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diff --git a/old/67811-0.txt b/old/67811-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index df08126..0000000 --- a/old/67811-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,9715 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Roosevelt in the Kansas City Star, by -Theodore Roosevelt - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: Roosevelt in the Kansas City Star - War-time Editorials - -Author: Theodore Roosevelt - -Contributor: Ralph Stout - -Release Date: April 10, 2022 [eBook #67811] - -Language: English - -Produced by: The Online Distributed Proofreading Team at - https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images - generously made available by The Internet Archive/American - Libraries.) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ROOSEVELT IN THE KANSAS CITY -STAR *** - - - - - - PUBLICATIONS OF THE - ROOSEVELT MEMORIAL ASSOCIATION - - II. ROOSEVELT IN THE KANSAS CITY STAR - - - - -COMMITTEE ON PUBLICATIONS - -ROOSEVELT MEMORIAL ASSOCIATION INC. - - - R. J. CUDDIHY - ARTHUR W. PAGE - MARK SULLIVAN - E. A. VAN VALKENBURG - -[Illustration: _Theodore Roosevelt and W. R. Nelson_] - - - - - ROOSEVELT - - IN THE KANSAS CITY STAR - - WAR-TIME EDITORIALS - - BY - - THEODORE ROOSEVELT - - - WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY - - RALPH STOUT - _Managing Editor of The Star_ - - - [Illustration] - - - BOSTON AND NEW YORK - - HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY - - The Riverside Press Cambridge - - 1921 - - - - - COPYRIGHT, 1917, 1918, AND 1919, BY THE KANSAS CITY STAR - - COPYRIGHT, 1921, BY RALPH STOUT - - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED - - PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - - - - - CONTENTS - - - INTRODUCTION, BY RALPH STOUT xiii - - DR. FITZSIMONS’S DEATH, SEPTEMBER 17, 1917 1 - - BLOOD, IRON, AND GOLD, SEPTEMBER 23, 1917 2 - - THE GHOST DANCE OF THE SHADOW HUNS, OCTOBER 1, - 1917 5 - - SAM WELLER AND MR. SNODGRASS, OCTOBER 2, 1917 8 - - BROOMSTICK PREPAREDNESS, OCTOBER 4, 1917 10 - - THE BONDHOLDERS AND THE PEOPLE, OCTOBER 7, 1917 12 - - FACTORIES OF GOOD CITIZENSHIP, OCTOBER 10, 1917 13 - - PILLAR-OF-SALT CITIZENSHIP, OCTOBER 12, 1917 16 - - BROOMSTICK APOLOGISTS, OCTOBER 14, 1917 18 - - THE LIBERTY LOAN AND THE PRO-GERMANS, OCTOBER 16, 1917 20 - - A DIFFICULT QUESTION TO ANSWER, OCTOBER 18, 1917 23 - - NOW HELP THE LIBERTY LOAN, OCTOBER 20, 1917 25 - - A SQUARE DEAL FOR THE TRAINING CAMPS, OCTOBER 21, 1917 26 - - THE PASSING OF THE CRIPPLE, OCTOBER 23, 1917 28 - - THE PEACE OF COMPLETE VICTORY, OCTOBER 23, 1917 30 - - FIGHTING WORK FOR THE MAN OF FIGHTING AGE, OCTOBER - 25, 1917 32 - - WISE WOMEN AND FOOLISH WOMEN, OCTOBER 27, 1917 34 - - WHY CRY OVER SPILT MILK? OCTOBER 28, 1917 36 - - SAVE THE FOODSTUFF, OCTOBER 30, 1917 38 - - ON THE FIRING LINE, OCTOBER 31, 1917 40 - - NINE TENTHS OF WISDOM IS BEING WISE IN TIME, NOVEMBER - 1, 1917 42 - - WE ARE IN THIS WAR TO THE FINISH, NOVEMBER 2, 1917 43 - - SINISTER ALLIES, NOVEMBER 3, 1917 45 - - THE NEW YORK MAYORALTY ELECTION, NOVEMBER 8, 1917 47 - - GERMAN HATRED OF AMERICA, NOVEMBER 13, 1917 49 - - START THE SYSTEM OF UNIVERSAL MILITARY TRAINING - AT ONCE, NOVEMBER 17, 1917 52 - - A FIFTY-FIFTY WAR ATTITUDE, NOVEMBER 20, 1917 54 - - THE GERMANIZED SOCIALISTS AND PEACE, NOVEMBER 26, 1917 56 - - MOBILIZE OUR MAN POWER, DECEMBER 1, 1917 58 - - THE LANSDOWNE LETTER, DECEMBER 2, 1917 60 - - THE PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE, DECEMBER 5, 1917 62 - - FOUR BITES OF A CHERRY, DECEMBER 7, 1917 64 - - THE RED CROSS CHRISTMAS MEMBERSHIP DRIVE, DECEMBER - 12, 1917 66 - - BEING BRAYED IN A MORTAR, DECEMBER 18, 1917 68 - - RENDERING A GREAT PUBLIC SERVICE, DECEMBER 20, 1917 71 - - A BETRAYAL OF DEMOCRACY, DECEMBER 21, 1917 73 - - BROOMSTICK PREPAREDNESS--A STUDY IN CAUSE AND - EFFECT, DECEMBER 27, 1917 76 - - OUR DUTY FOR THE NEW YEAR, JANUARY 1, 1918 78 - - TELL THE TRUTH AND SPEED UP THE WAR, JANUARY 4, 1918 80 - - THE COST OF UNPREPAREDNESS, JANUARY 6, 1918 82 - - COÖPERATION AND CONTROL, JANUARY 8, 1918 85 - - THE ARTEMUS WARD THEORY OF WAR, JANUARY 17, 1918 87 - - THE FRUITS OF WATCHFUL WAITING, JANUARY 18, 1918 89 - - TELL THE TRUTH, JANUARY 21, 1918 92 - - JUSTIFICATION OF CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM, JANUARY - 28, 1918 93 - - SECRETARY BAKER’S GENERAL DENIAL, FEBRUARY 2, 1918 96 - - LET GEORGE SPEED UP THE WAR, FEBRUARY 3, 1918 98 - - LET UNCLE SAM GET INTO THE GAME, FEBRUARY 5, 1918 101 - - CONSERVATION IS IMPORTANT AND PRODUCTION IS MORE - IMPORTANT, FEBRUARY 15, 1918 103 - - THE PEOPLE’S WAR, FEBRUARY 26, 1918 105 - - THE FRUITS OF FIFTY-FIFTY LOYALTY, MARCH 2, 1918 109 - - QUIT TALKING PEACE, MARCH 5, 1918 111 - - THE WORST ENEMIES OF CERTAIN LOYAL AMERICANS, - MARCH 10, 1918 113 - - GIRD UP OUR LOINS, MARCH 16, 1918 115 - - BOLSHEVIKI AT HOME AND ABROAD, MARCH 19, 1918 117 - - THE FRUITS OF OUR DELAY, MARCH 26, 1918 120 - - HOW THE HUN EARNS HIS TITLE, MARCH 31, 1918 122 - - THANK HEAVEN! APRIL 2, 1918 128 - - CITIZENS OR SUBJECTS? APRIL 6, 1918 129 - - WOMEN AND THE WAR, APRIL 12, 1918 133 - - TO MY FELLOW AMERICANS OF GERMAN BLOOD, APRIL 16, 1918 135 - - AN EXTRAORDINARY ACHIEVEMENT IN HUMAN UPBUILDING, - APRIL 17, 1918 138 - - FREEDOM STANDS WITH HER BACK TO THE WALL, APRIL - 20, 1918 140 - - A SQUARE DEAL FOR ALL AMERICANS, APRIL 27, 1918 142 - - THE GERMAN HORROR, MAY 2, 1918 145 - - SEDITION, A FREE PRESS, AND PERSONAL RULE, MAY 7, 1918 147 - - THE DANGERS OF A PREMATURE PEACE, MAY 12, 1918 150 - - THE WAR SAVINGS CAMPAIGN, MAY 27, 1918 155 - - ANTI-BOLSHEVISM, JUNE 5, 1918 158 - - GENERAL WOOD, JUNE 15, 1918 160 - - HELP RUSSIA NOW, JUNE 20, 1918 162 - - AN AMERICAN FOURTH OF JULY, JUNE 23, 1918 166 - - HOW NOT TO ADJOURN POLITICS, JUNE 25, 1918 167 - - HATS OFF TO THE INTERNATIONAL TYPOGRAPHICAL - UNION, JUNE 27, 1918 170 - - THE PERFORMANCE OF A GREAT PUBLIC DUTY, JULY 3, 1918 172 - - REPEAL THE CHARTER OF THE GERMAN-AMERICAN ALLIANCE, - JULY 11, 1918 174 - - EVERY MAN HAS A RIGHT TO ONE COUNTRY, JULY 15, 1918 177 - - MURDER, TREASON, AND PARLOR ANARCHY, JULY 18, 1918 180 - - BACK UP THE FIGHTING MEN AT THE FRONT, JULY 26, 1918 183 - - THE AMERICANS WHOM WE MOST DELIGHT TO HONOR, - AUGUST 1, 1918 186 - - SOUND NATIONALISM AND SOUND INTERNATIONALISM, - AUGUST 4, 1918 188 - - THE MAN WHO PAYS AND THE MAN WHO PROFITS, AUGUST - 9, 1918 196 - - OUR DEBT TO THE BRITISH EMPIRE, AUGUST 16, 1918 200 - - THE CANDIDACY OF HENRY FORD, AUGUST 20, 1918 202 - - SPEED UP THE WORK FOR THE ARMY AND GIVE ALL WHO - ENTER IT FAIR PLAY, AUGUST 23, 1918 206 - - SENATOR LODGE’S NOBLE SPEECH, SEPTEMBER 1, 1918 209 - - APPLIED PATRIOTISM, SEPTEMBER 8, 1918 211 - - GOOD LUCK TO THE ANTI-BOLSHEVISTS OF KANSAS, SEPTEMBER - 12, 1918 213 - - THE FOURTH LIBERTY LOAN, SEPTEMBER 17, 1918 216 - - FAIR PLAY AND NO POLITICS, SEPTEMBER 20, 1918 218 - - SPIES AND SLACKERS, SEPTEMBER 24, 1918 221 - - QUIT PLAYING FAVORITES, SEPTEMBER 30, 1918 224 - - WAR AIMS AND PEACE PROPOSALS, OCTOBER 12, 1918 226 - - PERMANENT PREPAREDNESS AND THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS, - OCTOBER 15, 1918 229 - - HIGH-SOUNDING PHRASES OF MUDDY MEANING, OCTOBER - 17, 1918 231 - - AN AMERICAN PEACE _versus_ A RUBBER-STAMP PEACE, - OCTOBER 22, 1918 236 - - UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER, OCTOBER 26, 1918 239 - - WHAT ARE THE FOURTEEN POINTS? OCTOBER 30, 1918 241 - - FURTHER CONSIDERATION OF THE FOURTEEN POINTS, - OCTOBER 30, 1918 243 - - FOURTEEN SCRAPS OF PAPER, OCTOBER 31, 1918 248 - - THE TURKS SURRENDER UNCONDITIONALLY, NOVEMBER 3, 1918 251 - - PEACE, NOVEMBER 12, 1918 253 - - SACRIFICE ON COLD ALTARS, NOVEMBER 13, 1918 255 - - THE RED FLAG AND THE HUN PEACE DRIVE, NOVEMBER - 14, 1918 258 - - THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS, NOVEMBER 17, 1918 261 - - AN AMERICAN CONGRESS, NOVEMBER 18, 1918 265 - - THE FREEDOM OF THE SEAS AND THE ENSLAVEMENT OF - MANKIND, NOVEMBER 22, 1918 269 - - PRESIDENT WILSON AND THE PEACE CONFERENCE, NOVEMBER - 26, 1918 272 - - THE LEAGUE TO ENFORCE PEACE, DECEMBER 2, 1918 277 - - THE MEN WHOSE LOT HAS BEEN HARDEST, DECEMBER 8, 1918 281 - - THE BRITISH NAVY, THE FRENCH ARMY, AND AMERICAN - COMMON SENSE, DECEMBER 17, 1918 283 - - LET US HAVE STRAIGHTFORWARD SPEAKING, DECEMBER - 24, 1918 287 - - A SQUARE DEAL FOR THE MEN AT THE FRONT, DECEMBER - 25, 1918 289 - - THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS, JANUARY 13, 1919 292 - - - - -ILLUSTRATIONS - - - THEODORE ROOSEVELT AND W. R. NELSON - - From a snapshot _Photogravure Frontispiece_ - - FACSIMILE OF A NOTE FROM ROOSEVELT TO W. R. - NELSON xxii - - FACSIMILE OF A PAGE OF THE MANUSCRIPT OF ONE OF - ROOSEVELT’S EDITORIALS 2 - - - - -INTRODUCTION - - -I - -The request, repeated and urgent, has come from many sources that the -editorial articles, contributed by Colonel Theodore Roosevelt to The -Kansas City Star during our country’s participation in the World War, -be preserved for the future. It is in response to this request that -this volume is published. - -Newspaper publication is ephemeral. Newspaper files are short-lived. -Anybody who has examined a newspaper of thirty years ago knows how -flimsy it is, how it breaks and disintegrates to the touch. It lacks -the enduring quality of the newspaper of sixty or seventy-five years -ago when other elements entered into the composition of news-print -paper. Newspaper publication is the thought of to-day; to-morrow, it -is gone save for the impression left on the mind of the reader. That -the recollection of Colonel Roosevelt’s articles may have something to -appeal to aside from crumbling newspaper files is the aim of this book. -And so these expressions on the events in a crisis in our national -history--from the mind of a man whose intense love of country was the -admiration of all who knew him, expressions which at the time of their -publication stirred many to greater sacrifice for country, some to -anger, even to rage--are here presented in enduring form. - -Colonel Roosevelt’s contributions to The Star were his most frequent -expressions on the war; they were the outpouring of a great soul deeply -stirred by the country’s situation. There were more than one hundred -articles from his pen. They covered the vital time of our part in the -war from October, 1917, until his death January 6, 1919. - -The reason he chose The Star as his medium of reaching the people, -in a period when a large section of the American people sought and -was guided by what he said, was that Colonel Roosevelt and The Star -had known and understood each other for a long, long time. Their -acquaintance dated back to the period of his service in the New York -legislature. The Star saw behind his conduct then the qualities and -the spirit which it was continually seeking to place at a premium in -offices of public trust. - -Later, in 1889, when President Harrison appointed him a civil service -commissioner, The Star said: - - The appointment of Theodore Roosevelt as one of the civil service - commissioners is a hopeful sign that President Harrison desires to - give civil service reform a fair representation in the government. Mr. - Roosevelt is an accomplished gentleman, with sincere aspirations for - reformed methods of administration, as shown by his career in the New - York legislature when Grover Cleveland was governor. Mr. Roosevelt is - too independent ever to serve as a party henchman, and his voice and - influence will always be in favor of what he believes to be the most - efficient and business-like administration of affairs. - -Colonel Roosevelt and the founder and editor of The Star, the late -William R. Nelson, had met, but they did not really know each other -until after the war with Spain. In his canvass for the vice-presidency -in 1900 Colonel Roosevelt was entertained at the Nelson home, Oak Hall, -Kansas City. From this visit dated better acquaintance. They had much -in common and were alike in many characteristics: frank, outspoken, -impulsive, and passionately devoted to the same ideals of private life -and public service. - -I recall a story of an impulsive act of Colonel Roosevelt back in his -ranchman days. A man of shady reputation had been appointed Indian -Agent with the Sioux on a Dakota reservation. He put into effect many -sharp practices with the Indians which would line his pockets with -money. Roosevelt’s ranch was not far away and ranch affairs took him to -the agency. One day he went to the agency and sought the agent. - -“You are Mr. ----?” the ranchman asked. - -“Yes,” was the reply. - -“I have heard what you have been doing with the Indians. You are a -thief! Good-day!” - -The story, as told, was that the agent, aghast at the boldness of his -visitor, turned and walked away. - -The late Curtis Guild, Jr., of Boston, and Senator Beveridge, of -Indiana, were with Colonel Roosevelt on the Oak Hall visit. They found -delight in the paintings and books in Mr. Nelson’s home and Colonel -Roosevelt gave proof of his wide range of knowledge by his instant -recognition of the work of painters of long-established reputation. In -his inspection of the library he asked to see what Mr. Nelson had on -the Greek dramatists. “I always ask for them in a man’s library,” he -remarked. - -During this visit I was a listener at an argument between the two men -on partisanship. Mr. Nelson had in his early days affiliated with -the Democratic Party. In 1876 he was Mr. Tilden’s personal manager -in Indiana. But with the party’s treatment of Tilden Mr. Nelson lost -partisan zeal, and never after could he be considered a party man. He -founded The Star in 1880 as an independent newspaper; it has remained -an independent newspaper. - -Colonel Roosevelt’s argument was, that to accomplish anything in public -affairs a man or a newspaper had to belong to a party organization. He -probably had in mind his experience in the Blaine campaign of 1884. His -conclusion was that the American people were wedded to the two-party -system and that one who aspired to do anything for the country could -achieve only by working through a party organization. - -Mr. Nelson granted what he said was true as to an individual, but -not as to a newspaper of the right sort. It was perhaps true as to -a newspaper which had as one of its aims the securing of political -honor for its owner, but the newspaper sincerely devoted to the public -interest could wield greater power by retaining its independence and -in the end could accomplish more substantial achievements, a statement -verified by his own conduct of The Star. Colonel Roosevelt saw the -force of Mr. Nelson’s contention, but stuck to his point that, with an -individual, accomplishment outside of party ranks was impossible. - -It is interesting to look back over the growth of the mutual -understanding and the fondness of the two men for each other dating -from that visit in 1900. After leaving Kansas City, Colonel Roosevelt -sent back a letter expressing his delight at the day spent at Oak Hall, -closing with “How I do wish I could spend the week in your library -instead of upon this infernal campaigning trip!” - -When the assassin’s bullet struck down President McKinley, Mr. Nelson -sent a telegram to Colonel Roosevelt expressing his horror at the deed -and pledging the whole-hearted support of his newspaper in aiding him -to carry the great burden which had been placed on his shoulders. - -Mr. Nelson had no wish to be a distributor of federal patronage; he was -concerned in higher things. When Colonel Roosevelt turned to him for -advice on political matters, he was reluctant to give it, feeling his -own lack of real knowledge of the politics of Kansas and Missouri and -of the men who sought appointments. Late in 1901 Colonel Roosevelt, -asking about conditions in Missouri, wrote, referring to St. Louis -men, “I think they have been rather after the offices and not after -success.... I should like to have some office-holder in Missouri to -whom I could tie.” - -Mr. Nelson asked the political writers of The Star to write their -estimate of the men seeking office and leadership, and these were -sent to the President with his endorsement. The President repeatedly -followed the ideas of these letters, and it is a pleasure to record -that in no instance was there subsequently cause for regret for any -selection based on the letters. - -In 1908 the President’s appointment of the Farm Life Commission -received Mr. Nelson’s commendation, for he had long recognized the need -of making farm life more attractive; indeed, he would have financed -experiments along this line had he been younger. At the same time -Mr. Nelson spoke approvingly of the President’s recent comment on -the courts, adding, “Courts need such criticism the worst kind. They -steadily undermine confidence in law and legal justice.” - -“I am sick at heart,” the President replied, “over the way in which -the courts have been prostituting justice in the last few years. -The greatest trouble will follow if they do not alter their present -attitude. I suppose I shall ‘pay’ myself in some way for what I have -said about the courts, but I have got to take the risk.” - -In 1909, in the closing days of the Roosevelt Administration the -President issued an executive order looking to a quick settlement of a -long-pending controversy over the channel of the Kaw River at Kansas -City. It was unexpected; indeed, few in Kansas City knew that the -President was considering the subject. The order cut straight to the -heart of the controversy in true Roosevelt fashion. The same day Mr. -Nelson sent this telegram to the President: - - It is quite worth while to have a real President of the United States. - -The next day this reply came from the President: - - It is even better worth while to have a real editor of just the right - kind of paper. - - -II - -The Star supported Taft in the campaign of 1908 because it had faith -that he would carry out the Roosevelt policies. Events early in the -Taft Administration weakened that faith; the Winona speech withered -it. Mr. Nelson had had no correspondence with Colonel Roosevelt while -he was hunting in Africa. Two letters came from the ex-President, -one March 12, 1910, from the White Nile saying he expected to return -in June; another from Porto Maurizio, a month later, saying, “I know -you will understand how delicate my position is,” and asking for an -early conference with Mr. Nelson on his return to this country. Mr. -Nelson’s final, open break with President Taft was “more in sorrow than -in anger”; there was never bitterness of feeling, solely regret at a -mistake in believing Mr. Taft stood for principles which events early -in his administration showed convincingly he did not stand for. - -Writing to Colonel Roosevelt, in 1910, after his return from Africa, -Mr. Nelson referred to the Winona speech and the Ballinger case, -concluding: “I have wondered whether sooner or later there would not -have to be a new party of the Square Deal.” - -The succeeding two years there were frequent conferences and -interchange of letters between Colonel Roosevelt and Mr. Nelson. The -latter had absolute confidence and abiding faith in Roosevelt. Late -in 1910 the Colonel’s enemies were seeking to torment him from many -angles. Mr. Nelson wrote him: - - It has occurred to me that the opposition will constantly be prodding - you and lying about you with the evident purpose of getting you angry - and so putting you to a disadvantage. That is the only hope on earth - they have of stopping you. - - Your comment on Wm. Barnes was fine. It recalled to me an incident - connected with Governor Tilden, who was the wisest politician I ever - knew. As a young man I was his manager in Indiana. After the defeat of - Lucius Robinson, whom he was backing for Governor of New York, I went - East at his invitation to confer with him. He asked me to see Kelly, - Clarkson, Potter, Dorsheimer, and Sam Cox, and some of the other men - who had been fighting him, to get their views. “What shall I tell them - about your position if they ask me?” I said. “Oh, tell them,” he said, - “that I am very amiable.” In my adventures since that time I have - often had occasion to remember that as sound advice. Amiability is a - great weapon at times. - - But my point is that you never need to defend yourself at all. The - people will take care of your defense. Besides, it is always a bad - policy, in my opinion, to get to talking about the past. You are a - Progressive. Your nose is to the front. The past doesn’t interest you. - So I hope you will ignore the critics, no matter how exasperating they - may be. And if you can’t ignore them, laugh at them! - -To this the Colonel replied: - - I guess you are right; but it does make me flame with indignation when - men who pretend to be especially the custodians of morals, and who sit - in judgment from an Olympian height of virtue on the deeds of other - men, themselves offend in a way that puts them on a level with the - most corrupt scoundrel in a city government.... - - But this does not alter the fact that, as you say, my business is to - pay no heed to the slanders of the past, but to keep my face steadily - turned toward the future. Here in New York the outlook is rather - dark. There are a great multitude of men, some of them nominally - respectable, but timid or misled, who do certainly, although rather - feebly, object to the domination of Barnes and his fellow bosses; but - who do sincerely, but rather feebly, prefer clean politics to corrupt - politics; but who, nevertheless, dread any interference with what they - regard as the rights of big business, any assault on what I regard as - an improperly arranged tariff, any effort to work for the betterment - of social conditions in the spirit of Abraham Lincoln; who regard all - assaults and efforts of this nature as being worse than the rule of - small bosses and the petty corruption of local politicians. - - -III - -As the presidential campaign of 1912 developed, there were frequent -exchanges of views. In May Colonel Roosevelt wrote that he was -confident of victory in the Republican Convention in spite of all that -was being done against him by the men in control of the party. Only -those who were in the thick of the Republican Convention in Chicago -in June realize how the fighting blood of the men on the progressive -side, from the leader down, was aroused. Mr. Nelson was at Chicago -during the Republican Convention. Colonel Roosevelt sought his advice -throughout. The course which was ultimately followed had Mr. Nelson’s -full approval. In a telegram to Colonel Roosevelt after the break from -the Republican Party, Mr. Nelson said: “I am with you tooth and nail, -to the limit and to the finish.” - -Following those vivid days and nights of the Republican Convention--a -period no active participant can ever erase from his memory--came -the Orchestra Hall meeting, the first definite step to organize the -Progressive Party, the National Progressive Party Convention in August, -and then the memorable three-party campaign. - -In the midst of the campaign Mr. Nelson and the Colonel had the time -and inclination to carry on a correspondence on things not directly -touching the issues on which the fight was made. In a letter from -his summer home at Magnolia, Massachusetts, Mr. Nelson dropped into -a discussion of what he called his two hobbies--to drive money out -of the voting booth and out of the courthouse. His idea was that all -legitimate expenses of candidates for office should be paid by the -State, and that there should be a reform of the voting system which -would avoid the necessity of party organization to get out the vote. -Having the vote taken by letter carriers was one way that appealed to -him. He would make justice free, “not for sale as it is to-day when -the rich man gets the best lawyers.” Lawyers should be officers of the -court in fact as well as in theory, and should be compensated for their -work by the State, not by the litigants. - -Replying to this letter late in July, Colonel Roosevelt said: - - I am with you in principle on both the points you raise. I am with you - on the question of the State paying the election expenses right - away now. I have always stood for that course as the only one to give - the poor man a fair chance in politics. - - Your other idea is new, but I have long been feeling my way to the - same conclusion. A lawyer is not like a doctor. No real good for the - community comes from the development of legalism, from the development - of that kind of ability shown by the great corporation lawyers who - lead our bar; whereas good does come from medical development. The - high-priced lawyer means, when reduced to his simplest expression, - that justice tends to go to the man with the longest purse. But the - proposal is such a radical one that I do not know how it would be - greeted, and it is something we will have to fight for later. - - THEODORE ROOSEVELT - - -[Illustration: - - Tʰᵉ Outlook - 287 Fourth Avenue - New York - - Office of - Theodore Roosevelt - - May 24, 1912 - - My dear Colonel Nelson: - - It certainly is fine, and it looks now as though we shall be able to - win in the Convention. - - Faithfully yours, - - _Theodore Roosevelt - Good luck, oh staunchest of - friends!_ - - Colonel W. R. Nelson, - Kansas City, Mo.] - -Late in September, during a campaign tour of the West, Colonel -Roosevelt spent a Sunday evening at Oak Hall. The subject of campaign -contributions came up, and the candidate became reminiscent, -recounting his first experience as governor of New York with campaign -contributions. It was an incident, he said, that might readily be -misconstrued and so he had not discussed it publicly. - -Soon after he was elected governor of New York, he had discovered that -the street railways were paying almost no taxes. Accordingly he took -steps to introduce a franchise tax bill into the legislature. Mr. Odell -at once came to him and told him that he was following in the footsteps -of Bryan and “Potato” Pingree, which was the most severe condemnation -at that time. That warning having no effect, Mr. Platt came to him -and said, “Governor, you can’t do this. Don’t you know that the -Whitney-Ryan combination was one of the heaviest contributors to your -campaign fund?” - -“The deuce they were,” said Roosevelt; “I supposed they made their -contributions to Tammany.” - -“Of course,” Platt returned, “they contributed to Tammany, but they -gave us just half as much as they did Tammany. If they hadn’t expected -fair treatment from us they would have given it all to Tammany.” - -“I told Platt they would get fair treatment from us,” Roosevelt said, -in telling the story, “but if they expected immunity from taxation they -were going to be left.” - -At that time the Whitney-Ryan combination owned the New York street -railways and so were going to be hard hit by the franchise tax. Mr. -Roosevelt added that the franchise tax bill went through and created -quite a scandal in high finance at that time. “Everybody was talking -about it,” he said, “and all the big financiers knew about it. So -I never could have any sympathy with the view that Harriman or the -Standard Oil people--if they really contributed to my campaign fund--or -any other interest of that sort gave any money for campaign purposes -under a misapprehension. They knew from my deeds as well as my words -that they could not buy immunity from me, and that the best they could -expect was a square deal. I said one time to Bacon, ‘Bob, why is it -that Morgan and all his crowd are against me? Don’t they know that they -would get justice from me?’ Bacon smiled, hesitated, and then said, -‘Yes, I suppose they do.’” - -In the Progressive campaign Mr. Nelson violated a personal rule of -many years’ standing which forbade his personal participation in -politics. Into this campaign he went with his whole soul. Then past -seventy years of age, he was abundantly able to direct but not to give -of his physical strength. He assumed responsibility for organizing the -party in Missouri and lent his newspaper organization to that end. -He thought day and night for the party’s candidate and the party’s -principles, and at the end of the campaign he had left undone nothing -which he could have done for the candidate who had his absolute and -unqualified confidence. After the election Colonel Roosevelt wrote Mr. -Nelson: - - I can never overstate how much I appreciate all that you have done and - been throughout this fight. My dear Sir, I am very grateful and I know - that the only way I can show my gratitude is so to bear myself that - you will feel no cause for regret at having stood by me. - -After the campaign of 1912, which showed the remarkable strength of -Colonel Roosevelt with the people and demonstrated that he was still -a factor in American public life to be reckoned with, the tormenting -by his political enemies continued. From many quarters darts had been -hurled at “the old lion.” In July, 1914, after a libel suit for fifty -thousand dollars had been started, Mr. Nelson telegraphed the Colonel -at Oyster Bay: - - Too bad so much of the burden should fall on you. _Would gladly share - it with you._ - -In a few days the message brought this letter: - - When a man is under constant fire and begins to feel, now and then, - as if he did not have very many friends, and as if the forces against - him were perfectly overwhelming, then, even though he is prepared to - battle alone absolutely to the end, he is profoundly appreciative of - the support of those whose support is best worth having. Your telegram - not only gave me real comfort, but touched and moved me profoundly. - - THEODORE ROOSEVELT - - -That was the end of the recorded correspondence between Colonel -Roosevelt and Mr. Nelson. The former came West on a speaking tour in -the fall of 1914 and during his stay in Kansas City was a guest again -at Oak Hall. Mr. Nelson accompanied him to a campaign meeting in a -skating rink packed with people in Kansas City, Kansas, where he spoke -in a sweltering atmosphere for more than an hour preaching with all his -old vigor and enthusiasm the doctrines of the Progressive Party. - -There was the same display from great crowds of people, along the -streets around the hall and everywhere he went, of the keen interest -and personal admiration which Colonel Roosevelt’s presence in Kansas -City territory always brought out. Kansas City and its vicinity -had been Roosevelt ground since Kansas and Western Missouri became -acquainted with him; indeed, any appearance by him was sufficient to -fill Convention Hall in Kansas City to its capacity of fifteen thousand -people. - -Following Mr. Nelson’s death in April, 1915, there came from Colonel -Roosevelt a sincere appreciation of his sorrow, ending, “We have lost -literally one of the foremost citizens of the United States, one of the -men whom our Republic could least afford to spare.” - - -IV - -In the 1916 campaign Colonel Roosevelt and The Star were of the same -mind. Deeply attached to the principles on which the battle of 1912 had -been conducted by the Progressive Party, they were conscious of the -futility of continuing the fight for those principles in a third party. -The American devotion to the two-party system had been convincingly -demonstrated again. The World War had been in progress two years, the -Lusitania had been sunk without stirring the Administration to more -than impotent words. Both thought that the Republican Party presented -the only hope of accomplishment. Colonel Roosevelt was The Star’s -choice for the nomination, but his nomination was too much to expect -after the break of 1912, and it gave its support to Mr. Hughes. - -Early in June, 1917, Mr. Irwin Kirkwood, Mr. Nelson’s son-in-law, on -his way West from New York, chanced to meet Colonel Roosevelt on the -train. A visit in the Colonel’s stateroom followed. The conversation -turned to the seeming impossibility of a Roosevelt division for France, -a subject in which Mr. Kirkwood was personally interested, for he had -been assured service in France if the Colonel’s ambition were realized. -The Colonel was discouraged over his failure to get active service -and restless at the Administration’s slow preparation for war. Of the -Nation’s whole-hearted support of the war he was certain, and the high -thought with him at the time was to bring influences to bear on the -Administration to speed up. - -At this time Colonel Roosevelt was contributing a monthly article for -The Metropolitan Magazine written long in advance of its publication. -Daily, momentous problems of the war were coming up. Mr. Kirkwood -felt strongly that the American people were eager to know what -Theodore Roosevelt thought on these questions. If he could reach the -public quickly, great good would result to this country’s cause. -Recalling that Mr. Nelson had said, when there was criticism of the -ex-President’s purpose to write for The Outlook, when it was first -announced, he would be mighty glad to have him write for The Star, Mr. -Kirkwood said: - -“Colonel Roosevelt, wouldn’t it be fine if you could get your ideas on -the war to the people before they were twenty-four hours old? The only -way that could be done is through a newspaper.” - -“By George!” said the Colonel, with emphasis, “I never thought of that: -it sounds like a good idea.” - -Mr. Kirkwood said if he would consider the suggestion, The Star would -certainly welcome him. - -“Such a proposition would not tempt me from many newspapers,” Colonel -Roosevelt continued. “In fact I know of no others except The Kansas -City Star and The Philadelphia North American from which I would -consider it. The Star particularly appeals to me as being printed -in the heart of the great progressive Middle Western country, and -because, too, of my love and affection for Colonel Nelson.” - -Colonel Roosevelt remarked that he would like to discuss the proposal -with Mrs. Roosevelt and his daughter, Mrs. Nicholas Longworth, for he -had great confidence in the judgment of both. On Mr. Kirkwood’s return -to New York a fortnight later, Colonel Roosevelt said he was still -“filled up” with the idea and asked Mr. and Mrs. Kirkwood out to dinner -at Oyster Bay with Mrs. Roosevelt and himself. Mrs. Kirkwood was unable -to go. Mr. Kirkwood again discussed the proposal. Colonel Roosevelt’s -position was that if The Star was still unafraid, he was willing to -start. The next time the Colonel came to New York he had tea with Mr. -and Mrs. Kirkwood, and there was a further full and frank discussion. - -“You, of course, know what you are doing,” Colonel Roosevelt said. -“Many people do not like my ideas and probably many of your subscribers -will be perfectly furious at The Star for printing my editorials.” - -Both Mr. and Mrs. Kirkwood assured him full consideration had been -given to that phase, and while it was possible he and The Star -might not always agree, that fact would not stand in the way of the -arrangement. - -So the agreement was there entered into. Colonel Roosevelt suggested -that as 1920 was a presidential year the connection be for two years or -until October, 1919, to which Mr. and Mrs. Kirkwood assented. - -Colonel Roosevelt said he never pretended to be much of a business -man, but a formal contract was the usual thing; he had one with The -Metropolitan. Anyhow he would gladly sign it. He was asked if he -desired a contract and answered he did not. - -“You understand and we do--” said Mr. Kirkwood. - -Without waiting for the sentence to be finished, Colonel Roosevelt -said quickly, “That’s all I want to know. Let’s don’t bother with a -contract.” - -And on that basis the Colonel wrote for The Star until his death. - -Early in September I was delegated to go to New York, as Managing -Editor of The Star, to discuss with the Colonel the details of his work -for the paper. I met him at a hotel in Fifty-Seventh Street where he -went on the days he came in from Oyster Bay. Mrs. Roosevelt was with -him. Roosevelt was in high spirits, which was no uncommon thing. I -recall vividly my introduction to Mrs. Roosevelt. - -“Edith,” he said, leading me into the room where Mrs. Roosevelt was, -“_here is my new boss_!” - -I didn’t say it, but the thought came to me that I would prefer the -task of “bossing” a tornado. - -The talk that followed was that The Star had no desire to guide what -he wrote; that it desired him to write whatever was in him, and it -would print it. The Colonel said that was exactly what he wanted; he -could do nothing else. We discussed the distribution over the country -of his writings, which he left entirely to The Star, with the request -that they be not offered to certain newspapers which had long shown a -spirit of personal animosity to him and of habitual hostility toward -his principles, a suggestion which was wholly agreeable to The Star. -He asked about the length and frequency of the articles he was to -write. It was agreed that an editorial of around five hundred words -was ideal, and at the start there would be two contributions a week. -Later they were more frequent. The Colonel said he would probably find -it difficult to keep down to five hundred words, but he recognized the -limitations of newspaper space and would do his best. - -“Now,” he said, “if I get too highbrow, don’t hesitate to tell me. I’m -no tender flower; I can stand criticism.” - -His secretary had come into the room to receive dictation from -accumulated correspondence. I arose to go. “Stay with us,” the Colonel -said, “until I finish this; you are a member of the family now.” - -Short, crisp sentences came from him as he dictated, each with the -animation of a face-to-face conversation with the writers of the -letters. - -It was arranged that the Colonel was to take up his duties the first -of October, and a few days after this meeting announcement was made -the country over that Theodore Roosevelt was to write for The Kansas -City Star. Immediately applications for the right to print the articles -poured in from newspapers throughout the country. - -Colonel Roosevelt came West in September on a speaking tour which -included Kansas City. So he came into the office of The Star on the -morning of September 22, 1917, and went to a desk which had been -assigned him, with the remark, “The cub reporter will now begin work.” -He was fond of that designation and often in conversation referred -to himself as “The Star’s cub reporter.” With pencil he wrote out -on newspaper copy-paper, with much scratching and interlining, the -editorial, “Blood, Iron, and Gold,” which appeared the following day. -His first editorial, however, was, a short time before, written on -suggestion of Mr. Kirkwood, a brief piece on the death of Dr. W. S. -Fitzsimons, of Kansas City, who was killed by a bomb in an airplane -attack on a hospital in France--the first American officer to fall in -the war. - -The same day Colonel Roosevelt wrote another editorial for later -publication. He was good nature itself that Saturday morning in the -office, joked and chatted with members of the staff, and seemed to be -enjoying the novelty of his new connection. - -The following Sunday there was a luncheon of The Star family at -the home of Mr. and Mrs. Kirkwood, at which the “new cub reporter” -made himself thoroughly at home. Editors, reporters, and men of the -mechanical and circulation departments were there and had luncheon -with the Colonel. He mingled with all and took delight in chatting -with them of their work. During the afternoon he made an informal talk -to “the family” out on the lawn, in which he commended the spirit of -working together shown in the expression “The Star family.” He spoke, -too, of his long acquaintance with the aims and purposes of Mr. Nelson -which were the aims and purposes of The Star, and said, as he had said -before, that The Star was one of two daily newspapers with which he -would be proud of a connection. - -The arrangement was that Colonel Roosevelt was to telegraph his -editorials to The Star from Oyster Bay or wherever he was when he -wrote them. They were put in type in The Star office and sent out from -there for simultaneous publication in a selected list of about fifty -newspapers. These included the best-known newspapers in the country -and represented every section. The service was without charge beyond -telegraph tolls, it being The Star’s wish to give the widest diffusion -possible to Colonel Roosevelt’s ideas on the conduct of the war through -the best channel in each city. - -Frequently there were suggestions from The Star to the Colonel. Always -he was gracious in his treatment of those suggestions, invariably -writing along the lines indicated and often amplifying and bettering -them. On the other hand--except in two instances--the Colonel’s -editorials were printed just as they were written, and if any change -in copy were considered advisable it was made only after he had been -consulted by wire and had approved it. - -From the start the country was much interested in the expressions from -the Colonel. The newspapers which received them printed them faithfully -and conspicuously. However, the service had been in operation not more -than a fortnight before there came rumbles of disapproval and doubt, -almost altogether from newspapers published south of Mason and Dixon’s -Line. - -One of the early editorials, entitled “Sam Weller and Mr. Snodgrass,” -presented Uncle Sam, “eight months after Germany went to war with us, -and we severed relations with Germany as the first move in our sixty -days’ stern foremost drift into, not going to, war,” as the boastful -Mr. Snodgrass, still taking off his coat and announcing in a loud voice -what he was about to do. This drew from the mayor of Abilene, Texas, -the following letter to The Star-Telegram, of Fort Worth, Texas, which -was publishing the Roosevelt articles: - - ABILENE, TEXAS, October 3, 1917. Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Fort Worth, - Tex. The Roosevelt article appearing in your paper of this date - is nothing short of the expression of the thoughts of a seditious - conspirator who should be shot dead, and, the Editor-in-Chief of your - paper should be tarred and feathered for publishing it, and your - paper should be excluded from the mails of the United States. You may - publish this if you wish, and stop my paper. - - E. N. KIRBY - Mayor of Abilene - - -The Fort Worth Star-Telegram promptly published Mayor Kirby’s letter, -under the caption “The Retort Courteous,” adding the following: - - The Editor-in-Chief presents his compliments to the Mayor of Abilene - and begs to say that should he conclude personally to conduct a tar - and feather expedition in our direction, he will experience no great - difficulty in locating the said Editor-in-Chief. Meanwhile we can - assure him that his reception will not be lacking in hospitality or - warmth. - -The mayor of Abilene and the editor did not meet. Later, in an -editorial devoted to apologists for the delay in making war who were -saying, “Why cry over spilt milk?” Colonel Roosevelt referred to the -incident, saying: - - Recently the mayor of Abilene, Texas, expressed his disapproval of my - pointing out that we, as a Nation, had wholly failed to prepare, by - saying that I was “a seditious conspirator who ought to be shot dead,” - and that the editor of the newspaper publishing the article “should - be tarred and feathered.” Although differing in method of expression, - this slight homicidal bleat of the gentle-souled (and doubtless - entirely harmless) mayor of Abilene, Texas, is exactly similar in - thought to the utterances of all these sheeplike creatures who raise - quavering or incoherent protests against every honest and patriotic - man who points out the damage done by our failure to prepare. - - -V - -When the “cub reporter” came to take on his “new job,” he learned -for the first time of the conditions at Camp Funston, in Kansas, the -big national army training camp of the Middle West, to which his old -friend, Major-General Leonard Wood, had been assigned. The drafted men -were assembled there from the farms and towns of the Middle West before -adequate provision had been made for their care or their training. -They were trained with wooden cannon, and broomsticks served in place -of rifles. Colonel Roosevelt wrote an editorial entitled “Broomstick -Preparedness,” which touched mildly on the conditions at Funston. The -expression “Broomstick Preparedness” caught popular fancy as typifying -the Administration’s delay in many aspects of war preparation. It -stuck in the public mind. It was widely used by newspapers and by -speakers who thought the Government was not showing sufficient speed. -An editorial, “Broomstick Apologists,” followed, directed at people who -answered criticism of delay by making excuses for delay. - -From the beginning Colonel Roosevelt had in the main devoted his -articles to speeding up the preparations for making war. The boosting -of Liberty bonds and the various war drives, the pacifists and -hyphenated enemies on our own soil, were not overlooked by any means, -but the thing that seared his soul was the lack of speed in making -ready for actual warfare. When his connection with The Star began, -we had been officially at war nearly six months, and how little the -Government had accomplished toward equipping for actual warfare was -continuously held up in his articles. - -Colonel Roosevelt used the method, followed by newspaper writers who -earnestly seek to achieve results, of pounding continually on a few -things, dressing each article in different language, but keeping to -the front all the time the central idea, presenting the same thoughts -in article after article, but striving in each so to change the -presentation that the ideas would finally enter the reader’s mind and -stir him to action. Mr. Nelson used this method in the conduct of The -Star. For many years, beginning with its first publication, The Star -advocated parks and boulevards for Kansas City. It hammered away on the -subject in nearly every issue. It took almost twenty years to do it, -but at the end a splendid system of parks and boulevards stands as a -monument to The Star’s persistence. - -Article after article Colonel Roosevelt devoted to the slow speed in -war-making until there was finally a response in Washington. It heard -from public opinion. War-making was speeded up, although at the best -and in the end there were many, many deficiencies in our war machine. - -Colonel Roosevelt’s criticisms of the Administration were not widely -popular. The Star never had any idea they would be popular, but it -believed they were right and for the real good of the country. As he -had foreseen when the connection was made, “Many of your subscribers -will be perfectly furious at The Star for printing my editorials.” -They were. They wrote to The Star to denounce the Colonel for writing -the articles and The Star for printing them. In popular discussion in -the Middle West forms of disapproval ranged from “He should stand by -the President” to “He should be stood before a stone wall and shot.” -Generally the user of the latter phrase added “at sunrise.” That was an -expression often heard. It was used by political orators with effect. -Colonel Roosevelt knew full well of the feeling in the West and South -toward his articles. He wrote once asking what effect the storm was -having on The Star. Never a word from him to show he cared one whit -about himself. He knew he was doing the right thing for the country; he -went ahead. - -The frank truth is, there was a strong and active pacifist element -in the territory in which The Star circulated. It had not been for -preparedness. It had voted for President Wilson in 1916 largely -“because he kept us out of war.” Undeniably that idea was popular. -A candidate for governor in a neighboring state, running on the -Republican ticket, had made a campaign identical with the Democratic -slogan and had carried the state, which at the same time gave its vote -to the Democratic presidential candidate. But once we were in war the -people of this section responded nobly; they went to the limit, but for -a long time after we were in war they did not approve the prodding-up -of Washington. The hostility toward the Roosevelt articles in the South -was more pronounced. At the beginning of the service ten Southern -newspapers were taking it. Their statements about discontinuance ran -from “We find further publication inadvisable in our territory” to an -apology to their readers for ever having allowed the Roosevelt articles -to enter their columns. - -Colonel Roosevelt was not without defenders; many of them thought and -said he was rendering the greatest service to the country in all his -career. But in the excited state of mind in the spring of 1918, when -the Germans were driving toward Paris, it required courage to defend -the articles. Many, however, spoke out boldly; others did not. Party -lines were not followed strictly. Republicans were not so bitter as -men of the President’s party. “We must stand by the President” had a -popular appeal regardless of whether the Government was functioning -efficiently or not. The view was widely held that it was unpatriotic -to criticize the President. Frequently it was charged that Colonel -Roosevelt’s purposes were political, not patriotic. The articles were -often decried as pro-German propaganda and The Star was branded as -pro-German for publishing them. - -In April, 1918, when this feeling was at its height, when the people -in Kansas City’s territory were in a highly inflamed state of feeling -toward criticism of the Government, Colonel Roosevelt sent a ringing -editorial, “Freedom Stands with her Back to the Wall,” which The Star -did not consider it advisable to publish. It had no doubt of the entire -righteousness of the criticism passed on the officials at Washington, -for the fruition of their slowness was shown in the poor showing -America was making in these critical days, but it could see no good -to come from the publication: in its opinion the article would only -further inflame Colonel Roosevelt’s enemies and irritate his friends. -Colonel Roosevelt was informed of the office opinion of this article -as he was on a later article (“How Not to Adjourn Politics,” June -25) which was not published. He acquiesced in the decision, saying -that he could readily conceive of local conditions which made their -publication ill-advised. He asked that they be telegraphed to two -other newspapers, which was done. The Star was willing to go as far as -it could go without, in its judgment, lessening the effectiveness of -the articles in accomplishing the speeding-up of the war, but it would -not go beyond this point. - -In July, when criticism had caused the removal of many inefficients at -Washington and when American troops were beginning to reach France, -The Star was barred from the Public Library at Fulton, Missouri, an -intensely Democratic town in Central Missouri, “for disloyalty to the -present Administration.” The notice read: - - DEAR SIR: By order from the library board of the Public Library I am - advised to have you discontinue our subscription to The Daily Star - and The Times. Disloyalty to the present Administration is the reason - given for the action taken. - - Yours sincerely - FRANCES F. WATSON - Librarian - -Answering this editorially, The Star said that throughout the war -it had taken the course of calling attention to the mistakes of the -Government rather than remaining silent on its mistakes; that it -did not believe in saying the country was doing finely when it was -not; that it believed in exposing inefficiency and rooting it out. -It directed attention to results already accomplished by criticism -in bringing into the war preparations men like Schwab, Goethals, -Stettinius, March, Baruch, and others, adding: “The Star is proud -to belong to the little group of constructive critics, including -preëminently Colonel Roosevelt, who worked to get wrong conditions -changed and to contribute to the present result, which to-day is the -salvation of the cause we fight for. For it to have done anything else -would have been faithlessness to its trust.” - -When at last the stirring-up of the Administration had borne fruit and -American troops were in France and on the way in considerable, though -disappointing, numbers, Colonel Roosevelt slowed down his bombardment -of the Washington authorities. His campaign had produced results. He -was right in doing all he could to speed up war preparations, and -he stood his ground in the face of widespread censure in the way he -always did. Hostile newspapers had demanded that the Postmaster-General -suppress the circulation of the Roosevelt articles; indeed, a -post-office inspector had visited Kansas City with the idea of denying -The Star admission to the mails, but the Administration made no further -move in this direction. - -Even when the turning of the tide had set in, Roosevelt’s demand was -for men, more men, and then more men for France. He would have in -all six or seven million men in training, and four million American -soldiers in France in the spring of 1919. In the first article he sent -after the news of Quentin’s death, he said: - - Now and always afterwards we of this country will walk with our heads - high because of the men who face death and wounds, and so many of - whom have given their lives for this nation and for the great ideals - of humanity across the sea. But we must not let our pride and our - admiration evaporate in mere pride, in mere admiration of what others - have done. We must put the whole strength of this nation back of the - fighting men at the front. We owe it to them. - -Later on the good effect of Colonel Roosevelt’s criticism was widely -recognized. The Nation, one of the Colonel’s bitterest opponents, -in general a strong supporter of the Administration, said of his -editorials: “It is largely to him that we owe our ability to discuss -peace terms and to criticize at all.” - -Summing up the effect of Colonel Roosevelt’s campaign to speed up our -part in the war, The Star said editorially: - - There were periods of intolerance when neither Mr. Roosevelt nor The - Star was under any illusions as to the reception that would be given - frank criticism. But it was essential that such criticism be made in - order to correct evils that were really threatening the outcome of the - war.... - - The selective draft was the big achievement of the Administration - in 1917. But having prepared this, the Government proceeded in most - leisurely fashion, apparently not getting the slightest comprehension - of the danger to the Allied cause resulting from Russia’s collapse. - - The War Department continued to be run, as it had been in the past, - by amiable old gentlemen who were wholly unfit for the task. Although - airplanes had become an essential feature of modern warfare, it was - not until weeks after war had been declared that the department sent a - commission to Europe to learn what a military airplane was. Rifles are - usually regarded as a part of the military equipment of troops. But it - was two months after the declaration of war before the War Department - decided what type of rifle to make. An army of millions of men was - certain to need uniforms, but the easy-going quartermaster-general - turned down the offer of the wool manufacturers’ association for the - entire output of the country and the result was that the soldiers - went into the winter without warm clothing or overcoats. As for - artillery, the incapacity was complete. - - Meanwhile we sent a small expeditionary force to France, and in the - autumn began sending troops across in a leisurely way, at the rate of - ten thousand a week. - - Then suddenly, late in March, with the German army driving straight on - Paris and the Allied defenses giving way, under the appeal of Lloyd - George we suddenly woke to the fact that we had been playing with the - war. From that time on we acted as if we had a man’s job, and we got - into the line just in time to save the situation. - - All through the fall and winter of last year what Mr. Roosevelt and - the other outspoken critics were trying to do was to arouse the - country and the Administration to the magnitude of the task and to the - danger from delay. They succeeded only partly. But they did succeed - to the extent of forcing the removal of incompetent departmental - chiefs, and the substitution of efficient men who were able to handle - the emergency when the Administration finally discovered that the - emergency existed. - - Looking back over the events of the last eighteen months, we believe - no fair-minded American can fail to perceive the patriotic service - done by Mr. Roosevelt and other critics, who were seeking to awaken - the Government from a lethargy that just missed proving fatal to the - Allied cause. - - -VI - -Colonel Roosevelt’s last visit to his desk in the editorial rooms of -The Star was early in October, 1918. It struck those who had been -associated with him that he was not quite as fit as usual. I asked -him if it were true the physicians had placed him on a diet. He -said it was, but, to be frank, he had not given much heed to their -recommendations. In a discussion at his desk with men of the editorial -force a recent article about Roosevelt by George Creel came up. “I -must admit,” said Colonel Roosevelt, laughing, “he took a rather -jaundiced view of me.” - -Mr. Kirkwood was away in the army, but Mrs. Kirkwood was in Kansas -City and the Colonel stayed at their home during his visit. At this -time a subject was brought up which had been talked over along in the -summer--a visit from him to the battle front to write at first hand -of the American forces. Newspapers which were receiving the service -and others which had heard of the suggestion were eager for Roosevelt -articles from France, but from the first the Colonel had demurred and -now said a final “No.” His reason was that he could not go as a private -citizen, as he had been denied permission to go as a soldier; it would -not only be unbecoming for a former president of the United States -to go in any newspaper capacity, but how to treat him would be an -embarrassing question to France. - -The tide had turned toward the Allies, and the country was certain the -defeat of the enemy was a question of a short time. Colonel Roosevelt’s -articles turned to a discussion of the kind of peace there should be -and examinations of the President’s “Fourteen Points” and his notes -to Austria. On November 11--the day the armistice was signed--it was -considered necessary for Colonel Roosevelt to go to a hospital in New -York. From his hospital room he telegraphed that day an editorial -joining in the general rejoicing over peace and appraising tersely our -part in the war. - -A few days later there came an editorial prompted by a letter from a -woman friend in California. Visiting this friend was another woman -whose son had died of influenza in the navy. That mother had said she -had given her boy proudly to her country, “but if only he could have -died with a gun in his hand--a little glory for him and a thought for -me that my sacrifice had not been useless.” The California friend had -written: “There must be other mothers who feel they have laid their -sacrifices on cold altars. You have written much that will comfort the -mothers whose sons have paid with their bodies in battle. Isn’t there -something you can say to comfort these other mothers?” - -The letter touched Colonel Roosevelt deeply. “I felt a real pang when -I received this letter,” he wrote, “because the thought suggested had -been in my mind and yet I had failed to express it.” The editorial, -“Sacrifices on Cold Altars,” which he wrote in response, gave -consolation from the heart. It made it clear that all who had given -their lives in the country’s service, whether in action or from -disease, stood on “an exact level of service and sacrifice and honor -and glory.” It concluded: - - The mother or wife whose son or husband has died, whether in battle - or by fever or in the accident inevitable in hurriedly preparing a - modern army for war, must never feel that the sacrifice has been laid - on “a cold altar.” There is no gradation of honor among these gallant - men and no essential gradation of service. They all died that we might - live; our debt is to all of them, and we can pay it even personally - only by striving so to live as to bring a little nearer the day when - justice and mercy shall rule in our own homes and among the nations - of the world. - -From his entrance to the hospital until his departure on Christmas -day, the editorials were less frequent. The Peace Conference, the -Congressional elections, and the League of Nations were uppermost -in public thought, and on these subjects the Colonel wrote several -editorials. Both Colonel Roosevelt and The Star were anxious to -find some means to lessen the chance of war through international -organization. Both feared, from President Wilson’s addresses, that he -had in view some grandiose plan that would be impractical. In December -a member of The Star’s staff visited the Colonel in Roosevelt Hospital, -New York. At that time he had written one or two editorials discussing -the subject in a tentative way. He was asked if he did not think he -could say something more positive. - -“I doubt it,” he said. “I feel there is so little that really can -be done by any form of treaty to prevent war that it would be -disappointing for me to point it out. Any treaty adopted under the -influence of war emotions would be like the good resolutions adopted -at a mass meeting. We have an anti-vice crusade. Everybody is aroused. -The movement culminates in a big meeting and we adopt resolutions -abolishing vice. But vice isn’t abolished that way.” - -Correspondence on the subject followed, and December 28, 1918, he wrote -this letter to the member of the staff who had been talking with him: - - In substance, or, as our friends the diplomats say, in principle, I - am in hearty accord with you. But do you really think we ought to - guarantee to stand with France and Italy in all future continental - wars? It’s a pretty big guarantee and I don’t know whether it would be - made good. Indeed, I don’t know whether it ought to be made good. I am - most heartily with France and England now, but I certainly would not - have been with France fifty years ago or with England sixty years ago, - and our clear duty to antagonize Germany has slowly become apparent - during the last thirty or forty years. Remember that you are freer to - write unsigned editorials than I am when I use my signature. If you - propose a little more than can be carried out, no harm comes, but if I - do so it may hamper me for years. However, I will do my best to write - you such an article as you suggest: and then probably one on what I - regard as infinitely more important, namely, our business to prepare - for our own self-defense. - - As for Wilson having with him the bulk of the people who are taken in - by this name [The League of Nations], I attach less importance to this - than you do. He is a conscienceless rhetorician and he will always - get the well-meaning, foolish creatures who are misled by names. At - present anything he says about the World League is in the domain of - empty and windy eloquence. The important point will be reached when he - has to make definite the thing for which he stands. - -The article written in response to the promise in this letter was -Colonel Roosevelt’s last contribution to The Star. It was dictated at -his home at Oyster Bay, January 3, which was Friday. His secretary -expected to take it to him for correction the following Monday. Instead -an early call on the telephone that morning told of his passing away in -his sleep. - - RALPH STOUT - - - - -ROOSEVELT IN THE KANSAS CITY STAR - -[Illustration] - - -DR. FITZSIMONS’S DEATH[1] - -SEPTEMBER 17, 1917 - - -The first name on the casualty list of the American army in France is -that of Dr. William T. Fitzsimons, of Kansas City, killed in a German -air raid on our hospitals. Dr. Fitzsimons had already served for some -time in a French hospital. As soon as this Nation went to war he -volunteered for service abroad. - -There is sometimes a symbolic significance in the first death in a war. -It is so in this case. To the mother he leaves, the personal grief -must in some degree be relieved by the pride in the fine and gallant -life which has been crowned by the great sacrifice. We, his fellow -countrymen, share this pride and sympathize with this sorrow. But -his death should cause us more than pride or sorrow; for in striking -fashion it illustrates the two lessons this war should especially teach -us--German brutality and American unpreparedness. - -The first lesson is the horror of Germany’s calculated brutality. As -part of her deliberate policy of frightfulness she has carried on a -systematic campaign of murder against hospitals and hospital ships. -The first American in our army to die was killed in one of these -typical raids. We should feel stern indignation against Germany for the -brutality of which this was merely one among innumerable instances. -But we should feel even sterner indignation towards--and fathomless -contempt for--the base or unthinking folly of those Americans who aid -and abet the authors of such foul wickedness; and these include all men -and women who in any way apologize for or uphold Germany, who assail -any of our allies, who oppose our taking active part in the war, or who -desire an inconclusive peace. - -The second lesson is our unpreparedness. We are in the eighth month -since Germany went to war against us; and we are still only at the -receiving end of the game. We have not in France a single man on the -fighting line. The first American killed was a doctor. No German -soldier is yet in jeopardy from anything we have done. - -The military work we are now doing is work of preparation. It should -have been done just three years ago. Nine tenths of wisdom is being -wise in time. - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[1] Although Colonel Roosevelt did not begin his regular contributions -to The Star until October 1, the death of Dr. W. T. Fitzsimons, of -Kansas City, moved him to send this article. - - - - -BLOOD, IRON, AND GOLD - -SEPTEMBER 23, 1917 - - -Bismarck announced that his policy for Germany was one of blood and -iron. The men who now guide, and for some decades have guided, -German international policy have added gold as the third weapon in -Germany’s armory. - -[Illustration: A PAGE OF THE MANUSCRIPT OF ONE OF ROOSEVELT’S -EDITORIALS] - -To a policy based on callous disregard of death and suffering, and -the brutal use of force, they have added the habitual and extensive -employment of corruption as a means for weakening their foes and -bending other nations to their service. - -The Administration at Washington recently made public the proof that -Ambassador Bernstorff, on behalf of the German Government, was, up to -the very last moment of his stay, engaged in efforts to bribe with -German money American organizations or individuals who could be used to -further Germany’s purpose by protesting against war, demanding peace -at any price, opposing the measures necessary for war, denouncing -the Allied nations, praising unpreparedness, or by some other of the -methods habitual with pro-German Senators, Congressmen, editors, heads -of peace societies and the like. - -No well-informed man was surprised at the revelation. Every reasonably -well-informed man, who has known about matters at Washington, has -known that for nearly three years German money and governmental power -has been used for the corruption of American newspapers and pacifist -organizations and for the pay of German, and the bribery of native, -scoundrels to wreck our industries with dynamite and in all ways -debauch our political life. The Government, from the highest official -down, knew all these facts over two years ago. The New York World -published the names of some of the editors and other individuals who -had received money, and the amounts received. The Austrian Ambassador, -Dumba, and two of the German attachés, Boy-Ed and Von Papen, were -dismissed for inspiring and countenancing the intrigues. It was -absolutely impossible that what they did was not ordered and supervised -by Bernstorff, under the direction of the Berlin Government. It was -deeply to our discredit that we did not then show the courage and -manliness to break at once with Germany, instead of hiding our heads in -the sand so as to avoid seeing the guilt of the German Government, and -punishing the minor instruments of wrongdoing who, under no conceivable -circumstances, would or could have acted save as their superiors bade -them act. Germany has hitherto been able to do but little against us -with blood and iron; gold has been her weapon, and her agents have been -the foes of our own household. - -Every man in this country who is now playing the pro-German game -should be made to feel that he must overcome a presumption of guilty -motive. There are misguided pro-Germans who are uninfluenced by corrupt -motives, just as there were in the Civil War copperheads who were -merely misguided and not conscious wrongdoers. But these men are in -mighty unpleasant company! - -The pacifist, the man who wishes a peace without victory, the supporter -of Senator La Follette or Senator Stone, the man who in any way now -aids Germany, may be honest; but he stands cheek by jowl with hired -traitors, and he is serving the cause of the malignant and unscrupulous -enemies of his country. - - - - -THE GHOST DANCE OF THE SHADOW HUNS - -OCTOBER 1, 1917 - - -Ten days ago a ghost dance was held in St. Paul under the auspices -of the Non-Partisan League, with Senator La Follette as the star -performer. We have the authority of the German Kaiser for the use of -the word Hun in a descriptive sense, as representing the ideal to which -he wished his soldiers in their actions to approximate. It is therefore -fair to use the word descriptively as a substitute for the German -in this war. It is also fair to use it descriptively of the German -sympathizer in this country, of the man who aids and abets Germany by -condoning the German offenses against us, by seeking to raise class -division in this country, with, of course, the attendant benefit to -Germany; by screaming against the war, or in favor of an inconclusive -peace; or by belittling or sneering at or declaring inopportune the -effort to arouse the spirit of Americanism. The Americans who thus -serve Germany deserve the title of Shadow Huns. - -It was to me a matter of sincere regret to have the Non-Partisan League -play the part it did at St. Paul in connection with the meeting -which Senator La Follette addressed. They held what was in effect a -disloyalty day festival. When the Non-Partisan League movement was -first started, I was inclined to hail it, because I am exceedingly -anxious to do everything in my power to grapple with and remedy every -injustice or wrong or mere failure to give ample opportunity to the -farmer. With most of the avowed objects and with some of the methods of -the Non-Partisan League I was in entire sympathy, although there were -certain things it did which I felt should be condemned, and certain -ways of achieving its objects which I believed to be mischievous. But -when the League, on the disloyalty day in question, ranged itself on -the side of the allies of Germany and the enemies of this country, -it became necessary for every loyal American severely to condemn it. -Morally, although doubtless not legally, it thereby came perilously -near ranging itself beside the I.W.W., the German-American Alliance, -and the German Socialist party machine in America. - -When I spoke in Minneapolis three men spoke from the same platform -with me. One was that fine and loyal American, Governor Burnquist, -of Swedish ancestry. One was a blacksmith, born in Sweden, a former -member of the Socialist party, who left the party within the last six -months when he became convinced that it was the tool or ally of German -autocracy. The third was another working-man, of German birth. - -At the meeting in Wisconsin I was on the platform with the Mayor of -Racine, an American citizen of German birth. My companions throughout -the trip were Judge Harry Olson, of Swedish parentage, and Mr. -Otto Butz, of German parentage, both of whom represent that kind -of Americanism to which we all must subscribe if we are to be good -Americans. - -The Americanism of all these men is the Americanism I profess, and it -is the exact antithesis of the attitude of the Shadow Huns, who, under -the lead of native-born Americans like Messrs. La Follette and Townley, -by their utterances, stir dissensions among our own people and weaken -us in the prosecution of the war. - -The two working-men of whom I speak, the man born in Sweden and the man -born in Germany, spoke with rugged emphasis of their devotion to this -country, and of their sense of the duty of every man fit to be called -an American in this crisis. They emphasized the fact that Germany’s -social system was based upon the duty of the average man to cringe -before the insolence of his superiors and his right himself to behave -with insolence to his inferiors. It is for this system of cringing -abasement before the powerful, and of brutal insolence to the weak -for which the Shadow Huns in this country stand when they directly or -indirectly talk against our Government for going to war or talk against -any step which it takes for the efficient waging of the war; and, above -all, when they directly or indirectly apologize for or champion Germany. - -It is the duty of every American citizen fearlessly, but truthfully, -to criticize not only his Government but his people, for wrongdoing, -or for failure to do what is right. It is his duty to obey the -injunction of President Wilson by insisting upon pitiless publicity of -inefficiency, of subordination of public to private considerations, -or of any other form of governmental failure to perform duty. Such -criticism is absolutely indispensable if we are to do our duty in this -war, and if we are to adopt a permanent policy of preparedness which -will make this Nation safe. But the men who oppose the war; who fail -to support the Government in every measure which really tends to the -efficient prosecution of the war; and above all who in any shape or way -champion the cause and the actions of Germany, show themselves to be -the Huns within our own gates and the allies of the men whom our sons -and brothers are crossing the ocean to fight. - -I do not admire these Shadow Huns. But least of all do I admire those -among them, whether Senators, Congressmen, or public officials of any -other kind who, although on Uncle Sam’s pay-roll, nevertheless seek to -stab Uncle Sam in the back. - - - - -SAM WELLER AND MR. SNODGRASS - -OCTOBER 2, 1917 - - -Readers of “Pickwick,” if such there still be, will recall the time -when Mr. Pickwick was arrested and some of his followers resisted -arrest. Sam Weller made no boasts; but he spoiled the looks of various -opponents. Mr. Snodgrass began ostentatiously to take off his coat, -announcing in a loud voice that he was going to begin. But he gave no -further trouble. - -Over eight months have elapsed since Germany went to war with us, -and we severed relations with Germany as the first move in our sixty -days’ stern foremost drift into, not going to, war, but admitting -that we were already at war. During those eight months we have paid -the penalty for our criminally complete failure to prepare during the -previous three years by not having yet to our credit one single piece -of completed achievement. The Administration has unwisely striven to -cover this past failure to prepare, and present failure to achieve, by -occasional grandiloquent pronunciamentos as to the wonderful things -we are going to do in the future; and usually the language used is -designed to convince ignorant people that these things have already -been done. - -One day it is announced that we have discovered an infallible remedy -against submarine attacks; and the next day it is announced that the -toll by submarines is heavier than during any previous month. We read -that the British drive is successful, but stubbornly resisted; that -some thousands of prisoners have been taken; and that the losses have -been terribly heavy. We read at the same time that we are going to have -an immense army of aircraft--some time next spring. And actually there -is less boasting over the former statement than over the latter! We -read of the valor and suffering of the French in some heroic assault; -and the Administration proudly announces that, after eight months, the -drafted men are beginning to assemble in their camps--and omits to -mention that they have neither guns nor uniforms, are short of blankets -and sweaters. - -So far the Sam Wellers who have done things are our allies. Uncle -Sam is still complacently engaged in taking off his coat, like Mr. -Snodgrass. Under such circumstances it is unwise for him to announce -overloudly what he is going to do when at last he begins. Let him wait -until he has done it; and meanwhile bend all his energies to doing it, -and doing it soon. Brag is a good dog. But Holdfast is a better. - - - - -BROOMSTICK PREPAREDNESS - -OCTOBER 4, 1917 - - -At present we Americans have two prime duties. - -The first is to make the best of actual conditions; to prepare our -army, navy, merchant marine, air service, munition plants, agriculture, -food conservation, and everything else as speedily as possible, so as -to fight this war to a completely victorious conclusion. - -The second is not to fool ourselves, but to face the fact of our -complete and lamentable unpreparedness. And to inaugurate a policy of -permanent preparedness which will prevent our ever again being caught -in such a humiliating condition. - -The men of the national guard and of the drafted army are of admirable -type. I do not believe that any other great nation can produce quite -their equals on such a scale as we can; the zeal, energy, and adaptable -intelligence with which they are doing all they can in the various -camps must be a matter of pride for all Americans. There is all the -more reason why such first-class material should be given a first-class -chance for speedy and efficient action. It has not been given that -chance. The steps we as a nation are now taking ought to have been -taken three years ago. Failure to take them then has meant broomstick -preparedness now. Failure to take them as a permanent policy now means -broomstick preparedness in some future vital crisis when we may not -have allies willing and able to protect us while we slowly prepare to -meet the enemy. - -The Ordnance Bureau of the War Department admits that we have not -rifles for our national army, but attempts to excuse matters by saying -that it is of no consequence because we shall have rifles a few months -hence when our men are ready to go abroad. The admission is correct. -The excuse is not. Even for training, it is better to arm infantrymen -each with the weapon he is to use rather than to give each man a -broomstick or to give every four men an antiquated rifle which cannot -be used in service, and most of our artillery regiments at present -either have no guns or wooden guns or, in rather rare cases, old-style -guns which cannot be matched against any present-day artillery. -Moreover, and this is the vital point, we now have the time to prepare -only because the English and French fleets and armies protect us. Eight -months have passed since Germany openly went to war with us. As yet -we have not rifles for our infantry. As yet we have not guns for our -artillery. It will be at least a year after we were dragged into the -war before our army will have received the weapons with which we are to -wage the war. - -This is broomstick preparedness, and there is not the slightest use in -trying to justify or excuse broomstick preparedness. - - - - -THE BONDHOLDERS AND THE PEOPLE - -OCTOBER 7, 1917 - - -Not many years ago one of the favorite cries of those who wished to -exploit for their own advantage the often justifiable popular unrest -and discontent was that “the people were oppressed in the interest -of the bondholders.” The more ardent souls of this type wished to -repudiate the national debt, to “wipe it out as with a sponge,” in order -to remove the “oppression.” The bondholders were always held up as -greedy creatures who had obtained an unfair advantage of the people as -a whole. - -Well, the Liberty Loan now offers the chance to make the people and the -bondholders interchangeable terms. The bonds are issued in such a way -that the farmer and the wage-worker have exactly the same chance as the -banker to purchase and hold as many or as few as they wish. No matter -how small a man’s means, he can get some part of a bond if he wishes. -The Government and the big financiers are doing all they can to make -the sale as widely distributed as possible. Some bankers are serving -without pay in the effort to put all the facts before the people as a -whole, and so make the loan in very truth a people’s loan. It rests -with the people themselves to decide whether it shall be such. - -The Government must have the money. It is a patriotic duty to purchase -the bonds. And they offer an absolutely safe investment. The money -invested is invested on the best security in the world--that of the -United States; of the American Nation itself. The money cannot be lost -unless the United States is destroyed, and in that case we would all -of us be smashed anyhow, so that it would not make any difference. -The people can, if they choose, now make themselves the bondholders. -If they do not so choose, and if they force Wall Street to become the -largest purchaser of the bonds, which must be bought somehow, then they -will have no right in the future to grumble about the bondholders as a -special class. We can now, all of us, join that class if we wish. - - - - -FACTORIES OF GOOD CITIZENSHIP - -OCTOBER 10, 1917 - - -The training camps for the drafted men of the national army are huge -factories for turning out first-class American citizens. Not only are -they fitting our people for war; they are fitting them for the work -of peace. They are making patriotism, love of country, devotion to the -flag, and a sense of duty to others living facts, instead of unreal -phrases. The public schools are laboratories of Americanism for our -children; the training camps are laboratories of Americanism for our -young men. - -I have just seen a party of drafted men from the East Side of New -York City start for Camp Upton with a band playing, an American flag -flying. And two of their number in front, one dressed as Uncle Sam, -and the other as the Kaiser, dragged along in manacles. There is no -fifty-fifty Americanism in men with such spirit. A captain at this -camp, a Plattsburg man, told me that his company of East Side New -Yorkers showed all the intelligence and the zealous desire to learn -which the fine young college graduates at Plattsburg have shown. -Another captain told me that one of his men, a young Jew, had come -to him and said that at first the East Siders had hated coming, not -knowing what was ahead of them, but that now they felt that they were -in a University of American Citizenship. A surgeon in the camp told me -that men also, proved physically lacking after a week’s trial, were -in most cases bitterly chagrined at being sent away. A colonel from -a Southern camp has reported that already his country boys from the -remote farms are straightening and broadening morally, mentally, and -physically, and that the improvement is really incalculable. From every -camp we hear of the eagerness with which the men are doing their duty, -of their resourcefulness and of the real patriotism which is being -rapidly learned. All this means not merely good soldiers in war, but -good citizens in peace; it means an immense growth in the spirit of -Americanism. - -The young men are learning to be efficient, alert, self-respectful and -respectful of others; they are learning to scorn laziness, slackness, -and cowardice. All are serving on a precise equality of privilege -and of duty and are judged each only on his merits. The sons of the -foreign-born learn that they are exactly as good Americans as any one -else, and when they return to their home their families will learn it, -too. - -Let all good Americans insist that now, without delay, we make this -state of affairs our permanent national policy by law. We have -built the camp, we have encountered the failures to provide army -uniforms and blankets and all the other exasperating delays which are -inevitable when a nation like ours has foolishly trusted to broomstick -preparedness. We shall avoid all these things for the future if we -continue these camps, as permanent features of the life of all our -young men, and change the selective draft unto a system of universal -obligatory military training for all our young men of nineteen and -twenty, it being understood that they are not to go to war until they -are twenty-one. We are now suffering, and the whole world is now -suffering, from the effects of our broomstick preparedness. Let us do -away with broomstick preparedness for the future and substitute real -preparedness. - - - - -PILLAR-OF-SALT CITIZENSHIP - -OCTOBER 12, 1917 - - -When Lot’s wife was journeying to safety, she could not resist looking -back to the land she had left and was thereupon turned to a pillar of -salt. The men from the Old World who, instead of adopting an attitude -of hearty and exclusive loyalty to their land, try also to look -backward to their old countries, become pillars-of-salt citizens, who -are not merely useless, but mischievous members of our commonwealth. - -The dispatches of the German Government, just published by the State -Department, give us an illuminating glimpse, not only of German methods -and of German conduct towards this country, but also of certain phases -of our own citizenship. The German Government proposed to use this -country as a basis of operations for wrecking the Canadian railway. It -also proposed to use and pay its agents and certain of our citizens for -“sabotage in every kind of American factory for supplying munitions of -war,” and for “a vigorous campaign to secure a majority in both houses -favorable to Germany.” The German staff, in issuing these directions -and in naming certain American citizens as tools for the treacherous -work, insisted that the embassy should not be compromised and that -“similar precautions must be taken in regard to Irish pro-German -propaganda.” - -Good citizens who have been misled by false counsel must now clearly -see that the campaign of dynamite against our industries, with the -attendant wreckage and murder, was a deliberate act of secret war by -the German Government; that the attempt by Americans to secure an -embargo on sending munitions to the Allies was an effort to aid Germany -in thus making war on the United States; that the Irish pro-German -movement in this country was financed and guided from Germany, and that -our citizens, whether of foreign or native birth, whether of native -American or German or Irish origin, who took part in pushing these -movements, were doing substantially the same kind of work that Benedict -Arnold once tried to do. - -Some of them were doubtless paid, others were doubtless not paid, -but the paid and the unpaid alike were serving Germany against the -United States. These matters are now all of public record. The excuse -of ignorance can no longer avail any one. Henceforth the citizens of -German or Irish birth who take part in such activities as those of most -of the German-American alliances and the like, are at best standing in -the position of pillar-of-salt citizenship; at worst they, and above -all their native American associates, who now indulge in pacifist -movements or demand a peace without overwhelming victory or ask for -a referendum on the war, or in any other way serve the brutal and -conscienceless ambition of Germany, stand unpleasantly near the lonely -eminence occupied by Benedict Arnold. - - - - -BROOMSTICK APOLOGISTS - -OCTOBER 14, 1917 - - -The chief of the Ordnance Bureau of the army, in commenting on the -shortage of rifles, has said that it is of no consequence, because -“every soldier will be supplied a rifle when he starts for France.” - -Of course he will, otherwise he cannot start. One of the leading papers -of New York backs up the statement by saying that the “drilling in the -camps without rifles is ended now” and that “General Crozier delayed -the work so as to get rifles with the same ammunition our allies are -using.” - -Neither statement is correct. The last is the reverse of truth. On -October 2 in one camp there were still only one hundred rifles for -twenty thousand men and other camps were scarcely better off, and the -delay in getting rifles during the last eight months has been due -primarily to the refusal of the Ordnance Department to get rifles using -the ammunition of our allies. - -If during the two years preceding our entry into the war the Government -factories had been run full speed, we would have had over two million -of Springfield rifles instead of under one million. Our shortage was -due solely to our policy of dawdle. Our factories produced a mere -dribble of rifles and no big field guns until the inevitable happened. - -War came. Having no rifles of our own for the new army, the War -Department decided to adopt the English rifle, the Enfield, which was -being built in this country at the rate of nearly nine thousand a day -in private plants, and by speeding them up the number could have been -immediately increased to fourteen thousand a day. But the authorities -insisted that the Enfields should be changed to take our ammunition, -and that certain parts should be standardized and made interchangeable. -As regards this excuse, it is sufficient to point out that in the -first place it was a very grave error, while making the parts of our -Enfields interchangeable, at the same time to make their ammunition not -interchangeable with that of the British Enfields, for the number of -Springfields on hand was negligible compared to the millions of rifles -we would ultimately need, and in the second place the delay even for -this purpose was wholly inexcusable. The German submarine note came on -January 31. An alert War Department would have had its rifle programme -minutely mapped out within two weeks. The delay in furnishing final -specifications to the factories was such that they could not begin on -the complete rifle until the latter part of August. Six months is a -“perfectly endurable delay” only if we are content to accept the speed -standards in war of Tiglath-Pileser and Pharaoh Necho. The United -States must learn to adopt the war speed standards of the Twentieth -Century, A.D., instead of those of the Seventh Century, B.C. - -If in April we had been ready to proceed with the Enfield rifle, we -would now have about two million of the new rifles instead of about -one-fiftieth of that number. General Crozier says that we have only had -to wait “two or three months--a perfectly endurable delay.” Surely if -there is anything this war teaches it is the vital importance of time. -Two or three months’ waiting in order to get a rifle which does not -carry the ammunition of our allies represents not merely an undesirable -delay but grave unwisdom. - -General Crowder handled the draft to perfection because he appreciated -that the difference between sending a telegram at 5 or at 4:45 might -be of momentous consequence. General Crozier has bungled the rifle -situation because of the attitude which makes him regard two or three -months as “a perfectly endurable delay.” - -For two years and a half before entering the war we relied upon -broomstick preparedness. For the first eight months of the war we have -followed the same policy as regards the vital matter of rifles for our -troops. - - - - -THE LIBERTY LOAN AND THE PRO-GERMANS - -OCTOBER 16, 1917 - - -Mr. Victor Berger, the Socialist leader of Milwaukee, is reported in -the press as sneering at the Liberty bonds, berating the Administration -for, as he says, appointing thirty-three wealthy capitalists on the -National Council of Defense, and in effect seeming to persuade his -hearers that they ought, at this crisis of foreign war, to be hostile -to those of their countrymen who are “capitalists” instead of the -Kaiser. - -This is natural. The Socialist party machine in this country is run by -Germans. Socialists, who were sincerely desirous of social betterment -and who were sincere in this hatred of tyranny and wrongdoing, have -left the Socialist party. Those who remain in it have turned it into a -mere tool of the brutal militaristic autocracy which now threatens the -world. These men are completely dominated by the Germans, and German -Socialists in America have shown in this crisis that they are Germans -first, Socialists a long way second, and not Americans at all. In -fact, they are venomously hostile to the country in which they dwell -and claim citizenship, and are eagerly ready to sacrifice Socialism -itself to the interests of the Germany of the Hohenzollerns. They stand -well to the front among the Shadow Huns who, within our gates, are the -allies of the Huns without our gates. - -While in Wisconsin I was told that the German-American Alliance, in its -efforts to persuade American citizens to betray their citizenship in -the interests of Germany, had relatively as many adherents among the -Socialists as among the two great parties. - -When the Socialists under such leadership oppose or sneer at the -Liberty Loan, it is proof positive that all patriotic citizens should -buy Liberty bonds up to the limit of their ability. The Socialists -attack the Liberty Loan in order to hurt America and help Germany. -The domination of “American capitalism” is a mere blind to obscure the -service they are trying to render to the capitalists and militarists of -Germany. - -For the composition of the National Council of Defense, I am sorry -that more labor men and farmers are not on it, but I wish they could -be put on in addition to, not as substitutes for, the men of means who -are on it, for these men of means, taken as a whole, have at much cost -to themselves rendered devoted and invaluable service to the Nation. -Their absence would be a general calamity to America and a great aid -to Germany, and all true lovers of America should recognize this -fact. I know some of these men personally, and those whom I know have -sacrificed time, effort, and money in order to be of help to the Nation -at this juncture. In fact, I have never known more devoted public -service than that they rendered at this crisis. - -It is unpatriotic at this time to attack good Americans because they -have capital and are trying to make this capital of service in the -war. Capital is necessary to business and industry, and in this war -industrial efficiency is almost as necessary as military skill. The -factories at home are almost as important as the armies in the field. -Wise war taxation of capital and profits is eminently necessary, but it -must not go to an extent that will interfere with production and the -forward movement of business, or widespread calamity would result. - -We are a great Nation, engaged in a stupendous war. Let us use dollars -as we use the loaded shells, and each can do its best work only under -the leadership of the ablest man: the business man in one case, the -military man in the other. By all means let the people be masters of -the capital of the country at the present time. The surest way to do -this is for the people themselves to buy the Liberty bonds and not -leave them to Wall Street. They are the one absolutely safe investment, -both for men of small means and men of large means. - - - - -A DIFFICULT QUESTION TO ANSWER - -OCTOBER 18, 1917 - - -A correspondent in Pueblo, Colorado, writes me as follows: - - By what logic are we “at peace” with Austria, when she is furnishing - troops or artillery to Germany to fight and kill our soldiers on the - western front? The same question might apply to Turkey. Remember, too, - that we are furnishing money and supplies to Italy, our ally, in her - struggle with Austria. The Western folks are looking to you to answer - hard questions of this sort for us which we don’t understand. - -Neither I nor any one else can satisfactorily answer the question. -A limited liability war in which we fight Germany ourselves and pay -money to Italy and Russia to enable them to fight Austria and Turkey, -with whom we are at peace, savors of sharp practice and not of -statesmanship. It is a good rule either to stay out of war or to go -into it, but not to try to do both things at once. - -Moreover, this matter squarely tests our sincerity when we announced -that we went to war to make the world safe for democracy. The phrase -must have been used in a somewhat oratorical fashion, anyhow, because -we have ourselves within the last year or two made the world entirely -unsafe for democracy in the two small and weak republics of Haiti and -San Domingo. Therefore, the phrase must have meant that we intended to -make the world safe for well-behaved nations, great or small, to enjoy -their liberty and govern themselves as they wished. If it did not mean -this, the phrase was much worse than an empty flourish, for it was -deliberately deceitful. If it did mean this, then we are recreant to -our promise unless we at once go to war with Austria and Turkey. - -Both these nations are racial conglomerates, in which one or two -nationalities tyrannize over other subject nationalities. The world -will not and cannot be safe for democracy until the Armenians, the -Syrian Christians, and the Arabs are freed from Turkish tyranny, and -until the Poles, Bohemians, and Southern Slavs, now under the Austrian -yoke, are made into separate, independent nations, and until the -Italians of Southwest Austria are restored to Italy and the Rumanians -of Eastern Hungary to Rumania. - -Unless we propose in good faith to carry out this programme, we have -been guilty of a rhetorical sham when we pledged ourselves to make -the world safe for democracy. The United States must not make promises -which it has no intention of performing. We are breaking this promise -and incidentally are acting absurdly every day that we continue at -nominal peace with Germany’s fellow tyrants and subject allies, Austria -and Turkey. - - - - -NOW HELP THE LIBERTY LOAN - -OCTOBER 20, 1917 - - -The concrete services to the United States which every decent American -not fortunate enough to be a soldier can now render, is to buy as many -Liberty bonds as he can afford. - -The Treasury Department has set forth in the public press the facts -about the campaign which the pro-Germans in the United States are -waging against the Liberty Loan. The campaign is being waged by trying -to prevent banks from handling the Liberty Loan, and by the publication -in certain newspapers of articles tending to discourage people from -investing in the bonds. Senator La Follette’s speeches, which are to -the same effect, are also being circulated with a view to check popular -subscriptions. Senator La Follette, by the way, represents exactly -the type which tries to prevent the people from owning the bonds and, -nevertheless, will in the future probably rail at the purchasers of the -bonds as having, somehow or other, obtained an improper and excessive -profit. - -Inasmuch as the enemies of the Liberty Loan are of this type, all -patriotic Americans should strain every nerve to make the sale a -success. Moreover, this happens to be one of those rare cases where the -performance of a patriotic duty is a first-class financial investment. -The patriot is rendering a great service to the Nation while he is also -making a capital investment for himself. If the people do not take the -bonds, they will be taken by the big capitalists. The people have the -first call, and while it is desirable in the interest of everybody to -make this a people’s loan, it is more desirable from the standpoint of -the people themselves. The investment is absolutely safe. The men and -women who fail to take advantage of it are not standing by the country -and they are not standing by their own interests. Every man, from the -day laborer to the bank president, should, according to his means, -invest in the Liberty bonds. - - - - -A SQUARE DEAL FOR THE TRAINING CAMPS - -OCTOBER 21, 1917 - - -The Playgrounds and Recreation Association of America has undertaken a -capital work in pushing the War Camp Community Committee, of which Mr. -John N. Willys, of Toledo, is chairman. The War Camp Committee work -for Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, and Colorado has made -Mr. I. R. Kirkwood chairman, and has begun an active drive to get the -three-quarter of a million dollars allotted to this district out of the -total of four million to be raised in the country. - -The movement should receive the heartiest backing. It represents much -more even than the very important work of providing amusements for the -hundreds of thousands of enlisted men in the various camps, for it -also has to deal with the moral and sanitary surroundings, not only -in camps, but in the neighboring towns and cities. In former wars the -number of men incapacitated by diseases contracted in the camps often -surpassed the number incapacitated by the sickness due to the hardships -and exposure at the front. This was because of lax supervision of the -neighborhood moral and sanitary conditions, and also from failure to -instruct the soldiers that it is a shameful and unsoldierly thing to -expose themselves to disease due to indulgence in vice. - -The committee is working not only in the interests of national morality -and decency. It is also working in the interest of military efficiency, -for it will save scores of thousands of soldiers from being shamefully -incapacitated before reaching the front, and the gain to the Nation -from the economical as well as the moral standpoint, after the war, -will be very great. - -The work of the committee will be carried on outside the camps in the -adjacent communities acting in coöperation with churches, clubs, and -organizations of public-spirited men and women. It will be wholly -different from the work inside the camps, which is done by the -Y.M.C.A., the Knights of Columbus, the Y.M.H.A., and similar bodies. -In many places the local authorities already have done much work along -the lines sketched by the national committee, and wherever this is the -case, the national committee will surely aid the local bodies. - -All good and patriotic men and women should heartily back this work to -keep Uncle Sam’s soldiers clean, decent, and self-respecting; to make -them better citizens and more formidable fighting men. - - - - -THE PASSING OF THE CRIPPLE - -OCTOBER 23, 1917 - - -If men are alert, resolute, and energetic, they can usually secure some -compensation from any calamity. This dreadful war, attended by the -killing and crippling of men on a scale hitherto unknown, has brought -as a compensation a determined move to do away with the cripple; that -is, to cease the mere effort to keep a crippled man alive and, instead, -to endeavor by reconstructive surgery to restore him to himself and to -the community as an economic asset. - -Surgeon-General Gorgas and his associates have worked out, and are -ready practically to test, an organized system under which any -seemingly crippled man is to be kept under the guidance of the medical -branch of the army until either the usefulness of the damaged part -has been restored or else until he has been trained in other ways so -as to enable him measurably to overcome the handicap. In almost every -case something will be done to make the cripple less of a burden -to himself and others, and in most cases, the army medical service -confidently believes, the cripple will once more become a useful and -therefore a happy citizen. In all our special hospitals that are now -being planned, the curative workshop is part of the plant. The effort -is to be not only for the physical development and physical reëducation -of the wounded part, but also for any intellectual training necessary -to produce new forms of effective ability which will offset any loss -in physical ability. The aim is not merely to save the life of, and -then turn loose, a crippled pensioner who can be little but a burden -on the community; it is to take care of the wounded man until the very -best of which he is capable has been developed, so that when once more -in the outside world he will be a real asset to the Nation. This is a -fine thing for the Nation, and is of incalculable consequence from the -standpoint of the self-respect and happiness of the man. - -This represents the complete reversal of the old point of view, which -was that the cripple was turned loose with a pension for less than what -if sound in body he would have earned, and a burden on the community. -The purpose of Surgeon-General Gorgas and his associates is that the -Government shall stand behind the man and invest money in him so as to -develop all his latent resources, fitting him to make good as a citizen -and expecting him thus to make good. There will be, where necessary, a -money compensation for the injury, but the great compensation will be -the return to useful life of the man himself. - -The far-reaching effect of such a policy is evident. The purpose is -to insist that every man, no matter how maimed, shall be made of -further use in the world. If once the army acts on this theory, the -great industries will follow suit. The cripple, in the sense of being -a helpless or useless cripple, will largely be eliminated, and out -of this war will have come another step in the slow march of mankind -towards a better and more just life. - - - - -THE PEACE OF COMPLETE VICTORY - -OCTOBER 23, 1917 - - -It is stated in a press report from Washington that the Allies wish the -United States to stop sending men abroad and use its ships for food and -munitions instead, but that the Administration will not agree to the -plan, and furthermore that the Administration is determined that there -shall be no peace until Germany is completely beaten. If the report is -correct, the Administration is absolutely right on both points. - -As to the first point, we can well understand, in view of the steady -U-boat campaign, how greatly the Allies desire food and munitions, and -we regret with bitter shame the folly of our Government in dawdling -and delaying for six vital months after the German note of January 31 -last before seriously beginning the work of building big, swift cargo -boats. But this cannot alter the fact that for the sake of our honor -and our future world usefulness we must ourselves fight and not merely -hire others to fight for us. If we do not follow this course, our -children’s heads will be bowed with humiliation. With proper energy we -could already have had some hundreds of thousands of men in the firing -line, and we should send our troops over as rapidly as possible, with -the purpose to put at least two million men against the German lines -next year, an entirely possible programme if the Government will lend -its energies with a single mind to the task. - -As regards the second point, every decent citizen should make the -pacifist and the home Hun realize that agitation for a premature -peace, for a peace without victory, is seditious. Shame on every man, -and above all on every public servant and every leader of public -opinion, who endeavors to weaken the determination of America to see -the war through and at all costs secure an overwhelming triumph for -the principles for which we contend. If Germany is left unbeaten, -the Western Hemisphere will stand in cowering dread of an assault by -Germany’s ruthless and barbarous autocracy. The liberties of the free -peoples of the world are at stake. - -We must now fight with all our might on European soil beside our allies -or else fear the day when we will have to fight without allies beside -our burning homes. While this war lasts, the cause of our allies is -our cause, their defeat would be our defeat, and whoever assails them -or defends Germany is a traitor to the United States. There must be -no negotiated peace. Belgium is entitled to an enormous indemnity and -France to annexation of Alsace and Lorraine. By her marine murders and -her shore raids and her utter treachery and abominable cruelty, Germany -has made herself the outlaw among nations, and with her we should -negotiate only through the mouths of our cannon. All who now advocate -a negotiated peace with her are seeking to betray civilization in the -interest of brute force and international outrage. The United States -owes her entrance into this war almost as much to the American pacifist -as to the German militarist, and now the former is meanly eager once -more to serve the latter by securing an unjust peace. Let every brave -and patriotic American spurn the base counsels of the pro-Germans -and pacifists, and insist that this country, at whatever cost, fight -steadfastly until the war closes with Germany’s complete overthrow. - - - - -FIGHTING WORK FOR THE MAN OF FIGHTING AGE - -OCTOBER 25, 1917 - - -The Y.M.C.A. is one of the most powerful agencies for good in our -military camps here at home and with our armies abroad. It would be -a veritable calamity not to have it do this work. The women and the -elderly men who have gone abroad under present conditions are rendering -a patriotic service of high value, but every young man of fighting age -who has gone abroad for the Y.M.C.A. at this time is a positive damage -to the work and should be instantly sent home. It is an ignoble thing -for an able-bodied man to be in such a position of bodily safety where -his example must naturally excite contempt and resentment among the men -who, unlike him, are risking their lives and have left their families -for the sake of a great ideal. Of course, no man of draft age should -be sent over, but this is not enough. The draft represents merely the -minimum performance of duty. No man of age to permit his entering the -army abroad or at home should be sent over. If any such man is not -in the army, it should be either because he has been turned down by -the army authorities for physical reasons or because his work at home -either for his family or for the Government imperatively demands his -presence here. If he is able to go abroad at all, he should go abroad -in the army. The fact that he is abroad for the Y.M.C.A. is proof -positive that he has no business to be there. - -An officer in high command in France recently wrote home a letter, -which I have seen, describing the experiences of the junior -officers of his command with some of the young able-bodied Y.M.C.A. -representatives. He began by an emphatic testimony to the admirable -work the Y.M.C.A. had done and to its great importance, and by an -emphatic statement that it had a thoroughly bad effect on the enlisted -men to see a young man of their own age engaged in such work. He then -illustrated its effect on the young officers with whom these Y.M.C.A. -men messed, writing: - - Two young Y.M.C.A. men have been at two of the battalion messes. They - are of the age whose presence here is an annoyance to the army because - they seem to have been exempted from the draft. They have obtained - bullet-proof jobs and their presence here is a bad example to all - the young men in the army. Last night at one mess the officers were - so disgusted with the Y.M.C.A., who was actually wearing a uniform - with an officer’s belt on, that they began to chaff him, telling him - that they were married men and were entitled to play safety first - themselves and thought they would apply for jobs in the Salvation - Army. The Y.M.C.A. had to stand for this because he was the only - unmarried man there, and it is said that his mother persuaded him that - he owed her a duty not to go in a dangerous place. He evidently feels - his duty keenly. The other young fellow from the Y.M.C.A. was a real - man and he left the soft job and has enlisted as a private. - -The Y.M.C.A. is so very useful an organization that it is profoundly to -be regretted that it should in any way damage its usefulness. Its work -with the armies abroad should be done exclusively by women and elderly -men. No able-bodied man under forty-five should represent the Y.M.C.A. -in the war zone or with the army camps. - - - - -WISE WOMEN AND FOOLISH WOMEN - -OCTOBER 27, 1917 - - -There are wise and foolish women just as there are wise and foolish -men, and in any great crisis the welfare of this country depends -upon the extent to which the wise and patriotic men and the wise and -patriotic women can offset or overcome the folly of the foolish. - -The woman who bravely and cheerfully sends her men to battle when the -country calls takes her place high on the national honor roll. She -stands beside the mothers and wives of the men of ’76 and of the men -who wore the blue and the gray in the Civil War. Where would this -country now be if Washington’s mother had not raised her boy to be a -soldier for the right? - -But the women who do not raise their boys to be soldiers when the -country needs them are unfit to live in this republic. The women who at -this time try to dissuade their husbands or sons who are of military -age from entering the army or navy are thoroughly unworthy citizens. -The kind of affection which shows itself by refusing to allow the boy -to face hard work when it is his duty to do so, the mother who brings -up her boy to be a worthless idler, because she is too fond of him to -see him suffer the discomfort of hard work, and the mother who desires -her boy to play the coward or the shirk, in time of war, are not merely -foolish; they are poor citizens. They are the real enemies of their -sons, for there can be no more dangerous enemy than the human being, -man or woman, who teaches another human being to lose his soul in order -to save his body. The wise mother is the best of all good citizens -and the foolish mother stands almost at the other end of the scale. -I wish every mother in the land could read Theodosia Garrison’s poem, -recently sent out by that stirring body of patriots, the Vigilantes. It -describes the youth of twenty years, eager to play a manly part while -his mother seeks to hold him from the post of danger and duty, and two -of the verses run: - - Mother of his twenty years, who holds against his will - The eager heart, the quick blood, and bids them to be still, - What of the young untrammeled soul you seek to blunt and kill? - - You would save the body stainless and complete, - Fetters on the hands of it, shackles on the feet; - And in the crippling of them make soul and body meet. - - - - -WHY CRY OVER SPILT MILK? - -OCTOBER 28, 1917 - - -Nice, short-sighted persons, when the evil effects of our folly in -failing to prepare are pointed out, sometimes ask, “Why cry over spilt -milk?” The answer is that we wish to be sure that we do not spill it -again, and, unfortunately, the nice persons who bleat against any one -who points out our shortcomings in preparedness or who excuse and -champion those responsible for this unpreparedness, are doing all they -can to invite future disaster for the Nation. - -The bleat assumes different expressions in different localities. -Recently the Mayor of Abilene, Texas, expressed his disapproval of my -pointing out that we, as a Nation, had wholly failed to prepare, by -saying that I was “a seditious conspirator who ought to be shot dead,” -and that the editor of the newspaper publishing the article “should be -tarred and feathered.” Although differing in method of expression, this -slightly homicidal bleat of the gentle-souled (and doubtless entirely -harmless) Mayor of Abilene, Texas, is exactly similar in thought to -the utterances of all these sheeplike creatures who raise quavering or -incoherent protests against every honest and patriotic man who points -out the damage done by our failure to prepare. - -These persons cannot deny one fact I state. Nine months have passed -since, on January 31, Germany sent us a note which was practically a -declaration of war. We have only just put troops in the trenches; many -of the troops of our draft army training at home have until recently -only had broomsticks, and now only have one old Spanish War rifle for -every eight soldiers; most of the artillery regiments in these camps -either have no guns or wooden guns. After nine months we are still -wholly unable to defend ourselves or to render efficient military aid -to our allies, and we owe safety from invasion only to the protection -of the fleets and armies of the war-worn and weary nations to whose -help we nominally came. No man can truthfully deny these statements, -no man can seriously regard this situation as satisfactory. To try -to cover up the truth by bluster and brag and downright falsehoods -may possibly deceive ourselves, but will deceive no one else, whether -friend or foe. Is such foolish deceit worth while? - -Nine tenths of wisdom is being wise in time. We were not wise in time. -Let us learn from our past folly future wisdom. Our first duty is to -win this war, and therefore the Shadow Hun within our gates is our -worst internal foe. Our next and equally important duty is to prepare -against disaster in the future, and therefore our next worst internal -foe is the sheeplike creature who invites national disaster for the -future by bleating against the telling of the truth in the present. - - - - -SAVE THE FOODSTUFF - -OCTOBER 30, 1917 - - -Mr. Hoover has been appointed as the man to lead us of this Nation in -the vitally important matter of producing and saving as much food as -we possibly can in order that we can send abroad the largest possible -amount for the use of our suffering allies and for the use of our own -gallant soldiers. Mr. Hoover’s preëminent services in Belgium pointed -him out as of all the men in this country the man most fit for the -very position to which he has been appointed. Let us give him our most -hearty and loyal support. - -In this great and terrible war the slaughter, starvation, and -exhaustion are on a scale never before known. They are nation-wide. -Therefore every individual of every nation engaged must do his full -part or else must be held to have failed in his duty. The man of -fighting age must fight. The man with especial business capacity or -mechanical skill must produce arms or equipment or ammunition. And -every man, woman, or child must help produce food if possible, and in -any event must help economize it. - -Mr. Hoover has asked us during this week to devote ourselves to getting -all our people voluntarily to pledge themselves to certain forms of -food economy,--which are of great consequence from the standpoint of -sending abroad the foodstuffs needed by our Allies and by our own -troops. There are certain foods which are easily transported which are -nourishing and which are peculiarly suited for the use both of our -allies and of our troops in the field. Mr. Hoover’s plan is that we -shall all of us voluntarily limit along strict lines our consumption -of these food products and replace them by other foods which are not -suitable for sending abroad, and that we shall rigidly avoid waste. -Full particulars are given in the pamphlets sent out by Mr. Hoover from -his Washington Bureau of Food Conservation. - -What Mr. Hoover asks entails not the slightest real hardship on any of -us. It merely requires each of us to exercise a little self-control and -perhaps to make some trivial sacrifice of personal preference in what -we eat. Surely this is a very, very small service to be rendered by us -stay-at-homes in support of our sons and brothers who have gone or are -going to risk their lives in battle for us and mankind. - - - - -ON THE FIRING LINE - -OCTOBER 31, 1917 - - -Our men are now actually on the firing line, and while, of course, they -are as yet there primarily for purposes of instruction, nevertheless, -they are there. They are at times under fire. They are at any moment -liable to death in upholding the honor of their country, of your -country, my reader, and of mine. - -General Pershing’s original division under his direction and -the direction of his lieutenants, such as Major-General Sibert, -Brigadier-General Duncan, and their associates, has evidently been -trained to a high point of efficiency. The accounts show that the -infantry effected their entrance to the trenches with the precision -of veterans. Evidently the artillery is being handled with similar -efficiency. Apparently, from the account, our artillerymen are using -French guns. - -All Americans must feel a glow of pride as he reads of the soldierly -manner in which our American troops have made their entry into the -fire zone. But we must not confine ourselves merely to feeling pride -in our fellow countrymen who are at the front risking their lives -in doing their duty on behalf of all of us. We must back them up. -We must support the Government in every movement taken efficiently -to put the strength of this Nation behind our soldiers, and we must -vigilantly insist upon the efficiency including the speed absolutely -indispensable. We must support the Liberty Loans, conserve food, -cheerfully pay taxes, and tolerate neither improper profit-making out -of the war by capitalists or strikers,--nor slackness and malingering -which interferes with our military efficiency by laboring men. Every -American civilian should now do his work with the same sense of duty as -is shown by the soldiers in the field. - -And now let good patriots keep in mind that the Huns within our gates -from this time on are the allies of the Huns who are actually doing -battle against our soldiers at the front. The men who directly or -indirectly advise people not to take Liberty bonds, the men who clamor -for an early peace, an inconclusive or negotiated peace, the men who -condone the offenses of Germany directly or indirectly, the men who say -we have not ample cause for war against Germany, the men who attack our -allies or seek to breed dissension between them and us, are each and -every one to a greater or less degree acting as friends of Germany and -therefore as enemies of the United States. Every patriotic American -should now clearly understand what is really implied in the attitude -taken during the last nine months by the Stones and La Follettes, -the Hearsts and Hillquits. These men are out of place in America. -It is sincerely to be regretted that they cannot be put where they -belong--under the Hohenzollerns. - - - - -NINE TENTHS OF WISDOM IS BEING WISE IN TIME - -NOVEMBER 1, 1917 - - -A few days ago I expressed in The Star the regret and uneasiness -felt by all men with knowledge of international matters at the -failure of this country to declare war on Austria and Turkey. Various -Administration, and, of course, the leading pro-German, newspapers took -exception to this statement and announced that the procedure advocated -would be unwise or improper. Since then the great defeat of the Italian -army by the Germans and Austrians has occurred, and among the Italians -there has been much bitter criticism of our failure to help them, -although we have now for many months been at war, at least in theory, -with Germany. - -A leading Administration newspaper of high standing, the Brooklyn -Eagle, accurately states the case as follows: - - Italy’s defeat is shocking and alarming. Only its unexpectedness - excuses the failure of Italy’s allies, including ourselves, to meet - it. This Government cannot evade responsibility if Italy is lost, for - we have been up to the present, quite as indifferent as the rest of - the Entente to Italy’s fate. Italy suffers and is endangered by our - own negative attitude. We have loaned her money, but we are not at - war with Austria, and we have failed to give Italy such whole-hearted - support as her critical position demands. No time should be lost in - reversing this policy. Italy is fighting our battles as well as her - own. She is a valuable ally; her cause is just. No effort should be - spared to save her. There is no time to compromise or equivocate. Our - own soldiers in Europe will have to pay in blood for every hour’s - delay in throwing all possible help to Italy. - -This is the exact truth. I call attention to the fact that it is from -a strong supporter of the Administration and that it takes the view -I have for months been taking, and which various well-meaning but -sheeplike creatures have bleated against on the ground that it implies -criticism of the Administration. I was merely advocating before the -event the course, which, after the event, all will agree ought to have -been followed. It is in this matter precisely as it was in regard to -our building ships to meet the terrible U-boat menace. We should, with -the utmost energy and speed, have begun to build them within a week, -within a day, of the German note of January 31. Instead of this we -dawdled and wrangled for six months before seriously beginning. In -the one case as in the other foolish creatures did immense harm by -protesting against pointing out our blunders on the ground that we must -not speak of spilt milk, whereas, of course, we can only stop future -spilling by showing where it has been spilt in the past. - -Nine tenths of wisdom is being wise in time, is the lesson as taught -afresh by the Italian disaster and the shortage of cargo ships. Let us -at last profit by it. - - - - -WE ARE IN THIS WAR TO THE FINISH - -NOVEMBER 2, 1917 - - -The disaster to our Italian ally should make every American worth -calling such awake to the real needs of the hour and should arouse in -him the inflexible purpose to see that this war is fought through to a -victorious conclusion, no matter how long it takes, no matter what the -expense and loss may be. - -Our first troops are now actually in the trenches; American infantry -and American artillerymen are under fire; blood has been shed. Our sons -and brothers have begun the trench life of wearing fatigue, of cold, of -inconceivable hardship and exposure and of cruel danger. A few women -at home suffer as much. Otherwise, no civilians outside the regions -conquered by the Germans can begin to realize the terrible strain to -which constantly increasing numbers of our soldiers will be exposed as -additional divisions are trained for and put into the actual fighting. - -We who stay at home must back up those men in every way. We must stand -by and energetically support every effort of the Government to add to -their efficiency and to back them up, including the sending over of -constantly increasing numbers of soldiers to the aid of the men already -there. We must back up the loans and taxes necessary in order to supply -them with arms, munitions, equipment, food, hospitals. We must hold -to the strictest accountability before the bar of public opinion any -Government official responsible for needless delay, or for shortage in -shipping, clothing, or material, or for deficient ammunition, or faulty -gas-masks, or for any other shortage which exposes our men at the -front to needless danger and hardship. We must make their effort and -their suffering avail by highly resolving that the whole power of this -Nation, and all its resources in men and in wealth, shall be used to -bring the peace of complete and overwhelming triumph over Germany and -over Germany’s subject allies, Austria and Turkey. - -Finally, every brave and patriotic American owes it to the men at the -front to make the lash of scorn felt by the Hearsts and La Follettes -and by all others like them. These men have given or now give aid -and comfort to Germany, and therefore show themselves enemies to the -soldiers in the American uniform by opposing the war, or by asking for -an inconclusive peace, or by assailing the allies of the United States, -or by condoning or keeping silent concerning the hideous atrocities -which have made the Prussianized empire of the Hohenzollerns the arch -enemy of every liberty-loving and self-respecting civilized nation on -the face of the globe. - - - - -SINISTER ALLIES - -NOVEMBER 3, 1917 - - -There are well-meaning, but not overwise, persons who bleat against -any sincere and truthful effort to make us more efficient in this war -by protesting against grave shortcomings. These worthy persons should -realize that they are acting against the interest of the United States -and in the interest of Germany. If they doubt this, they have only to -ponder the fact that in their attitude they stand beside such sinister -allies as German papers like the New York Staats Zeitung and Illinois -Staats Zeitung and the various papers of Mr. Hearst. - -These papers have opposed our going to war, or have assailed our -allies, or have condoned or passed over in silence the brutal infamy -of Germany. They have opposed the Government in its actions against -Germany. In so doing they have been the enemies of America. And they -have been no less the enemies of America when they have eagerly -defended the Government from criticism for shortcomings which impair -our efficiency and therefore tell in favor of Germany. Exactly as they -once opposed preparedness, or excused the murderous sinking of the -Lusitania, or protested against our going to war, so they now zealously -exhibit a sham loyalty of the most hurtful kind by denouncing honest -and truthful men because they tell the truth. - -In order really to serve this country, it is necessary to point out -the dreadful damage done by our failure to prepare; of the evil effect -of trying to train our troops with broomsticks and wooden guns; the -worse than folly of failing to declare war on Austria and Turkey, and -the harm done by the delays, including the dawdling for six months -before we began the vitally necessary work of shipbuilding. To cover -up such shortcomings deceives no one but ourselves. Germany knows all -about them. We help her to find out by our failure to treat her spies -with drastic severity. And the men who suffer know all about them; -the artillerymen with only a wooden cannon, or the sentry in a cotton -uniform on a cold night stands in no need of enlightenment on the -subject. When these pro-German papers with loud professions of loyalty -protest against telling our people the truth about such matters, they -are merely serving Germany against the United States. - -Loyalty to the Nation demands that we subscribe to the Liberty Loans; -that we practice food conservation; that we ardently support sending -our soldiers abroad until we have millions of men on the firing -line; that we stand for universal obligatory military training and -service; that we heartily uphold our allies and condemn as traitors -to America all who attack them; that we insist on prosecuting the war -to complete victory and condemn as false to this country all who seek -an inconclusive peace. Loyalty to the Nation no less demands that we -make our people understand the lasting harm done by our failure to -prepare during the two and a half years before the war broke out and -the grave damage now caused by needless delay, by irresolution, by the -appointment or retention of inefficient men, and by any and all types -of half-heartedness in waging the war. - - - - -THE NEW YORK MAYORALTY ELECTION - -NOVEMBER 8, 1917 - - -The triumph of Tammany in New York City and the large Socialist vote -have in some quarters been hailed as showing that New York City is for -peace at any price and that it is against the Administration. Neither -statement is warranted by the facts. - -The Socialist vote was about one-fifth of the total vote. It included -most of those who wished the war stopped at once, this number being -made up of professional pacifists, of red flag Anarchists, and of poor, -ignorant people who pathetically believed that a Socialist mayor would -somehow bring peace at once. But it also included its professional -Socialists and poor, ignorant people who did not think of the war, but -who pathetically believed that a Socialist mayor would somehow give -them five-cent milk. The voters in New York City who wish immediate -peace without any regard to national honor, or to what future horrors -such a peace would bring, are certainly less than a fifth of the whole. - -The vote was not anti-Administration. A far larger proportion of the -supporters of the Administration voted for Mr. Hylan than for Mr. -Mitchel, and officially the Administration was neutral between the two. -A goodly number of pro-Germans supported Mr. Hylan, but he was also -supported by a large number of entirely loyal men, and he himself, -unlike the Socialist candidate, Mr. Hillquit, was avowedly for America -against Germany, and for the prosecution of the war. The election in -actual fact turned directly on local issues. New York occasionally -witnesses an occasional insurrection of virtue, but the city has -never in fifty years given a good administration a second term. The -insurrection of virtue at one election is followed by a Tammany -revival at the next. - -The result of the election in New York City was not heartening -to patriotic persons, but right next door, in the Connecticut -congressional district which includes Bridgeport, a contest for a -vacant congressional seat resulted in a way that speaks well for the -Republic. The Republican candidate, Schuyler Merritt, a man of high -probity and capacity, with a forward look in international affairs, -came out in bold and straightforward fashion, saying he would support -the President in all measures for the efficient prosecution of the -war until victory came, that he would do all he could to prevent our -again falling into the condition of shameful unpreparedness we had for -three years occupied, and that he was for universal obligatory military -training for our young men. He won by a majority much greater than that -which his predecessor received at the time of the presidential election -last year. - - - - -GERMAN HATRED OF AMERICA - -NOVEMBER 13, 1917 - - -There have recently been published various books by Americans who, -during the Great War, have officially represented this country in -Germany and in Belgium, when the Germans conquered it. Ambassador -Gerard is one writer. Mr. Gibson, secretary of our legation at -Brussels, is another. Mr. Curtis Roth, until recently vice-consul at -Plauen, Saxony, is a third. Their testimony is of profound significance -because of their official position and personal standing. - -Two facts leap to the eye from their writings. The first is that the -German people have stood practically united behind their Government -in upholding and insisting upon the systematic infliction of hideous -brutality upon their foes. With deliberate purpose the German -Government has carried on a war of horror, a war of obscene cruelty, of -wholesale slaughter, of foul treachery and bestiality, a war in which -civilians, including women, children, nurses, doctors, and priests, -as well as wounded soldiers, have been murdered wholesale. The German -people have enthusiastically supported and approved their acts. Our -war is as much with the German people as with their Government, and we -should regard with loathing all Americans, whether men or women, who -any way attempt to justify or defend Germany’s action. The Americans -who so act are traitors to their country and to humanity at large. - -The second fact is the extreme malevolence of hatred with which Germany -regards America, a hatred which blossomed into full growth before we -went to war, and which was immensely aggravated because of the contempt -inspired by our tame submission to outrage for over two years. Mr. -Roth’s testimony is peculiarly interesting. He shows that the Berlin -Government actively stimulated the campaign of hatred and revenge -against America, that the German people eagerly accepted the view -that Americans were cowardly, avaricious, and effeminate, and that in -Germany it was constantly announced that, sooner or later, there would -be a day of reckoning when America would have to pay a huge indemnity -or suffer the fate of Belgium. - -Mr. Roth shows that the German people think exactly as their leaders -think. They now hate and despise us Americans as they hate others of -their foes. Says Mr. Roth: - - They are resolved to make our country drink to the dregs out of the - bitter cup of humiliation. Nothing do they find more despicable - than our talk about peace, which they attribute to cowardice and - flabbiness. They look on the American pacifist as a weakling, as a - God-given tool in the hands of German interest.... The Germans, if - possible, feel more bitterly towards Americans of German extraction - than towards Americans of other lines of descent. - -Germany has definitely decided on America’s ruin. She has definitely -decided that there must be an intense anti-American spirit in both -Government and people. She may bide her time, and she will doubtless -try to separate us from our allies, but her purpose towards us is both -relentless and ruthless. - -If we are true to ourselves, if we prepare our armed strength and keep -it prepared, if we show farsightedness and valor of soul, we can be -sternly indifferent to this foul and evil hatred. But we must keep -steadily in mind that Germany respects nothing whatever except courage -and prepared strength and that the pacifists and pro-Germans, the Huns -within our gates, the Hearsts and the La Follettes, are playing the -game of our German foes, and if they have their way will bring shame -and disaster to our land. - - - - -START THE SYSTEM OF UNIVERSAL MILITARY TRAINING AT ONCE - -NOVEMBER 17, 1917 - - -Lieutenant-General S. B. M. Young, U.S.A., retired, gave long, -faithful, and efficient service to this country, from the beginning of -the Civil War, for nearly half a century. But he never has rendered -greater service than by his steady insistence upon the immediate -introduction by law in this country of the system of obligatory -universal military training as our permanent policy. This should be -done at once; and all the young men from nineteen to twenty-one should -be called out as soon as there are means of training them. They need -not fight until they are twenty-one. But they are least needed as -economic assets; they are most needed as military assets; and it is -cruelty to them not to train them in advance. - -The selective draft was far better than nothing. But let us never -forget that it represented doing imperfectly after the event that which -ought to have been done thoroughly long before the event. We have -been at war three quarters of a year, and the drafted men, admirable -material though they are, are only just beginning to be trained and -as yet are not even armed and properly clothed. We are trying to train -our soldiers to perform the duties of soldiers after the war has begun; -and we can attempt the experiment at all only because the English and -French protect us from our enemies while we make it. Hereafter let us -train the man to perform the tasks of a soldier before he is called to -be a soldier in war. Only thus can we be just both to him and to the -country. - -The present economic disturbance in the Nation was inevitable, in view -of our failure at the outset of the Great War to introduce the system -of universal, obligatory military training; and this failure is also -responsible for the fact that our national army, nine months after our -entry into the war, has only begun training, instead of being already -trained. Let us now at least provide for the future. The amendment -to the law above outlined, as advocated by the National Association -for Universal Military Training, of which General Young is president, -would add nearly two million men to our army, would cause the minimum -of interference with our economic life, and would not necessitate any -additional expense for training quarters. - -The men thus trained will be immensely benefited from the standpoint of -their success in civil life; for universal training would be of immense -economic benefit to the Nation. As Cardinal Gibbons has well said, “The -legislation proposed will benefit youths from nineteen to twenty-one -years, morally as well as physically, and help to prepare them for -their work in peace as well as for the sterner needs of war.” - -This is the only democratic system. General Young himself rose from -being an enlisted man in the ranks to being the lieutenant-general -of the army of the United States. Under universal training let all -candidates for West Point and all other candidates for commissions be -chosen with absolute fairness from among the men who have served a year -in the field with the colors. And in the navy let all candidates for -Annapolis be chosen from enlisted men of the navy who have served at -least a year as such and who are still serving. - - - - -A FIFTY-FIFTY WAR ATTITUDE - -NOVEMBER 20, 1917 - - -The attitude of the United States at this moment toward Germany’s three -vassal allies, Austria, Turkey, and Bulgaria, is a fifty-fifty attitude -between peace and war. It is not honest war, neither is it honest -neutrality. It is the attitude of the backwoodsman, who, seeing a black -animal in his pasture at dusk and not knowing whether it was a bear or -a calf, fired so as to hit it if it was a bear and miss it if it was a -calf. Such marksmanship is never happy. - -Bulgaria is now simply the tool of Germany and Turkey. I was formerly -a stanch champion of Bulgaria, and would be again if she returned to -her senses. But she now serves the devil, and shame be upon us if we do -not treat her accordingly. No one can doubt that the Bulgarian Legation -is an agency for German spies in this country. The Administration -has published reports showing that for over a year, previous to our -entry into the war, the German Embassy was the center of the spies and -dynamiters with whom Germany was already waging war against us. These -papers show that Germany’s allies are her mere tools and that Germany -is withheld by no scruple from the commission of every conceivable -treacherous intrigue and brutal outrage against us. Under these -conditions it is a grave offense against our allies not to declare war -on all of Germany’s allies. - -Turkey has been and is the tool of Germany, but Germany has permitted -her on her own account to perpetrate massacres on the Armenian and -Syrian Christians which renders it little short of an infamy now to -remain at peace with her. It is hypocritical to express sympathy with -the Armenians and appoint messages to be read in the churches about -them and yet refuse to do the only thing that will permanently help -them which is to declare war on Turkey. - -With Austria our present relations are less definable than our -relations with any other power. No one can truthfully say exactly -whether our attitude is one of peace or war. We have not declared war -on Austria and yet we are furnishing money, coal, and munitions to -Italy in order to enable her to fight Austria. If we really are at -peace with Austria, we are flagrantly violating our duty as a neutral -and we ought to be condemned in any international court. But if we are -really at war, then we are committing the cardinal crime of hitting -soft. If we had gone to war with Austria when we broke with Germany and -had acted with proper energy, the disaster to Cadorna would probably -not have occurred. - -We are now taking part in the general council of our allies. The only -way in which to make our part in the war thoroughly effective and our -leadership felt to the utmost is whole-heartedly to throw ourself into -the war on the side of all our allies and against all their and our -enemies. - - - - -THE GERMANIZED SOCIALISTS AND PEACE - -NOVEMBER 26, 1917 - - -The American Socialist party at the present time is a thoroughly -Germanized annex of the Prussianized militaristic and capitalistic -autocracy of the Hohenzollerns. Honest social reformers have left it. -No patriotic American ought longer to stay in it. It is purely an aid -to the capitalist and militarist Hohenzollern party of Germany. It -is a bitter enemy of the United States and a traitor to the cause of -liberty throughout the world. Its leaders are the supporters of an -alien autocracy and are seeking to secure a peace which would immensely -benefit this Prussian autocracy. They stand beside the Bolsheviki, -whose antics have made Russia at this moment a by-word, both of -derision and hope to every believer in despotism and every opponent of -liberty throughout the world. - -Any man who feels that there is the slightest exaggeration in the above -statements would do well to read the articles in which the New York -Tribune has recently set forth the connection of Mr. William Bayard -Hale with the pro-German propaganda in this country, with the Hearst -papers and with the Socialist campaign in New York on behalf of Mr. -Hillquit and a peace satisfactory to Germany. These articles should -be published in permanent form and circulated as a tract among all -decent Americans who still believe that the Germanized Socialist party -in America to-day is anything except the foe of America, the foe of -democratic liberty throughout the world, and the tool and ally of the -autocrats, the capitalists, and the brutal and unscrupulous military -chiefs of the Prussianized Germany of the Hohenzollerns. - -Exactly as the reactionary is in the end the worst foe of order; -exactly as the conscienceless and greedy man of wealth is in the end -the worst foe of property and of honest and duty-performing holders -of property, so the Anarchist and the wild Socialist, whose doctrines -when applied necessarily lead to Anarchy and the I.W.W., and the -crack-brained professional pacifists inevitably themselves are the -worst enemies of freedom, of true democracy, and of righteousness. It -is natural that in this terrible and melancholy world crisis these men -should have struck hands with the sordid tools of German intrigue in -this country. The masters of Germany find all these men, whatever their -nominal differences, united in the evil bond of a common subserviency -to German purposes. The German rulers, who at home trample on the -Socialists and dragoon the labor organizations and bully the leader -of democratic thought, cynically profit by aiding in other countries -the men who in the name of social reform seek to overthrow orderly -liberty and thereby show themselves the sinister allies of tyranny and -despotism. - - - - -MOBILIZE OUR MAN POWER - -DECEMBER 1, 1917 - - -It has been announced from Washington that, in view of the shortage of -labor on the farms, there will be an effort in Congress to permit the -importation for temporary use on the farms of Chinese coolies. I do not -believe the effort will be successful, and if it were successful it -would be one of the greatest calamities that could befall the American -people. - -Never under any condition should this Nation look at an immigrant as -primarily a labor unit. He should always be looked at primarily as a -future citizen and the father of other citizens who are to live in -this land as fellows with our children and our children’s children. Our -immigration laws, permanent or temporary, should always be constructed -with this fact in view. No temporary advantages from the importation of -Chinese coolies would offset the far-reaching ultimate damage it would -cause. - -Neither ought we to approve the plan, sometimes set forth by zealous -and high-minded men, to get the Government to open up vast tracts of -land and farm it with wage labor. This is a proposal to substitute a -wage-earning agricultural proletariat for a farming population which -owns the land it tills. It is a move in exactly the wrong direction. -We ought by law to do everything possible to put a stop to the growth -of an absentee landlord class and of huge estates worked by tenant -farmers. Methods identical with or similar to those advocated by me, in -my recent book, “The Foes of Our Own Household,” point the way to the -proper permanent solution of the question. - -As a war measure, rather than adopt either of the proposals above -enumerated, let us deal boldly with the situation created by the -existence of such vast numbers of men in good physical condition, who -are not being utilized. The best war asset and labor asset in this -country is the mass of young men from eighteen to twenty-one. This -draft law explicitly and unjustifiably excepts this class, although -in the Civil War most of the soldiers entered the army when they were -under twenty-one. Let us proclaim as our policy that while this war -lasts no man shall be excused from doing the full duty which the -Nation finds it necessary to demand from him. Make all the young men -from eighteen to twenty-one immediately liable to service, permit no -exceptions for any men, no matter how wealthy, who are not already in -the army. Use as many of the men thus taken as are necessary to fill -the camps when the present drafted men of the national army leave them. -Use all the others, and use these men, too, until the camps are ready -for them, as labor which the Nation shall mobilize for farm work or any -other work which it is imperative to do, and mobilize all the alien -labor now in the country in similar fashion. - - - - -THE LANSDOWNE LETTER - -DECEMBER 2, 1917 - - -Lord Lansdowne’s proposal is for a peace of defeat for the Allies and -of victory for Germany. Such a peace would leave oppressed peoples -under the yoke of Austria, Turkey, and Bulgaria. Such a peace would -leave the liberty-loving nations of mankind at the ultimate mercy of -the triumphant militarism and capitalism of the German autocracy. - -It merely makes such a peace worse to try to hide the shame of the -defeat behind the empty pretense of forging a league of nations, -including Germany, to secure future peace. Such a peace would mean -that Germany saw her unspeakable brutality and treachery crowned by -essential triumph and therefore would put a premium upon her repeating -the brutality and treachery at the earliest convenient moment. It is -mere hypocrisy to promise to put a stop to wrongdoing in the future -unless we are willing to undergo the labor and peril necessary to stop -wrongdoing in the present. In our own country nothing but harm was -done by the worthy persons who, a couple of years ago, formed a league -to enforce peace in the future, while at the same time they nervously -declared that they would have nothing to do with enforcing peace by -stopping international wrong in the present. Lord Lansdowne’s proposal -to hide the admission of present defeat behind the camouflage of -pretended international peace agreements for the future is unworthy of -his distinguished services and reputation. - -Our people ought never to forget that Germany respects nothing but -strength and the readiness and ability to use it. Germany has made a -fetish of able brutality. She regards with utter derision the pacifists -and pro-Germans in this country. She will use them as her tools and pay -them when necessary, but if through this aid she was able to conquer -this country after previously separating us from our allies, she -would with utter indifference break these tools and throw them on the -scrap-heap with the rest of the American people. - -There is but one safe course to follow, and that is to fight this war -through to victory at no matter what cost. This Nation should declare -war on Austria, Turkey, and Bulgaria, this week. Let us definitely -announce that our aims include restoring and indemnifying Belgium, -giving back Alsace and Lorraine to France, creating a Poland which -shall include all the Poles and a greater Bohemia and a great Jugo-Slav -commonwealth and restoring Rumanian Hungary to Rumania, and Italian -Austria to Italy, and driving the Turk from Europe and freeing Armenia -and Syria and Arabia. After victory let us join in any arrangement to -increase the likelihood of future international peace, but let us treat -this as an addition to, and never as a substitute for, the preparedness -which is the only sure guarantee against either war or measureless -disaster. Therefore let us at once introduce as our permanent national -policy the system of universal obligatory military training of all our -young men. - - - - -THE PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE - -DECEMBER 5, 1917 - - -The President has in admirable language set forth the firm resolve -of the American people that the war shall be fought through to the -end until it is crowned by the peace of complete victory. He states -unequivocally that our task is to win the war, that nothing shall turn -us aside from it until it is accomplished, and that every power and -resource we possess will be used to achieve this purpose. He states -that there shall be no peace until the war is won. He says that this -peace must deliver, not only Belgium and Northern France, but the -peoples of Austria-Hungary, of the Balkan Peninsula, and of Turkey in -Europe and Asia from “the impudent and alien dominion of the Prussian -military and commercial autocracy.” He emphatically states that we have -no purpose to wrong the German people or subject them to oppression, -but merely to prevent others from being oppressed by them. He states -that if Germany persists in adherence to her present rulers and their -policies, it will be impossible, even after the war, to treat her as -other nations are treated, but that, although we intend to right the -wrongs inflicted by Germany on other nations, we have no intention to -inflict similar wrongs on Germany in return. He says that the mind of -the Russian people has been poisoned by the rulers of Germany, exactly -as the latter have poisoned the minds of their own people. - -To all of this the heart of the American people will answer a devout -amen. The message is a solemn pledge on behalf of this Nation that we -shall use every energy we possess to win the war, and that we shall -accept no peace not based on the complete overthrow of Germany. The -American people must now devote themselves with grim resolution and -whole-hearted purpose to the effective translation of this pledge into -action, for, of course, the sole value of such a promise lies in the -manner in which it is actually made good. The people must back the -Government in every step to carry into effect this pledge and must -tolerate no failure in any official charged with the duty of carrying -it into effect. - -I shall shortly discuss the proposals of the President in reference to -Austria, Turkey, and Bulgaria. But in this editorial I wish merely, -as one among the countless Americans to whom the honor and welfare -and high ideals of America are dear, to say amen to the President’s -expressed purpose to wage this war through to the end with all our -strength and to accept no peace save that of complete victory. - - - - -FOUR BITES OF A CHERRY - -DECEMBER 7, 1917 - - -In his recent message to Congress President Wilson stated that in -order “to push our great war of freedom and justice to its righteous -conclusion we must clear away with a thorough hand all impediments to -success,” and added, “The very embarrassing obstacle that stands in our -way is that we are at war with Germany, but not with her allies.” He -recommended that we declare war on Austria, and added, “The same logic -would lead also to a declaration of war against Turkey and Bulgaria.” -But inferentially and for reasons not apparent he advised against such -action. - -The President is entirely right in stating that our failure hitherto -to declare war on the allies of Germany has been a very embarrassing -obstacle to our success, and he is entirely right in advising a -declaration of war against Austria. Incidentally I wish to point out -that this is precisely what I insisted upon in these columns two -months ago, and what I had elsewhere advocated six months ago, and it -is worth while remembering that the Administration papers then assailed -me for urging the course which, although there has not been the -slightest change in the situation, the President now urges. - -There was no justification whatever for failure to declare war -on Austria when we declared war on Germany, and there is now no -justification for failure to declare war on Bulgaria and Turkey when -we declare war on Austria. There is no use in making four bites of a -cherry. There is no use in going to war a little, but not much. The -President has sent a message pledging support to Rumania, but it is -worse than an empty form to send such a message unless we forthwith -declare war on Bulgaria. The President has appointed a Sunday for the -special expression of sympathy with Armenia, but such expression of -sympathy is utterly meaningless unless we go to war with Turkey. The -Austro-Hungarian and Turkish empires must be broken up if we intend -to make the world even moderately safe for democracy. There must -be a revived Poland, taking in all the Poles of Austria, Prussia, -and Russia; a greater Bohemia, taking in Moravia and the Slovaks; -a great Jugo-Slav commonwealth, including Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia, -and Herzegovina, while the Rumanians in Hungary should become part -of Rumania and the Italians in Austria part of Italy. The Turk must -be driven from Europe and Christian and Arab freed. Only in this -manner can we do justice to the subject peoples tyrannized over by -the Germans, Magyars, and Turks. Only in this way can we remove the -menace of German aggression, which has become a haunting nightmare -for all civilizations, especially in the case of small, well-behaved, -liberty-loving peoples. - -By declaring war on Germany’s allies we do not commit ourselves to -asking anything that is not just for our own allies. But by failing to -declare war on Germany’s allies we are ourselves guilty of injustice to -our own allies. - - - - -THE RED CROSS CHRISTMAS MEMBERSHIP DRIVE - -DECEMBER 12, 1917 - - -Next week, the week before Christmas, the Red Cross wishes to add ten -million new members to the five million members it already possesses. -Last June the Red Cross War Council asked the people of the United -States to raise one hundred millions of dollars for Red Cross work, and -the people responded by raising one hundred and nineteen millions. The -purpose now is to increase threefold its membership. - -This is the people’s war. All people should, so far as possible, share -the burden and the glory. The whole fighting manhood of the Nation, -without any exception save in the interest of the Nation, should be -trained to arms and made ready for the front. The Liberty Loans should -be taken by every one so that the bondholders of the Nation may be -the people of the Nation, and now this Red Cross membership campaign -is one more Nation-wide effort to bring home to all our people their -obligations to this country and to suffering humanity. - -We must realize that every single individual in this country is -derelict to his duty unless according to his capacity he does his part -in helping organize for the war. Individual effort alone will not avail -and Germany’s strength has come from her keen realization of this fact. -We must have an organized Nation, both at the front and at home. There -can be no organization without discipline, and the Red Cross is one -of the great agencies through which we can make progress toward such -self-discipline. - -The Red Cross does not ask for the new members primarily because of -the money they bring. The money will do great good, for the need is -pressing; but even more important than the money will be the effect if -on Christmas morning the Red Cross can flash around the world the news -that ten million more Americans have joined its ranks and thereby put -themselves unqualifiedly behind our army and navy. - -The Red Cross has done an extraordinary work abroad and is doing an -extraordinary work at home. Abroad it is in every way supplementing -the army and navy medical corps in Europe and is accumulating enormous -hospital supplies for the use of our soldiers and sailors. It has sent -over a million dollars in money and stores to Italy. It is giving -both military and civilian relief in France. It is supplying over -thirty-five hundred French military hospitals and two thousand French -civil hospitals with surgical dressings, drugs, and supplies. It is -helping to care for half a million tuberculosis victims and restore -a million and a half French refugees to normal life. At home it is -helping to care for the dependent families of our soldiers and sailors. -It has organized fifty-seven army and navy base hospitals, over a dozen -of which have already been sent to France. Its useful activities in -different lines are well-nigh innumerable. - -This is the work the Red Cross has done and is doing for America and -the world. Now let all Americans in their turn stand by the Red Cross -and help in its Christmas membership drive. - - - - -BEING BRAYED IN A MORTAR - -DECEMBER 18, 1917 - - -President Wilson speaks in military matters through his Secretary of -War. The sole importance of the Secretary of War’s report comes from -its being the official declaration of the President. I discuss it as -such. - -According to the reports in the New York World, the Secretary of -War states that “he does not favor universal military training as a -permanent policy.” Mr. Wilson’s secretary, therefore, takes what is in -effect the position of Mr. Bryan, which was picturesquely phrased as -being that a million men can at need spring to arms overnight. The -Administration’s attitude is less picturesquely expressed, but it is -precisely as futile and as unspeakably mischievous from a standpoint -of permanent national interest. Moreover, it is taken at the very -time when the disastrous effect of the Administration’s policy of -complete unpreparedness is being shown by the admissions of General -Crozier on the first day of the congressional investigation. Mr. -Baker’s report, Mr. Bryan’s theory, and the things already shown by -the congressional investigation dovetail into one another. They stand -in the relation of cause and effect. The Administration now officially -and complacently announces that the policy which at this very moment -has proved disastrous is to be persevered in for the future, therefore -assumes complete responsibility for every blunder and delay, and for -all the misconduct, and announces that these blunders and delays and -all this misconduct have taught us nothing, and that we are to amble -onward in the same futile path until disaster overtakes. Mr. Wilson’s -Administration officially declares that we shall persist in our own -folly until we are brayed in the mortar of dreadful calamity. - -If the Administration frankly and manfully acknowledged its evil errors -in the past and championed a policy which would prevent the repetition -of these errors in the future, I would think only of the future and not -of the past, but now it is necessary to emphasize the past in order to -avoid disaster in the future. - -We are in the eleventh month since Germany went to war with us. We have -not yet built an aeroplane fit to match the speedy battle planes of our -foes. We have not built a heavy field gun; on the contrary, we have -had to draw on burdened friends to give us artillery. In the training -camps of the national army the artillery regiments still have about -ten wooden guns for every old field piece, and they have none of the -modern guns they are to use in the war. There are rifles only for every -third or fourth man. Until ten months had elapsed there was no target -practice save for a few specially selected units. The troops still -have only wooden machine guns and the trench mortars they themselves -improvise. - -Until ten months had elapsed they lacked even the necessary warm -clothing. They have endured entirely needless suffering and hardship. -Our troops in France have received thousands of coffins, but an -insufficient number of shoes. At this moment not more than one tenth of -our soldiers, taken altogether, are fit to go to battle. Nine tenths of -our gallant and fine-spirited men are still without the training, arms, -and equipment that would permit them to meet any trained foes. After -ten months of war and the expenditure of huge sums of money, we are -still absolutely unable to defend ourselves and owe our own safety only -to the fleets and armies of our war-worn allies. - -This condition is due solely and entirely to the policy of -unpreparedness to which the Administration adhered for two and one -half years when even the blind ought to have read the lesson of the -great war. The Administration now announces that we are not to alter -this policy and that we are to continue the do-nothing policy of -refusing to help. If the American people follow the lead thus given -them, they will be guilty of criminal folly. - - - - -RENDERING A GREAT PUBLIC SERVICE - -DECEMBER 20, 1917 - - -Senator Chamberlain has rendered a public service by presenting the -bill to provide universal obligatory military training for all the -young men of the Nation. Senator Wadsworth has rendered a public -service by pushing the senatorial investigation of our lamentable -military unpreparedness. Congressman Medill McCormick has rendered a -public service by showing that we have heavily burdened our war-worn -ally, France, by demanding from her the guns which it was inexcusable -in us not previously to have built. - -These three services all hang together. Senator Chamberlain’s proposal -is to supplant selective conscription after war has begun by universal -service, which would probably mean the avoidance of war altogether. It -was grave misfortune that at the outset of this war we did not call for -a million volunteers and at the same time put all the young men between -nineteen and twenty-two into the training camps. There has been some -very gross favoritism in granting exemption and, moreover, the men -between twenty-two and thirty-one include a high percentage of married -men and of others who ought not to go to war at present. This unwise, -wasteful, and inefficient system should not be patched up. The Nation -sorely needs, both as a war measure and as a permanent policy, the -immediate introduction of universal military training and service for -all our young men as proposed above. - -Senator Wadsworth and Representative McCormick are in straightforward -fashion showing the inevitable results of the policy of unpreparedness -which we have followed for three and a half years, and which the -Administration, through Secretary Baker, now actually advocates as -our permanent policy. Senator Wadsworth has shown, beyond possibility -of anything except willful misrepresentation, that he has no partisan -purpose whatever and that the investigation is designed solely to -rouse the Government and the public to greater efforts in speeding up -the war. The Committee on Military Affairs of the Senate is showing -no partisanship. They realize that we cannot win the war merely by -announcing programmes. They realize that we have a long road to -travel and that we have made a slow start. They wish to help the -Administration, and in order to do this it is imperative to tell the -truth. - -Some of the fault for the present situation is due to the shortcomings -of individuals during the last ten months, but the major part is due to -our failure as a Nation to embark on the policy of preparedness three -and a half years ago. Nine tenths of wisdom is being wise in time. -Now our people must brace themselves to face unpleasant truths. There -is not the slightest reason for discouragement. If we choose, we can, -through our governmental representatives, quickly remedy the defects -and then exert with decisive effect our tremendous latent powers. But -we need to know the truth and then to act with instant and resolute -efficiency and with single-minded patriotism. - - - - -A BETRAYAL OF DEMOCRACY - -DECEMBER 21, 1917 - - -President Wilson has announced that we are in this war to make the -world safe for democracy. Either this declaration was worse than empty -rhetoric or we are in honor bound to make it good. Indeed, to prove -false to it now is to be guilty of peculiarly offensive hypocrisy. - -The only way to make the world safe for democracy is to free the people -over whom Turkey and Austria tyrannize. Every day’s delay in declaring -war on Austria, Turkey, and Bulgaria has represented and now represents -a betrayal of democracy and of our allies. It is hypocritical to send -an encouraging message to Rumania and not to declare war on Bulgaria. -It is hypocritical to shed crocodile tears over Armenia and not to -declare war on Turkey. - -When President Wilson says, “We do not wish in any way to rearrange -the Austria-Hungarian Empire; it is no affair of ours what they do,” -he is engaged in the betrayal of democracy, and if his present words -are to be taken seriously, then his declaration about making the world -safe for democracy was false and empty rhetoric. Either one statement -or the other must be unsparingly condemned by all honest men. In view -of the last statement there is small wonder that the Austrian Foreign -Minister says that “it is to our interest to nail down” the statement -in question, because it abandons the proposal, or, as the Austrian -minister phrases it, “the catch phrase,” to allow all small states -to determine their own destinies. No wonder that the leading Vienna -paper contemptuously states that President Wilson wishes to act as an -“European peace intermediary,” being one of the leaders who “apparently -consider a warlike noise the best overture to a peace conference.” - -There is also no wonder that the Czech Slovaks feel with intense -bitterness about this betrayal. One of their papers in this country -describes how loyally they have supported America and the Allies, and -describes the dreadful butcheries and persecutions of their men, women, -and children in Bohemia, and then asks whether it can be true that -America now really proposes to keep them “under the merciless tyranny -of the Huns.” - -This is precisely what President Wilson proposes when he says that -it is no affair of ours to rearrange the Austrian-Hungarian Empire, -or, in other words, no affair of ours to free the Czechs, Slovaks, -Jugo-Slavs, Italians, and Rumanians, who, together with the Poles, make -up the majority of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and who are ground down -by tyranny of the Germans and the Magyars. - -The President’s proposal represents three separate betrayals. - -It is the betrayal of the Slavs of Austria, to whose cause our allies -have pledged themselves and who form a democratic population oppressed -by a militaristic autocracy. - -It is the betrayal of democracy, because we abandon the majority who -are our friends into the hands of a minority, who despise and hate us. - -It is the betrayal of the free people everywhere to Germany, for -Germany is now a world menace, chiefly because Austria and Turkey are -her subject allies, and President Wilson’s proposal is to leave them -undisturbed. - -A peace without a change of frontiers and without indemnification for -brutal wrongdoing, a peace which does not create an independent and -united Poland and a greater Bohemia and Jugo-Slovak commonwealth, as -well as a greater Italy and a greater Rumania, and which does not free -and indemnify Belgium, would leave every perilous problem of Europe -unsolved. It would be timid and calamitous folly to refuse to touch the -disputed questions which, if left unanswered, are absolutely certain to -invite a future war. - - - - -BROOMSTICK PREPAREDNESS--A STUDY IN CAUSE AND EFFECT - -DECEMBER 27, 1917 - - -It is earnestly to be hoped that the congressional investigation into -the fruits of our military unpreparedness will keep two objects clearly -in mind. First, the aim must be to speed up the work of efficient war -preparation by doing away with all the present practices that are -wrong. Second, the aim should be to make evident to all our people that -our present shameful shortcomings are due to failure to prepare in -advance and that never again ought we to allow our governmental leaders -to put us in such a humiliating and unworthy position. - -It will be quite impossible to get at all the facts of our -unpreparedness. Most officers will be very reluctant to testify to -the whole truth. They know that they will suffer if they do so, -because they have seen the punishment inflicted by the Administration -on Major-General Wood for the sole reason that he dared to tell the -truth about our shortcomings, and dared to advocate preparedness in -advance. For this reason I am not at liberty to quote the generals, -colonels, captains, and lieutenants of the artillery, infantry, medical -corps, and quartermaster corps who have told me of their troubles with -unheated hospitals, insufficient drugs, summer underclothes in winter -weather, lack of overcoats, of shoes, of rifles, of ammunition, of -cannon. But in the camps I visited I saw some things so evident that -no harm can come to any officer from my speaking of them. - -Last fall I saw thousands of men drilling with broomsticks. I have such -a broomstick now before me. Last fall I saw thousands of men drilling -with rudely whittled wooden guns. I have one such before me now. I saw -them drilling with wooden machine guns as late as the beginning of -December. I saw barrels mounted on sticks, on which zealous captains -were endeavoring to teach their men how to ride a horse. I saw in the -national army camps in Illinois and Ohio scores of wooden cannon. -Doubtless any man can see them now if he goes there. - -The excellent officers in the camps are as rapidly as possible -remedying these deficiencies. I hope and believe that by spring they -will all be remedied. But let our people not forget that for one year -after Germany went to war with us we were wholly unable to defend -ourselves and owed our safety only to the English and French ships and -armies. - -The cause was our refusal to prepare in advance. President Wilson’s -message of December, 1914, in which he ridiculed those who advocated -preparedness, was part of the cause. His presidential campaign on the -“He kept us out of war” issue was part of the cause. We paid the price -later with broomstick rifles, logwood cannon, soldiers without shoes, -and epidemics of pneumonia in the camps. We are paying the price now. -We pay the price in the doubled cost of necessary war supplies. We -pay the price in shortage of coal and congested transportation. The -refusal to prepare and the price we now pay because of the refusal -stand in the relation of cause and effect. - -I do not dwell on these facts to blame anybody. I dwell on them in -order to wake our people to the necessity of learning the lesson they -teach. Our next and permanent duty is to introduce the policy of -universal obligatory military training for all our young men before -they are twenty-one. - - - - -OUR DUTY FOR THE NEW YEAR - -JANUARY 1, 1918 - - -In the papers there recently appeared a brief statement made by an -unnamed young American major to his troops in the trenches in France. -He said: - - We have reached the top in training. If you need anything, come and - tell me and I will get it for you if I can. If I do not get it, I do - not want to hear about it again, for it means that I cannot get it. We - will have three meals a day if we can get them. If we have to miss one - meal, we will not be badly off, and if we miss two or three, it will - not be much worse. We are expected to work from midnight of one day to - midnight of the next day. If there is any chance to sleep between, all - right. It will also be all right if there is no chance. Let everybody - pitch in. While mud and water must be fought, it may be much worse. - The hopes of the Nation are fixed on each man. - -The ideal of duty thus set before our soldiers, before the Americans -who at this time risk most and suffer most, is substantially the ideal -of duty toward which all of the rest of us here in America should, in -our turn, likewise strive. We must brace ourselves for effort and for -endurance through a hard and dangerous year. High of heart and with -unfaltering soul, we must do our part in the grim work of toiling and -fighting to bring a little nearer the day when there shall be orderly -liberty throughout the world and when justice and mercy and brotherly -love shall obtain between man and man and among all the nations of -mankind. We must show our faith by our works. We must prove our truth -by our endeavor. We must scorn the baseness which uses high-sounding -speech to cloak ignoble action and which seems to betray suffering -right with the Judas kiss of the treacherous peace. - -During the year that is opening we at home will suffer discomfort and -privation and wearing anxiety. What of it? What we at home endure will -be as nothing compared to that which is faced by the sons and brothers, -by the husbands and fathers at the front, and what the fighting men of -to-day face and bear will be no harder than what was faced and borne by -Washington’s troops at Valley Forge and Trenton and by the soldiers of -Grant and Lee when they wrestled in the Wilderness. We inherit as free -men this fair and mighty land only because our fathers and forefathers -had iron in their blood. We can leave our heritage undiminished to -those who come after us only if we in our turn show a resolute and -rugged manliness in the dark days of trial that have come upon us. - -Let us all individually and collectively do our whole duty with brave -hearts. Let us pay our taxes, subscribe to the government loans, work -at our several tasks with all our strength, support all the agencies -which take care of our troops, and accept the stinting in fuel or food -as part of the price we pay. Let our prime care be the welfare and -warlike efficiency of the men at the front and in the training camps. -Let us hold to sharp account every public servant who in any way comes -short of his duty in this respect. But let us also insist that the -soldiers at the front and in the camps treat every shortcoming merely -as an obstacle to be overcome or remedied or offset by their own energy -and courage and resourcefulness. The one absolute essential for our -people is to insist that this war be seen through at no matter what -cost until it is crowned with the peace of overwhelming victory for the -right. - - - - -TELL THE TRUTH AND SPEED UP THE WAR - -JANUARY 4, 1918 - - -Any man who at this time leaves undone anything to increase our -fighting efficiency is a foe of America and a friend of Germany. The -man who objects to fearless exposure and criticism of the governmental -shortcomings which must be exposed if they are to be corrected is a -foe to America and a friend to Germany, and in addition shows that -he possesses a thoroughly servile mind. The critic whose criticism -is not constructive, or who treats shortcomings as causes for being -disheartened about the war instead of as an incentive to strive for the -greater efficiency in waging the war and in preparing for the future, -is a foe to America and a friend to every present or future foe of -America. - -When the Administration stands against universal military training and -talks with vague looseness of future paper guarantees against war, -it renders it imperatively necessary to bring home to our people the -tremendous damage done by our lamentable folly in refusing to prepare -since August, 1914. It is a betrayal of our country to protest against -telling the truth for this purpose. - -This is the twelfth month since Germany in effect declared war on us -and we broke relations with Germany. We have developed our military -strength so slowly that as yet we would be wholly unable to defend -ourselves if we were not protected by the fleets and armies of our -allies. No modern armies can fight without training in modern war -methods and without modern field guns, auto rifles and airplanes. As -yet we only have either cannon borrowed from the hard-pressed French -or else wooden cannon. We have no auto rifles. Our airplanes are still -unfit to fight modern war planes. - -The Patriotic Education Society of Washington has done capital -constructive work in truthfully telling our needs. It has fearlessly -shown our dreadful shortage in shipbuilding and the deceitful wording -of government announcements designed to conceal this shortage. It has -shown the vital need of our, at this late time, bending every energy to -building ships by working three eight-hour shifts a day in order to put -our soldiers and supplies at the front at the earliest possible moment. -The building of transport ships was the central feature of the problem -we faced on January 31 a year ago. It was not only a misfortune, but a -crime, to neglect it, as for nine months afterward it was neglected. -The newspapers have just printed the statement that Colonel House’s -committee reports that it is of the utmost importance to get our troops -quickly to the front. Of course it is. Every man of broad vision has -known this for a year. If there had been more fearless truth-telling -during the year there would have been much less governmental delay and -inefficiency. - -Tell the truth and speed up the war. Tell the truth only for -constructive purposes and only with the unalterable determination to -exert every particle of our strength at the earliest possible moment, -so as to win peace by overwhelming victory. - - - - -THE COST OF UNPREPAREDNESS - -JANUARY 6, 1918 - - -Senator Chamberlain, in order to minimize the chance of future war and -to insure us against disaster, if in future war should unhappily come, -has introduced a bill for universal military training of our young -men under the age of twenty-one. The Administration declares against -universal training and therefore for a continuance of the policy of -unpreparedness, the fruits of which we are enjoying. Some of these -fruits are as follows: - -According to the statement of Mr. Fitzgerald, the chairman of the -Committee on Appropriations of the House, Congress appropriated during -the last year $18,880,000,000 and provided authorization for which -cash must be supplied before next July of $2,510,000,000, making our -year’s war expenses a grand total of $21,390,000,000. This equals the -entire sum Great Britain expended during the first three years of the -war. It is over twenty times as great as for any previous year in our -history, except the year that saw the close of the Civil War, and it -is seventeen times as great as that. The appropriations for the year -are twenty-two times as great as the total interest-bearing debt of -the United States one year ago. They come within four billion dollars -of the total expenditures of the United States Government from 1776 to -1917. They equal the expenditure of twenty dollars a minute for every -minute since the birth of Christ. - -Had we started to prepare in time, one half of this cost would -have been saved. The tremendous pressure coming suddenly caused an -immense increase in expenditures, even aside from the futile waste, -extravagance, and misdirection. Had we gone into the war when the -Lusitania was sunk, we would have saved a third of the sum, for we have -provided to loan our allies about seven billions. Our delay in going -to war and, above all, delay in preparing, have resulted in a huge -increase in the money chest and in the length of the war and in the -terrible total of avoidable human suffering. - -The lack of preparedness is responsible for the sickness among our -soldiers. Take as an example the ravages of pneumonia in the training -camps. The men in the training camps are physically of exceptional type -and are in the prime of life. Their death-rate ought not normally to be -more than a small fraction of that in New York City, where the total -population includes the very young, the very old, the weak and sick, -the badly nurtured. The population of New York City is 4,800,000. The -population of the thirty camps is about six hundred thousand. In the -two weeks of last December the death-rate in the city from pneumonia -was one to every 16,500 people. In the camps it was one to 2800. -Therefore, the specially selected men of the camps suffered from a -death-rate six times as great as in the heterogeneous city population. -And of every three men attacked, one died. - -Doubtless administrative blundering during the last year is largely -responsible for this showing. But the prime cause is the failure to -prepare in advance. Our first duty at the moment is to speed up the -war. Our second duty is to secure real preparedness as outlined in -Senator Chamberlain’s bill. - - - - -COÖPERATION AND CONTROL - -JANUARY 8, 1918 - - -The assumption of control by the Government over the railroads was -certainly necessary. Exactly how far it will go is not evident. -At present what has been done is merely to introduce government -supervision and control over railroads which are required to combine -their operations in flat defiance Of the Sherman Law. In other words, -the Government has wisely abandoned the effort to enforce competition -among the railroads and has introduced the principle of control over -corporative organizations. - -The Attorney-General has just announced that he will, for the time -being, abandon the suits under the Sherman Law to break up the -harvester and steel corporations, because it is not wise to do so -during the war. Mr. Culbertson, the able expert on the government -tariff board, has announced that the Sherman Law is mischievous -in international trade. Mr. Francis Heney, than whom in all the -country there is no more determined and efficient enemy of wrongdoing -corporations, has stated that the Sherman Law, the so-called Anti-Trust -Law, is mischievous in our domestic business and should be repealed. -In other words, under the strain of the war the Sherman Law has -completely broken down and the Government is not merely conniving at, -but encouraging, its violation by many different corporations. - -The Sherman Law, or so-called Anti-Trust Law, is just as mischievous -in peace as in war. It represents an effort to meet a great evil in -the wrong way. As long as corporations claimed complete immunity from -government control, the first necessity was to establish the right of -the Government to control them. This right and power of the Government -was established by the Northern Securities suit, which prevented all -the railroads of the country from being united under one corporation -which defied government control. The suits against the Standard Oil -and Tobacco trusts followed. The Supreme Court decreed that the trusts -had been guilty of grave misconduct and should be dissolved, but not -a particle of good followed their dissolution. It is evident that the -Sherman Law, or so-called Anti-Trust Law, in no way meets the evils of -the industrial world. To try to break up corporations because they are -big and efficient is either ineffective or mischievous. What is needed -is to exercise government control over them, so as to encourage their -efficiency and prosperity, but to insure that the efficiency is used in -the public interest and that the prosperity is properly passed around. - -Merely to repeal the Sherman Law without putting anything in its place -would do harm. It should at once be amended or superseded by a law -which would in some shape permit and require the issuing of licenses -by the Federal Government to corporations doing an interstate or -international business. Corporations which did not take out such -licenses or comply with the rules of the Government’s administrative -board would be subject to the Sherman Law. The others would be under -government control and would be encouraged to coöperate and in every -way to become prosperous and efficient, the Government guaranteeing by -its supervision that the corporations’ prosperity and efficiency were -in the public interest. - - - - -THE ARTEMUS WARD THEORY OF WAR - -JANUARY 17, 1918 - - -The great American humorist, Artemus Ward, whose writings gave such -delight to Abraham Lincoln, once remarked that he was willing to -sacrifice all his wife’s relatives on the altar of the country. Mr. -Ward was not in President Lincoln’s Cabinet. Mr. Baker is in President -Wilson’s Cabinet. He takes substantially the same ground that Artemus -Ward took, although possibly with a more unconscious humor. He has just -uttered a heroic sentiment expressing his pleased acquiescence in the -sacrifice of France and England’s armies for the defense of the common -cause. - -On Wednesday of last week, discussing the likelihood that the Germans, -relieved from anxiety of Russia, would make a tremendous assault on -the western front, Mr. Baker said: “The impending German offensive -will possibly be their greatest assault. The French and British armies -can be relied upon to withstand the shock.” Mr. Baker is President -Wilson’s Secretary of War. He holds at this time the most important -office in our Government. He thus announces to our allies and the world -that in the twelfth month after Germany went to war with us, America, -the richest country of the world with a population of one hundred -million people, after being at war nearly a year and after such warning -as never a nation had before, is wholly unable to send any effective -assistance to repel the greatest assault of the war, and that the only -military measure which can be taken is to express through Mr. Baker -the belief that the British and French armies can be relied upon to do -alone the duty which we ought to share with them. - -This statement of Mr. Baker absolves us from all necessity of -commenting on his ingenuous defense of a system of preparedness which -leaves our small army at the front with no artillery except what we -get from the French and our army at home with batteries made out of -telegraph poles and logwood. It is not necessary to discuss the exact -amount of pride we should as a Nation take in the fact that as a Nation -after eleven months of war we are proudly emerging from the broomstick -rifle stage preparedness into the telegraph pole stage preparedness. -Mr. Baker’s statement sums up the situation exactly. We have been at -war nearly a year, and when the Germans make their greatest assault our -preparedness is only such as to warrant our expressing belief that our -allies can win without our help. - -The New York Times, a supporter of the Administration, comments -truthfully on the situation: - - Nine months after entering the war not only are we giving our allies - no effective military aid, but all our bustle and stir doesn’t hide - the fact that, through incompetence and lack of organization and - system, we are far behind in our preparations to supply rifles, - ammunition, machine guns, airships, uniforms, clothing for the troops - we shall some time have at the front. Our backwardness is naturally - disquieting to our allies. If one million American soldiers, or half - that number, fully equipped, had stood on the soil of France, Lloyd - George would have made no speech to British working-men restating - after a fashion the war aims of the Allies. There would have been no - occasion, nor demand for a speech telling the labor unions what the - troops of Britain are fighting for. - -The pacifists and the agencies of German intrigue would not be working -for a peace in the interests of the capitalistic and militaristic -autonomy of Germany. As the Times well says, the man who now works for -such a peace while Germany is unconquered “is the most heartless of -militarists or enemy of the world’s peace and freedom.” - - - - -THE FRUITS OF WATCHFUL WAITING - -JANUARY 18, 1918 - - -We have been at war nearly one year. We have failed to do any damage to -Germany, but we have done a great deal of damage to ourselves. Recently -the President’s Secretary of War announced that the war was three -thousand miles away and so he had not prepared to meet it. Incidentally -the feats of the German submarine off Newport in the fall of 1916 -showed that if it had not been for the Allied fleets and armies the war -would then have been on our own shores. But at the moment it is three -thousand miles away, and yet this Nation is suffering the kind of grave -economic derangement that we would suffer if a hostile army was on our -own shores. We have accomplished very little. We have suffered very -much. Both the failure in accomplishment and the amount of avoidable -suffering are due to the resolute refusal of our Government to prepare -in advance and to its fatuous persistence in the policy of watchful -waiting. - -Doubtless part of the present trouble in connection with coal is due -to unwisdom in the price-fixing of bituminous coal. Doubtless part of -it is due to the railway congestion, which in its turn is due to the -complete lack of system and consequent chaos due to suddenly imposing -on well-meaning, stodgy government officials of average capacity the -duty of dealing in a tremendous hurry with a situation of unprecedented -size, complexity, and importance, but the temporary causes are all -secondary to the great cause of complete failure to prepare in advance. - -Our economic unpreparedness is just as complete as our military -unpreparedness and is one of the chief factors therein. We are now -paying bitterly for the fact that two and three years ago it was deemed -politically wise to shape our governmental policy along the lines of -“Watchful waiting” and “He kept us out of war.” - -If three years ago we had begun in good faith and earnestly to prepare, -and if, when the Lusitania was sunk, we had acted as precisely as we -did act with no more provocation in February, last, this war would now -have been over. An immense amount of bloodshed would have been spared -and the danger of German militarism would have been forever averted. In -such case we would have greatly developed the trained administrators -and the coherent system necessary to deal wisely with the economic no -less than the military features of a great war. Our refusal to prepare -in advance and our fatuous acceptance of rhetorical platitudes as a -substitute for preparations have resulted in our present military -impotence and profound and far-reaching economic derangement. The -profound business distrust, the unrest of labor, the coal famine, the -congestion of traffic, and the shutting down of industries at the -time when it is most important that production should be speeded to -the highest point, all are due primarily to the refusal to face facts -during the first two years and a half of the World War and the seething -welter of inefficiency and confusion in which the policy of watchful -waiting finally plunged us. Nine tenths of wisdom is being wise in -time. All far-sighted patriots most earnestly hope that this Nation -will learn the bitter lesson and that never again will we be caught so -shamefully unprepared, spiritually, economically, and from the military -standpoint as has been the case in the year that is now passing. - - - - -TELL THE TRUTH - -JANUARY 21, 1918 - - -Nearly a year has passed since, on February 3, by formally breaking -relations with Germany, we reluctantly admitted that she had gone to -war with us. During that year it has been incessantly insisted that it -was unpatriotic under any consideration to tell an unpleasant truth or -to point out a governmental shortcoming. The result has not been happy. - -The famous war correspondent, Mr. Caspar Whitney, has returned from the -front so that he might avoid our fatuous and sinister censorship, and -tell our people the truth about our army in France. He shows that this -army, which, Secretary Baker had just assured our people, was admirably -equipped, in reality had no cannon or machine guns except those it had -borrowed from the hard-pressed French; that there was a lamentable -shortage of shoes; that the motor cars were poor; that we had no -airplanes. From another source it appeared that many thousand coffins -had been sent over. Our troops had no shoes, but they had plenty of -coffins. Their ammunition was defective, and they had neither cannon -nor auto rifles; but they had plenty of coffins. - -At the same time the death of gallant Major Gardner from pneumonia -called sharp attention to the evil health conditions in most of our -home training camps, and the Senate investigating committee showed a -really appalling slackness and inefficiency in the management of the -War Department under Mr. Baker. There is no particular reason to blame -Mr. Baker; he did not appoint himself; he did not seek the office. -Logwood cannon and wooden auto rifles are mostly incidental features of -the inevitable outcome. - -All this was done in the face of repeated and explicit warnings from -the best authority. Major-General Leonard Wood told the military -committee of the Senate and of the House in detail about our -shortcomings two years ago, and again one year ago. The Administration -not only refused to remedy these shortcomings, but has spitefully -punished General Wood ever since. - -Criticism should be both truthful and constructive. I have told not the -whole truth, but the minimum truth absolutely necessary in order that -we may, before it is too late, speed up the war, and in order that we -may insist on the passage of the Chamberlain Bill, so that never again -may we be caught utterly and shamefully unprepared. Let us insist that -the truth be told. The truth only harms weaklings. The American people -wish the truth, and can stand the truth. - - - - -JUSTIFICATION OF CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM - -JANUARY 28, 1918 - - -Senator Chamberlain and his excellent committee have already seen the -justification of their investigation. They have forced the appointment -of Mr. Stettinius, a trained and capable expert, as head of the war -supplies purchasing department. The fact that the appointment is made -in order to obviate the need of following Senator Chamberlain’s more -thoroughgoing programme does not alter the fact that it represents -a certain advance and that this advance is primarily due to the -investigation by Senator Chamberlain’s committee. It is a striking -tribute to the necessity for and the good results of that investigation. - -The investigation has been wholly non-partisan. It has been conducted -with an eye single to the needs of the army and of our country. Senator -Chamberlain is a Democrat, just as Secretary Baker is a Democrat. The -committee has fearlessly exposed very grave abuses and shortcomings -and has taken constructive action to remedy them. Secretary Baker’s -testimony shows that, to use the language of Senator Chamberlain, the -President has been misled as to the facts. His statements as to the -satisfactory condition of things in the camps are not in accord with -the facts. It is, of course, exceedingly difficult to get testimony -from army officers because they have vividly before their eyes the -signal punishment inflicted by the Administration on General Wood -for fearlessly telling the truth, and those of us who have examined -conditions and know how bad they are cannot give our authorities in -many cases because we will not expose good officers to punishment in -order to save ourselves from contradiction. - -But certain vitally important facts are easily attainable. At the very -time that Secretary Baker was testifying that the army had enough -rifles, the governor of Mississippi in the public press on January 17 -stated that he had been helpless to prevent the burning alive of a -negro because the home guards had no rifles and because “there are over -five hundred national guardsmen at Camp Jackson, but they are equally -helpless because they have no rifles.” Many deficiencies can be covered -up or their existence denied, but some cannot thus be concealed. Any -one can see the wooden cannon and wooden machine guns in the training -camps, every one knows that our army at the front has French cannon -and French machine guns. Will not Secretary Baker state frankly when -our own cannon and machine guns will be ready? After one year of war -we have none. Must we wait another year before getting them? Caspar -Whitney, a responsible man, has stated lamentable shortcomings of our -army at the front. Will not the Secretary advise us what steps he has -taken to investigate this statement and remedy the shortcomings? - -The appointment of Mr. Stettinius is a good thing, but it does -not represent even a half step toward bringing order out of the -administrative chaos at Washington. Drastic action is needed to secure -a plan providing for coördination, responsibility and efficiency, and -above all, for securing the right men to administer the plan. - - - - -SECRETARY BAKER’S GENERAL DENIAL - -FEBRUARY 2, 1918 - - -Secretary Baker’s denial of any serious shortcomings in the -administration of the War Department comes under several heads. Part -of it is prophecy, which we all hope will turn out to be justified. -Part of it is explanation or denials of facts, as to which it is easy -to get first-hand information. With this part I shall deal in my next -editorial. Part of it relates to allegations as to which it is almost -impossible to get first-hand information except from officers whose -names cannot be quoted, because this would probably entail punishment -upon them. It is with this part that I now deal. - -General Wood two years ago, before the congressional committee, and -again one year ago, before the congressional committee, set forth in -detail our unpreparedness. Every fact he stated has proved to be true -and to be but a small part of the truth. Yet he has been singled out -for punishment because of thus having told Congress the truth, and this -although we and our allies are now paying dearly for our failure to act -on the truth which he thus told. Under such conditions it is impossible -to make public the names of the officers and enlisted men through -whom we occasionally learn of abuses. Nevertheless, it is imperative -to try to correct the abuses. If the Administration had not punished -General Wood for telling the truth, the complaints would be at once -laid before the department and the wrongs remedied. Under existing -conditions it is imperative to call public attention to them. - -A major-general informed me in October that he had one hundred rifles -for twenty thousand men, and most strongly felt that these men should -not have been brought to the camp until the hospitals, barracks, -heating arrangements, clothes, and arms were ready for them. Another -major-general told me, in explanation of the shortage of supplies -abroad, that one shipload of big coast defense guns had to be returned -because when they reached France it was discovered that there were -no carriages for them. Hundreds of officers and non-commissioned -officers have told me of lack of overcoats, of winter under-clothing, -of heavy socks. One quartermaster, being unable otherwise to get -woolen gloves for the men in cold weather, finally got them from the -Red Cross and was officially reprimanded for so doing. Two officers -informed me that when in France there was a shortage of shoes. They -were told it was due to a shipment of coffins, one being told that -they were not regular coffins, but boxes containing grave-clothes. -The newspaper correspondents repeatedly have told of the shortage of -shoes, one recent statement being that a shipment of clay pigeons, -not coffins, was sent over, while Mr. Caspar Whitney recites that the -surplusage was a large shipment of hospital cots. At any rate, the -shortage of shoes is unquestioned, whether their places were taken by -coffins, clay pigeons, or hospital cots. A leading New York business -man has just written me of the complete lack of hospital and medical -facilities in one camp. The superintendent of a Bible teachers’ -training school writes that his son volunteered, leaving a wife and two -little children; that his pay was over a month in arrears, and that at -Christmas time he wrote as follows: - - We have not yet received our November pay. At this time of the year - the boys don’t want it for themselves; they want to send some little - thing home to their mothers or wives or sweethearts, and in lots of - cases to their children, to whom just a little something from daddy - means so much. Yet even that little pleasure is denied us. Can you - not bring this to the attention of the people who are supporting this - Government? - -I have received many hundreds such appeals. To give the names of -the writers would insure their punishment. To pay no heed to their -appeals means that the abuses go unremedied. Doubtless an occasional -informant is in error in his statement. But Senator Chamberlain’s -speech and the testimony taken before his committee prove that the -important statements I have made during the last few months as to the -shortcomings in our army have been more than warranted by the facts. - - - - -LET GEORGE SPEED UP THE WAR - -FEBRUARY 3, 1918 - - -In my last editorial I spoke of the things of which Secretary Baker -explicitly or implicitly denies the existence, in justifying the -Administration for the military delay and shortcomings that have -marked our entry into war. But as to the major facts there is no room -for denial. As to these Secretary Baker falls back on the comfortable -doctrine that all our shortcomings are of no consequence because -they are made good anyhow by the efforts of our allies--who, by the -way, with preposterous silliness, are in official circles merely -termed our associates. Secretary Baker explains that, although our -forces in France have no field artillery or auto rifles, this is of -no consequence because the French love to give us artillery and auto -rifles. He explains that the greatest German offensive movement of the -war is about to take place, an offensive movement which, if successful, -means that we have lost the war, and he adds that we can trust England -and France to repel this offensive. This is a naked statement that we -are to let George do it. We are to announce that after being at war -just a year our delays have been so great that we are almost negligible -in the military sense and that we must trust to our allies to speed up -the war. - -This verifies the prediction of von Hindenburg and von Tirpitz that -it would take us eighteen months to become a real factor in the war. -Americans laughed at this statement, but the ruthless and brutal and -intelligent Germans were right and our own soft sentimentalities were -their efficient allies. We are in the position of letting George speed -up the war. Are the citizens of a proud and high-spirited Nation to be -content with such a position? - -Our major shortcomings can neither be concealed nor denied. In October -I personally saw thousands of infantrymen drilling with sticks. In -December, I still saw artillerymen with sticks instead of rifles. -A month ago most of the cannon in the national army camps, which I -saw, were made of logs or of sections of telegraph poles and all the -machine guns I saw were wooden dummies. The daily press has repeatedly -published photos of these wooden rifles, cannon, and machine guns. -Secretary Baker cannot deny this nor can he deny that in modern war -an army without artillery is helpless. We are now getting a small -number of machine guns. We are turning some heavy coast guns into field -artillery, but as yet gallant General Pershing and his gallant men in -France have to trust to the French for artillery and machine guns and -war planes, and, thanks to our dawdling and indecision, we have an -utterly insufficient number of cargo ships. - -We have been at war for a year. In April Congress stated that Germany -had already committed repeated acts of war against us and that our -own declaration of war was formal. It was then too late to undo the -criminal mischief caused by our refusal to prepare during the preceding -two and a half years, but we aggravated the damage immensely by our -delays and follies. If we had exercised reasonable energy we would in -six months have achieved more than we have actually achieved in a year. -The least we can do now is to speed up the war ourselves. Let us insist -that this be the end toward which with all our energy we now strive. - - - - -LET UNCLE SAM GET INTO THE GAME - -FEBRUARY 5, 1918 - - -No one can tell how long this war will last. It may last three years -more, and we should prepare accordingly. But it may close this year, -and it is unpardonable of us not to act with such speed as to make our -help available in substantial form at once. Uncle Sam must not be put -in the position of the sub, who only gets into the game just before the -whistle blows. Above all, he must not so act as to rouse suspicion that -this attitude is due to deliberate shirking on his part. - -The prime aid in getting Uncle Sam into the game has come from the men -who, in order to achieve this object, have truthfully set forth the -unpleasant facts about our delay, military inefficiency, and total -unpreparedness. The critics of these men have been either unwise or -insincere. The most fatuous form of objection to such truth-telling is -the assertion that it tends to prolong the war. It is the only thing -that will shorten the war. Suppression of the truth as the habitual -governmental policy has been successful in preventing our people from -realizing our mistakes and even more successful in preventing their -remedy. - -An excellent example of this policy of falsehood is furnished in a -letter from a news agency offering to various newspapers cartoons -assailing me because I had “criticized our unpreparedness and urged -an immediate movement toward universal obligatory military training,” -the cartoonist saying that I had said that I had seen artillerymen -drilling with “wooden guns made from pieces of telegraph poles.” The -writer admitted this, but stated that “these wooden imitations were as -efficient for the purposes of learning as the real guns.” I suppose -that this particular Champion of military inefficiency would believe -that a rifle team could train for a championship match with dummy -rifles of wood. - -Every important criticism made of our military unpreparedness and -inefficiency during the past six months, and indeed during the -preceding three years, has been proved true and in no case has there -been correction of the abuse until it was exposed. General Pershing has -just written home a scathing indictment of the military shortcomings of -our higher officers abroad. This is after we have been at war a year, -and it is directly due to the character of both the civilian and the -military control that has been exercised from the swivel chairs of the -War Department during this year. - -Our duty is solely to the country and to every official high or low -precisely to the extent to which he loyally, disinterestedly, and -efficiently serves the country. Let us get behind the United States. -Let us think only of our patriotic duty. I care not a rap for politics -at such a time as this. I supported Senator Chamberlain, my political -and to some extent my personal opponent in the past, because on the -great issue now up he served the country. I supported General Crowder, -of whose politics I know nothing and care less, because he served the -country. Stand behind America. - - - - -CONSERVATION IS IMPORTANT AND PRODUCTION IS MORE IMPORTANT - -FEBRUARY 15, 1918 - - -It is very important that we should conserve many things, but -especially food. It is, however, very much more important that we shall -produce the food in order to conserve it. The governmental attitude -toward production during the past year has been, at points, very -unwise. There has not only been failure to encourage producing the one -thing vitally necessary to this Nation at this time, but there has been -at times, by unwise price-fixing, a direct discouragement of producing. - -We have suffered severely during this winter because of this attitude -in the matter of coal production. One of the factors in producing the -misery and discomfort, especially among people of limited means during -the severe weather of the last few months, was the improperly low price -rate established last summer, and the uncertain and contradictory -attitude of the Government on the question of coal production. - -But important though all production is, the production of food, the -production which we owe to the farmer, is the most important of all. -This country needs more food. Its allies need more food. Only the -farmer can give the food. It is nonsense to expect him to produce -it unless he can make his livelihood by so doing. The farmer is -thoroughly patriotic; he stands ready now as he has stood ready in -every crisis of the Nation, pledged to do his full duty, and a little -more than his duty. But he makes his livelihood by producing what is -essential to the livelihood of the rest of us. He cannot produce unless -he makes his livelihood. Not a step should be taken that interferes -with his welfare, save after such wise and cautious inquiry as to make -us certain that the step is necessary. - -We should do whatever is necessary to help the farmer produce the -maximum of food at this time. Moreover, every step we take should be -conditioned upon securing the farmer’s permanent well-being. The city -man is often utterly ignorant of the work and of the needs of the man -who lives in the open country. The working-man and the business man who -growl about one another are a little apt to join in growling about the -farmer. The city Socialist is more utterly ignorant of the farmer than -any other human being. Last fall the Socialist campaign in New York -had for one of its battle cries the announcement that they intended to -make the farmer give them five-cent milk. Apparently the detail that -the farmer had to feed the cows and take care of them struck them as -unworthy of notice. - -The farmer must have labor. But there must be no importation of Chinese -or any other cheap labor, whether permanent or temporary. The emergency -need of farm labor for planting and harvesting can be met at this time -just as the need for the national army was met. The farmer must have -first-class prices for his products. No price-fixing at his expense -must be gone into without the clearest necessity being shown, and above -all there must be no repetition of the folly that marked the dealing -with the fuel situation last summer. The farmer must have what capital -he needs at a rate of interest not excessive, in order to plant and -reap his crop this year. The aid can be given to groups of farmers who -underwrite one another, so to speak, and, of course, if he can be given -it by private means, so much the better. If that is impossible, then -the Government should act. We should profit by the admirable California -example to see that the help is given only to the man who is a real -farmer and can really make use of it, but that it is extended in such a -way as to be of genuine and material benefit. - -This is the immediate need, and let us treat meeting this need as the -opening wedge of a policy designed to prevent the growth of tenant -farms at the expense of the farm owner who tills his own soil, and -designed also to put a premium upon the permanent prosperity of the -small farmer as compared with the big landowner. - - - - -THE PEOPLE’S WAR - -FEBRUARY 26, 1918 - - -It is not agreeable to keep insisting on the need of doing better -than we have done. It is not agreeable to keep pointing out our -shortcomings, but to do so is the only way of remedying them and of -securing better action in the future. - -The people, some of them well-meaning, some of them anything but -well-meaning, who denounce criticism and who object to telling the -minimum of truth necessary to correct our faults, are the efficient -allies of Germany and the foes of the United States. Actual events -have shown that fatuous complacency on the part of our officials has -resulted in inefficiency and delay which would have meant overwhelming -disaster to this Nation if we had not been protected by the fleets and -armies of England and France. - -For the first eleven months of this war the inefficiency at vital -points in our Government, notably in the matter of shipping and in -the management of the War Department, was worse than anything Russia -herself has ever seen. Nearly thirteen months have now passed since -Germany went to war with us and we broke relations with Germany and -afterwards timidly and helplessly drifted stern foremost into what we -styled a “formal” state of war. The Russo-Japanese War likewise began -before there was any formal declaration of war. It only lasted sixteen -months. We have been accustomed to hold out Russia’s action during that -sixteen months as a miracle of inefficiency, but she showed herself -far less inefficient than we have shown ourselves during the thirteen -months that have just passed, and, of course, there was nothing in her -conduct quite as bad as our criminal folly in utterly failing in any -shape or way to prepare during the two and a half previous years. -There is just one difference between the two cases. Russia did not -have England and France to protect her from the effects of her folly. -That we have been at liberty to indulge in our folly with impunity is -due only to the fact that England and France have protected us with -the blood of their bravest, while we have refused to prepare and then -delayed and blundered and fatuously boasted after the war came on. -Every pro-German, of course, heartily applauds these blunders and -delays and bitterly objects to their being pointed out, but every -American with a particle of patriotism in him, every American proud -of his country, should learn the bitter lesson and should resolve -that never again will we permit our great Nation to be put in such an -ignoble position. - -Our worst failure, of course, has been our failure to grapple with -the shipping problem. But there have been many such failures. One was -the failure to equip Pershing’s army. I do not believe a more gallant -little army than Pershing’s was ever sent abroad, but without abundant -artillery, machine guns, and airplanes a modern army is as helpless as -if its men were armed only with stone-headed axes. Pershing’s army has -only the field artillery, machine guns, and airplanes that the French -have given it, and this, although since our troops landed last June, -a longer time has elapsed than covered the whole Franco-Prussian War. -As regards the field artillery, the fault is due to the blind refusal -of the Government to prepare in advance to build the guns. As regards -the machine guns and auto rifles, the fault is due to our Government’s -refusal during the last thirteen months to utilize the Lewis gun. - -Steps have been taken to remedy some of the worst of these evils in the -War Department. They have been taken only and purely because of public -criticism of them and because of the fearless exposure of inefficiency -of Senator Chamberlain and his colleagues of the Senate investigating -committee. Until this committee began its labor, the War Department -had striven to conceal and had refused to remedy its inefficiency, -blundering, and delay. There has been some improvement, and this -improvement is due solely to the Senate committee. - -This is the people’s war. It is not the President’s war any more than -it is Congress’s war. It is America’s war. We are in honor bound in -conducting it to stand by every official who does well and against -every official who fails to do well. Any other attitude is a servile -attitude. Congress on the whole has done well. Until Congress finally -asserted itself the executive branch of the Government did very badly. -If Congress follows the lead outlined in the Chamberlain Bill, it -will continue to do well; if it follows the lead outlined in Senator -Overman’s Bill, it will condone the inefficiency of the past and put a -premium upon inefficiency in the future. Congress must not shirk its -duty to the people. Let the machinery of the Government be modernized -and above all let this machinery be manned by men of distinguished and -demonstrated ability who will make the governmental conduct efficient -instead of grossly inefficient, as it was during the first year of the -war. - -Let us quit being content with feeble mediocrity. Let us demand really -first-class efficiency in both preparation and performance. That is the -only way to do what we must do and see this war through to a triumphant -conclusion. - - - - -THE FRUITS OF FIFTY-FIFTY LOYALTY - -MARCH 2, 1918 - - -A captain in the regular army of the United States has just been justly -sentenced to twenty-five years’ imprisonment for trying to combine -loyalty to this country with loyalty to Germany. He was born here of -German parents. In Germany, for such an offense, he would have been -instantly shot or hung. And in Germany organizations and newspapers -responsible for causing such action would be instantly suppressed and -their organizers and editors heavily punished. - -The unfortunate army officer in question is paying the penalty for -heeding such organizations as the German-American Alliance. Mr. -Gustavus Ohlinger has put before Congress facts concerning the past -actions and activities of this organization which warrant and require -its instant suppression. Its leaders have sometimes been men who -practiced a fifty-fifty loyalty between this country and Germany and -sometimes men all of whose loyalty was for Germany and all whose enmity -was for the nationality, ideals, and language of the American people. -It is an outrage that such an organization should be permitted longer -to exist. Congress should act against it at once and the Department -of Justice should abandon its slack attitude toward German spies and -should so act as to convince our enemies that Uncle Sam is not a timid -and soft-headed fool, and that hereafter German spies, dynamiters, and -murderers who ply their trade here will do so at the risk of their -necks. - -Teaching German in the public schools should be prohibited. German -language newspapers should have a time limit act, after which it -should not be lawful to publish them save in English. A few of their -newspapers have a most honorable past and are doing excellent work in -the present. A number of English language newspapers have preached -moral treason to the American people, often covering it by zeal in -denouncing all honest and truthful men who point out the delays and -inefficiencies in government, actions which make those responsible for -them enemies of the American people and aids to Germany; but moral -treason in English is at least open, whereas in a foreign language -it is hidden. Moral treason is not necessarily legal treason, but it -may be as dangerous, and from senators to school teachers, all public -servants who deal in it should promptly be removed from office. - -The organizations, newspapers, and public servants who thus betray -the honor of America in the interest of Germany wrong all their fellow -citizens. But above all they cruelly wrong those loyal Americans, -the great majority of our citizens who are in whole or in part of -German blood. The loyal majority should lend their utmost energies to -securing the condign and summary punishment of the disloyal minority -of Americans of German blood who are a disgrace and a menace to this -country. Gustavus Ohlinger is an admirable example of the Americans in -whole or in part of German blood who is an American and nothing else. -All good Americans, and especially all good Americans of German blood, -should actively and heartily back him. There is no room in this country -for fifty-fifty Americanism. - - - - -QUIT TALKING PEACE - -MARCH 5, 1918 - - -The experience of Trotzky, Lenine, and the other Bolshevist leaders -in their peace negotiations with Germany ought to be illuminating to -our own people. Germany encouraged them to enter peace negotiations, -spoke fairly to them, got them committed to the abandonment of their -allies, used them to demoralize Russia and make it impossible for her -to organize effective resistance, and then threw them over, instantly -invaded their land, and now holds a part of Russia. - -Let our people take warning and insist that all peace talk cease -forthwith. Germany is the enemy of humanity generally and in a special -sense is the enemy of the United States. She has introduced into -warfare horrors which not another civilized nation would have dreamed -of using. Her conduct toward Belgium stands out on the high peak of -infamy. She has murdered innocent women and children wholesale on the -high seas and hundreds of Americans have thus been slain. She has -organized murder, rape, robbery, and devastation on a gigantic scale in -every conquered territory. Our own sons and brothers are at this moment -facing death by the awful torture of the poison gas because Germany has -invented methods of warfare more cruel than those of the Dark Ages. -Peace on equal terms with such a foe would mean black shame in the -present and the certainty of renewed and wholesale war in the future. - -To talk peace means to puzzle the ignorant and to weaken the will of -even the stout-hearted. It is hailed with evil joy by all the men in -this country who have opposed war and have wished us to submit tamely -to German brutality. When there comes from Washington an announcement -about peace terms which the pacifists and pro-Germans are able to -interpret as favorable to their views, the Hearst papers gleefully -champion it as undoing the effect of previous declarations that we -are in this war to the end, and Mr. Hillquit, the New York mayoralty -candidate of the Germanized Socialists and the pacifists, expresses -his hearty approval and says that the President has now taken his (Mr. -Hillquit’s) position. - -Let us quit talking peace with a foe who, if we entered into peace -negotiations, would, according to his ability, trick us as he has -already tricked the Bolsheviki of Russia. Let us not put ourselves on -the moral and intellectual level of Trotzky and Lenine. Every peace -utterance pleases the Germans, renders our allies uneasy, strengthens -the pacifists, the pro-Germans, and the various seditious elements in -our own country, and bewilders, disheartens, and weakens our honest -citizens. - -The time when words about peace were useful passed a very long time -ago. Let us now merely announce that we are in this war to fight until -Germany is beaten to her knees. Then let us bend our entire energy -to building ships and more ships at the greatest possible speed and -putting a couple of million men on the firing line at the earliest -possible moment. That is the effective way to bring a just and lasting -peace. - - - - -THE WORST ENEMIES OF CERTAIN LOYAL AMERICANS - -MARCH 10, 1918 - - -The army and navy of the United States in the training camps, on -the high seas, and at the battle front, are at this moment proving -themselves the most potent agencies of Americanism that our country -contains. All good Americans should feel a peculiar pride in the fine -and gallant loyalty with which the great majority of the Americans of -German descent have come forward to do their part to win this war -against the brutal and merciless tyranny of the Prussianized Germany -of the Hohenzollerns. As regards able-bodied men, this service must be -rendered in the army, for in war-time no other form of activity can be -accepted as a substitute for the fighting work of the fighting man. - -I continually meet officers from the front. A captain recently out of -the trenches called on me the other day. His father and mother were -born in Germany. He himself, after going through a small American -college, had spent three years at Heidelberg. He mentioned that -one of his lieutenants was born in Norway, and that another was -of Irish parentage, and then continued by saying that already his -brief experience of the war had given him a horror of the Germany of -to-day, had convinced him that our only safety lay in the complete -Americanization of all our people and therefore in the insistence -that English should be the only language of this country and the only -language taught in any primary school, and that he regarded such -organizations as the German-American Alliance as guilty of moral -treason to America as the worst and most dangerous foes of good -Americans of German blood, and as richly deserving to be promptly -suppressed and punished. - -An officer from our destroyer squadron across the seas informed me that -our destroyers had accounted for nearly a score of submarines; that -about a quarter of their crews were, as indicated by their names, of -German descent, but straight-out Americans and nothing else; that his -own best gun-pointer was named Fritz Heinz; and that their keenest -indignation was reserved for the German officials in Germany and the -German-American Alliance in America whose actions tended to make a wall -between them and their fellow Americans and who inflicted the most -cruel wrong possible upon them by exciting among other Americans an -indiscriminate distrust and anger toward all men of German origin. - -These men were absolutely right. We speak in the name of all good -Americans and on behalf of Fritz and Adolph and Gustav exactly as -on behalf of Bill and Harry and Edward, when we demand the prompt -suppression of the German-American Alliance and of all similar -organizations. The German blood is exactly as good as any other blood, -but exactly as, under the corroding influence of slavery, masses of -Americans of the best blood once became the enemies of the Union -and of humanity, so under the debasing and brutalizing influence of -the _kultur_ of the last fifty years, Germany has become the cruel -and treacherous enemy of the United States and of all the other -liberty-loving nations of mankind. - - - - -GIRD UP OUR LOINS - -MARCH 16, 1918 - - -The Bible warns us to gird up our loins if we wish to win a race. Most -certainly we cannot expect to do well in the present struggle unless -we bend every energy to the task and exercise all our forethought in -instant preparation. - -Russia’s betrayal of the Allied cause under the foolish and iniquitous -lead of the Bolsheviki has been a betrayal of the United States and of -the cause of liberty and democracy and justice throughout the world. -Above all, it has been a betrayal of Russia herself, and it has, of -course, absolved us of every obligation to her. Our duty is to stand -by England and France and Belgium and Serbia, who have stood by us. -Russia has ruined herself in Germany’s interest, and has immensely -increased the peril for the rest of us. This simply means that we -ought to re-double our effort. We should be building the cargo ships -in three eight-hour shift days and should treat work on them as being -equivalent to work in the army. We should speed to the utmost the work -on the cannon and flying machines so that our army may cease having to -rely on the French for artillery and airplanes. The army should copy -the wisdom of the navy in regard to the Lewis auto rifle and should use -this weapon to the utmost limit now, even although it prove wise later -to supersede it with the Browning weapon. - -We ought at once to introduce obligatory universal military training -for our young men between nineteen and twenty-one. They would not -be sent to war until they were twenty-one. This would be the most -effective step in preparing to get ready an army of five million men. -Such an army would be relatively no larger than the four hundred -thousand men which gallant Canada, to her eternal honor, has already -raised. Let us begin now to prepare ourselves for a three years’ war. - -If we had prepared as we ought to have done during the two and a half -years before we at last reluctantly faced our duty and went to war, we -would have put a couple of million of fighting men into Europe last -June. Russia would never have broken, and in all probability the war -would have ended at once with almost no fighting. There is no use in -crying over the enormous quantities of milk we have already spilled, -unless it becomes necessary in order to prevent us from continuing -to spill it in the present and future. Failure to prepare as above -outlined may cause us as much trouble in the future as our past failure -to prepare has already caused us. General Pershing’s gallant little -army has already made the entire United States its debtor. But it is -not as yet as important a military factor as the army of Belgium or of -Portugal or of Serbia. Let us back it up and equip it and reënforce it -to the utmost of our strength. Let us quit talking peace and bend all -our energies to winning the war, and thereby winning the only kind of -peace that will be safe, honorable, and lasting. - - - - -BOLSHEVIKI AT HOME AND ABROAD - -MARCH 19, 1918 - - -The answer of the Bolsheviki to the President’s message was an example -of mean and studied impertinence. There was no gratitude, no apology -for their betrayal of America and of the cause of liberty, and no -expression of hostility to their German masters, but there was a -gratuitous and insulting expression for a class war in America against -what the Bolsheviki with ignorant folly speak of as capitalism. -A couple of days afterward the Bolshevist authorities definitely -concluded with Germany their peace of ignominy and treachery. - -There is now no possible reason for our Government to draw the sharp -distinction they have drawn between the Bolsheviki abroad and the -Bolsheviki at home. The Government is prosecuting Victor Berger and -has suppressed the paper of Max Eastman. But Berger and Eastman are -essentially the same as Lenine and Trotzky. All four have played -Germany’s game; all four have been the enemies of the cause of the -United States and of liberty. The utter ruin which the Bolsheviki have -brought on Russia offers an illuminating example of the destruction -which would befall the United States if it ever submitted to the -leadership of men like Messrs. Hillquit, Townley, Haywood, and Berger. - -We have had many evil capitalists in the United States, but on the -whole the worst capitalists could not do the permanent damage to the -farmers and working-men in America which these foreign and native -Bolsheviki would do if they had the power. Our people should keep -steadily in mind that the Russian Bolsheviki have not attacked the -big Russian capitalists who were in alliance with the autocracy of -the Romanoffs and they have been the tools, paid or unpaid, of the -German militarists and capitalists. They have spent their energies -in attacking the revolutionists who overthrew the Romanoffs and -in persecuting the peasants who have become small farmers and the -working-men who are skilled mechanics and the small shopkeepers. They -hate and envy those thrifty and self-respecting workers who in this -country make up the great majority of our people and who are our most -typical and characteristic Americans. - -The Bolsheviki have concluded a peace with Germany which includes -handing back to the Turks, or, in other words, plunging back into -brutal savagery, a district in Asia in which there are multitudes of -Armenians and other Christians. Our Government has been derelict in -its duty to the Armenians, to the Christians of Syria and to the Jews -of Palestine, by its failure to declare war on Turkey. It is a grave -error to coddle the Bolsheviki and support them in any way against our -allies unless we are also willing fearlessly to condemn their betrayal -of us and of the Allied cause, and unless we are ready to war to the -end against both Germany and Turkey in order to rescue from tyranny and -to give independence to the unfortunate people whom the Bolsheviki have -abandoned to a cruel fate. - - - - -THE FRUITS OF OUR DELAY - -MARCH 26, 1918 - - -The shameful betrayal of the Allies’ cause by the Russian Bolshevists -and the delay and incompetence of the American Government have given -the Germans a free hand for their drive against the British army. -England is at this moment fighting our battles just as much as she -is fighting her own, yet, although three years have passed since the -Lusitania was sunk and a year since Congress declared that we had -“formally” entered the war, America is still merely an onlooker. - -We owe this ignoble position to the folly and the procrastination of -our Government and its inveterate tendency to substitute rhetoric for -action. We have a gallant little army across the ocean, but it is -smaller than the Belgian army. We are not holding a greater extent of -the battle front than the army of little Portugal. We have at the front -no airplanes or field artillery and very few machine guns except those -we have gotten from the French. Even the clothes of our troops are -mainly obtained from the English. Yet we are the richest nation and one -of the most populous nations on the earth. - -Our Government is responsible for our dreadful shortcomings, but -the responsibility is shared by all the foolish creatures who have -willfully blinded themselves to these shortcomings and have clamored -against the faithful public servants, like Senator Chamberlain, who -laid bare the shortcomings for the purpose of remedying them. The truly -patriotic men in this crisis have been the men who have fearlessly told -the truth in order to speed up the war. The other men who have decried -the truth-telling as “crying over spilt milk” have been profoundly -unpatriotic. It was the failure to point out how much milk had been -spilt which was primarily responsible for the failure to stop further -spilling of milk. - -In the face of the terrible battle which our English allies are now -waging, and in view of the fact that for three years and a half we have -owed our safety to the British fleet and to the French spirit typified -by Premier Clemenceau, let the American people now demand that the -Government recognize the need of instant and efficient action. Let -our Government quit flirting with the Bolshevists at home and abroad. -Let it declare war on Turkey at once. Let it acknowledge its dreadful -failures and delays and henceforth act with all possible speed. Let it -manfully endeavor to make our weight felt in the war this year. Let it -stop boasting about the future and begin to act in the present. - -Let the Government use common sense. It has talked magnificently about -having twenty thousand airplanes ready in June, but it has not one -American war plane at the front to-day. Let it quit boasting and act. -Let it push the shipping programme by night and day. Let it give France -and England the men they so sorely need. - -Our Government has delayed until the Allies have been brought to the -brink of destruction. Let it act at once lest the chance for action -pass completely by. - - - - -HOW THE HUN EARNS HIS TITLE - -MARCH 31, 1918 - -THE CURSE OF THE SYSTEM - -BY D. THOMAS CURTIN - - -I - -A scene in Schabatz, when the Austro-Hungarians attempted to flank -Belgrade in early August, 1914, has seared itself into my memory. I -was in the shambles of an overgrown village. The blood of both armies -flowed in the streets and the wine from broken casks and bottles flowed -in the cellars, soldiers walking in it up to their knees. - -The street was deserted save for an _Unteroffizier_ who was passing. -An old woman, bent and shriveled, her white locks escaping the yellow -sash around her head, tottered from a whitewashed mixture of mud and -thatch, saw the enemy soldier, started back, thought better of it, and -sank to her knees while she extended her bony arms for mercy. He drew -his saber--still a relic of war. “A little despicable stage play and -magnanimous pardon,” I thought. I was mistaken. The saber whistled and -slashed the outstretched arms, the woman’s shriek cut me like saws and -knives, and I turned away bewildered. - -I came face to face with the man a few minutes later. He was not drunk. -Nor did he look like a wild man from the hills. He was a Viennese, the -kind of man I had seen on scores of occasions lolling in a café, mild -and gentle as a kitten. He looked mild and gentle now. - -“Why did you do it?” I had to ask. - -“She was a pig-dog Serb, an enemy of my country. I did my duty.” And he -said it in a manner which showed him satisfied in his conscience that -he had done what was right. - -I realize now that I had had my first war-time example of the German -system of education. The code is that anything done in the name of the -Fatherland is correct. A man can be educated in such a manner that he -will wipe out “crawling verminous pests of his country” with as little -compunction as a farmer would rid his field of potato bugs. - - -II - -On Thanksgiving Day, 1914, I visited the American Hospital in Munich, -a military hospital supported by contributions from the United States. -While talking with three men in one room I was actually saying to -myself that such as these could not be guilty of atrocities, when one -of them told me a story which forced me to change my mind. - -“I was a member of a relief company marching in the Vosges,” he said. -“As we were about to halt for lunch, we came upon a French priest in a -wood who was judged quickly to be a spy by our officers. These turned -him over to us and we had great amusement after we had finished eating. -I laugh still whenever I think of it. We tied a rope around his neck -and threw it over a limb of a tree. Some comrades pulled and up went -the priest while the rest of us stood around and jabbed him with our -bayonets. ‘Higher, higher!’ we shouted. And then we had a jumping -contest to see which could thrust his bayonet highest.” - -The man told me the story because he thought it funny and his eyes -danced with happy recollections as he told it. - - -NO GUNS - - _General Pétain, commander, French army, said: “Send guns; so that - some of us may be alive to fight by your side, when at last America is - ready.”_ - - What! in France and no guns! - Have I sent forth my sons - With proud boasts of great deeds-- - And fallen down at plain needs? - Who proclaimed to the world - With my banners unfurled - The dread foe will succumb, - I, America, come! - - In France, and no guns! - And I’ve sent forth my sons - With those wolves of the Huns at their throats, - While the Kaiser and Hindenburg gloat, - And France, stricken France, - Fills the breach, while my lance - I sent flaming with pride - Hangs behind, not beside! - - In France! and no guns, - Empty hands, and my sons - Who would tear out their hearts for my fame, - Are held up to derision and shame, - Because statesmen so small - Hew out roads to a wall - While the fire bells of death - Crash souls out, and breath! - - In France, and no guns! - Why, you’re worse than the Huns, - You men who are shaming my honor - When the stress of the Nation’s upon her. - With your quibbles and greed - Can the trampled be freed? - Oh, my heart’s sick with scorn, - I, America, suborned. - - In France, and no guns! - Let’s forever be done - With our boasts and our brags, and succumb - To the scorning before which we’re dumb. - When at last France is free - And her glory acclaimed - Let none look at me, - At America, shamed. - - Henrietta Keith, Minneapolis - - -We live such sheltered lives here, three thousand miles away from the -war, that most of us don’t even yet realize what Germany has done -and has stood for in this war and what a terrible menace she is to -us and to all civilization. The other day I met a very able writer -and observer who at the outbreak of the Great War spent many months -with the German and Austrian armies and then lived in Germany until -it became impossible for a self-respecting American longer to stay -there. He is Mr. D. Thomas Curtin. His father was born in Ireland. -He is himself a Catholic. I mention these facts merely because they -refute the cheap and vicious falsehoods so often promulgated by the -pro-Germans to the effect that the accounts of the German atrocities -are due to English propaganda. - -I ask all good Americans, whatever their creed, and I especially ask -American women, to read these two straightforward statements by Mr. -Curtin, the account of the killing by torture of the priest who fell -into the hands of the German soldiers and the account of the fearful -brutality of an Austrian German to a poor old woman. These were not -isolated cases of brutality. They were both part of the policy of -deliberate horror, which Mr. Curtin speaks of as “the system.” All -in America who have played the game of Germany, from Hearst and the -Germanized Socialists and the German-American Alliance at one end of -the line to foolish pacifist preachers at the other end of the line, -have been, according to their power, working to bring about the day -when we here in this country would see our own women and helpless -non-combatant men and our own children exposed to such hideous wrongs -and torture as is described by Mr. Curtin. I very seriously ask our -people to read what Mr. Curtin says and to ponder the full meaning of -the facts he sets forth. - -In the next place, I ask them to read the poem--and it is a real poem, -not merely verse--of Mrs. Keith, a Minneapolis woman, called “No Guns.” -Well-meaning, foolish people, and some people who in ordinary relations -of life are not foolish, are fond of telling us not to point out the -defects in the army, because this encourages Germany, and because -anyhow it is a case of spilt milk, and there is no use of crying over -spilt milk. The answer is twofold. In the first place, Germany knows -all our shortcomings. Inasmuch as we have wickedly refused to go to -war with Turkey and Bulgaria, we have left open avenues by which it -is absolutely certain that Germany gets full knowledge of everything -she wishes to know about this country. It is only our own people who -are kept in ignorance. In the next place, as regards the spilt-milk -proposition, the trouble is that we have kept on spilling the milk -and that only by pointing out that it has been spilled is it possible -to solder the milk cans and stop further spilling. Until Senator -Chamberlain and his committee boldly and truthfully pointed out the -evil caused by the delays and shortcomings of the War Department, the -Administration made not the slightest effort to remedy them. Some of -the more salient of these shortcomings have been remedied, and this -fact is primarily due to the courage and patriotism of these public -servants, Senator Chamberlain and his committee. - -If fourteen months ago our people had been willing to demand the truth -and to listen to those who told the truth, we would at this moment have -four times the force we now have in France; and we would have guns and -airplanes, and auto rifles of our own make with it; and we would have -had plenty of ships to carry our men across and to give them food and -munitions. The reason why our fighting army at the front in France is -no larger, and the reason why we have had to get the necessary field -guns, airplanes, and auto rifles for that army from the French, is -because we, as a people, were not willing to insist upon knowing the -truth. It is precisely because certain men are now telling the truth -that there is reason to hope that gradually the milk spilling will be -stopped; that gradually we shall get the guns, the airplanes, and auto -rifles for our men, and above all the ships that are vitally necessary. -I ask the mothers of this country whose sons are now in the army, or -may go into the army, to read and ponder this poem by a woman, and to -cast the weight of their great influence in favor of demanding that -every ounce of energy we as a Nation possess be used to speed up the -war, to relieve our allies of the burden of supplying us with weapons -of war, and to see that the American troops abroad are furnished from -this country with American-made weapons of the highest type. - -The don’t-cry-over-spilt-milk appeal represents unpardonable wrong to -America and to civilization. - - - - -THANK HEAVEN! - -APRIL 2, 1918 - - -At last, thank Heaven, comes the news that our little American army -at the front has been put absolutely at the disposal of the French -and English military leaders for use of any kind in the gigantic and -terrible battle now being waged. All Americans who are proud of the -great name of America will humbly and reverently thank Heaven that at -any rate the army we have at the front is not to remain in the position -of an onlooker, but is to be put into the battle. - -The wanton and cruel bombardment of Paris, undertaken for no military -reason and with its characteristic slaughter of women and children -in a church, proves that the German barbarity is as deliberate and -as infamous now as at the beginning of the war. The Allies in this -battle are fighting for humanity and civilization. They are fighting -the battle of the United States. Any man in the United States who at -this time directly or indirectly expresses approval of or sympathy with -Germany in this battle or in this war, should be arrested and either -shot, hung, or imprisoned for life, according to the gravity of his -offense. - -Thank Heaven that our sons and brothers are now to stand at Armageddon. -Thank Heaven that American soldiers are now to fight in the great -battle against the bestial foe of America and of mankind. Words count -for little at this time and for nothing whatever except in so far as -they are of help to the men of deeds who are at the front. - -It is these men at the front who are now making all Americans, born -and unborn, forever their debtors. They are the men who have paid with -their bodies for their soul’s desire. Let no one pity them, whatever -their fate, for they have seen the mighty days and have risen level to -the need of the mighty days. And let no one pity the wives and mothers -and fathers whose husbands and lovers and sons now face death in battle -for the mightiest of all high causes. Our hearts are wrung with sorrow -and anxiety, but our heads are held aloft with pride. It is a terrible -thing that our loved ones should face the great danger, but it would -be a far more terrible thing if, whatever the danger, they were not -treading the hard path of duty and honor. - - - - -CITIZENS OR SUBJECTS? - -APRIL 6, 1918 - - -In a self-governing country the people are called citizens. Under a -despotism or autocracy the people are called subjects. This is because -in a free country the people are themselves sovereign, while in a -despotic country the people are under a sovereign. In the United States -the people are all citizens, including its President. The rest of them -are fellow citizens of the President. In Germany the people are all -subjects of the Kaiser. They are not his fellow citizens, they are his -subjects. This is the essential difference between the United States -and Germany, but the difference would vanish if we now submitted to the -foolish or traitorous persons who endeavor to make it a crime to tell -the truth about the Administration when the Administration is guilty -of incompetence or other shortcomings. Such endeavor is itself a crime -against the Nation. Those who take such an attitude are guilty of moral -treason of a kind both abject and dangerous. - -Our loyalty is due entirely to the United States. It is due to the -President only and exactly to the degree in which he efficiently serves -the United States. It is our duty to support him when he serves the -United States well. It is our duty to oppose him when he serves it -badly. This is true about Mr. Wilson now and it has been true about -all our presidents in the past. It is our duty at all times to tell -the truth about the President and about every one else, save in the -cases where to tell the truth at the moment would benefit the public -enemy. Since this war began, the suppression of the truth by and about -the Administration has been habitual. In rare cases this has been -disadvantageous to the enemy. In the vast majority of cases it has -been advantageous to the enemy, detrimental to the American people, -and useful to the Administration only from the political, not the -patriotic, standpoint. - -The Senate Judiciary Committee has just recommended the passage -of a law in which, among many excellent propositions to put down -disloyalty, there has been adroitly inserted a provision that any -one who uses “contemptuous or slurring language about the President” -shall be punished by imprisonment for a long term of years and by a -fine of many thousand dollars. This proposed law is sheer treason to -the United States. Under its terms Abraham Lincoln would have been -sent to prison for what he repeatedly said of Presidents Polk, Pierce, -and Buchanan. Under its terms President Wilson would be free to speak -of Senator-elect Lenroot as he has spoken, but Senator Lenroot would -not be free truthfully to answer President Wilson. It is a proposal -to make Americans subjects instead of citizens. It is a proposal to -put the President in the position of the Hohenzollerns and Romanoffs. -Government by the people means that the people have the right to do -their own thinking and to do their own speaking about their public -servants. They must speak truthfully and they must not be disloyal to -the country, and it is their highest duty by truthful criticism to make -and keep the public servants loyal to the country. - -Any truthful criticism could and would be held by partisanship to -be slurring or contemptuous. The Delaware House of Representatives -has just shown this. It came within one vote of passing a resolution -demanding that the Department of Justice proceed against me because, in -my recent speeches in Maine, I “severely criticized the conduct of our -National Government.” I defy any human being to point out a statement -in that speech which was not true and which was not patriotic, and -yet the decent and patriotic members of the Delaware legislature were -only able to secure a majority of one against the base and servile -partisanship of those who upheld the resolution. - -I believe the proposed law is unconstitutional. If it is passed, -I shall certainly give the Government the opportunity to test its -constitutionality. For whenever the need arises I shall in the future -speak truthfully of the President in praise or in blame, exactly as -I have done in the past. When the President in the past uttered his -statements about being too proud to fight and wishing peace without -victory, and considering that we had no special grievance against -Germany, I spoke of him as it was my high duty to speak. Therefore, -I spoke of him truthfully and severely, and I cared nothing whether -or not timid and unpatriotic and short-sighted men said that I spoke -slurringly or contemptuously. In as far as the President in the future -endeavors to wage this war efficiently and to secure the peace of -overwhelming victory, I shall heartily support him. But if he wages it -inefficiently or if he should now champion a peace without victory, -or say that we had no grievance against Germany, I would speak in -criticism of him precisely as I have spoken in the past. I am an -American and a free man. My loyalty is due to the United States, and -therefore it is due to the President, the Senators, the Congressmen, -and all other public servants only and to the degree in which they -loyally and efficiently serve the United States. - - - - -WOMEN AND THE WAR - -APRIL 12, 1918 - - -A Kansas woman has just written me in part as follows: “I have given -my all, my two sons, gladly and proudly, as volunteers to my country, -for they enlisted last August. But my heart grows sick at the confusion -and blunders and apathy. I thank The Star for printing that poem of the -Minnesota mother. It appeals to all of us mothers who stay at home and -pray and work as we can.” - -I think more continually of such mothers of soldiers as this Kansas -woman, than I do even of the soldiers themselves. They have high and -gallant souls. They are the spiritual heirs of the mothers and wives of -Washington’s Continentals and of the mothers and wives of the soldiers -of Grant and Lee. I am proud beyond measure that I am their fellow -countryman. In everything that I do or say, I seek to make and to -keep this land a land in which their daughters can dwell in honorable -safety and to make our common citizenship such that both their sons and -daughters shall hold their heads high because they are Americans. - -But exactly as I revere such women, so I condemn the women whose -short-sightedness or frivolous love of ease and vapid pleasure or whose -timid fear of danger and labor makes them fit companions for those -unworthy men whose lives represent merely the shirking of duty. The -mother who, by perpetual complaint and lamentation about unavoidable -hardships and risks, seeks to weaken the heart of her soldier son -stands no higher than the money-getting or ease-loving man who dodges -the draft. The woman who cares so little for the honor of America and -the interests of civilization as now to wish a peace without victory -is no better than the men in uniform who seek soft positions of safety -among the slickers and slackers. - -The things that are best worth having in life must be paid for whether -by forethought or by toil or by downright facing of danger. This is -true in peace. It is even more true in war. It is just as true of women -as of men. - -All wise and good women and all wise and good men abhor war. Washington -and Lincoln abhorred war. But no man or woman is either wise or good -unless he or she abhors some things even more than war, exactly as -Washington and Lincoln abhorred them. We are none of us fit to be free -men in a republic if we are not willing to fight when the Republic is -wronged as Germany has wronged this country. We are none of us entitled -to say that we love mankind if we are not willing to do battle against -the Turk and the German in order to right such wrongs as have been -perpetrated on Belgium and Armenia. And we deserve to be brayed in a -mortar if we are ever again guilty of such folly as that of which we -have been guilty by our foolish failure to prepare our strength in -efficient fashion during the last three and a half years. - -The women of this country who love their husbands and sons should -realize now that only by thorough preparedness in advance can war be -avoided, if possible, or successfully waged if it has to come. Recently -men in high position whose own bodies are safe have stated that they -are glad that we were not prepared in advance to do our duty when this -war came. These men have purchased their own safety and advantage by -the blood of our sons at the front. Let the women who do not wish to -see their men go up against the cannon see that hereafter all our sons -are well trained in advance. If America’s strength is fully prepared in -advance, she will in all probability never have to go to war and will -be a potent factor in preserving the peace of justice throughout the -world, and the first step in securing such a peace is to devote all -our energies to speeding up the war until it is ended by the complete -triumph of our allies and ourselves. - - - - -TO MY FELLOW AMERICANS OF GERMAN BLOOD - -APRIL 16, 1918 - - -Hermann Hagedorn, an American whose father and mother were born in -Germany, an American of the best and bravest and most loyal type, -has just written a little book called “Where Do You Stand? An Appeal -to Americans of German Origin.” I wish it could be read by every -individual of those to whom it is addressed, and by all other Americans -also. - -I am, myself, partly of German blood, and I make my appeal as an -American does, to and on behalf of all other Americans who have German -blood in their veins. We have room in this country only for Americans -who are Americans, and nothing else. They must be loyal to only one -flag; they must speak one language; they must serve only American -ideals. I mean literally what I say, that every man who bears even -the smallest allegiance to any other country should be sent out of -this country. The native American who, during this war, directly or -indirectly, assails any of our allies, notably England, but also -Japan, is a traitor to America and should be promptly imprisoned. The -German-American, and especially the German-American editor, guilty -of such conduct or of any exaltation of any German victory should be -instantly interned and then sent back to Germany. The Sinn Feiner who -attacks England should be immediately interned and then sent back to -Ireland. The German-American Alliance and all similar organizations -should immediately be broken up by Congress and by the state -legislatures. Our people would do well to remember that even when such -organizations keep quiet for the moment, they are certain to revive and -to work against America with the utmost malignity when peace comes. -The time to crush them is now. Foreign language newspapers should be -required to follow the example of the New York Herald and begin the -change, which is to convert their newspapers into English, the language -of the United States. - -As for spies, preachers of sedition, men who practice sabotage, and all -other such persons, the Government already has much power, but should -be given any needed additional power to proceed against them, and this -power should be used in drastic fashion, if necessary under martial -law, and after a summary trial the guilty men should be shot. - -So much for the men of German blood, or of any other blood, who are -not good Americans; but remember that it is also our highest duty from -the standpoint of Americanism to stand by the good American of German -blood, just exactly as we stand by any other American. We must refuse -to permit any division along the lines of blood or ancestry. We must -demand whole-hearted Americanism, and if a man gives this, we must -treat him exactly on his merits, like any other American. In other -words, we must give every man a square deal. Shoot the spy or the -traitor, whether of native American, Irish, or German blood; whether a -Protestant, Catholic, or Jew. Stand by the good American of any creed, -no matter where he was born or whence his parents came. - -It is an outrage to discriminate against a good American in civil life -because he is of German blood. It is an even worse outrage for the -Government to permit such discrimination against him in the army or in -any of the organizations working under government supervision. Let us -insist on the immediate stopping of such discriminations, which cruelly -wound good Americans and tend to drive them back into the ranks of -the half-loyal. In return let good Americans of German blood band -together and take the lead in organization action against all disloyal -or half-loyal citizens of German blood and against all German language -or English language newspapers which are not whole-heartedly loyal and -against all such organizations as the German-American Alliance. - - - - -AN EXTRAORDINARY ACHIEVEMENT IN HUMAN UPBUILDING - -APRIL 17, 1918 - - -Major E. C. Simmons, of St. Louis, the manager of the Southwestern -Division of the American Red Cross, has just returned from our army -in France. He relates a really extraordinary achievement of the -division of orthopædic surgery with the army under the direction of -Surgeon-Major Joel E. Goldthwaite. - -All the divisions of troops sent across, of course, contain a number -of men who show physical shortcomings under the strain of actual -campaigning. In General Edwards’s division these men numbered in the -neighborhood of fifteen per cent, not an unusual proportion in the -history of past wars. Dr. Goldthwaite got permission to try his hand on -the treatment of a body composed of somewhat over five hundred of them, -and instantly began vigorous but careful work to build up all their -physical defects. - -As his work for each man was finished, he was put in one of four -classes. Class A included those to whom the training gave such vigor -that they were fit to go right to the front as battle units. Class B -included those who could be made fit for hard physical labor back of -the front, although not for the tremendous strain of the trenches. -Class C included those fitted for clerical and similar duties. Class D -included those whose physical condition would not be improved and who -had to be sent home. - -Dr. Goldthwaite was able to place over eighty per cent of the men -in Class A, and all the remainder in either Class B or Class C. Not -a man had to be sent home. Remember that the physical shortcomings -of these men were all present before they entered the army and were -not acquired in the army. The work done for them made them not only -fit to be soldiers, but fit to be citizens. Moreover, it affected -them morally exactly as much as physically. They had become utterly -dispirited and downcast. After Dr. Goldthwaite was through with them, -they were all self-reliant, energetic Americans, vigorous, upstanding, -and self-respecting, having lost all trace of either moral or physical -crooked back and stooping shoulders. - -When we get universal obligatory military training for all our young -men, this is what will happen everywhere and the benefit to our people -will be incalculable. Such training will minimize the chance of our -ever having to go to war and will render it certain that hereafter we -shall always be able to defend ourselves instead of trusting to our -allies to defend us. Moreover, it will do us even more good as regards -the tasks of peace than as regards the tasks of war, for it will turn -out every young man far better able to earn his living and far better -fitted to be a good citizen. - - - - -FREEDOM STANDS WITH HER BACK TO THE WALL - -APRIL 20, 1918 - - -This is a terrible hour of trial and suffering and danger for our -war-worn allies, who in France are battling for us no less than for -themselves. If shame is even more dreadful than suffering, then it is -a no less terrible hour for our own country. Our allies stand with -their backs to the wall in the fight for freedom, and America looks -on. The free nations stand at bay in the cause that is ours no less -than theirs; and after over a year of war the army we have sent to -their aid is smaller than that of poor heroic, ruined Belgium, is -hardly more than a twentieth the size which gallant and impoverished -Italy has in the field. And this great wealthy Nation of ours has -not yet furnished to our own brave troops in the field any cannon -or airplanes, and almost no machine guns, save those which we have -obtained from hard-pressed France--and let our people remember that -every gun thus made for us by hard-pressed France is a gun left unmade -for hard-pressed Italy. - -Our few gallant fighting men overseas have won high honor for -themselves, and have made all other Americans forever their debtors; -but it is a scandal and a reproach to this Nation that they are so -few. If in this mighty battle our allies win, it will be due to no -real aid of ours; and if they should fail, black infamy would be our -portion because of the delay and the folly and the weakness and the -cold, time-serving timidity of our Government, to which this failure -would be primarily due. If those responsible for our failure, if those -responsible for the refusal to prepare during the two and a half years -in which we were vouchsafed such warning as never nation previously -received, if those responsible for the sluggish feebleness with which -we have acted since we helplessly drifted into the war--if these men -now repented of the cruel wrong they have done this Nation and mankind, -we could afford to wrap their past folly and evil-doing in the kindly -mantle of oblivion. But they boast of their foolishness, they excuse -and justify it, they announce that they feel pride and delight in -contemplating it. Therefore, it is for us, the people, to bow our heads -on this our penitential day; for we are laggards in the battle, we have -let others fight in our quarrel, we have let others pay with their -shattered bodies for the fire in their burning souls. - -The trumpets of the Lord sounded for Armageddon; but our hearts were -not swift to answer nor our feet jubilant; coldly we watched others die -that we might live. Our rulers were supple and adroit, but they were -not mighty of soul. They have shown that they will not lead us, and -will ever stand in front only if we force them forward. Therefore, the -reason is all the greater why we, the American people, must search our -own hearts and with unflinching will insist that from now on not a day, -not an hour, shall be wasted until our giant but soft and lazy strength -is hardened, until we ourselves take the burden from the shoulders of -others, until we pay whatever price our past shortcomings demand, and -with heads uplifted and spirit undaunted stride forward to the great -goal of the peace of victorious right. - - - - -A SQUARE DEAL FOR ALL AMERICANS - -APRIL 27, 1918 - - -There is no room in this country for the man who tries to be both -an American and something else. There can be no such thing as a -fifty-fifty loyalty between America and Germany. Either a man is -whole-hearted in his support of America and her allies, and in his -hostility to Germany and her allies, or he is not loyal to America at -all. In such case he should be at once interned or sent out of the -country. But if he is whole-hearted in his loyal support of America, -then no matter what his birthplace or parentage he is entitled to stand -on a full and exact equality with every other American. - -Therefore the obligation is twofold, and one side is just as important -as the other. Every American of German birth or parentage must act -as an American and nothing else, and if he does not so act he should -be treated as an alien enemy. But if he acts exactly as other good -Americans act, then it is a shame and a disgrace not to treat him -absolutely like these other good Americans. The immense majority of -Americans who are in whole or in part of German blood are as stanch -Americans as are to be found in the land. They are serving in our -armies precisely as other Americans serve. They are exactly as fit as -any other American to fill the highest positions anywhere in our armies -or in civil life. Any discrimination against them, active or passive, -military or political, social or industrial, is an intolerable outrage. -Moreover, such a discrimination is itself profoundly anti-American in -its effects, for it not only cruelly wounds brave and upright and loyal -Americans, but tends to drive them back into segregation, away from the -mass of American citizenship. - -America is a Nation and not a mosaic of nationalities. The various -nationalities that come here are not to remain separate, but to blend -into the one American nationality--the nationality of Washington and -Lincoln, of Muhlenberg and Sheridan. Therefore, we must have but one -language, the English language. Every immigrant who comes here should -be required within five years to learn English or to leave the country, -for hereafter every immigrant should be treated as a future fellow -citizen and not merely as a labor unit. English should be the only -language taught or used in the primary schools. We should provide by -law so that after a reasonable interval every newspaper in this country -should be published in English. - -A square deal for all Americans means relentless attack on all men -in this country who are not straight-out Americans and nothing else. -It just as emphatically means to stand by every good American of -German blood exactly as much as by every other good American. In -every loyalty organization a special effort should be made to see -that in the leadership and in the ranks the Americans of German -blood come in on precisely the same basis as every one else. And the -straight-out Americans, in whole or in part of German blood, should -themselves insist on this, not as a favor which they request, but -as a right which they demand, a right predicated on their fervid -and militant Americanism. I wish we could see such an organization -formed, an uncompromisingly straight-out American organization, -including Americans of all our different blood strains, but with as -large a proportion of Americans in whole or in part of German blood as -possible, and then let this organization take the lead in aggressively -loyal Americanism, in the demand to fight this war with all speed -and efficiency, until it is crowned by the peace of complete victory -and in the purpose to make this peace mark the glorious rebirth, the -purification and the giant growth of the American spirit--the spirit of -an intense and unified American nationalism. - -We Americans must be loyal first to our own Nation and to our own -national ideals, and we must develop to the utmost the virile hardihood -of body, mind, and soul without which there can be no real greatness. -And our devotion to America shall in part show itself in the unswerving -effort to make this great democratic Republic both strong for -self-defense and strong for wise and brotherly help to other nations, -to make it both the leader and the servant of all mankind. - - - - -THE GERMAN HORROR - -MAY 2, 1918 - - -The Hague conferences laid down a number of rules which the signatory -powers, including Germany, agreed to observe in order to mitigate the -horrors of war. Germany has with equal cynicism and brutality violated -every one of these rules. She has waged war as it was waged in the Dark -Ages. She has shown revolting cruelty toward soldiers and especially -toward non-combatants, including women and children. - -At this moment a great cannon is bombarding Paris. Not a soldier -has been killed by it; it has not in the smallest degree affected -France’s military power, nor was it intended to do so. It was intended -to terrorize the French civilian population by the destruction of -churches, hospitals, and private buildings and the murder of women and -children. On Good Friday one of the shells wrecked a church and killed -a number of the little choir boys and a number of women who were at -prayer. Among the killed were three American women whom I knew, who -were abroad working for our soldiers. An American friend who saw the -horror writes me: - - Evidently the Germans do not worry over the fact that their shells - descend on women and children kneeling in prayer on a Good Friday, - before the crucifix. - -Another American friend, a Red Cross woman, writes: - - One shell burst in a maternity hospital, killing a nurse, a young - mother, and a little baby. Several other mothers and new-born babies - were injured. - -The Zeppelins and airplanes are continually bombarding undefended -English and French cities and have killed women and children by the -hundreds. The submarines have waged war with callous mercilessness. -Their crews have continually practiced torture on the prisoners they -have taken. They leave women and children to drown. They shoot into the -lifeboats. At this moment Americans are dying from the poison gas which -the Germans, in contemptuous defiance of The Hague rules, have made -an ordinary weapon of war. I have just been talking with an American -soldier absolutely trustworthy, who himself saw the body of a Canadian -whom the Germans had just crucified. - -Every violation of the laws of war has been practiced by Germany. By -her outrages on humanity she has made herself an outlaw among nations, -and unless she pays heavily for her crimes, the whole world will be -in danger. It is Germany, and only Germany, who is responsible for -the hideous atrocities that have marked this war, atrocities which -all civilized men outside of Germany believed to have been eliminated -forever from civilized warfare. Germany has habitually and as a matter -of policy practiced the torture of men, the rape of women, and the -killing of children. - -It was deeply to our discredit that during the shameful years of our -neutrality we refused to protest against these hideous atrocities. Now -at last this Nation has awakened and has gone to war against the enemy -of America and of mankind. Let our people now keep steadily in mind -just what kind of a foe we are fighting and just what kind of infamy -that foe is habitually practicing. Then let us resolve that, come what -may, we will fight this war through to a finish until the authors of -this hideous infamy have paid in full and have been punished as they -deserve. For in no other way can a peace worth having be obtained. - - - - -SEDITION, A FREE PRESS, AND PERSONAL RULE - -MAY 7, 1918 - - -The legislation now being enacted by Congress should deal drastically -with sedition. It should also guarantee the right of the press and -people to speak the truth freely of all their public servants, -including the President, and to criticize them in the severest terms of -truth whenever they come short in their public duty. Finally, Congress -should grant the Executive the amplest powers to act as an executive -and should hold him to stern accountability for failure so to act, but -it should itself do the actual lawmaking and should clearly define the -lines and limits of action and should retain and use the fullest powers -of investigation into and supervision over such action. Sedition is a -form of treason. It is an offense against the country, not against the -President. At this time to oppose the draft or sending our armies to -Europe, to uphold Germany, to attack our allies, to oppose raising the -money necessary to carry on the war are at least forms of sedition, -while to act as a German spy or to encourage German spies to use -money or intrigue in the corrupt service of Germany, to tamper with -our war manufactures and to encourage our soldiers to desert or to -fail in their duty, and all similar actions are forms of undoubtedly -illegal sedition. For some of these offenses death should be summarily -inflicted. For all the punishment should be severe. - -The Administration has been gravely remiss in dealing with such acts. - -Free speech, exercised both individually and through a free press, is -a necessity in any country where the people are themselves free. Our -Government is the servant of the people, whereas in Germany it is the -master of the people. This is because the American people are free and -the German are not free. The President is merely the most important -among a large number of public servants. He should be supported or -opposed exactly to the degree which is warranted by his good conduct -or bad conduct, his efficiency or inefficiency in rendering loyal, -able, and disinterested service to the Nation as a whole. Therefore -it is absolutely necessary that there should be full liberty to tell -the truth about his acts, and this means that it is exactly necessary -to blame him when he does wrong as to praise him when he does right. -Any other attitude in an American citizen is both base and servile. To -announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we -are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic -and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public. Nothing -but the truth should be spoken about him or any one else. But it is -even more important to tell the truth, pleasant or unpleasant, about -him than about any one else. - -During the last year the Administration has shown itself anxious to -punish the newspapers which uphold the war, but which told the truth -about the Administration’s failure to conduct the war efficiently, -whereas it has failed to proceed against various powerful newspapers -which opposed the war or attacked our allies or directly or indirectly -aided Germany against this country, as these papers upheld the -Administration and defended the inefficiency. Therefore, no additional -power should be given the Administration to deal with papers for -criticizing the Administration. And, moreover, Congress should closely -scrutinize the way the Postmaster-General and Attorney-General have -already exercised discrimination between the papers they prosecuted and -the papers they failed to prosecute. - -Congress should give the President full power for efficient executive -action. It should not abrogate its own power. It should define how he -is to reorganize the Administration. It should say how large an army we -are to have and not leave the decision to the amiable Secretary of War, -who has for two years shown such inefficiency. It should declare for an -army of five million men and inform the Secretary that it would give -him more the minute he asks for more. - - - - -THE DANGERS OF A PREMATURE PEACE - -MAY 12, 1918 - - -As now seems likely, if the great German drive fails, it is at least -possible that, directly or indirectly, the Germans will then start a -peace drive. In such case they will probably endeavor to make such -seeming concessions as to put a premium upon pacifist agitation -for peace in the free countries of the West against which they are -fighting. To yield to such peace proposals would be fraught with the -greatest danger to the Allies, and especially to our own country in the -future. - -Let us never forget that no promise Germany makes can be trusted. -The _kultur_ developed under the Hohenzollerns rests upon shameless -treachery and duplicity no less than upon ruthless violence and -barbarity. - -For example, there are strong indications that Germany may be prepared, -if she now fails on the western front, to abandon all that for which -she has fought on her western front, provided that in Middle Europe -and in the East there is no interference with her. In other words, -she would be prepared to give back Alsace and Lorraine to France, to -give Italian Austria to Italy, to give Luxemburg to Belgium, and to -let the Allies keep the colonies they have conquered, on condition -that her dominance in Russia and in the Balkans, her dominance of the -subject peoples of Austria through the Austrian Hapsburgs, and her -dominance of Western Asia through her vassal state, Turkey, should be -left undisturbed. To the average American, and probably to the average -Englishman and Frenchman, there is much that is alluring in such a -programme. It might be urged as a method of stopping the frightful -slaughter of war, while securing every purpose for which the free -peoples who still fight are fighting. Yet it would be infinitely better -that this war were carried on to the point of exhaustion than that we -yield to such terms. - -Such terms would mean the definite establishment of Germany’s military -ascendancy on a scale never hitherto approached in the civilized world. -It would mean that perhaps within a dozen years, certainly within the -lifetime of the very men now fighting this war, this country and the -other free countries would have to choose between bowing their necks -to the German yoke or else going into another war under conditions far -more disadvantageous to them. - -A premature and inconclusive peace now would spell ruin for the world, -just as in 1864 a premature and inconclusive peace would have spelled -ruin to the United States, and in the present instance the United -States would share the ruin of the rest of the free peoples of mankind. - -On the face of it Germany would not become a giant empire. Just exactly -as on the face of it at present Germany, Austria, Turkey, and Bulgaria -call themselves simply four allied nations, standing on equal terms. -But in reality those four powers are merely Germany and her three -vassal states, whose military and economic and political powers are all -disposed of by the Hohenzollerns. A peace such as that above outlined -would leave these as really one huge empire. The population of these -four countries, plus the populations of Russian regions recently -annexed by Germany, is over two hundred millions. This population -would be directed and dominated by the able, powerful, and utterly -brutal and unscrupulous German governing class, which the very fact of -the peace would put in the saddle, and the huge empire thus dominated -and directed would become a greater menace to the free peoples than -anything known for the last thousand years. - -Short-sighted people will say that this power would only menace Asia, -and therefore that we need feel no concern about it. There could be no -error greater or more lamentable. Twenty years hence by mere mass and -growth Germany would dominate the Western European powers that have now -fought her. This would mean that the United States would be left as her -victim. - -In the first place, she would at once trample the Monroe Doctrine under -foot, and treat tropical and south temperate America as her fields for -exploitation, domination, and conquest. In the next place, she would -surely trample this country under foot and bleed us white, doing to us -on a gigantic scale what she has done to Belgium. If such a peace as is -above described were at this time made, the United States could by no -possibility escape the fate of Belgium and of the Russian territories -taken by Germany unless we ourselves became a powerful militarist state -with every democratic principle subordinated to the one necessity of -turning this Nation into a huge armed camp--I do not mean an armed -nation, as Switzerland is armed, and as I believe this country ought to -be armed. I mean a nation whose sons, every one of them, would have to -serve from three to five years in the army, and whose whole activities, -external and internal, would be conditioned by the one fact of the -necessity of making head, single-handed, against Germany. - -I very strongly believe that never again should we be caught unprepared -as we have been caught unprepared this time. I believe that all our -young men should be trained to arms as the Swiss are trained. But I -would regard it as an unspeakable calamity for this Nation to have to -turn its whole energies into the kind of exaggerated militarism which -under such circumstances would alone avail for self-defense. - -The military power of Germany must be brought low. The subject nations -of Austria, the Balkans, and Western Asia must be freed. We ought not -to refrain an hour longer from going to war with Turkey and Bulgaria. -They are part of Germany’s military strength. They represent some of -the most cruel tyrannies over subject peoples for which Germany stands. -It is idle for us to pretend sympathy with the Armenians unless we war -on Turkey, which, with Germany’s assent, has well-nigh crushed the -Armenians out of existence. - -When President Wilson stated that this war was waged to make democracy -safe throughout the world, he properly and definitely committed the -American people to the principles above enunciated, and for the -American people to accept less than their President has thus announced -that he would insist upon would be unworthy. The President has also -said that “there is therefore but one response possible for us. -Force--force to the utmost--force without stint or limit--the righteous -and triumphant force which shall make right the law of the world and -cast every selfish dominion down in the dust.” - -The American people must support President Wilson unflinchingly in -the stand to which he is thus committed and must resolutely refuse -to accept any other position. We must guard against any slackening of -effort. We must refuse to accept any premature peace or any peace other -than the peace of overwhelming victory. - -We must secure such complete freedom for the peoples of Central Europe -and Western Asia as will shatter forever the threat of German world -domination. Our honorable obligations to our allies, our loyalty to our -own national principles, the need to protect our American neighbors, -the need to defend our own land and people, and our hopes for the peace -and happiness of our children’s children all forbid us to accept an -ignoble and inconclusive peace. - - - - -THE WAR SAVINGS CAMPAIGN - -MAY 27, 1918 - - -Of course the primary factor in deciding this war is and will be the -army. But there can be no great army in war to-day unless a great -nation stands back of it. The most important of all our needs is -immensely to strengthen the fighting line at the front. But it cannot -be permanently strengthened unless the whole Nation is organized back -of the front. We need increased production by all. We need thrift and -the avoidance of extravagance and of waste of money upon non-essentials -by all. We need the investment of our money in government securities by -all of us. - -The Government, through the War Savings campaign, offers the -opportunity to every individual in the Nation to join in a great -national movement to secure these ends. The Treasury Department -proposes as a means to achieve these ends that all our people form -themselves into Thrift clubs or War Savings societies. This is the -people’s war. The responsibility for the Government rests on the people -as a whole. The army is the people’s army. It can be supported only -if the people invest in the securities of the Government. And this -investment by the people should be as nearly universal as possible. -All the men and the women and half the children of the land should -be active members of Uncle Sam’s team. The War Savings campaign -offers them the chance to be active members. This campaign means -the encouragement of thrift and production. But it means much more -than this. It also means to make our people realize their solidarity -and mutual interdependence and to make them understand that the -Government is really theirs. Therefore it is a movement for genuine -Americanization of all our people. It is a movement to fuse all our -different race stocks into one great unified nationality. It is -emphatically a movement for nationalism and patriotism. - -Between thirty and forty millions of our people to-day own Liberty -bonds or War Savings Stamps. All of us who come in this class have an -increased sense of loyalty and responsibility to the Government. The -Treasury Department has offered through the War Savings plan a great -opportunity for the entire Nation to group itself into War Savings -societies or Thrift clubs and thus be of immediate and direct service -to the Government. Neither through government programme and traditions -nor through the habits of the people were we in any way prepared for -this struggle. We were a spendthrift Nation. One of the roads to -national unity and national force in this war is through thrift, using -the word to include both increased production in every field and also -the conservation of those things which are so desperately needed for -the winning of the war. The conscientious thrifty man to-day will -conserve food as requested by the Food Administration. He will conserve -fuel as requested by the Fuel Administration. And he will conserve to -the best of his ability the labor and materials which the Government -needs by not using his money for purchasing any of the non-essentials -and thereby using up materials and labor needed by the Government. He -will, by purchasing government securities, entrust the spending of his -money to the Government in order to speed up the war and to secure the -peace of overwhelming victory. - -Let all of us join in this movement. The success of the War Savings -campaign means an immense addition to our war strength. It also means -the first step in economic preparedness for what is to come after the -war. We must never return to our haphazard spendthrift ways. Thrift -should be made a national habit as part of our social and industrial -readjustment. - -We are just finishing our Red Cross campaign. Now let us put through -the War Savings campaign. - - - - -ANTI-BOLSHEVISM - -JUNE 5, 1918 - - -On the whole the worst fate that can befall any country is to fall -into the hands of the Bolsheviki. Therefore, we should visit with -heavy condemnation the Romanoffs of politics and industry who, by -Bourbon-like inability to see or refusal to face the future, make ready -the way for Bolshevism. Utter ruin will befall this country if it -falls into the hands of Haywoods and Townleys and of the politicians -who truckle to them, but the surest way to secure their temporary -and disastrous triumph is to refuse to make every effort, in sane, -good-tempered, resolute fashion, to deal with the problems which affect -unfavorably the welfare of the farmer and the working-man. - -Mere stolid inaction, mere refusal to acknowledge the existence of -trouble and duty to remedy it amounts to playing into the hands of the -worst and most evil agitators. Such an attitude on the part of our -political leaders is almost as bad as the failure to act with instant -readiness and full strength against disorder or as the time-serving -cowardice which bows to and flatters the leaders of disorder. What is -needed is unhesitating and thoroughgoing condemnation of, and action -against, the anarchists and inciters to sedition and to class envy and -hatred, and at the same time genuine and radical effort to secure for -the farmer and the working-man and for every one else the square deal -in actual fact. Neither attitude is enough by itself; the two must go -together if results of lasting worth are to be secured. - -The leaders in such movements as the I.W.W. include a large proportion -of men whose activities are criminal, and who, as regards civilization -and all that makes life worth living for decent, hard-working men and -women, stand merely as human beasts of prey. But very many of these -fellows are not bad men at all, but merely unfortunates who turn to -an evil organization because no good organization offers them relief -or concerns itself with their welfare. I am not speaking of theory; -I am speaking of fact. I know of cases in connection with the forest -service where government officials, by acting on behalf of maltreated -crews of lumber companies and by seeing that they got justice and fair -treatment, turned them into zealous, right-feeling, public-spirited -citizens, who, for instance, worked hard and disinterestedly in putting -out forest fires. - -It is idle to say that no governmental action is needed on behalf of -farmers and wage-workers. Unquestionably such action will merely do -harm unless at the same time the interests and permanent welfare of -the business men of the country, great and small, are considered. But -the action itself is necessary. It should be based on the theory that -so far as possible the work of betterment, alike as regards farmers, -working-men, and business men, take the form of coöperation among -themselves, with the maximum amount of individual and collective -private effort, and the minimum necessary amount of governmental -control and encouragement. It is not possible to state empirically in -advance just how far this governmental control and encouragement shall -go. This must be determined by actual experience in settling what is -necessary in each individual set of cases. The best result will always -come where the organization of private citizens is not limited to any -one class, but include farmers, working-men, business men; just as is -true of one such great organization in the State of Iowa; just as is -true of a smaller but successful organization in and around the city -of Springfield, Massachusetts; just as is preëminently true of many -of the state councils of defense. There must be sincere purpose to -push forward and remedy wrong; but there must likewise be firm refusal -to submit to the leadership of either the criminal fringe or the -lunatic fringe. Class hatred is a mighty poor substitute for American -brotherhood. If we are wise we will proceed by evolution and not -revolution. But Bourbon refusal to move forward at all merely invites -revolution. - - - - -GENERAL WOOD - -JUNE 15, 1918 - - -Senator Hiram Johnson has rendered many notable services to the public, -and among them is his recent speech concerning the cruel injustice -with which Major-General Leonard Wood has been treated and the very -grave damage thereby done the army and the Allied cause at this -critical moment of the war. - -General Wood’s entire offense consists in his having, before the war, -continually advocated our doing things which now every one in his -senses admits ought to have been done. Nine tenths of wisdom consists -of being wise in time. General Wood was wise in time. Moreover, -by twenty years of hard, practical work, he fitted himself to do -peculiarly well in this very crisis. He was our senior general in rank, -he was recognized by the best French and English military authorities -as by experience trained to play an immediate and important part in -the difficult and perilous joint work of the war. He had testified -at length and with exhaustive professional knowledge before the -congressional military committees, one year and two years prior to -our entry into the war, pointing out all the military lacks, which -experience has since shown to exist and which the War Department then -denied existed. He is to be credited with the only piece of serious -military preparedness in advance which is to our credit. In the service -of 1915, in the teeth of indifference and hostility from his superiors, -he created the Plattsburg officers’ reserve training camp, starting the -system of training camps which has enabled us to officer our draft army. - -He is in splendid physical condition. Recently when in France he -was severely wounded by a shell burst, and the surgeons reported his -recovery as being more rapid than would have been the case with the -average young man of robust bodily health and vigor. He has done -excellent work in training his men at Camp Funston. He has been -unwearied in looking after the health and welfare of his men. He has -been rewarded by their loyal devotion; they have been profoundly -grieved and moved by having him suddenly taken from them. The refusal -to use his great ability and energy means a distinct subtraction from -the sum total of our military efficiency, a distinct addition to the -risk from disease and discomfort which some of our men at the front -will have to incur, and a distinct benefit to the cause of Germany. - -No explanation has been given the American people for the action -concerning him. Nothing has been made public which warrants our belief -that this action was due either to professional or to patriotic -considerations. - - - - -HELP RUSSIA NOW - -JUNE 20, 1918 - - -Russia has been thrown under the iron tyranny of German militarism -and capitalism by the Bolshevists of the Lenine type. The Russian -people are slowly awakening to this bitter truth. The far-sighted, the -Russians of genuine patriotism, have long been awake, but the peasants, -who are at heart good, but who are ignorant and misled, are now -awakening also. Plenty of them, especially among the Cossacks, are well -aware that submission to Germany now means death for Russia. Plenty of -them are eager to fight and know well that only by successful war on a -grand scale can Russia now be saved and regenerated, but they must have -help and the help must be given immediately or it may be too late, and -America can best give the help. - -A Russian peasant woman who can hardly write her name is here to ask -that the help be given immediately and that it be given in Siberia. -She is a remarkable character in her strength, her simplicity, her -direct straightforwardness, and her intense earnestness and entire -disinterestedness. She was a major in the Russian army until the -Russian army was betrayed and dissolved. Her peasant husband was -killed in the ranks. She served in the ranks of a regiment of men. She -commanded in a regiment of women. She has been wounded four times. She -was born in Tomsk, Siberia. She is a peasant of the best class, in -habits of thought and belief and life and sympathy. But she has a wide -outlook. She knows that America will keep her word about Siberia, just -as America kept her word about Cuba. She asks that for our own sake, -just as much as for Russia’s sake, we now send an army to Siberia, -entering through Vladivostok or Harbin, or through both. She asks us to -announce that after the war is over we guarantee to return to Russia -her country with the right for her people to decide for themselves -how they are to be governed, and that in the war we fight with and for -all the Russians who will fight against Germany for Russia, and that -we fight to the death against the Germans and against all Russians who -side with the Germans. - -Siberia is in chaos. Eastern Siberia has plenty of food and contains -large elements of the population, especially Cossacks, who would -promptly join with an Allied force which they believed would, in good -faith, aid in the reconquest of Russia for the purpose of giving it -back to the Russians themselves. West of Lake Baikal is a region -dominated by a German army, some twenty thousand strong, composed of -former German prisoners of war, who are organized under the name of -the German Red Guards and who are the permanent adherents of German -autocracy, but who help the cause of Russian anarchy in order to -conquer Russia for the German autocracy. West of these again a stretch -of country, which includes the passes of the Ural Mountains, is held -by the splendid Czechs, who, by the way, must at the end of this -war be rewarded by seeing an independent Czech-Slovak commonwealth -established, just as there must also be a great Jugo-Slav commonwealth. - -At once there should be in East Siberia an American army of say thirty -thousand men with a Japanese army of the same size and a British -imperial army of as nearly the same size as possible. If there was -difficulty as to the command of the Allied forces, borrow some man of -great reputation, Joffre, for instance, from France. Let the woman -major above spoken of and other Russian friends of the peasants and of -a Russian republic go in advance to make clear that the Allied army -comes only to restore Russia to the Russians. Let all Russians who -join be paid by the United States on the same scale as our own troops, -and if necessary let the United States guarantee the payment of the -Japanese. Move against the German Red Guards as quickly as possible -and then push instantly to join the heroic Czechs in the Urals. Let -the railroads be organized back of the army by our best railroad men -and let them carry immediately behind the army immense quantities of -clothing, boots, and farm machinery. Siberia has food and it will -furnish hundreds of thousands of soldiers who will rally around such -an Allied army as a nucleus. Before this army reached the Urals, the -Germans would have to prepare to meet it and their pressure on the -Western front would thereby be relieved. - -Russia is at this moment lost, so that no change in Russia can make -things worse for the Allies than they now are. We ought to have acted -with energy and intelligence on her behalf a year ago. Let us at least -act now, for no possible action can be worse than our inaction. She -does not need talk and envoys to study the situation. She needs an -army to serve as a nucleus around which she can create her own immense -armies. The above plan is better than none. If our Government can -devise a better, let them do so, but let us act at once. - - - - -AN AMERICAN FOURTH OF JULY - -JUNE 23, 1918 - - -It is announced that on the Fourth of July the celebration is to be -by race groups--that is, by Scandinavians, Slavs, Germans, Italians, -and so forth. In sport organizations it may be necessary to have such -a kind of divided celebration in some places, but I most emphatically -protest against such a type of celebration being general, and I doubt -whether it is advisable to have it anywhere. On the contrary, I believe -that we should make the Fourth of July a genuine Americanization day, -and should use it to teach the prime lesson of Americanism, which is -that there is no room in the country for the perpetuation of separate -race groups or racial divisions; that we must all be Americans and -nothing but Americans, and that therefore on the Fourth of July we -should all get together simply as Americans and celebrate the day as -such without regard to our several racial origins. - -At two thirds of the places where I have made speeches on Americanism -(and these speeches have at least been free from any pussy-footing on -Americanism), I have been introduced by straight Americans who were -in whole or in part of German blood. At Milwaukee, for example, I was -introduced by August Vogel, who has three sons already in the army and -a fourth who will enter this summer. At Martinsville, Indiana, I was -introduced by the mayor, George F. Schmidt, who has two sons in the -army. One of the sons, Wayne Schmidt, was the catcher of the University -of Indiana baseball nine. He was in the same regiment with my two -sons, Ted and Archie, and like Archie has been severely wounded. Mayor -Schmidt writes me: - - We are proud of Wayne and hope that his wounds will soon heal and that - he may get back to his regiment and continue to serve his country. - There is nothing fifty-fifty in this boy’s blood or any of his kin. - His greatest ambition is to lead a company up the streets of Berlin. - -This speaks the true American! - -I also have German blood in my veins. We Vogels and Schmidts and -Roosevelts intend to celebrate the Fourth of July with all our fellow -Americans, without regard to whether they are of German, English or -Irish, French, Scandinavian, Spanish, or Italian blood. Unless they -are Americans and nothing else, they are out of place at a Fourth of -July celebration, and if they are straight Americans, absolutely loyal -to America, and resolutely bent on putting this war through until -it is crowned by the peace of complete victory, then we are their -brothers, their fellow Americans, and we decline to permit any lines of -separation between us and them. - - - - -HOW NOT TO ADJOURN POLITICS - -JUNE 25, 1918 - - -In the current North American Review and its supplemental War Weekly -there are two strong and deeply patriotic articles on the President’s -recent announcement that politics is to be adjourned. When contrasted -with the injection of politics by the President into the senatorial -contests in Wisconsin and Michigan, never before in any great crisis in -this country has there been such complete subordination of patriotism -to politics as by this Administration during this war. Witness the -activities of the organization under Messrs. Burleson and Creel and the -working alliance between the Administration and the Hearst newspapers, -while Vice-President Marshall and Secretary McAdoo give the signal for -frank partisanship of an extreme type in their public speeches. The -various activities are, of course, co-related and directed toward the -same end. - -In Wisconsin the President interfered by a personal appeal for the -Democratic senatorial candidate against the Republican. He based his -appeal on certain alleged positions taken by the Republican candidate, -Mr. Lenroot, during the two years and a half preceding our entry into -the war, which positions, he asserted, did not meet the “acid test” of -patriotism. The President made the conduct of our public men during -the two years and a half prior to the war the test by which they are -to be judged, and where he himself applies this test to others he must -himself be judged by it. - -His supporters make the plea that to call attention to the President’s -record during these two and a half years is to cry over spilt milk. But -the President’s attack on Lenroot was a square repudiation of this -plea when it applied to anybody except himself. In reality the “acid -test” of patriotism during these two and a half years is to be found -in the use of phrases like “too proud to fight” and “peace without -victory” and the refusal to act instead of merely talking after the -sinking of the Lusitania; in the fatuous refusal to prepare and in the -insistence on preserving an ignoble neutrality between right and wrong -between those who were fighting to make the world safe for democracy -and liberty and those who were fighting to overthrow both. Tried by the -test of past conduct which the President applied to Mr. Lenroot, he is -himself found wanting. Mr. Lenroot spilled a teaspoonful of milk, but -Mr. Wilson spilled a bucketful and he must not call attention to the -teaspoon and expect to escape having attention called to the bucket. - -The President has now personally requested Mr. Henry Ford to come -forward as his personal candidate for the Senate in Michigan. This -action cannot be reconciled either with the President’s statement that -politics must be adjourned or with the reasons he alleged for opposing -Mr. Lenroot. No man was a more intense pacifist, no man struggled -harder against preparedness, no man was more eagerly hailed as an -ally by the pro-Germans than Mr. Ford during the two and a half years -before we did our duty and entered the war. He is not a Republican; -he is not a Democrat. He supported Mr. Wilson on the “he kept us out -of war” issue. Mr. Wilson can only desire his election on grounds of -personal politics, as Mr. Wilson wishes as associates not strong men, -but servants, and from the servants he demands servility even more -than service. I have not the slightest political feeling when politics -comes into hostile contact with patriotism and Americanism. There is no -public servant whom during the past year I have supported more heartily -than the Democratic Senator, Chamberlain. I oppose Mr. Ford, because -in the great crisis I feel that his election would be a calamity from -the standpoint of far-sighted and patriotic Americanism. I would oppose -him if he had been nominated by the Republican Party. I oppose him in -precisely the same spirit now that he has been nominated on personal -grounds by Mr. Wilson. - - - - -HATS OFF TO THE INTERNATIONAL TYPOGRAPHICAL UNION - -JUNE 27, 1918 - - -The published reports of the International Typographical Union, -issued from Indianapolis, make a very remarkable showing and put that -organization high on the honor roll of America for the Great War. - -Forty-one hundred journeymen members of the union and seven hundred -apprentices are in the military and naval forces of the United States -and Canada. Seventy-five members have already paid with their lives -for their devotion to their country. The union has paid $22,000 -mortuary benefits to the widows, orphans, and mothers of these men. -The union, through its executive council, has invested $90,000 in the -Liberty loans, and subordinate local unions and individual members have -invested $3,000,000 in the Liberty loans. - -These are war-time activities. During the same period the International -Typographical Union has continued all its ordinary benefit works. It -has paid over $350,000 to fifteen hundred old-age pensioners, over -$300,000 in mortuary benefits, and $170,000 to the Union Printers’ -Home at Colorado Springs. Every dollar has been paid by members of the -organization in the form of regular dues and assessments. The union -neither solicits nor accepts contributions to its benefit funds. - -During the same period the union has expended only $1200 for strike -expenses. The union acts in thoroughgoing patriotic fashion on the -conviction that there should be no strikes or lockouts during the -war. Its officers regard themselves as volunteers in the army for the -preservation of industrial peace, at least for the duration of the -war, and I hope for long after the war. Such conduct offers a striking -contrast to the action of certain corporations which during this war -have refused to permit their employees to organize. Labor has as much -right as capital to organize. It is tyranny to forbid the exercise -of this right, just as it is tyranny to misuse the power acquired by -organization. The people of the United States do not believe in tyranny -and do believe in coöperation. - -The International Typographical Union has offered an admirable -example of Americanism and patriotism. Its attitude is typical of the -attitude of organized labor generally. Hats off to the International -Typographical Union! And hats off to the working-men and working-women -of the United States! - - - - -THE PERFORMANCE OF A GREAT PUBLIC DUTY - -JULY 3, 1918 - - -It is announced from Washington that the President has been converted -to the need of universal military training of our young men, as a -permanent policy. This is excellent. If this policy is forthwith -incorporated into our laws, it will represent an immense national -advance. In the first place, it will guarantee us against a repetition -of the humiliating experiences of the last four years, when our -helpless refusal to prepare invited Germany’s attack upon us and then -forced us to rely entirely upon our allies to protect us from that -attack while for over a year we slowly made ready to defend ourselves. -In the next place, it will immeasurably increase the moral and physical -efficiency of the young men who are trained and fit them both to do -better for themselves and to perform in better fashion the tasks of -American citizenship. Finally it is essential that the policy should -be adopted now while we are at war and therefore while our people are -awake to the needs of the situation. As soon as peace comes, there -will be a revival of the sinister agitation of the pro-German or other -anti-American leaders and of the silly clamor of the pacifists, all -of whom will with brazen folly again reiterate that preparedness ends -with war, and that, anyhow, all war can be averted by signing scraps -of paper. The adoption at once of the policy of obligatory universal -military training will be the performance of a great public duty. - -For three years the foremost advocates of this policy have pointed -out that it can advantageously be combined with a certain amount of -industrial training. It is earnestly to be hoped that this element of -industrial training will be incorporated in the law. Of course, in such -case the length of service with the colors in the field, aside from -preliminary training in the higher school grades, ought to be a year, -so as to avoid superficiality. Credit should be given the graduates of -certain scholastic institutions or to individuals who speedily attain -a high degree of proficiency, and for them the time of service could -be shortened. All officers or other candidates for officers’ training -schools would be chosen from among the best of the men who had gone -through the training, without regard to anything except their fitness. -This would represent the embodiment in our army of the democratic -principle which insists upon an equal chance for all, equal justice for -all, and the need for leadership, and therefore for special rewards for -leadership. The industrial training could be so shaped as to emphasize -the need that hard workers who are efficient should become in a real -sense partners in industry, and that insistence upon efficiency should -be accompanied by a fair division of the rewards of efficiency, and by -insistence that the work should be made healthful and interesting, so -that its faithful performance would be a matter of pride and pleasure. - -At this moment our training camps are huge universities, huge -laboratories of fine American citizenship. Let us make them permanent -institutions. They develop both power of initiative and power of -obedience. They inculcate self-reliance and self-respect. They also -inculcate respect for others and readiness for discipline, which -means readiness to use our collective power in such shape as to make -us threefold more efficient than we have been. To make these camps -permanent training schools for all our young men would mean the -greatest boon this Nation could receive. - - - - -REPEAL THE CHARTER OF THE GERMAN-AMERICAN ALLIANCE - -JULY 11, 1918 - - -The United States Senate has struck an effective blow against the -Hun within our gates by unanimously voting to repeal the charter of -the German-American Alliance. It is earnestly to be hoped that the -House will at once follow suit with like unanimity. The Alliance has -been thoroughly mischievous in its activities. It has acted in the -interest of Germany and against the interest of America. It has tried -to perpetuate Germanism as a separate nationality with a separate -language in the United States; it has attacked our allies; it has -encouraged disloyalty; it was decorated by the Kaiser for its services -to Germany. It has endeavored to prostitute our politics to German -needs. I have personally had the honor of being specially singled out -by it for attack. It received money from the Brewers’ Association for -the campaign against prohibition. - -At this time, when the campaign of German frightfulness is in full -blast, when the Prussianized Germany of the Hohenzollerns is steadily -adding to its list of literally unforgivable offenses against -civilization, there is no room in this country for any organization, -great or small, which either defends Germany or is lukewarm in the -great crusade against her in which America will henceforth play -a leading part. Germany has recently scored another victory for -frightfulness by sinking a Canadian hospital ship without warning and -drowning two hundred persons, including women nurses. The ship was a -mercy vessel, not a warship, and was so distinctly marked that it was -impossible to mistake it. The attack upon it was sheer murder. Yet the -German people tolerate, applaud, and approve the action of the German -Government in this continuous and methodically organized campaign of -murder, rape, and outrage. - -The most complete exposure of Germany’s infamous purpose in forcing -this dreadful war upon the world is contained in the pamphlet written -by the leading German steel magnate, Herr August Thyssen. This pamphlet -has been translated into English, has been put into the official -record by Senator Owen, of Oklahoma, has been printed in full in -the San Francisco Argonaut and Baltimore Manufacturers’ Record, and -circulated in pamphlet form by Mr. J. G. Butler, Jr., of Youngstown, -Ohio. It is accessible to everybody. Herr Thyssen has no conception -of the monstrous turpitude of the plan which he supported. His only -complaint is that he and the other German financiers were fooled by -the German Kaiser and the German Government, who promised them victory -and failed to furnish it. He proves that German capitalism was just as -responsible for the war as German militarism (which incidentally shows -the peculiar infamy of the Russian Bolshevists and American Socialists -and their allies in playing Germany’s game). He shows that Germany’s -ruthless brutality was equaled by her sordid greed. He showed that -the Hohenzollern Government, through the Emperor and the Chancellor, -deliberately planned the war over a year and a half before it broke -out, and at that time and on several occasions gathered the leading -business men of Germany, informed them of the plans, and got their -support by holding out the war as one of sheer plunder. The other -nations were to be attacked simply in order to rob them naked. Herr -Thyssen himself was promised thirty thousand acres in Australia. The -Emperor particularly dwelt on the conquest of India, saying that the -English allowed the vast Indian revenue to be used for and by the -Indians themselves, but that Germany after her conquest would turn the -whole “Golden Stream into the Fatherland.” There could be no finer -tribute to England when compared with Germany than that which is thus -furnished by the Emperor. - -In point of international morality the Germany of the Hohenzollerns has -become the wild beast of the nations. Whoever directly or indirectly -works for her or against our allies or who is merely lukewarm in the -war is an enemy of this country, and an enemy of all mankind. - - - - -EVERY MAN HAS A RIGHT TO ONE COUNTRY - -JULY 15, 1918 - - -Every man ought to love his country. If he does not love his country -and is not eager to serve her, he is a worthless creature and should -be contemptuously thrown out of the country when possible, and at any -rate debarred from all rights of citizenship in the country. He is only -entitled to one country. If he claims loyalty to two countries, he is -necessarily a traitor to at least one country. If he claims to be loyal -to both Germany and America, he is necessarily a traitor to America. No -man can be a good American now unless he is an enemy of Germany and -Germany’s allies and a stanch supporter of America’s allies. - -But it is just as wicked and just as un-American to deny the loyal -American, of whatever origin, the full benefit of his allegiance to -one country as it is to permit the disloyal American to exercise a -treacherous alternative allegiance to two countries. Every man has a -right to one country. He has a right to love and serve that country and -to feel that it is absolutely his country and that he has in it every -right possessed by any one else. It is our duty to require the man of -German blood who is an American citizen to give up all allegiance to -Germany whole-heartedly and without on his part any mental reservation -whatever. If he does this, it becomes no less our duty to give him the -full rights of an American, including our loyal respect and friendship -without on our part any mental reservation whatever. The duties are -reciprocal, and from the standpoint of American patriotism one is as -important as the other. - -There has been nothing finer in this war, nothing of better augury -for the future of America, than the high courage and splendid loyalty -shown by the American soldiers and sailors who are of German blood. -Relatively to their number they have come forward as freely into the -ranks of our fighting men as the Americans of any other stock, and -all alike have shown the same soldierly efficiency, the same devoted -patriotism, and, when the need arose, the same heroism. The crew of -the torpedo destroyer who face the submarine, and the airmen of the -battle planes whose lives are in peril every hour, and the infantry -stoggers and doughboys and marines who stand the killing and suffer the -grueling hardship and misery of the line fighting, all alike number in -their ranks relatively just as many Americans of German as of any other -blood. Any one can see this who will look over the lists of casualties -and the lists of men cited for deeds of high gallantry. The official -reports of the German officers bear unintended testimony to the intense -and patriotic Americanism of these men whom the Hohenzollern officials -sneer at as “half Americans,” and who, even when taken prisoners, are -admitted by the German army officers to “express without hesitation -purely American sentiments.” In other words, the Pan-German propaganda -on behalf of German _kultur_ has broken down in America, and as a -consequence there are no people in this country so hated in the -Prussianized Germany of the Hohenzollerns as the Americans of German -blood. - -The very worst enemies of these Americans have been the traitors and -dupes of traitors who have been during the last few years the leaders -of the German-American Alliance and of the newspapers in German or -English who have backed up the Alliance and similar organizations. The -dissolution by law of the Alliance and the gradual change of German -newspapers into newspapers published in English will be of benefit to -true Americans of German blood more than any other of our citizens. -But the Americans of other blood must remember that the man who in good -faith and without reservations gives up another country for this must -in return receive exactly the same rights, not merely legal, but social -and spiritual, that other Americans proudly possess. We of the United -States belong to a new and separate nationality. We are all Americans -and nothing else, and each, without regard to his birthplace, creed, or -national origin, is entitled to exactly the same rights as all other -Americans. - - - - -MURDER, TREASON, AND PARLOR ANARCHY - -JULY 18, 1918 - - -One of the cheapest methods by which some well-meaning, silly people, -and some sinister people who are not well-meaning, achieve a reputation -for broad-minded liberality in matters relating to social reforms is -to champion or excuse criminality on the ground that it is due to -social conditions. The parlor anarchist or parlor Bolshevist is not -an attractive person, and he may be mischievous when he joins the -genuine anarchist, the “direct” man with the bomb, because selfish -and unpatriotic politicians then find it advantageous to pander to -both. This species of parlor anarchist appeals to emotional persons of -superficial cultivation, whether writers, college men, sham economists, -or sham religious and charitable workers, because it makes no demand -either upon robust vigor of soul or thoroughness of mental process. -At the moment it manifests itself in sympathy for the I.W.W. and for -convicted dynamiters and murderers like Mooney. - -There are honest and ignorant working-men who join the I.W.W. because -they are misled or because in some given locality industrial conditions -really are intolerable. I have heard on good authority of logging -camps, for instance, where the men joined the I.W.W. and practiced -sabotage because they were treated tyrannically and foolishly and -where good treatment turned them into good citizens. But I know far -more numerous instances in which the leaders have simply been thugs -and murderous malefactors whose criminality was not in the least due -to social conditions, but to their own foul natures. By all means let -us remedy the social conditions that are wrong, but let us shun, as we -would shun the plague, that mawkish sentimentality of downright moral -and physical cowardice which fears to call murder, treason, violence, -arson, and rape by their right names and treat them as crimes to be -punished with relentless severity. - -Actually there have been make-believe social reformers who have sought -to excuse a brute who raped a little girl on the ground that social -conditions made him what he was, and others who on similar grounds have -protested against the condign punishment of men who burn haystacks, -ruin machinery, dynamite peace parades, and, in the interest of -German agents, destroy machinery in mines or munition factories. Any -man who is misled in these matters can get full information by buying -a pamphlet recently written by a former Socialist, Mr. Everett Harri, -called “The I.W.W. an Auxiliary of the German Espionage System.” The -simple truth is that the men who lead and give the tone to the I.W.W. -are more dangerous criminals than an equal number of white-slavers and -black-handers, and to give aid and comfort to one set of enemies of the -Nation is as bad as to give aid and comfort to the others. - -The ablest, most far-sighted, and most patriotic of the heads of -organized labor are more opposed to the I.W.W. as it is at present -handled than are any other persons in the Nation. In just the same way -the farmers whose resentment of wrongdoing is keenest should repudiate -the Non-Partisan League just as long as it submits to such leadership -as that of most of the men who are at present at its head, and just so -long as it stands for covert disloyalty, as it has recently done on so -many different occasions in so many different places. I am well aware -that great numbers of honest and loyal farmers of high character have -joined the League, because they rightly think that many of the economic -conditions now affecting the farmer imperatively call for remedy. There -are any number of men like myself who will join with the farmers in -any sane and patriotic movement to remedy these conditions, no matter -how radical such a movement may be. But we will join with no movement -whose leaders are tainted with disloyalty, or who refuse to give to -others the same square deal they demand for themselves, or who fail to -insist that here in America the one organization to which we all of -us owe a loyalty greater than is any other, greater than to any labor -union or farmers’ league or business or professional body, is the union -of the entire American people. - - - - -BACK UP THE FIGHTING MEN AT THE FRONT - -JULY 26, 1918 - - -There is no American worth calling such whose veins do not thrill with -pride when he reads of what has been done by General Pershing and his -gallant army in France. The soldiers over there who wear the American -uniform have made all good Americans forever their debtors. Now and -always afterward we of this country will walk with our heads high -because of the men who face death and wounds, and so many of whom have -given their lives fighting for this Nation and for the great ideals of -humanity across the seas. - -But we must not let our pride and our admiration evaporate in mere -pride, in mere admiration of what others have done. We must put the -whole strength of this Nation back of the fighting men at the front. We -owe it to them. We owe it at least as much to the gallant Allies, who -for near four years fought the great battle that was our battle, no -less than theirs. - -At last we have begun to come to their assistance, but let us solemnly -realize that we came very late, and that it is a dreadful thing if we -waste one hour that can now be saved, or weaken in the smallest degree -any effort that can be made. The inability, or refusal, of Bolshevist -Russia to do her part in the great war for liberty and democracy has -cast a terrible added burden upon the Allies. On the eastern front -this has meant the temporary Allied ruin and the freeing of the armies -of the autocracy for action against the western peoples. England, -France, and Belgium for four years and Italy for over three years have -been fighting the battle of civilization. Their man power is terribly -depleted. Thank Heaven, we have got some hundreds of thousands of -soldiers across in time to be a real element in saving Paris. Our first -duty, if we wish to win the war, is to save Paris. Temporarily, at -least, and I hope permanently, we have done our part in this respect. -But the least faltering, the least letting-up, or failure in pushing -forward our preparations and our assistance, would be dangerous to the -Allied cause and a wicked desertion of our allies. - -From now on America should make this peculiarly America’s war. From now -on we should take the burden of the war upon our shoulders. We should -move forward at once with all the force that there is in us. We should -not allow the war to drag for so much as a day, and above all we should -not permit our people to fall under the spell of pacifist dreams or -possible pacifist actions. There should not be intermission of so much -as a week in sending our troops across the seas. This war won’t be won -by food, or by money, or by savings, or by Thrift Stamps, or by the Red -Cross, or by anything else, although all of these will help win the -war. It will be won by the valor of the fighting men at the front, and -this valor will fail unless our fighting men at the front are millions -strong. - -Every week this summer and fall we should be putting fresh troops by -scores of thousands across the ocean, and now, to-day, this week, we -should provide for placing a larger army in the field next spring than -Germany itself, or France and England combined. We are a more populous, -a richer country than Germany, we have a larger population than Great -Britain and France combined. These nations have fought for four years. -We have only just begun to fight. Let us at once mobilize the whole -man power of this country between the ages of nineteen and fifty or -sixty. The draft should take in all men of nineteen, even if they were -not sent abroad until they were twenty years old. Let us act at once. -Perhaps we can beat the Germans this year if we keep pouring our troops -over with the utmost speed. But let us take no chances. Let us proceed -upon the assumption that Germany will fight next spring, and therefore -let us act instantly so that by spring we will have in France an army -of fighting men, exclusive of non-combatants and exclusive of home -dépôts, which shall amount to four million armed soldiers at the very -least. Let us fight beside the French, the British, the Italians, and -be ready to fight instantly in the Balkan Peninsula and in Asia Minor -against the Germans and all her vassal states. There must be no delay, -not by so much as one hour, and no letting-up for one moment in the -cause of our entire strength. - - - - -THE AMERICANS WHOM WE MOST DELIGHT TO HONOR - -AUGUST 1, 1918 - - -At long intervals in the history of a nation there come great days -when the picked sons of the Nation determine for generations to come -that nation’s place in history. During the last few weeks our fighting -men in France have rendered all the rest of us forever their debtors. -They have won high honor for themselves and for their country. Our -children’s children will owe them deep gratitude for what they have -done. All Americans hold their heads higher because of their deeds. - -Their achievement has been won at the cost of perseverance in training -and of resolution in facing unbelievable hardship and fatigue. It has -also cost and will cost the death, the crippling, and the wounding of -many scores of thousands of our best and bravest. We who stay behind -in ease and comfort, who show our patriotism by economizing on sugar -or wheat or beef instead of by living in our clothes until they rot -off us in the trenches, or who pay money for taxes and bonds and Thrift -Stamps instead of paying with our blood, owe an incalculable debt to -the men at the front and to the mothers, wives, and little children of -those who are killed at the front. We must pay this debt. - -The debt is due to our wonderful fighting men at the front -individually, to our army collectively, and to this Nation as a whole. -We must provide for the crippled men and for the widows and children -of the dead. Nothing that we can do will lighten the bitter sorrow of -those who have lost the men they loved; stern pride in the courage -and gallant devotion of those who are dead is the only staff that -will help to carry that burden for the living. But the material needs -of the survivors must be met with ample generosity and yet in the -only permanently effective fashion, by training those who need help -to help themselves and achieve an ever-increasing self-respect and -self-reliance. - -We must now help the army as a whole by straining every nerve without -a day’s delay immensely to increase our strength, our numbers, and our -resources at the front. We should provide now, and as a matter of fact -we ought to have provided six months ago, for an army of six or seven -million men, so that when next spring opens we may have at least four -million fighting men at the front. We are more populous than Germany, -or France and Great Britain combined, and we should provide so that two -years after we entered the war our army shall be as large as Germany’s -or as the combined forces of our allies in France. We should speed to -the limit the work of the ships, guns, and airplanes. At present our -army is in France mainly because of the aid of British ships, and it -is able to fight mainly because of the field cannon and even airplanes -it has received from the French. The draft limit should be immensely -increased and the exceptions immensely decreased. - -To stand by the army is to stand by the Nation, and therefore to stand -by the Allies to whom our national faith is plighted. This war will -be won by the fighting men at the front. All other work is merely -auxiliary and is entirely subordinate to theirs. Let us provide for the -army instantly, and let us provide for the Nation’s future permanently -by at once introducing the policy of universal obligatory military -training for all our young men. - -The fighting men at the front are the men most worthy of honor. Let -every American lad hereafter be trained so that in time of need he can -fill this most honorable of all positions. - - - - -SOUND NATIONALISM AND SOUND INTERNATIONALISM - -AUGUST 4, 1918 - - -The glorious victory of the Allies in the second battle of the Marne, a -victory in which the hard-fighting soldiers of the American army have -borne so distinguished and honorable a part, may mean the failure of -the German military offensive for this year. Therefore it may mean a -renewal of the German peace offensive. No man can prophesy in these -matters, but the Germans may continue the war for a long time; and -therefore we should prepare to have in France an army of four million -fighting men for the battle front next spring. But the Germans may try -to make peace instead of continuing the war, and may seek to cover -their retention of some of their ill-gotten substantial gains by -nominal and theoretical support of some glittering proposal about a -league of nations to end all war. They will thereby hope to keep part -of their booty by appealing to what is vaguely called internationalism -and getting the support not only of sentimentalists who do not like to -look unpleasant facts in the face, but also of the good people who are -appalled and puzzled and panic-struck by the horror Germany has brought -on the world, and who, instead of bracing themselves to put down this -horror by their own hardened strength and iron will, clutch at any -quack remedy which false prophets hold out as offering a substitute for -such action. - -Therefore it is well at this time for sober and resolute men and -women to apply that excellent variety of wisdom colloquially known as -“horse sense” to the problems of nationalism and internationalism. -These problems will not be solved by rhetoric. Least of all will -they be solved by competitive rhetoric. Masters of phrase-making may -win immense, although evanescent, applause by outvying one another -in words that glitter, but these glittering words will not have one -shred of lasting effect on the outcome except in so far as they may -have a very mischievous effect if they persuade people to abandon the -possible real good in the fantastic effort to achieve an impossible, -unreal perfection. Let honest men and women remember that this kind of -phrase-mongering does not represent idealism. The only idealism worth -considering in the workaday business of this world is applied idealism. -This is merely another way of saying that permanent good to humanity -only comes from actually trying to reduce ideals to practice, and this -means that the ideals must be substantially or at least measurably -realizable. - -The professed internationalist usually sneers at nationalism, at -patriotism, and at what we call Americanism. He bids us forswear -our love of country in the name of love of the world at large. We -nationalists answer that he has begun at the wrong end; we say that as -the world now is, it is only the man who ardently loves his country -first who in actual practice can help any other country at all. The -internationalist bids us promise to abandon the idea of keeping America -permanently ready to defend her rights by her strength, and to trust, -instead, to scraps of paper, to written agreements by which all nations -form a league, and agree to disarm and agree each to treat all other -nations, big or little, on an exact equality. We nationalists answer -that we are ready to join any league to enforce peace or similar -organization which offers a likelihood of in some measure lessening -the number and the area of future wars, but only on condition that -in the first place we do not promise what will not or ought not to -be performed, or be guilty of proclaiming a sham, and that in the -second place we do not surrender our right and duty to prepare our own -strength for our own defense instead of trusting to the above-mentioned -scraps of paper. In justification we point to certain very obvious -facts which ought to be patent to every man of common sense. - -Any such league of nations must, of course, include the nine nations -which have the greatest military strength or it will be utterly -impotent. These nine nations include Germany, Austria, Turkey, and -Russia. The first three have abundantly shown during the last four -years that no written or other promise of the most binding kind has -even the slightest effect upon their actions. The fourth, Russia, -under the lead and dominion of the Bolsheviki, has just been guilty -of the grossest possible betrayal of her allies and of the small -kindred Slavonic peoples and of world democracy. This betrayal was in -the interest of a military and despotic autocracy and included the -direct violation of Russia’s plighted faith. Under such conditions it -is unnecessary to say that Russia’s signature to any future league -to enforce peace will not be worth the paper on which it is written. -Therefore the creation of any such league for the future will simply -mean a pledge by the present Allies to make their alliance perpetual -and all to go to war again whenever one of them is attacked. This may -become necessary, but it certainly does not imply future disarmament. - -Nor is this all. The United States must come into court with clean -hands. She must not pledge herself without reservation to the right -of “self-determination” for each people while she has behaved toward -Haiti and San Domingo as she is now behaving. It is not possible for -me to say whether our action in these two cases has been right or -wrong, because the Administration, with its usual horror of publicity, -whether pitiless or otherwise, and its inveterate predilection for -secret and furtive diplomacy, has kept most of the facts hidden. I -believe that there was no possible excuse for such secret diplomacy in -these cases and that the same course should have been followed as was -followed in the case of the Panama revolution, where every fact was -immediately laid without reservation before Congress. But even if I -am wrong in my belief in the general principle of open diplomacy, and -even if the Administration is right in its consistent policy of secret -diplomacy as regards the mass of questions which I think ought to be -made public, the fact remains that we have with armed force invaded, -made war upon, and conquered the two small republics, have upset -their governments, have denied them the right of self-determination, -and have made democracy within their limits not merely unsafe but -non-existent. As we have no published facts to go on, I cannot say -whether their misconduct did or did not warrant such drastic action on -our part, but on the assumption that the Administration acted properly, -we are committed to the principle that some nations are not fit for -self-determination, that democracy within their limits is a sham, and -that their offenses against justice and right are such as to render -interference by their more powerful and more civilized neighbors -imperative. I do not doubt that this principle is true in some -cases, whether or not it ought to be applied in these two particular -cases. In any event, our continuing action in San Domingo and Haiti -makes it hypocritical for us to lay down any universal rules about -self-determination for all nations. - -Our action also shows how utterly futile it would be to try to treat a -league to enforce peace as a substitute for training our own strength -for our own defense. Let China be the witness of the truth of this -statement. China has actually realized the ideal of the pacifists -who insist that unpreparedness for war secures peace. The ideal of -the internationalists is that patriotism and sense of nationalism -are detrimental to humanity, and the ideal of the Socialists is that -the capitalist régime is the only cause of popular misery. China is -helpless to attack others or defend herself, her people have little -sense of national unity and pride, and there are in China huge -districts where there are no capitalists and where the misery of -the people is greater than in any country of the Occident. China’s -helplessness, instead of helping toward world peace, has been a -positive encouragement to war and violence among her neighbors. Her -future depends primarily, not on herself, but on what her neighbors -choose to do. In spite of her size and her enormous population and -resources, she is helpless to do good to others because she is -powerless to prevent others from doing evil to her. Her agreement to a -league of nations or to a league to enforce peace would be worthless, -because she is unable to put strength back of justice either for -herself or for any one else. The pacifists and internationalists if -they had their way would turn the United States into the China of the -Occident. - -Let us put our trust neither in rhetoric nor hypocrisy, whether -conscious or unconscious. Let us be honest with ourselves. Let us look -the truth in the face. Let us remember what Germany, Austria, and -Turkey have actually done. Let us remember what Russia has suffered -from Germany and the worse than folly with which she has behaved to -every one else. Let us remember what has happened to China and what we -have made happen to Haiti and San Domingo. Then let us trust for our -salvation to a sound and intense American nationalism. - -The horse sense of the matter is that all agreements to further the -cause of sound internationalism must be based on recognition of the -fact that as the world is actually constituted our present prime need -is this sound and intense American nationalism. The first essential -of this sound nationalism is that the Nation shall trust to its own -fully prepared strength for its own defense. So far as possible, its -strength must also be used to secure justice for others and must -never be used to wrong others. But unless we possess and prepare the -strength, we can neither help ourselves nor others. Let us by all means -go into any wise league or covenant among nations to abolish neutrality -(for, of course, a league to enforce peace is merely another name for a -league to abolish neutrality in every possible war). But let us first -understand what we are promising, and count the cost and determine -to keep our promises. Above all, let us treat any such agreement or -covenant as a mere addition to, and never as a substitute for, the -preparation in advance of our own armed power. Next time we behave with -the ignoble folly we have shown during the last four years we may not -find allies to do what France and England and Italy have done for us. -They have protected us with their navies and armies, their blood and -their treasure, while we first refused to do anything and then slowly -and reluctantly began to harden and make ready our giant but soft and -lazy strength. - -No proper scheme designed to secure peace without effort and safety -without service and sacrifice will either make this country safe or -enable it to do its international duty toward others. - -An American citizen, personally unknown to me, writes me that his -three sons entered the army at the outbreak of the war, and that one -of them, an aviator, was killed in battle at the front just two weeks -before my own son was killed as he fought in the air. In his letter my -correspondent adds: - - Would that my country might learn and never forget that not only - the winning of peace now, but the maintenance of peace at all times - depends not fundamentally on treaties or leagues of nations, but on - the readiness of citizens to fly to the aid of the wronged and to give - their lives if need be that justice may be secured. - -There speaks the true American spirit which holds fast alike to -fearlessness and to wisdom, to gentleness and to iron resolution. -There speaks the spirit of that fervent nationalism which would forbid -America either to inflict or to endure wrong. - - - - -THE MAN WHO PAYS AND THE MAN WHO PROFITS - -AUGUST 9, 1918 - - -The men who do the fighting at the front and their mothers and -wives back here are those who in this great and terrible crisis are -paying--the blood of the men and the tears of the women, and with the -suffering of men, women, and children--for our failure to prepare -during the two and a half years before we entered the World War. For -this failure to prepare, in spite of the most vivid warning ever given -a Nation, the warning that befell the rest of the world during those -two and a half years, the professed pacifists and the politicians who -pandered to them are more responsible than any one else, except the -pro-Germans. If, when the World War broke out, or at latest when the -Lusitania was sunk, we had done our plain duty, we had then begun to -build ships, field cannon and airplanes, and to train men exactly as -we have been doing during the last year and a quarter, except that -we should have done the work on a larger scale with more efficiency -and with much less waste and extravagance. Remember that failure to -provide great numbers of cannon and airplanes means that the infantry -has to pay for it with a huge increase of slaughter. All the guns and -airplanes we left unbuilt during the first three years of the war -has meant so much more bloodshed, so many more Americans killed and -crippled, not to speak of the tremendous loss of life to our allies. -Moreover, when men in small numbers are put into battle, when only a -few hundred thousand are forced to suffer heavy loss in doing work -which two or three million men could have accomplished speedily and -thoroughly and with very little loss, the responsibility rests on those -who prevented the preparation in advance. If we had built quantities of -ships and trained large numbers of men in advance, the World War would -have ended almost as soon as we entered, and an infinite amount of -bloodshed would have been prevented. - -The best roll of our army overseas is the American roll of honor. These -men have paid with their bodies for the safety of this Nation in the -present and the future. They have died, and by their death have earned -for the rest of us the right to hold our heads high with pride. But -it is no less true that their blood has been shed, but their gallant -lives have been spent because we did not prepare in advance. We did -not prepare because our people were misled. For this misleading of the -people the professional profiteers share the responsibility with the -pro-Germans, with sham sentimentalists, with the sordid, short-sighted -materialists, and with all the politicians, publicists, and private -citizens, rich or poor, whose vanity or folly or self-interest profited -thereby. We ought not to remember this in any spirit of revenge, but -most certainly, unless we are worse than foolish, we shall remember -it and other warnings to teach us how to behave in the future, and as -a very stern warning against again trusting to the leadership of the -men thus responsible for the deaths of so many fine and fearless young -Americans. - -Most of the men who are misled, and some of the men who misled them, -have come frankly forward to admit their error. What is even more -important, most of them have made the real atonement of deeds. They -have, if young, themselves gone into the army, and if not young have -sent their sons or permitted them to go into the army and fight in -freedom’s belated battle. All these men are paying their share of -the joint payment in blood of the Nation. They are to be heartily -respected. They are not seeking to profit by the valor and blood of -others. - -So much for the men who pay; now for the men who profit. Some of these -men profit in money. If such profit is excessive it is iniquitous. -But a proper money profit is absolutely necessary, for no business -can be permanent without profit any more than a working-man can -permanently work without wages. The unpardonable profit is that of -the man, especially the rich man, who, having preached pacifism and -unpreparedness, now, when war comes, sees brave men face a death which -pacifism and unpreparedness have made infinitely more probable while -he himself and his sons profit by these other men’s courage and sit at -home in the ease and safety secured by the fact that these others face -death. The worst profiteers in this country are the men and the sons of -the men who decline to face the death which their own actions have made -more probable for others. - -Unless in exceptional cases there is no need to discuss individuals -in private life. But when a man seeks public office, it becomes a -duty to discuss his record. Mr. Henry Ford is a candidate for United -States Senator in Michigan. No man in this country strove harder in -the cause of pacifism and unpreparedness than he did during the vital -two years and a half before this country went to War. He received -the cordial applause of the peace-at-any-price people who were -themselves, of course, efficiently playing the pro-German game. He is -a multi-millionaire. If any of his kin are killed, their families are -not merely guarded against poverty, but are sure of wealth. The son of -Mr. Ford ought to feel it absolutely obligatory on him to go to the -war. There is not in this country any other man who ought to feel it -more honorably necessary to pay with his body, if necessary, to atone -with his life for the dreadful wrong done this country by the preachers -of pacifism and unpreparedness during the two years and a half that -preceded our entry into the war. Yet it is announced in the press that -Mr. Ford’s son has obtained exemption from military service and is -employed in the money-making business of his wealthy father. - -Mr. Ford’s proper place is on the mourner’s bench and not at the -council board of the Nation. - - - - -OUR DEBT TO THE BRITISH EMPIRE - -AUGUST 16, 1918 - - -Judge Ben Lindsey has recently written two or three striking -pieces about what Great Britain has done and is doing in this war. -Incidentally he points out how far ahead of us she now is in certain -types of social legislation, such as that dealing with children. But -the lesson he inculcates which is of most immediate concern is the -giant part England has played in this war and the debt we owe to -her because, in standing up for Belgium and France, she was really -defending us during our days of folly when we followed the lead of our -worst enemies, the pacifists and pro-Germans. - -The English pacifists are, if anything, even more silly than our own. -They did their best to make England keep out of this war. If they had -succeeded the British Empire would for a few years have trod the broad, -smooth road of peaceful and greedy infamy and would then have tumbled -into the bottomless pit of utter destruction. But in August, 1914, -Great Britain and the gallant overseas commonwealths which share her -empire chose the hard path of immediate danger, of ultimate safety, and -of high heroism. Thereby they saved their own souls and the bodies of -their children, and in so doing rendered an inestimable service to us. - -England has raised an immense army which has fought in Europe, Asia, -and Africa. If it were not for this army even the highly trained valor -of the French could not have averted German victory. At the same time -the British fleet has kept the seas free for the food and coal and -munitions needed for the Allied people and armies and has furnished -the transports necessary to enable us to put under Pershing a force -large enough to be of real consequence in the vitally important battle -which has been raging for the last thirty days. If Great Britain had -not been far-sighted enough to realize what her own welfare demanded -when France was invaded, and if she had not been stirred to noble -indignation by the Belgian horror, the whole civilized world would now -have been cowering under the brutal dominion of Germany. If she had not -controlled the seas, not an American battalion could have been sent -to the aid of France as she struggled to save the soul of the world, -and no help could have been given gallant Italy or any others of these -Allied nations to whose stern fighting efficiency we owe it that this -earth is still a place on which free men can live. - -We must stand by Great Britain precisely as we stand by our other -allies--in the first place, by waging the war with all our strength, -and in the next place by seeing that the peace is of a kind which -justifies them for all the sacrifices they have made. - -One item in waging the war ought to be insistence that every American -of fighting age who resides in the British Empire and every Englishman -of fighting age who resides in the United States be invariably put in -either the British or the American armies. One item in making peace -ought to be insistence that Britain keep every colony she has conquered -from Germany, both in the South Seas and in Africa. Germany has behaved -abominably in Africa. The course Germany has followed in Africa has -made her a menace of evil to the Boer and British Africanders, and to -return to her the colonies which have been taken from her, whether in -Africa or Asia, by Australia or Great Britain, or by France or Japan or -Belgium, would be a crime against civilization. - - - - -THE CANDIDACY OF HENRY FORD - -AUGUST 20, 1918 - - -Every loyal American citizen in Michigan should read the last two -numbers of Mr. George Harvey’s War Weekly. In these numbers there are -quotations from Mr. Henry Ford’s speeches made two years ago and again -since we entered the war. Mr. Ford has not questioned the accuracy of -these quotations given by Mr. Harvey. - -Speaking of American flags over his own factory Mr. Ford said: “I don’t -believe in the flag. When the war is over these flags shall come down -never to go up again.” - -The Sedition Act, approved by President Wilson, inflicts a maximum -punishment of twenty years in the penitentiary for any man who, while -we are at war, utters “language intended to bring the flag of the -United States into contempt or disrepute.” During the last year many -poor and ignorant men have been convicted and sentenced for using -language thus forbidden by law. In my view the fact that Mr. Ford is -an enormously wealthy man ought not to give him immunity from the law -if he cannot show that he did not use the language quoted in the War -Weekly. But whether or not amenable to the law, no patriotic American -can afford to put in the Senate, perhaps to help negotiate the peace -treaty, a man who announces that as soon as peace comes he wishes to -haul down the American flag and never again to hoist it. To send such a -man to the Senate professing such sentiments under existing conditions -would give the enemy a wholly wrong idea of the pacifist sentiment in -our country. There is nothing in the world which would now help Germany -as much, or give her so much heart in her struggle for the overthrow of -liberty and democracy as the belief that men professing such sentiments -would have part in the peace negotiations on behalf of this country. - -Among the further utterances of Mr. Ford (as given in the War Weekly) -is one that he does “not believe in patriotism” and that he does not -care any more for the United States “than for China or Hindustan.” -The man who does not believe in patriotism is not fit to live in this -country, still less to represent it in the Senate. If these words of -Mr. Ford mean anything, then Mr. Ford is unpatriotic and has no more -right to sit in the United States Senate than a Hindu or a Chinaman. -Unless Mr. Ford can show that he never uttered these words no man -worthy to be called an American, and least of all any religious or -patriotic man, can afford to support him for the Senate. - -Mr. Ford has been given immensely valuable war contracts of the -Government. No doubt he has executed them as well as the thousands -of other contractors who now render service to the Government for -pay. But no service he can thus render the Government can offset the -frightful damage he did our people by the lavish use he made of his -enormous wealth in a gigantic and profoundly anti-American propaganda -against preparedness and against our performance of international duty -during the two and a half years before we entered the war. This crusade -against righteousness included the sending of the ridiculous “peace -ship” to Europe. This particular manifestation was too absurd even to -do harm, but so far as it had any effect at all it encouraged Germany -to believe that we were as neutral between right and wrong as Pontius, -and that as far as we were concerned she could safely proceed with -wrongdoing because we held the scales of judgment even between the -wrongdoer and his victim. The crusade also included an extraordinary -series of advertisements issued long after the Lusitania was sunk, in -which Mr. Ford violently opposed and denounced preparedness, advocated -and approved the McLemore resolutions, and announced that it was our -duty to keep out of war; and not merely himself kept silent about the -wrongdoing of Germany, but assailed those who set forth this wrongdoing -on the ground that they “had bred racial hatred by the printing of -incendiary news stories and articles.” It may well be doubted whether -this propaganda did not do more damage to the American people than the -propaganda carried on at the same time by Ambassador Bernstorff. - -If we had seen our duty and had fully prepared during these two and a -half years, either we would never have had to enter the war or we would -have brought it to a close immediately after we entered it. The best -and bravest of the young men of the Nation are now paying with their -blood for our unpreparedness and therefore for the pacific propaganda -quite as much as for the pro-German propaganda carried on in this -country during the two and a half years before we entered the war. But -wealthy Mr. Ford’s son is not among these men. He is of draft age. He -applied for exemption. The local board refused his application. He -applied to the President. The President did not act for two months. -Then the revised draft regulations were promulgated, and Mr. Ford was -excepted under the deferred or exempted class which included a married -man with a child, however wealthy that man might be. He has exercised -his legal right. Very many thousands of young Americans, men of small -means who are not sons of multi-millionaires, have declined to take -advantage of this legal right. They have left their wives and babies to -go to war for a great ideal, for love of country, for love of liberty -and of civilization. But Mr. Ford’s son stays at home. These other -young Americans face death and endure unspeakable hardships and misery -and fatigue for the sake of America and have surrendered all hope of -money-getting, of comfort and of safety. But young Mr. Ford, in ease -and safety, is in the employ of his wealthy father. - -In private relations I understand that Mr. Ford is an amiable man. But -I am not dealing with him in his private relations. I am discussing him -as a candidate for high office. We are bound truthfully to set forth -what we believe will be the effect of his election, and therefore we -are bound to say that it would be damaging to the United States and -would be encouraging to Germany. No patriotic American should support -Mr. Ford. - - - - -SPEED UP THE WORK FOR THE ARMY AND GIVE ALL WHO ENTER IT FAIR PLAY - -AUGUST 23, 1918 - - -Our Government must learn that needless delay is worse than a blunder. -We are sending troops to Siberia. This is good, but it would have -been ten times better to have sent them last spring when the need was -precisely as evident as it is now. The Administration is now preparing -to ask Congress to arrange for putting between three and four million -men in France by next July. Six months ago our best military advisers -and our most far-sighted civilian leaders were urging that we prepare -to put five million men in France by next March. The delay has been -absolutely needless and may be very harmful. When last spring the -demand for five million men was being incessantly urged, President -Wilson treated it as merely a case for competitive rhetoric, and asked, -with dramatic effect, why we should limit the number at all. But he -actually has limited it to a much smaller number at a much later date. -Therefore let there at least be no further delay. And above all let -us not be misled by the persons who say that Germany will make peace -before next spring. Our business is to act on the assumption that we -shall have to put forth our utmost effort next spring and not to take -any unnecessary chances. - -The Government is now very properly proposing to enlarge the draft age -limits to include all the men of fighting age, all the men of the ages -which furnished the enormous majority of the soldiers of the Civil War. -The number of men in the excepted classes should be greatly reduced. -There are too many exceptions. It is earnestly to be hoped that the -plan will include the institution of universal obligatory military -training of all our young men of eighteen to twenty years old as a -permanent policy. - -But we ought not to adopt the plan recently proposed for special -advantages to be given by the Government to young men who go to college -and take certain special courses with a view to becoming officers. This -would amount to giving a special privilege to persons with money enough -to send their boys to college in order to have them escape the draft -and secure commissions. This is not fair. It means giving a privilege -to money. There is no excuse for giving such a preference to young men -of eighteen or nineteen at this time when we have been at war eighteen -months. There is still need to give some of the older men a special -chance to train. But there is no such need in the case of men under -twenty-one. - -There was every reason of sound public policy at the outset of the -war to take advantage of the forethought and self-denial of the young -men who at the Plattsburg and similar camps had at their own expense -prepared themselves before the war began, and when, owing to the -failure of the Government to do its duty, they were the only men who -did prepare. There has been good reason for similar camps for young men -during the last eighteen months before our general training camps began -to show their full results. But from now on every young officer should -be chosen on his merits from the men who enter the army in the ranks. -Only the men who show their fitness, by whatever tests are deemed -necessary after service in the ranks, should be sent to officers’ -schools, and money should play no part whatever in the matter. - - - - -SENATOR LODGE’S NOBLE SPEECH - -SEPTEMBER 1, 1918 - - -Senator Lodge’s speech dealing with the principles for which we are -fighting and setting forth in detailed outline the kind of peace which -alone will mean the peace of victory was a really noble speech. Nothing -is easier, and from the national standpoint as distinguished from the -standpoint of personal benefit to the speaker, nothing is less useful -than a speech of such glittering generalities that almost anybody can -interpret it in almost any manner. Only a great statesman possesses the -courage, the knowledge, and the power of expression to set forth in -convincing fashion the detailed statement of the objects which must be -attained if such a war as that in which we are engaged is to be crowned -by a peace wholly worth the terrible cost of life and happiness caused -by the war. This is the service which Senator Lodge has rendered to -this Nation and to our allies. - -From time to time in our history the Senate has rendered services -of exceptional magnitude to the Nation. Never in our history has it -rendered greater service than during the last nine months. The greatest -men who have ever sat in it, men such as Clay and Webster and Calhoun -and Benton, did not stand forth in leadership more clearly than a -dozen of the Senators who, during the last nine months, have fearlessly -and disinterestedly borne the burden of speeding up the war and -endeavoring to place our international relations on exactly the right -lines. - -These leaders have in actual fact adjourned politics. They have -considered only their patriotic duty in all matters concerning this war -and our relations with our allies and our enemies. The most efficient -service toward speeding up the war and enabling this Nation to do its -duty that has been rendered by any civilian public servants of the -Nation is the service rendered by Senator Chamberlain and the Senators, -both Democrats and Republicans, who acted with him on the Military -Affairs Committee in the investigation of the War Department last -winter. Within the last fortnight a service of similar character has -been rendered by Senator Thomas and his associates in both parties on -the sub-committee which has at last put before the people the truth -about the breakdown of our aircraft programme. The fact that this -summer we have put masses of armed men into France is primarily due to -Senator Chamberlain and the Senators of both parties who have acted -with him. The fact that next summer we shall at last back up American -troops with American airplanes will be due primarily to Senator Thomas -and his associates. - - - - -APPLIED PATRIOTISM - -SEPTEMBER 8, 1918 - - -The official record of the Illinois branch of the United Mine Workers -of America furnishes an instructive lesson in applied patriotism. -The president of the branch is Mr. Frank Farrington. The United Mine -Workers are affiliated with the American Federation of Labor. - -President Farrington’s circulars to the Illinois mine workers set -forth the need and the justice of this war and the duty of patriotic -Americans in the most straightforward and clear-cut fashion. He -states that this is the war for liberty and humanity and for American -rights, and that there rests “upon every American and upon every man -who has partaken of America’s bounty the solemn obligation of loyally -doing their part to win victory for the cause America represents.” He -promises the mine workers that their rights shall be protected and -secured, but insists that they shall lend every energy to increase the -output of coal so as to help our army at the front, which, as he finely -says, includes “sons of the rich and sons of the poor men who love life -as one, but who prefer death to life without liberty and who have made -common cause and entered the lists in answer to the Nation’s need.” - -The improper practices are specifically pointed out and condemned, -such as shutting down mines in violation of agreement in order to -force some desired condition, or making improper restrictions to -curtail production. The appeal is solemnly made to, and on behalf -of, the miners’ union that there must be full service to the Nation -and no shirking of duty, and that no agreement into which the union -enters shall be treated as a scrap of paper, but shall be in good -faith fulfilled. President Farrington in his official circulars lays -constantly increasing stress upon the seriousness of the obligation -resting upon the miners to aid and sustain the Allied armies in -their fight for the freedom of humanity by hard, steady work and by -increasing the output of coal. He condemns with genuine loftiness of -feeling and expression all who fail to give the utmost help to the men -who at the front are doing so much and suffering so much. - -The Illinois mine workers number about ninety thousand members. They -are divided into three hundred and twenty local unions. Of these I -have figures from only one hundred and twenty. They have sent over -four thousand men into the army and navy of the United States, have -purchased over two million dollars’ worth of Liberty bonds, $700,000 of -War Savings Stamps, and have contributed over $90,000 to the Red Cross -and over $20,000 to other war funds. - -The Illinois mine workers have made a fine showing in applied -patriotism. - - - - -GOOD LUCK TO THE ANTI-BOLSHEVISTS OF KANSAS - -SEPTEMBER 12, 1918 - - -The absolute prerequisite for successful self-government in any -people is the power of self-restraint which refuses to follow either -the wild-eyed extremists of radicalism or the dull-eyed extremists -of reaction. Either set of extremists will wreck the Nation just as -certainly as the other. The Nation capable of self-government must -show the Abraham Lincoln quality of refusing to go with either. The -dreadful fall which has befallen Russia is due to the fact that when -her people cast off the tyranny of the autocracy, they did not have -sufficient self-control and common sense to avoid rushing into the gulf -of Bolshevist anarchy. - -In this country there are plenty of highbrow Bolsheviki who like to -think of themselves as intellectuals, and who in parlors and at pink -teas preach Bolshevism as a fad. They are fatuously ignorant that it -may be a dangerous fad. Some of them are mere make-believe, sissy -Bolsheviki, almost or quite harmless. Others are sincere and foolish -fanatics, who mean well and who do not realize that their doctrines -tend toward moral disintegration. But there are practical Bolsheviki -in this country who are in no sense highbrows. The I.W.W. and the -Non-Partisan League, just as long and so far as its members submit -to the dominion of leaders like Mr. Townley, represent the forces -that under Lenine and Trotzky have brought ruin to Russia. If these -organizations obtained power here, they would cast this country into -the same abyss with Russia. - -The I.W.W. activities may have been officially set forth by the Chicago -jury which found the I.W.W. leaders guilty of treasonable practices. -These leaders protested that they were only trying to help “the wage -slave of to-day,” and had not taken German money. But the jury found -them guilty as charged. The American people, when fully awake and -aroused, will tolerate neither treason nor anarchy. No Americans are -more patriotic than the honest American labor men, and these above all -had cause to rejoice in the verdict. Undoubtedly there are plenty of -poor ignorant men who join the I.W.W. because they feel they do not -receive justice. We should all of us actively unite in the effort to -right any wrongs from which these men suffer. But we should set our -faces like flint against such criminal leadership as that of the I.W.W. - -The Non-Partisan League endeavored to ally itself with the I.W.W. since -we entered the war. When the League was started, I felt much sympathy -with its avowed purposes. I hope for and shall welcome wisely radical -action on behalf of the farmer. But only destruction to all of us can -come from the venomous class hatred preached by the present leadership -of the League. Some of its leaders have been convicted and imprisoned -for treasonable activities. Some of the League’s representatives have -been actively pro-Germans. Some are Socialists or Socialist-Anarchists. -For the first six months of the war and until it became too dangerous, -they were openly against the war, against our allies, and for Germany. -The only half-secret alliance between these leaders and certain high -Democratic politicians is deeply discreditable to the latter. The -victory of the League in its recent efforts to gain control of the -Republican Party in Minnesota and Montana would have given immense -strength to the pro-German and Bolshevist element throughout the -country and its defeat was a matter of rejoicing to all right-minded -and patriotic men. - -Mr. Townley’s leadership in its moral purpose and national effect -entitles him to rank with Messrs. Lenine and Trotzky, and the -utterances of the League’s official organ, especially in its appeals to -class hatred, puts the official representatives of the League squarely -in the clan with the Bolshevist leaders who have done such evil in -Russia. - -I have before me an official letter from the League written in January -last refusing to coöperate in non-political work for the benefit of the -farmers, saying, “This organization is a political one, the farmers -being organized for the purpose of controlling legislation in their -own interests.” In other words, the title, Non-Partisan, is a piece -of pure hypocrisy, and its league is really partisan in the narrowest -and worst sense. Americans should organize politically as Americans -and not as bankers, or lawyers, or farmers, or wage-workers. To -organize politically on the basis adopted by the League is thoroughly -anti-American and unpatriotic, and if copied generally by our citizens, -would mean the creation in this country of rival political parties -based on cynically brutal class selfishness. - -I have no doubt that the rank and file of the members of the League -are good, honest people who have been misled. I am certain that -there has been much neglect of the rights of the farmers and that it -is a high duty for this country to begin a constructive, practical -agricultural policy. But no good American can support the League while -it is dominated by its present leadership. The Kansans who have joined -to fight the League because it represents Bolshevism are rendering a -patriotic service to America. - - - - -THE FOURTH LIBERTY LOAN - -SEPTEMBER 17, 1918 - - -The Government of the United States is asking us Americans, is asking -us, the citizens of the United States, to subscribe to the Fourth -Liberty Loan, a bigger loan than any yet issued. It is our duty to back -up the Government by floating the loan. Moreover, the performance of -this duty should be treated by us as a high privilege. It opens to us -a fine opportunity to put our shoulders with all the strength we have -into the great shove which is pushing the German barrier back across -the Rhine. - -The Liberty bonds are the best of all possible investments. Their -security and their interest returns give them a peculiar position. -Moreover, every one can invest in big or little amounts, exactly as -his resources permit. All the people of this country can now become -bondholders if they wish. Therefore, all investors in the bonds will -get benefits, but what is vastly more important, they will give -benefits. They will therefore render service to the country. - -We Americans are not, and must not permit ourselves to become, swayed -by question of material gain in this war. We must think primarily of -our duties. We must keep our minds fixed on what we owe to others, and -what we owe to ourselves. We owe a service to humanity. Our sons and -brothers at the front pay this service in blood. The rest of us must -pay it in money. - -Commensurate with the great resources and unparalleled prosperity with -which our Nation has been blessed, we owe all the more because for -three years the debt accumulated, while other nations were bearing the -burden for us. We thank God we have begun to pay. From every village -and city of every state the best of our young men are streaming across -the Atlantic to join the victorious army under Foch and Pershing. The -men and women of America are keeping mill and shipyard and munition -factory and mine busy to the limit, so that the troops may not fail nor -the supplies on which they depend be lacking. - -All this is not one whit more than we ought to do; it is what we owe -to the world and owe to ourselves. We are glad and proud to do it. -Let us, as part payment of our great debt, subscribe and oversubscribe -to the bonds of the Fourth Liberty Loan. This is a service which lies -within the ability of the poorest of us. It is the duty and privilege -of every right American. Every dollar put into Liberty loans is a -dollar working for the downfall of the system of greed and treachery, -of tyranny and callous brutality which has drenched the world in blood. - -Americans are not quitters. The Kaiser’s troops cannot stop our men at -the front. Nothing must be permitted to stop the flow into the treasury -of the money with which we back up these men. Sloth and easy living -have no place in America now. We must give, give to the utmost. If -putting our money at the disposal of the Government requires us to work -harder and live more simply, we shall be the better for it. Let us buy -these Liberty bonds to the utmost of our capacity and thereby show the -men at the front that the people at home will back them to the limit. - - - - -FAIR PLAY AND NO POLITICS - -SEPTEMBER 20, 1918 - - -A Democratic member of the Senate has introduced a resolution to -investigate the primary campaign expenses of certain Republican -candidates for the Senate, including Commander Truman Newberry, -whose recent triumph over Mr. Henry Ford in the Michigan Republican -primaries was greeted with heartfelt thanks by every sincere and -far-sighted American patriot. - -This Senate, which comes to an end on March 4 next, has the same, and -only the same right to investigate the election conduct of candidates -for the Senate, which comes into existence on March 4 that it has to -investigate the campaign conduct of any other candidates for office. - -Moreover, any such proposed investigation undertaken on the eve of -an election is tainted with bad faith unless it is conducted with -conspicuous fairness and impartiality and is undertaken at once so that -it can be finished at least a month before the elections. Personally, -I shall be glad if the election expenses or any other conduct of any -of the candidates be investigated, provided that the investigation be -undertaken at once and finished within the next fortnight, and provided -that it be entirely impartial. Therefore, it must deal comprehensively -with all serious charges affecting the desirability of candidates as -governmental representatives of the American people at this time. - -If the men backing the proposal are acting in good faith they will -investigate Mr. Ford’s record on the following points in order to -determine his fitness to represent patriotic Americans at this time. -They will find out how much money he spent on the peace ship, and -on his lavishly expensive newspaper advertising campaign against -preparedness, and against our standing up for Belgium’s rights, and -against our taking action about Germany’s sinking the Lusitania and -her other assaults on us, and in favor of the McLemore resolution. This -was part of the great pacifist campaign of which another part, as our -government investigations show, was financed by the German authorities -themselves or by their affiliated societies in this country. - -The investigation should include Mr. Ford’s contributions in the last -presidential campaign and the names of the candidates he supported, for -his politics seem to have been purely personal and pacifist. - -Moreover, the investigation should include a full examination of the -justification for Mr. Ford’s aiding and abetting his son Edsell in -escaping draft and staying at home when the great majority of young -Americans of his age are eagerly striving for places of honor and peril -at the front. Mr. Ford is an enormously wealthy man. Mr. Newberry is -not. Mr. Newberry himself at once entered the military service of -the United States. His two sons have wives and children, but they -immediately entered the service, striving eagerly to get to the front. -Mr. Edsell Ford waited until he was drafted, then fought hard for an -exemption, which the local board disallowed. He succeeded, however, in -escaping service and is at home. - -Unless the investigation takes up these matters, it will be stamped -with the stamp of unworthy and improper partisanship. The simple truth -is that all patriotic Americans rejoice in the nomination and will -rejoice in the election at this time of such Americans as Mr. Newberry -in Michigan and Mr. Medill McCormick in Illinois. - - - - -SPIES AND SLACKERS - -SEPTEMBER 24, 1918 - - -Mercy to the German spy or pacifist slacker in America is foul -injustice to the American soldier in France and to his brother, who -is preparing to go to France. Our Government has been altogether too -weak in dealing with the pacifist slackers and so-called conscientious -objectors. It has actually issued elaborate instructions for and to -these creatures practically telling them how to escape doing the duty -which all patriotic Americans are proudly eager to perform. - -There is not the slightest excuse for such weakness. No man has any -right to remain in a free country like ours if he refuses, whether -conscientiously or unconscientiously, to do the duties of peace and of -war which are necessary if it is to be kept free. The true lovers of -peace recognize their duty to fight for freedom. The Society of Friends -has furnished the same large proportion of soldiers for this war that -it did for the Civil War. - -It is all wrong to permit conscientious objectors to remain in camp or -military posts or to go back to their homes. They should be treated -in one of three ways: First, demand of them military service, except -the actual use of weapons with intent to kill, and if they refuse -to render this service treat them as criminals and imprison them at -hard labor; second, put them in labor battalions and send them to -France behind the lines, where association with soldiers might have a -missionary effect on them and cause them to forget their present base -creed and rise to worthy levels in an atmosphere of self-sacrifice and -of service and struggle for great ideals; third, if both of the above -procedures are regarded as too drastic, intern them with alien enemies -and send them permanently out of the country as soon as possible. - -As for the spies, there is no question as to the treatment needed. They -should be shot or hung. They are public enemies and this is war-time -and they should no more be dealt with by the civil law than the enemy -armies should be so dealt with. The German spies and secret agents -and dynamiters and murderers in this country are as much a part of -Germany as the soldiers of von Hindenburg. Bismarck employed thirty -thousand of them to disorganize Germany’s foes fifty years ago, and -now Germany is employing them by the hundred thousand. They are as -formidable as the visible German army. It was these German Spies, -agents, and propagandists who, in 1917, disintegrated and destroyed -Russia, and inflicted a crushing disaster on Italy, and conducted the -most dangerous intrigue in France, and aided and abetted the British -pacifists. - -In this country Senator Overman has estimated their number at four -hundred thousand, and Mr. Flynn, the recently resigned chief of the -secret service, has put them at a quarter of a million. Our official -government reports have shown that in obedience to orders from the -German Government they have carried on in all hostile and even neutral -countries a systematic warfare by means of aiding pacifists’ movements, -inciting strikes, fomenting disloyalty, and employing direct action -dynamiters and murderers. They have received aid and coöperation, -conscientiously and unconscientiously, by many evils in pacifist -and Bolshevist societies and in organizations like the I.W.W. and -Non-Partisan League. - -The activities of the German spies, agents, and sympathizers vary from -mere disloyal utterances, which the Attorney-General of the United -States has stated to be the cause of most of the disorder in the -country, up to seeking to corrupt our soldiers and practicing sabotage -in our munitions works and factories for war materials. All offenders -of the latter type, wherever committed, can, under the existing law, -be tried by court-martial and executed, and this is the proper course -to follow. It was the course followed under Lincoln’s administration, -which is one of the reasons why Lincoln’s administration differed so -markedly from Buchanan’s. - -The former chief of the secret service says that there are a quarter -of a million of these German spies and agents in this country. We -have ample law to warrant these being punished with death by summary -court-martial, under military law as military enemies. We have been at -war eighteen months, but not one Spy has thus been punished. This means -grave remissness in the performance of our duty. - - - - -QUIT PLAYING FAVORITES - -SEPTEMBER 30, 1918 - - -It is announced that the young men of eighteen or nineteen included in -the draft will be sent free to college by the Government and will there -be given the chance to earn commissions and escape service in the ranks. - -Either this represents sheer deception or it will mean gross -favoritism. We now have plenty of young men who have been serving in -the ranks for nearly eighteen months. Scores of thousands of these left -college to go or had just finished high school when they went. All -these boys, whether they have or have not been to college, are entitled -to the first chance for commissions on equal terms with one another, -except that preference should be given those who have been engaged in -the fighting overseas. Almost all the second lieutenancies should now -be filled in this manner by promotion from the ranks. To give to boys -now about to enter college the preference over those who have actually -served in the ranks, and especially over those who have actually faced -death overseas, would be a cruel injustice. - -But the injustice would be equally great among the new recruits -themselves. It is wholly illusory for the Government to say it will -send to college all who wish to go. The average working-man or small -farmer has not had money enough to educate his son so that the boy can -now enter college without further training. Yet that boy may have in -him the qualities of leadership which especially fit him for command. -Such a working-man or farmer ought to wish, and does wish, that his -son be tested on his merits by actual service in the ranks, alongside -of all other boys, no favors being shown either him or them. For the -Government at this time to send some of these boys to college and thus -give them a start over the bulk of their fellows represents privilege -given to money and is thoroughly unfair. - -For the two years before we entered the war the only important piece -of preparedness was that of the men who at their own expense went to -the Plattsburg training camp established by General Wood, and when -Germany forced us into war it was imperatively necessary at once to -establish many additional camps of this kind or we should have had no -officers whatever for our army. It is still advisable to keep a few -training camps for older men whose age and qualifications especially -fit them for certain kinds of service. But it is not wise nor right for -the Government now to put certain especially favored classes of boys -of eighteen and nineteen into college with a view to giving them an -advantage over their fellows. This is undemocratic. It is not fair to -the other boys of their age who are not in the army. It is exceedingly -unfair and unjust to the young men who are already enlisted in the -army, and especially to those who have seen service overseas. - -From now on no young officer should be appointed saving after service -in the ranks out of which he is chosen by fair test in comparison with -his fellows as fit to enter an officers’ training camp. Moreover, -there should be a resolute effort to give preference to the men who -have served in the front in France, the very men who are now apt to be -neglected. - - - - -WAR AIMS AND PEACE PROPOSALS - -OCTOBER 12, 1918 - - -Our war aim ought to be unconditional surrender of Germany and of her -vassal allies, Austria and Turkey. We ought not to consider any peace -proposals from Germany until this war aim has been accomplished by the -victorious arms of our allies and ourselves. - -It is worthy of note that the Central Powers show a greedy eagerness to -accept the so-called “fourteen points” laid down by President Wilson. I -earnestly hope that when the time for discussing peace proposals comes, -we shall ourselves repudiate some of these fourteen points, and that we -shall insist on having all of them put into plain and straightforward -language before we assent to any of them. Let us remember that Congress -shares with the President the right to make treaties and that the -people are bound to insist that they, the people, are the ultimate -arbiters and that their will in the peace treaty is followed by both -the President and the Congress. - -For example, what does that one of the fourteen points referring to the -freedom of the seas mean? If it means what Germany interprets it to -mean, then every decent American ought to be against it. The kind of -freedom of the seas upon which it is really vital to count is freedom -from murder. International law at present condemns exactly the kind -of murder which Germany practiced in the case of the Lusitania and in -hundreds of other cases, and is still practicing. We ought to make her -atone heavily for such conduct and explicitly renounce it before we -ever discuss any other kind of freedom of the seas. - -Again, we ought to know just what the President means by freedom of -commercial intercourse. If he means that he proposes to allow Germany -to dump her manufactures on us without restriction, we ought to be -against it. We ought to insist on keeping in our hands the complete -right to handle our tariff as the vital interests of our own citizens, -and especially our own working-men, demand. - -Again, what is meant by the league of nations? If it means that -Germany, Austria, Turkey, and Russia, as at present constituted, are to -have the say-so about America’s future destiny, we ought to be against -it. They would treat any agreement with us as a scrap of paper wherever -it suited their interests, and we ought to realize this fact. Moreover, -we already belong to a _de facto_ league of nations which is a going -concern. Let us stand by our allies before entering into a league with -our enemies. Therefore, let us at once declare war on Turkey. Any such -league is of value only if all its members are willing to make war -on the same offenders, and the culpable failure of our Government to -make war on Turkey and Bulgaria makes it absurd and hypocritical for -us to promise to enter such a league in the future until this failure -is confessed and atoned for. And let us at once send Major-General -Wood and fifty thousand men to aid the Czecho-Slovaks in Siberia and -establish our front well to the west of the Ural Mountains. - -Again, the talk of merely giving autonomy to the subject races of -Austria amounts to betrayal of the Czecho-Slovaks, the Jugo-Slavs, -the Italians, and the Rumanians. The first should be given their -independence and the other three united to the nations with which they -really belong. Moreover, it is a betrayal of civilization to leave the -Turk in Europe and fail to free the Armenians and the other subject -races of Turkey. - -Again, let us define what is meant by abolishing secret diplomacy. If -it means that the Administration is to renounce the system of secret -and furtive diplomacy which it now perseveres in concerning what has -happened in Mexico, Haiti, and San Domingo, I heartily agree; but I -do not see why it needs an international mandate before it tells our -people the truth in these matters. Moreover, before it undertakes a -fresh agreement, let it explain why for two years it kept secret from -our people the full knowledge it had of Germany’s conduct and attitude -toward us, including all the matters set forth in Ambassador Gerard’s -books. The American Nation has never seen such secret diplomacy -practiced by its Government as it has seen during the last five years. - -It is evident, before these fourteen points are accepted as the basis -for peace discussion, they should be stated in such straightforward -language that we may understand what they mean. The prime necessities -at present are simplicity of language and the squaring of deeds with -words. The thing we do not need is adroit and supple rhetoric which can -be interpreted to mean anything or nothing. - - - - -PERMANENT PREPAREDNESS AND THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS - -OCTOBER 15, 1918 - - -The vital military need of this country as regards its future -international relations is the immediate adoption of the policy of -permanent preparedness based on universal training. This is its prime -duty from the standpoint of American nationalism and patriotism. Then, -as an addition or supplement to, but under no conditions as substitute -for, the policy of permanent preparedness, we can afford cautiously to -enter into and try out the policy of a league of nations. There is no -difficulty whatever in prattling cheerfully about such a league or in -winning applause by rhetoric concerning it prior to the effort to make -it work in practice; but there will be much difficulty in making it -work at all when any serious strain comes, and it will prove entirely -unworkable if the effort is made to unload upon it, in the name of -internationalism, duties which in the present state of the world will -be efficiently performed by the free nations only if they perform them -as national duties. - -In a recent adverse, but courteous and friendly article on my attitude -in this matter which appeared in a great daily paper, the following -language was used: “The colonel is letting himself be bothered, -irritated, and sidetracked by fools. There is no way of preventing -a fool from saying that he is in favor of the league of nations. -The American people will be making up their minds about the league -of nations and about permanent preparedness. They will be told by -certain sorts of pacifists that if they accept the league they can -safely reject preparedness. They will be told that the two ideas are -opposites.” - -The “certain sort of pacifist” who has made this statement to the -people of the United States is the President of the United States in -the now famous “fourteen points” which he enunciated last January. He -advocated as one part of his plan the league or association of nations, -as he has elsewhere advocated it, and he advocated as another part of -his plan “the guarantees that national armaments will be reduced to the -lowest point consistent with domestic safety.” Unless this language was -used with intent to deceive, domestic safety must mean merely freedom -from riot, and the President’s proposal is that America’s national -preparedness be limited to a police force to prevent domestic disorder. -Therefore, the President has told the American people that if they -accept the league they can safely reject preparedness. - -The President may change his mind, and I sincerely hope he will do so. -Until he does so it is the duty of every sincere American patriot to -lay far more emphasis on the onerous and indispensable duty of national -preparedness than on the wholly untested scheme of a league of nations, -which the President has presented as an alternative. I heartily favor -true internationalism as an addition to, but never as substitute for, a -fervid and intensely patriotic nationalism. I will gladly back any wise -and honest effort to create a league of nations, but only on condition -that it is treated as an addition to, and not as a substitute for, the -full preparedness of our own strength for our own defense. - - - - -HIGH-SOUNDING PHRASES OF MUDDY MEANING - -OCTOBER 17, 1918 - - -A keen observer of what is now happening in the world writes me that -there is very grave danger that this country will be cheated out of the -right kind of peace if our people remain fatuously content to accept -high-sounding phrases of muddy meaning, instead of clear-cut and -truthful statements of just what we demand and just what we intend to -do. - -The recent action of President Wilson in connection with Germany -has shown the imperative need of our people informing themselves of -his announced purpose and keeping track of what he does toward the -achievement of this purpose. Therefore, we should insist upon the -purpose being stated in understandable fashion and being adhered to -after it has been stated. This isn’t the President’s war. It is the -people’s war. The peace will not be a satisfactory peace unless it -is the people’s peace. As a people we have no right to permit the -President to commit us to that of which we do not approve or to that -which, after honest effort, we are unable to understand. - -President Wilson’s first communication to the German Government, if -words mean anything, meant an effort to treat on the basis of his -so-called “fourteen points.” The German Government answered that it -accepted these fourteen points and approved of them. This made them -public property, and it behooves the Americans to examine them. I -believe that such an examination will show the American people that -their meaning is so muddy that we should insist upon their being -clearly defined before we in any way accept them as ours. When the -peace terms come to be reduced to action, we cannot afford to accept -empty competitive rhetoric for straightforward plain dealing. - -As regards some of the points, either the meaning is so muddy as to -be wholly incomprehensible or else the proposals are very treacherous. -The fourth article, for example, proposes guarantees for the reduction -of national armaments to the lowest point consistent with domestic -safety. If this article means anything, it means that this Nation, for -instance, is only to keep whatever armed forces are necessary to police -the country in the event of domestic disturbance. Now, let our people -face what this really implies. It is a proposal that we give up our -navy, which, of course, cannot be used for such police purposes, and -that we give up all of our army that could be used against a foreign -foe. And according to point fourteen of his address to Congress of -January 8 last, and according to point three in his speech of September -27 last, this lack of armament on our part is to be supplied by mutual -guarantees of political independence and territorial integrity within -the league of nations covering the world. - -Now, such guarantees are precisely and exactly the scraps of paper to -which the German Chancellor likened them when his Government tore up -those affecting Belgium. The proposal of President Wilson is that this -country shall put itself in the position of Belgium; shall trust to -guarantees precisely such as those to which Belgium trusted four and -one quarter years ago, and he also proposes, as far as his meaning can -be made out at all, that the very powers that treated these guarantees -as scraps of paper in the case of Belgium shall be among the powers to -whose guarantee we are to trust to the exclusion of all preparation -for our own self-defense. All nations are to be asked to render -themselves helpless with fatuous indifference to the obvious fact that -every weak-minded nation which accepted and acted in the proposal would -be at the mercy of every ruthless and efficient nation that chose to -treat the proposal as a scrap of paper. - -I gravely doubt whether a more silly or more mischievous plan was ever -seriously proposed by the ruler of a great nation. Yet, this is exactly -the plan to which President Wilson, by his correspondence with Germany, -has sought definitely to commit the United States. If his words do not -mean exactly what is above set forth, then their meaning is so muddy -that no two disinterested outsiders would be warranted in interpreting -them the same way. - -There is small cause for wonder that Germany eagerly accepted and -made her own President Wilson’s fourteen points to which he, without -any warrant whatever, seemed to commit this Nation. Incidentally I -may add that Mr. Wilson has at different times enunciated at least as -many other points, some of them contradictory to the fourteen which he -enumerated in January last. The outburst of popular indignation led by -such men as Senators Lodge, Poindexter, and Thomas, which forced him -to repudiate the negotiations which he had begun with Germany, should -be supplemented by a resolute insistence upon the duty of the American -public to inform itself as to what it wishes in the peace before the -President, without authority, commits it to any peace proposal, and -above all to peace proposals which may mean anything or nothing. - -Secretary McAdoo, with fine family loyalty, announced that the -acceptance by Germany of the fourteen points would have meant Germany’s -unconditional surrender. He might as well have said that the acceptance -of disunion and the perpetuation of slavery in 1864 would have meant -a surrender by the Confederate states. Not only Germany, but every -pacifist and pro-German here at home, hailed the fourteen points as -representing what they desired. I recently spoke to a body of loyal -Americans of German descent on behalf of the Liberty Loan. A member of -their organization who was not a straight American, but a hyphenated -American, and who did not venture to do more than sign himself -as “German-American,” wrote me that in view of my repudiation of -President Wilson’s so-called fourteen points he could not, as a loyal -German-American, do otherwise than condemn me. The individual himself -is doubtless as unimportant as the anonymous letter writer usually -is, but there is a real significance in his endorsement of President -Wilson’s fourteen points in view of his calling himself so emphatically -not a straight-out American, but a German-American. Evidently his -loyalty is to Germanism and not to Americanism, and this German loyalty -of his made him back the President’s fourteen points, which Germany had -so gladly accepted. - -The American people should insist that these fourteen points and any -other points are stated in clear-cut language, and that there be a full -understanding of just what is meant by them and a full knowledge of how -far the American people approve of them before any foreign power is -permitted to think that they represent America’s position at the peace -council. - - - - -AN AMERICAN PEACE _VERSUS_ A RUBBER-STAMP PEACE - -OCTOBER 22, 1918 - - -In Wallace’s Farmer, a journal devoted to the interests of the farmer, -and also to the interests of every good American citizen, but which has -no concern with partisan politics, there is a strong editorial against -our acceptance of a peace on the terms of the famous fourteen points -laid down by President Wilson in his message of January last. It reads -in part as follows: - - Of course, Germany would like to make peace on the terms laid down - by President Wilson in his speech of January 8, for it would allow - Germany to escape the just penalty of her crimes and restore her to - her condition before the war. - -On the other hand, the leading Socialist paper of New York -enthusiastically champions the fourteen points, especially those -demanding a league of nations, freedom of the seas according to -the German party, and the removal of all economic barriers. This -championship is natural, for the Socialists, like the I.W.W. of this -country, who have been bitterly pro-German and anti-American, and -like the worst Russian Bolsheviks, have steadily worked in Germany’s -interests; and like all its professional internationalists they hate -the liberty-loving nations so bitterly that they are eagerly working -for peace satisfactory to the German autocracy. All such persons, -so far as they are not merely silly, seek their own profit in the -destruction of civilization, and they would hail an inconclusive peace, -which would mean the triumph of militarism, rather than see the free -nations triumphant over both militarism and anarchy. - -But in his last note to Austria, President Wilson himself flatly -repudiates one of his fourteen points--that relating to autonomy for -the Czecho-Slovaks and Jugo-Slavs under the Austro-Hungarian yoke. He -announces that he has changed his position because facts have changed, -but in reality the facts have not changed in even the smallest degree -between January and October so far as these two nationalities are -concerned. Many persons, including myself, had then been demanding for -over a year this complete independence. Nothing whatever has changed in -the situation except Mr. Wilson’s mind, and obviously this has changed -merely because the American people have gradually waked up and have -forced him in this matter to take a course diametrically opposed to -the one he had been advocating, precisely as a week ago an aroused and -indignant public opinion forced him to absolutely reverse the course -of negotiation on which he entered with Germany. The popular feeling -would have been inarticulate and helpless if it had not received -expression from various patriotic public servants and private citizens -and from those fearless newspapers, which, at the risk of grave -financial disaster, have ventured when the crisis was serious to defy -the sinister efforts of the Administration to do away with the freedom -of the press. Senators Lodge, Poindexter, and Thomas and Congressman -Fess are examples of the public servants, and Professor Hobbs, of the -University of Michigan, and Professor Thayer, of Harvard, are examples -of private citizens who have well served the people of the United -States in this crisis. - -Of course, the entire cuckoo or rubber-stamp tribe of politicians -tumbled over themselves in the effort to assure the President that no -matter what somersault he turned they would flop with equal quickness, -and that their responsibility was solely to him and not to the people -of the United States or to the cause of right and of fearlessness -and of honorable dealing. Senator Lewis, of Illinois, introduced a -resolution stating that “the United States Senate approves whatever -course may be taken by the President in dealing with the German -Imperial Government and the Austrian Imperial Government and endorses -and approves whatever methods he may employ.” Senator Lewis is, in -private life, an amiable and kindly gentleman, but the above resolution -is a somewhat abject announcement that in public life he aspires only -to be a rubber stamp. If such position is proper, then there is no -need of Senators or Congressmen, and our people should merely send -written proxies to Washington and should otherwise copy the example -of those big private corporations which are controlled by one man -according to his own will and for his own benefit. - -I do not believe that the American people will accept a view which -is both so abject and so profoundly unpatriotic. This is the war of -the American people and the peace which concludes it should be the -peace imposed by the American people. Therefore, they should send to -Washington public servants who will be self-respecting Americans and -not rubber stamps. - - - - -UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER - -OCTOBER 26, 1918 - - -When the American people speak for unconditional surrender, it means -that Germany must accept whatever terms the United States and its -allies think necessary in order to right the dreadful wrongs that have -been committed and to safeguard the world for at least a generation -to come from another attempt by Germany to secure world dominion. -Unconditional surrender is the reverse of a negotiated peace. The -interchange of notes, which has been going on between our Government -and the Governments of Germany and Austria during the last three weeks, -means, of course, if persisted in, a negotiated peace. It is the -abandonment of force and the substitution of negotiation. This fact -should be clearly and truthfully stated by our leaders, so that the -American people may decide with their eyes open which course they will -follow. - -Those of us who believe in unconditional surrender regard Germany’s -behavior during the last five years as having made her the outlaw among -nations. In private life sensible men and women do not negotiate with -an outlaw or grow sentimental about him, or ask for a peace with him -on terms of equality if he will give up his booty. Still less do they -propose to make a league with him for the future, and on the strength -of this league to abolish the sheriff and take the constable. On the -contrary, they expect the law officers to take him by force and to -have him tried and punished. They do not punish him out of revenge, -but because all intelligent persons know punishment to be necessary in -order to stop certain kinds of criminals from wrongdoing and to save -the community from such wrongdoing. - -We ought to treat Germany in precisely this manner. It is a sad -and dreadful thing to have to face some months or a year or so of -additional bloodshed, but it is a much worse thing to quit now and -have the children now growing up obliged to do the job all over again, -with ten times as much bloodshed and suffering, when their turn comes. -The surest way to secure a peace as lasting as that which followed the -downfall of Napoleon is to overthrow the Prussianized Germany of the -Hohenzollerns as Napoleon was overthrown. If we enter into a league -of peace with Germany and her vassal allies, we must expect them to -treat the arrangement as a scrap of paper whenever it becomes to their -interest to do so. - - - - -WHAT ARE THE FOURTEEN POINTS? - -OCTOBER 30, 1918 - - -The European nations have been told that the fourteen points enumerated -in President Wilson’s message of January last are to be the basis of -peace. It is, therefore, possible that Americans may like to know what -they are. It is even possible that they may like to guess what they -mean, although I am not certain that such guessing is permitted by the -Postmaster-General and the Attorney-General under the new theory of -making democracy safe for all kinds of peoples abroad who have never -heard of it by interpreting democracy at home as meaning that it is -unlawful for the people to express any except favorable opinions of -the way in which the public servants of the people transact the public -business. - -The first point forbids “all private international understandings of -any kind,” and says there must be “open covenants of peace, openly -arrived at,” and announces that “diplomacy shall always proceed -frankly in the public view.” The President has recently waged war on -Haiti and San Domingo and rendered democracy within these two small -former republics not merely unsafe, but non-existent. He has kept -all that he has done in the matter absolutely secret. If he means -what he says, he will at once announce what open covenant of peace he -has openly arrived at with these two little republics, which he has -deprived of their right of self-determination. He will also announce -what public international understanding, if any, he now has with these -two republics, whose soil he is at present occupying with the armed -forces of the United States and hundreds of whose citizens have been -killed by these armed forces. If he has no such public understanding, -he will tell us why, and whether he has any private international -understanding, or whether he invaded and conquered them and deprived -them of the right of self-determination without any attempt to reach -any understanding, either private or public. - -Moreover, he has just sent abroad on a diplomatic mission Mr. House, -of Texas. Mr. House is not in the public service of the Nation, but he -is in the private service of Mr. Wilson. He is usually called Colonel -House. In his official or semi-official biography, published in an -ardently admiring New York paper, it is explained that he was once -appointed colonel on a governor’s staff, but carried his dislike of -military ostentation to the point of giving his uniform to a negro -servant to wear on social occasions. This attitude of respect for the -uniform makes the President feel that he is peculiarly fit to negotiate -on behalf of our fighting men abroad for whom the uniform is sacred. -Associated with him is an editor of the New York World, which paper -has recently been busy in denouncing as foolish the demand made by so -many Americans for unconditional surrender by Germany. - -I do not doubt that these two gentlemen possess charming social -attributes and much private worth, but as they are sent over on a -diplomatic mission, presumably vitally affecting the whole country, and -as their instructions and purposes are shrouded in profound mystery, -it seems permissible to ask President Wilson why in this particular -instance diplomacy does not “proceed frankly in the public view”? - -This first one of the fourteen points offers such an illuminating -opportunity to test promise as to the future by performance in the -present that I have considered it at some length. The other thirteen -points and the subsequent points laid down as further requirements for -peace I shall briefly take up in another article. - - - - -FURTHER CONSIDERATION OF THE FOURTEEN POINTS - -OCTOBER 30, 1918 - - -The second in the fourteen points deals with freedom of the seas. It -makes no distinction between freeing the seas from murder like that -continually practiced by Germany and freeing them from blockade of -contraband merchandise, which is the practice of a right universally -enjoyed by belligerents, and at this moment practiced by the United -States. Either this proposal is meaningless or it is a mischievous -concession to Germany. - -The third point promises free trade among all the nations, unless -the words are designedly used to conceal President Wilson’s true -meaning. This would deny to our country the right to make a tariff -to protect its citizens, and especially its working-men, against -Germany or China or any other country. Apparently this is desired on -the ground that the incidental domestic disaster to this country will -prevent other countries from feeling hostile to us. The supposition is -foolish. England practiced free trade and yet Germany hated England -particularly, and Turkey practiced free trade without deserving or -obtaining friendship from any one except those who desired to exploit -her. - -The fourth point provides that this Nation, like every other, is to -reduce its armaments to the lowest limit consistent with domestic -safety. Either this is language deliberately used to deceive or else it -means that we are to scrap our army and navy and prevent riot by means -of a national constabulary, like the state constabulary of New York or -Pennsylvania. - -Point five proposes that colonial claims shall all be treated on the -same basis. Unless the language is deliberately used to deceive, -this means that we are to restore to our brutal enemy the colonies -taken by our allies while they were defending us from this enemy. The -proposition is probably meaningless. If it is not, it is monstrous. - -Point six deals with Russia. It probably means nothing, but if it means -anything, it provides that America shall share on equal terms with -other nations, including Germany, Austria, and Turkey, in giving Russia -assistance. The whole proposition would not be particularly out of -place in a college sophomore’s exercise in rhetoric. - -Point seven deals with Belgium and is entirely proper and commonplace. - -Point eight deals with Alsace-Lorraine and is couched in language -which betrays Mr. Wilson’s besetting sin--his inability to speak in -a straightforward manner. He may mean that Alsace and Lorraine must -be restored to France, in which case he is right. He may mean that a -plebiscite must be held, in which case he is playing Germany’s evil -game. - -Point nine deals with Italy, and is right. - -Point ten deals with the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and is so foolish -that even President Wilson has since abandoned it. - -Point eleven proposes that we, together with other nations, including -apparently Germany, Austria, and Hungary, shall guarantee justice in -the Balkan Peninsula. As this would also guarantee our being from -time to time engaged in war over matters in which we had no interest -whatever, it is worth while inquiring whether President Wilson proposes -that we wage these wars with the national constabulary to which he -desired to reduce our armed forces. - -Point twelve proposes to perpetuate the infamy of Turkish rule in -Europe, and as a sop to the conscience of humanity proposes to give the -subject races autonomy, a slippery word which in a case like this is -useful only for rhetorical purposes. - -Point thirteen proposes an independent Poland, which is right; and then -proposes that we guarantee its integrity in the event of future war, -which is preposterous unless we intend to become a military nation more -fit for overseas warfare than Germany is at present. - -Point fourteen proposes a general association of nations to guarantee -to great and small states alike political independence and territorial -integrity. It is dishonorable to make this proposition so long as -President Wilson continues to act as he is now acting in Haiti and -San Domingo. In its essence Mr. Wilson’s proposition for a league of -nations seems to be akin to the holy alliance of the nations of Europe -a century ago, which worked such mischief that the Monroe Doctrine was -called into being especially to combat it. If it is designed to do away -with nationalism, it will work nothing but mischief. If it is devised -in sane fashion as an addition to nationalism and as an addition to -preparing our own strength for our own defense, it may do a small -amount of good; but it will certainly accomplish nothing if more than a -moderate amount is attempted and probably the best first step would be -to make the existing league of the Allies a going concern. - -As to the supplementary points or proposals, the four advanced or laid -down in February were sound moral aphorisms of no value save as they -may be defined in each particular case. - -But the supplementary five proposals set forth by President Wilson -last September were, on the whole, mischievous and were capable of a -construction that would make them ruinous in their essence. They set -forth the doctrine that there must be no discrimination between our -friends and our enemies and no special economic or political alliances -among friendly nations, but uniform treatment of all the league of -nations; the said league, therefore, to include Germany, Austria, -Turkey, and Russia upon a footing of equality of our allies. Either -the words used mean nothing or they mean that we are to enter a league -in which we make-believe that our deadly enemies, stained with every -kind of brutality and treachery, are as worthy of friendship as the -Allies who have fought our battles for four years. No wonder that the -proposal is enthusiastically applauded by Germany, Austria, and Turkey -and by all our own pro-Germans and pacifists and Germanized Socialists -and anti-American internationalists. It is the kind of proposition -made by cold-blooded men who at least care nothing for the sufferings -of others. It is eagerly championed by foolish and hysterical -sentimentalists. It is accepted and used for sinister purposes by -powerful and cynical wrongdoers. When the President was making this -proposition and during the subsequent month Germany was committing -inhuman murders of the people on the Ticonderoga and Leinster at -sea, and on shore was committing every species of murder, rape, -enslavement, plunder, and outrage as her armies withdrew from France -and Belgium. - -President Wilson’s announcement was a notice to the malefactors that -they would not be punished for the murders. Let us treat the league of -nations only as an addition to, and not as a substitute for, thorough -preparedness and intense nationalism on our part. Let none of the -present international criminals be admitted until a sufficient number -of years has passed to make us sure it has repented. Make conduct the -test of admission to the league. In every crisis judge each nation by -its conduct. Therefore, at the present time let us stand by our friends -and against our enemies. - - - - -FOURTEEN SCRAPS OF PAPER - -OCTOBER 31, 1918 - - -In my article yesterday I discussed Mr. Wilson’s fourteen peace points -which had been accepted by Germany. After the article was sent in, Mr. -Wilson explained one of the points by stating that it meant exactly the -opposite of what it said. A New York paper has asked for the election -of a Congress that shall see eye to eye with Mr. Wilson. But only a -Congress of whirling dervishes could see eye to eye with Mr. Wilson for -more than twenty-four hours at a time. - -When Germany broke her treaty with Belgium, the German Chancellor -called it a scrap of paper. Any individual who proposes a treaty which -plainly means one thing, and then, as soon as he finds it disagreeable -to adhere to that obvious meaning, instantly interprets it as meaning -exactly the opposite, is treating it as a scrap of paper. Mr. Wilson’s -recent interpretation of what he meant in the point about economic -barriers makes all the fourteen points scraps of paper unworthy of -serious discussion by anybody, because no human being is supposed -to say what any one of them means or to do more than guess whether -to-morrow Mr. Wilson will not interpret each and all of them in a sense -exactly the opposite to their meaning. - -Mr. Wilson’s language in the point in question was that he intended -the removal “of all economic barriers and the establishment of an -equality of trade conditions among all the nations.” By no honest -construction of language can this be held to mean anything except that -this Nation, for example, could have no tariff of its own, but must -live under exactly the same tariff, or no tariff, conditions with all -other nations. But Mr. Wilson now notifies a Democratic Senator that he -did not mean any “restriction upon the free determination by any nation -of its own economic policy.” If he meant this, why did he not say -it? Why did he say the exact opposite? His first statement is wholly -incompatible with the interpretation he now puts on it. If anybody in -private life entered into a contract in such manner and then sought -to repudiate it by interpreting it in such manner, there is not a -court in Christendom that would not adjudge him guilty of having used -language with deliberate intent to deceive. - -Nor is this all. In his new interpretation of what he did not -originally mean, the President now says that he proposes to prevent -any nation, including the United States, from using its tariff to -discriminate in favor of friendly nations and against hostile nations. -This is what he now says and what he now means, but, of course, -to-morrow he may say that in this new interpretation he again meant -exactly the opposite of what he says. However this may be for the -future, President Wilson at this moment says, for instance, we ought -to abandon reciprocity treaties; that we ought to refuse to make such -treaties with our friends, such as Cuba and Brazil, and ought to punish -these friends by treating them on an exact equality with our embittered -and malevolent enemy, Germany. I hold this to be thoroughly mischievous -doctrine. - -The great scientist, Huxley, who loved truth and abhorred falsehood, -said that “the primary condition of honest literature is to leave the -reader in no doubt as to the author’s meaning.” Evidently this primary -condition is not fulfilled by Mr. Wilson’s fourteen points. They should -now be treated as scraps of paper and put where they belong, in the -scrap-basket. - - - - -THE TURKS SURRENDER UNCONDITIONALLY - -NOVEMBER 3, 1918 - - -The British have beaten Turkey to her knees and she has surrendered -unconditionally. America has no share in the honor of what has been -done. President Wilson, although we were at war with Germany, has -refused to aid our allies against Turkey and has preserved the same -cold neutrality between the Armenians and their Turkish butchers that -he formerly did between the Belgians and their German oppressors. - -Turkey had inflicted inhuman wrongs on the subject peoples and had -infringed our own treaty rights, but President Wilson refused to go to -war with her. Yet with our navy at the very outbreak of hostilities -and then with a considerable and constantly growing army, if we had -been willing we could have materially aided the British and French. In -such event Constantinople would doubtless have been taken long ago. -As it is, thanks to President Wilson, we Americans can only look on -and rejoice that others did better than our rulers let us do. We have -had no hand in the freeing of Palestine, Syria, and Armenia. Under the -great law of service and sacrifice it is the British and French alone -who have the moral right to determine the fate of Turkey. They, and -especially the British, have poured out their blood freely, and now, -after the victory has been gained, expenditure of ink on our part -is of mighty small consequence in comparison. I earnestly hope that -permanent justice will be done by expelling the Turk from Europe and -making all Armenia independent. But we have lost the right to insist on -these points. - -The beginning of the end came when, two or three weeks ago, Bulgaria -was forced to surrender unconditionally. Here again, thanks to -President Wilson, America had no part in the honor and credit of the -vital triumph. Our Government was still neutral about Bulgaria, still -too proud to fight either Turkey or Bulgaria, still hoping for peace -without victory over them. - -Now Turkey has surrendered and Austria has broken up. In the case of -Austria, after ten months’ unpardonable delay, we did finally go to -war, and we have a very small share in the great glory won by Italy and -the other Allies. - -The greatest contest was on the western front, and here the hundreds -of thousands of American troops engaged under Foch and Pershing have -shown such extraordinary gallantry and efficiency that we are all -forever their debtors. Nearly a month ago President Wilson entered -into negotiations with Germany which, if continued along the line -he started, might have caused disaster. Fortunately there was such -an outburst of protest in the country that our allies took part and -President Wilson himself took warning. President Wilson may still -serve as a channel of communication. But General Foch will be the -real master of the situation. The men with guns and not the men with -fountain pens will dictate the terms. - - - - -PEACE - -NOVEMBER 12, 1918 - - -Four years and a quarter have passed since Germany, by the invasion -of Belgium, began the World War and made it at the same time a war of -cynical treachery and of bestiality and of inhuman wrongdoing. Almost -from the beginning our governmental authorities were well informed -of the organized brutality with which it was waged and of the fact -that the Kaiser and the leading soldiers, politicians, and commercial -magnates of Germany had deliberately plunged the world into war because -they expected to profit by conquest, while the Socialist Party aided -and abetted them in the hope of sharing some of the profit. - -The rest of us ordinary Americans were successfully hoodwinked because -the facts were concealed from us. But gradually the truth leaked -through to us. First we learned that the stories of the atrocities were -true. Then, although not until much later, we found out that there was -ample proof that Germany had brought on the war to gratify her greed -for gold and her arrogant and conscienceless lust for world domination. -Finally we were permitted to learn that Germany intended to strike us -down as soon as she had made the free nations her victims. Now our -troops have played a manful part, a part not only heroic and efficient, -but also of decisive consequence in the final terrible struggle. - -It is not pleasant to think that the two first crushing blows in -bringing about the end, the overthrow of Bulgaria and the overthrow of -Turkey, were due in no way to us, but solely to our allies, England -and France. We never made war on either offending nation; we remained -neutral, and this exhibition of feeble diplomacy on our part made us -onlookers instead of partakers of the triumph. But with Austria, after -much hesitation and wabbling, we did finally go to war, and, although -our part was very small, we have a modest right to share the general -satisfaction over the victory. In the case of Germany, however, we -played a really great part, and although until the very end we were -unable to put on the fighting line any tanks or field guns or battle -planes, and relatively only a small number of machine guns and bombing -and observation planes, our soldiers themselves were probably on the -average the finest troops who fought in Europe. - -And now the German imperial military and capitalistic authority has -been beaten to its knees and forced to accept all the terms the Allies -have imposed upon it. The able and wicked men who thought to wade -through a sea of blood to world domination must now bow their heads -before the outside peoples whom they have so cruelly wronged and face -the sullen distrust and hostility of their own people, whom they misled -by promising them a share in the profits of successful guilt. Their -doom has come upon them. - -A little over a month ago the Administration embarked upon a career -of note-writing with Germany, which, if unchecked, might have meant a -peace of practical profit to Germany. But the feeling of the American -people, especially in the West, showed itself in such direct and -straightforward fashion that this effort was soon abandoned. Moreover, -at the recent election, the American people, with the issue squarely -before them, declared that they were the masters of their public -servants and not rubber stamps, and that this was the people’s war -and not the war of any one man or any one party, and that loyalty to -ourselves and our allies stood ahead of adherence to any man. Germany -has been beaten down abroad and at home. The pro-Germans and the -pacifists and the defeatists and the Germanized Socialists, and all the -crew who stand for any form of either Bolshevism or Kaiserism, have -been warned that they shall not betray this Nation. - - - - -SACRIFICE ON COLD ALTARS - -NOVEMBER 13, 1918 - - -A friend, a California woman, writes me that there is staying with -her a widow whose only son has been in the navy and has just died of -influenza, and that the mother said: - - I gave my boy proudly to my country. I never held him back, even in my - heart. But if only he had died with a gun in his hand--a little glory - for him and a thought for me that my sacrifice had not been useless. - -My correspondent continues: - - There must be so many mothers who feel that they have laid their - sacrifice on cold altars. You have written much that will comfort the - mothers whose sons have paid with their bodies in battle. Isn’t there - something you can say to help these other mothers? - -I felt a real pang when I received this letter, because the thought -suggested had been in my mind, and yet I had failed to express it. It -had happened that my own sons and nephews and young cousins and their -close friends were where death or wounds came to them on the field of -action. For example, on the day I received this letter we also got news -that the closest school and college and army friend of my son, Quentin, -who was killed, had himself just been killed. He was a man who had been -promoted for a series of hazardous and successful battles with German -airmen. He was as gentle and clean and lovable as a girl, yet terrible -in his battle, and no more high and fearless soul ever fronted death -joyously in the high heavens. My mind had, because of facts like this, -turned toward the deaths of the men on the firing line; and I regret -that I did not make it evident as I meant to make it, and but for this -oversight would have made it, that all who have given their lives -or the lives dearest to them in this war stand on an exact level of -service and sacrifice and honor and glory. - -The men who have died of pneumonia or fever in the hospitals, the men -who have been killed in accidents on the airplane training fields are -as much heroes as those who were killed at the front, and their shining -souls shall hereafter light up all to a clearer and greater view of the -duties of life. The war is over now. The time of frightful losses among -the men at the front and of heartbreaking anxiety for their mothers -and wives, their sisters and sweethearts at home has passed. No great -triumph is ever won save by the payment of the necessary cost. All of -us who have stayed at home and all the others who have returned safe -will, as long as life shall last, think of the men who died as having -purchased for us and for our children’s children, as long as this -country shall last, a heritage so precious that even their precious -blood was not too great a price to pay. Whether they fell in battle or -how they died matters not at all, and it matters not what they were -doing as long as, high of soul, they were doing their duty with all the -strength and fervor of their natures. - -The mother or the wife whose son or husband has died, whether in battle -or by fever or in the accident inevitable in hurriedly preparing a -modern army for war, must never feel that the sacrifice has been laid -“on a cold altar.” There is no gradation of honor among these gallant -men and no essential gradation of service. They all died that we might -live; our debt is to all of them, and we can pay it even personally -only by striving so to live as to bring a little nearer the day when -justice and mercy shall rule in our own homes and among the nations of -the world. - - - - -THE RED FLAG AND THE HUN PEACE DRIVE - -NOVEMBER 14, 1918 - - -The war is won. A twofold duty is now incumbent on us. We must strive -to make the peace one of justice and righteousness and to throw out -such safeguards around it as will give us the greatest possible chance -of permanency. Then we must turn to setting aright the affairs of our -own household. But before we set ourselves to the performance of these -two tasks we should thoroughly enlighten our enemies at home and abroad -on one or two points. - -Let all anti-Americans stand aside. Let them understand that we are not -merely against some enemies of the country--we are against all enemies -of the country. This week in New York there was a red flag of Anarchy -or Socialistic meeting which was the cause of a riot. It was perfectly -natural that it should be the cause of a riot. The red flag is as much -an enemy as the flag of the Hohenzollerns. The internationalist of the -red flag or black flag type is an enemy to this Nation just exactly -as much as Hindenburg or Ludendorff was an enemy only a week ago. He -is an even more treacherous enemy and equally brutal. Congress should -pass a law without waiting a day prohibiting the use of the red flag -or the black flag or any other flag of the kind here in America. We -have universal suffrage in America. The majority of our people can -have what they wish in the way of industrial and political change, if -they seriously desire it. There isn’t any excuse in this country for -any paltering with revolutionary movements. A riot is riot, without -reference to what the people rioting claim to be for. When a mob gets -started, it always acts the same way, no matter what the theoretical -cause of the outbreak may have been. A Bolshevist mob in New York in -all essentials resembles the anti-draft mob of 1863, although the -arguments of the parlor Bolsheviki of to-day would be totally different -from those of the constitutional copperheads of fifty-five years ago. - -When the Romanoffs were overthrown the Russian people lacked -self-control and they permitted the dominion of a Bolshevist gang, -which has brought wholesale robbery, murder, and starvation in -its trail. The overthrow of the Hohenzollerns in Germany has been -accompanied by Bolshevist uprising in that country also. There is some -excuse for excesses in a revolution against a despotism, but in this -country there is no more excuse for Bolshevism in any form than there -is for despotism itself. Any foreign-born man who parades with or backs -up a red flag or black flag organization ought to be instantly deported -to the country from which he came. Appropriate punishment should be -devised for the even more guilty native-born. - -Our National Government should take the most vigorous action and have -it understood that America is a bulwark of order no less than of -liberty. We must make it evident that we will stamp out Bolshevism -within our borders just as quickly as Kaiserism. - -Moreover, let us realize the nonsense of the pretense that the German -people have not been behind the German Government. They were behind -their Government with hearty enthusiasm until the Government was -smashed by the military powers of General Foch. The effort now being -made by the German Government to bring dissensions between the Allies -by appealing to the United States against the Allies proper should be -spurned by our Government. The French, English, Italians, and Belgians -have been fighting side by side with our men under Foch. They have -acted as comrades under Foch, and we could not have done anything if we -had not acted as comrades like the rest. Now let’s play the game when -the effort is made to divide us by the German peace drive. - -Senator Poindexter was entirely right in his proposed bill. The United -States must make absolutely common cause with the Allies. We regret -that the German and Russian people should suffer; the fault lies solely -with the past or present governments. To the very minute of the closing -of the war the hideous German brutalities continued unabated, and -apparently the Turks are still slaughtering Armenians. We will do our -best to help even our enemies now that they have been stricken down, -but we will not do so at the cost of doing injustice to our friends. -We will not permit Hun hypocrisy to succeed where Hun violence has -failed. And we are equally uncompromising foes of Bolshevism and -Kaiserism at home and abroad. - - - - -THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS - -NOVEMBER 17, 1918 - - -There are so many prior things to do and so much uncertainty as to the -form of agreement for permanently increasing the chances of peace that -it is difficult to do more than make a general statement as to what is -desirable and possibly feasible in the league of nations plan. It would -certainly be folly to discuss it overmuch until some of the existing -obstacles to peace are overcome. That such discussion may be not -futile, but mischievous, has been vividly shown in the last six weeks. -During the first week of October President Wilson and Germany agreed on -the famous fourteen points of Mr. Wilson’s as a basis for peace. But -this agreement amounted to nothing whatever except for a moment it gave -Germany the hope that she could escape disaster by a negotiated peace. -The emphatic protest of our own people caused this hope to vanish, and -just five weeks later peace came, not on Mr. Wilson’s fourteen points, -but on General Foch’s twenty-odd points, which had all the directness, -the straightforwardness, and the unequivocal clearness which the -fourteen points strikingly lacked. - -Nevertheless, it is well to begin considering now the things which -we think can be done and the things that we think cannot be done in -making a league of nations. In the first place, we ought to realize -that the population of the world clearly understands that in this -war they have been involved to a degree never hitherto known. In -consequence the horror of the war is very real, and people are at -least thinking of the need of coöperation with much greater fixity of -purpose and of understanding than ever before. Of course, fundamentally -war and peace are matters of the heart rather than of organization, -and any declaration or peace league which represents the high-flown -sentimentality of pacifists and doctrinaires will be worse than -useless; but if, without in the smallest degree sacrificing our belief -in a sound and intense national aim, we all join with the people of -England, France, and Italy and with the people in smaller states who -in practice show themselves able to steer equally clear of Bolshevism -and of Kaiserism, we may be able to make a real and much-needed advance -in the international organization. The United States cannot again -completely withdraw into its shell. We need not mix in all European -quarrels nor assume all spheres of interest everywhere to be ours, -but we ought to join with the other civilized nations of the world in -some scheme that in a time of great stress would offer a likelihood of -obtaining just settlements that will avert war. - -Therefore, in my judgment, the United States at the peace conference -ought to be able to coöperate effectively with the British and French -and Italian Governments to support a practical and effective plan -which won’t attempt the impossible, but which will represent a real -step forward. - -Probably the first essential would be to limit the league at the outset -to the Allies, to the peoples with whom we have been operating and with -whom we are certain we can coöperate in the future. Neither Turkey nor -Austria need now be considered as regards such a league, and we should -clearly understand that Bolshevist Russia is, and that Bolshevist -Germany would be, as undesirable in such a league as the Germany and -Russia of the Hohenzollerns and Romanoffs. Bolshevism is just as much -an international menace as Kaiserism. Until Germany and Russia have -proved by a course of conduct extending over years that they are -capable of entering such a league in good faith, so that we can count -upon their fulfilling their duties in it, it would be merely foolish to -take them in. - -The league, therefore, would have to be based on the combination -among the Allies of the present war--together with any peoples like -the Czecho-Slovaks, who have shown that they are fully entitled to -enter into such a league if they desire to do so. Each nation should -absolutely reserve to itself its right to establish its own tariff and -general economic policy, and absolutely ought to control such vital -questions as immigration and citizenship and the form of government it -prefers. Then it would probably be best for certain spheres of interest -to be reserved to each nation or a group of nations. - -The northernmost portion of South America and Mexico and Central -America, all of them fronting on the Panama Canal, have a special -interest to the United States, more interest than they can have for -any European or Asiatic power. The general conduct of Eastern Asiatic -policy bears a most close relationship to Japan. The same thing is -true as regards other nations and certain of the peculiarly African -and European questions. Everything outside of what is thus reserved, -which affects any two members of the league or affects one member of -the league and outsiders, should be decided by some species of court, -and all the people of the league should guarantee to use their whole -strength in enforcing the decision. - -This, of course, means that all the free peoples must keep reasonably -prepared for defense and for helping well-behaved nations against the -nations or hordes which represent despotism, barbarism, and anarchy. -As far as the United States is concerned, I believe we should keep our -navy to the highest possible point of efficiency and have it second in -size to that of Great Britain alone, and we should then have universal -obligatory military training for all our young men for a period of, -say, nine months during some one year between the ages of nineteen and -twenty-three inclusive. This would not represent militarism, but an -antidote against militarism. It would not represent a great expense. On -the contrary, it would mean to give to every citizen of our country an -education which would fit him to do his work as a citizen as no other -type of education could. - -There are some nations with which there would not be the slightest -difficulty in going much further than this. The time has now come when -it would be perfectly safe to enter into universal arbitration treaties -with the British Empire, for example, reserving such rights only as -Australia and Canada themselves would reserve inside the British -Empire; but there are a number of outside peoples with whom it would -not be safe to go much further than above outlined. If we only made -this one kind of agreement, we could keep it, and we should make no -agreement that we would not and could not keep. More essential than -anything else is it for us to remember that in matters of this kind -an ounce of practical performance is worth a ton of windy rhetorical -promises. - - - - -AN AMERICAN CONGRESS - -NOVEMBER 18, 1918 - - -The election of a Republican Congress a fortnight ago was first and -foremost a victory for straight Americanism. To the Republican Party -it represents not so much a victory as an opportunity. To the American -people, including not only Republicans and independents, but all -patriotic Democrats who put loyalty to the Nation above servility to -a political leader, the victory was primarily won for straight-out -Americanism. A very important feature to remember is that this victory -was won in the West. On the whole, the East also showed gains, but -the greatest gains were in the West. The South, of course, and most -unfortunately, never permits its political or patriotic convictions to -alter the result at the ballot box. - -Now the Westerners, the strong, masterful, self-reliant men who won -such exacting victories in Kansas, Minnesota, Colorado, Wyoming, and -South Dakota, are just as opposed to what may be called Kaiserism in -our political and industrial life as they are to Bolshevism. I firmly -believe that this is true of the rank and file of the Republican Party -everywhere. They haven’t the slightest patience with Townleyism in -agricultural districts or I.W.W.-ism in labor circles. But resolutely -they intend to shape our internal policy for the real substantial -benefit of the average man, of the ninety per cent of our people -who are farmers, working-men, small shopkeepers, doctors, and the -like. They haven’t the slightest patience with the Bolshevist desire -to establish proletariat class tyranny, which is just as odious as -aristocratic class tyranny. They haven’t the slightest patience in -persecution of, or failure generously to reward, the man who by nature -or by training is a leader in industrial matters. They want to see -farming, for instance, offer a chance to the man of ability to become a -scientific farmer on a large scale. They wish to see the young business -man whose leadership in manufactures or commerce is of incalculable -worth to everybody receive in generous fashion the big reward to which -he is entitled. - -But they wish to do all this as an incident to securing not only -this right to, but a much better chance for, the average man. They -wish the tenant farmer class to be made a diminishing instead of an -increasing class so that tenant farming itself may not be a permanent -status, but a step toward farm ownership by the hired man or the -son of the small farm owner. They wish to see the working-man, and -especially the working-man in such huge businesses as those connected -with transportation, steel production, mining, and the like, become -not a mere cog in an industrial machine, but a man whose self-respect -and reasonable prosperity are guaranteed if the business succeeds, -and he is entitled through representation on the directory to have -his voice heard at the council board of the business, even although -at first and until the ability to use power is slowly developed by -the habit of using it, the control may have to do primarily with the -things of which he has special knowledge and in which he has special -interest. Moreover, there are plenty of great natural resources, such -as water power, where small ownership cannot provide capital for the -development, but where the outright ownership of the people should not -be disposed of. The happy line must be struck between the all-pervading -straight regimentation, which would be as deadening as paralysis, and -the regimentation of mere individualism. The Government must exercise -control in a spirit of justice to all concerned and with a stern -readiness to check injustice by any of those concerned. - -The Republican leadership in Congress has on the whole been singularly -patriotic and singularly free from the vice of mere partisanship during -the lifetime of the present Congress. We can be certain that it will -continue to be so in the new Congress. In the future as in the past -the President can count on the hearty and ungrudging support of the -Republican Party at every point where he is endeavoring efficiently -and in good faith to serve the interests of the Nation. But he can -also rest assured that the Republican Party will judge its duty by -the standard of loyalty to the country and will scornfully refuse -to adopt that extreme baseness of attitude, worthy only of slaves, -which shrieks that we must stand by the Administration whether the -Administration is right or wrong. Moreover, the Republican Party will -certainly demand to have an accounting of some of the enormous sums of -money that have been expended and will in due time doubtless demand -to know what explanation there is of the Administration’s persistence -in hidden and secret diplomacy in so many important matters. Every -question will be approached from the standpoint of a generous desire, -without any higgling or dealing on small points, to do whatever the -Administration demands that is proper and to give it a full chance to -declare, and perhaps develop, its policy; but the Republican Congress -will understand how to show that it is not a rubber-stamp body, but an -integral and self-respecting part of the American governmental system, -wholly and solely responsible to the American people. - - - - -THE FREEDOM OF THE SEAS AND THE ENSLAVEMENT OF MANKIND - -NOVEMBER 22, 1918 - - -The surest way to kill a great cause is to reduce it to a hard-and-fast -formula and insist upon the application of the formula without regard -to actual existing conditions. - -It is announced in the press that the President is going to the Peace -Conference especially to insist, among other things, on that one of his -fourteen points dealing with the so-called “freedom of the seas.” The -President’s position in the matter is, of course, eagerly championed by -Germany, as it has been Germany’s special position throughout the war. -It is, of course, eagerly championed by the New York World, the Hearst -papers, and all the rubber-stamp gentry. It is antagonized by England -and France and by every anti-German in America who understands the -situation. - -It is utterly impossible, in view of the immense rapidity of the change -in modern war conditions, to formulate abstract policies about such -matters as contraband and blockades. These policies must be actually -tested in order to see how they work. Both England and the United -States have reversed themselves in this matter on several different -occasions. This is interesting as a matter of history, but from no -other standpoint. If we are honorable and intelligent we will follow -the course in this matter which, under existing conditions at this -time, seems most likely to work justice in the immediate future. - -Germany’s position was that England had no right to blockade her so as -to cut off her supplies from the outside world. President Wilson at -the time accepted this view and talked a good deal about the freedom -of the seas. Meanwhile Germany, through her submarines, began an -unprecedented course of wholesale murder on the seas. President Wilson -protested against this in language much more apologetic and tender than -he had used in protesting against Great Britain blockading Germany in -what was essentially the same manner in which we blockaded the South -during the Civil War. He put the dollar above the man and incidentally -above the women and the children. He protested more vigorously upon the -interference with American goods than against the taking of American -lives. - -Then we finally went to war with Germany ourselves. We instantly -adopted toward Germany and toward neutrals like Holland exactly the -position which President Wilson had been denouncing England for -adopting toward Germany and toward us. Our action in this case was -quite right, whereas our protest against England’s action had been -entirely wrong. - -President Wilson now proposes to accept the German view and provide a -system which, if it had been in existence in 1914, would have meant -the inevitable and rapid triumph of Germany. - -If this particular one of the proposed fourteen points had been in -treaty form and had been lived up to in 1914, Germany would have had -free access to the outside world. England’s fleet would not have -enabled her to bring economic pressure to bear upon Germany and -doubtless Germany would have won an overwhelming victory within a -couple of years. Therefore Mr. Wilson’s proposal is that now, when -no human being can foretell whether Germany will feel chastened and -morally changed, we shall take steps which will mean that if the war -has to be fought over again, Germany’s triumph will have been secured -in advance so far as we are able to secure it. All such conditions, all -merely academic questions as to the attitude of America or of England -before the outbreak of the Great War, are insignificant. Whatever our -views prior to the Great War, we are fools, indeed, if we have not -learned the lessons these last four and a half terrible years have -taught. The freedom of the seas in the sense used by Germany and Mr. -Wilson would have meant the enslavement of mankind to Germany. It -would have meant that this country would at this time either be lying -prostrate under the feet of German invaders or be purchasing peace by -ransoms heavier than were paid by Belgium. No patriotic American has -the right to stand quiet and see the President of the country, without -any warrant from the country, try to bring upon us such outrageous -potentiality and disaster as would be implied in the general -international adoption of the so-called “freedom of the seas.” Such -freedom of the seas means the enslavement of mankind. - - - - -PRESIDENT WILSON AND THE PEACE CONFERENCE - -NOVEMBER 26, 1918 - - -No public end of any kind will be served by President Wilson’s going -with Mr. Creel, Mr. House, and his other personal friends to the -Peace Conference. Inasmuch as the circumstances of his going are so -extraordinary, and as there is some possibility of mischief to this -country as a result, there are certain facts which should be set forth -so clearly that there can be no possibility of misunderstanding either -by our own people, by our allies, or by our beaten enemies, or by Mr. -Wilson himself. - -Ten days before election Mr. Wilson issued an appeal to the American -people in which he frankly abandoned the position of President of the -whole people; assumed the position, not merely of party leader, but -of party dictator, and appealed to the voters as such. Most of Mr. -Wilson’s utterances on public questions have been susceptible to at -least two conflicting interpretations. But on this question he made the -issue absolutely clear. He asked that the people return a Democratic -majority to both the Senate and the House of Representatives. He -stated that the Republican leaders were pro-war, but that they were -anti-Administration. His appeal was not merely against any Republican -being elected, but against any Democrat who wished to retain his -conscience in his own keeping. He declared himself explicitly -against the pro-war Republicans. He declared explicitly for all -pro-Administration Democrats, without any reference as to whether -they were pro-war or anti-war. He said that if the people approved of -his leadership and wished him to continue to be their “unembarrassed -spokesman in affairs at home and abroad, they must return a Democratic -majority to both the Senate and the House of Representatives.” He -explicitly stated that on the other side of the water the return of a -Republican majority to either House of Congress would be interpreted -as a repudiation of his leadership, and informed his fellow countrymen -that to elect a Democratic majority in Congress was the only way to -sustain him, Mr. Wilson. - -The issue was perfectly, clearly drawn. The Republican Party was -pro-war and anti-Administration, the Democratic Party was officially -pro-Administration without any mind or conscience of its own and -pro-war or anti-war according to the way in which Mr. Wilson changed -his mind overnight or between dawn and sunset. The Americans refused to -sustain Mr. Wilson. They elected a heavily Republican House and to the -surprise of every one carried a majority in the Senate. On Mr. Wilson’s -own say-so they repudiated his leadership. In no other free country in -the world to-day would Mr. Wilson be in office. He would simply be a -private citizen like the rest of us. - -Under these circumstances our allies and our enemies, and Mr. Wilson -himself, should all understand that Mr. Wilson has no authority -whatever to speak for the American people at this time. His leadership -has just been emphatically repudiated by them. The newly elected -Congress comes far nearer than Mr. Wilson to having a right to speak -the purposes of the American people at this moment. Mr. Wilson and -his fourteen points and his four supplementary points and his five -complementary points and all his utterances every which way have ceased -to have any shadow of right to be accepted as expressive of the will -of the American people. He is President of the United States, he is -part of the treaty-making power, but he is only part. If he acts in -good faith to the American people, he will not claim on the other -side of the water any representative capacity in himself to speak for -the American people. He will say frankly that his personal leadership -has been repudiated and that he now has merely the divided official -leadership which he shares with the Senate. If he will in good faith -act in this way all good citizens in good faith will support him, just -as they will support the Senate under similar circumstances. - -But there isn’t the slightest indication that he intends so to act. -The most striking manifestation of his purpose is that he sent over -Mr. Creel and sixteen of his employees who are officially announced -as “the United States official press mission to the Peace Conference,” -and, with more self-satisfaction, the committee announces, “to -interpret the work of the Peace Conference by keeping up world-wide -propaganda to disseminate American accomplishments and American -ideals.” At the same time Mr. Burleson seized the cables after the war -is over and when there can be no possible object except to control -the news in the interest of President Wilson as Mr. Burleson and Mr. -Creel see that interest. The action of the Creel “official press” would -really seem more like an excessively bad joke if it weren’t so serious. -But during the war the Administration, often incompetent to the verge -of impudence in dealing with war problems and with the Hun within our -gates, showed itself a past-master in bullying, browbeating, deceiving, -and puzzling our own people. It is utterly impossible that the Creel -“official press” and the Burleson-owned cables can have any other real -purpose than to make the news sent out from the Peace Conference, both -to ourselves, our allies, and our enemies, what they desire to have -told from their own standpoint and nothing more. - -This is a very grave offense against our own people, but it may be a -worse offense against both our allies and ourselves. America played -in the closing months of the war a gallant part, but not in any way -the leading part, and she played this part only by acting in strictest -agreement with our allies and under the joint high command. She should -take precisely the same attitude at the Peace Conference. We have lost -in this war about two hundred and thirty-six thousand men killed and -wounded. England and France have lost about seven million. Italy and -Belgium and the other Allies have doubtless lost three million more. -Of the terrible sacrifice which has enabled the Allies to win the -victory, America has contributed just about two per cent. At the end, -I personally believe that our intervention was decisive because the -combatants were so equally matched and were so weakened by the terrible -strain that our money and our enthusiasm and the million fighting -men whom we got to the front, even although armed substantially with -nothing but French field cannon, tanks, machine guns, and airplanes, -was decisive in the scale. But we could render this decisive aid only -because for four years the Allies, in keeping Germany from conquering -their own countries, had incidentally kept her from conquering ours. - -It is our business to act with our allies and to show an undivided -front with them against any move of our late enemies. I am no Utopian. -I understand entirely that there can be shifting alliances, I -understand entirely that twenty years hence or thirty years hence we -don’t know what combination we may have to face, and for this reason -I wish to see us preparing our own strength in advance and trust to -nothing but our own strength for our own self-defense as our permanent -policy. But in the present war we have won only by standing shoulder -to shoulder with our allies and presenting an undivided front to the -enemy. It is our business to show the same loyalty and good faith at -the Peace Conference. Let it be clearly understood that the American -people absolutely stand behind France, England, Italy, Belgium, and the -other Allies at the Peace Conference, just as she has stood with them -during the last eighteen months of war. Let every difference of opinion -be settled among the Allies themselves and then let them impose their -common will on the nations responsible for the hideous disaster which -has almost wrecked mankind. - - - - -THE LEAGUE TO ENFORCE PEACE - -DECEMBER 2, 1918 - - -Ex-Ambassador Harry White is a capital appointee for the Peace -Commission. He is not a Republican, but an independent in politics who -has worked as closely with Mr. Cleveland and Mr. Olney as with Mr. -McKinley and Mr. Root. - -It is a good thing to have him on in view of the exceedingly loose talk -about the League of Nations or League to Enforce Peace. Fortunately -Mr. Taft has set forth the proposal for such a league under existing -conditions with such wisdom in refusing to let adherence to the -principle be clouded by insistence upon improper or unimportant methods -of enforcement that we can speak of the League as a practical matter. -I think that most of our people are in favor of the establishment of -the principle of such a league under common-sense conditions which will -not attempt too much and thereby expose the movement to the absolute -certainty of ridicule and failure. There must be an honest effort -to eliminate some of the causes that may produce future wars and to -minimize the area of such wars. - -Mr. Taft explicitly admits and insists that the League is to be a -supplement to, and in no sense a substitute for, the duty of our Nation -to prepare its own strength for its own defense. He also explicitly -provides that, among the various peoples who would not be admitted to -the League on an equality with the others, there shall be different -spheres of interest assumed by the different powers who have entered -into the League. For example, the affairs of hither Asia, the Balkan -Peninsula, and of North Africa are of prime concern to the powers of -Europe, and the United States should be under no covenant to go to -war about matters in which its people have no concern and probably -no intelligent interest. On the other hand, the Monroe Doctrine--at -least for all America between the equator and the southern boundary of -the United States--is a vital point of American policy, and must in -no shape or way be interfered with. We do not interfere with existing -conditions, but aside from these no European or Asiatic power is to -have any say-so in the future of Mexico, Central America, and the lands -whose coasts are washed by the Caribbean Sea. The Panama Canal must not -be internationalized. It is our canal; we built it; we fortified it, -and we will protect it, and we will not permit our enemies to use it in -war. In time of peace all nations shall use it alike, but in time of -war our interest at once becomes dominant. - -Most wisely Mr. Taft’s plan reserves for each nation certain matters -of such vital national interest that they cannot be put before any -international tribunal. This country must settle its own tariff and -industrial policies, and the question of admitting immigrants to work -or to citizenship, and all similar matters, the exercise of which was -claimed as a right when in 1776 we became an independent Nation. We -will not surrender our independence to a league of nations any more -than to a single nation. Moreover, no international court must be -entrusted with the decision of what is and what is not justiciable. - -In the articles of agreement the non-justiciable matters should be as -sharply defined as possible, and until some better plan can be devised, -the Nation itself must reserve to itself the right, as each case -arises, to say what these matters are. - -But let us steadily remember that before dealing with schemes such as -the League of Nations, which are necessarily more or less visionary, -we must join in good faith with our allies in securing practical right -and justice at the Peace Conference. We should treat as an enemy to -this country every man who at this time seeks directly or indirectly -to stir up dissension between us and England or France, or any other -of our allies. Side by side we have fought against the hideous twin -terrors of Bolshevism and Kaiserism and we must stand undivided at the -Peace Conference. What the distant future may hold no man can say, and -this is the very reason why I insist that America must prepare its own -strength for its own defense. But our duty at the moment is clear. We -have fought the war through beside the Allies and we must stand with -them with hearty loyalty throughout the peace negotiations. There must -be no division in the face of our enemies. At the very close of the war -we played an honorable and probably decisive part, but we were enabled -to do so only because for the four preceding years England and France -and their associates in defending their own rights had also saved us -from destruction. Our sacrifice is infinitesimal compared to theirs. -We have had a quarter of a million men killed and wounded; England -has had over three million, France nearly four million, and the other -Allies during their time of warfare against the common foe suffered in -proportion. Our loss has been no more than one or two per cent of the -entire loss suffered by the Allied armies and navies. - -The immediate cause of bringing the war to an end was the forcing of -unconditional surrender upon Bulgaria and Turkey, with whom we had -shamefully refused to go to war at all. The English navy protected us -exactly as it protected Britain. Under such circumstances it behooves -us to remember that while we at the very end did our duty, yet that -our comrades in arms for over four years performed incalculable feats -and suffered incalculable losses and won the right of gratitude of all -mankind. The American envoys must not sit at the peace table as umpires -between the Allies and the conquered Central Powers, but as loyal -brothers of the Allies, as loyal members of the league of free peoples, -which has brought about peace by overthrowing Turkey, Bulgaria, and -Austria, and beating Germany to her knees. - - - - -THE MEN WHOSE LOT HAS BEEN HARDEST - -DECEMBER 8, 1918 - - -There recently died of pneumonia in France Major Willard Straight, of -the American army. He was above the draft age, he was a man of large -and many interests, he had a wife and three children. There was every -excuse for him not to have gone to the front, but both he and his wife -had in their souls that touch of heroism which makes it impossible for -generous natures to see others pay with their bodies and not to wish -to do so themselves. The one regret that Major Straight felt--and he -felt it most bitterly--was that he had not been able in spite of all -his efforts to get to the actual firing front. This failure was really -a cause of great anguish of soul to him. In the same way I know of the -four sons of an ex-Cabinet officer, all of whom instantly went into -the army at the outbreak of the war. Two were at the fighting front, -one was in the navy, and the other, because of the special excellence -as an instructor, was kept here, and the gallant young fellow who -left his wife and baby to enlist really feels as if the refusal of -the War Department to permit him to go where he could be shot at had -caused a blight in his life. I know three other men who, because of -their excellence, were kept as instructors at one of our camps, whose -feelings of regret are so bitter that they can hardly bear to look at -their uniforms and the sight of wounded soldiers causes them agonies of -thwarted longing. - -All this is most natural, and just what we should expect from -high-minded, gallant fellows. But it is entirely unwarranted. I utterly -abhor the swivel-chair slacker who got some safe job in order to avoid -doing his duty at the front. But for the hundreds of thousands of -young Americans in the ranks or with commissions who did everything -they could to get in the firing lines, and who through no fault of -theirs failed, I have precisely the same feeling that I have for the -men who took part in the most dangerous work. General Leonard Wood, -in his recent capital address, has taught the right lesson to these -men. He was dismissing to their homes the men whom he had trained -with his usual, extraordinary capacity to fit them for work overseas, -and he dwelt to them upon the fact that the all-important point was -that they should remember that it was not the position they achieved, -but the eager readiness to do duty in whatever position they were -given that really counted. General Wood has himself been treated -with the most cruel injustice in this war, yet he has rendered signal -service in bringing before Congress our military needs, and, above -all, in training scores of thousands of our best fighting men. When -he was denied, from the very meanest motives, the chance to fill a -distinguished position, instead of sulking he devoted all of his -energy to doing the best he could in the positions to which he was -assigned. In consequence he comes out of the war as one of those who -most materially helped to win it. What is true of him in a big place -is true of every other soldier, whether in a big or little place. The -hardest task was for the men who were denied the chance of glory, and -if they did this hard task well and served faithfully wherever they -were assigned, they have exactly the same right for pride in their -participation in the Great War as any of the gallant fellows who have -come back maimed or crippled from the front. All alike have made the -rest of us forever their debtors, and to all alike we pay the same meed -of loyal admiration and respect. - - - - -THE BRITISH NAVY, THE FRENCH ARMY, AND AMERICAN COMMON SENSE - -DECEMBER 17, 1918 - - -The first essential in an alliance is loyalty. The first effort of an -enemy to an alliance is to produce disloyalty to one another among the -Allies. To any man who knows anything of history these facts are of -bromidic triteness. But the Administration, as usual, stands in urgent -need of learning the elements of fair play and common sense. - -It was announced from the peace ship that President Wilson was going -to work for the reduction of naval armaments and for a form of naval -agreement which, if it had existed four years ago, would have meant -Germany’s victory and the subjugation of not only Germany’s foes, -but of all neutrals like ourselves. At the same time over here the -representatives of the Administration are demanding a navy bigger than -that of Great Britain. The only possible interpretation of these facts -is that the Administration proposes to threaten Great Britain with -having to get in a neck-and-neck competition with America to build the -greatest navy in the world, and to do this as a bluff so as to make for -Great Britain’s adherence to Mr. Wilson’s exceedingly nebulous ideas. - -Under these conditions the American people should, with common sense, -look at what their own needs are and at what the needs of their -allies are. Sooner or later any programme will have to be tested by -its results, and even if the United States started to emulate Great -Britain’s navy, the enthusiasm to do so would vanish when it appeared -that there was no earthly interest of ours to be served by the action. - -In winning the present war very many instrumentalities have been -necessary. On the whole the four most important in their order have -been: (1) the French army; (2) the British navy; (3) the British army; -(4) the Italian army. Our own gallant army and navy did exceedingly -well, but came in so late that the part they played, taking the four -and a half years as a whole, does not entitle them to rank with the -instrumentalities given above. - -Great Britain is an island, separated from the huge military -commonwealths of Europe by very narrow seas, and separated from her -own greatest colonies by all the greatest oceans. To her, supremacy -in the navy is a matter of life and death. America ought to have a -first-class navy, but if she did not have a ship she might yet secure -herself from any invasion. But Great Britain’s empire would not last -one week, and she could not make herself safe at home one week if her -navy lost its supremacy. Incidentally to saving herself, the British -navy has rendered incalculable service to us during the last four and -one-half years, and for the last thirty years has been a shield to -the United States. Great Britain is not a military power in the sense -that any of the nations of continental Europe, or indeed of Asia, are -military powers. She had almost as much difficulty in developing her -army in this war as we had in developing our army. Her army is no more -of a threat to other peoples than ours is. Therefore, we Americans -find ourselves, as regards the British navy, in this position, that it -is of vital consequence to Great Britain to have the greatest navy in -the world; it is emphatically not of any consequence to us to have as -big a navy as Great Britain, for we are not in the slightest danger -from Great Britain, and under all ordinary circumstances the British -navy can be counted upon as a help to the United States and never as -a menace. Under such circumstances to set ourselves to work to build -a navy in rivalry to Great Britain’s, and above all to do this as a -political bluff, is worse than silly. - -Our own navy should be ample to protect our own coasts and to maintain -the Monroe Doctrine. There are in Europe and Asia several great -military commonwealths, each one of which will in all probability -always possess a far more formidable army than ours, even though, as -I earnestly hope, we adopt some development of universal military -training on the lines of the Swiss system. Therefore, it is of the -highest consequence that our navy should be second to that of Great -Britain. - -The analogy with the case of the French army is complete. If the French -army had not been able to hold the German army and be the chief factor -in the German military overthrow, the British navy could not have -averted Germany’s complete victory. Great Britain is separated by the -narrow seas from the military powers of continental Europe. We are -separated from them by the width of the ocean. Under the circumstances, -it is sheer impertinence for either American or English statesmen -to tell France, or, for that matter Italy, what ought to be done in -abolishing armaments or abandoning universal service or anything of -the kind. The interest of France and Italy in the matter is vital. -The interest of England and America is partly secondary. If we have -well-thought-out arguments to put before the French, put them before -them, but treat France as having the vital interest in the matter, and -therefore the final say-so as far as we are concerned. And when France -has determined what the needs of the future demand, so far as her -military preparedness is concerned, and when Italy has made a similar -determination, and our other allies likewise, back them up. It is not -the business of America to tell Great Britain what she should do with -her navy. It is not the business of either America or England to tell -France what she should do with her army. The plain American common -sense of the situation is that we should recognize our immense debt -to the British navy and the French army, and stand by Britain in what -she decides her vital needs demand so far as her navy is concerned, -and stand by France in the position she takes as to what the situation -demands so far as her army is concerned. - - - - -LET US HAVE STRAIGHTFORWARD SPEAKING - -DECEMBER 24, 1918 - - -Senator Lodge in his admirable speech has given the reasons why at -least five of the famous fourteen points should not be considered in -the peace negotiations proper. But the special merit of Senator Lodge’s -statement lies in the fact that it is straightforward and clear. There -is no need of a key to find out what he means. The men who represent, -or assume to represent, the United States at the Peace Conference, -should be equally clear with our allies and our enemies and also with -the American people. Above all things we need some straightforward -statement as to just what is proposed and as to just why it is proposed. - -Take, for example, the very extraordinary conflict between that one -of the fourteen points in which the Administration has demanded -practically complete disarmament and the action of the Administration -at the same moment demanding that we shall build the biggest navy in -the world. Either one course or the other must necessarily be improper. -In such a matter we especially need a straightforward statement of -reasons and principles. - -The worst thing we could do would be to build a spite navy, a navy -built not to meet our own needs, but to spite some one else. I am -speaking purely as an American. No man in this country who is both -intelligent or informed has the slightest fear that Great Britain will -ever invade us or try to go to war with us. The British navy is not in -the slightest degree a menace to us. I can go a little further than -this. There is in Great Britain a large pacifist and defeatist party -which behaves exactly like our own pacifists, pro-Germans, Germanized -Socialists, defeatists, and Bolsheviki. If this party had its way and -Great Britain abandoned its fleet, I should feel, so far from the -United States being freed from the necessity of building up a fleet, -that it behooved us to build a much stronger one than is at present -necessary. Our need is not as great as that of the vast scattered -British Empire, for our domains are pretty much in a ring fence. We -ought not to undertake the task of policing Europe, Asia, and Northern -Africa. Neither ought we to permit any interference with the Monroe -Doctrine or any attempt by Europe or Asia to police America. Mexico is -our Balkan Peninsula. Some day we will have to deal with it. All the -coasts and islands which in any way approach the Panama Canal must be -dealt with by this Nation, and by this Nation alone, in accordance with -the Monroe Doctrine. With this object in view our navy should be second -to that of Great Britain and superior to that of any other power--and -if Great Britain chooses to abolish its navy it would mean that we -ought to build a larger navy than is now necessary. - - - - -A SQUARE DEAL FOR THE MEN AT THE FRONT - -DECEMBER 25, 1918 - - -We should show our respect for the men at the front by more than mere -adulation. They are the Americans who have done most and suffered most -for this country. It was announced in the press that in many cases they -and the families they have left behind have not for months received -their full pay. This is an outrage. All civil officials are paid. The -Secretary of War is paid, and he ought not to touch a dollar of his -salary and no high official should touch a dollar of his salary until -the enlisted men and junior officers are paid every cent that is owing -to them, and this payment should be prompt. There is literally no -excuse for even so much as three days’ delay in the payment. - -Moreover, these men, at great cost to themselves in paying everything -including, in fifty or sixty thousand cases, their lives, have gone to -the front at a wage from one half to one fifth as great as that their -companions who stayed behind have received during the same period. -They enlisted to do a specific job. They made the sacrifice in order -to do that job. We on our side should see that just as soon as the job -is done the men are taken home, allowed to leave the army, and begin -earning their livelihood and take care of the wives and children that -the married ones among them have left behind. - -Recently in the public press there have appeared various artless and -chatty statements from the State, War, and Navy departments that our -men might be kept in Europe to do general police work and might not be -brought back here until the summer of 1920. There are three types of -soldiers on the other side. There are the Regular Army men, who have -entered the Regular Army as a profession, and to whom it is a matter -of indifference whether they stay in Europe, come back here, go to the -Philippines, or do anything else. That is a small proportion of our -force on the other side. The bulk are divided between volunteers, who -enlisted in the National Guard or sometimes in the regular regiments -to fight this war through, and the drafted men who were put into the -army under a law designed to meet this war and this war only. Not -one in ten of the volunteers would have dreamed of volunteering to -do police work in European squabbles. Not ten Congressmen would have -voted for the Draft Law if it was to force selective men to do police -duty after the war was over. All these men went in to fight this war -through to a finish and then to come home. It is not a square deal to -follow any other course as regards them. The minute that peace comes -every American soldier on the other side should be brought home as -speedily as possible save, of course, the regulars who make the Regular -Army their life profession, and any other man who chose to volunteer -to go over, or who can with entire propriety be used for gathering up -the loose ends. The American fighting man at the front has given this -country a square deal during the war. Now let the country give him a -square deal by letting him get out of the army and go to his home as -soon as the war is finished. The Red Cross has done wonderful work in -taking care of the dependents of these men pending settlement by the -Government, but the Government should not be content to rely on any -outside organization to make up its own shortcomings. - - - - -THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS[2] - -JANUARY 13, 1919 - - -It is, of course, a serious misfortune that our people are not getting -a clear idea of what is happening on the other side. For the moment the -point as to which we are foggy is the League of Nations. We all of us -earnestly desire such a league, only we wish to be sure that it will -help and not hinder the cause of world peace and justice. There is not -a young man in this country who has fought, or an old man who has seen -those dear to him fight, who does not wish to minimize the chance of -future war. But there is not a man of sense who does not know that in -any such movement if too much is attempted the result is either failure -or worse than failure. - -The trouble with Mr. Wilson’s utterances, so far as they are reported, -and the utterances of acquiescence in them by European statesmen, is -that they are still absolutely in the stage of rhetoric precisely -like the “fourteen points.” Some of the fourteen points will probably -have to be construed as having a mischievous significance, a smaller -number might be construed as being harmless, and one or two even as -beneficial, but nobody knows what Mr. Wilson really means by them, -and so all talk of adopting them as basis for a peace or a league is -nonsense and, if the talker is intelligent, it is insincere nonsense -to boot. So Mr. Wilson’s recent utterances give us absolutely no -clue as to whether he really intends that at this moment we shall -admit Germany, Russia,--with which, incidentally, we are still waging -war,--Turkey, China, and Mexico into the League on full equality with -ourselves. Mr. Taft has recently defined the purposes of the League and -the limitations under which it would act, in a way that enables most of -us to say we very heartily agree in principle with his theory and can, -without doubt, come to an agreement on specific details. - -Would it not be well to begin with the League which we actually have -in existence, the League of the Allies who have fought through this -great war? Let us at the peace table see that real justice is done as -among these Allies, and that while the sternest reparation is demanded -from our foes for such horrors as those committed in Belgium, Northern -France, Armenia, and the sinking of the Lusitania, nothing should be -done in the spirit of mere vengeance. Then let us agree to extend the -privileges of the League, as rapidly as their conduct warrants it, to -other nations, doubtless discriminating between those who would have a -guiding part in the League and the weak nations who would be entitled -to the privileges of membership, but who would not be entitled to a -guiding voice in the councils. Let each nation reserve to itself and -for its own decision, and let it clearly set forth questions which -are non-justiciable. Let nothing be done that will interfere with our -preparing for our own defense by introducing a system of universal -obligatory military training modeled on the Swiss plan. - -Finally make it perfectly clear that we do not intend to take a -position of international Meddlesome Matty. The American people do -not wish to go into an overseas war unless for a very great cause and -where the issue is absolutely plain. Therefore, we do not wish to -undertake the responsibility of sending our gallant young men to die -in obscure fights in the Balkans or in Central Europe, or in a war -we do not approve of. Moreover, the American people do not intend to -give up the Monroe Doctrine. Let civilized Europe and Asia introduce -some kind of police system in the weak and disorderly countries at -their thresholds. But let the United States treat Mexico as our Balkan -Peninsula and refuse to allow European or Asiatic powers to interfere -on this continent in any way that implies permanent or semi-permanent -possession. Every one of our allies will with delight grant this -request if President Wilson chooses to make it, and it will be a great -misfortune if it is not made. - -I believe that such an effort made moderately and sanely, but sincerely -and with utter scorn for words that are not made good by deeds, will be -productive of real and lasting international good. - - -THE END - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[2] This article on “The League of Nations” is the last contribution -that Colonel Roosevelt prepared for The Star. It was dictated at -his home in Oyster Bay, January 3, the Friday before his death. His -secretary expected to take the typed copy to him for correction Monday. -Instead she was called on the telephone early Monday morning and told -of his death. A delay of several days naturally ensued, before the -editorial reached the office of The Star. - -In view of the immense moment of the issues before the Peace -Conference, The Star had asked Colonel Roosevelt to give his countrymen -the benefit of his discussion of the possibilities of a League of -Nations as a preventive of war. He consented, although, as he wrote, -he expected to follow this editorial with one “on what I regard as -infinitely more important, namely, our business to prepare for our own -self-defense.” That article, however, was never written. - -This article, then, his final contribution to The Star, represents his -matured judgment based on protracted discussion and correspondence. It -is of peculiar importance as the last message of a man who, above every -other American of his generation, combined high patriotism, practical -sense, and a positive genius for international relations. - - - - - THIS LARGE-PAPER EDITION CONSISTS OF THREE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY-FIVE - NUMBERED COPIES, OF WHICH THREE HUNDRED AND FIFTY ARE FOR SALE. THIS - IS NUMBER.... - - - - - The Riverside Press - CAMBRIDGE . MASSACHUSETTS - U . S . A - - - - -Transcriber’s Notes - -Obvious errors in punctuation have been fixed. - -In the table of contents, “The Landsdowne Letter” changed to “The -Lansdowne Letter” - -Page 49: “which his precedessor” changed to “which his predecessor” - -Page 54: “seeking a black animal” changed to “seeing a black animal” - -Page 136: “New York Herold” changed to “New York Herald” - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ROOSEVELT IN THE KANSAS CITY -STAR *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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