Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-08-05
WARS REFLEXES
SINCE MAY.
The Change in American r,
Brought On by the Lusit,
Horror Remains to
This Day

| MI SCTNDNN ihulcatlOn or the
IN in American feeling toward !,
need be sought than the fact !,
war is. in some way, a political {,
was nothing OF the sort before ~,
tanla sank, and could not have hoe
one. 1t is one now. So the on,
history of the war, as It was ex,
in a neutral land, must be neatly
The first part, from July 2s, 1914
Z, 1915, was discussed yesterdav
second part continues, with no dIsc
variation, in one mold.
The first effect was a wild borr
a bitterness against Germanv
knew no bounds. Horror has n,
horror since, but the thought
Lusitania's dead is still potent. anf
is a reason for It quite apart FRI
normal human hatred of brutalit,
of death or terror at a spec,
tragedy The reason is that wi,
Lusitania went down the worlds
precious heritage, its faith in h
kind. Pledges had been broken
to be sure. There had been wa
murder and rapine and wanton sla,
of innocents. But these had alway
the work of brute minds or the
of alterations more awful than
crimes. The faith we lost in hur
when Germany sank the Lusitat
tribute to the faith we had in Ge,
before. Today we can no longer
Of faith in Germany. We have trus
in the German people, and pity.
The Lusitania sank and almost =
us into the war. In review of
can sentiment something must be s
the stern band who have insisted
that day to this that we should
been in the war all along. The
thing was said by their ablest joul
tic exponent, which confessed tha
sentiment was partial. limited AM
no response in the American people
The Lusitania Reaction
The strongest reflex of the Lusit
sinking, after our intensified appro,
the Entente and our dry-eyed anguI
life's bitterness, was shown in III,
campaigns Of Preparedness and A
canism. Both of these remain In DO
and the political side of each mu
left out here. Both of them tend
startle the country into an apprec
of itself and OF its problems. 1t BE-
swiftly apparent that the homogs
which we had always assumed to be
essary to our life was not so vi
thing as we had imagined. We be
conscious of a Middle West which
not sympathetic with the East,
Southland which hardly understood
language of the Rockies. We set
selves promptly to the task Of en-
sizing the United" in our official |
For that reason II was blessing 4
presidential campaign impended. II
a second blessing that a deal OF hlgl
close thinking might be demanded b!
nature of the candidates. That wa
work of Preparedness, and 1t has
more complete, more tangible and &C
than the work of Americanism. 7
are still many who refuse to pas
yond the fringes of that sea. 1t be
a menacing certainty in the SUNNI
1915 that there were those in this
try who actually placed a foreign
glance first. For a time we tho
that they were many. 1t was wi
glad surprise that we realized how
they were. They had been vociferi
vocal; they or their friends who
rather than allegiance t
crimes. But they were
menace to the country.
The menace was that the whole !
Of American nationality was obsc
was unknown even to the best Of Al
cans. 1t was not loyalty alone. It
certainly not braggart approval OF y
ever this country was and did. Wha
had TO learn and refused to learn was
implied an understan
of the unusual principles OF our Go
ment, and more. Of the unusual com
ton OF our citizenry. We saw Ems
lnterning enemies and saw her dificu
We hardly realized that this cou
would be shaken to its foundation
an internment OF enemies and citl
whose sympathies were. by birth.
an enemy country, IL that enemy
one of the great Powers Of Europe
any other country the immigran
casual. To us he has become very NJ
integral.
Understanding the War
Deeper than these things. and hi
rom view, was the change in our
-ude toward the results OF the war.
began to understand that it was .
two ideals, and that our
history and tradition pledged us 70
against the other. The dangers of
nocracy rushed over us. Many mep
SPARED OF us because We clung %
ideal. Only the other q
translation appeared of Emile Fag
'eyiew OF a book by President WI
VI. Faguet never has been kind @
.heory Of democracy. He expressed
Prise that a gentle tyrant" like
Wilson should adhere to the idea.
his country did adhere to it in spi'
he mortal danger OF two democf'
broad. That explains a change N
attitude toward England. more kil