Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1916-04-15
GATHERED BY THE WAYSIDE

Special TO Times Republican
Des Mo:nes. April live came
here that we might be nearer to the
heart of America. We felt that as We
faced the people of Minnesota and
Iowa and Missouri we would have a
hearty response to all appeals for
patriotism. You are the Americans.
Here you see and understand things
from the standpoint of our national
needs and that alone Des Moines is
not a suburb of London. Sioux City
is not in the environs OF Paris. Your
fair cities and towns are American and
your state Is not an annex OF any
European country."-Stephen s. Wise.
AZ one time the intellectual lead
ershtp Of the United States was in
New England: now it is in this splen-
did midland region of the state of the
upper Mississippi valley. situation
has been forced upon US so that We
must decide. not for ourselves alone.
but for all the world. for veal or woe.
Here in this very center Of this be-
loved country Of ours, here where We
are far from the storms Of the world
conflict here where there is neither
fear nor panic nor Indifference TO ma
tional needs-you. ladies' and gentle
men, whether you will il be SO or not,
have had placed on you the response
bilty of deciding the destiny Of the
world. Everywhere in Europe. in the
trenches and in the cottages where so
many firesides are broken, they are
looking to America with appealing
faces asking us to decide rightly and
not to have this one great nation join
the old world powers in reliance on
force and fear for final settlement Of
all things The smaller nations Of the
world can not protect themselves from
the militarism which surrounds them.
They look to you to pave the way by
being true to our own high ideals.
What mockery II we are going to
reply to them with an order to arm
for a still larger confiicte'-Arthur l..
Wetherly.
Belgium lies PROSTATE before the
world a pitiful martyr to. the false
philosophy of preparedness Herbert
Bigelow
The above were random expressions
gathered at the meeting this week in
Des Moines in defense Of American
ism.
There was one thing decidedly dis
appointing at this meeting It gave
little ground for controversy. Nothing
| was said or DONE or ever limited at,
that is not in accord with the prevail
ing sentiment Of the people OF America
as to proper defense OF the national
honor and avoidance Of the dangers
| that the fathers of the republic sought
to guard against. No person with a
| modicum Of sense could have failed to
, understand that nobody spoke for
| "unpreparedness.' There was no. bit
| ter arraignment Of defense projects or
proposals. Nobody even spoke against
| a trained citizen soid!ery. Nobody pro
| posed that coast defense guns be con-
| verified into peace arches. Not word
was said about reducing the army OF
refusal to provide for all the navy
| and navy incidentals needSul to prop
| erly protect American shores from any
invasion at any time. In Short the
disappointing thing about III all
| was that no ground whatever = was
given for anyone to accuse the speak
! ers or those who heard them and
| listened in tl1oughtfM attention OF be-
| ing in fact peace at any price" ad-
| vocates. One Of the speakers went a
good deal farther than even President
| Wilson for he mentioned the size OF
an army he thought ought to be proper
at this time. namely, an army Of say
10000. Another urged policy Oh
keeping up the navy and adding all
the new things going. On the screen
were shown moving pictures Of the big
coast defense guns in action and their
puffs Of smoke and quick recoils were
heartily applauded. G. (
| That which happened at the peace
meeting was an exposure to Des
| Moines people of the sinister fnf1u.
ences that are making. not for pre-.
paredness but for war and for milf.
tarism. II was nflitarism that wa,
condemned IN unmeasured terms by al
the speakers. Not thing new wal
said Old ana familiar facts wer.
i presented Ii attractive manner. Tina
i was all. Rabbi Wise was eloquent
So, also, was Mr.. Bige1ow. Dr. Berfe
OF Cambridge, was forcefu1 tMr
j Wetheriy spoke as one stirred from
Il tine depuns. lMr. PIncfot presented
u few important facts In way to smals