The Calhoun chronicle. [volume] (Grantsville, W. Va.) 1883-1984, 1917-06-21

Washington, June 14.-President
Wilson delivered a notable speech
here in commemoration of Flag Day
in which he again outlined the posh
ton OF the United States in regard TO
the world war. The address is in full
as follows:
My Fellow Citizens: We meet to
celebrate Flag Day because this flag
which we honor and under which
we serve is tho emblem OF our unity,
our power, our thought and purpose
as a nation. 1t has no other char
acter than that which we give 1t from
generation to generation. The choices
are ours. 1t floats in majestic silence
above the hosts that execute those
choices, whether in peace or in war.
And yet, though silent, it speaks to
us.-speaks to US OF the past, OF the
men and women who went before US
and OF the records they wrote upon
1t. We celebrate the day Of its birth;
and from its birth until now 1t has
witnessed a great history. has fioated
on high the symbol OF great events.
OF a great plan OF life worked out
by a great people. We are about
to carry 1t into battle to lift IL where
it will draw the fire OF our enemies.
We are about to bid thousands. hun
dreds of thousands, it may be mill
ions. of our men, the young, the
strong. the capable men OF the ma
ton. to go forth and die beneath it
on fields Of blood far away,-for
what? For some unaccustomed
thing? For something for which it
has never sought the fire before?
sent across the seas. Why are they
sent now? For some new purpose
for which this great flag has never
been carried before, or for some old
familiar, heroic purpose for which it
has seen men, its own men, die on
every battlefield upon which Ameri-
cans have borne arms since the
Revolution?
These are questions which must be
answered. We are Americans We
in our turn serve America. and can
serve her with no private purpose
We must use her flag as she has
always used It, We are accountable
at the bar OF history and must plead
IN utter frankness what purpose 1t
Is we seek to serve.
1t is plain enough how we were
forced into the war. The extraOrdi-
nary insults and aggressions OF the
Imperial German Government left us
no selfrespecting choice but TO take
up arms in defense OF our rights as
a free people and of our honor as a
sovereign government. The military
masters OF Germany denied us the
right to be neutral They filed our
unsuspecting communities with vicious
spies and conspirators and sought TO
corrupt the opinion OF our people I'm
their own behalf When they found
that they could not do that. their
agents diligently spread sedition
amongst us and sought to draw our
own citizens from their allegiance. .-
and some OF those agents were men
connected with the official Embassy
OF the German Government itself here
IN our own capital They sought by
violence to destroy our industries and
arrest our commerce They tried TO
incite Mexico 90 take up arms against
us and to draw Japan into q hostile
alliance with her-and that not by
indirection but by direct suggestion
from the Foreign Office iu Berlin
They impudently denied us the use
OF the high seas and repeatedly exc
cuted their threat that they would
send 20 their death any of our people
who ventured to approach the coasts
of Europe And many Of our own
people were corrupted Mon began
TO look upon their own neighbors with
suspicion and TO wonder fin their hot
resentment and surprise whether
there was any community I'm which
hostile intrigue did not lurk. What
great nation I'm such circumstances
would not have taken up arms? Much
as we had desired peace. 10 was de-
MED as, and not OF our own chodcc.
This flag under which we serve would
have been dishonored had we with.
held our hand
But that is only part Of the story.
We know now a. clearly as we knew