The Tupelo journal., 1917-08-24
" THE WAR CAME
AMERICA.
Continued from page 49,

AudiuSy al lie IiLue u Tie 0uSSeA OuU-
rage, and for nearly a year MAIN
tanned at least a pretense of observ-
ing the pledge they had made to us.
The tension was abated.
While the wal spirit was growing
an some sections of our Nation, there
was still no widespread desire to take
part IN the conflict abroad; for the
tradition of noninterference in Eu-
ropes political affairs was too deeply
rooted in our national life to be easily
soverthrown. Moreover, two other
considerations strengthened u Gov
serrnent in its efforts to remain neu-
ftral in this war. The first was u
traditional sense of responsibility to-
ward all the republics of the New
World. Throughout the crisis our
Government was in constant commu-
nication with the countries of Central
and South America. They, too, pre-
ferrea the ways of peace. And there
was a very obvious obligation upon
US to safeguard their interests with
our own. The second consideration,
which had been so often developed
IN The Presidents speeches, was the
hope that by keeping aloof from the
bitter passions abroad, by preserving
~untroubled here the holy ideals of
civilized intercourse between nations,
we might be free at the end of this
war to bind up the wounds of the con
thic1, to be the restorers and rebuild
rers, of the wrecked structure of the
world.
All these motives held US back, but
it was not long until we were beset
by further complications. We soon
had reason to believe that the recent
compliance of the German Govern
ment had not been made to us in
good faith, and was only temporary;
and by the end of 1916 it was plain
that our neutral status had again
been made unsafe through the ever
increasing a-ggressiveness of the Ger
man autocracy. There was general
agreement here with the statement of
OF President, on October &c, 1916,
that this conflict was the last great
war involving the world in which we
scould remain neutral.
1t was in this frame of mind, fear
Ting we might be drawn into the war
If 1t did not soon come to an end,
the President began the preparation
of his note, asking the belligerent
powers to define their war aims. But
before he had completed it, the world
was surprised by the peace move of
the German Government-an identi-
cal note on behalf of the German
Empire, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria,
and Turkey, sent through neutral
powers on December IL, 1916, to the
governments of the Allies, proposing
negotiations for peace. While express
ing the wish to end this war-"a
catastrophe which thousands of years
of common civilization was unable
TO prevent and which injuries the
most achievements of humanity
the greater portion of the note was
hope of a lasting peace. Boosting of
German eonquests, "the glorius
deeds of our armies" the note i'm
planted in neutral minds the belief
that til was the purpose of the I'M
peria1 German Government to insist
upon such conditions as would leave
aH Central Europe under German
dominance and so build up an En-
-pire which would menace the whole
liberal world.
Moreover, the German proposal
was accompanied by a thinly yelled
threat to all neutral nations; and
from a thousand sources, official and
unofficial, the word came to Wash
ington that unless the neutrals used
their influence to bring the war to an
send on terms dictated from Berlin,
Germany and her allies would con-
slider themselves henceforth free
from any obligations to respect the
rights of neutrals. The Kaiser order
ed the neutrals to exert pressure on
the Entente to bring the war to an
abrupt end or to beware of the conse-
sluences. Clear warnings were brought
to onr Government that if the Ger
man peace move should notsbe sue
<cessfni, the submarines would be UNI
aeashed for a more intense and ruth
aess war upon all
On the 18th of December, the
President dispatched his note to all
She beiligerent powers, asking them
10 define their war aims. There was
still hope in our monds that the mu-
Muaa %Susnicions between the Marring1