ecially to convince them that the so-called land of the dollar was
not only economically but also mentally and spiritually striding upward
irresistibly; that also in the longing and effort to obtain education
and knowledge and in the valuation of all the higher things in life, it
was not surpassed by any other country in the world. In the entire book
there is not a page that is not filled with the confidence that for
these very reasons America and Germany were called upon to march hand in
hand at the head of cultured humanity. Is this belief now to be
contradicted? Shall I as a German no longer be permitted to call myself
a friend of America because over there they think the worst of us for
the reason that we, attacked in dastardly wise by a world of foes, are
struggling with unanimous determination for our existence?

*Guillotining German Honor.*

Of course I know very well that public opinion over there has largely
been misled by our opponents and is continuously being misled. Did not
the English at the very beginning of the war cut our cable, in order to
be able to guillotine our honor without the least interference? For this
reason I cannot blame the masses if they took for truth the absurd
fables dished out to them, when no contradicting voice could reach them.
Less than that, however, can I understand how educated beings, even men
who, thanks to their gifts and their standing, play the part of
responsible leaders, not only accepted believingly these prevarications
and distortions, but, with them as a basis, immediately rendered a
verdict against us. For he who publicly judges must be expected to have
heard first both parties; and whoever is not in a position to do this
must in decency be expected to postpone his verdict. Yes, even more than
that, one should think that the sense of justice of every non-partisan
must be violated if the one party is absolutely muzzled by the other,
and even for this one reason the cause of the latter must be considered
as not being free from reason for doubt. Furthermore, one should assume
that he who once has been unmasked as a liar therewith should have lost
the blind confidence of the impartial in his future assertions. In spite
of this, although the first ridiculous news of German defeats and
internal dissent could not withstand the far-sounding echo of facts,
there still seems to be no twisting of the truth, no defamation, which
over there is considered as too thin and too rid