The Yale expositor. (Yale, St. Clair County, Mich.) 1894-current, 1917-04-05

tual; 1t is likely once to produce what
1t was meant to prevent. Ii is prac-
tically certain to draw us into the war
without either the rights or the eff
fectiveness of belligerents.
"cannot Choose Submission"
There is one choice we cannot
make, we are incapable of making:
We will not choose the path of sub
mission and suffer the most sacred
rights of our nation and our people to
be ignored 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 the SOL
emn and even tragical character of
the step am taking and of the grave
responsibility which it involves, bat
in unhesitating obedience to what
deem my final duty. l advise that the
congress declare the recent course
of the imperial German government
to be in fact nothing less than war
against the government and people of
the United States; that it formally ac-
ccept the status of belligerent, which
has thus been thrust upon it and that
it take immediate steps not only to
put the country in more thorough
state of defense, but also to exert all
it's power and employ all its resources
to bring the government of the Ger
man empire to terms and end the
war.
Makes Plea For Large Army.
What this will involve is clear. It
will involve the utmost practicable CO.
operation in counsel and action with
the governments now at war with
Germany, and, as incident to that,
the extension to those governments
of the most liberal financial credits,
in order that our resources may, so
far as possible, be added to theirs.
ut will involve the organization and
mobilization of all the material re-
sources OF the country to supply the
materials of war and serve the Incl
dental needs of the nation in the most
abundant, and yet the most economi-
cal and efficient way possible.
1T will involve the immediate full
equipment of the navy in all respects,
but particularly in supplying it with
the best means of dealing with the
enemy's submarines. II will involve
the immediate addition to the armed
forces OF the United States already
provided for by law in case of war, at
least 100000 men, who should, in my
opinion, be chosen upon the principle
Of universal liability to service, and
also the authorization OF subsequent
additional increments of equal force
so soon as they may be needed and
can be handled in training.
Wants Present Generation to Pay.
1T will involve also OF course, the
granting of adequate credits to the
government, sustained, / hope, so far
as they can equitably be sustained, by
the present generation, by we'll con-
ceived taxation. | say sustained so
far as may be equitable by taxation,
because it seems to me that it would
be most unwise to base the credits,
which will now be necessary, entire
ly on money borrowed.
ut is our duty, | most respectfully
urge, to protect our people so far as
we may against the very serious hard
ships and evils which would be likely
to arise out of the imitation, which
would be produced by vast loans.
I'm carrying out the measures by
which these things are to be accom-
plished we should keep constantly in
mind the wisdom of interfering as
little as possible in our own prepare
ton and in the equipment of our own
military forces with the duty-for 1t
will be a very practical duty-of sup
plying the nations already at war with
Germany with the materials which
they can obtain only from us or by
our assistance. They are in the field
and we should help them in every way
to be effective there.
viii Suggest Measures Desired.
81 shall take the liberty of sug-
costing, through the several execu-
tive departments of the government,
for the consideration of your commit
tees, measures for the accomplishment
of the several objects / have men,
toned. l hope that it will be your
pleasure to deal with them as having
been framed after very careful thought
by the branch of the government up
on which the responsibility of con-
Quoting the war and safeguarding the
nation will most directly fall
while we do these things, these
deeply momentous things, let us be
very clear, and make very clear to all
the world what our motives and our
objects are. My own thought has not
been driven from its habitual and
normal course by the unhappy events
of the last two months, and do not
believe the thought of the nation has
been altered or clouded by them.