The Morgan City daily review. (Morgan City, La.) 1916-1920, 1917-08-17
HOW THE WAR CAME TO AMER.
ICA.
Continued from page -

!
peoples peace, were too few or too
oppressed to make their voices heard
in the councils of their nation. Al
ready on January 16 1917, unknown
to the people of Germany, Herr
Zimmerman, their Secretary Of
Foreign Affairs, had, secretly dis
patched a note to their minister in
Mexico, informing him of the Ger
man intention to repudiate the
Sussex pledge and instructing him to
offer to the Mexican Government
New Mexico and Arizona if Mexico
would join with Japan in attacking
the United States.
In the new year of 1917, as
through our acceptances Of world
responsibilities so plainly indicated
in the Presidents utterances in re-
gard to a league of nations, we felt
ourselves now drawing nearer to a
full accord with the powers of the
entente; and as on the other hand
we found ourselves more and more
outraged at the German Govern
ment's methods Of conducting war
fare and their brutal treatment of
people in their conquered lands; as
we more and more uncovered their
hostile intrigues against the peace
of the New World; and above all, as
the sinister and antidemocratic
ideals Of their ruling class became
manifest in their manoeuvers for a
peace of .conquest-the Imperial
German Government abruptly threw
aside the mask.
On the last day of January, 1917,
Count Bernstroff handed to Mr..
Lansing a note in which his Govern
ment announced its purpose to in
tensify and render more ruthless the
operations Of their submarines at
sea, in . manner against which our
Government had protested from the
beginning. The German Chancellor
also stated before the Imperial Diet
that the reason this ruthless policy
had not been earlier employed was
simply because the Imperial Govern
ment had not then been ready to act.
In brief, under the guise of friend
ship and the cloak of false promises,
it had been preparing this attack.
This was the direct challenge.
There was no possible answer ex-
cept to hand their ambassador his
passports and so have done with a
correspondence which
had been vitiated from the start by
the often proved bad faith of the
Imperial Government.
On the same day, February 8,
1917, the President addressed both
Houses of our Congress and an
nounced the complete severance of
our relations. with Germany. The
reluctance with which he took this
step was evident in every word. But !
had failed, and it would
nave been the hollowest pretense to
maintain relations. At the same time !
however, he made it plain that he did
lot regard this act as tantamount to
| declaration Of war. Here for the
first, time the President made his
sharp distinction between govern
nents and people in undemocratic
ands:
eve are the sincere friends of the
German people," he said, land ear
testify desire to remain at peace with
he Government which speaks for
hem. * God grant we may not
,e challenged by acts Of willful in
Justice on the part of the Govern
nent of Germany"
In this address of the President,
md in it's Endorsement by the Sem
tie, there was solemn warning;
or we still had hope that the Ger
nan Government might hesitate to
rive US to war. But it was soon
vident that our warning had fallen
n deaf ears. The tortuous ways and
means of German official diplomacy
we're clearly shown in the negotia-
ions opened by them through the
'wiss legation on the 10th of Feb
uary. In no word of their proposals
i'd the German Government meet
he real issue between US. And our
tate Department replied that no
minor negotiations could be enter
aimed until the main issue had been
net by the withdrawal of the SUBJ
1arine order.
Bv the 1st of March it had become ]