Evening journal., 1917-04-03

the wonderful and heartening things /
that have been happening within the
last few weeks in Russia?
Russia was known by those who
knew It best TO have been always in
fact democratic at heart, in all the
vital habits Of her thought in all the
Intimate relationships Of her people
that spoke their natural instinct, their
habitual attitude toward life.
Autocracy that crowned the summit
of her political structure, long as II
had stood and terrible as was the real
ity of its power was not in fact Rus
sian IN origin. in character or pur-
pose, and now IL has been shaken and
the great, generous Russian people
have been added, in all their native
majesty and might, to the forces that
are fighting for freedom in the world
for justice and for peace. Here Is
DO partner for q league of honor.
One OF the things that have served
TO convince us that the PFussian auto
cracy was not and could never be our
friends is that from the very outset
of the present war Il has filled our
unsuspecting communities and even
our offices OF government with spies
and set criminal intrigues atoot
against our national unity Of council,
our peace within and without our IN
dustries and our commerce.
Indeed It is now evident that its
spies were here even before the war
began, and It is. unhappily, not o mat
ter Of conjecture but a fact proved in
our courts Of justice that the intrigues
which have more than once come peril
ously near to disturbing the peace
and dislocating the industries OF the
country have been carried on at the
instigatiOn, with the support and even
under the personal direction Of on
cial agents of the Imperial German
; Government accredited TO the Govern
ment OF the United States.
Neutrality IS no longer feasible or
( desirable where the peace OF the
> world is involved and tho freedom Of
its peoples, and the menace to that
peace and freedom lies IN the exist
eDce OF autocratio governments back
ed by organized force which IS con-
trolled wholly by their will, not By
the sgill Of their people. We have
e seen the last OF neutrality in such cir
T eumstances.
r We are at the beginning OF an age
in which it will be insisted that the
q same standards of conduct and OF re-
= sponsibility for wrong done shall be
q observed among nations and their
l. governments that are observed among
) the individual citizens of civilized
States.
We have no quarrel with the Ger
II man people. We have no feeling 10.
s. ward them but one Of sympathy and
Il friendship. II was not upon their i'm
.e pulse that their government acted in
entering this war. IL was not with
L thoir previous knowledge or approval
70 IL was a war determined upon as
" wars used to be determined upon IN
" the old, unhappy days when peoples
y were nowhere consulted by their rul-
ers and wars were provoked ant
y waged in the interest of dynasties oil
i of little groups of ambitious men who
" were accustomed TO use their fellow
!" men as pawns and tools.
Self governed nations do not IN
~ their neighbor States with spies o
~ set the course of intrigue 10 brinl
u about some critical posture of affair
y which will give them an oppOrtunit!
u ia strike and make conquest. Sucl
~ designs can be successfully WORKER
~ only under cover and where no on
~ has the right to ask questions.
10 Cunningly contrived plans of de
- ception or aggression, carried, il ma
l.. be, from generation to generation
~ can be worked out and kept from In
as light. only within the privacy OF court
so or behind the carefully guarded con
~ fidences Of a narrow and privilege
~ class. They are happily impossibl
~ where public opinion commands an
,,, insists upon full information concern
~ ing all the nations affairs.
IN steadfast concert for peace ca
IA never be maintained except by par
% nership of democratic nations. \
"a autOcratic government could be tTHs
~ ed to keep faith within Il or ObserN
~ It's covenants. Il must be n league (
IN honor. a partnership of opinion. II
oh trigue would eat It's yitaIs away, Il
mr. plOttlngs of inner circles who con
,'d plan what they would and render n
~ count TO no one would be CORFU
" lion seated at its very heart. On
no. free peoples can hold their purpO'
80 80 and their honor steady 10 a cOmmC
end and prefer the interests of maj
as kind TO any narrow interest OF the
he own.
Even in checking these things an
20 trying to extirpate them we haN
I'D sought to put the most generous il
he depreciation possible upon them b.
lnh cause we knew that their source la
he not in any hostile feeling or purpo'
IN of the German people toward I
''' (who were. no doubt, as ignorant
,.o them as we ourselves were), but on
30 30 in the selfish designs of a Cover
a J ment that did what It pleased and to
a. ite people nothing But they ha'
Ju PLAYED their part in serving TO co
hot vince us al last that that Governme
entertains no real friendship for
vi and means to act against our pea
Dc and security at its convenience. tn
ION il means TO stir up enemies again
H. us at our very doors the intercept
III note 10 the German Minister at Mel
n co city is eloquent evidence.
Oh We are accepting this challenge
IN hostile purpose because we know th
'ess in such a Government, following su
the methods. we can never have q frien
and that in the presence OF its {
idi- ganized power, always lying in w
the to accomplish we know not WI
as purpose. there can be no assured {
wer curity for the democratic Cover
Tree ments of the world.
lrld We are now about TO accept I
Of hotffa with thig natural