Norwich bulletin., 1917-10-02
LESSON NO. 2s.
. Why We Fight.

] Of Honor. 3 Making Good as Sol. l dier. 3. Nine Soldierly Qualities: 4
 6 s cma neady G. fsF Gamp in " camp
 [. Your Health. 8. Marching and Care of Feet. g. Your Equipment and Arms {, 10 Recreation in Camp. II. Playing
 the Game. 12. Teamwork in the Army l 13. Grouping Men into Teams. IA. The 1 Team Leaders. 15. Fighting Arms of l the Service. 16. Staff Branches of the
 Service-I. IT. Staff Branches of the
 servic9II. IS. Army Insignia- IS a9
 Close Order Drill 21. Extended Order ! Drill. P. Guard Duty. 23. Getting
 Ahead in the Army. "A. Army Court l esty. 25 Discipline and Respect for l the Colors. 26. Some Army Traditions l 27. The Spirit of the Service.)
 Every American knows the causes of our war with the German govern complete if it did not contain a brief review of the events that finally forced us into war. when at last there re- mained mot other means of defending our rfghts."s
 The soldier of an autocratic' Kaiser may fight best when he understands least of the true meaning of the war. To tell him the facts would be to chill his enthusiasm. But the citizen sol- dier of a democracy is entitled to know for what purposes he enters the strug-
 gle He fights best when he sees most
 clearly why he fights.
 The resolution of Congress declar-
 ing state of war (Apr. 6, 1917) 'ex-
 presses the immediate cause in these
 few words:
 "The Imperial German government
 has committed repeated acts of war
 against the government and the peo-
 pie of the United States of America .
 Chief among the acts of war were
 attacks by German submarines on American ships and on unarmed 1mer-
 chant ships of other nations carrying
 America passegers. -'Nessels of every kin said the President in his address to Congress on Aprils2. 1917. what = ever their flag, their character. their cargo, their destination, their errand, tom without warning and without
 thought of help or mercy for those on board, the vessels of friendly neutra(S along with those of belligerents. Even hospital ships and ships carrying re- lief to the sore1y bereaved and strick- en people of Belgium. though the lat ter were provided with safe conduct through the prescribed areas AE the German government itself and were distinguished by unmistakab1e marks of identity, have been sunk with the same reckless lack of compassion or Of principle Y. The present Ger
 neree is a warfare against mankind"
 German Insults and Aesressions.
 There were other acts of hostility in addition to the submarine warfare. In his Flag Day address delivered a, Washington on June 14. 1917.. the President summed up the events that brought on war as follows: ."It is plain enough how we were forced into the war. The extraordinary ial German government left us no self respecting choice but to take up arms in defense of our rights as a free peo- pie and of our honor as a sovereign government. The military masters of Germany denied us the right to be neutral. They filled our unsuspectins communities with vicious spies and ( eonspirators and sought to corrupt the half. When they found that they could not do that. their agents diligently spread Sedition amongst us and sought to draw our own citizens from their were men connected with the official embassy of the German government ! itself here in our Capital. They sought 1 by violence to destroy our industries and arrest our commerce. They tried to incite Mexico to take up arms 1 against us and to draw Japan into i hostile alliance with he-anG that not 1 by indirection. but by suggestion from l the foreign office in Berlin. They inn denied us the use of the high | seas and repea tedly executed their | threat that they would send to their | death any of our peo ole who ventured | to approach the coasts of Europe"
 Our Liberty and Safety Involved.
 Yet even this list of extraordinary | insults and aggressions" does not tHil | the whole story. Our motives for war ] go even deeper. Not only our rights ! safety are involved. Speaking on July 29. 1917. at the officers training amp at Madison Barracks, N. Y, the Secretary of State said:
 The evil character of the German is laid bare before the world. We know now that that gov ernment is inspired with ambitions which menace human liberty. and hat to gain it's end it does not hesi- ate to break faith, to violate the most acred rights, or to perpetrate intol- |' rable acts of inhumanity *-*,* Jet us understand once for all thatJ his is no war to establish an abstractt of right It is a war ~ 5 at stake"
 The record out of which grows our { eep conviction that it is necessary t once to out curb on so powerful orth in an official publication How he War Came to America Is
 Judging the German government ow in the light of our honest at ' oulpt IO keep lHc pcdCS, we COufO see he great autocracy and read her rec I'd through the war. And we found nat record damnable. With
 fanatical faith in thes destiny of erman kultur, as the system that lust rule the world, the Imeprial overnment's actions have through ears of boasting, doubled dealing, nd deceit tended toward aggressi& &n pon the rights of others. And if 1ere still be any doubt as to which alton began this war there can he