for the reason that she was and long had been an ally of Great Britain. For several centuries relations between those countries had been very close, and a treaty of alliance had existed between them. They approximated to the condition of "traditional friends" much more nearly than any other European powers. According to their treaty of alliance, each power was bound to assist the other in case of invasion, with men, arms and ammunition, and also to help to protect the other's colonies, with ships of war and troops. In assisting Great Britain in Africa, therefore, Portugal acted in accordance with her treaty pledges. Portugal did not declare war against Germany, but merely began to aid England in Africa. Thereupon, on March 10, 1916, Germany declared war against Portugal, and the latter power then extended her military operations to Europe.

ROUMANIA'S ENTRY

The sympathies of the Roumanian people and their leaders were from the beginning with the allies, and there was much eagerness on the part of many to enter the war, in order that in the final victory Roumania might reclaim Transylvania, which was chiefly peopled by Roumanians but which was held by Hungary. Two things restrained the government, however, from taking such a step. One was the personal influence of the King and Queen, who were both Germans, the King being a member of the Hohenzollern family, related distantly to the German Emperor. King Charles died on October 10, 1914, a few weeks after the outbreak of the war, and was succeeded by his nephew, Ferdinand, a son of Prince Leopold of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen. The new Queen, Marie, was

a princess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.

A

The other restraining fact was the lack of arms. year before the war Roumania had shipped most of her artillery to Germany, to be rebored and otherwise improved, and at the outbreak of the war it had not been returned to her. It was necessary, therefore, to wait until she could get another equipment, by way of Russia. At last, in August, 1916, Roumania declared war against Austria, and invaded Hungary. At once the Central Powers concentrated all possible forces against her, with the result that her troops were driven back, and half of her own territory was overrun by the enemy.

GREECE STILL NEUTRAL

Greece remained technically neutral, though with both sides in the war occupying portions of her territory. The King was uncertain and hesitant in his policy, though, being a Dane, he was naturally inclined in favor of the allies.

But the Queen was the stronger and more positive character of the two, and she was the sister of the German Emperor. She succeeded in preventing the government from joining the allies, though she was unable to get it to cast in its lot with the Central Powers. The sentiment of the people was strongly in favor of the allies.

Eleutherios Venizelos, the foremost statesman of Greece and the most popular leader, openly rebelled against the attitude of the King and his subservient ministry, and established a rival ministry at Salonika, under the protection of the allies; to which the majority of the Greek people gave their allegiance.

All other European countries, to wit, Spain, Switzerland, Holland, Denmark, Sweden and Norway, remained and remain neutral, though all suffered much from the war. Their popular sympathy inclined toward the allies.

CHAPTER VII

WAR POWERS OF EUROPE IN 1914

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The Vast Burden of Militarism — Europe a "Weary Titan" Size of the Various Armies on Peace Footing and on War Footing - The People Burdened Almost beyond Endurance - Origin of Prussian Militarism - The Model for All the Continent - France's Heroic Efforts to Keep the Pace - The Fortresses of Belgium Brialmont's Work in Roumania - British Dependence Upon Sea Power-Lord Roberts' Warnings and Pleas Disregarded · All Nations Unprepared Except Germany.

THE GREAT powers of Europe in 1914 groaned under the burden of militarism. They were almost crushed by it, yet they could not cast it off, nor prevent its steady increase. They were like Arnold's "Weary Titan"

The Weary Titan, with deaf
Ears, and labor-dimmed eyes,
Regarding neither to right
Nor left, goes passively by,
Staggering on to her goal,
Bearing on shoulders immense,
Atlantean, the load

Well nigh not to be borne,

Of the too vast orb of her fate.

Year by year the competition between potential rivals compelled an increase of the burden; until some said there would soon have to be war, to bring relief from the load, while others declared that the armaments had become so colossal and so potentially destructive that no nation would dare to go to war. Indeed, the military situation in continental Europe was in 1914 almost beyond the

possibility of popular comprehension. Mention of the magnitude of the armaments was like mention of the extent of the interstellar spaces. The human mind could scarcely grasp such numbers.

THE RUSSIAN LEGIONS

Russia, for example. Her military increase that year was perhaps the most sensational of all. With her new scheme of keeping the fourth class with the colors for three months longer than formerly, she swelled her peace establishment-her standing army in time of peace, to the quite unprecedented numbers of more than 1,700,000. Legislation then provided that that establishment should be kept up to 1,760,000 the year around, while during three or four winter months it would be above 2,000,000.

Russian authorities estimated that as a result of the new legislation the war force of the empire would be

Fully trained men.
Partly trained men.

Total....

3,500,000

800,000

4,300,000

That was a big showing. But the German General, Blume, who was one of the best informed authorities in all Europe concerning all armies but the German, declared that those figures were far too small. The real size of the Russian army, he insisted, would be in time of war something like this:

Regular war footing.
Levy en masse.

Total...

6,665,000

1,433,000

8,098,000

On the basis of these figures, there is no room for wonderment at the increase of the Russian military budget from $275,000,000 in 1908, to $445,000,000 in 1914.

This was called Russia's answer to the new German army law. Let us see what that measure was, which so aroused the martial rivalry of Russia.

GERMANY'S GROWING ARMY

The German rule had always thitherto been to keep the peace strength of the army at about one per cent of the population, and the various army laws provided for increases from time to time, according to the increases of population shown by the census. The size of the army on a peace footing was thus as follows under the successive acts of the Reichstag:

At the same ratio the numbers for 1912-13 would have been 626,000, and those for 1913-14 would have been 661,000. But the new law made the former no less than 723,000 and the latter 870,000 all told. That was more than one per cent of the population. It was about 1.35 per cent, while the Russian percentage was only about 1.25 and that of France, as we shall see, was no less than 1.47. This new law imposed upon the German people the greatest military burden they had ever borne in time