Free trader-journal. (Ottawa, Ill.) 1916-1920, 1917-06-14
Will SON DEFENDS u. S.
ENTRY I'M WAR

ed. Men began to look upon their
own neighbours with suspicion
and to wonder in their hot resent
ment and surprise whether there
was any community in which hos
tie intrigue did net Turk What
great nation in such circumstanc-
IS would not have taken up arms :?
Much as We had desired peace, ii
Was denied US, and no, OF cur own
choice. This flag under which we
serve would have been dishon-
CURED had we witlheld cur hand.
But that is only part of the
story. We know now as clearly
as we knew before we were our
selves engaged that We are not
the enemies of the German people
and that they are not oar enc
mics. They did not originate or
desire this hideous war vi wish
that we should be dra IAN INTO it;
and we are vaguely conscious that
we are fighting their cause, as
they will some day see il. as well
as our own They are themselves
in the grip of the sama sinister
power that has now at las
stretched its ugly talons out and
drawn blood from Us. The whole
world is at war because to
whole " World is in ,la grip uf that
power and is trying out the great
battle which shall determine
whether it is TO be brought I'M
der its mastery o. fling itself free.
The war was begun by the mill
tary masters of Germany, who
proved to be also the masters of
Austria Hungary. These men
have never regarded nations as
peoples men, women and chill
dren Of like blood and frame as
themcei" for y iiom government
existed and in whom governments
had their life. They have regard.
organizations which they could
by force or intrigue bend or cor.
rupt to their own purpose. They
have regarded the smaller states
in particular. and the peoples who
could be overwhelmed by force,
as their natural tools and instru.
ments Of domination Their pur.
pose has long been avowed, The
statesmen Of other nations. to
whom that purpose was incredible
paid little attention, regarded
what German professors expound-
ed in their classrooms and Ger
man writers set forth to the
world as the goal of German poll.
cy as rather the dream OF minds
detached from practical affairs. as
preposterous private conceptions
of German destiny, than rs the
actual plans of responsible rulers.
but the rulers OF Germany them
selves knew all the while what
concrete plans, what well advanc.
ed intrigues lay back of what The
professors and the writer's were
saying, and were glad to 20 for
ward rnmolested, filling the
thrones of Balkan states with
German princes, putting German
officers at the service of Turkey
to drill her armies and make in.
terest with her government, deyel.
oping plans of sedition and rebel
hon in India and Egypt, set
ting their fires in Persia. The
demands made by Austria upon
Servla were a mere single step
in a plan which compassed Eur
ope and Asia, from Berlin to
Bagdad They hoped those de.
mands might not arouse Europe,
but they meant to press them
whether they did or not, for they
thought themselves ready for the
final issue of arms.
Their plan was to throw
broad belt of German military
power and political control across
the very centre of Europe and be.
yond the Mediterranean into the
heart OF Asia, and Austria. Hun
gary was to be as much their tool
ana pawn as Servia or Bulgaria
or turkey or the ponderous states
OF the East Austria-Elungary. in.
deed, was to become part of the
central German Empire. absorbed
anu dominated by the same froces
ana influences that had originally
cemented the German states
themselves. The dream had its
heart at Berlin. 1t could have
mad heart nowhere else. II
rejected the idea Of solidarity of
race entirely The choice of neo.
pies played no part in it AT an
u contemplated binding together
racial and political units which
'ould be kept together only by
.oree c2echs, Magyars, Croats
Serbs, Roumanians, Turks Ar.
nenlans the proud states Of Bo.
lemia and Hungary, the stout lit
ne commemorative Of the Balkans
ne lndomltable Turks, the subtitle
peoples OF the East These peo.
pes dld not wish to be united
ihey ardently desired to direct
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