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CCORDING to the expressed belief of Ludwig Fulda, one of the Kaiser's ninety-three intellectuals, "to speak German is to remain German." The Iron Chancellor is said to have considered the most important political factor of modern times "the inherited and political fact that North America speaks English." That his followers have been reluc tant to accept this as already settled is clear from the GermanAmerican Kultur movement of the past generation, a movement which has aimed to continue the use of the German language by immigrant Germans and their descendants, and to show the superiority of German ideals and methods over those of this country. This attempt has been made through the medium of the German-language newspapers and the many German societies in which German is the language of intercourse and in which the German colors and the Kaiser's portraits have been much in evidence; but more than all through the parochial schools maintained under the fostering care of the German Church-a Church which in Germany has always been the firm supporter of absolute government, whether Protestant (German Lutheran) or Catholic. But for the war it is doubtful if we as a people should have learned how largely this propaganda was supported and financed from Germany, and we have not yet gone to the root of the matter.

To a large extent the American Kultur movement has been directed by men in the German departments of our American universities, some of them still German citizens, and many of them with strong German sympathies even when not outwardly disloyal to the United States. The leaders in this movement early discovered that the greatest factor in producing loyal American citizens is the American public school, and, under the pretext of the necessity for imparting religious instruction, GermanAmerican parents were, partly through persuasion, but far more through coercion, induced to withdraw their children from the public schools and educate them in church-controlled parochial schools, where the language and the culture of the classroom have been those of the Fatherland. A direct result has been that these children have grown up unable to speak the language of their country and with little conception of its history or of the ideals of freedom upon which it has been founded. Long a resident of Wisconsin, I have visited sections of the State where to be understood one was compelled to speak German; and conditions are only less serious in some of the other Middle Western States.

An incident which occurred in Jefferson County, Wisconsin, in 1870 will emphasize the helplessness of the German farmers in such sections, and it points to the menace of their ignorance as citizens of our common country. Several German swindlers from Chicago represented to the farmers that they were Government census-takers, and papers were given out printed in English which the farmers were told they must sign, these papers being, in reality, promissory notes in payment for agricultural machinery. Inasmuch as the farmers were unable to read English, they were easily imposed upon, and the swindlers soon acquired notes aggregating $8,000, which were promptly cashed at the local bank before returning to Chicago.

Out of this incident grew what will one day be regarded as an important landmark in the history of Americanization, for it had much to do with the pioneer movement looking toward Nationalism through compulsory suppression of Kaiserism.

The anger of the German farmers upon finding that they had been swindled it would be hard to exaggerate, as was soon to be learned by the United States marshal appointed to take the census of four townships in Jefferson County. At the mere mention of the word "census" doors were slammed in his face, he was threatened with violence, and even driven off with pitchforks. A splendidly patriotic American and a veteran of the Civil War, this census-taker was no other than William Dempster Hoard, who later became Governor of the State, and whose name as the editor of "Hoard's Dairyman" has long been a household word among farmers. Full of years he is now eighty years of age, but with a mind still unimpaired-he recently

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gave an interview to a representative of the Milwaukee Journal," in which, referring to his experiences as censustaker, he said: I remonstrated with one of these Germans for letting his three sons grow up unable to read a word of English. The reply was, Deutsch ist gut genug für sie' (German is good enough for them'). This was countered by the question,Was it good enough to keep you from signing a promissory note of $800 and being swindled because you could not read English?' and the farmer was visibly disconcerted, appearing to have acquired a new idea."

Upon being elected Governor of Wisconsin in 1888, Mr. Hoard drew up the now famous Bennett Bill, which was aimed at the suppression of the foreign-language parochial schools. This bill, against bitter opposition, was enacted into law in 1889. Sections 1 and 5 of the law are as follows:

Section 1. Every parent or other person having under his control a child between the ages of seven and fourteen years shall annually cause such child to attend some public or private school.

Section 5. No school shall be regarded as a school under this Act, unless there shall be taught therein, as part of the elementary education of children, reading, writing, arithmetic, and United States history in the English language.

The writer well remembers the political and social upheaval occasioned by the passage of this simple Act. For once German Lutherans and German Catholics made common cause, though the Irish Catholics rather generally supported the Governor. Before the passage of the law a conference of the leaders of the Republican party in the State was held, and the Governor was thereupon notified that if he did not abandon the measure it would mean both his political ruin and the overthrow of his party. The prophetic reply was: "We must stand up and save America from this thing. We must fight alienism and selfish ecclesiasticism, for, unless we do, these dangers will rise up in still more menacing form in the future."

After the enactment of the Bennett Law, a committee of Lutheran pastors waited upon the Governor and insisted that he should not enforce the law. His reply was: "When I became Governor of this State, I swore a solemn oath, upon the Bible. to uphold the Constitution of the United States, the Constitution of the State of Wisconsin, and all laws enacted in conformity therewith; and now you ministers of the Gospel come here and urge me to violate that solemn oath. It is my firm purpose to do my duty and to enforce the law."

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Encouragement and support the Governor received from Archbishop Ireland, who at a reception in St. Paul took him aside and said: "Governor, you must stand up. I must stand up. All who believe in America must stand up and fight this poisonous spirit of foreignism." And stand up Governor did, and he enforced the law without fear or favor. while no stone was being left unturned to bring about his defeat at the next election. By a plurality of 27,000 this was, in fact. accomplished, largely through the defection of men of his own political party; and a Democratic Legislature repealed the law in 1891, with the repealing Act signed by a Democratic Gov

ernor.

It has been said of Governor Hoard that in securing the enactment of the Bennett Law when he did this stanch patriot was twenty-five years in advance of his time. No doubt this is true, but it is now just twenty-five years since the Bennett Law was first introduced in the Wisconsin Legislature, and in respect to education in Americanism each of the last three years must be accounted the equivalent of many normal ones. The time would now seem to be ripe to root out this evil of the German parochial school, which can claim no reason for its existence save only that it fosters Kaiserism in America. It is for us now to take up and put through the splendid pioneer work of a Wisconsin Governor, the luster on whose shield must grow brighter with the years, as the people are the better able to measure his great work, even though the immediate result was defeat and retirement from political life.

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TITHOUT Act of Parliament or Order in Council the instrument of government in Great Britain has been revolutionized during the war. The War Cabinet works on a plan unknown to the Constitution and unlike any other Cabinet, although other democracies have adopted the Lloyd George system with variations. There is no statesman less tied to routine than the present Prime Minister, nor one more ready to adopt new methods. His Cabinet is not the result of profound study; it was created on the spur of the moment to meet a national emergency. Pedants sneered at it, conservatives of all parties predicted its failure; but the fact is that it has been in existence for over a year, and it has worked. The system has been justified and has long since settled down as a smooth working machine, providing elasticity of scope and facilities for rapid decision-essential in war.

The War Cabinet consists of six: Mr. Lloyd George, Premier and President; Mr. Bonar Law, Lord Curzon, Lord Milner, Mr. Barnes, and General Smuts. It is imperial and democratic in type and sentiment. Mr. Lloyd George represents the small and virile nationality of Wales. Mr. Bonar Law is a Canadian by birth and a Scotsman by race; he also stands for business, through which he graduated to politics. Lord Curzon is the English imperialist, with a profound knowledge of political history and an intimate acquaintance with Eastern peoples and problems. Lord Milner also represents the imperialist school, perhaps in a wider degree than Lord Curzon. Mr. Barnes is a Scotsman from Glasgow and stands for Labor. General Smuts is the most versatile member of the group; a South African Dutchman; a great soldier, distinguished alike in the South African War, where he fought to defend the rights of a small nationality, and in the present war, standing for the Empire and humanity against world military domination; a statesman who is still a member of the Unionist Government of South Africa; a scholar carrying high academic honors from Cambridge; and also a great lawyer. That he is found working in comradeship with Lord Milner is one of the happiest tributes to the unifying influences of the war.

Excepting Mr. Bonar Law, the members are occupied solely with their Cabinet duties. He is charged with other heavy responsibilities, being Leader of the House as well as Chancellor of the Exchequer.

How does this Cabinet system work? Unlike any other British Cabinet. To begin with, the Cabinet meets almost every morning at 11:30 and continues until 1:45. Sometimes it meets again in the afternoon. Eliminating Sunday, it may be said that there are meetings practically every day. Like a board of directors, the War Cabinet, which carries such vast responsibilities, has an agenda of business, consisting of twelve or more subjects for discussion at every meeting. Meetings are not confined, except on rare occasions, to members of the Cabinet. The personnel changes according to the subjects discussed. A ques

tion of food, for instance, as an item on the agenda would mean the presence, not only of the Food Controller, the Shipping Controller, and the President of the Board of Trade, but also of their respective experts. This system of having experts as well as Ministers at meetings is quite an innovation. An official who has made a suggestion or drawn up a memorandum would be present to stand cross-examination on his scheme; he would speak direct, instead of through his Ministerial chief. By this system all possible information is obtained, without the red tape of officialism, and decisions taken without delay. Investigations are not only thorough, but speedy.

The Cabinet has its own secretaries. They are a large staff, and work at the offices of the War Cabinet, 2 Whitehall Gardens. The chief secretaries attend the Cabinet meetings to make a record of the proceedings. The first secretary is Colonel Sir Maurice Hankey, who was formerly secretary to the Committee of Imperial Defense. An assistant secretary was until recently General Swinton, who was the first "eye-witness to write reports from the front, before war correspondents were acknowledged. He is also known as the author of a wonderful book of war stories, "The Green Curve," written after his experiences in the South African War. Other assistant secretaries to the War Cabinet include Colonel Dally-Jones, Mr. Longhurst, Commander Row, and several others. The secretaries take their turn, as they are experts in different branches of the work. There are also two Parliamentary secretaries: Colonel Sir Mark Sykes, M.P., and Colonel Amery, M.P. They are not necessarily in attendance on the Cabinet; their function is to prepare official memoranda from all sources of intelligence and to present them for the information of the Cabinet.

Sir Mark Sykes is one of the greatest experts on Eastern questions. The secretaries of the War Cabinet draw up the agenda of business, keep the minutes of the proceedings, and see that the decisions arrived at are carried out. Complete minutes are circulated to members of the War Cabinet, and all portions of the record referring to particular Government departments are sent to the responsible Ministers.

There is another secretariat attached to the Prime Minister, and they occupy offices in temporary buildings in the garden of No. 10 Downing Street. There are five of these gentlemen: Mr. Philip Kerr, of "Round Table" fame, a man of great political knowledge and literary gifts; Professor Adams, Gladstone Professor of Political Institutions, Oxford, who has had a very brilliant academic career and who previously did valuable work at the Ministry of Munitions; Sir Joseph Davies, who specializes in labor questions; Mr. Waldorf Astor, M.P., an authority on medical matters and on the drink question; Mr. Cecil Harmsworth, M.P., who takes a particular interest in the food problem. The duty of these men is to act as an intelligence branch for the Prime Minister and also for the Cabinet. They

take up special subjects for study and deal with them thoroughly.

Mr. Lloyd George also has his own private secretaries: Mr. J. P. Davies, Mr. William Sutherland, and Miss Frances Stevenson. Mr. Davies is occupied largely with matters of a personal kind; Mr. Sutherland, with those of public concern, dealing with communications of a public character which are addressed to the Prime Minister, and deciding whether they should be printed and circulated. Mr. Sutherland has had many years' experience of public administration. The work of Mr. Davies and Mr. Sutherland necessarily overlaps, but they have one thing in common-they both put in very long hours and have a very arduous time. Mr. Davies has charge of all the Prime Minister's private and secret papers-military, diplo matic, and political-and is a man of method who can find anything at any moment. The Prime Minister's strong point is not keeping documents, but storing the effect of them in his mind. He remembers what he wants, and Mr. Davies's duty is to produce it on the instant, which he does. He also accompanies the Prime Minister on his visits to the Continent, arranges for deputations and appointments, and attends to all Court matters. Numerous other duties come within the functions of this busy, quiet, pleasant, and ever-courteous private secretary. Miss Stevenson is in charge of the general correspondence, and is responsible for answering letters, except when they are dictated by the Prime Minister. The letters received by Mr. Lloyd George number about a thousand a day.

When one considers the high pressure at which all these secretaries work, it is surprising how former Prime Ministers got on without much assistance. In Mr. Asquith's time a good deal of the work which now goes to the Cabinet was dealt with by the War Council, which had its own secretariat, the Cabinet meeting only once a week or so. There was no agenda of business and no record of the proceedings. Like former Cabinets, Mr. Lloyd George's War Cabinet, although consisting of only six members, has numerous sub-committees, who take up particular subjects. These sub-committees may consist of one, two, or three members.

There is a striking contrast between the atmosphere at 10 Downing Street before and after the arrival of Mr. Lloyd George. Formerly the house was very sedate, dignified, and quiet. There was little movement and not many callers. Now the place is alive from morning to night. There are perpetual comings and goings, continual relays of visitors, meetings, and deputations. The Prime Minister lives in a whirl of movement. He creates work by his own ceaseless activity, his tireless energy, his rare good humor. His fertility of ideas are the constant wonder and admiration of his colleagues. He works harder than any other Minister and stands the strain better. This is partly due to his wonderful faculty of being able to sleep well. He frequently snatches forty winks during the afternoon when he is tired. He can go to sleep almost at will, and, after a few minutes' rest in this way, resumes work refreshed.

One of his chief characteristics is his capacity to grasp the essentials of a problem, however novel to him or however abstruse. His alert mind seizes on the kernel of the problem with unerring intuition. He also has the power of rapid concentration; so much so that he will be found talking in an abstract way on one

subject while he is thinking of another. His unfailing courtesy, sympathy, and good humor always make him a good listener, and it is rarely that he shows any signs of impatience. When his mind is made up, he acts quickly, and in war matters ruth lessly.

The Cabinet room serves as the Prime Minister's office and reception-room, as well as the meeting-place for Ministers, com mittees, and deputations. It is a somber and dignified apartment, and just now the walls are almost completely covered with maps of the various theaters of war. There is a large solid table, with twenty or more solid chairs, two or three easy chairs, and a desk at one end of the room. These constitute the furniture. The Prime Minister sits at the middle of the table (with his back to the fire). When deputations are received, and they are numerous under existing conditions, the large table is removed and the room is filled with chairs. It is a strange example of shortsighted economy that the Prime Minister of Great Britain should have to carry on his business in this composite apartment, and frequently under harassing and inconvenient circumstances. It is a strange contrast with the magnificent palaces occupied by Prime Ministers in France and Italy, where there are a great series of reception-rooms, banqueting-rooms, and magnificent suites of offices.

Under the new régime at 10 Downing Street visitors are wel comed, the private secretaries are easily accessible, and fre quently the Prime Minister himself. It depends entirely on the urgency of the business which brings the visitor. Democracy has arrived at Downing Street, and visitors who have any business in hand are permitted to walk straight through without being asked questions or attracting suspicion.

Mr. Lloyd George is continually at work. His breakfasts, luncheons, and dinners are all matters of business. Visitors whom he is unable to see during the day and whom he wishes to meet are invited to early breakfast or lunch. He occasionally goes to his residence at Walton Heath during the week; but he is at Downing Street next morning for 9:15 breakfast. On two days of the week he goes out to breakfast; at one house to meet his Liberal and Labor colleagues, and at another he meets his Conservative colleagues. During the weekend, which is now narrowed down to from Saturday afternoon till Monday morning, he devotes his time partly to reading offi cial reports, discussing business with visitors, and handing out work to his secretaries. He is never alone, and he is never idle. He frequently returns to London for meetings on Saturday and Sunday. He has little time for general reading; he prefers the f human book. His chief recreation is obtaining information from all and sundry. His physical exercise is now confined pretty well to an occasional walk in St. James's Park and a walk on Sunday morning. The only game which he practices is golf, and that only on rare occasions.

Unlike other Ministers, he does not play bridge or any indoor game, and he does not go in for social gatherings unless they are concerned more or less with public affairs.

Perhaps what is equally remarkable in the Prime Minister's strenuous life is the stimulus which he gives to others. He inspires and enthuses all who come in contact with him. With all his hard work and heavy responsibilities, he maintains a cheerful disposition and remains a confirmed optimist.

Paris, September 12, 1917.

So Colonel Mauvaisin wrote to America, did he, about how narrowly I escaped being "gassed" on my tour of his sector of the front? It is fine of mother and you not to send me frantic adjurations about taking care of myself, and about not risking my old carcass, and so forth. Your trust in my judgment and your willingness that I should take risks on this errand that Uncle Sam has sent me upon make me glad afresh for my Spartan family. Out here one sees tragic instances

of men who have gone to pieces because of whining, whimper ing, weakling wives who have failed to rise to the war level. I've been on four fronts, and this really was my closest known call; yet I got over it fully in a short time. Forgive me for not telling you about it straightway.

Your letter prompts me to write, at a length which might tiresome to a stranger, certain considerations that have been accumulating in my thought for three months upon the "ga sing" of the world's mind by this big war. It has come to be

It is an attempt to reduce all integers to ciphers and then add them up and find the sum of perfection.

It hopes to make everybody a nobody, and then suddenly produce the perfect man and the perfect state.

Do you remember that passage in one of Stevenson's essays wherein he describes the thrifty Scotch grocer who, at a sale, bought a job lot of odds and ends of liquors and then poured them into a common vat. When asked what he was making, he replied that he did not rightly know, but he thought it would turn out port! So your "internationalists" think they can mix good and bad, ripe and green, black and yellow, white and brown, old and new, educated and ignorant, and out of all this queer commingling get a newer, higher order of being!

In America these sentimentalists are fond of quoting the Bible verse which says that God has "made of one blood all nations

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of the earth," forgetting that the same verse continues, "And hath determined aforetime the bounds of their habitation." The big fact of the entire Bible misses them namely, that it is a book of a Chosen People. Providence did its best by the whole world by doing its best by one peculiar nation.

It was in Russia, which is fairly rotten with this specious idea, that I came to see clearly that "internationalism" is fundamentally a vast disloyalty. It breaks old allegiances and offers none that are new or better. For up to date the only way a man can be loyal to the race as a whole is by loyalty to that section of it of which he is a part. In life, as in mathematics, the whole is but equal to the sum of its parts; and if certain of our present-day reformers would give over trying to transform the universe and confine themselves to effecting some substantial improvement in that infinitesimal fragment of it which lives within their own clothes, they would have a task more commensurate with their powers and likelier to promote the general result desired. Have you noticed how relatively few of the very vocal makers-over of the world have achieved personalities for themselves? How much greater service was done for his generation by such men as your dear old doctor grandfather, who never preached a word, but lived a life and did a work and stood fast for honor and died like a gentleman and a patriot? "Internationalism" as I noticed it in Russia was, wittingly or unwittingly, only a cloak for mental and moral laziness. It meant a repudiation of clear and tangible and undoubted obligations to the people of the country and to its national allies. These poor dreamers acted as if they thought that they could build up humanity by wrecking Russia. If I am not mistaken, it will yet prove the greatest disservice ever done by one nation to the whole world. While it may be only the mist that precedes the sunrise, I very much fear that it is a fog of death.

So for you, my boy, I prescribe patriotism-passionate, puls

ing, purposeful patriotism. Be sure that every atom you contribute to the well-being of America is the most direct service you can render to the human race as a whole. Every brick built into her walls is like a foundation stone for the entire world. Whatever you do to help your country to fulfill her highest destiny is the straightest contribution you can make to the well-being of mankind. And any act of recreancy to America is black disloyalty to all the little peoples and weak peoples who are leaning upon her for support and guidance. As one who has traveled over more of this earth's surface than most men, I solemnly declare to you, my son, that the best internationalist to-day is the true American. Even in this immediate matter of the Germans, the men who are facing them in the trenches are truer friends of Germany than the muddy-minded Russians who have been fraternizing with them instead of fighting them.

Seriously as I believe that this perverted doctrine of "internationalism" is a German poison gas, so also am I convinced, in the second place, that the prevalent hysteria about the de struction of life as the supreme ill is born of German materialism. There is no denying that up until this year, at least, modern America had become a coddler of the carcass. Mere prolongation of physical existence had come to be accepted as the supreme boon. Pain was the king of terrors. Suffering was more odious than sin. Our writers and speakers vied with one another in painting the horrors of war and the terrors of death. Destruction of life was held to be the most dreadful of evils. "Safety first" had become a National slogan, echoed from the souls of the timorous and the body-loving. This dangerous doctrine was as poison in the system of the people.

I throw down the challenge to that theory. Better-far, far better is it that three-fourths of the race should perish than that all should live in cowardice and corruption of spirit. There are a thousand worse fates than being dead. Why is it that in all of big Russia the one element of hope, the one steadfast and loyal group, are the Cossacks, who despise life as a prize and covet a warrior's death? Is it not the death-defying soul of France that has made her the hero nation of this war? One of the blessings of the peace which lies ahead of us is that we shall rebreed from a race of men who have subordinated the body and have jauntily flung it over the top into the teeth of destruction. If I at all understand the genius of the Christian religion, it is the spirit of the Cross, which represents the free and lavish offering up of the most precious Life for the sake of love and loyalty and righteousness. There is no need for me to tell you, what you already know, that I would rather see you dead than a cowering, fearful seeker after the safety of self.

Let me reassure you about death. On this subject I write with a firm pen. I have seen and heard and felt death; once, you recall, after the violent disaster which permanently disabled me, I passed through what the doctors called all the physical experiences of the dissolution of spirit and body. No man alive has suffered more exquisite physical pain than I. Also for long hours on end, and repeatedly, I have been under fire, listening to the marvelous orchestra of battle. I have faced death from airplanes and from submarines, from bandits and from plagues. In fact, death and I have become a sort of playfellows : and he is far better company than some of fairer repute. All who know him best will agree with me that he is not to be dreaded. You will understand me when I declare that no man on earth has more reason to live than I, or less fear to die. My religion has simmered down to a simple faith in a loving God who is more interested in the spirits of men than he is in the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion, the Five Points of Calvinism, or the Methodist Book of Discipline. All his plans for us must include two worlds. His character is so well expressed by the father nature that he gave us Jesus to show men in sublime and untheological simplicity how to live and how to die. God surely expects his other sons likewise to enter into his many mansions as gentlemen, conscious of their character and obligations. Death is only the great revealer and great solver and great uniter. You are not the sort to make either your earthly or your heavenly Father ashamed of you by exalting your comfort and convenience above your character and convictions. The man who is afraid to die is scarcely fit to live.

Oliver Wendell Holmes pointed out how we naturally think