The Parker post., 1917-06-09
NUMEROUS REASONS WHY j. S.
HAS DECLARED WAR AGAINST
THE KAISER AND HIS POLICIES

published regarding Americas rea-
sons for entering the world-war than
contained in the speech last Monday
by Secretary Franklin K. Lane. A
great many Americans are ignorant
of the real reasons why this govern
ment has been forced into this war
with Germany, and there is a still
greater number Of disloyal agitators
who are trying to befog the issue
by disseminating untruthful propa-
ganda regarding the war in hopes of
defeating the principles which this
country is now fighting for
Secretary Lane clearly sets forth
the various reasons for the partici-
patton of this government in the
great conflict, and this paper sug-
gests that it's readers carefully read
Mr.. Lanes speech, and be prepared
to answer the numerous reasonable
utterances which are being made
daily by that class Of agitators who
are opposing war and criticising the
government:
America is at war;" Mr. Lane said,
''in self defense and because she could
not keep out; she is at war to save
herself with the rest Of the world
from the nation that has linked itself
with the Turk and adopted the
method of Maholnet, setting itself to
make the world bow before the poll
cies backed by it's organized and
scientific military system
"Why are we fighting Germany?
The brief answer is that ours is a
war Of self defense. We did not wish
to fight Germany. She made the at
tack upon us; not on our shores, but
on our ships, our lives, our rights,
our future. For two years and more
we held to a policy that made us
apologists for things which outraged
mans common sense of fair play and
humanity.
''At each new .offense-the inva-
sion of Belgium, the killing of civil
ian Belgians, the attacks on Scar
borough and other defenseless towns,
the laying of mines in neutral
waters, the fencing off of the seas
and on and on through the months
we said: this is war-archaic, un-
civilized war, but war. All rules
have been thrown away; all no.
bility; man has come down to the
primitive brute. And while we can
not justify we will not intervene.
1t is not our war
''Then why are we in? Because we
could not keep out. The invasion of
Belgium which opened the war, led
to the invasion of the United States
by slow, steady, logical steps. Our
sympathies evolved into a conviction
of self-interest, our love of fair play
ripened into an alarm at our own
peril.
eve talked in the language and
in the spirit of good faith and sim
cerity, as honest men should talk,
until we discovered our talk was
construed as cOwardice. And Mex
leo was called upon to COW us. We
talked as men would talk who cared
for peace and the advancement of
their own material interests, until
we discovered that we were thought
to be a nation of mere money MAX
ers, devoid of all character-until,
indeed, we were told that we could
not walk the highways of the world
without permission of Prussian SOL
dier, that our ships might not sail
without wearing striped uniform
of humiliation, narrow path of
national subservience. We talked
as men who hope for honest agree
ment, not for war, until we found
that the treaty torn to pieces at
Liege was but a symbol of a policy
that made agreements worthless
against a purpose that knew no
word but success.
And so we came into this war for
ourselves. 1t is a war to save Amer
lea, to preserve self-respect, to JUS
tify our right to live as we have liv
ed, not as some one else wishes9us to
live. In the name of freedom we
challenge with ships and men, money
and undaunted spirit, that word
'verboten' which Germany has writ
ten upon the sea and upon the land.
For America is not the name of so
much territory. 1t is living spirit,
born in travail, grown in the rough
school of bitter experiences, living
spirit which has purpose and pride
knows why it wishes to live and to
what end, knows how it comes to be
respected of the world, and hopes to
u