Page:Germany Must Perish!.djvu/59

 itself against the United States many times. The first of these crises occurred at the time of the Spanish-American war when Germany tried to raise a coalition of nations to oppose our stand. Next it was Germany's plan to effect a European Customs Union against the United States, a step which was immediately followed by attempts first to annex Samoa and then to break the force of the Monroe Doctrine by testing it in Venezuela. All these attempts failed principally because of England's refusal to act in collusion with Germany against an independent United States, as well as England's firm acceptance and advocacy of the Monroe Doctrine as a major and permanent policy of our country.

Chagrined at her failures to impress her will upon the United States Germany decided to try new tactics. She adopted a policy of "taking it easy"; a policy which she hated because it was one antagonistic to her natural ideals of arrogance, brute force and aggression, and contrary to the spirit of her war-soul. Such inherent hatred of Germany to adhere to a sane course of international procedure which takes into account human rights and decencies, was well —54—