Omaha daily bee., 1917-06-18
Again Zeal Of New Convert.

Omaha, June 15.-To the Editor of
The Bee: Comes now the World
Herald and takes to task no less a
person than Theodore Roosevelt for
alleged attacks on the administration
in its hour of stress. If the World
Herald will look carefully at that Lin
coin speech, it will discover that the
colonel was attacking mostly the pro
fessional pacifist," and If the World
Herald insists upon placing the ad-
ministration among the professional
pacifists, that is not a matter that
Roosevelt can help.
What, in heavens name. would
have happened to this country and in
this country. had the president de-
manded war and congress declared it
two years ago?'' asks the editor of the
World-Herald in evident distress. And
then the editor proceeds to show that
the country even now is hardly ready
to follow the president and congress
when they have declared war.
Two years ago the fibeI Of Ameri
cans had not been slackened and
loosened by slack, hesitant, uncertain
leadership and the country was more
ready, mentally and morally, and just
as ready materially as now for war.
The last two or three years have not
tended to insure to the government
the support of the people," On the
contrary, the slackers have been en-
couraged the loud-mouthed agitators
grown bOlder, traitorous language has
become commoner than two years ago,
all b bacause nobody in authority took
the kind of a stand that would tend
to discourage them. The World-Her-
aid is all wrong. The people are not
as ready now as they were some time
ago to follow into war and it is not the
fault of the people either.
What will bring the necessary en-
thusiasm and get the people behind
the administration as they should be?
Nothing in the world but a plain,
frank, straightforward statement of
what we are fighting for, and that
must be something sensible, tangible
and fair to ourselves. Germany must
be whipped, and then Germany must
pay. Germany must know what it
means to have homes and towns de-
stroyed, although 1t is to be hoped
that it may not know the other bru.
talities of which 1t has been guilty;
and Germany must know what it is
to stagger under the burden of try
ing to pay for what it has destroyed,
even though some who are innocent
suffer with the guilty. All Germany
is guilty of the outrage on civilization
that has been going on for nearly
three years and Germany will never
understand any pity or tenderness
when it has been conquered.
Does that sound brutal? Maybe so,
but it isn't 1t is common sense and
truth. Even German-Americans and
Germans in America will respect us
and recognize the justice Of it when
we take that stand. Let the World
Herald try it. Our government has
always been just and more than fair.
We have conquered. taken territory
by force. maybe sometimes unjustifi-
ably. but we have always paid for
what we have taken afterward. That
will not do in this case. We have
been attacked without reason, without
justice, without mercy even to our
women and babies. Germany cannot
pay adequately for the murdered
women and babies, but it can pay for
the destroyed property, and 1t must
be made to do it. Let the administra-
ton drop phrase-making and deal out
a few straight from the shoulder
swings and then listen for the howl OF
delight that will go up from 99,000,000
Americans. It's the other million who
are making all the noise now, and they
don't count. H. w. MORROW.