Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: n A FORMIDABLE ORGANIZATION The Pan-German League and its branches—Methods of propaganda and action—The diffusion of Pan-German societies throughout Germany—Different formulas for the same idea— Eloquent figures. The life and soul of the Pan-German movement is naturally the Pan-German League (AHdeutscher Ver- band), for it is numerically the strongest of all the associations whose avowed object is the propagation of the imperialist ideal, and gives the lead and the word of command to all the others which it has founded. Its foundation dates officially from 1891, from the reaction of the Bismarckian ideal against the imperial policy of the " new era," which the dismissal of the Chancellor inaugurated. Bismarck in disgrace was an honorary member from the first, and certainly inspired the early campaigns waged against the pacific policy of Caprivi, that is, against William IFs personal policy. But in reality the League was in process of potential formation, if we can use such an expression, from the morrow of the victorious war of 1870. By a delicate irony its virtual promoter seems to have been William II himself, in the days when, as Crown Prince, he professed ideas which he repudiated as Emperor. It is said that he liked to encourage the early doctrinaires of Pan-Germanism. A certain pamphlet, entitled AORIGIN OF THE LEAGUE 13 Universal German Empire, which was disseminated broadcast throughout the Empire, was popularly supposed to have been drawn up in the immediate circle of the Prince Imperial. It contained these words: " Our aim must be the development of German power with all that it involves. The grouping of all its members into one political whole has always been the object of the efforts of a virile nation. " It must be well done; we must confine ou...