d been very docile and very obedient to the military rule,
were showing signs of discontent. The Socialists, a party who
represented the working people largely, and who were strongly opposed
to war, had been growing very fast. In the last election, they had
gained many representatives in the German congress, and had cast over
4,000,000 votes. The only thing that kept them from having a majority
in the Reichstag (the German congress) was the fact that in some
districts, the voters of the other parties combined against them. In
this way, the military class still held control of the German
government, but it was afraid that it would not be for long.

With nearly half the able-bodied men in the country spending their
time drilling and doing guard duty, the other half of the population
had to earn money enough to support their own families and also the
families of the men in the army. As one writer has put it, "Every
workingman in Europe carried a soldier on his back who reached down
and took the bread out of his platter."

The program of Bismarck was still in the minds of the military leaders
of Germany. The military class must rule Prussia, Prussia must rule
Germany, and Germany must be the greatest power in Europe. To their
minds, war between Germany and her allies and the rest of Europe must
come. Being warriors by trade and having nothing else to do, they saw
that, if the great war were postponed much longer, the chances of
Germany's winning it would grow less and less. France and Russia were
growing stronger and Germany was unable to catch up to England's navy.
It should be remembered that this class made up a small part only of
the German nation. Their influence was all out of proportion to their
numbers. They controlled the government, and the government controlled
the schools and the newspapers. The people believed what they were
told. They were simply parts of the war machine. Bismarck's policy had
been to crush his enemies one by one. He never entered a war until he
was sure that Prussia was bound to win it. In like fashion, the German
military chiefs of 1914 hoped to conquer France and Russia before
England was ready. It was the old story as told by Shakespeare. "Our
legions are brim full, our cause is ripe. The enemy increaseth every
day. We, at the height, are ready to decline."

Russia, too, was having her troubles. After the czar had promised the
nation a constitution and had agreed to allow a duma or parli