New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1916-04-26
Wednesday April 26, 1916.
VIII Congress Agree
With the President?

Ominous war clouds are lowering over
this land of the free and home of the
brave and the homes of a liberty loving
people are about to be blighted by call
to arms of Americas flower of manhood
to be offered upon the altar of COM
mercialized patriotism. President Will
son has seen fit to deliver to Germany an
ultimatum of either disseminating the
submarine warfare upon the commerce
entering the ports of England and her
allies or severing diplomatic relations.
While the cheerful acceptance or the
counting Of the severance of diplomatic
relations and consequent declaration
of war, would be little short of insanity
on the part of Germany, it would be
suicidal for that nation to discontinue
its war upon commerce. This we
must concede, not as defense of the
warfare as conducted by Germany, but
as a matter of fact.
President Wilson in his message to
Congress urges that body to stand be-
hind him in his efforts to protect the
universally recognized dictates of
humanity" but fails utterly to call the
attention of that body to the fact that
men engaged in oversee commerce,
men who have established lucrative
source of trade since the opening of
hostilities, are the only ones who have
thus far suffered from the RELENTLESS
war upon non-combatants. If Presi-
dent Wilson would pose as the self-con-
stituted apostle of humanity, let him see
to it that human lives are not placed in
jeopardy by the shipment of contraband
to the nations now at war. The root
of the evil is not in the submarine or the
destructive torpedo, but in the illicit
trade established between American
ammunition manufacturers and the Eng
fish allies. Talk about humanity! Is
it humane to permit the shipment of
missiles of death and destruction under
the protection of the American flag or
tolerate the travel of American citizens
on a belligerent vessel to insure its
safety from attack by submarines? Is
it humane, we ask? Is it humane and
conducive to ending the horrible con-
hict in the Old World when the United
States government permits, sanctions
and fosters the manufacture of arms
and munitions on American soil for no
other purpose than TO KILL? Is that
humane? To sacrifice even one Ameri-
can life for the propagation of such
cause would be a stain upon the Stars
and Stripes that no penance could ever
wipe out.
To enter the European conflict would
not only mean that America sanctions
the cause of England, France and her
allies, but also would mean the sane
tioning of the war itself and that is
something no self-respecting American,
regardless of ancestry, will stultify him
self to do. American citizens regret
and lament the horrible slaughter of the
innocents, and no great President or
ex-President could convince the Ameri-
can people that the time has come for
the "great day of God-the battle of
Armageddon" The European conflict
is not one between the powers of good
and evil, but a conflict of commercial
jealousy and for commercial supremacy,
furthered no doubt by the critical
political conditions, labor troubles and
religious riots Immediately preceding
the outbreak of hostilities.
America has disgraced herself enough
in aiding and abetting the continuance
of the war, let her not heap further shame
upon our future generations by supple
menting the shameful moral support by
open acts and deeds even more disgrace
full.
AS long as two weeks ago the Review
received a solemn warning from men
who are keeping in touch with the sltua-
ton in Washington, stating that sinister
influences we're at work in the national
capital whose aim it is to embroil this
country in war with Germany. We
were hoping against hope that even these
men were misinformed and that the
President would take the people, whose
servant he is supposed to be, into his
confidence and heed their opinion before
taking step so serious as threat te
sever diplomatic relations. 1t seems
we have been mistaken in our estimate
of the broad-mindedness of the President
He is. disregarding the sentiment OF the
majority of the people. The mono
polistically controlled press OF the coun'
try seems to have been his guide. Were
all the weekly newspapers OF the country
opposed to war and would state so ir
their editions of next week, President
Wilson would go on.in his follies.