Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1917-04-03

Continued from Page One.)
the step am taking and of the grave
responsibilities which it involves, but
in unhesitating obedience to what !
deem my constitutional duty. l advise
that the congress declare the recent
course OF the imperial German gov
eminent to be in fact nothing less
than war against the government and
people of the United States; that 1t
formally accept the status of belliger-
ent which has thus been thrust upon
it, and that it take immediate steps
not only to put the country in a more
thorough defense, but also to exert all
its power and employ all its resources
to bring the government of the Ger
man empire to terms and end the war.
Cooperation With Allies.
"What this will involve is clear. 1t
will involve the utmost practicable
cooperation in counsel and action
with the governments now at war
with Germany, and, as incident to
that, the extension to those govern
ments of the most liberal financial
credits, in order that our resources
may, so far as possible, be added to
theirs. 1t will involve the organiza-
ton and mobilization of all the ma
terial resources of the country to sup
ply the materials Of war and serve the
incidental needs of the nation in the
most abundant and yet the most eco
nomical and efficient way possible.
at 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. 1t will involve
the immediate addition to the armed
forces OF the United States already
provided for by law in case of war, of
at least 100000 men, who should, in
my opinion, be chosen upon the prin-
cipte of universal liability to service,
and also the authorization of subse-
quent additional increments of equal
force so soon as they may be needed
and can be handled in training.
Credits to Government.
at 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 well con-
ceived taxation. I 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 entirely
ON money borrowed. 1t is our duty,
! most respectfully urge, to protect
our people so far as we may against
the very serious hardships and evils
which would be likely to arise out Of
the imitation which would be pro-
duced by vast loans.
an 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 it
will be 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.
81 shall take the liberty of suggest
ing, through the several executive de-
partments of the government, for the
consideration of your committees,
measures for the accomplishment of
the several objects have mentioned.
| 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 upon which
the responsibility of conducting the
war and safeguarding the nation will
most directly fall.
Motives of United States.
"While we do all these things,
these deeply momentous things, let
it be very clear to all the world what
our motives and what our object are.
My own thought has not been driven
from its habitual and normal course
by the unhappy events of the last two
months and l do not believe that the
tnOuRnt OF tne nation mas DeeH d.
tered or clouded by them.
II have exactly the same things
in mind now that had in mind when
| addressed the senate on January %,
last; the same that l had in mind
when I addressed the congress on
February 3, and on the February rs.
Our object now as then is to vindi-
cate the principles of peace and
justice in the life of the world against
selfish and wutocratic power and to
set up among thereally free and self.
governed peoples of the world such
as concert of purpose and action as
will henceforth insure the observance
of those principles.
Neutrality Not Feasible.
Neutrality is no longer feasible or
desirable where the peace of the
world is involved and the freedom Of
its peoples and the menace to that
peace and freedom lies in the exist
ence of autocratic governments, back.
D