davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Luxemburger gazette. [volume] (Dubuque, Iowa) 1871-1918, 1917-12-13
SHOULD HAVE EXPLAINED TO
RUSSIA,

"All these things have been true
from the very beginning of this stu
pendous war: and ] cannot help think
ing that if they had been made plain
at the very outset the sympathy and
enthusiasm Of the Russian people might
have been once for all enlisted on the
side of the Allies. suspicion and dis
trust swept away, and a real and last
ing union of purpose effected.
Had they believed these things at
the very moment Of their revolution,
and had they been confirmed in that
belief since, the sad reverses which
have recently marked the progress Of
their affairs toward an ordered and
stable government of free men might
have been avoided.
THE Russian people have been poi
sOned by the very same falsehoods
that have kept the German people in
the dark and the poison has been ad-
ministered by the very same hands.
The only possible antidote Is the truth.
1t cannot be uttered too plainly or too
often.
From every point of view, therefore,
It has seemed to be my duty to speak
these declarations Of purpose, to add
these specific interpretations to what I
took the liberty Of saying to the senate
in January,
Luxemburger gazette. [volume] (Dubuque, Iowa) 1871-1918, 1917-12-13
President Wilson's Message To Congress.

free to do an unprecedented thing; and
this Is the time to avow our purpose
to do it. We shall be free to base
peace on generosity and justice, to the
exclusion of all selfish claims to ad-
vantage even on the part of the VIC
tor.
let there be no misunderstanding.
Our present and immediate task is to
win the war. and nothing shall turn
us aside from 1t until it is accom
plished. Every power and u we
possess. whether of men, of money, or
OF materials. is being devoted. and will
continue TO be devoted, to that purpose
until it Is achieved.
Those who desire to bring peace
about before that purpose is achieved l
counsel to carry their advice elsewhere.
We will not entertain it. We shall re-
gard the war as won only when the
German people say to us, through
properly accredited representatives.
that they are ready TO agree to a settle
ment based upon justice and the rep
aration Of the wrongs their rulers have
done.
Luxemburger gazette. [volume] (Dubuque, Iowa) 1871-1918, 1917-12-13

President Wilson addressed a joint
session of Congress on Tuesday. We
reproduce it I'm full as it is a striking
state document:
Gentlemen of the congress: Eight
months have elapsed since | last had
the honor Of addressing you. They
have been months crowded with events
of immense and grave significance for
us. l shall not undertake TO detail or
even to summarize those events. The
practical particulars Of the part we
have played in them will be laid be-
fore you in the reports Of the execu-
tive departments. / shall discuss only
our present outlook upon these vast af-
fairs. our present duties. and the i'm
mediate ear of accomplishing the
objects we shall hold always In view.
II shall not go back to debate the
causes of the war. The intolerable
wrongs done and planned against us
by the sinister masters Of Germany
have long since become too grossly oh
vious and odious to every true Ameri-
can to need to be rehearsed.
Luxemburger gazette. [volume] (Dubuque, Iowa) 1871-1918, 1917-12-13
NO COMPROMISE.

But from another point of view
| believe that 1t IS necessary to say
plainly what we here at the seat OF ac-
ton consider the war to be for and
what part we mean to play In the set
Element of its searching issues.
1--WE are the spOkesmen Of the Amer
lean people andI they have a right to
know whether their purpose is ours.
They desire peace by the overcoming
Of evil, by the defeat once for all of
the sinister forces that interrupt peace
and render 1t impossible, and they wish
to know how closely our thought run
with theirs and what action we pro-
pose.
"They are impatient with those who
desire peace by any sort Of compromise
deeply and Indignantly impatient,
but they will be equally impatient with
us If we do not make it plain to them
what our detectives are and what we
are planning for In seeking to make
conquest of peace by arms.
Il believe that l speak for them
when l say two things: First, that
this intolerable Thing Of which the
masters Of Germany have shown us
the ugly face, this menace of combined
intrigue and force which we now see so
clearly as the German power, a Thing
without conscience or honor or capacity
for covenanted peace, must be crushed,
and IL 1t be not utterly brought to an
end, at least shut out from the friendly
intercourse Of the nations and, second,
that when this Thing and its power
are indeed defeated and the time comes
that we a discuss peace-when the
German people have spokesman whose
word we can believe, and when those
spokesman are ready in the name Of
their people to accept the common
judgment Of the nations as to what
shall ~henecforth be the basis Of law
and of covenant for the life Of the
world-we shall be willing and glad to
pay the full price for peace and pay
il ungrudingly.
Luxemburger gazette. [volume] (Dubuque, Iowa) 1871-1918, 1917-12-13
MORE UNIFIED RAILROAD
CONTROL.

Additional legislation may become
necessary before the present congress
adjourns in order to effect the most
efficient coordination and operation Of
the railway and other transportation
systems Of the country: but to that l
shall, II circumstances should demand,
call the attention Of congress upon an
other occasion.
"If I have overlooked anything that
ought to be done for the more effective
conduct Of the war, your own counsels
will supply the omission. What l am
perfectly clear about is that In the
present session OF the congress u
whole attention and energy should be
concentrated on the vigorous and rapid
and successful prosecution Of the great
task of winning the war.
I'VE can do this with all the greater
zeal and enthusiasm because we know
that for us this is a war Of high prin-
ciple. debased by no selfish ambition
of conquest or s%poliation because we
know, and all the world knows, that
we have been forced into IT to save
the very institutions we live under
from corruption and destruction.
Luxemburger gazette. [volume] (Dubuque, Iowa) 1871-1918, 1917-12-13
BLOW AT OUR HEART.

"The purposes Of the Central Pow
ers strike straight at the very heart Of
everything we believe in; their meth
DDS Of warfare outrage every principle
Of humanity and Of knightly honor /;
their intrigue has corrupted the very
thought and spirit Of many Of u
people; their sinister and secret d.
plomacy has sought to take our very
territory away from us and disrupt the
union Of the states. Our safety would
be at an end, our honor forever sullied
and brought into contempt were we to
permit their triumph. They are strik-
ing at the very existence Of DEMOCRACY
and liberty.
1T Is because IL Is for us a war Of
high, disinterested purpose, in which
all the free peoples Of the world are
banded together for the vindication Of
right, a war for the preservation Of our
nation and of all that it has held dear
Of principle and purpose, that we feel
ourselves doubly constrained to pro-
pose for it's outcome only that which
is righteous and Of i~rreproachable in
tentiou, for u foes as well as for u
friends.
Luxemburger gazette. [volume] (Dubuque, Iowa) 1871-1918, 1917-12-13
WHEN WAR WILL BE CONSID-
Erred WON.

But l shall ask you to consider
again and with a very grave scrutiny
our detectives and the measures by
which we mean to attain them for
the purpose of discussion here in this
place is action and our action must
move straight toward definite ends
'Our object is. of course, to win the
war and we shall not slacken or suffer
ourselves to be diverted until it Is won.
But it Is worth while asking and an
swering the question when shall we
consider the war won?
From one point Of view 1t Is not nee
essary to breach this fundamental mat
ter. ! do not doubt that the Amer
Jean people know what the war Is
about and what sort of an outcome
they will regard as a realization OF
their purpose In ii. As u nation we
are united in spirit and intention.
Il pay little heed to those who tell
me otherwise. | hear the voices of
dissent-who does not? l hear the
criticism and the clamor of the nois-
lily, thoughtless and troublesome; l
also see men here and there fling them
selves in impotent d~isloyalty against
the calm, indomitable power of the ma
ton. I hear men debate peace who
understand neither it's nature nor the
way in which we may attain 1t with
uplifted eyes and unbrOken spirits. But
| know that none of these speaks for
the nation. They do not touch the heart
of anything. They may safely be left
to strut their uneasy hour and be for
gotten.
Luxemburger gazette. [volume] (Dubuque, Iowa) 1871-1918, 1917-12-13
FREEDOM FOR BALKAN PEOPLES.

I'VE owe it, however. to ourselves to
say that we do not wish in any way
to impair or to rearrange the Austro-
Hungarian empire. IL is no affair Of
ours what they do with their W life,
either industrially or politically. We
do not purpose or desire to dictate to
them In any way. We only desire to
see that their affairs are left in their
own hands. In all matters, great or
small.
I'VE shall hope to secure for the
peoples Of the Balkan peninsula and
for the peoples Of the Turkish empire
the right and opportunity to make
their own lives safe, their own fortunes
secure against oppression or injustice
and from the dictation Of foreign
courts or parties.
And our attitude and purpose with
regard to Germany herself are Of a
like kind. We intend no wrong against
the German empire. no interference
with her internal affairs. We should
deem either the one or the other abso-
lutely unjustifable, absolutely con-
trary to the principles we have pro-
fessed to live by and to hold most sa-
cred throughout our life as a nation.
THE people of Germany are being
told by the men whom they now per-
NIT to deceive them and to act as
their masters that they are fighting for
the very life and existence of their I'm
pire. a war of desperate ~self-defense
against deliberate aggression.
Nothing could be more grossly or
wantonly false, and we must seek by
the utmost openness and candor as to
our real aims to convince them Of its
falseness. We are, in fact, fighting
for their emancipation from fear, along
with our own, from the fear as well
as from the fact Of unjust attack by
neighbors or rivals or schemers after
world empire. No one is threatening
the existence or the independence or
the peaceful enterprise Of the German
pmDire.
Luxemburger gazette. [volume] (Dubuque, Iowa) 1871-1918, 1917-12-13
JUSTICE TO ALL.

1--WE know what that price will be.
1t will be full, impartial justice-jus-
tice done at every point and to every
nation the final settlement must affect
our enemies as well as our friends
you catch, with me. the voices Of
humanity that are in the air. They
grow daily more audible, more ar
ticulate, more persuasive, and they
come from the hearts Of men every
where. They insist that the war shall
not end in vindictive action of any
kind that no nation Or people shall
be robbed or punished because the ir-
responsible rulers Of a single country
have themselves done deep and ,abom-
Unable wrong.
1T is this thought that has been
expressed in the formula, no annex
atoms, no contributions, no punitive
indemnities'; Just because this crude
formula expresses the instructive judg-
ment as to right of plain men every
where 1t has been made diligent use
Of by the masters Of German intrigue
to lead the people Of Russia astray-
and the people Of every other country
their agents could reach In order that
a premature peace might be brought
W b'i'i' az u bNNii tatShe
it's final and convincing lesson and the
people Of the world put In control Of
their OWL deStinies.
But the fact that a wrong use has
been made Of a just idea is no reason
why a right use should not be made
Of il. 1t ought TO be brought under
the patronage Of its real friends. Let
II be said again that a~utocracy must
first be shown the utter futility of its
claims to power or leadership In the
modern world.
at is impossible to apply any stand
ard Of justice 50 long as such forces
are unchecked and uudefeated ms the
present masters of Germany command.
Not until that has hecn done can right
be set up as arbiter and peacemaker
among the nations. But when that
has been done-as, God willing, II as
suredly will be-we shall at last be
Luxemburger gazette. [volume] (Dubuque, Iowa) 1871-1918, 1917-12-13
Gniturirues
Bon 9ihtbiloern sur @eruertbuns Der
fatbuliidJen 9rciIe.
(Gon Ric Is ~

CUR gefl. @eahtun8 fir 2eitcr bon
2id)t6ilberz 8oriteIlun9en, ipcl6e 9crne
iifer Ieiu poleu, Onb lire Sims Dem
fatbpliifen Sublitum enlpfoblcn ipcr>
Den fonnen; nlld our acnntniBnabmc
fir fatboliIhc @ltcrn uno Grlpadienc,
fpelfe gerre iuiurmirt iciu m0dtcn
iibcr BEN iittlidjeu @ertb bon Gid)ts
biIoers Siln,s. SieIen 2ellten empfeb>
len mir ndmlid, nad3uabmen, mas
elm YrieItcr, ans Dem pcitlihen Sbeilc
Soipa'S tbut. CIR iutcrciIiert iih brett
iino perionlih an Den StdtbiIocrz
Tilms, ipelde I'M Stdbtfen, D. b. III
feincr 8emeinoc, Dem Sublifllm bors
aefiibrt perbeu. Gr lit bcsbnlb audl
beitdnbig nuf Der Slfe mad Dem
9aerbeiten, ni6t mir III Saben bes
&nitanbcs uuo Der friitlifen Site,
fonberu audi in Safen Der ~fiinitlc@
ridden - ppmoglif rcli9ios sfinltIe>
ridden - Guffaiung. 8nourd ipiro
iein Rublitum ourf, bas 9i6tbloer>
fpeien in ieber Se5iebung iiber bas &C.
iu6bnlihe Nipeau 9ebobcn. Gs ban>
bclt lid ulio nm Die 8ilbune bes
DffentIi6cu 8eihmnfes bur6 ri6ti9e
Stelunguabme CUR @i6tbiIber >Srage.
SelbitberitdnbIid bIeibt 3u betoneu,
bab aid bieieS g2ittel Der 9cre6ts
fertigteu @rbolurg nidt 5eritDrenb
pber Ielbit nQ3u it5rcnb nuf bas DRIFT
Iide Samilicns mub 8emcinbelcben
(oic hriitlidlc @cmciubc, ridti9 CT
faBt, lit ia aud nIrr eriueiterte, DRIFT
Ii6e Samilie) ipirteu barf. NIio,
6riitli6e @lteru uuo &inDcr. INNER
feitbaIteu am eeorOncteu 6riitlihen
Samilienleben ais Sunoament bon
Stride unO Staatl Sene Sanrilie. in
fpeldJer bas 3uinmmculcben intereiant
gcnlig 9emadt iuerbeu fam, um Die
Suht (um nidt 81 reben bon Sebus
1ud)t) nod ~auslparti8eu 8erguiigeu
auf Elm Winimum b%erab3uieBen, } bat
eineu grobeu Griolg 5u ocr3ei6nen.
borausgeiest natiirlif, bab Der 9eiit
Der SamiIie pUiitip uub prattii6
driftlid bleibt. 8enn man Die ga
Mile ielbit 81 elmer art 2ofal fir ale
moelideu @ergnii9ungen obue @ebctS>
@eiit urb o6uc Gr3ieburgsmittel gum
Giuiscn matt, 10 iii pcnig gcluouucn.
Gs mug baber bic quite Scttiirc, bon
e1t tatuoIiid]er @iterotur, bon Der
nlIteu Gr7u6luuu nnucfuuQeu purd1 Die
fatboIiiGe SreIe bis our Grbourm8ss
2iteratur in Der poiitip driitIiden
Samilic sepflest iperoeu. Sn uuieren
@ldttcrn iuden mir Our6 uniere
Glider Nn5ci9cu in bieicr SiuIiht
Siuiidcu fatboliihcu ShriftitcQcru.
rem fut6oIiitcn @iidcr GcrlngSbnube
luugcn uuD bcm &ciepu0IituwL 8umol
ser driit.iAcu SamiIic, ais prattii6cS
@iuoe9lieb 81 tuirfcn.
Sm sIeidcu Siune m09ten mir
Luxemburger gazette. [volume] (Dubuque, Iowa) 1871-1918, 1917-12-13
MEASURES u. s. K

"The financial and military meas
ures which must be adopted will sug-
gest themselves as the war and its I'M
dertakings develop, but / will take the
liberty of proposing to you certain
other acts of legislation which seem to
me to be needed for the support of the
war and for the release of our whole
force and energy.
"It will be necessary to extend in
certain particulars the legislation of
the. last session with regard to alien
enemies, and also necessary, / believe,
to create a very definite and particu-
lar control over the entrance and de-
parture Of all persons into and from
the United States.
Legislation should be enacted defin-
ing as a criminal offense every willful
violation Of the presidential prOclama-
ton relating to alien enemies, promul-
gated under section 4,0G7 of the revised
statutes and providing appropriate
punishments; and women as well as
men should be included under the
terms of the acts placing restraints
upon alien enemies.
ut Is likely that as time goes on
many alien enemies will he willing to
he fed and housed at the expense OF
the government in the detention camps,
and il would he the purpose of the legis-
lation I have suggested to confne Of
tenders among them in p~enitentiaries
and other similar institutions where
Luxemburger gazette. [volume] (Dubuque, Iowa) 1871-1918, 1917-12-13
"UNRESTRAINED SELFIsHNESS'
HAS REPLACED LAW OF SUP
PLY AND DEMAND.

Recent experience has convinced me
that the congress must go further In
authorizing the government to set lin
it's to prices. The law Of supply and
demand, l am sorry to say, has been
replaced by the law Of unrestrained
s~elfshness. While we have eliminated
profiteering in several branches of in
dustry 1t still runs impudently rampant
In others.
1.-The farmers, for example, complain
with a great deal Of justice that while
the regulation Of food prices restricts
their incomes NJ restraints are placed
upon the prices Of most of the things
they must themselves purchase, and
similar inequities obtain on all sides.
at is imperatively necessary that
the consideration of the full use Of the
water power Of the country and also
the consideration Of the systematic and
vet economical development Of such Of
the natural resources Of the country
as are still under the control Of the fed
eral government should be Immediately
resumed and affirmatively and con-
structively dealt with at the earliest
possible moment. The pressing need Of
such legislation is daily becoming more
obvious.
1.-THE legislation proposed at the last
session with regard to regulated com
iinations among u exporters. I'm order
t. Trovide> for our foreign trade n
more effective organization and method
Of cooperation, ought by all means to
be completed 1T this session.
"And ] beg that the members of the
house Of representatives will permit
me to express the opinion that ii will
be impossible to deal in any way but
a very wasteful and ~extravagant fash
ion with the enormous appropriations
Of the public moneys which must con-
tinue to be made If the war is to be
properly sustained, unless the house
will consent to return to its former
practice of initiating and preparing all
appropriation bills through a single
committee, in order that responsibility
may be centered, expenditures stand
ardized and made uniform and waste
and duplication as much as possible
avoided.
Luxemburger gazette. [volume] (Dubuque, Iowa) 1871-1918, 1917-12-13
FREEDOM OF SEAS FOR ALL.

Our entrance into the war has not
altered our attitude toward the settle
ment that must come when 1t Is over.
When / said in January that the ma
tons of the world were entitled not
only to free pathways upon the sea but
also to assured and unmolested access
to those pathways l was thinking, and
l am thinking now, not Of smaller and
weaker nations alone, which need our
countenance and support, but also of
the great and powerful nations and
Of our present enemies as well as our
present associates In the war.
Il was thinking and am thinking
now Of Austria herself, among the rest,
as well as Of Serbia and Of Poland.
Justice and equality Of rights can be
had only at a great price. We are seek
ing permanent, nOt temporary, founda-
lions for the peace Of the world and
must seek them candidly and fear
lessly. As always the right will prove
TO be the expedient.
What shall we do, then, to push
this great war of freedom and justice
to its righteous conclusion? We must
clear away with a thorough hand all
impediments to success and we must
make every adjustment Of law that will
facilitate the full and free use Of our
whole capacity and force as a fighting
unit.
Luxemburger gazette. [volume] (Dubuque, Iowa) 1871-1918, 1917-12-13
WOULD EXCLUDE TEUTONS.

"The worst that can happen to the
detriment Of the German people Is
this, that IL they should still, after the
war is over, continue to be Obliged to
live under ambitious and intriguing
masters interested to disturb the peace
Of the world. men or classes Of men
whom the other peoples Of the world
could not trust, II might be impossible
TO admit them to the partnership of
nations which must henceforth guaran-
tee the worlds peace.
THAT partnership must be a part
nership of peoples, not a mere partner
ship Of governments.
1T might he impossible, also, In such
untoward circumstances, to admit Ger
many To the free economic intercourse
which must inevitably spring out of
the other partnerships Of a real peace.
But there would be no aggression In
that; and such a situation, inevitable
because Of distrust, would In the very
nature Of things sooner or later cur
itself by processes which would as
suredly set In.
"The wrongs, the very deep
have to be righted. But they
cdIiiOt anu must ioL Dc Iiehtcu ny
the commission of similar wrongs
against Germany and her allies. The
world will not permit the commission
Of similar wrongs as a means Of rep
aration and settlement.
Statesmen must by this time have
learned that the opinion Of the world Is
everywhere wideawake and fully COM
prehends the issues involved. No repre-
sentative Of any s~elf-goyerned nation
will dare disregard 1t by attempting
any such covenants of s~elfishness and
compromise rs were entered into at the
congress Of Vienna.
The thought Of the plain people
here and everywhere throughout the
world, the people who enjoy no privi-
lege and have very simple and unso-
~phisticated standards Of right and
Luxemburger gazette. [volume] (Dubuque, Iowa) 1871-1918, 1917-12-13

wrong. is the air all governments must
h~enceforth breathe IL they would live.
1t is i'm the full disclosing light of that
thought that all policies must be con-
ceived and executed in this midday
hour Of the worlds life.
German rulers have been able to up
set the peace of the world only because
the German people were not suffered,
under their tutelage, to share the COM
radeship Of the other peoples Of the
world either In thought or I'm purpose.
They were allowed to have no opinion
Of their W which might be set up as
q rule Of conduct for those who exer-
cised authority over them. p
But the congress that concludes
this war will feel the full strength Of
the tides that run now in the hearts
and consciences Of free men every
where. Its conclusions will run with
those tides.
Luxemburger gazette. [volume] (Dubuque, Iowa) 1871-1918, 1917-12-13
AUSTRIA "VASSAL OF THE GER.
MAN GOVERNMENT.

"One very embarrassing obstacle that
stands in our way is that we are at
war with Germany but not with her al
lies. 1 therefore very earnestly recon-
mend that the congress immediately de-
clare the United States in q state of
war with Austria-H Hungary. Does it
seem strange to you that this should
be the conclusion Of the argument I
have just addressed to you? 1t is not.
It Is, In fact, the Inevitable logic Of
what ] have said.
"Austria-H Hungary is for the time be-
ing not her own mistress but simply
the vassal of the German Government.
We must face the facts as they are and
act upon them without sentiment i'm
this stern business. The government Of
Austria Hungary is not acting upon its
own initiative or in response to the
wishes and feelings Of Its own peoples
hut as the instrument Of another ma
ton.
1--WE must meet It's force with our
own and regard the central powers as
but one. The war can be successfully
conducted In nc other way.
1.-The same logic would lead also to
a declaration Of war against Turkey
and Bulgaria. They also are the tools
Of Germany. But they are mere tools
and do not yet stand I'm the direct path
of our necessary action. We shall go
wherever the necessities of this var
carry us, but it seems to me that we
should go only where immediate and
practical considerations lead us and
not heed any others.