Page:American Historical Review, Vol. 23.djvu/97

Rh the Triple Alliance as a bulwark of world peace, why should it not co-operate with other national German parties in voting military budgets which would guarantee the efficacy of the Triple Alliance and prevent any war of conquest on the part of Russia or of revanche on the part of France? Some German Social Democrats perceived the logic in such reasoning and advised action accordingly. At the Hamburg Congress of 1897,, the reporter of the Reichstag group, said:

Replying to critics, Schippel admitted that "the existing government thrives on war" but emphasized the ever-present possibility of war.

Though the utterances of Schippel were not well received by the majority of the delegates to the congress, they evoked an eloquent defense from, the Bavarian Socialist, who dwelt upon the necessity of adequate military preparedness against Russian "barbarism". And when, in the ensuing electoral campaign, it was felt necessary to disprove accusations of anti-patriotism, several Social Democratic candidates intimated to their constituents a ready willingness to compromise on the old question of militarism and on the new question of navalism. Said Auer at Hanover on February 9, 1898: