The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1914-10-20

| necessarily mean ,nat the German
people would have approved a declara-
| ton of war had the matter been sub
| mitted to them in advance Neither
does it mean that they approve the
military spirit which has always per-
vaded the Kaisers government Had
| they done so, thousands of them woul0
not have come to America to escape
| that very thing. That the German
people are standing behind their gov
eminent now, since war is on, is quite
to their credit. No one could conceive
of anything else. 1t is human nature.
verified by history since the beginning
of the world. 1t was Horace Mann, we
believe, in his Great Turning Points
of History" who said that no people
had ever been so oppressed or dissatis-
fed with their government that they
had failed to stand by that govern
ment in time of war.
AS for the German newspapers and
their present agreement on the sub
ject we do not believe that even our
correspondent could draw sufficiently
on hts imagination to conceive of a
newspaper, surrounded and governed
by martial law and military censor
ship, doing anything else but agree
with whatever the Kaiser desires TO
have it agree to. Any other course
at this time would mean certain sup
preston for the paper and probably
prison for the publisher.
America has no quarrel with Ger
many. America admires the German
people and is indebted to that country
for many things, not the least of which
is the hundreds of thousands Of good
citizens which Germany has furnished |
to the American republic. But America |
being remote and unentangled is per- |
haps better able to pass fair Judgment |
on the present war than are either our
English, German, Russian, French or |
Belgian friends who are directly inter-
ested in 1t. And American opinion to-
day regarding the divine right CT |
kings, the militancy that goes with
y
and the forms of government which
are built upon it, is just as free and
untrammelled as when this country re-
volted against the same kind of as
summed authority and mtlitancy ana
government represented by Geo. III
more than one and a third centuries
ago.
As TO the neutrality about which
our correspondent writes, we have only
to say that if this neutrality in ex-
preston means anything at all it is
as binding on our German friends who
now enjoy liberty, peace and happi-
ness under the Stars and Stripes as
upon the millions of Americans whose
are not bound by direct
blood ties with any of the contending
Neutrality does not mean
that all persons and papers Of German
blood or sympathy in America have
the right to fiaunt their opinions
broadcast while the rest of us are
to keep quiet.
The Journal does not care to enter
or encourage any controversy about {
he European war. Such things ac-
nothing and the war itself is
hurting all of us bad enough as it is.
But The Journals vox populi depart
nent is open to all who desire to dis
,uss the subject and from any stand
point that may appeal to them. The
Al |
lion is that it must be confined to
he merits Of the war situation itself
Ind must not digress into abuse of :
American citizens, either OF German, t
English, or any other descent, who t
nay entertain different views on the {
subject.