Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1917-12-04


Gentlemen Of the congress:
Eight months have elapsed since I
last had the honor Of addressing you.
They have been months crowded with
events of immense and grave signii-
canoe for us | 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 before you in the reports OF the
executive departments. / shall discuss
only our present outlook upon these
vast affairs, our present duties and
the immediate means of accomplishing
the objects we shall hold always In
view
Wrongs are Obvious.
II shall not 90 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 OBJ
yious and odious to every true Amer
lean to need to be rehearsed. But
shall ask you to consider again. and
with very grave scrutiny, our obiec-
! tiYes and the measures by which we
mean to attain them; for the purpose
of discussion here in this place Of ac-
ton, and our action must move
straight towards definite ends. Our OBJ
! ject, is our course, to win the war and
we shall not slacken or suffer our
selves 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
| necessary to breach this fundamental
matter. / do not doubt that the
| American people know what the war
| is about and what sort of an outcome
they will regard as realization OF
their purpose in it. AS nation we
are united in spirit and intention.
pay little heed TO those who tell me
otherwise I hear the voices of dis
seTt-who does it? I hear the criti-
cisIn and the clamor of the noisy,
/ thoughtIess and troublesome. ] also
see men here and there fling them
selves in important disloyalty against
! the calm, indomitable power of the
nation l hear men debate peace who
understand neither its nature nor the
way in which we may attain It, with
upiifted eyes and unbroken spirits.
But know that none of these speak
for the nation. They do not touch the
heart of anything They may safely
be left to strut their uneasy hour and
be forgotten.
Spokesman For America.
But from another point OF view
believe that il is necessary 70 say
plainly what we here, at the seat Of
action, consider the war to be for and
what part we mean to play in the set
tIement OF its searching issues. We
are the spokesman of the American
people and they have 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
runs with theirs and what action we
propose. They are impatient with
those who desire peace by any sort
: OF ompromise-deeply and indig-
nantly impatient, but they will be
equally impatient with US II We do
not make it plain TO them what our
: detectives are and what We are PLAN
ming for Ia seeking to make conquest
: OF peace by arms.
Il believe that I speak for them
: when say two things; first, that this
intoierabie thing OF which the master.
: OF Germany have shown US the ngly
l face. this menace Of combined in.
J trigue and ybrce which we now see sc
I clearly as the German power, thina
CONTINUED on Page Seven