Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-05-14

NtNhANdNAbHs hNkAiA. ny Hdshhk AheN
we might not be in sympathy with their
form of government. but that what form
of government the German people chose
to maintain was none OF our business, so
long as II pleased them and did not harm
us. He wished, first OF all, to call atten-
tion TO the native simplicity Of the great
mass of this God-fearlng people and par
ticularly to their beautiful home life
With his description of a Christmas
festival In a German home, the President
brought tears to the eyes of the more
susceptible among his auditors. So vivid
were the strokes Of mis- mental brush
that I am sure that before everybody
present arose the complete vision of the
Christmas tree, the gathering OF the chill
dren with the parents, the coming of
the grandparents and the uncles and the
aunts and the singing OF "stille Nacht'
and 20 Tannenbaum."
With a quotation or two from the Ger
man poets, the President went on to show
how the very genius of the German
language adapted 1t to expressions of
love and tenderness. He then told OF q
scene of mourning that he had witnessed
in a German family of the peasant class
when, as a student In Germany, he had
helped to carry home the body OF
young man who had been killed in
brawl. and he invited his audience to
picture this scene of mourning for
simple-hearted peasant boy multiplied
by the thousand
Following this. the President entered
into n scholarly analysis OF the painstak-
ing thoroughness of German methods. Of
the worlds debt to the patient researches
of German thinkers and of the immense
debt that our own educational insttu-
tions In particular owe to Germany. He
also showed how well the Germans were
working out problems in municipal gov
ernment and how they cleansed and
adorned their cities. Then came the Pres
idents magnificent tribute to the German
poets and the German composers. In
short, II was the land, not only of Nir-
chow and Helmholtz and Hegel and Kant,
but of Goethe and Schiller and Wagner
and Beethoven.
This said the President. was the land
that in spirit OF holiday gaiety we
wanted to overrun and lay waste. Al all
events. no higher motive had been sohnd-
ed than such as might govern vulgar
brawl in corner saloon. Was this the
loftiest spirit with which the American
people now were capable of being In
spired? He would dislike to believe 80.
II, after coolly Weighing the entire sit-
uation-if, In spirit of eolemnity. devo-
ton and prayer the American people de-
cided that their only course was to make
war on the German people, why, them
he as their representative, as their serv-
ant, would do all that he could to make
that war short by making II terrible.
But he considered II no part OF his duty
to represent the American people in their
frivolty or to be the servant OF their
childish passions. He could not and he
would not; he had something else better
to do.
Was not the closing part of the Presi-
dents address a trumpet call ushering in
new dispensation in the dealings of
nation with nation?
Directly addressing the Senators, who
were the judges between him and the
| people. the President said that he now
was come to tho heart of the matter. In
response to the threats OF the American
| people. as voiced In their newspap pers
and by their representatives in Congress.
! the German Government had made war
! like preparations such as that OF organ
| iZing huge armada and mobilizinR sew
| eral army corps where they would be
ready for immediate embarkation on the
| great steamships that had been with
| drawn from their regular service. The
| German Government had considered II
| it's duty to do this, and the United States
| Government had no criticism to make OF
| it's course.
The point was that the American peo-
! pie considered II necessary for their Gov
| ernment to protect them from the peril
of this German armada and these Ger
man leGions. by reinforcing the coast de
| fenses and by assembling fleets and mo-
! bilizlng armies In turn He, the Presi-
, dent, had refused to do this; he had, in
| fact, acted so contrary to the wishes OF
/ the people as to let their largest and
most splendid fleet sail away without any
| special preparations for war service and
bound for n part of the world where II
could be of no service. either offensive
i. &c.. IL, tlAua agfl th1N are
charged against him as high crimes and
msdemeanors within the meaning of the
| Constitution.
The President conceded that the assem-
| bling of the German armada and the mo-
| bilization of the German legions had been
| a serious menace to the people of the
United States, and that 1t had behooved
him to use all diligence in taking meas
ures looking to the defense of the coun-
try. II he. indeed. through pusillanimity
or for any other reason, had failed TO
| take such measures. he indeed would he
| guilty OF the high crimes and misdemean-
ors as charged. But had he so failed? y
First, the Senators must consider that
| the Constitution had vested In him as
commander-in-chief of the army and
navy a large discretion MS to military
measures-a discretion that obviously en-
titled him to disregard the opinion OF the
people as to what measures should be
/
| taken.
! Secondly. the Senators must consider
/ that II had been necessary for him to
| defend the people against themselves. II
| being the duty OF every representative OF
| the people to defend them against the
| consequences of their own hasty actions
| in times of excitement. Could any of
the Senators doubt that II, following the
| mobilization of the German army and
navy, the American army and navy had
been modified, war would have been the
sure result? To answer this question,
| the Senators only would have - picture
what would have been the effect upon
the already infiamed mind of the public
! of such headlines in the newspapers as.
'Troops Rushed to the Front" and
United States Navy Makes Ready for
| War"
Thirdly and lastly. the Senators must
consider that he ctually had taken the
most effective of all possible measures to
prevent the sailing of the German feet
| and troops for this country. Even now
| the German warshlps and troopships
| were held fast In their ports. He'll by
what? Why by something that no one
! could see, feel, hear, taste or smell. Yet
II was something more powerful than
/ any fleet of warships that he, as COM
mander-in-chief of the navy. could have
assembled, and 1t was something more
powerful than any body of troops that
| he, as commander-in -in-chief of the army,
| could have organized. 1t as something
I m ~.