The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1916-10-18
The Review Solicits Communications that
Nav be of interest to Readers Of this Column.
THE GREAT WAR AND AN ERICA

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THE GREAT WAR AND AMERICA
Editor Review:
It is a number of years since / have
lhad the pleasure of talking to my old
friends in Crawford county through
| the columns of the Review and i am
thankful for the permission to speak
to them as in old days. Time has
largely erased my personal feeling
and has left only pleasant memories
J. of dear and faithful friends and the
honest kindly and true-hearted PEG.
ple Of 'Denison and of Crawford coun'
ty. While it is not to be expected
that all will agree as to the great
questions which are before us today
the people of Crawford county are to
intelligent, too broad.minded, too
cosmopolitan not to give respectful
and Thoughtful hearing to every phase.
1T is with knowledge of the essential
fairness Of the people of the county
that venture upon discussion OF
the great war and its problems for
America, whether my views will fully
agree with those of any other person
or not -. .t..r.- ~
Every thoghtful man realizes that the
close of the war will bring great and
impressive changes in the whole politi.
cal economy of the world and at that
time, land now,) the attitude OF Amer
lea will be of great Importance. AT
present there are three things which
should be impressed upon other nat
ions il we are not to suffer by the
terms Of whatever peace may be de-
clared. These three things are: LIST.
Our ability and firm intention to
maintain the rights of this country
against any aggressor nation, at any
time and at any place. This includes
that we must teach both Teuton and
Allie that we mean exactly what we
say and that we are prepared 70
back our words with force if necessary
End. We must convince the world that
beyond that righteous care for our own
interests and our own dignity as a
nation, our highest thought is for
the welfare of humanity as a whole
and that our belief that every man has
the right to life, liberty, and the
pursuit Of happiness" extends around
the globe.
3rd Our course must be such that
all warning nations will be forced to
admit that our neutrality has not
been sham that we have had no
favorites, that we have equally obser-
we'd the rights of all other nations.
and have been equally in earnest IN
demanding the recognition OF our
rights by all nations.
With respect to all three of these
we have, so far, failed miserably and
utterly There is no nation from Mexi.
CO to Great Britain which believes IN
the sincerity of our diplomacy, and
our total unpreparedness for any sort
OF emergency is known to all the
world; admitted at home, exemplihed
in, our Mexican campaign and adver'
tised to all four corners of the earth.
AS to the second essential, it Is a
fact that we have been unable to
convince even the South American
republics, about whom we have
thrown the protection Of the Monroe
Doctrine, that our purposes arc al.
truistic and that our highest aim Is
to benefit mankind. ..-s-,
Relative to our. neutrality. it is only
the most prejudiced mind which can.
not see that the course of the nation
has, from the first, been entirely in
favor of the Allies. Whenever any
question has arisen in our relations
with Germany, there has been war
like front threats, ultimatums and a
clashing of verbal spears. Whenever
England has been the AGGRESSION, there
has been weak, impotent "slaps on the
wrist" which have not even drawn an
amused smile to the face OF the stolid
Briton. English papers of very recent
date acknowledge this great debt to
the American administration, saying
that it must be owned that the Allies
owe much to America for the vast
stores of supplies and ammunition. for
the great financial aid, and for the
mildness with which the acts OF
Great Britain in policing the seas
and regulating the commerce of neu'
trails have been tolerated. British
statesmen and the British press have
repeatedly stated that there was no
object in getting the United States
into actual war with Germany as this
country was CONTRIBUTING ALL 1T
POSSIBLY COULD TO THE sue.
CESS OF THE AIlLIES AT PRE-
SENT, and that a state OF war would
only have the effect of diverting mum.
lions, needed by the Allies, to the
armies OF the United States. This
favoritism for the Allies has been re.
fiected in the press of the United
States, especially in the east, and has
been encouraged and fostered by our
statesmen. ca No man has been de-
nOunced as a traitor; because he ia
vored the Allies, every man who has
enlisted in the armies OF the Allies
has been hailed as a hero, but the man
who has dared to express the hope
that Germany would win, has been
branded as an undesirable citizen.
It is a fact that there are more
Americans fighting in the Allied ar
mics than there were volunteers for
the American army when war with
Mexico seemed iminent. Yet we have
heard nothing Of the Immortality OF
these men nor of the treachery offered
their lives in the service of foreign
nations when on every hand we were
being told that no man knew when
the war.cloud would descend upon as
and that every drop of American
blood might be needed in a war with
the very country whose banner they
had enlisted under. No, this talk
the accursed "hyphen" has sAeM III
served wholly for the GernAneAmeft
can, who has dared to express the
hope that his own flesh and blood
would win over a foreign foe, and fol-
oppression has taught inveterate hat