As a young man said to me, We not only cannot print what we think, but we cannot even say what we think.” Moreover, those who think for themselves find their careers made difficult. This military domination has a childish, unnatural and unmanly side to it.
He must have written, about this time, these lines “from the notebook of an American tourist in Germany”:—
Forbidden
“Es ist Strengsten Untersagt ”
A Yankee in Deutschland declared:
“I know a fine Fräulein here;
Of the Bangor girls she’s the peer.
I’ll wed her at once,” he declared.
“Oh, no,” said the Polizei.
Said the Yankee, “Why?”
“You cannot at once be wed
It is strengthily undersaid;
You first must be measured and weighed, and then
Tell where you were born, and why and when.”
Then the Yankee in Deutschland declared:
“Well, instead we will go on a spin
Through the beautiful streets of Berlin,
On our ‘bike,” the Yankee declared.
“Oh, no,” said the Polizei.
Said the Yankee, “Why?”
“You cannot go cycling instead,
It is strengthily undersaid;
You first must be measured and weighed, and then
Tell where you would wheel, and why and when.”
