Macon beacon., 1917-04-27
United We Stand.


George Washington took up arm
against a German king callc,
George III" we were very ia
from being united. A large ant
influential part of the population
took the Tory side and all thru
the Revolution the country wa
torn by dissentions. The War o
1872 was a sectional war. 1t wa,
approved by a bare majority il
Congress and New England threat
encd to secede because of it. tn,
Mexican War was regarded with
adherence in the north. Lowell
wrote the "Biglow Papers" to
prevent recruiting and the popu.
lar song of the day was:
Go, 90. go,
Mr.. Polk, you know.
Bids you fight and kill and quell,
Cutther throats and make them veil,
Send their spirits down to hell.
Conquer Mexico!
In the Civil War the country
was not merely rent in twain but
neither side was unified at first.
There were seccdcrs from secession
in the south, while in the north
the abolitionists agreed for once
with their enemies, the pro. slavery
men, in opposing u war for the
preservation of the Union. Ed
ward Everett said, "If our sister
states must leave us, in the nam,
OF heaven let them 90 in peace, -
"Plty, forgive, but urge then
back no more.o All thrn the wa
the coppelheads and paciGsts wcr,
active and wctl organized. Th,
dlsloyal order, the Knights of th,
Golden Circle, at one time mum
bcred nearly u million and cont,
mobilize an armed force of 3tO, ,OOC
men. When conscription wa
adopted a mob ran amuck in New
York City for four days with tn,
connivance of the authorities An
orphan asylum was burned down
and IN the streets men and women
joined in tOrturing and hanging
and dismcmbering innocent per |
sons. In New York City alone
more than a thousand people lost
their lives and more than a million
and a half dollars worth of prop
erty was destroyed by the draft
riots. Does any one imagine tha,
such scenes would be repeated if
the present Congress should order
a draft!
The opposition to our war with
Spain was furious at the time and
mas not yet altogether died out.
Two regiments of the New York
the Seventh and Thir
,eenth, refused to serve The
House and the Senate were dead {
ocked on the question of support. 5
ng the President. t
Not only is the United States
more united than on any previous
declaration of war, but it is more
United than England was when
he entered. The British Cabinet I
vas divided and three members of o
he Government, Morley, Burns )
M Trevelyan, resigned rather :
nan consent to participation in a
ne econtlnentalcontict. Theuucs e
ION was never put to Parliament, Z
ut 1t is evident that there were ~
lore members opposed to enter. i
* the war in the House of Com.
IONS August 3, 1914, than in the
louise of Representatives April 3,
9i'. The opposition in the Il
rltlsh press was outspoken up to q, a.
le very last day. The London Of
ally Chronicle of August 3 said.
Truth to tell, the issues which have
'ecipltated the conflict which threat
IS to devastate the whole of Europe
e not worth the bones of single
ldier. or
And on August 4 the Manches. to
r Guardian said: nc
We hold it to be patriotic duty for tn
good citizens to oppose to the ut o.
ost the participation of this country "
the greatest crime of our time. a'
These are as emphatic as any WI
ing to be found in the opposi. eff
IN papers of the United States. to
t Great Britain has since raised wi
volunteer army of five millions oc
d is voluntarily spending $50, an
>, 900 day on the war. los
The participation of Italy was on
eceded by violent political con. TIT
It's and riotous demonstrations Nh
and against the war In the WI
lian Chamber of Deputies there say
re seventy four votes against !
instead of the fifty in our VIII
use of Representatives. Yet wa
ly has shown no lack of united ant
rt in the prosecution of her Me
'paign. ,
appears, then, America en- ard
y in this world war with great. of