Page:Diplomacy and the War (Andrassy 1921).djvu/85

 poisoned chiefly by threatening words. It was not so much that the respective interests were really so fundamentally opposed; nor was it the action of the States in question which led to the great catastrophe, but rather public feeling which had been excited by the irresponsible press. I will illustrate with a few examples the process which resulted in the enmity between these two great nations. To begin with, I will cast a glimpse into the English press.

The Saturday Review wrote in 1895: "In case of a war with Germany we can only win and lose nothing." In 1897 the same paper wrote: "England and Germany have become rivals everywhere. These many small oppositions are the greatest casus belli which has ever existed." "If Germany collapses to-morrow, there will be no Englishman who will not be rich the day after."

In 1902 we read in the National Review: "Germany is the enemy. The leadership of the world belongs to the Anglo-Saxon and the Slav elements."

When England and Germany pursued a common policy with a view to protecting common interests in Venezuela, the English press interfered for this reason and voiced the suspicion that Germany was harbouring plans for conquest.

The Army and Navy Gazette published the following in 1904: "The moment has arrived for us to have a reckoning with the German fleet."

The Daily Chronicle wrote in 1905: "If we had destroyed the German fleet last year, the peace