The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1917-05-10

congress for reading in the public
schools all over the state. The heads
of the department felt that the school
children of Idaho should have cleaI
understanding of the reasons which
prompted the United states to enteI
message, however. was found to be
technical, and the document was long
for school use, so the following digest
was prepared
Il have called the congress into ex-
traondinary session because there are
serious--very serious-choices OF poll
cy to be made, and made Immediately
which II was neither right nor consti-
tutionally permissible that I should
assume the responsibility Of making.
"On the third of February last Of
ficially laid before you the extraor-
binary announcement of the imperial
the first day of February 1t was its
purpose to put aside all restraints OF
law or of humanity and use Its sub
marines to sink all vessels that sought
to approach either the ports of Great
Britain and Ireland or the western
coasts Of Europe. or any of the ports
controlled by the enemies of Germany
within the Mediterranean.
The new policy has swept every re-
striction aside. Vessels of every kind
whatever their flag, their character,
h their cargo, their destination, their
errand, have been ruthlessly sent to
ont thought of help or mercy for those
on board, the vessels of friendly neu-
trails along with those Of the belliger-
ents.
Even hospital ships and ships car
rying relief to the sorely bereaved and
striker people of Belgium, though the
latter We're provided with safe conduct
through the prescribed areas by the
German government itself and were
distinguished by unmistakable marks
of identity, have been sunk with the
same reckless lack of compassion or
Of principle
''rhe present German warfare
against commerce is a warfare against
mankind. 1t is a war against all ma
tons. American ships have been
sunk. American lives have been taken,
in ways which it has stirred US very
deeply to learn Of; but the ships and
people of other neutral and friendly
nations have been sunk and over
whelmed in the waters in the same
way.
'.There has been no discrimination.
The challenge is to all mankind. Each
nation must decide for itself how 1t
will meet il The choice we make for
ourselves must be made with a moder-
alton of counsel and a temperatures
Of Judgment BETTING our character
and our motives as a nation. We must
put excited feeling away. Our mo-
tive will not be revenge or the VIC
torious assertion of the physical might
of the nation, but only the vindication
of right, of human right, OF which
we are only single champion.
There is one choice we can not
make, we are incapable of making:
We will not choose the path of sub
mission and suffer the most sacred
rights of our nation and our people
to be ignored or violated. The wrongs.
against which we now array ourselves
are not common wrongs, they cut to
the very roots of human life.
with a profound sense Of the sol
emn and even tragica character of
the step | am taking and of the grave
responsibilities which II involves, but
in unhesitating obedience to what l
deem my constitutional duty, ] advise
that the congress declare the recent
course of the imperial German gov
eminent to be In fact nothing less
than war against the government and
people of the United States; that it
formally accept the status of bellig-
erent which has been thrust upon 1t
and that 1t take immediate steps not
only to put the country in more
state of defense, but also to
exert all its power and employ all its
resources to bring the government Of
the German empire to terms and end
the war,
I'VE have no quarrel with the Ger
man people. We have no feeling to-
ward them but one of sympathy and /
Ii was not upon their i'm
pulse that their government acted In
this war. 1t was not with (
their previous knowledge or approval. |
1T was war determined upon as
wars used to be determined upon in /
the old. unhappy days when peoples 4
were nowhere consulted by their ruiz /
prs and wars were provoked and !
waged in the interest of dynastes or !
Of little groups of ambitious men who
we're accustomed to use their fellow I
men as pawns and tools.
Self governed nations do not fill
their neighbor states with spies or
set the course of intrigue to bring
about some critical posture of affairs
which will give them an opportunity
10 strike and make conquest Such
designs can be successfully worked
,nly under cover and where no one
ias the right to ask questions.
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