The Washington herald., 1916-01-30
WILSON SEES NATION
BEING DRAWN INTO WAR
cosrrsUEp FROM PAGE ONE.

that II Is necessary that we should take
common counsel together regarding
them / suppose that this country has
never found itself before In so singular
a position The present situation of tbs
world would, only twelvemonth ago
even after the European war had started
have seemed incredible. and yet now the
things that no man anticipated have hap
pened-
The titanic struggle continues. The
difficulties OF the worlds affairs accumu.
late. II was. of course, evident that thii
was taking place long before the preseni
session Of Congress assembled, but only
since the Congress assembled has il beer
possible to consider what we ought tC
do in the new circumstances of the times
Congress cannot know what to do unless
the nation knows what to do, and Il
seemed to me not only my privilege but
my duty to go out and inform my fellow
eountrymen just what I understand ths
present situation to be.
Understands Mem. sympathies.
What are the elements of the case
In the first place. and most obviously
two-thirds of the world are at war. II
is not merely a European struggle; ma
tions In the Orient have become involved
erywhere there seems to be creeping
even upon the nations disengsged the
spirit and the threat of war.
"All the world outside Of America "a
on fire. Do you wonder that mans i'm
agination take color from the situation
Do you wonder that there Is a great re-
action against war? Do you wonder that
the passion for peace grows stronger as
the spectacle grows more tremendous and
more overwhelming? And do you wonder
on the other hand, that mems sympa-
thies become deeply engaged on the one
side or the toher? For no small things
are Happening. This Is struggle which
will determine the history of the world,
1 dare say for more than a century to
come. The world will never be the same
again after this war is over. The change
may be for veal or 1t may be for woe,
but II will be fundamental and tre-
mendous.
"And. in the meantime. we, the peo-
pie Of the United States. are the one
great disengaged power, the one neutral
power. finding it a little difficult to be
neutral. because, like men everywhere
passions OF mankind in us; we have SYM
pathies that are as easily stirred as the
sympathies of any other people; We have
interests which we see being drawn slow
ly into the maelstrom of this tremendous
upheaval
Not Easy to Keep out.
1T Is very difficult for US to hold off
and look with cool judgment upon such
tremendous matters And yet, we have
held OF. 1t has not been easy for the
government at Washington to avoid the
engagements which seemed to beset II on
every side. 1t has needed a great deal
OF watchfulnss and an unremitting pa
tience, but all the while no American
could fail to be aware that America did
not wish to become engaged. that she
wished to hold apart, not because she
did not see the issues of the struggle
but because she thought her duties to
be of peace and Of separate action. And
all the while the nations themselves that
are engaged seemed to be looking to US
for some sort Of action, not hostile, but
sympathetic in character.
Hardly a single thing has occurred
in Europe which has in any degree shocked
the sensibilities OF mankind that the gov