The Washburn times. [volume] (Washburn, Wis.) 1896-1976, 1917-12-20
Not to Right Wrong with Wrong.

1
The wrongs, the very deep wrongs,
committed IN this war will have to be
righted. That OF course But they can
not and must not be righted by the
commission of similar wrongs against
| Germany and her allies. The world
will not permit the commission of SIM
| liar wrongs as a means of reparation
and settlement. Statesmen must by
this time have learned that the opin-
ion of the world is everywhere wide
awake and fully comprehends the is
sues involved No representative of
any self-governed nation will dare dis
regard it by attempting any such COW
enants of selfishness and compromise
| as were entered into at the congress
Of Vienna. The thought of the plain
people here and everywhere through
out the world, the people who enjoy
no privilege and have very simple and
unsophisticated standards of right and
wrong, is the air of all governments
must henceforth breathe if they would
live. 1t is in the full disclosing light
of that thought that all policies must
be conceived and executed in this mid
day hour of the worlds life.
Teuton Opinions Restricted.
German rulers have been able to up
set the peace of the world only be-
cause the German people were not
suffered under their tutelage to share
the comradeship of the other peoples
of the world either in thought or in
purpose. They were allowed to have
no opinion of their own which might
be set up as a rule of conduct for
| those who exercised authority over
them. But the Congress that con-
cludes this war will feel the full
strength of the tides that run now in
| the hearts and consciences of free
men everywhere. It's conclusion will
run with those tides.
Regrets Mistakes In Russia.
All these things have been true from
| the very beginning of this stupendous
war, and I cannot help thinking that
| if they had been made plain at the
very outset the sympathy and enthu-
| siasm of the Russian people might
have been once for all enlisted on the
side of the Allies, suspicion and dis
trust swept away and real and last
| ing union of purpose affected. Had
they believed these things at the very
moment of their revolution and had
they been confirmed in that belief
since, the sad reverses which have re-
Gently marked the progress of their
affairs towards an ordered and stable
government of free men might have
been avoided.
SIav Minds Poisoned.
The Russian people have been pois-
oned by the very same falsehoods that
have kept the German people in the
dark, and the poison has been admin
istered by the very same hands. The
only possible antidote is the truth. 1t
! cannot be uttered too plainly or too
often.
Attitude Not Altered.
From every point of view, there
fore, it has seemed to be my duty to
speak these declarations of purpose.
to add these specific interpretations
to what 1 took the liberty of saying
to the Senate in January. Our en-
trance into the war has not altered
our attitude toward the settlement
| that must come when it is over.
When I said in January that the ma
lions of the world were entitled
not only to free pathways upon the
sea, but also to assured and unnlo-
Tested access to those pathways, l
was thinking, and 1 am thinking now,
not of the smaller and weaker nations
alone, which need our countenance
and support, but also of the great
and powerful nations. and of our
present associates in the war. was
thinking, and am thinking now, of
Austria herself, among the rest, as
well as of Serbia and of Poland.
Justice and equality Of rights can be
had only at a great price. We are
seeking permanent, not temporary,
foundations for the peace of the world
and must seek them candidly and
fearlessly. AS always the right will
prove to be the expedient.
| What shall we do, then, to push
this great war of freedom and justice
to it's righteous conclusion? We must
clear away with a thorough hand all
impediments to success and we must
make every adjustment of law that
will facilitate the full and free use
of our whole capacity and force as a
fighting unit.
Asks War on Austria?
One very embarrassing obstacle
that stands in our way is that we
are at war with Germany, but not
with her Allies l therefore, very
earnestly recommend that Congress
| Immediately declare the United States
| in a state of war with Austria-Hun-
gary. Does it seem strange to you
that this should be the conclusion of
the argument 1 have just addressed
| to you? 1t is not. j. is i'll fact the
inevitable logic Of what have said.
Vassal of Kaiser:
Austria Hungary is for the time be-
ing not her own mistress, but simply
the vassal of the German government.
We must face the facts rs they are
and act upon them without sentiment
in this stern business. The govern
ment of Austria Hungary is not act
ing upon its own initiative or in re-
Spouse to the wishes and feelings of
its own peoples, but as the instru-
ment of another nation. We must
meet its force with our own and re-