As a parallel we might imagine, not one troublesome neighbor, but four.
We might imagine a tremendous military power developed in Canada, and we
might imagine a hostile military power on the Atlantic side and another
one on the Pacific side, in which case we would beyond a question have
to expand our inchoate militarism, just in proportion as we came to feel
the necessity for a strong physical defensive or offensive in the way of
a great standing army, and we probably would do it without any
hesitation.
Now, Germany has not any really bitter foe on the north, although there
is no love lost between the Germans and the Scandinavians; but it has an
embittered foe on the east, and another one on the west, and what has
proved to be an embittered foe upon the water and a very lukewarm
neutral State on the south, a State which had joined in alliance with
her.
Italy had joined what Italy considered a defensive alliance, but not an
offensive alliance, and chose to regard the outbreak of this war as an
offensive movement on the part of Germany, and for that reason has
refused to participate in the struggle.
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