The Irish standard., 1914-12-12
"Why We Must Not Fight "
Germany England and the War; English Paper Declares
Must Not Fight Germany Explains Her
Noted By England. Why lla. England Changed Hearth

land. Why Has England CT
Where in the wide world do our inter.
ests clash with those of Germany? No.
where. With Russia we have potential
conflicts over the whole of southeast.
ern Europe and southern Asia. have
recalled the doggerel of forty years
ago. 1t was typical. The whole Of the
latter he'f Of last century was don't
mated by our fear of >Russia's designs
upon our Indian Empire. Are those
designs dead? No; If ever they had
reality they are as real today as they
were and much more practicable. The
insane policy that has driven US into
enmity with Germany has led us to
sanction Russia's annexation of north,
ern Persia and to listen to a scheme
for Russian railway to the very gates
Of India-a scheme the mere hint OF
which would have driven the Jingoes
to frenzy twenty years. ago. We may
help to trample Germany in the dust
and exalt Russia, but if we do so, we
shall not buy of one fragment of Rus.
sia's aims in the future.
And what If, as the outcome of Arm.
agedon, she makes terms with Ger.
many and divides the sway of Europe!
What then will the Indian empire be
worth? This is no wild dream. All
things are possible if once we are in.
volved in this horror. Remember the
swift change in the Balkans that
turned the swords of the allies at each
others Threats almost in a night.
The Menace at Home.
And what price shall we pay at
home? The fabric of our finance is
shaken. Industry will be paralyzed
Famine will be in our midst. The
whole of our hopes of social reform
and the betterment of the people will
go like dream in the night-swallow.
ed up in the nightmare Of hideous
reality. Does the Gear, sitting with his
hard on the avalanche, think of that? ?
Do the preachers of anti-Germanism
think of that? These are the same
people who have fought with every
weapon in their power against our eff.
forts to make the lot of the common
people of this land little better and
to lay more firmly the foundations OF
free people. Are all these efforts to
collapse in ruin? Are we to share the
universal anarchy?
For it is anarchy as we'll as war to
which Europe is rushing. No man can
tell what will emerge when the whole
fabric of society has been shattered.
But one thing will not emerge. The
dynasts will go with the horror that
they have created. q The people failed
in 184S, but they will not fail in 1914.
Whatever miseries they have to face
in the future, they may be trusted to
sweep the curse of despotism of the
face of Europe.
No Weakness.
We are told that the day of our
splendid isolation" is over-that we
must have friends" and therefore en-.
emies. 1t is false. Its falsity is proved
by the very situation with which we
are faced. It is because England is
free that Europe hesitates. It is our
neutrality which is the only protection
that Europe has against the hideous
ruin and combustion on the brink of
which it trembles. Let US announce
that neutrality to the world. It is the
one hope. There is no other. Let us
make 1t clear that unless and until
British interests are attacked, we will
have no part in this world-insanity
that we will not shed a drop of Eng.
lish blood for Gear or Servia, that our
one obligation is the interests and
peace of this land, and that we refuse
to recognize any other. We can save
Europe from war even at this last mo-
ment. But we can only save 1t by
telling the Gear that he must fight his
own battles and take the consequences
Of his own action.
If the British government does this
it will do the greatest service to hui
mainly in history. If it does not do It.
it will have brought the greatest curse
to humanity in history. The youngest
Of US will not live to see the end Of its
crime.
70 Americans"
Article Reprinted From German
~