HOLLAND AND GERMANY

The very difficult position which Holland has maintained since the outbreak of the war has now become practically untenable, as the result of the German ultimatum just presented at the Hague. The demand made upon the Dutch people offers but another indictment of the imperial treatment of small nations, and once more strengthens our belief in the complete lack of integrity which has characterized all actions of that government.

To demand the right of way on all canals and railroads for the transportation not only of civilian supplies but of war supplies amounts to a denial of Dutch neutrality. Control of transit is a vital function of every nation. To submit to foreign dictation is to abandon sovereignty. Moreover, the obligation of neutrality demands that Holland refuse any step which will be of direct gain to the enemy in its prosecution of the war. This side of the affair is clear, the laws of nationality and neutrality make the acceptance of the proposal impossible.

There is another aspect which is closely connected with Germany's imperial policy and which perhaps furnishes an answer to such an unprecedented demand. It is Germany's aim to expand. Dutch occupation of the rich territory at the mouth of the Rhine has long been a bitter obstacle to German expansion and trade. A triumphant Germany seems, therefore, to turn upon another victim. The gain of transporting war supplies through Holland is practically negligible. In demanding what she has, Germany has merely forced Dutch neutrality to a point where it must end.

With her back to the sea, Holland's outlook before superior German strength is indeed dark. If she joins Germany she will lose her independence and become but a vassal of that power. If she maintains her neutrality she stands in danger of destruction. As regards the present there seems little choice. In the long run, however, it behooves the Dutch to brave the risk of opposition. A crushed Holland will in the end find liberation. A Germanized Holland will ingloriously terminate a great page of history and will leave a blot upon the Dutch name which nothing in the future can ever erase.