hurt to the Belgians'
sense of honor involved in Germany's use of their territory for purposes
hostile to their friendly neighbor, France. To be forced into injuring a
friend is an outrage, indeed, and Mr. Shaw surely knows too much of
matters military to be unaware that to permit a right of way to one
combatant amounts to making an attack upon the other, and that Germany,
by the very fact of crossing Belgium soil, was forcing Belgium to be the
enemy of France. Only by their great heroism were the Belgians able to
escape this infamy that had been planned for them.

To be conquered does not really matter! There we have another Shavian
theory. How grateful would the would-be world-ruling Kaiser feel to Mr.
Shaw were he to succeed in inoculating the peoples of Europe and of
America with that theory! So would the task of putting the peoples under
the German yoke (otherwise known as German culture) be made easier--and
cheaper. But the spirit of national freedom, which is as precious to
humanity as is the spirit of individual freedom, cannot be driven out by
words any more than it can be driven out by blows. The most unlettered
Belgian soldier, fighting for a truth that is at the very heart and
depth of all things true, puts the mere wordmonger to shame.

That Great Britain does not fight only for Belgium is certainly a fact,
though Belgium's plight alone would have been enough to bring us into
the conflict. We fight also for France, because she is wrongfully
attacked, and because she is by her civilization and culture one of the
world's treasures. We fight for the all-sufficient reason of
self-defense.

There is the case for Britain, and despite his special pleading for
Germany, Mr. Shaw can show no flaw in it. He does say, however, that the
British Government, instead of first seeking a mild way of preserving
peace, ought to have said point blank to Germany: "If you attack France
we shall attack you." I also think that such a declaration would have
been the right one. To me and to many others the thought that our
country might stand by and watch inactively an attack upon France was
intolerable. Great was our relief when this apprehension was removed by
the British Government's declaration of war. Why did not the British
Government say to Germany before the war cloud burst that Britain would
fight to defend France, and why did the Government delay so long in
declaring war? Mr. Shaw does not give the reason, but I will giv