Every retreat of the army, every diplomatic blunder found
an excuse in the machinations of the pacifists, and these unpopular
gentry to whom no one listened were invested by their opponents with
the formidable power of organising defeat. In order that none should
be ignorant of this, a writing was hung about their necks with the
word "Defeatist," like their brother-heretics of the good old days;
all that remained was to burn them, and if the executioner was not at
hand there were at least plenty of assistants.
At first, by way of getting their hand in, the authorities picked out
inoffensive people--women, teachers, anyone who was little known and
unable to defend himself; and then they turned their attention to
something bigger. It was a good chance for a politician to rid himself
of a dangerous rival, of anyone possessed of secrets or likely to rise
in the future. Above all, according to the old receipts, they took
care to mix accusations, throwing into the same bag vulgar sharpers
and those whose character and mind made them uneasy, so that in all
this mess the blindfolded public did not attempt to distinguish
between an honest man and a scamp. In this way those who were not
sufficiently compromised by their actions found themselves involved in
those of their associates; and if these were lacking, the authorities
stood ready, if necessary, to supply them made to order to fit the
accusation.
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