Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-06-14
Traitors to America.

he said. TO be swayed by the national
| devotions and national antipathtes of
| men who exercised the rights of Amer
lean citizens. but showed themselves
traitors to America by the way IN
which they prostituted our citizenship
to the interests of Germany or to their
| hatred of England.
| 1T would be impossible to overstate
, the damage done to the morale fiber OF
| our country by the professional pacif-
| list propaganda, the peace-at-any-price
| propaganda. The professional pacifsts
| during the first two and a half years of
| the war have occupied precisely the
| position of the copperheads during the
time of Abraham Lincoln.
| The fact that sheer cowardice was
| more potent than the love of peace was
| proved by the fact that the leading
| paclnsts dared not condemn single
specific act of wrong doing when such
act was committed by the powerful and
brutal foe they most feared-Germany.
| Germany and Belgium. They denounced
war in language which reflected as
! heavily on the fathers who were de-
! Tending their wives and daughters from
Systematically practiced rape and tor
| ture- BY their failure to protest
against the inhuman torture of the poi
son gas they made it necessary here
| aIter 70 accept this as an ordinary in
| strument of warfare: just as, by our
| failure to take immediate action in
connection with the murder of innocent
non mbatants by subma rines. we
comml.teo an onense against humanity
the effects Of which cannot be com
pletely eradicated by any subsequent
| action on our part.
| An this meanness and abandonment
OF duty was championed by the pro-
| fessional pacifists on the plea that
thereby we should be kept out of war
And by their political pressure, they
prevented US from preparing. and kept
US utterly unprepared. on the ground
that preparedness invited war; their
motto was safety first not duty first
lThey cared nothing for righteousness
They cared nothing for humanity. They
cared nothing for our national honor
Tor interest. All they asked was a
| peace that would permit us to get all
four feet in the trough while we strove
baseness of our materialism by the
! shrill clamor of sham sentimentality.
From this time on let us insist on
an absolute and undivided American
ism in this land. untempered by any
| self-allegiance to the countries from
have sprung, and untainted by any
| unworthy national animosity toward
any other country. Let us prepare our
selves spiritually. economically and in
all military and naval matters-includ-
ling as permanent policy the policy of
universal military training and service
$50 that never again shall we be ut
terly unready, as we now are, to meet
| a great crisis. Finally, in the present
war. war for liberty and democracy
| against the ruthless militaristic
tyranny of the Prussianfzed Germany
OF the Hohenzollerns, let US as speedily
as possible train our giant, but our
soft and unready, strength, so that we
may use our hardened might to bring
the slaughter to a real and final end
a only
| securing for ourselves and our allies
the peace of justice based on over
whelming victory"
Appeals for Support of Red Cross.
In his appeal for support for the Red
Cross, Col. Roosevelt said. in part:
THE most important thing is to send
| abroad at the earliest possible moment a
| great fighting army. Second only to the
| army in the work Of winning this war
! portance of this work is so great that
| the President OF the United States has
| set apart next week-from June Is to 81
as period for sacrifice and unselfish
| generosity. a week In which the whole
American people will be asked to join in
| raising funds to enable our Red Cross TO
| perform its vast and indispensable duties
| in this war.
THE President has also commissioned
| several OF the ablest business men of the
| country as a war council of the Red Cross
| to administer this service on behalf of a
| stricken world. This war council tells us
that fund Of 500. 900. 600 must be raised
| at once in order to meet even the most
| urgent needs.
| Here, indeed. Is a summons to every
American. 1t is enormous sum Of
money: but what comfort can we take in
| Withholding that or any other sum of
money If 1t is needed to relieve the suf-
| fering of our own sons or the sons of our
allies who are fighting for all that makes
life worth living.
1--WE little realize what Is before US.
Our own sons and brothers will soon be
| going into battle They will be three
| thousand miles from home, in a land al
ready wasted by war. a land threatened
by famine. a land smitten by disease.
They tell US that in many cases today the
| wounds of soldiers In France must be
tied up with newspapers for want of the
| necessary surgical bandages. When our
own men are wounded-as they surely will
| be in great numbers-are we going to
allow them TO suffer yet more because we
fail to provide those things which can AZ
least mitigate distress? Surely not But
we must do it in advance. If we wait it
! may be too late. Do it now.
I'm no previous war have the inno-
cent non-com batants had to bear so
terrible share OF its physical suffer
ing. And it is through our Red Cross
that we can show to the nations of the
world how the great heart of the Amer
lean people goes out to them in their
distress.
"France-proud. brave. bleeding from
CHASTITY wounds-needs us sorelv. tn
| berculosis is raging throughout her
land. Fifteen hundred of her towns
and villages have been razed to the
ground by the calculated barbarity OF
the invaders. Millions Of her peonIe
are homeless and starving, bereft even
of the barest covering for their bodies
| Of stoves. Of utensils with which ~
cook or eat. Of agricultural Implements
Of animals-indeed, of the simplest eIe'
ments of civilization. And to us alone
can these people come for helm. we
| alone have the abundance with which
to supply their direst needs.
ITO Russia, too. we must reach on,
our helping hand We little know VIZ
she has suffered and is suffering Puss
STA. long obedient TO autocracv has not
| ninched in this conflict Russia needs
| all we can do to strengthen her cours
age and ITO make her feel that we ~.
indeed behind her. Our armies can do
little for her. Our Red Cross alone "a ~
take into Russia the message ~ bona
of help. of confidence which she an tar,
rfbly needs. The message must he
practical. 1t must carry deeds and not
merely words; and it should he carriad
at once. Probably never before wara
so many people in distress and ,Sonv
as In Russia at this very hour We
can take no more vital step toward
winning this war than to put renewed
heart and strength into Russia.
|