The Dermott news. (Dermott, Ark.) 1910-1977, 1917-10-25
Hammock Much
in Demand

III DCINdnO
Z. e. Hammock has been much il
demand the past week, having wor
considerable distinction on account OF
the excellent addresses delivered by
him in behalf of the Liberty Loar
Campaign. Following his speech her,
Thursday night. he was invited tC
McGehee where he addressed an en-
thusiastic meeting of railroad men or
Sunday afternoon He has also beer
invited to speak at Hamburg Mon
trose and Eudora. In his speech here
yesterday. Mr.. Hammock said in part
This country faces the most serious
crisis in its history; yet because geo
graphically we are go far removed
from actual hostilities and also because
of our natural optimistic disposition
we have never realized how monstrou-
and Immediate this crisis is
When the fires of war first lighted
Europe. We felt absolutely certain that
there was no issue involved that could
affect US at least affect us to the ex.
tent of embroiling US az belligerent
We viewed the first months of that
awful struggle with complacent i'm
partiality. We thought that all we
had to do was to observe a strict neu-
Srality and attend to our own business.
Me did this. giving full credit and faith
4
.scrGpulously observe the substantive
laws ef nations. and at the end of the
the first twelve months our trade bal
ance with foreign cnuntries increased
a billion dollars. We did not know
then. that we too had been marked for
exploitation by the arch enemy of all
democracy and that the serpent of
autocracy had already made its shiny
trail throughout our fair land We
closed our eyes to the obvious and
drowned the cry of warning raised bv
other democracies by violent quarrels
and discussions a. to the measure of
responsibility charyeable 70 the various
belhgerents
1t was not unit! our women and chill
dren had been ruthlessly murdered up
on the high seas. our neutrality prosti
tuted to the Use Ct this same venomous +
reptile. autoeraey. and until we had
suffered such in4.Enitg ana humiliation
az to raise the lighting spirit of such a
confirmed paeilist even as the author
Of the prince Of Peace. Mr.. Bryan
himself. that IT slowly dawned upon US
that our own liberties were ~ much
endangered ~ those of devastated and
outraged Belgium
We were regarded as the wealthiest,
weakest and most coWardly nation on
earth; our army and navy were a
source of ridieule and our courage at
arms rated as low as it was possible to
rate such matters. Despite a propa-
ganda naugurated and promulgated by
the smoothest and most INSCRIPTIONS
politicians, both foreign and native and
supported by veritable stream of
money, We at last threw off our role of
humility and arose as giant awaked.
and declared our intentions to assist
the sorely pressed legions of democ-
racy, battling against that beast of
desolation. that aggregation of blood
thirsty monsters, the German Govern
ment.
The stupendous activity of our coun-
try. and the celebrity with which we be-
gan to place ourselves upon respecta-
BILE war footing. astonished the entire
world. Old and prepared nations that
had been in the habit of treating US
with contempt began to show consid-
Grafton heretofore unfet by them and
inexperienced by US, and the Imperial
Government at Berlin marveled at the
spontaneous response of our people to
the request of our Government for a
loan. We have put our hand to the
pillow and dare not turn back; we must
show the same liberality in subscribing
to this second loan as we did to the
first. We must have 20 billion dollars
for the first year of the war The es-
timated income of our nation is from
40 to so billion dollars and we are
asked to loan one half & - Income
to our country. We a. rages vidu"o