The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1916-01-05

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-fnto her lap within a few weeks of the
outbreak of the war. England was
not expected to enter the war. Our
,pacifics. like yours. again and again
informed the world that we did not
raise our boys to be soldiers. Eng
lands coming into the war was as
great a surprise to our government as
it was to the Germans. We had, with
one or two exceptions, pacific adj
miniStratiOD.
Aroused Over Belgium.
But as soon as Germans entered
Belgium the common people arose as
one man to insist upon an attempt at
defense of that little nation and its he
role king.
The outbursts of rage that followed
in Germany was the rage of the tiger
baked of it's prey. The German tiger
consoled itself by the thought that
John Bull was an effete old plutocrat,
whose sons and daughters were given
up to sport and amusement.
Our army was little larger than
yours. The kaiser in his famous or
der issued at AK LIE Chapelle, referred
to it as Sir John F'rench's con-
temptible little army" Since then by
voluntary enlistment of free men. we
already possess one of the worlds
largest armed forces.
Your position today is not at all un-
like ours before the war. You are as
eaten up with commercialism and
pacifism as We were and you are not
in such a good position for fighting as
we are by reason of the lack of unity
of the races now composing the United
States. On the other hand, you offer
the same opportunity to any hungry
and aggressive nation that we did.
You have lots of money, few soldiers
and comparatively few sailors. Troops
can be moved to your shores from hos
tile countries in little more than the
time it took to move troops from New
York to Boston 200 years ago. The
fact that we have been able to trans
port at least a million soldiers across
the sea shows that any European or
oriental nation could, if you were I'M
prepared Gas you are) ship them to
you.
Ideals Different.
England, France and the other al
lies are grateful for the sympathy they
have received from large numbers of
Americans. Some 10000 Americans,
a number of whom have already be-
come officers for their loyalty to the
cause of democracy freedom and indi-
vidualism by enlisting in our army
either through Canada or direct. One
of these officers an extremely able
young artilleryman, said to me yes
terday:
I'VE are not fighting with you for
the liberty of the world, and because
it is our duty
The Germans have their ideal. 1t
is not ours; it is not that of France,
nor is it of the United States. Their
ideal is the subordination of the mass
of the people to discipline. A great
many of them have escaped from Ger
many to your country and to our colo
MES to avoid this very system of gov
eminent. That is why it is difficult
to understand why what you call
"hyphenated Americans who have
left Germany for freedoms sake,
should be siding against the United
States and with Germany.
Never Interfered With Germans.
AS far as England is concerned, we
have never attempted to interfere with
the German system of government so
long as it was confined to its own
country, but directly an attempt was
made to apply this system to Belgium
and France and we leaped into the
ring.
You ask me what is our view of the
attitude of America toward the war.
Ny own view all along has been that
the American attitude is entirely a
matter for the people of the United
States to form