The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1917-06-14
WHY We ARE AT WAR
CONTINUED from page one.)

ton. We defeated her once on the
land and once on the sea. But Aus
tralia, New Zealand, Africa and Can
ada are free because of what we did.
And they are with us in the fight for
the freedom of the seas.
| Because of Russia-New Russia.
She must not be overwhelmed now.
Not now, surely, when she is just born
into freedom. Her peasants must
have their chance; they must go to
school to Washington, to Jefferson and
to Lincoln, until they know their way
about in this new, strange world of
government by the popular will.
And because Of other peoples, with
their rising hope that the world may
be freed from government by the SOL
dier
We are fighting Germany because
she sought to terrorize us and then
to fool US. We could not believe that
Germany would not do what she said
she would upon the seas.
We still hear the piteous cry Of
children coming up out Of the sea
where the Lusitania went down. And
Germany has never asked forgiveness
Of the world.
We saw the Sussex sunk, crowded
with the sons and daughters Of neu-
trail nations.
We saw ship after ship sent to the
bottom-ships Of mercy bound out
of America for the Belgian starving;
ships carrying the Red Cross and
laden with the wounded Of all nations !;
ships carrying food and clothing to
friendly, harmless, terrorized peoples;
ships flying the stars and stripes
sent to the bottom hundreds Of miles
from shore, manned by American sea-
men, murdered against all law, with
out warning.
We believed Germany's promise that
she would respect the neutral flag and
the rights of neutrals, and we held our
anger and outrage in check. But now
we see that she was holding US off
with fair promises until she could build
her huge fleet of submarines. For
when spring came she blew her
promise into the air, just as at the
beginning she had tore up that "scrap
Of paper"
Then we saw clearly that there was
hit one law for Germanv-her will to
rule.
! We are fighting Germany because
she violated our confidence. Paid
German spies filled our cities. Off,
Gals Of her government, received as
the guests of this nation, lived with
= US to bribe and terrorize, defying ou1
law and the law of nations.
We are fighting Germany because
while we were yet her friend-the
= only great power that still held hands
-. off-she sent the Zimmerman note
' calling to her aid Mexico, our south
ern neighbor, and hoping to lure
Japan, our western neighbor, into wal
against this nation of peace.
We are fighting against Germany
because in this war feudalism is max
:, ing it's last stand against oncomin&
i democracy. We see it now. This i
a war against an old spirit. It is :
Il war against feudalism-the right O.
!" the castle on the hill to rule the vii
lage below. 1t is war for democrat!
the right Of all to be their own mas
tiers. Let Germany be feudal if sh
. will. But she must not spread he
. system over a world that has out
= grown it. Feudalism plus science
- thirteenth century plus twentieth
y this is the religion Of the mistake]
i Germany that has linked itself witt
y the Turk-that has, too, adopted tn
y method of Mahomet. "The state ha
9 no conscience; the state can do n
Il wrong" With the spirit Of the fana
tic she believes this gospel and that
8 is her duty to spread it by force.
With poison gas that makes Twin
-, a hell, with submarines that snea
~ through the seas to murder slyly nor
% combatants, with dirigibles that bon
- bard men and women while they sleel
~ with perfected system of terrorizs
10 ton that the modern world first hear
r. of when German troops entered Chin
n, German feudalism is making wa
ss upon mankind.
lg "Let this old spirit of evil have il
It way, and no man will live in Americ
al without paying toll to it in manhoo
and in money. This spirit might d.
r. mand Canada from defeated, nav,
n. less England, and then our dream {
Of peace on the north would be at an en-
81 We would live as France has lived fl
,e, forty years, in haunting terror.