we should have had
to reckon with the possibility of England's wishing to moderate,
even in a perfectly friendly manner, our somewhat explosive economic
development. I should not, however, have regarded this altogether as
a disadvantage. For, truth to tell, we grew a little too rapidly.
We ought, as "junior partners" in Britain's world-empire, to have
gathered our strength more slowly. As an example of what I mean, take
the policy which France and Japan have pursued since the beginning
of the present century. If we had done the same, we should, at all
events, have been saved from so seriously overheating the boilers
of our industrial development, we should not have outstripped England
as quickly as we undoubtedly could have done if we had been left to
develop freely, but we should also have escaped the mortal danger
which we drew upon ourselves by provoking universal hostility.

It is impossible now for me to demonstrate retrospectively that we
should have been able to conclude an alliance with England. Prince
Buelow denies that this was ever the case. Maybe that during his tenure
of office this possibility did not offer a sufficient guarantee of
future security to warrant our incurring the hostility of Russia. I
am convinced, however, that an alliance with England would have been
within our power, if we had pursued Caprivi's policy consistently,
and the Kruger telegram had never been dispatched. Unfortunately we
have always had statesmen at the helm in Germany,--Bismarck not
excepted,--the bulk of whose views and knowledge were essentially
continental, and who never felt quite at home with English ways
of thinking. I feel perfectly satisfied on this point, however,
that English commercial jealousy, with which we naturally had to
reckon, would not have proved an insuperable obstacle to a good
understanding with England, provided that we had declared ourselves
ready, if necessary, to fight Russia.

The policy of the free hand, which we pursued until the outbreak
of war, aimed at the highest possible results. Prince Buelow, who
was the inaugurator of this policy, might possibly have known how
to steer us through the "Danger-Zone" without provoking war. And
then in a few years to come, we should have become so strong and
should have left the Danger-Zone so very far behind us, that, as
far as human judgment could tell, we should no longer have had any
need to fear war. German naval construction from the beginning of the