the Government is doing
everything to increase patriotic sentiment by celebrating with
eclat all the various anniversaries of 1813.

"The trend of public opinion would result in giving a war a more
or less national character. By whatever pretext Germany should
justify the European conflagration, nothing can prevent the first
decisive blows being struck at France."

The second inclosure in M. Cambon's letter is the report of M. de
Faramond, Naval Attache. He says that there will be no increase in
the German fleet this year, and that the whole military effort will
be directed against France.

By October 1, 1914, the imperial army will be increased from 720,000
to 860,000 men, and proposed legislation will place the army corps
near the French frontier most nearly on a war footing, in order on
the very day of the outbreak of hostilities to attack us suddenly
with forces very much stronger than our own. It is absolutely
imperative for the Imperial Government to obtain success at the very
outset of the operations....

"William II cannot allow a retreat to enter into his
calculations, although the German soldier is no longer to-day
what he was forty years ago, a plain religious man, ready to die
at the order of his king. When it is remembered that at the last
elections 4,000,000 votes were cast by the Socialists and that
the franchise is only obtained in Germany at the age of
twenty-five, it may be presumed that the active army, composed of
young men from twenty to twenty-five, must contain in its ranks a
considerable proportion of Socialists.

"It would indeed be foolish to think that the German Socialists
will throw down their rifles on the day when France and Germany
come to blows; but it will be very important that the Imperial
Government should persuade them that on the one hand we are the
aggressors, and on the other that they can have entire confidence
in the direction of the campaign and its final result....

"And it is because a German defeat at the outset would have such
an incalculable effect on the empire that we find in all the
plans worked out by the general staff proposals for a crushing
offensive movement against France.

"In reality the Imperial Government wishes to be in a position to
meet all possible eventualities. It is from the direction of
France that the d