may be addressed to its Chairman, the Secretary of the Treasury, at Washington, D. C.

NEGRO BUSINESS

Every year Negroes engaged in bus ness assemble to exchange accounts of their experience, and to get the encouragement that comes from knowing one another's success. This year the annual session of this National Negro Business League was held at Muskogee, Oklahoma.

The stories of struggle and success which were told there will be retold again and again by the delegates to Negro youth in the South and elsewhere, and will be the means of starting into new life many who find conditions hard. Negroes who had started with nothing but their bare hands and their ambition to achieve and had succeeded were cross-questioned by their hearers. They told of hardship, but also of persistence; of privation, but also of thrift. They told also of the willingness of good white men to stand behind the struggling Negro and give him advice and help.

Oklahoma and the five adjacent StatesKansas, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas-offer their two million Negroes remarkable opportunities in cattle raising, general farming, truck gardening, and poultry raising. These six States have one hundred and thirty million acres of unimproved land. To one who has seen the fields of France, where every inch seems to be utilized, this statement is full of significance for the future of this country, and for the future of the poor of all races here. In those six States there is, as Dr. Booker T. Washington said in his address before the League, room for "a thousand more grocery stores owned by Negroes, five hundred additional dry-goods stores, three hundred more shoe stores, two hundred more good restaurants and hotels, three hundred additional millinery stores, two hundred additional drug stores, and forty more banks." Dr. Washington's address was, in fact, a convincing statement of the opportunities that lie before the colored people of that region, and a summons to the Negroes to overcome their evils with good works and with a constructive policy in business, industry, education, moral and religious life, and conduct generally.

In connection with this meeting there was a spectacular industrial parade to show the Negroes' progress in Oklahoma. Decorated floats carrying men, women, and children

showed the Negroes' progress in the home, school, church, and various organizations; fine specimens of horses, mules, and cattle, and wagons containing cotton, grains, fruits, and vegetables, showed what the Negro is doing in agriculture; and demonstrations by Negro artisans showed what the Negroes were doing in industry.

SANITATION FIRST" FOR RAILWAYS

At the Convention of the American Medical Association in Atlantic City recently emphasis was laid on the importance of securing a higher standard of "railroad sanitation" in the United States. The railways offer a comparatively new field for the efforts of the sanitary expert.

Some of the precautionary measures which the Association urges are the ventilation and fumigation of cars, the examination of railway employees for contagious and infectious diseases, the examination of all food and water offered to the traveling public, the abolition of the common drinking-cup and the roller-towel-which have already been abolished by many State Legislatures—the sanitation of railway lavatories, and the adoption of ordinary health measures in railway camps.

The Treasury Department has already established a regulation that on trains only ice and water shall be used for drinking purposes which have been certified by the State or municipal health authority within whose jurisdiction they are obtained; and as far as some of the other reforms urged by the convention of physicians are concerned, many of them have already been adopted by some railways -much to the credit of the wisdom and humanity of the officers controlling these lines. For instance, the Illinois Central, the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy, the Chicago and Northwestern Railways, and the Pullman Company each already employ a man called a "sanitarian," who serves as general health officer for each of these corporations. some time dining-car employees on the New York, New Haven, and Hartford, the Pennsylvania, and other large systems have been subjected to periodical examinations for signs of tuberculosis or other diseases that might be communicated to diners, and the Lehigh Valley-which has been a pioneer so far as health measures are concerned-employs a physician whose sole duty it is to examine employees for indications of disease.

For

Some of the signs indicating that "sanita

tion first" is becoming a railway watchword are the disappearance of the old germcatching carpet in favor of the cement floor, the adoption of up-to-date car ventilating systems, of separate freight cars for separate commodities, and of cleaning platforms with hot-water connections at terminals for freight and live-stock cars. In this last particular the apex of reform has been accomplished by the Baltimore and Ohio, which has established" shower baths for hogs," to keep down the odor from stock cars, usually so annoying to citizens who dwell close to leeward of railways.

A BLIND MAN WHO TAUGHT THE BLIND

As an example of the power of the spirit of man to triumph in the battle of life in the face of tremendous physical obstacles, the career of the late Sir Francis Campbell, teacher of the blind, and for many years Principal of the Royal Normal College and Academy of Music for the Blind in London, is an inspiration to every one.

William T. Stead said of Francis Joseph Campbell: He is American by birth, Scotch by origin, English by residence; but his real fatherland is the Kingdom of the Blind." Sir Francis, however, was not born to this kingdom, but became sightless at the age of four, after having one eyeball pierced by an acacia thorn on his father's farm in Franklin County, Tennessee, where he was born in 1832. This affliction seemed to act as a spur to the boy's tremendous will power and arbition, for, in spite of his handicap, he worked with his brothers on the farm, and, later, when a school for the blind was opened at Nashville, he began to attend it, specializing in music, and becoming so proficient that at the age of eighteen he was made instructor in music in this institution.

The blind youth was never idle, and had soon sufficiently educated himself to enter Harvard. From college he returned to Tennessee as director of music in a large girls' school, and then went to Boston, where for eleven years he was in charge of the musical department of the Perkins Institute for the Blind.

While in London in 1871, at a "blind tea party," Dr. Campbell met Dr. T. R. Armitage, who had founded the National Institute for the Blind, and as a result of this meeting the Royal Normal College and Academy of Music for the Blind was founded, with Dr. Campbell

as principal, a position which he held until his retirement from active life two years ago. He was knighted in 1909 in recognition of what he had done for the men and women who, like himself, lived in constant shadow.

The great contribution of Sir Francis Campbell to the education of the blind lay in his insistence on the principle that the sightless should have a training at least equal to, and if possible better than, that given to the seeing. An athlete himself, he realized the importance of physical training in getting the usually poor physique of the blind up to par, and at the Royal Normal College to-day, where preparation is given for several vocations, the importance of physical training is constantly emphasized.

LOUVAIN

The destruction of Louvain by an unknown German military commander is an act of brutality absolutely unjustified by the rules of war. Nor is it any excuse for this act of brutality to say that war is brutal. Civilized war is cruel, but not brutal. The difference between a man and a brute is that the brute acts under impulse, guided only by his instincts, while the man guides his action by intelligence. The cruelty of civilized war is an intelligent cruelty-that is, it is cruelty directed by intelligence to a definite purpose. Any cruelty in war not so directed is justly termed brutal. We do not attempt in this article to judge acts in war by the ethical standards accepted in times of peace. We judge warlike actions by war standards. To all Americans familiar with military literature the volume of General W. E. Birkhimer, of the United States General Staff, on "Military Government and Martial Law" will be recognized as an authority. The principles assumed in this editorial are derived from and based on this volume.

The object in war is the destruction of the enemy's army. Any military acts necessary for the destruction of the enemy's army are in general justified by military lawthat is, by the customs of civilized nations. Any acts not directly tending to aid in the destruction of the enemy's army are unjustified.

The destruction of Louvain had no tendency to promote the objects which the German army has in view. It was an unin

telligent act of vandalism. Therefore it was an act of brutality.

The destruction of Louvain did nothing to aid the army of invasion. For Louvain was not a strategic point which might be of advantage to the armies of the Allies if it was left intact.

The destruction of Louvain did nothing to weaken the army of the Allies. It added strength to them; for it has filled the Belgians and the French with an enthusiasm of wrath, and enthusiasm of wrath adds greatly to the fighting force of an army.

The destruction of Louvain did nothing to protect European civilization from the Slav. On the contrary, it has aroused in the Slav a spirit of revenge, and Germans are fleeing from Berlin in fear of Russia's retaliation.

The destruction of Louvain has done nothing to aid Germany to make herself a world power. By that destruction she has aroused the indignation of the civilized world, an indignation which will outlast this terrible war. This is not the way to secure a world power.

The destruction of Louvain has done nothing to unite Germany against a united Europe. On the contrary, it has brought from the Berlin Socialist" Vorwaerts" a protest which warns the Germans against putting the struggle in a wrong light in the eyes of all the world and which calls upon the working class who are fighting at the front to remember their brethren on the other side and behave toward them in chivalrous manner. It is safe to assume that no paper in Germany would venture to suggest such a protest if it did not voice the sentiment of a considerable section of the German people.

The defense offered for this act of vandalism is that civilians, after Louvain was occupied by the German army, shot German soldiers, and the city was destroyed as an act of reprisal. The shooting of soldiers in an occupied town by unorganized civilians is an act of murder, and should be treated accordingly. But the criminal acts of a few individuals do not justify the destruction of a city. Says the Hague Conventions (Section 3, Article I): "No general penalty, pecuniary or otherwise, can be inflicted on the population on account of the acts of individuals, for which it cannot be regarded as collectively responsible." And in this declaration the Hague Conventions simply affirmed concisely a principle recognized by the customs of civilized nations in warfare.

The wave of indignation which has swept over America because of this criminal act cannot be regarded as an anti-German prejudice. Our soldiers when in occupation of Vera Cruz were shot at and killed by civilians. By vigorous police measures this "sniping" was speedily stopped. If the American troops had burned Vera Cruz, the American indignation would have far exceeded any indignation which Americans have thus far expressed at the act of the German troops in Louvain, and yet the loss to the world in the destruction of the beautiful city of Louvain far exceeds any loss that would have been suffered by the destruction of Vera Cruz. And if the Russians should reach Berlin and should do work of destruction in that city in any respect resembling the work done by the unknown commander in Louvain, The Outlook would condemn such act of reprisal as vigorously as it here condemns the destruction of Louvain, and we believe it would be equally condemned by all civilized peoples throughout the world.

"My great maxim," said Napoleon, has always been in war, as well as in politics, that every evil action, even if legal, can only be executed in case of absolute necessity; whatsoever goes beyond that is criminal."

We do not believe that any great number of German-American citizens, we shall not believe without conclusive evidence that the majority of Germans in Germany, or that the Kaiser himself, justify what history will call the crime at Louvain.

GERMANY'S OBJECT IN THE WAR

AS INTERPRETED BY A PRUSSIAN MILITARY OFFICER

Mr. Wile, in his interesting article in last week's Outlook, told us that sixty-five million of the sixty-six million Germans did not want war; but that the other one million not only wanted war but got it. Among the names of the leaders of this war party given by him is that of General Bernhardi. General Bernhardi wrote in 1911 a volume entitled "Germany and the Next War." The forecasts of this volume have been so singularly fulfilled by the action of Germany under the leadership of the war party that the book may properly be regarded as an authoritative interpretation of that party's spirit and purpose. As an

interpretation of the aims of Germany-that is, of governmental Germany-it is far more significant than any declarations made by her or on her behalf at the present time. Such declarations are more or less affected by the desire to influence the public opinion of the neutral nations. General Bernhardi's volume is addressed to Germany. Its object is to interpret to Germans their duty. The public opinion of the rest of the civilized world is not in the writer's mind. This book may therefore properly be called an interpretation of Germany's spirit and purpose by a distinguished representative of the Prussian war party. As such we here attempt to give it to our readers as fully and as fairly as we can within the limits of a single article. To the students of the history of this year we recommend a careful perusal of the volume itself. In what follows we state the more essential ideas of that volume as far as possible in the words of the author, using quotation marks only for a few of the more important utterances.

Germany has been a peace-loving nation. A rude shock is needed to awaken its warlike instincts, and compel it to show its military strength. The aspirations for peace threaten to poison the soul of the German people. War is not merely a necessary element in the life of nations, but an indispensable factor of culture. And for three rea

sons.

War is a biological necessity. It is a phase of the struggle for existence and the survival of the fittest. It is true that it temporarily disturbs industrial life, interrupts quiet economical development, brings widespread misery with it, and emphasizes the primitive brutality of man. But it is nevertheless a necessity for national life. Healthy nations increase in numbers. They require new territory for the accommodation of their surplus population and must obtain it by conquest, which thus becomes a law of necessity. This right of conquest is universally acknowledged. In such cases might becomes the supreme right, and the dispute as to what is right is decided by the arbitrament of war, which gives a biologically just decision, since that decision rests on the very nature of things. Industrial conditions may compel the same result. The native population cannot consume all the products of the nation's industries. They depend, therefore, on exDortation. This necessity creates an embit

tered struggle in the markets of the world, and war is required to enable the nation to create colonies which will take the products of its industries.

War is also a moral necessity. It is political idealism which calls for war, while materialism in theory, at least-repudiates it. It is only the State which strives after an enlarged sphere of influence that creates the conditions under which mankind develops into the most splendid perfection. When the State recoils from every war which is necessary for its expansion, each individual becomes cramped, selfishness and intrigue run riot, and luxury obliterates idealism. Wars are terrible but necessary, for they save the State from social petrifaction and stagnation.

War is also a Christian necessity. It demands the exercise of constancy, pity, magnanimity, heroism, and absolute selfforgetful devotion to one's country. "Christian morality is based, indeed, on the law of love. Love God above all things, and thy neighbor as thyself." But "this law can claim no significance for the relations of one country to another, since its application to politics would lead to a conflict of duties. The love which a man showed to another country as such would imply a want of love for his own countrymen. Such a system of politics must inevitably lead men astray. . . . Thus, according to Christianity, we cannot disapprove of war in itself, but must admit that it is justified morally and historically." "Any action in favor of collective humanity outside the limits of the State and nationality is impossible. Such conceptions belong to the wide domain of Utopias."

Arbitration treaties are detrimental to an aspiring people which is bent on extending its power in order to play its part honorably in the civilized world. "The efforts directed towards the abolition of war must not only be termed foolish, but absolutely immoral, and must be stigmatized as unworthy of the human race. A one-sided, restricted, formal law is to be established in the place of the decisions of history. The weak nation is to have the same right to life as the powerful nation. The whole idea represents a presumptuous encroachment on the natural laws of development, which can only lead to the most disastrous consequences for humanity generally."

War is a peculiar necessity for Germany at the present time. It is necessary to

recover for the nation that unity which is lamentably deficient to-day; to retain for Germany that strength of the German nation which has been pouring into foreign countries and lost to the fatherland; to secure for Germany colonial territory where its increasing population may find remunerative work and a German way of living; to protect Germany from Slavonic races which are ever dashing against her coast. If Germany is to succeed in guarding its present possessions and preserving the German nationality in its present form throughout the world, it must not hold back in the hard struggle for the sovereignty of the world.

This necessity is accented by the rivalry of France, which has created for herself the second largest colonial empire in the world, while the conqueror of Gravelotte and Sedan in this respect lags far behind her. "All which other nations attained in centuries of natural development-political union, colonial possessions, naval power, international trade--was denied to our nation until quite recently. What we now wish to attain must be fought for, and won against a superior force of hostile interests and Powers."

War is not only a necessity for Germany, it is a duty which she owes to the world. "There is no nation whose thinking is at once so free from prejudice and so historical as the German, which knows how to unite so harmoniously the freedom of the intellectual and the restraint of the practical life on the path of free and natural development." "No nation on the face of the globe is so able to grasp and appropriate all elements of culture, to add to them from the stores of its own spiritual endowment, and to give back to mankind richer gifts than it received." "We often see in other nations a greater intensity of specialized ability, but never the same capacity for generalization and absorption. It is this quality which specially fits us for the leadership in the intellectual world, and imposes on us the obligation to maintain that position." Germans of every profession are actively employed throughout the world in the service of foreign masters. But this is not enough. The fulfillment of Germany's duty to the world will depend on two points: first, how many millions of men in the world speak German; secondly, how many of them are politically members of the German Empire.

Thus the issue is presented to Germany: "world power or downfall." In meeting

this issue Germany must take the aggressive, as did Frederick the Great, and, in more recent history, Japan in her struggle with Russia. Germany must not wait until war is forced upon her. To wait until war is forced upon Germany, under conditions unfavorable to her, is to court political downfall. "We must remain conscious in all such eventualities that we cannot, under any circumstances, avoid fighting for our position in the world, and that the all-important point is, not to postpone that war as long as possible, but to bring it on under the most favorable conditions possible." In war the advantages are with the attacking party. Germany must therefore during the period of preparation raise the tactical value and capabilities of the troops as much as possible, and then in the war itself "act on the offensive and strike the first blow."

In such a war Germany must expect the hostility of the civilized world. The German Empire is hated everywhere because of its political and economic prosperity." The Triple Alliance will probably break up by the withdrawal from it of Italy. "Russia at present has no inducement to seek an aggressive war with Germany or to take part in one." But her policy of marking time can be only transitory. Germany will always find her on the side of those who try to cross Germany's political paths. England, whose aim it is to repress Germany and strengthen France, will be Germany's chief enemy upon the sea. Specific protestations of England's politicians, publicists, and Utopians may be disregarded. A specific agreement with England is a will-o'-the-wisp which no serious German statesman would trouble to follow. To England the neutrality of Holland or Belgium would be a matter of no moment. "That England would pay much attention to the neutrality of weaker neighbors when such a stake was at issue is hardly credible." very valuable results can be expected from a war against England's trade. Nevertheless the war against the English must be belligerently prosecuted and should start unexpectedly.

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The prizes which fall into our hands must be remorselessly destroyed, since it will usually be impossible, owing to the great English superiority and the few bases we have abroad, to bring them back in safety without exposing our vessels to great risks." It is, however, upon France that Germany's attack must first be made. "France must be so completely