The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1914-08-15
War News and War Lords.

Throughout the United States Ger
mans and German sympathizers have
been complaining bitterly because Of
what they term the unfairness OF
American newspapers. 1t need hard
ly be explained to any person famil-
lar with the gathering and printing
of news that such criticism is itself
unfair. If the war reports printed
here appear to be unfriendly in spirit
to Germany and Austria, or if the
facts seem to be distorted to serve
the purposes of racial or national pre-
JUDGE, that is neither the fault of the
Pioneer nor of the great news-ga-
thering agency upon which it relies.
The one thing that every American
newspaper publisher wants to get
hold of and print it all times, and
particularly in time of war, is THE
TRUTH. And if there is any offense
to German-Americans or other partis-
ans in the presentation of the war
news it is either because the facts
themselves are disagreeable or be-
cause the news is contaminated at it's
sOurces-over which American jour-
nalism has little control. Nothing
is harder to get at than the real
truth in war time. 1t is especially
hard when the only news accessible
is under the control and censorship
of the nations involved Since this
war broke out nearly all the reports
have come from England, France or
Belgium, and have naturally been
colored by the inflamed patriotism of
those countries and by their hatred
of Germany. The American Press,
the United Press and other agencies
have tried in vain to get the other
side of the story. From the first sign
Of hostilities Germany has raised
Chinese wall about her to bar from
the outside world all intelligence of
her operations. This may have been
good military tactics, but it proves
to have been bad national policy. For
false and exaggerated reports tend
ing to discredit the Fatherland there
has been on means of correction. The
Kaiser has placed his country in the
position of defying the worlds opin-
ion, just as it is defying the armies
Of Europe. The Kaiser himself is
now reported as amazed at American
criticism, and generous hearted Ger
mans here and everywhere have been
wounded by sweeping condemnation
1t must be recognized, however, that
this hostile sentiment cannot be
founded altogether on false reports.
There are facts thrusting through the
news too big for concealment or per-
version, and those facts make it i'm
possible for America as whole to
show any enthusiasm for Germany il
this struggle. The belated attempts
of the Emperor at self-justiication
an the heated declarations of Prof
Muensterburg and other German
Americans that Germany was not the
AGGRESSION are not convincing. Amer
lea, though linked to the Fatherland
by strong ties Of blood, of instructive
sympathy and admiration for her in
tellectual and industrial leadership,
is sorrowfully forced to recognized
that Germany was primarily respon-
sible for precipitating this mon
strous war when she might have kept
peace in Europe, and that she reck-
lessly widened it's scope when she
might have localized it. But in this
conviction there is no arraignment
of the German people. American
criticism is leveled at the War Lord,
who, pretending to love peace,
plunged his sword into the heart of
civilization, and by single auto
cratic order, without even. the con-
sent of the German parliament, sign
ed the death warrant of, it may be, |
a million of his own subjects and an
other million of aliens with whom
these subjects had to quarrel. For
the German race, thus lightly made
a target for the bullets of a continent
and the hatred of the world, the
American people today have nothing
but sympathy. When the HohenZoI-
lerns have passed away with their
noise and fury, and tht brave, gen.
erous and sane German people have
a government that represents their
real purposes and aspirations, there
will be no question of the friend
ship, collective and individual, of the
great American nation for the great
German nation.