The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-06-04
THE FRUIT OF THE TREE

From the Philadelphia Public Ledger
 When Lord Kitchener says in the House of Commons that he has "been forced with reluctance to accept as in- disputably true the maltreatment by the German army of British prisoners" his assertion will carry the greatest weight He is not a man to speak lightly or un- advisedly on such a subject. The evil dence comes from various sources French, Russian, American and Bel gian. Prisoners of other nations fare better It is upon the English that the full force of German hate is turned. In blood. Officers, even when wounded, have been wantonly insuted and ire quently struck" The attitude of the authorities varies in different camps, but it is generally one of savage hos tility. Such charges as these can scarce ly bebelieved. even though they come from Lord Kitchener Yet when a peo- pie have worked themselves into such d frenzy as the Germans exhibit in every reference to the English people, when "Gott strafe England" is the uni yersal greeting among them, what may not the enemies who are in their power expect?
 The spectacle of such an obsession of
 blind fury, such a turning to gall of the
 milk of human kindness, is very pain
 ful one. Germans upon both sides of
 the Atlantic complain vehemently of
 the attitude of most Americans iowa I'd | hpir a fbjS ariaje of bpr fat
 They refuse to see, perhaps they are
 too much blinded by their passions to see, that they have alenated American
 sympathy by their own conduct. Their apologists and defenders have done
 them more harm than good by the sin
 gular moral obliquity of their argu-
 ments. Thus pr. Dernburg, who is as
 reasonable as any of them, complains
 that the Germans and the allies are not
 judged by the same standards There is
 indignation here because of the use of asphyxiating gases by the Germans in defiance of international law and hu-
 manity alike. It is "a new German bar
 barism." Why did we not protest when
 the French were using a similar de-
 vice? pr. Dernberg, in his innocence fails to make the distinction between fact and rumor. The German barbarism is proved. The French barbarsm rests on an exceedingly doubtful story for which no semblance of proof was ever given
 The American press and the American people are bound to be partial when the contest enters on such phase They do not by any means accept as true all the stories of German atrocities They do not impute to the whole German peo- pie the sins of Prussian militarism But in the face of such charges as those brought by Lord Kitchener they cannot pretend to an indifference they do not feel. They cannot fail to understand why MT. Asquith should speak of reparation after the war. If the gospel of hate has been carried to it's logical conclusion such reparation may well be demanded. Yet the English people have
 duty to themselves in this matter which should transcend the natural i'm pulse of reprisal. They would also alien
 ate American sympathy if they viste 1 upon Germany prisoners in England the very outrages they now denounce. The prime minister is wise to advocate n more judicial method. England cannot afford to preach a gospel of hate of her own.