Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1917-08-24
What We Are Fighting For.
BY WILLIAM L. MARBURY

No peOple-no free people will
or should make the tremendou,
sacrifice necessary to conduct to a
successful conclusion such a wal
IS that in which the American
people are now engaged except fol
an adequate cause.
To put the case bluntly, we are
In this war primarily because we
dare not remain out of it.
If a band of desperadoes invades
a town and endeavors to over.
power the police, the peacefully
inclined citizen who elects to re.
main neutral and does not 90 to
the aid of the police is not pursu-
ing a path of safety.
To "play safe," under such cir
cumstances, is to take the greatest
conceivable risk, because if the 90.
lice are overpowered, the peaceful
citizen will be at the mercy of the
desperadoes.
The peaceful citizen who adopted
such course would certainly be
regarded by most people as suffer.
ing from no less disease than ex,
cessive optimism, if he imagined
that he could pursue it with safe
ty. Some of us might say that he
was suffering from malady much
more serious, and one which called
for treatment.
In resorting to the use of the
submarine against merchant ships,
the German government is resort.
ing to the methods of the despera
do. AS the President of the United
States has pointed out in his pro.
test to that government against
the sinking of the "Sussex," the
submarine cannot be used against
merchant ships at all on high seas
without violating that fundamen,
tai rule of humanity-an absolute.
ly established rule of civilized
warfare-that before sinking
merchant ship that ship must be
afforded an opportunity to surren,
der to the attacking varship, and
if she. does surrender her passen
gers and crew must be taken "a
board the attacking ship or other.
wise put in a place OF safety not
on open boats on the high seas)
before she can be sunk.
Any government less powerful
than that of the German Empire
which dared to violate this rule
would have been promptly de
nOunced as an outlaw by every
civilized government on the globe
and its ships treated as pirates
as "enemies of mankind.n
If the German government by
these means succeeds in starving
England and France into submis
sion, those countries will be com
PEELED to submit to any terms the
German government may choose
to dictate.
One of those terms undoubtedly |
Ould be the surrender of the
'ritish fleet. That would mean
that the German military autocra
cy would be promptly established
in Canada.
With that terrific military pow
er controlled by a government
which openly practicesruthlessness
in war, upon our northern border,
is there any American so stupid
as to believe that we would be safe
that our women and children
would not be in danger of being
subjected to the horrors which
have overwhelmed Belgium and
Northern France9 Yet if we re
main out of this war, or, if being
in it, we fail to give our allies all
the aid in our power in men, mu-
Bitions and ships, that is the stu
alton in which we may find our
selves.
This is not a war for revenge
mot a war merely to punish Ger
many for wrongs done-for the
drowning of our men, ofour women
or of our children on the high seas
TO avenge the Lusitania or other
wrongs. 1t is war primarily for
the preservation of our freedom
and independence as people, and
to protect our country against the
horrors of foreign invasion, in
addition to being war waged for
the preservation of modern civil
cation.