It  is  the  same  method  throughout.  The  old  conventions
of  humanity,  the  old  arrangements  which  admitted  that,
beneath  our  cruelties,  beneath  our  hatreds,  there  was
some  common  humanity  and  friendliness  between  all  na-
tions, these  have  been  systematically  broken  one  after
another.  Now,  observe;  these  things  were  done  not  reck-
lessly but  to  gain  a  specific  advantage;  they  were  done,
as  Mr.  Secretary  Zimmermann  put  it  in  the  case  of  Miss
Cavell,  "to  inspire  fear."  And  observe  that  in  many
places  they  have  been  successful.  They  have  inspired
fear.  Only  look  at  what  has  recently  happened  and  what
is  happening  now  in  the  Balkans.  Every  one  of  these
Balkan  States  has  looked  at  Belgium.  The  German
agents  have  told  them  to  look  at  Belgium.  They  have
looked  at  Belgium  and  their  courage  has  failed.  Is  that


THE  EVIL  AND  THE  GOOD  OF  THE  WAR  85

the  way  in  which  we  wish  the  government  of  the  world
to  be  conducted  in  future?  It  is  the  way  it  will  be  con-
ducted unless  we  and  our  allies  stand  firm  to  the  end.
All  these  points,  terrible  as  they  are,  seem  to  me  to  be
merely  consequences  from  what  happened  at  the  very
beginning  of  the  war.  There  are  probably  some  people
here  who  differ  from  what  I  am  saying  and  I  am  grateful
to  them  for  the  patient  way  in  which  they  are  listening  to
me.  To  all  these  I  would  earnestly  say,  "Do  not  despise
the  diplomatic  documents."  Remember  carefully  that
the  diplomacy  of  July  and  August,  1914,  is  a  central  fact.
Remember  that  it  is  the  one  part  of  the  history  ante-
cedent to  this  war  which  is  absolutely  clear  as  daylight.
Read  the  documents  and  read  the  serious  studies  of  them.
