The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-06-10

Servia he believed that we were inn potent: that we would not resent any
 attack upon our sovereignty. So long
 as any one nation organizes its mili-
 tary power in such a way IS to make itself a formidable menace to the peace
 of the-world. then there are only two
 courses that any self-respecting nation
 can take: Either to arm itself just
 as strongly and protect itself by a
 similar measure of military organiza-
 tion. or else to surrender to that for
 midable military autocracy. America
 has decided that she will not sur
 renderI
 Why is it that we have not felt
 sooner the extent of this menace? It is because we have been lulled into d false sense of security by the 5000 miles of water between us and Europe. For a long time that was enough, but modern science and invention have narrowed the Atlantic to such an eX- tent that it is little more today SO far as modern warfare is concerned, than a river The Atlantic has been contracted by the submarine the fly ing machine and the wireless tele- graph. German submarines have crossed the ocean Only last summer one of them visited the harbor of New port, was received hospitably by our people because we were then a peace , with Germany left within a short time and sank merchantmen off the New England coast. The flying machine has not yet crossed the Atlantic simply because military necessity has not re- quired 1t. But if Germany succeeds
 in crushing the allies in Europe you will see flying machines cross the At lantic. The wireless telegraph has in- creased the flexibility and formidable ness of ocean warfare and is of itself an additional peril to unarmed nations. We have always been an unarmed na- tion because we felt that we were se- cure. Our love of democracy has been
 so great that we did not want to take
 even a chance of militarism. We can
 no longer delude ourselves, Do you know what would happen if Germany should be victorious. as she would if she could bring France and Eng land to their knees? She would take the entire British and French fleets, release her own great fleet, which has i been tied up in the Baltic during the war. and combining these with the
 most destructive submarine fleet on earth-because she has it-she would come here and put the iron heel of conquerer upon your shores. We should have to fall back to the interior and there is no telling how long it would take to expel the enemy, if we ever did. If we couldn't do it promptly do you know what would happen to America? We should have to make the most hu-
 initiating terms that any great nation ever made to get peace. We should have to pay an indemnity that would represent probably half the wealth If America, which is $250, 900, 000,00 and you would have taxation upon your shoulders to meet that indemnity for a century to come. I am not trying to ! t.1- exaggerate: I would not misrepresent. I only want to make you realize, if you do not already realize that you are in the midst of one of the great est wars of all time. Because you are not actually contiguous to it in d physical sense as the nations in Flu | rope are, do not think that you are
 not concerned and that your future security and safety are not immediate ivy involved. This is something you
 must realize if you would know what
 to do in the present situation.
 RAISE MONEY FIRST
 The first thing we must do is to
 raise the money to equip our armies and put them in the field and to ex- tend credit to the great nations of Eu- rope which are cooperating with us. We must give them credit to enable them to purchase here the necessary l supplies anl munitions of war, in or 1 der that they may make their soldiers most effective for battle. The more eff l fective we make them the more we enable them to fight and to fight hard, the more quickly this war will come to an end. and the less chance there will be that we shall have to send q great army of our own youth to Eu- rope, and God knows we want to avoid that if we honorably can. But you can't fight wars on paper and you can't fight wars by absence from the battlefield Now that we are in this war every patriot must respond to the call of his flag and fight in the sacred cause of liberty
 We have offered this great liberty loan What does it mean? It means that youl government offers you privilege; il asks you men and women not to give something to your government, but to buy | the best investment on earth the safest thing you can possibly possess, something 1 that is as safe as currency and yet bet | ter than currency becaue currency does | not bear interest while these bonds dt 1 bear interest at 31s per cent. It asks you 1 to buy within your means in order tha l the government may be supplied witt