TaÌˆgliche Omaha tribuÌˆne. [volume] (Omaha, Nebr.) 1912-1926, 1917-03-20

Senator Reed, whose sympathiel
certainly cannot said to be on thu
! German side, had this to say:
Il tell you, Senators, IL this wal
is begun, the youngest man Ia thil
body may be dead and In his grave
before the effects OF our action taken
here tonight shall have passet
away. No man can foresee the end
No man al prophecy with safety
the end. How long will it last
How long will the present war ID
Europe last? How long win the
present alignment exist? And wheI
that wax shall come to a close, viii
it be a permanent close, or win b
mean a ~realignment, new battles
new wars, and new horrors? And
shall we be able to e%xtrieate our
selves from all of this without ever
the smell Of smoke upon our gar
ments; or shah the intrigues OF
European courts plague us or .
century of time, and shall the
dragoon's teeth still bring their croI
Of evil as the years go by?
What shall the immediate cost bel
/ tell you. sirs, IL we are to engage
in a conflict with Germany, we might
as we'll understand now as under
stand later we are engaging in 8
desperate conflict with the mosl
puissant power of this earth. We
might as well now as later count the
cost--the cost in blood and treasury;
and | say, IL we are to enter this
contest, we ought to enter 1t with
such force and with such mighty
power. with such resistless energy
as to determine the result, and do II
speedily. We can not afford, with
such an antagonist. to trust to any
halfway measures.
We can not afford to enter this
contest and trust to other nations TO
| win the victory. They may too soon
compose their differences. they may
not gain the victory; and we may
find ourselves confronted by a
mighty nation that has disposed OF
its enemies by treaty or by con.
quest; and in such a case, who VIII
tell the end Of the struggle, OF count
the cost In blood and treasurer
Mr.. President, II we are going into
this contest. we may as well get
ready. not with one hundred million
| dollars. but with billions: not with
a few guns from navy yards to be
| placed upon the thin shells OF the
, decks of merchant vessels, but with
J all our ornaments Of the sea and
with and all we can create. We may
as well get ready. sir, with all the
vast resources of our land. We may
as well prepare 10 call on every
home for its best beloved. We may
as well steel our hearts to the sound
of grief that comes from the lips OF
wailing women. We may as well
turn our eyes to doors the lintels
Of which will be sprinkled with the
blood of cur sons.
This Is no idle thing we are doing.
We may have occasion for regret
There was q time, a little over "a
months ago, when four or FIVE men
could have held up their hands and
stopped a world conflict. But they
heard the voices of ambition; they
listened to the cry Of Onward" and
Victory; they dreamed of triumphal
marches; they reached out hands
In anticipation for laurel wreaths
that were to be woven for their
brows; and there is not n among
them who has not prayed God a
thousand times that he might escape
the result of this act in plunging his
country into war.
SO, / say. II we must taEe these
acts. let us take them with full
knowledge of the gravity OF that
which We do. Let US not deceive
ourselves wit the thought that we
are certain. by taking these acts, to
gain for ourselves peace. We are
very likely, SIR. to be entering upon
a crimson field, the horizon OF which
lies beyond the boundary of our
vision, the agonies Of which our
souls can not conceive. '-tCongr.