that it was their
destiny to conquer and improve all other nations.

Thor stood at the northernmost point of the world.
His hammer flew from his hand.
"So far as my hammer this arm has hurled,
All mine are the sea and the land."
And forward flew the giant tool
Over the whole broad earth, to fall
At last in the southernmost pool
To prove that Thor's was all.
Since then 'tis the pleasant German way
By the hammer, lands to win,
And to claim for themselves world-wide sway,
As the Hammer-god's nearest kin.

But the American does not go this far. While he is inclined to believe
himself and his country better than any other people or nation, yet he
is content to let others live in their own way as long as they are
honest and do not interfere with him and his business. He is, to be
sure, desirous of improving them, but by peaceful means, by building
dams and railroads for them, and by giving them schools and sending
them missionaries.

It was difficult therefore for Americans to realize that the Germans
really planned and desired the war in order that they might rule the
world. It took months and even years of war for the majority of
Americans to come to a full realization of this truth. This should be
remembered when the question is asked, not why the United States
entered the war, but why she did not enter it earlier.

Americans are honorable and look upon the breaking of a pledge or an
agreement as a shameful thing. It was almost impossible for them to
believe that a nation, far advanced in science and learning of all
kinds, could look upon a treaty as a scrap of paper and consider its
most solemn promises as not binding when it was to its