The sun., 1917-07-31
Secretary Lansing's splendid Advice
70 America.

TO America.
The address delivered by Secretary
Of State LANSING at Madison Bar
racks on Sunday is a notable and
valuable contribution to the litera-
ture of the war because it is one of
small number of utternnces by off,
cials Of the United States Govern
nent IN which the national interest
and the national peril Of this country
have not been subordinated to the
danger that Prussianism holds for
humanity in general That danger
II not to be ignored. 1t Is real and
continuing menace. But 1t has been
a'weakness Of the domestic presenta-
tion of our situation that in empha-
Sizing the worldwide effects of i'm
perial victory the results to the
United States have been slighted.
The Presidents phrase. "the world
must be made safe for democracy"
expresses the general thought ade-
quately, but It does not bring the
facts home to the Individual. 1t re-
quires translation to impress its sig
nificance on the minds of those who
live remote from the war and whose
ordinary occupations and associations
have not been of a kind to compel
thoughtful analysis of the real OBJ
Ject of the great struggle in Europe
Aa.ka hta Nro In
LANSING provides, without recourse
to sensational statement, without
overdrawn rhetoric. but in words
whose careful selection adds greatly
to their impressiveness. He speaks
within the demonstrated truth when
he says:
Let US understand once foT all that
this is no war to establish an abstract
principle Of right.
at is a war In which the future of
the United States is at stake.
"1f any among you have the idea
that we are fighting others battles and
not our own, the sooner he gets away
from that idea the better 1t will be for
him, the better it will be for all OF us"
We are in fact fighting our own bat
tie; at last fighting for the preserva-
ton OF the United States and its
citizens after nearly three years dur
ing which our protection was accom-
plished, so far as we were protected,
by other nations. The soldiers Of
the Allies who have died on land, the
sailors who have gone to honorable
graves on the seas, in defence of their
own lands, were our defenders; and
likewise, in Mr.. LANsINo's words:
Primarily. then. every man who
crosses the ocean to fght on foreign
soil against the armies OF the German
emperor goes forth TO fight for his
country and for the preservation of
those things for which our forefathers
wore willing to die.
We owe the same debt that we owe to
those men who in the past fought on
American soil in the cause OF liberty.
"No. not the Same debt. but a greater
one
sIt calls for more patriotism. more
self-denfza ana truer vision 10 wage
war on distant shores than TO repel an
invader or defend ones home"
There has been a natural but none
the less regrettable tendency to- look
on this war as a conflict for an alb
stract, II elevated, ideal. Likewise,
there has been a notion, fostered by
geographical factors, to discuss 1t as
.fheir" war, and TO conceive of our
effort in 1t as exerted to ''help them.
To the correction Of these danger
ous misunderstanding Mr.. LANSING
has made the most effective contribu-
tion. 1t is imperative that Americans
should realize that the frontiers OF
our country and the first line of de-
fence Of our nation are the battle
lines that surround the Central EN-
pires, and that victory in France and
Belgium. in Austria and Russia is the
only thing that can keep the red tide
Of autocracy's aggression from the
shores of this continent