Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1917-07-11


sche, and scores of others who have
blazed their way into Immortality, and
scattered germinal thoughts over the
earth to intellectually water it for
milleniums to come.
But my German fellow-citizen, in
these times of stress and agony you
should not be unmindful of the fact
that the house of Hohenzollern, for
whom the German people are now
giving up their lives and their wealth,
has not added one worthy idea to
the sum total of knowledge: has not
given one name to the worlds list of
immortals; has not sowed one seed
of righteousness and redemption;
rather it has only given to the world
the mailed fist, the man with the
sword, the agent for death and evil
This enthroned power for evil now
strikes at every thing we hold sacred
for the individual man; it attempts
to dictate to us how we shall live
and what We shall do; and it insists
that our actions must be obedient to
it's desire or we shall be punished
with the sword. Wherever it now
hits a foe it hits at our ideas and our
lives; that being the fact we must in
self defense hit back, and our blow
must be mortal and decisive Our
victory is the victory of the German
subject; with our victory he ceases
to be subject and becomes citi-
zen. A citizen of what country? OF
Germany, of course. Germany will
not be destroyed; Germany ought
not to be destroyed; Germany can
never be destroyed, but the Hohen-
zollern dynasty and all its breed of
autocrats will be beaten and driven
plished there will arise a new Ger
many, clothed and in it's right mind ;
Germany linked to it's great his
tory of art and song and religion and
science; a Germany that shall lead
once more in things which make for
the common good of man, and shall
challange the world to meet it upon
the fields of thought, confident of its
ability to hold its own in any posi-
BILE conflict of head and heart.
Our Own Justification.
Justified then by all the common
rights which demand self-defense;
justified by the necessity of protect
ing the ideas of government which
are our safeguards; justified even by
the good of the German people them
selves; still there are some of our
citizens who cry out against this con-
f1ict-not because they are pacifsts,
or even weaklings-but because Eng
land is one of the leaders among the
allies. They say, or did some weeks
ago, that we are but lending our
power to aid that country. and they
even called it a detestable country,
in pulling its chestnuts out of the
fire.
Is this true? If it is, then we are
wrong But when great principles
are at stake We should not be NOV
ed by ancient animosities. Former
enemies may became friends, and If
Of one race and speech they should
if old antipithies are laid aside. But
is this accusation true? Consider.
If we could for moment believe the
statements of Germany. there was no
intention on it's part, when war was
declared, to injure England. If she
would but remain quiet and allow the
central powers to wreak their ven
geance upon France; to overrun Bel
GUM and Luxumburg; to take Pol
and from Russia; to aid Austria in
destroying little Belgium, then Eng
land could remain unscathed by war.
If England had but allowed this she
would not now be in debt to the
dead would not be counted by the
hundreds Of thousands; her shipping
would not now be strewing the
oceans bottom. England detestable?
England ruthlessly at war? England
using our people for her selfish ends
What are the facts?
England had agreed with Germany,
with France, with America and other
countries to respect and defend the
neutrality of Belgium. She had
signed the treaty to that effect. Was
Belgiums neutrality respected? No!
What country basely went back on
it's promises, tore up it's pledge as a
mere scrap of paper?" What coun-
try while boasting of it's honor, it's
manhood, it's "kulture," turned on a
friend, like a thief in the night, and
attempted to use that friend as a
party to it's infamy to pull it's chest
nuts out of the fire? GERMANY.
Many Outrages Recited.
With a cynicism that will ever re-
main the most astounding example
of dishOnor in the worlds history it
laughed to scorn it's plighted word,
trampled under it's war feet the fair
land of Belgium, destroyed its happy
homes, desecrated it's family affairs,
sent thousands into exile, ravished
and ruined it's things of beauty, and
impOunded it's men and women, whom