The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1917-10-17

CBy Thomas W. Gregory, Attorn
ey General OF the United statesj.
"'rhe federal government can find
In existing statutes and others now
pending before congress power 10
handle any situations that may arise
because of the ill.advised activitie
x of disloyal agitstors. Attorney
| General Gregory.
| The sporadic activities OF few agi'
tators who, led by good or bad motives.
seek 10 hamper our work In the war
mstify me as the chief law officer OF
the executive branch OF the government
in calling attention IA the duties, moral
and legal of ALI persons owing tenn
porary or permanent allegiance To the
United States.
The German government began this
war by a contemptuous breach OF its
formally plighted faith made In sol
emn treaty and from the beginning
until now has more than made good
this ominous earnest OF it's intention
and temper The president has shown
us how one by one. as opportunity Of
fered. the safeguards which civilization
has been able during the centuries TO
throw around neuuals and the non
fighting people Of warning nations were
ruthlessly torn down; how patient and
long.suffering remonstrance and request
were met by fair words. and fairer
promises made only TO be broken.
We all know as but sober fact, plain
Is stated. that the Imperial government
has allowed no rule OF war, no prin-
ciple of civilization, no consideration of
humanity, no teaching OF Christianity
To stand between il and the working
out of its Illegal purposes. For half
a century that government has schemed
and prepared to dominate the world by
blood and iron" For half "A century
the officials of the imperial government
from the kaiser down, including even
the teachers Of their children, have
prustituted the minds Of their youth
Until the whole people has been led to
a liberation, If not approval. of the hid
Ieous outrages and barbarities practiced
by that government i'm this war. While
yet we were neutral, struggling to keep
free from the conflict the representa-
t'ves of that government in this coun'
try planned TO destroy our factories and
our railroads forged our public papers,
deceived US when convenient. violated
our hospitality and our sovereignty,
while they plotted against our terri
torial integrity: they deliberately and
with malice and affronting forewarning
drowned our helpless women and babes
land declared "A public holiday that
their own innocent children might cele-
trate the murder.
They have bombarded unfortified
towns and bombed the unprotected
homes of their foes, taking their toll
of wounded and dead from the aged and
infirm. the young and the helpless They
have made barren desert of the garden
spots of the earth; they have needless
,ly pilaged and willfully burned towns;
they have reduced to slavery men, wom-
en- and children: they have wrecked and
torn asunder families with system
lCiabolical i'm its efficiency; they have
wantonly defled and destroyed the tenn
pies of God. They have done all OF
4 ese things that they might sti ike
terror into the hearts of men so as more
easily to conquer and rule them.
| As the war has gone on, the ultimate
,aim of the imperial government has
become more and more clear. Drunk
with the sense of it's own power and
its asserted superiority it has proposed
to secure a dominating position for IL
self and for its system over the entire
y orld Nowhere yielding to the people
their rightful powers. and everywhere
seeking To uphold autocracy and despot-
ism. ii has shown its intention to per
petuate absolute government of which
il admittedly is the head and front.
Its "kultur" is avowed to be the acme
Of human goodness and endeavor. and
is to boast the rulership of the world
! gained by force and arms.
The world must fight to preserve 1t
self OF this there can be no doubt.
Heretofore. save in rare cases, wal
has been fight between armies: but
this war, because of the initial prep
sration Tor it by an autocracy which
prostituted a whole mighty nation to
it's purpose is a contest between peoples
themselves II is correspondingly in
tense and relentless. The march OF
events shows that it is now war OF
systems-kings against peoples. If oul
enemy wins. kings will dominate the
world because no democracy fights with
or for them The Prussian autocrat and
the brutal Turk will impose upon IL:
, their wills tell us what we may do
what we may not do. and the horrors
and atrocities of Belgium and Armenif
leave no doubt what this means. Gov
ernment of the people, by the people
and for the people will perish from th'
earth" In this sense this is truly Z
war of absolute and complete eXter