The Watertown weekly leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1912-1917, 1916-06-06

! The only danger-and / think the
great danger confronting the Ameri-
can people does not lie in the probab-
ility of war. War may come, and if
it should soon come we should prob
ably at the present time be defeated :;
defeated; but great peoples always
have and doubtless always will sur
yive the shock of defeat We would
survive it. With all it's horrors and
heartbreakings it would not be an I'M
mixed evil il out of the ashes there
should arise a united and solidified
people, TRANSPORTED by a loyalty and
devotion to country the~like of which
it is doubtful if we know today.
We need to prepare ourselves more
thoroughly for the discharge of pat
riotic duty in times of peace. With
out an unfaltering national spirit, pre-
paredness in the way of material and
training would be only partially effec-
tive. We can prepare for war with
money-we can not buy patriotism.
Without the unhesitating willingness
of the people to subordinate all per-
sOnal and political interests to the well
fare of the nation we have no nation
no country, in the higher sense-but
merely land in which to live and
earn.
The Nation" as such, has to all
peoples who have accomplished the
great things of life, been a personal
thing-a part of the lives of the people
something to live for and to die for
in war or in peace.
They have been the guardians of its
honor and integrity as they saw it.
because it was their country. They
have jealousy safeguarded it's inter
, ests and have sought to extend it's
power and influence. They have al
ways been careful to protect its pres
and distress.
1t is not material that sometimes
the methods have been bad nor that
the ends sought unconscionable and
wrong. The point is that these people
have done these things because they
regarded the honor and power and
prestige of the nation as their honor
and power and prestige collectively
and individually
It is the sense of common interest
the spirit of nationality which makes
men, now and in the past, refer to their
country as the Father Land" or the
, Mother Land or in other terms OF
similar import Do we not need more
of that spirit in our country?
Are we willing, as individuals and
as members of political parties OF
other organizations, to subordinate, in
times of peace, the personal or party
interest-to maintain the dignity and
to promote the interests of the country
just because it is our country?
Events of current history to some
extent answer the question Day by
day we have seen, and without appar-
ent resentment on the part of the
people, men seeking to hinder and
embarrass the president of the United
States in the discharge of great and
vitality important national duties 1t
seems to be immaterial to these men
and to these parties, of whom the
nation has the right to expect other
things, that their efforts to nullify. for
political purposes, the efforts of the
president to successfully work out in
the interest of the country delicate and
perplexing international problems
work manifest injury to the nation
If the constituted authorities of
government achieve so-called diplo-
matte success for the country, greatly
increasing its prestige and power, a
large section of the people and press
hasten to minimize its Importance and
to destroy the value of the result OBJ
tanned so far as in them lies, merely
to the end that the political influence
of the administration shall not, by
such success, be enhanced
We see politicians in office and an
xious to stay in, and politicians out of
office and anxious to get in, Offering
no word of advice, making no effort
and apparently having no desire to
assist in the proper solution of great
questions for the country's sake, but
swift to herald to the world the story
of failure, of unfortunate mistake, SIM
pr Tic SdhS VI Tic du-
vantage that may follow
Only a few days ago there was trans
mitted to the United States Senate a
military report from a high officer of
the government with the suggestion
that part of the document contained in
formation which should be treated as
confidential, because in the hands of
foreign governments the information
would be damaging to the United
States.
The senate with complete unanimity
ordered the report made a confidential
document, intending thereby to prevent
publication at this time Some news
paper men worked day in and day out
to ascertain the nature of the conf
Dental facts submitted, and having
obtained those facts Immediately pro-
ceeded to publish them to the world
without the slightest regard for the
interest of the nation or the request of
the department and the senate that such
information should not be published
There is an almost countless num-
Der of instances of utter disregard for
the welfare of the nation when that
welfare runs counter to personal or
political profit. Assume, if any one
will, that these things are in and of
| themselves unimportant They lend