The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1915-06-12
COL. BRYAN APPEALS TO
HYPHENATED AMERICANS
Tells Germanbon Citizens Their asanshp No Cause for Censue
and Asks Them to Exert Their Influence to Convince
Berlin that President Wilson Desires Peace

! German-Americans and German-Ameri-
can societies commencing my action;
think the senders of these kilograms
| understand my position. but that no one
| may mistake Il let me restate 1t. The
I President is not only DESTROYS of peace.
| but he hopes for It and he has adopted
the methods which he thinks most likely
| to contribute toward peace. Ny differ
ence from him Is as to method. not as
to purpose, and my utterances since re-
signing have been intended to crystalline
| public sentiment in support Of his ef-
| forts to maintain peace, or, to use a
familiar phrase-"Peace with honor" But
| remember that when I use the phrase
| Peace with honor" I do not use 1t In
| the same sense that those do who re-
| gard every opponent Of war as favoring
| Peace at any price," Peace at any
| price" is an epithet. not true statement
of any ones position or Of the policy of
| any Group.
How to Secure Peace.
| Second: Knowing that the President
desires peace, it is your duty to help him
secure ii, and how? BY exerting your in
, fiuence to convince the German govern
ment of this fact and to persuade that
government to take no steps that would
| lead in the direction of war NY fear
| might. despairing of a friendly settle
ment. break off diplomatic relations, and
| thus create a condition out of which war
might come without the intention OF
either country do not ask you to mini
mze the earnestness of the President q
statement-that would be unfair, both to
him and TO Germany. The sinking of the
Lusitania cannot be defended upon the
facts as we understand them. The kill
1 inc If
cannot be justified. whether the killing
is by drowning or starving: no nation
can successfully plead the inhumenity of
her enemies as an excuse for inhuma nifty
on her own part. While ii Is true that
cruelty is apt to beGet cruelty. il cannot
be said TINT like causes like" Even in
war We are not absolved from the obli-
CATION to remedy evils by the influence of
good example. Let your lights SO
shine" is precept that knows no times
nor seasons as it knows neither latitude
nor longitude
Third-Do not attempt to connect the
I negotiations which are going on between
| the United States and Germany with
| those between the United States and
Great Britain. The cases are different
but even If they We're the same II would
be necessary to treat with each nation
separately. My personal preference has
p''h ~ repeat lHslStenCe tnat the
allies shall not interiors with our COM
merce with neutral countries. but the
difference on this point was a matter of
Judgment and not a matter Of principle
My reason for desiring to have the
liter presented to Great Britain at
| once was not that Germany had any
right to ask it. but because I was anxious
to make it as easy as possible for Ger
many to accept the demands of the
I-nite6 to ~
ma rines against merchantmen. There is
no reason why any German-American
should doubt the Presidents intentions
in this matter. / am sure that every one
will. on reflection. recognize that our
duty TO prevent loss of life is more ur-
gent than our duty to prevent interior
ence with trade-loss of trade can be
compensated for with money. but no set
, Element that the United State6 and CERT
many may reach can call back to life
those who went down with the Lusi-
|, tania-and war would he the most ex-
pensive of all settlements because Il
would enormously add to the number of
the dead.
An Untenable Position.
Fourth. I hope that Germany will ac-
quiesce in the demands that have been
made. and l hope that she will acquiesce
in them without conditions. She can trust
the United States to deal justly with her
in the consideration of any changes that
she may propose in the international
rules that govern the taking Of prizes.
The more generously she acts in this mat
ter the greater will be the glory which
she will derive from it.
If the use of the subma rine justified
such change in the law of blockade as
Will permit the Gordon to be withdrawn
far enough from the shore to avoid the
danger of submarine attack, may it not
he found possible to secure an interna-
tiona1 AGREEMENT by which passengers will
be excluded from ships carrying contra
band. or at least from those carrying
ammunition? 1t would require but a
slight change in the shipping laws to
make this separation. and beIligerent ma
tons might be restrained from unneces-
sarily increasing the contraband list il
they were compelled to carry contraband
on transports as they nor carry troops.
The above suggestions are respectfully
submitted TO those of German birth or
descent. and they are submitted in the
same spirit to naturalized citizens from
other countries. To the naturalize citi-
zen this is the land of adoption, but in
one sense it may be nearer to him than
it is to us who are native born, for those
who come here are citizens by voluntary
choice. while We are here by accident of
birth. They may be said to have paid
higher compliment to the United States
than we who first saw the light under
the Stars and Stripes. But, more than
that. II is the land of their children and
their children's children, no matter for
what reason they crossed the ocean
They not only share with US the shaping
of our nations destiny, but their de-
scendsnts have a part with ours in ali
the blessings which the present genera
ton can. by wise and patriotic action.
beaueath to the generations that are to
follow. W. J. BRYAN