The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1916-03-16

| uOiic' OE the -Olu VI ApIn inc AIlOE-
/ lean vessel Cushing was attacked and
| crippled by a German aerOplane. On
the LIST of May the American vessel
/ Gul1ight was torpedoed and sunk by a
/ German submarine and two or more
/ Americans were killed, yet nothing was
/ done. On the 18th of May the Lusita
mia was torpedoed and sunk by a Ger
man submarine and more than 100
| Americans and 1,100 other noncom-
/ batants were drowned. The very thing
/ which our government had warned
! Germany she must not do, Germany
/ did of set purpose and in the most con-
/ temptuOus and shocking way. Then.
when all America was stirred to the
| depths, our government addressed an
| other note to Germany. 1t repeated
/ its assertion of American rights and
renewed its bold declaration of pur-
/ pose. 1t declared again that the Amer
| lean government must hold the i'm
| perial German government to a strict
accountability for any infringement Of
! those rights, Intentional or incidental"
and it declared that it would not 'omit
any word or any act necessary to the
! performance Of its sacred duty of main
tanning the rights of the United States
| and its citizens and of safeguarding
their free exercise and enjoyment"
| Still nothing was done and a long
and technical correspondence ensued
| haggling over petty questions of de-
tail, every American note growing less
/ and less strong and perempt0ry until
the Arabic was torpedoed and sunk
| and more American lives were destroy
ell. and still nothing was done, and
/ the correspondence continued until the
| allied defense against German subma-
/ rine warfare made it Improbable and
/ led TO its abandonment, and the cor
reSpondence is apparently approaching
! its end without securing even that par
/ tial protection for the future which
might be found in an admission that
/ the destruction Of the LusitCnia was
forbidden by law. The later CORE
| spOndcnce has been conducted 10y cur
state department with dignity. but 1t
/ has been futile. An admission of LA.
/ billy for damages has been secured
but the time for real protection to
I American rights has 1oEs since passed
The brave words with which we be
/ gan the controversy had produced no
effect, because they were read in the
light Of two extraordinary events
/ one was the report of the Austrian
] rs 4 T.;
eminent that when the American note
/ Of Feb. 10 was received he asked the
/ secretary Of state. Mr.. Bryan, whether
it meant business and received an an
swer which satisfied him that it did
not but was intended for effect at
/ home in America.
ITO. Proud &c Fight"
The other event was the strange and
unfortunate declaration of the presi.
dent in a public speech in Philadelphia
the fourth day after the sinking Of
the Lusitania that - man may be too
/ proud to fight" Whatever the Aus
. triYa amha ssGdor was in fact told by
/ the secretary Of state, the impression
.
I the events which followed. Whatever
the president did mean, his declaration.
. maze IN lloiic at tAat solemn tllh"'
anna the horror ana MOURNING OF all
our people over the murder OF their
/ children was accepted the world over
as presenting the attitude OF the AMER
I lean government toward the protection
Of the life and liberty OF American
/ citizens IN the exercise OF their Just
rights. and throughout the world the
phrase too proud to fight became a
byword Of deris'on End contempt for
the government Of the United States
Later. in another theater Of Wor-thr
Mediterrauean-Austr'a, and perhaps
Turkey also, resumed the practice
/ The -Aucona md then the Pcrsia were
destroyed, and more Americans We're
EIued. Why should they not resume
the practice: They bad learned 70 be
licye that 30 matter how shocked the
American government might be- its
resolution would cXpcnd itself ~
words They had learned to believe
that it was safe to kin Americans, and
the world believed with them
eb.ki,, Eist and Finoer
~. No.. .l.,-.,i,1 ,,,..,r , ,,is+ol ,rn,
H., 80 .,... nj, ..,.,.,r,.,,, ,l,ot