The Figaro has recently been publishing an interesting series of
studies on the state of German feeling by M. Georges Bourdon. He has talked to Germans in every walk of life, and has received many expressions of sympathy and regard for France. But at length he came across Herr Ken•, the editor of Pan. "They haven't told you the truth," said Herr Kerr. "There are two facts : on one side the fascination exercised by France, on the other the acceptance of the idea of war. The latter is what Germans don't tell to strangers. The thought of war is part of the stock of common ideas. The prospect of a new campaign does not appal anyone. People contemplate it without concern and reckon the profit—the crushing of France and an indemnity of twenty-five milliards. They remember that last time you really paid up too easily. They rub their hands. You smile ? That is because you do not know Germany. We are a nation of shopkeepers. . . . To be rich —there is no other ideal!"
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