Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1917-04-28
Calls on Gernon-Americans
To Stand With United States


nephews, cousins and other blood rela-
tives fighting in the field for Germany
to voluntarily take up arms against
them and urge them to kill All that
| want to be understood in saying, when
l use that word that we should Justify
and approve the action and steps of
the American government in every res
pect and give il our hearty and unani-
nous support. No form of government
heretofore devised is faultless. All have
their advantages and disadvantages, but
| fully believe, and therefore express
myself to that effect, that the Ameri-
can government is as near a perfect
government as we can conceive. You
and / viii see the time, and the time is
not very far off, when all the nations
of the universe, including the country
of our birth, will be republics, viii ad-
here to the principles of 4 government
of the people, by the people, and for
the people, and America will lead them
oil. 1t will be American freedom. Am
/ eriean principles, american policies
they will all strive to obtain. Each of
you is entitled to your private opinion,
! but matters having came to a climax
and having compelled this government
to arrive ot definite decision, l feel
that all of your personal opinions should
step in to the background and we should
stand as one behind this government.
Assails German Ruthlessness.
! 1t cannot be denied that England,
France, Germany, in fact all the ma.
tions involved in this bloody war,
have violated international laws
Germany, however, has been guilty
of the Severest violations. The ocean
since time immemorial has been the
lopen highway of commerce and traf.
fic of the whole world, and no ma
tion has the right to sink, capture
or blow up vessels Of neutral nations
engoged in peaceful commerce with
ont warning. Germany has done so not
only once or 10 times, but hundreds OF
times. She has done so after this gov
ernmcnt strenuously objected and pro
| tested against such practice. She has
| done so after she solemnly declared, aft
er the sinking of the Lusitanio, to alb
stain from such conduct in the future
She has done SO without distinction al
to the ship 5 errand, cargo or national
ity. She has sunk Belgian relief ships
and hospital ships. The consequence
must, therefore, fall upon Germany, ono
upon Germany alone, and although al
tof us may be i'll sympathy with Ger
many's plight, with her valour, her SUI
Iperefficiency, her admirable sacrifices
her marvellous resourcefuness, affairs
have come to an open break between
the country of our birth and the coun
try of our home, / maintain that We
have no longer the right to voice oul
private opinions and sympathies, but We
should assure the United States Of oul
loyalty.
am of the firm opinion that by
far the greatest majority Of the Ger
man-Americans are on the side of thu
American government in this conflict
1T is only small number in comparison
with the entire number of German-Am
ericans-only handful-who raist
their voices against the action of thu
American government, and who ruth
lessly, wilfullv, unlawfully, with bombs
dynamite and other means, have de
stroyed and threaten to destroy Am
erican lives, property, Americon ships
American means of defense, or wht
have dealt in similar fate to til,
property and ships of the allies. 1t i
neither right nor justifiable that tn
antipathies, the prejudice, the hatre'
and the contempt of the entire Amer
lean nation should be visited upon tn
. whole number of German n-Americans
that we loyal German American citizen
should be punished with distruct or dis
respect; that we should all be held il
contempt, as a result of the actions o
handful of stubborn, contankerous, up
: grateful individuals who do not repre-
sent the feelings of the majority of thi
great number of splendid, peaceful, law
abiding German-American citizens.
i Brethren, in the name Of Germal
honor and justice, in the name of every
thing that we hold high and holy, in tn
t name of undeniable, well-founded an
unshakeable principles, in the name 0
t gratitude and debt of honor, conjur
you to stand in this conflict by tn
country of your adoption-the Unite
States of America
e FRANK C. HESSE.