Mountain Home Republican. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1915-1946, 1917-12-22


Tor special emphasis. One is. - am
against the Germans, Of course. but
after ali, those Belgians are a pretty
poor lot This slogan. in yariou,
forms, has been widely spread; obvi-
ously because American sympathy for
the Belgians has been a hard nut ror
the propaganda agents to crack.
The other is expressed in the
phrase, France is the spoiled child
of the world"
We have been very easy with the
propagandists, We have enlisted
and discussed, We have said. mo-
mentarily forgetting the amazing
spirit of free Canada, Australia and
New Zealand, of India, of South Afri-
ca, You may be right about Eng
land, | am not informed" And in
so doing we have fallen prey to their
tremendous propaganda drive. But
we are learning; slowly, very surely,
For myself, | do not listen now.
And | do not permit this spirit-Weak-
ening poison to be scattered unchal-
lenged. One grows to see very quick
ly whether at talIler is with us or
against us.
Yes we are learning There are
certain individuals in the national
house of representatives and the
senate who only family perceive the
depth possibly a tragic depth Of
the hostility they are rousing against
themselves by their German sapping
and mining. They are Americans"
too, lip Americans, but Americans.
Not one of them in the present crisis
can truthfully say Il am an Ameri-
can without adding that telltale
but" So in my mind, think Of all
these curious patriots as but-Ameri-
cans. They can all be clearly and
easily judged by their motives
The interesting thing about Ger
man propaganda is that virtually
every German is propaganda agent
In all history, certainly in all mod
arn history, there has been no phe-
nomenon quite like the modern Ger
nan people. They used 10 be a group
If little nationalities with varied
characteristics. Or course as Mira
Deau said, so long ago, The main
business of Prussia is war, has al
ways been war Many Of the other
Germans were likable and in certain
aspects, admirable. But these last
CIV decades have been devoted to the
most extraordinary intensive nation
llistic cultivation, the most amazing
of Industrial financial
md military development with in
growing brains and a roaring thun-
lering -glorifeation that the bat
cred old-world has ever seen We
III saw something of theprocess We
lave all seen the hidous result.
Somewhere in the process the Ger
mans, as people, lost the power of
With it went that
most important mental quality that
We sometimes speak Of as the sense
# humor.
The picture of the uniformed
word-girded kaiser, parading inces-
antly before the camera these past
Q years in full regalia of the devil ,
caring his sons to fight, frantically
tanning that he ruled by right di-
inc, pushing arrogantly out in all
irectons north, south, east, vest
reathng frey threats in Africa, in
outh America, in China, toastins
Der Tag THE picture of this mad
nachronism in human garb today
weeping crocodile tears, mentioning
lis curious God to the point of nau-
ca, softly sentimental breathing the
enderly pious hope that peace may
ONE soon to a sick world there is
picture for the gods. Everybody
n earth excepting the Germans
nows that it is grotesau6ly, hideous-
y funny. There is the grinning Of
skull in that picture
Because Of this loss Of self-critisim,
eaause Of the decades Of drill in
neutrality-suspicious., the goose step Of .
he spirit, no modern German can .
hink or talk long about anything .
ut Germany He is, in an immense .
,orldwide sense a little like a resi- .
ent, any resident Of q boom city in
ur own country He is a booster for
Germany They are all boosters for
ermany. And as boosters on the
rand scale they instantly seize upon,
elieye, make their own, every fresh
ogan that issues from Berlin.
Whatever may be thought tonight .
\ Berlin will be uttered yehemently
,ithin week in every quarter Of the .
lobe
We shall see this process at work .
ne of these days in new and interest
NJ circumstances with Berlin fin