German colonies and every trading German vessel
seem equally to have become thorns in English eyes. The wish to sweep
those vessels from off the seas, to destroy all German ports, in one
word, to down Germany, has long been nourished and lately openly avowed
in England. Norman Angell's theories about the great illusion of the
profitability of modern warfare seem to have made mighty small
impression on his countrymen.
Russian lust of conquest, French greed of revenge, and English envy were
the forces at work in the European powder magazine. The Servian spark
ignited it, but the explosion was bound to come sooner or later. What
alone could have stopped it would have been England's stepping out of
the conspiracy. That she did not do so, in fact became its really
directing power, will forever remain a blot on her history.
About Japan's motives and methods I do not think it necessary to write.
American public opinion will hardly need any enlightenment on this
subject. America forced Japan out of the isolation in which she had
lived during centuries. I hope the day may not come when she will wish
that she had not done so.
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