Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1917-06-08
@ted States Is At War In
Self Defense, Says Lane.
Secretary Answers Question, why are
We Fighting Germany"


war registration day Secretary Lane
In speech before the Home Club @
the Interior Department tonight, an
swers the question, "Why We ar
fighting Germany"
America is at war, MIR. Lane said
In self defense; she is war to save her
self, with the rest of the world from
the nation that has linked itself will
the Turk and adopted the method o
Mahomet.
A War OF Seif.Defense.
"Why are we fighting Germany
The brief answer ia that ours is {
war OF self-defense. Germany made
the attack upon the United States; OF
our ships, our lives, our rights, oul
future. For two wears and more We
held to a neutrality that made Us
apologists for things which outraged
mans common sense of fairplay and
humanity.
"At each new Offense we said: This
10 war-archaic, uncivilzed war; but
war. All rules have been thrown
away; man has come down to the
primitive brute. And while we can
not justify, we will not intervene.
1t is not our war.
"Then why are we in? Because we
could not keep out. The invasion of
Belgium led to the invasion OF the
United States by slow, steady, logical
steps.
eve talked In the language and in
the spirit of good faith aud sincerity,
until we discovered that our. talk was
construed as cowardice.
Sand so we came into this war for
ourselves. 1t is war to save Amer
lea, to preserve self-respect, to justi-
fy our right to live as we have lived;
not as someone else wishes us to
live. In the name of freedom, we
challenge with ships and men, money
and an undaunted spirit, that word
"verbaten", which Germany has writ
ten upon the sea and upon the land.
Why We Are Fighting Germany.
with this background of history
and in this sense, then, we fight Ger
many.
because of Belgium, invaded, out
ragged and enslaved; impoverished
Belgium.
because of France. invaded, des-
ecrated Frances million of whose
heroic sons have died to save the
land Of Lafayette.
because of England; from whom
came the laws, traditions, standards
OF life and inherit love of liberty
which we call Anglo Saxon civiliza-
ton.
because OF Russia; new Russia;
she must not be overwhelmed now.
Her peasants must go to school to
Washington, to Jefferson and to Lin
coin, until they know their way about
In this new, strange world of govern
ment by the popular will, and
because of other peoples with
their rising hope that the world may
be freed from government by the
soldier.
"We are fighting Germany because
she sought to terrorize us and then
to fool US.
1--WE still hear the piteous cry of
children coming up out of the sea,
where the Lusitania went down.
"We saw the Sussex sunk, crowded
with the sons and daughters OF neu-
trail nations.
1--WE saw ship after ship sent to the
bottom: ships of mercy sent out of
America for the Belgian starving
ships carrying the Red Cross and
laden with the wounded of all ma ,
tions-ships flying the Stars and ,
Stripes sent to the bottom hundreds ,
Of miles from shore, manned by
American seamen, murdered against
oil law, without warning. ,
1--WE believed Germany's promise j
that she would respect the neutral ,
dag and the rights of neutrals, and {
We held our anger and outrage In s
cueck. But now we see che was I
holding ne OF with fair promises I'M
I'll she could build her huge feet of &
For when spring came ,
she blew her promises into the air, I
just - at the beginning she had torn g
up that scrap of paper. 6
1--WE are fighting Germany because !
she violated our confidence. Officials {
of her government, received as the i
quests OF this nation, lived with US to q
oribe and terrorize, defying our law Z
md the lave of nations. r
1--WE are fighting Germany because b
while We were yet her friends-the q
'nly great power that still held hands e
'h-she sent the Zimmerman note, {
'slling to her aid Mexico, our south v
'rn neighbor. and hoping to lure ia o
pan, our eastern neighbor, into war 4
against this nation of peace. q
"The nation that would do these d
Kings proclaims the gospel that gov h
'rnment has no conscience. And this Il
doctrine cannot live, or else democ- %
scy must die. n
1--WE are fighting Germany, because 81