You can use, that is to say, for your own emergency
and for what is likely to be the most critical if not
decisive moment of the conflict, a million of soldiers.
You cannot use more except as reserves, and for future
battles which may or may not have to be fought. But
you have three millions already. What is the use of
another 80,000?

" Ko, what the army wants is more artillery. We
won our last war with France by artillery. The best
artillery will win the next, even more certainly. So
changed are the conditions of war that without a compe-
tent artillery the best infantry can no more by itself win
a battle than cavalry could. But in this arm, though we
may be still superior to France, we are not superior in



A VISIT TO PEISCE BISMARCK 121

the same proportion that we were in 1870. The cer-
tainty of victory depends on our maintaining not merely
a superiority, but a considerable superiority. That is
what a wise bill would aim at. But this is not a wise
bill, nor are the authors of it wise. The Emperor — "
but at that word came a pause. Then he resumed,
changing; the word : —

" The Government is weak and short-sighted. It has
made mistake after mistake. It has flung away posi-
tions and advantages, not seeming in the least aware
what it was doing at the time. Just when it was likely
to be in need of money it cut off a large source of reve-
nue by its new Commercial Treaties. No one had at-
tacked these revenues. They were not felt as a griev-
ance or a burden, and they produced fifty millions.
