The Arizona copper camp., 1917-12-08
"Our Objective Is to Win
the War and We Shall
Not Slacken or Be Divert
ed Until 1t Is Won. /"

ed Until 1t Is Won.
In mastery message conveying
to the world Americas aims in the
great war, President Wilson, in ad-
dressing congress on Tuesday of this
week, effectually disposed of any and
all peace talk at this time, and en-
phasized the necessity for carrying
the war forward to victory with the
whole weight of the nation behind it.
The president asked congress to de-
clare war on Austria Hungary, Ger
many's chief ally, a step which will
Immediately be taken. He did not
urge declarations of war against Bull
garia and Turkey at this time, but
intimated that the United States
would declare war against those pow
ers also if the advisability of such a
step became apparent.
The presidents message is worthy
of place beside his great war mes
sage of last April, and deserves the
careful reading of every loyal Amer
ican citizen.
The president spoke as follows:
Gentlemen of the congress:
Eight months have elapsed, since 1
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
thees vast affairs, our present duties
and the immediate means of accom-
plishing the object we shall hold al
ways in view.
shall not go back to debate the
cause of the war. The intolerable
wrongs done and planned against us
by sinister masters of Germany have
long since become too grossly obvi-
GUS and odious to every true Amer
lean to need to be rehearsed. But
/ shall ask you to consider again and
with a very grave scrutiny our OBJ
jectives and the measures by which
we mean to attain them; for the pur-
pose of discussion here is the place
and our action must move straight
towards definite ends. Our objective
is, of course, to win the war, and we
shall not slacken or suffer ourselves
to be diverted until it is won. But
it is worth while asking and answer
ing the question, when shall we con-
slider the war won?
From one point of view it is not
necessary to broach this fundamental
matter. do not doubt that the Amer
lean people know what the war is
about and what sort of an outcome
they will regard as realization of
their purpose in it. AS nation we
are united in spirit and intention.
pay little heed to those who tell me
otherwise. / hear the voices of dis
sent-who does not? 1 hear the criti-
cism and the clamor of the noisy,
thoughtless and troublesome. 1 also
see men here and there firing them
selves in impotent disloyalty against
the calm, indomitable power of the
nation. l hear men debate peace who
understand neither its nature nor the
way in which we may attain it with
uplifted eyes and unbroken spirits.
But know that none of these speak
of the nation. They do not touch the
heart of any thing. They may safely
be left to strut their uneasy hour and
be forgotten.
The Objective.
But from another point of view l
believe that it is necessary to say
plainly that we here at the seat of
action consider the war to be for and
what part we mean to play in the
settlement of its searching issues.
We are the spokesman of the Ameri-
can 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 render it impossible, and they
wish to know how closely our thought
runs with theirs, and what action we
propose. They are impatient with
those who desire peace by any sort
of compromise-deeply and indignant
ly impatient, but they will be equally