The Holly chieftain., 1917-04-06

the heart and conscience of mankind
demanded.
This minimum of right the Ger
man government has swept aside un-
der the plea of retaliation and me-
cessity, and because it had no weap-
Ons which it could use at sea except
these, which it is impossible to EN-.
ploy as it is employing them with
out throwing to the winds all scruples
of humanity or of respect for the un-
derstandings that were supposed to
underlie the intercourse of the world.
l am not now thinking of the loss of
property involved, immense and SER
ious as thst is, but only of the wan
ton and wholesale destruction of the
lives Of non-combatants, men, women
and children, engaged in pursuits
which have always, even in the dark
est periods of modern history, been
deemed innocent and legitimate. Prop
erty can, be paid for; the lives of
peaceful and innocent people cannot
be.
Kaiser Wages War Against Mankind.
The present German submarine war
fare against commerce is warfare
against mankind. 1t is war
against all nations. American ships
have been sunk, American lives taken,
in ways which 1t has stirred us very
deeply to learn of, but the ships and
people of other neutral and friendly
nations have been sunk and over
whelmed in the waters in the same
way. There has been no discrimina-
ton. The challenge is to all mankind.
Each nation must decide for itself
how 1t will meet 1t. The choice we
make for ourselves must be made with
consideration Of counsel and tenn
perateness of judgment befitting our
| character and our natives as a ma
ton.
We must put excited feeling away.
Our motive will not be revenge or the
victorious assertion of the physical
might of the nation, but only the vim.
dication Of right. of human right, of
which we are only single champion.
When I addressed the Congress on
the twenty-sixth OF February last
thought that it would suffice to as
sert our neutral rights with arms, our
right to use the seas against unlaw-
| full interference, our right to keep our
| people safe against unlawful violence.
But armed neutrality, it now ap-
pears, is impractical. Because subma-
rines are in effect outlaws when used
as the German submarines have been
used against merchant shipping, 1t 10
| impossible to defend ships against
their attacks as the law of nations
has assumed that merchantmen would
defend themselves against privateers
or cruisers, visible craft giving chase
upon the open sea.
It is common prudence in such cir
cumstances, grim necessity indeed, to
endeavor to destroy them before they
have shown their own intention. They
must be dealt with upon sight, II
dealt with at all.
Armed Neutrality Proved Intellectual.
The German government denies the
| right OF neutrals to use arms at all
within the areas of the sea which 1t
has prescribed, even in the defense
Of rights whichz no modern publicist
has ever before questioned-theirr right
to defend. The intimation is con-
veyed that the armed guards which
| we have placed on our merchant
ships will be treated as beyond the
pale of law and subject to be dealt
with as pirates would be.
Armed neutrality is Intellectual
at best; in such circumstances and
in the face of such pretensions 1t is
worse than ineffectual; 1t is likely
to produce what 1t was meant
to prevent; 1t is practically certain
to draw US into the war without
either the rights or the effectiveness
Of belligerents.
There is one choice we cannot make,
we are incapable of making. We will
not choose the path of submission
and suffer the most sacred rights OF
our nation and our people to be ig-
nored or violated. The wrongs against
which we now array ourselves are not
common wrongs; they cut to the very
roots OF human life.
With a profound sense Of tho sell
emn and even tragical character Of
the step am taking and Of the grave
responsibilities which It involves, but
in unhesitating obedience to what
deem my constitutional duty, advise
that the Congress declare the recent