Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1917-04-12

" ~ Sbk 10 SssSS9'
at best! in such circumstances and in
the face of such p%retentions it is worse
than ineffectual; it is likely once to
produce what it was meant to prevent;
it is practically certain to draw us into
the war without either the rights or the
effectiveness Of belligerents.
"There is one choice we cannot make,
we are incapable of making: We will
not choose the path of submission and
suffer the most sacred rights OF our ma
ton and our people to be ignored or
violated. The wrongs against which wo
now array ourselves are not common
wrongs; they cut to the very roots OF
human life.
With a profound sense of the solemn
and even traaical character Of the step
am going to take and Of the grave re-
sRonsibilities which it involves, but in
unhesitating obedience to what deem
my constitutional duty, advise that
of the imperial German government to
be in fact nothing less than war AGAINST
the governments and people of the
United States; that it formally accept
the status of beliiserents, which has
thus beer thrust upon it. and that It
the country in a more thorough state of
defense, but also to exert all its power
and employ all its resources to bring the
government Of the German empire to
terms and end the war.
ASKS HUGE ARMED FORCE.
"What this will involve is clear. 1t
will involve the utmost practical CO.
operation in council and in action with
the governments now at wal with Ger
many and, as incident to that, the x
tension to these governments Of the
that our may, SO far az pos
sible, be added to theirs. 1t will in
voIve the organization and mobilization
of all the material resources of the
country to supply the materials Of war
and serve the incidental needs of the
nation in the most abundant, and yet
the most economical and efficient way
possible. 1t will involve the immediate
full equipment of the navy in all re-
spects. but particularly in supplying it
with the best means OF dealing with the
enemy's submarines. It will involve
the immediate addition to the armed
forces Of the United stateo already
at least SOC. 900 men, who should, in my
opinion, be chosen upon the principle of
universal liability to service, and also
the authorization Of subsequent addi-
tional increments of equal force so soon
as they may be needed and can be
handled in training.
at will involve, also, of course, the
granting of adequate credits to the gov
eminent sustained, ! hope, so far as
they can equitably be sustained, by the
present generation by we'll conceived
taxation. ! say sustained SO far as may
be equitable by taxation, because it
seems to me that it would be most an
wise to base the credits, which will now
be necessary, entirely on money bor-
roMed. 1t is our duty, ! must respect
fully urge, TO protect our people SO far
as we may against the very serious
h%ardships and evils which would be
likely to arise out Of the initiation which
would be produced by vast loans.
On carrying out the measures by
which these things are to be accom-
pIished, we should keep constantly in
mind the wisdom Of interfering as lit
tie as possible in our own preparation
and in the equipment of our own mill
be a very practical duty-of supplying
the nations already at war with Ger
many with the materials which they
can obtain only from US or by our as
s%istance. They are in the field and we
should help them in every way TO be
effective there.
MAKES MOTIVES CLEAR.
~ shall take the liberty Of suggest
ing, through the several executive de-
%partrnents of the government, for the
consideration of your committees,
measures LOT tHe cCompiiSnment OF
the several objects have mentioned.
hope that it will be your pleasure to
deal with them as having Deer framed
after very careful thought by the
branch of the government upon which
the responsibility of conducting the
war and safeguarding the nation will
most directly fall.
"Whiie we do these things, these
deeply momentous things, let US be
very clear, to all the world what our
motives and what u objects are. My
own thought has not been driven from
its habitual and normal course by the
unhappy events Of the last two months
of The nation has been altered or cloud
ed. by them.
WORLD FREEDOM INVOLVED.
"a have exactly the am thinos in
mind now, that | had in mind when !
addressed the Senate ION the 22nd of
January last; the same that had in
mind when ! addressed the congress on
the 3rd of February and on the goth of
February. Our object. now.as then is TO
justice in the life Of the world against
selfish and autocratic power and to set
up among the really free and self aov-
erned people of the world such a concert
OF purpose and action as will hence
forth insure h observance Of those
principles.
Neutrality is no longer feasible or
desirable where the peace Of the world
is involved and the freedom Of its
peoples; and the menace to that peace
and freedom lies in the existence Of
auteccatic governments backed by the
will Of their people. We have seen the
! last of neutrality in such circumstan-
ces.
NO QUARREL WITH PEOPLE.
eve are at the beginning Of an age
in which it will be insisted that the
same standards Of conduct and Of re-
sponsibiiity for wrong done shall be
observed among nations and their gov
ernnents that are observed among the
individual citizens Of civilized states.
1--WE have no quarrel with the Ger
man people, we rave no feeling towards
them, but n Of sympathy and friend
ship. II was not on their impulse that
their government acted in entering this
a It. was not with their previous
knowledge or approval.
"The war was determined upon rs
wars used to be determined in the old
unhappy days when peoples were not
consulted by their rulers and wars
were provoked in the interest Of dynas-
ties or iittle GROUPS of amhitious men