The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1917-04-03
TEXT OF PRESIDENTS WAR MESSAGE

faith within it or observe it's COW
enants. 1t must be a league Of
honor, a partnership Of opinion.
Intrigue would eat it's vitals
away; the plottings Of inner cir
cles who could plan what they
would and render account to no
one, would be a corruption seated
at it's very heart. Only free peo-
pies can hold their purpose and
their honor steady to a common
end and prefer the interests Of
mankind to any narrow interest
of their own.
Does not every American feel
that assurance has been added to
our hope for the future peace of
the world by the wonderful and
heartening things that have been
happening within the last few
weeks in Russia?
Russia was known by those
who knew it best to have been al
ways in fact democratic at heart,
in all the vital habits Of her
thought, in all the intimate re-
lationships of her people that
spoke her national existence, their
habitual attitude towards life.
''The autocracy that crowned
the summit Of her political struc-
ture as it bad stood and terrible
as was the reality \of it's power,
was not in fact Russian in origin,
in character or purpose and now
it has been shaken and the great,
generous Russian people have
been added in all their naive ma
jesty and might to the forces
that are fighting for freedom in
the world, for justice and for
peace Here is a fit partner for
a league of honor.
"One of the things that has
served to convince us that the
Prussian autocracy was not and
could never be our friend is that
from the very outset of the pres
ent war it has filled our unsus-
pecting communities and even our
offices of government with spies
and set criminal intrigues every
where afoot against our national
unity of council, our peace with
in and without, our industries and
our commerce.
Indeed, it is now evident that
it's spies were here even before
the war began; and it is unhappi-
ly not a matter Of conjecture but
a fact proved in our courts of JUS
tice that the intrigues which have
more than once come perilously
near to disturbing the peace and
dislocating the industries of the
country have been carried on at
the instigation, with the support
and even under the personal di-
rection of official agents of the
imperial government accredited to
the government of the United
States.
even in checking these things
and trying to extirpate them we
have sought to put the most gem
erous interpretations possible upon
them because we knew that their
source lay, not in any hostile feel
ing of the German people towards
us (who were, no doubt, as ignor-
ant Of them as we were) but only
in the selfish designs Of a govern
ment that, did what it pleased
and told it's people nothing. But
they have played their part in
serving to convince us at last
that that government entertains
no real friendship for us and
means to act against our peace
and security at its convenience.
That it means to stir up enemies
against us at our very doors the
intercepted note to the German
minister at Mexico certainly is
eloquent evidence.
eve are accepting this cha1-
1enge of hostile purpose because
we know that in such a govern
ment. following such methods, !,
we can never have a friend; and
that in the presence of it's organ
lied power, always lying in wait
to accomplish we know not what
purpose, there can be no assured
security for the democratic gov
ernments Of the world.
1--WE are now about to accept
gage Of battle with this natural
foe to liberty and shall, if neces-
sary, spend the whole force of
the nation to check and nullify it's
pretensions and it's power. We
are glad, now that we see the
facts with no veil Of false pre-
tense about them, to fight thus
for the ultimate peace of the
world and for the liberation Sof
it's peoples, the German peoples
included; for the representatives
Of nations great and small and
the privilege Of men everywhere
to choose their way of life and
of obedience.
1.-THE world must be made safe
for democracy. It's peace must /
be planted upon the trusted foun-
dations Of political liberty.
eve have no selfish ends to
serve. We desire no conquest,
no dominion. We seek no indem-
mites for ourselves, no material
compensation for the sacrifices
we shall freely make. We are
but one of the champions of the