The Oskaloosa herald., 1917-06-14
Mr.. TAFT ON THE WAR.

fOrmer PRESIDENT VIM. ii. Tart be-
lieves the present war may last for
several years. Germany is not ex-
hausted by any means, and if we are
to win the war we will have to put
forth every endeavor. We shah
have to give up our happy-go-lucky
spirit and get down to serious bust
ness" said Mr.. Taft. Right now we
do not realize what a serious job we
have on our hands. But when we
begin to stand around the bulletin
boards and telegraph offices waiting
for the lists of dead and wounded
then we will realize it and put every
thing but the war aside as of but
incidental concern"
The United States went to war be-
cause she could not do otherwise, is
the opinion of Mr.. Taft. In an anal
ysis of the causes that led UP to the
United States entering the war, he
feels that Germany in killing 200
American citizens violated interna-
tional law and committed what
would be plain murder under domes-
tic law. There is no difference be-
tween the two. Americans are en-
titled to the protection of the law
abroad or on shipboard just the
same as at home and if the govern
ment cannot give this protection, it
had better go out of the government
business, he said.
"Wp bs.y tp cnonJ ,,,i1IiDy,
lives to revenge these 200," declared
ex-President Taft But it will be
worth million if we rid the world
of the domination of Prussian mill
tary arrogance that has become in
tolerable to the rest of the world and
a menace to the truths that we be-
lieve to be the basis of liberty"
While Germany has always been
liberty loving people, it has gone
through a great change since 1864,
said Mr.. Taft. In that year Bismark
began in Prussia to advance the the
DRY that the king and the state are
supreme and that force is the domi-
mating motive to be used to advance
the state. This doctrine worked out,
he said, to bring all of the German
states under the control of Prussia,
and to defeat France in 1870. Since
that time, Bismark, his followers and
the philosophy of Bernardo and
have all aided in bringing
the whole German empire to the
place where it believes in the destiny
Of a greater German state and that
everything else in industry and sci
ence must be st1oordinated to adj
vance through military force thiS
destiny.
This is what we must fight
against" Mr.. Taft said. 1T Is the
greatest military force in the world
backed by believing people. If
We submit to it and to it's violation of
law, we must become
subject to it. Suppose Guatemala |
,r Venezuela should gather up some !
sink our boats and muir
Ter 200 of our people. How long |
would it be before our battleships !
would be bombarding her harbors? I
sven the paciflsts would applaud |
'uch an action. If we do not do the
anne to Germany it is because we
ire afraid of her.
This is war that is different
rom any ether war because all Of
he right is on our side and all Of
he wrong on the other. Germany
) blinded by her military leaders.
With the United States is aligned
II of the great democracies of the
Iorld, England. France. Russia, and
tally. You say England is not a
emocracy and has king. Yes.
ut he is about as useless and has
j much TO do as an ex.president. He
signs but he does not rule. The /
eople rule. just as they do in these
her democracies."
IOWA pAATEQc NEW NnpK