The following pages—written partly as a sequel to my book "German Spies in England," which has met with such wide popular favour—are, I desire to assure the reader, inspired solely1 by a stern spirit of patriotism2.
This is not a book of "scaremongerings," but of plain, hard, indisputable facts.
It is a demand for the truth to be told, and a warning that, by the present policy of secrecy3 and shuffle4, a distinct feeling of distrust has been aroused, and is growing more and more apparent. No sane5 man will, of course, ask for any facts concerning the country's resources or its intentions, or indeed any information upon a single point which, in the remotest way, could be of any advantage to the barbaric hordes7 who are ready to sweep upon us.
But what the British people to-day demand is a sound and definite pronouncement which will take them, to a certain extent, into the confidence of the Government—as apart from the War Office, against which no single word of criticism should be raised—and at the same time deal effectively with certain matters which, being little short of public scandals, have irritated and inflamed8 public opinion at an hour when every man in our Empire should[Pg 8] put forth9 his whole strength for his God, his King, and his country.
Germany is facing the present situation with a sound, businesslike policy, without any vacillation10, or any attempt to shift responsibility from one Department of the State to another. Are we doing the same?
What rule or method can be discerned, for example, in a system which allows news to appear in the papers in Scotland which is suppressed in the newspapers in England? Why, indeed, should one paper in England be permitted to print facts, and another, published half a mile away, be debarred from printing the self-same words?
The public—who, since August 4th last, are no longer school-children under the Head-Mastership of the Prime-Minister-for-the-Time-Being—are now wondering what all this curious censorship means, and for what reason such an unreliable institution—an institution not without its own scandals, and employing a thousand persons of varying ideas and warped11 notions—should have been established. They can quite understand the urgent necessity of preventing a horde6 of war correspondents, at the front, sending home all sorts of details regarding our movements and intentions, but they cannot understand why a Government offer of ￡100 reward, published on placards all over Scotland for information regarding secret bases of petrol, should be forbidden to be even mentioned in England.
They cannot understand why the Admiralty should issue a notice warning the public that German spies, posing as British officers, are visiting Government factories while at the same time the Under-Secretary for War declares that all enemy aliens are known, and are constantly under police[Pg 9] surveillance. They cannot understand either why, in face of the great imports of foodstuffs12, and the patriotic13 movement on the part of Canada and our Overseas Dominions14 concerning our wheat supply, prices should have been allowed to increase so alarmingly, and unscrupulous merchants should be permitted to exploit the poor as they have done. They are mystified by the shifty shuttlecock policy which is being pursued towards the question of enemy aliens, and the marked disinclination of the authorities to make even the most superficial inquiry15 regarding cases of suspected espionage16, notwithstanding the fact that German spies have actually been recognised among us by refugees from Antwerp and other Belgian cities.
The truth, which cannot be disguised, is that by the Government's present policy, and the amusing vagaries17 of its Press Censorship, the public are daily growing more and more apathetic18 concerning the war. While, on the one hand, we see recruiting appeals in all the clever guises19 of smart modern advertising20, yet on the other, by the action of the authorities themselves, the man-in-the-street is being soothed21 into the belief that all goes well, and that, in consequence, no more men are needed and nobody need worry further.
We are told by many newspapers that Germany is at the end of her tether: that food supplies are fast giving out, that she has lost millions of men, that her people are frantic22, that a "Stop the War" party has already arisen in Berlin, and that the offensive on the eastern frontier is broken. At home, the authorities would have us believe that there is no possibility of invasion, that German submarines are "pirates"—poor consolation23 indeed—that all alien enemies are really a deserving[Pg 10] hardworking class of dear good people, and that there is no spy-peril24. A year ago the British public would, perhaps, have believed all this. To-day they refuse to do so. Why they do not, I have here attempted to set out; I have tried to reveal something of the perils25 which beset26 our nation, and to urge the reader to pause and reflect for himself. Every word I have written in this book, though I have been fearless and unsparing in my criticism, has been written with an honest and patriotic intention, for I feel that it is my duty, as an Englishman, in these days of national peril to take up my pen—without political bias—solely for the public good.
I ask the reader to inquire for himself, to ascertain27 how cleverly Germany has hoodwinked us, and to fix the blame upon those who wilfully28, and for political reasons, closed their eyes to the truth. I would ask the reader to remember the formation in Germany—under the guidance of the Kaiser—of the Society for the Promotion30 of Better Relations between Germany and England, and how the Kaiser appointed, as president, a certain Herr von Holleben. I would further ask the reader to remember my modest effort to dispel31 the pretty illusion placed before the British public by exposing, in The Daily Telegraph, in March 1912, the fact that this very Herr von Holleben, posing as a champion of peace, was actually the secret emissary sent by the Kaiser to the United States in 1910, with orders to make an anti-English press propaganda in that country! And a week after my exposure the Emperor was compelled to dismiss him from his post.
Too long has dust been thrown in our eyes, both abroad and at home.
Let every Briton fighting for his country, and[Pg 11] working for his country's good, remember that even though there be a political truce32 to-day, yet the Day of Awakening33 must dawn sooner or later. On that day, with the conscience of the country fully29 stirred, the harmless—but to-day powerless—voter will have something bitter and poignant34 to say when he pays the bill. He will then recollect35 some hard facts, and ask himself many plain questions. He will put to himself calmly the problem whether the present German hatred36 of England is not mainly due to the weak shuffling37 sentimentalism and opportunism of Germanophils in high places. And he will then search out Britain's betrayers, and place them in the pillory38.
Assuredly, when the time comes, all these things—and many more—will be remembered. And the dawn of the Unknown To-morrow will, I feel assured, bring with it many astounding39 and drastic changes.
William Le Queux.
Devonshire Club, S.W.
April 1915.
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1
solely
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| adv.仅仅，唯一地 | |
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patriotism
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| n.爱国精神，爱国心，爱国主义 | |
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secrecy
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| n.秘密，保密，隐蔽 | |
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shuffle
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| n.拖著脚走，洗纸牌；v.拖曳，慢吞吞地走 | |
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sane
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| adj.心智健全的，神志清醒的，明智的，稳健的 | |
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horde
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| n.群众，一大群 | |
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hordes
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| n.移动着的一大群( horde的名词复数 )；部落 | |
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inflamed
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| adj.发炎的，红肿的v.（使）变红，发怒，过热( inflame的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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vacillation
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| n.动摇；忧柔寡断 | |
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warped
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| adj.反常的；乖戾的；（变）弯曲的；变形的v.弄弯，变歪( warp的过去式和过去分词 )；使（行为等）不合情理，使乖戾， | |
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foodstuffs
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| 食物，食品( foodstuff的名词复数 ) | |
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patriotic
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| adj.爱国的，有爱国心的 | |
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dominions
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| 统治权( dominion的名词复数 )； 领土； 疆土； 版图 | |
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inquiry
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| n.打听，询问，调查，查问 | |
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espionage
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| n.间谍行为，谍报活动 | |
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vagaries
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| n.奇想( vagary的名词复数 )；异想天开；异常行为；难以预测的情况 | |
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apathetic
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| adj.冷漠的，无动于衷的 | |
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guises
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| n.外观，伪装( guise的名词复数 )v.外观，伪装( guise的第三人称单数 ) | |
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advertising
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| n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的 | |
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soothed
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| v.安慰( soothe的过去式和过去分词 )；抚慰；使舒服；减轻痛苦 | |
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frantic
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| adj.狂乱的，错乱的，激昂的 | |
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consolation
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| n.安慰，慰问 | |
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peril
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| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
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perils
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| 极大危险( peril的名词复数 )； 危险的事（或环境） | |
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beset
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| v.镶嵌；困扰，包围 | |
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ascertain
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| vt.发现，确定，查明，弄清 | |
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wilfully
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| adv.任性固执地；蓄意地 | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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promotion
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| n.提升，晋级；促销，宣传 | |
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dispel
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| vt.驱走，驱散，消除 | |
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truce
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| n.休战，(争执，烦恼等的)缓和；v.以停战结束 | |
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awakening
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| n.觉醒，醒悟 adj.觉醒中的；唤醒的 | |
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poignant
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| adj.令人痛苦的，辛酸的，惨痛的 | |
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recollect
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| v.回忆，想起，记起，忆起，记得 | |
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hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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shuffling
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| adj. 慢慢移动的, 滑移的 动词shuffle的现在分词形式 | |
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pillory
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| n.嘲弄；v.使受公众嘲笑；将…示众 | |
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astounding
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| adj.使人震惊的vt.使震惊，使大吃一惊astound的现在分词) | |
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