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354 WITH THE GERMAN ARMIES IN THE WEST
They have been taken to Flanders’ bloody battle-front and
trenches to die instead to the music of German shell fire.
One cannot help asking :
" Are these Indian contingents
really necessary ? Do not Great Britian’s, Canada’s and
Australia’s white millions suffice, not to speak of Frenchmen,
Belgians, Russians, Serbians, Montenegrins, Portuguese,
Turcos and Senegalese negroes ? No, it almost looks like it.
In " The Times " of September 5th I read in the biggest and
fattest type the following heading :
" The need for more men."
So already at that time more men were needed to eradicate
the " culture " of the German " barbarians." In the article
following this heading I read the following words :
" The
educational campaign undertaken by the Prime Minister as
to the origin and purpose of the war had a splendid opening
in the Guildhall yesterday." ^ So there was to be an educational
campaign ! So the British nation must by special means be
educated up to understand the cause and the object of the
war ! Otherwise the Englishman will stop at home and play
football and cricket. No doubt the education is to be coupled
with a lesson in the course of which one learns what use the
Hindoos are going to be—in an emergency. The situation
should really be judged against the background of G. B. Shaw’s
very sensible words to the following effect :
" What we must
bear in mind is that if our side wins, the consequences will be
a shifting of the balance of power in favour of Russia, a
situation which will be much more dangerous to all the other
contending parties than would be the triumph of Germany,
a result which we are now by war endeavouring to prevent."-
In other words, a Russian victory will be much more dangerous
to the warring states than a German victory. For an all-
powerful Russia would threaten the whole of Europe, including
England and her mastery in India, but a victorious Germany
would entail no menace to Europe. One must forgive the
British if they need a specially organised education to under-
stand such a complicated problem !
And what is this new popular education going to turn out
like ? The answer to this question is given in the English
press every day. It consists in a systematic suppression of
the truth. The fatal and momentous reality which is slowly
bringing England to the brink of a catastrophe must be
1 Steffen, page 115 et seq. are well worth reading.
* Stefien, page 97.
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