The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1917-06-14
American Freedom vs.. German Aut0CraCy
President Wilson Again States the Issue

WASHINGTON - America is war
ring in defense of our rights as free
people, of our honor as a sovereign
government. President Wilson thus
this afternoon stated in unequivocal
terms why America is fighting today
In his Flag Day address the president
bitterly arraigned the German auto
Gratis. His arraignment of the rulers
of Germany in reviewing the incidents
leading up to the break was merciless
What Flag Day Means
President Wilson said:
|; My fellow citizens: We meet to
celebrate Flag Day because this flag
which we honor and under which we
serve is the emblem of unity, our
power, our thought and purpose as
nation. 1t has not other character
than that which we give it from gen
Grafton to generation. The choices
are ours. Besides it floats in ma
jestic silence above the hosts that ex-
ecute these choices, whether in peace
or in war. And yet, though silent,
it speaks to us-speaks to us of the
past, of the men and women who went
before us and of the records they
wrote upon it. We celebrate the day of
it's birth and from its birth until now
it has witnessed a great history. 1t
has flbated on high in symbol of
great events, of the great plan of life
worked out by a great people. We
are about to carry it into battle, to
lift it where it will draw the fire of
cur enemies. We are about to bid
may be millions of our men, the young,
the strong, the capable men of the
nation, to go forth and die beneath
it in fields of blood far away-for
what? For some unaccustomed thing?
For something for which it has new
er sought the fire before? American
armies were nes er before sent across |
the sea. Why are they sent now? For
some new purpose, for which this
great flag has never been carried be-
fore, or for some old, familiar, heroic |
purpose, for which it has seen men,
its own men, die on every battlefield |
on which Americans have borne arms |
since the revolution?
How Americans Serve
These are questions which must be
answered. We are Americans. We
in our turn serve America, and can
serve her with no private purpose. We
must use her flag as she has always
used it, We are accountable at the
bar of history and must plead in ut
ter frankness what purpose it is We
seek to serve.
1t is plain enough how We
were forced into the war. The eX-
insults and aggression of
the Imperial German government left
us no self-respecting choice but 10
take up arms in defense of our rights
as free people and of our honor I
as sovereign government. The mil
itary masters of Germany denied us
the right to be neutral. They filled
our unsuspeoting communities with
vicious spies and conspirators and
sought to corrupt the opinion of our
people in their own behalf
They Spread Poison
When they found they could not do
that, their agents diligently spread
sedition amongst us and sought to
draw our own citizens from their al I
egiance-and some of these agents
we're men connected with the official
of the German government
itself in our own capital. They sought
1y violence to destroy our industries s
md arrest our commerce. They tried {
% incite Mexico to take up arms +
against US and to draw Japan into j
| hostile alliance with her-and that 7
lot by indirect but direct suggestion Z
rom the foreign office in Berlin {
They impudently denied us the use of
he high seas and repeatedly executed
heir threats that they would send
O their death any of our people who c
-entured to approach the coasts Of q
europe. And many of our own peo- /
lie were corrupted. Men began to =
ook upon their own neighbors with
uspicion and to- wonder in their hot {
esentment and surprise whether
here was any community in which
estate intrigue did not work. What
reat nation in such circumstances
would not have taken up arms? Much
S we desired peace, it was denied us
nd not of our choice. This flag un-
er which we serve would have been dis
onored had we withheld our hand.
(Coninued on page five.) &c