r. From that moment his doom was
certain.

This narrative should be instructive to those Britishers and
Americans who think it possible that German Socialists may one day
have the power to end the war. There are two effective replies to
this curious Anglo-Saxon misunderstanding of Germany. The first is
that Liebknecht had not, and has not, the support of his own party;
the second, that were that party twice as numerous as it is its
votes would be worthless in view of the power wielded by the
Kaiser's representative, von Bethmann-Hollweg, backed up by the
Federal Council.

It is difficult to drive this fact into the heads of British and
American people, who are both prone to judge German institutions by
their own.

For, remember always that behind the dominant Imperial Chancellor,
von Bethmann-Hollweg, stands the All-Highest War Lord, and behind
him, what is still, if damaged, the mightiest military machine in
the world--the German Army. Opposed to that there is at present a
slowly increasing Socialist vote--the two have grown to about
twenty.

CHAPTER XV

PREVENTIVE ARREST

In the beginning of the war, when all seemed to be going well,
there was no disunity in Germany. When Germany was winning victory
after victory, practically no censorship was needed in the
newspapers; the police were tolerant; every German smiled upon
every other German; soldiers went forth singing and their trains
were gaily decorated with oak leaves; social democracy praised
militarism.

All that has changed and the hosts who went singing on their way in
the belief that they would be home in six weeks, have left behind
homes many of them bereaved by the immense casualties, and most of
them suffering from the increased food shortage.

Class feeling soon increased. The poor began to call the rich
agrarians "usurers." The Government forbade socialistic papers
such as the _Vorwaerts_ to use the word "usurer" any more, because
it was applied to the powerful junkers. Such papers as the
_Tagliche Rundschau_ and the _Tageszeitung_ could continue to use
it, however, for they applied it to the small shopkeeper who
exceeded the maximum price by a fraction of a penny.

As the rigour of the blockade increased, the discontent of the
small minority who were beginning to hate their own Government
almost as much as, and in many cases more, than they hated enemies
of Germany, assumed more threatening forms than mere discussion.
Their