Ibid., p. 28.]

Contrary to the expectations of other nations, the war seems only to
have increased the popularity of the military Moloch. Writers who look
upon the Allies as deliverers who will free Germany from the degrading
slavery imposed upon that country, will be disappointed to learn that
Germans worship the _bunte Rock_ (gay uniform) more than ever.

At a meeting of the National Liberal leaders held in Dortmund, July,
1915, a resolution was passed calling upon the Government to pursue a
still greater naval and army programme. Both the Liberals and
Conservatives have adopted the motto: _Deutsche Machtpolitik frei von
Sentimentalitaet_ (A German policy of might free from sentimentalism).

"This war of the nations, which has overthrown so many accepted
standards and created new ones, will also give a new basis to the
privileged position of German officers in public life. Millions of
German men have seen how in this war the German lieutenant has again
merited his special position for some generations to come. I wish to
emphasize this point over and over again.

"During the first two months of hostilities nearly forty thousand iron
crosses were awarded. To many of those at home this appeared to be
overdoing it, like the many exaggerations in the domain of orders and
honours with which we have become familiar during the last decade.[172]
As a matter of fact, the number of crosses given was too small.

[Footnote 172: _Vide_ "The Soul of Germany," Chapter XIII.]

"Not forty thousand heroes are at the front, but a nation of heroes. In
emphasizing why the work of our officers is so splendid I must lay down
these premises. The bravery and joyous spirit of self-sacrifice in our
men is above all praise, but the officers have higher and more
responsible duties. They have not only to set an example of physical
courage, but they must possess the mental capacity to lead and spur on
their men--and that under conditions so hard and rude that the man at
home has no conception of them.

"I have been in the trenches on the slopes of the Argonnes, where
officers lie side by side with the men in clay and chalk, unwashed and
filthy cut off from the outside world, exposed to continuous fire and
thrown entirely upon themselves. I have seen them in the artillery
positions on the Aisne, in the mud-caves of the heavy batteries, where
they sit in the dark on empty packing-cases, listening to the music of
exploding shells and whistling