The Twin City star. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1910-19??, 1917-08-18

over which we have had no control has brought
home to the Americans, anxious to maintain their
faith In Germany, the conviction that Americas
sovereignty was being outraged its people killed.
ats inner peace deliberately attacked and it's ins
buttons, founded in sacrifice and offered to the
world. not only despised but in danger Of destruc
ton.
Germany has forced America as 1t has forced
almost the entire world, to defend itself by
Nobody but those suffering from myopic idealism
isympathies can see anything ese Some Of US
have suffered when the scales have fallen-cut
away by facts At last we see clearly. We have
not been drawn into the war by capitalism, or by
-commercialism, or by national policy For months
we have been living in a state Of war, deliberately
planned by nation whose leaders for ten years
have been preparing some day to fight America
and who have counted our good nature as cow
ardice, our unpreparedness as q lack Of national
selfrespect
Here are the facts:
We are fighting this war, in the first place. be-
cause Germany made war upon us.
For years she has sought to build up in Amer
lea q community more loyal to herself than to the
United States. Money has been lavishly spent in
GermAnistic societies. alliances, and associations
to win the admiration and loyalty Of American
citizens. Our universities have been fattered
our professors have been honored for this rea-
son. Praise Of the kaiser has been inserted even
in the spelling books Of our public school system
Spies have been everywhere.
When the war came In 1914 German officials
many Of them in high diplomatic positions, treat
ed the United States, neutral nation, If it
were an enemy. Pro-German publications were
founded and subsidized, strikes were organized
manufacturing plants were blown up, plots
against nations with whom we had treaty rela-
lions were formed within our borders, bombs
were placed on ships In our ports. Hatred Of
America was systematically disseminated through
Germany and efforts were made to involve us in
trouble with Japan and Mexico
In reply to our repeated protests against these
and other acts Of Germany, to be mentioned pres
emily, we have received promises and explana-
lions which were little less than insults. The
treaty that had existed almost the entire life Of
the American republic was set at naught and
efforts were made to coerce into favorable
notifications of its terms. ..-
The right Of trade with beIligerents, which Ger
many had always claimed, even to the benefit Of
our enemy in the war with Spain, and which at
Germany's own insistence is universally recog
nized in international law, was treated as the
violation Of our neutrality and alliance with her
enemies. And, finally, the proclamation Of unre
stricted destruction Of neutral ships upon the
high seas was a notification to the United States
that it was longer sovereign people, but
that If it would sail the seas in safety it must
conform to conditions set by power that defed
international law humanity, and elemental NOR
ality.
In the second place we are defending ourselves
against Germany because the German state has
entered upon a program which means the destruc-
ton Of democratic institutions.
The Prussianization of Germany means that the
policy Of Prussia to carry on economic and po-
litical expansion by war is to be extended
throughout the entire world.
We recognize that there were once, and we
dare believe even now that there are, two Ger
manys, one liberal and the other autocracy
based on militarism. The struggle between these
two forces since 1915 has been steady subjuga-
tion of liberalism in Prussia and the other Ger
man states to the will Of q Prussian feudal no
bility. Representative and responsible govern
ment in any true sense Of the word has been
fought by Prussian leaders relentlessly. Educa-
ton has been made a creature Of autOcracy and
source Of international hatred.
The same fate has met every land Prussianism
has touched. Austria was beaten into submission
lin 1888, and all the other German states were
made practically subject to the will Of the HOhen-
zollerns between that date and 1870. France was
robbed and Inundated. The Balkan states were
kept In perennial war In the interests Of German
expansion Bohemia and Poland have been treat
ed with the same disregard Of popular rights as
has been Alsace-Lorraine Turkey became a vas
sal of the kaiser. A great miltaristic anti
democratic state like southern Germany, SUBJ
servient to Prussia. has been started and all but