Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1917-09-18
Vigilantes War Notes

The potency OF the German prop
ganda is we'll illustrated by a bit OF
family history sent to The Vigilantes
by a member OF the organization In
Indianapolis. When the war broke
out" this rniddle-westerner says, my
father was as good an American as
anyone and often expressed himself
that Kaiser William was crazy. But
then a Strong and radical pro-Gernhan
pastor began working on him and sent
him German papers, and then my
youngest brother. wanting to be good
scription2to the Daily Telegraph and
Tribune published in indianapolis.
That paper finished the work. My
father became a rabid pro-GerYaan.
Not me of his sons could talk to- him
on the question, we did not care to
quarrel with him and just refrained
from discussing it. The German pa
pers did the work and I never AN for
give them. When diplomatic relations
were severed, my father refused to
read any papers. I personally have
handled the German question without
gloves and have always taken the po-
sition that the great majority OF the
German-American press is disloyal
and is doing a great harm in this
country"
Marion Couthouy Smith, the poet,
writes to The Vigilantes: The loyal
women Of America should unite in
tivities Of the Women's Peace party,
so-called. These women should be re-
garded as traitors, not only to the gov
eminent of their own country, but to
liberty, justice, and humanity itself.
all over the world. For there is no
compromise possible today with the
force Of evil that Is concentrated
against all that makes human life
worth living: Everything is at stake.
truth and honor, freedom and
safety, the purity of the, mother and
the lives Of little children. The Teu-
mic race has set itself against all
these in the interest Of its own aggres-
sion and dominance. In defense Of all
these we give our lives and our dear
est loves. and we ask the grace Of
God to give them bravely and will
'ingly.
These women see only the single
fuse to acknowledge the difference be-
tween the aggressor and the defender
Ia difference as wide as the gulf be-
tween heaven and hell, even II we re-
gard those words merely as symbols.
They refuse to make the sacrifice nee
essary for the preservation OF the ma
terial world from tyranny and cruelty,
anu Lille spiritual WOrlQ ITOul prdCLlCal
humiliation. BY this-one form of
Dante's Great Refusal"-they range
themselves definitely on the side of
wrong. Whether they realize 1t or not,
they r giving aid to the German
u which is enslavement,
violence, devastation, and moral ruin.
BY their names, well-known in lit
erature and social service, many of
these wome are lending weight to
false ideals, and appealing strongly to
the selfish and sentimental side of
feminine human nature. Women who
can take a larger view, and~ who are
able to make sacrifices, should not fail
for an instant to lift up the higher and
Drawer standards.
Amelia Josephine Burr, the poet,
writes The Vigtlantes that she has
just received a letter from a friend
in London which h feels she must
err, an American woman in England,
says:
What annoys me irnmeasurably il
They have not really realized yet what
this war is. Complacently they tel
you that Of course Germany is soine
to be beaten, that she is starving and
that she is whistling to keep up he,
courage. My dears, Germany Is moi
starving and she isn't beaten and ]
for one am dreadfully afraid Of her
know things that brighten me. we
can win the war, but not with words
Throw your weight everywhere yor
can and drive this home. The wal
is now in our hands, in the hands O,
us Americans. We can win it but i