America via the Azore Islands. I endeavoured to obtain permission
for the Western Union Company to land a cable in Germany, but
the opposition of the German company, which did not desire to
have its monopoly interfered with, caused the applications of
the Western Union to be definitely pigeon-holed. In August, 1914,
after the outbreak of the war, when I told this to Ballin of
the Hamburg American Line and von Gwinner, head of the Deutsche
Bank, and when they thought of how much they could have saved
for themselves and Germany and their companies if there had been
an American owned cable landing in Germany, their anger at the
delay on the part of official Germany knew no bounds. Within a
very short time I received an answer from the Foreign Office
granting the application of the Western Union Company, providing
the cable went direct to America. This concession, however, came
too late and, naturally, the Western Union did not take up the
matter during the war.




CHAPTER IV

MILITARISM IN GERMANY AND THE ZABERN AFFAIR

In 1913-1914 occurred a series of events known as the "Zabern
Affair," which to my mind decided the "system"--the military
autocracy--for a speedy war. In this affair the German people
appeared at last to be opening their eyes, to recover in some
degree from the panic fear of their neighbours which had made them
submit to the arrogance and exactions of the military caste and to