The Seward gateway and the Alaska evening post., 1917-10-04
LESSON NO. 2S
WHY WE FIGHT

Of our war with che German H'h..". ment. Yet this course would be inc complete if it did not contain 5riei review of the events that finally forced us into war. when at last thefc rs- ma:ned mo other means of dctcudlaE our rights"
 The soldier of am autocradc Kaiser may fight best when he understands least of the true meaning of the war. To tell him the fact would be Ca ,h0H his enthusiasm. But the citizen ss- dierof a democracy Is entitled Co ka.w for what purposes he enters che strug- gle. He fights best when de sees most clearly why he a-a,s.
 The resolution of Congress dcc'ar- ing a state of war OApr. S. l9lj' eN- presses the immediate cause in lcsc few words.
 "The Imperial German Government has committed repeated acts of war against the Government and the peo- pie of the United States of Amcrtca."
 Chief among che acts of war were attacks by German submarines on American ships and on uarmcd mer- chant ships of other nations carrying American passengers. "Nessels of every kind" said the Prestdent-in his address to Congress on April 2 l9lT whatever their flag. their character their cargo, their destination, their er- rand. have been utblessry sent to che bottom without warning and without thought of help or mercy for those on board the vessels of friendly ueuua.s along with those of beIigercnts. Even hospital ships and ships carrying re- lief to the soroly bereayed and stlck- cn people of Belgium, though the .at- ter were provided with safe conduct through the prescribed areas by the German Government itself and were distinguished by unmistakabIe signs ,f identity have been sunk with che same reckless lack of compassion or of principle The present Ger man submarine warfare against com merce is a warfare against mankind"
 German Insults and Aggressions
 There were other acts of hostility in addition to the submarine warfare. In his Flag day address delivered at Washington on June l4 l9l7 the President summed up the events that brought on war as follows:
 Tt is plain enough how We were forced into the war The ezuaordin- ary insults and aggressions of the Imperial German Government left us no self-respecting choice but to take up arms in defense of our rights as a free people and of our honor as a soy- ereign Government. The military masters of Germany denied us the right to be neutral They filled our unsuspecting communities with vicious spies and conspirators and sought to corrupt the opinion of our people in their own behalf When they found that they could not do that, their agents diligently spread scdition amongst us and sought to draw our own citizens from their allegiance and some of those agents were men connected with the official embassy of the German Government itself here in our Capital They sought by vio- lence to destroy our industries and ar rest our commerce. They tried to in- cite Mexico to take up arms against us and to draw Japan into a hostile alliance with her-and that, not by indirectiOn, but by suggestion from the foreign office in Berlin. They i'm pudently denied us the use of the high seas and repeatedly executed their threat that they would send to their death any of our people who ventured to approach the coasts of Europe
 Our Liberty and Safety Involved
 Yet even this list of extraordinary insults and aggressions" does not tell the whole story. Our motives for war