The Marietta journal and courier. (Marietta, Ga.) 1909-1918, 1917-12-07
PRESIDENT STATES
] U. S. WAR AIMS
I'M MESSAGE

Wilson's war message to congress
asking that body to Immediately de
clare war against Austria Hungary, il
as follows.
Gentlemen of the Congress:
Eight months have elapsed since
last had the honor of addressing you
They have been months crowded with
events of immense and grave signif
canoe for us.
shall not undertake to detail OF
even to summarize these events. The
practical particulars of the part we
have played in them will be laid be-
fore you in the reports of the execu-
tice departments. | shall discuss only
our present outlook upon these vast
affairs, our present duties, and the i'm.
mediate means Of accomplishing the
objects we shall hold always in view.
/ shall not go back to debate the
causes of the war. The intolerable
wrongs done and planned against us
by the sinister masters of Germany
have long since become too grossly
obvious and odious to every true Amer
Jean to need to be rehearsed. But
shall ask you to consider again, and
with a very grave scrutiny, our OBJ
jectives and the measures by which
we mean to attain them; for the pur-
pose of discussion here in this place
is action, and our action must move
straight toward definite ends. Our
object is, of course, to win the war;
and we shall not slacken or suffer
ourselves to be diverted until it is
won. But it is worth while asking
and answering the question, when shall
we consider the war won?
Nation Is United
From one point of view it is not
necessary to breach this fundamental
matter. l do not doubt that the Amer
lean people know what the war is
about and what sort of an outcome
they will regard as a realization of
their purpose in ii. AS a nation we
are united in spirit and intention.
] pay little heed to those who tell me
otherwise. | hear the voices of dis
sent-who does not? | hear the criti-
cism and the clamor of the noisy,
thoughtless and troublesome. / also
see men here and there fling them
selves in impotent disloyalty against
the calm, indomitable power of the
nation. hear men debate peace who
understand neither it's nature nor the
way in which we obtain it with uplift-
ed eyes and unbroken spirits. But l
know that none of this speaks for the
nation. They do not touch the heart
of any question. They may safely be
left to strut their uneasy hour and be
forgotten.
But from another point of view
! believe that it is necessary to say
plainly what we heye at the seat of
action consider war to be for and what
part we mean to play in the settle
ment of it's searching issues. We are
the spokesmen of the American people,
and tlrey have a right to know whether
their purpose is ours. They desire
peace by the overcoming of evil, by
the defeat once for all of the sinister
forces that interrupt peace and rem
der it impossible. and they wish to
know how closely our thought runs
with theirs and what action we pro-
pose
Desire No Compromise
They are impatient with those who
desire peace by any sort of compro-
mise-deepIy and Indignantly impa-
tient-but they will be equally impa-
tient with us if we do not make 1t
plain to them what our detectives are
and what we are planning for in seek
ing to make conquest of peace by
arms.
/ believe that speak for them
when I say two things: First. that
this intolerable thing of which the
masters of Germany have shown us
the ugly face. this menace OF combin-
ed intrigue and force which we now
see SO clearly as the German power, a
Thing without conscience or honor or
capacity for covenanted peace, must
be crushed, and, il it be not utterly
brought to an end, at least smut OUT
from the friendly intercourse or the
nations; and. second, that when this
thing and its power are indeed de-
feated and the time comes that we
can discuss peace-when the German
people have Spokesman whose WORD
We can believe, and when
those spolSesmen are ready In
the name of their people to accept the
common judgment Of the nations as
"a what shall henceforth be the bases
OF law and of covenant for the life
OF the world-we shall be willing ano
glad to pay the full price for peace
and paw 1t ungrudgingly.
Justice Price OF Peace
We know what that price wiH be
II will be full, impartial justice--1us'
tice done at every point and to every
nation that the final settlement must
affect. our enemies, as well as our
friends.
You catch, with me, the voices OF
humanity that are in the air. Tney
grow daily more audible, more artlcu
late. more persuasive, and they come
from the hearts Of men everywhere
They insist that the war shall not END
in yindictive action of any kind; that
no nation or people shall be robbed OF
punished because the irresponsible
rulers of a single country have them
selves done deep and abominaole
wrong.
II is this thought that has been ex
messed in the formula mo annexa
tions. no contributions, no punitive IN
IDENTITIES"