Mountain Home Republican. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1915-1946, 1917-07-14

tfallty IN the war, Tor the reason
that circumstances might arise in
which Europe would have need of
IN impartial mediator, for us TO have
given official heed TO the accusations
of either party would have been to
PREJUDICE the case before all the evil
dence was in But now at last, with
the breaking of friendly relations
with the German Government, we
Of endeavoring to maintain judi
and wrongs involved in the war, We
were no longer the outside observ-
ers striving to hold an even balance
\ of Judgment between disputants
One party by direct attack upon eur
rights and liberties was forcing us
into the conflict And much as we
had hoped to keep out of the fray,
| 1t was no little relief to be free at
last from that reserve which Is ex-
pected of judge.
Much evidence had been presented
to us of things so abhorrent to our
ideas of humanity that they had
seemed increditable, things we had
been loath to believe, and with heavy
hearts we had sought to reserve our
Judgment But with the breaking
Of relations with the Government of
Germany that duty was at last ended
rhe perfidity of that Government In
its dealings with this Nation relieved
us of the necessity of striving to give
hem the benefit of the doubt in re-
gard to their crimes abroad. The
Government which under cover of
profuse professions of friendship had
tried to embroil us in war with Mexi-
90 and Japan could not expect us
10 believe in its good faith in other
matters. The men whose paid agents
iynamited our factories here we
capable of the infamies reported
against them over the sea. Their
Governments protestations, that
purpose was self-defense and the
freeing of small nations, fell like a
house of cards before the revelation
Of their peace terms"
And Judging the German Govern
nent now in the light of our own
experience through the long and
patient years of our honest attempt
to keep the peace, we could see the
Great Autocracy and read her rec
ord through the war. And we found
that record damnable. Beginning
long before the war in Prussian op-
position to every effort that was
made by other nations and our own
to do away with warfare, the story
Of the Autocracy has been one Of
vast preparations for war combined
with an attitude of arrogant intoler-
ance toward all other points of
view, all other systems of govern
nent, all other hopes and dreams
Of men, With a fanatical faith in
he destiny of German kultur as the
system that must rule the world, the
imperial Governments actions have
through years of Boosting, double
iealing, and deceit tended toward
aggression upon the rights of others.
And If there still be any doubt as
to which nation began this war
there can be no uncertainty as to
which was most prepared, most ex-
ultant at the chance, and ready in
SANITY to march upon other nations
even those who had given no Of
tense. The wholesale depredations
and hidious atrocities in Belgium
and in Serbia were doubtless part
and parcel with the Imperial Gov
ernment's purpose to terrorize small
nations into abject submission for
generations to come. But in this the
Autocracy has been blind. For its
record in those countries, and in Po-
land and in northern France, has
given not only to the Allies but to
liberal peoples throughout the world
the conviction that this menace to
human liberties everywhere must be
utterly shorn of its power for harm.
For the evil 1t has effected has
ranged far out Of Europe-out upon
the open seas, where it's submarines
in defiance of law and the concepts
of humanity have blown up neutral
vessels and covered the waves with
the dead and the dying, men and
women and children alike. It's
agents have conspired against the
peace of neutral nations everywhere,
sowing the seeds of dissension,
ceaselessly endeavoring by tortuous
methods of deceit, of liberty, false
promises, and intimidation, to stir
up brother nations one against the
other, in order that the liberal world
might not be able to unite in order
that the Autocracy might emerge
triumphant from the war.
~ IL l.