Free trader-journal. (Ottawa, Ill.) 1916-1920, 1917-06-14
TELLS PEOPLE WHY WE
ART AT ODDS WITH
BERLIN
.REC|TES |NTR|GUES
VICIOUS PRACTICES ARE DE-
NOUNCED BY PRESIDENT IN
FLAG DAY ADDRESS AT FOOT
OF FAMOUS WASHINGTON
MONUMENT.

Washington. d. c., June lin
momentous speech in which he bitter.
ly blamed German war lords for
strangling the entire world into bat
tie for their very existence, President
Woodrow Wilson today outlined his
reasons for the United States being
at odds with the Berlin government.
The address was delivered at the
foot OF the famous Washington monu-
ment before a crowd that filled every
inch of available space within hear
ing distance of the presidents voice.
In his arraignment of Germany and
its aims President Wilson said
My Fellow Citizens: We meet
to celebrate Flag Day because this
flag which we honor and under
which we serve Is the emblem of
our unity, our power, our thought
and purpose as a nation. 1t has
no charter than that which we
give it from generation to genera
iton. The choices are ours. 1t
floats in majestic silence above
the hosts that execute those
choices, whether in peace or in
war And yet, though silent, it
speaks to us,-speaks to us CT
the past, of the men and women
who went before us and of the
records they wrote upon it. We
celebrate the day of its birth; and
from it's birth until now it has
witnessed great history, has
foated on high the symbol OF
great events, of great plan OF
life worked out by great people.
We are about to carry it into bat.
tie, to fit it where it will draw
the fire of our enemies We are
about to bid thousands, hundreds
of thousands, it may be millions,
OF our men, the young, the strong,
the capable men of the nation, to
go forth and die beneath it on
fields Of blood fer away,--for
what? For some unaccustomed
thing? For something for which
1t has never sought the fire be-
/ fore? American armies were new
! er before sent across the seas.
Why are they sent now? For some
new purpose, for which this great
flag has never been carried be-
fore, or for some old, familiar,
heroic purpose for which il has
seen men, It's own men, die on
every battlefield upon which
Americans have borne arms since
the Revolution?
These are questions which must
be answered We are Americans.
We in our turn serve America,
and can serve her with no private
purpose We must use her flag
As she has always used it, We
Are accountable at the bar Of
history and must plead in utter
frankness what purpose it IS we
seek to serve.
1t is plain enough how we were
forced into the war The extra.
ordinary insults and aggresisons
Of the Imperial German govern
ment left lis no selfrespeGtins
choice but 10 take up arms in de.
Tense of our rights as Il free peo-
PIE and of our honour rs II so.
vereign government. fhe mill
tary masters Of Germany denied
us the right to be neutral. They
filled our unsuspecting commune
ties with vicious spies and con-
= sprators ana sought to corrupt
the opinion Of our people in their
j. own behalf. When they found
l Eat they could not do that their
= agents diligently spread seditiHi
. aintl est US and sought 70 draw
4 GH own citizens from their al
/. lefince and scme OF thosa
t agents wFe men connected 6i'h
o the Official Embassy Of the Ger
man government itself here in our
J, own capital They sought by yiol.
u ence to destroy our industries and
= arrest our commerce. They tried
z 10 incite Mexico To take up arms
against US and to draw Japan into
n hostile alliance with her-and
Il that, not by indirection, but by
n direct suggestion from the For
/, eign Office in Berlin. They i'm.
s pudcntly denied us the use of the
s high seas and repeatedly execut.
a cd their threat that they Woull