The Robesonian., 1917-12-06

be considered was made Tuesday
by President Wilson in an addres:
to Congress in which he urged i'm
mediate declaration of a state o1
war between the United States
and neutrality-suspicious. s
yassal and tool. AS to Turkey
and Bulgaria-also tools of the
enemy-he counseled delay "be
cause they do not yet stand IN the
direct path of our necessary ac
tion'.
His address follows:
Gentlemen Of the Congress:
Eight months have elapsed since
last had the honor of addressing you
They have been months crowded with
events of immense and grave signifi-
canoe for us. l shall not undertake
to detail or even to summarize those
events: The practical particulars OF
the part we have played in them will
be laid before you in the reports OF
the executive departments. l shall
discuss only our present outlook upon
these vast affairs, our present duties,
and the Immediate means of accom-
plishing the objects we shall hold al
ways in view. l shall not go back
to debate the causes of the war. The
mtolerable wrongs done and planned
against us by the sinister masters Of
Germany have long since become too
grossly obvious and odious to every
true American to need to be rehears-
ed
But l shall ask you to consider
again, and with very grave scrutiny,
cur 0b5ectives and the measures by
which we mean to attain them; for
the purpose of discussion here in this
place Is action, and our action must
move straight towards definite ends.
Our object is, of course, to win the
war; and we shall not slacken or suf-
Ter ourselves to be diverted until it is
won But it is worth while asking
and answering the question, when
shall we consider the war won?
From one point of view, it is not
necessary to broach this fundamental
Tatter / do. not doubt that the Amer
icS.n pc . ,ie know Hret tie wa i.
aoout ii WI sort of az outcc mo
thGy wi regard os realization Of
t1eTr purpose ir it. rs 1t nation we
are united Ill spirit AID intention. J
pay little heed to those who tell me
otherwise. l hear the voices of dis
sent-who does not? / hear the criti-
cIsm and the Glamour of the noisily
thoughtless and troublesome. l also
see men here and there fling them
selves IN important disloyalty against
the calm, lndominable power of the
naIon- j hear men debate peace who
understood neither its nature nor the
way IN which we may attain it with
aphfted eyes and unbroken spirits.
But l know that none of these
speaks for the nation. They do not
touch the heart of anything. They
nay safely be left to strut their un-
easy hour and be forgotten.
hm iron another point Of view, I
believe that it is necessary to say
plainly what we here at the seat of
action consider the war to be for and
what part we mean to play in the set
Of it's searching issues. We
are the spokesmen of the American
people and they have right to know
whether their purpose is ours. They
desire peace by the overcoming of
evil, 'by the defeat once for all of the
sinister forces that interrupt peace
and EcRder it impossible, and they
WISH t0 know how closely our thought
ronS with theirs and what action we
propose They are impatient with
those. who desire peace by any sort
OF eoInpromise-deeply and indignant
iy inpatent-but they will be equally
impatient with us if we do not make
1t plain to them what our detectives
are and what we are planning for in
seeking TO make conquest of peace
by arms.
i believe that speak for them when
l say two things: First, that this in
tolerahle thing of which the masters
OF Germany have shown us the ugly
lace, this menace of combined intrigue
and force which we now see so clear
iy as the German power, a thing
without conscience or honor or ca
pafaty for convenated peace, must be
crushed and, if it be not utterly
brought to an end, at least shut out
from the friendly intercourse of the
nations; and, second, that when this
tning and its power are indeed defeat
ed and the time comes that we can
discuss peacc-when the German peo-
pie have spokesmen whose word we
can believe and when those spokesmen
are ready in the name of their peo-
pie to accept the common Judgment of
the nations as to what shall hence
forth be the bases of law and of cove
nant for the life of the world
shall be willing and glad to pay the
tull price for peace, and pay it un-
grudlngly. We know what the price
VIII he. 1t will be full, impartial JUS
t1ce>-justice done at every point and
to every nation that the final settle
nnens must affect, our enemies as well
as our friends.
You catch, with me, the voices OF
humanity that are in the air. They
grow daily more audible, more artic-
9iate, more persuasive, and they come
IroTa the hearts of men everywhere
They insist that the war shall moi
end In vindictive action of any kind
xhaf no nation or people shall be rob
bed or punished because the irrespon
albd> rL-ers of d naie c, 'ntry j ~
xne saiEes lone IN and aoo n1niar,. !.