The Benson signal., 1917-11-10

cert of purpose and of action as will
hencefOrth insure the observance of
those principles.
Neutrality is no longer feasible or
desirable where the peace of the world
IL involved and the freedom of it's peO-
pies, and the menace to that peace and
freedom lies In the existence of auto
cratic governments, backed by organ
ized force which Is controlled wholly
by their will, not by the will of their
people. We have seen the last of neu-
traIity In such circumstances. We are
at the beginning of nm age in which 1t
will be insisted that the same stand
ards of conduct and of responsibility
for wrong done shall be observed
among nations and their governments
that are observed among the individual
citizens of civilized states.
We have no quarrel with the German
people. We have no feeling toward
them but one of sympathy and friend
ship 1t was not upon their impulse
| that their government acted in enter
| ing the war. 1t was not with their
previous knowledge or approval. 1t
| was a war determined upon as wars
used to be determined upon in the old
unhappy days. when peoples were no
| where consulted by their rulers and
| wars were provoked and waged in the
| interest of dynasties or of little groups
| Of ambitious men who were accustomed
| to use their fellow men as pawns and
| tools.
SeIf-gOverned nations do not fill their
neighbOr states with spies or set the
| course of intrigue to bring about some
critical posture of affairs which will
give them an opportunity to strike and
make conquest. Such designs can be
successfully worked out only under
cover and where no one has the right
to ask questions. Cunningly cOntrived
plans of deception or aggression, car
ried, 1t may be from generation to gen
| GRAFTON, can be worked out and kept
from the light only within the privacy
| of courts or behind the carefully guard
ed condolences of a narrow and privi-
| legged class. They are happily impOsst-
BILE where public opinion commands and
| insists upon full information concern
| ing all the nations affairs.
steadfast concert for peace can
never be maintained except by part
nership of democratic nations. No au-
tOcratic government could be trusted
to keep faith within 1T observe it's
covenants. 1t must be league or
honor, "a partnership of opinion. In
| trigue would eat it's vitals away; the
| plOttings of inner circles who could
plan what they would, and render ac-
count to no one, would be corruption
seated at it's very heart. Only free peO-
! pie can hold their purpose and their
honor steady to a common end, ana
prefer the interest 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 her best
to have been always I'm fact democratic
at heart In all vital habits of her
thought, In all the intimate relation
ships of her people that spoke their
natural instinct. their habitual attitude
toward life. The autOcracy that CROWN
ed the summit of her political struc-
ture, long as it had stood and terrible
the reality of Its power, was
| not in fact Russian in origin, charac-
ter. or purpose, and now 1T has been
| shaken Off and the great generous RUS
/ sian people have been added, I'm all
their native majesty and might, to the
| forces that are fighting for freedom in
| the world, for justice, and for peace.
| Here is a fit partner for league OF
honor
One of the things that have served
| to convince that the Prussian auto
cracy was not and could never be our
| friend is that from the very outset OF
| the present war 1T has filed our un-
| suspecting communities, and even our
| Offices of government, with spies and
| set criminal intrigues everywhere afOOt
against our national unity or counsel
| our peace within and without, our In
dustries, and our commerce. Indeed III
| is now evident that it's spies were here
even before the began and 1t Is
unhaDpiIy not a matter of conjecture,
| but a fact proven in our courts of JUS
| tfce, that the intrigues which nave
| more than once come perilOusly near to
disturbing the peace and dislOcaUnS
! the industries of the country, have been
| carried ON at the instigatiOn, with the
support, and even under the personal
directions of official agents of the I'm
| perial government accredited to the
| government of the United States.
Even in checking these things and
| trying to extirpate them we nave
| sought to put the most generous Inter-
pretatiOn possible upon them, because
| we knew that their source lay not In
| any hostile feeling or purpose OF the
| German people toward (whO were,
| no doubt, as ignorant of them as we
| ourselves were), but only I'm the selfish
| designs of a government that did what
| 1T pleased and told it's people nothing.
But they have played their part in serV-
ing to convince at last that that
| government entertains no real friend
shin for us and means to act against
our peace and security at its convent
ence That 1T means to stir up enemies
against us at very doors, the In
tercepted note to the German minister
| at Mexico City is eloquent evidence.
We are accepting this challenge of
hostile purpose because we know that
in such government, following such
methods, we can never have friend,
and that in the presence Of Its organ
lied power, always lying in wait to
| accomplish we know not what pur-
| pose there can be NO assured security
| for the democratic governments of the
world. We are now about to accept
the gage of battle with the natural foe
to liberty, and shall, if necessary, spend
the whole force Of the nation to check
and nullify it's pretensons and it's pow
| err We are glad now that we see the
| facts with no veil of false pretense
about them, to fight thus for the ulti-
mate peace of the world and for the
liberation of it's peoples, the German
peOpIes included; for the rights of ma
| tfOns, great and small, and the privi-
Iege of men everywhere to choose their
| way of life and of obedience.
The world must be made safe for
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