The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1917-05-14
GERMAN PEOPLE
 NO MORE BRUTAL THAN AMERICANS
So Declares Dr. Day, United Church Pastor, in Sun
 day Sermon.

The German people are no more brutal nor depraved than the Ameri- can people, Dr. William Horace Day, pastor of the United Congregational church, said yesterday in his sermon, Why We War;
 His text was '"Take heed lest there shall be any one that maketh spoil of you through his philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ" Colos- sians, 2:S. He said, in. art:
 ''Why do we war? Because the philosophy of the mailed fist has em- battled the world. The philosophy of the mailed fist always makes war upon the philosophy of the sacrificing hand. The philosophy of the world, the philosophy of anti-Christs, of the mailed fist, is the philosophy that believes that might is right, and it's faith is in war. The philosophy of the sacrificing hand believes that right is might, and it's faith is in peace.
 ''Even America has worshipped this philosophy. There is no nation that has not sinned by worshipping this philosophy instead of the phil osophy of Christ. The philosophy of the mailed fist was at the basis of the building of much of our own imperial might. We were prone to treat as scraps of paper treaties made in all solemnity with Indian people. We have treated as scraps of paper our obligations with China and Ja- pan. The philosophy of the mailed fist dominated our foreign policy in the war with Mexico, and we AmeI- cans are apt to hang our heads a bit, and not investigate tco closely our right to the Canal Zone. The Brit ish Empire was built up in part upon the philosophy of the mailed fist, and a hundred years ago, France incar- mated before the world the philoso- phy of the mailed fist, which we call Napoleon. What then are we do- ourselves to free nations, to thrust which has trampel1ed Belgium, a great section of France, Poland and the Balkans, anG has led to the the philosophy of the mailed fist flow CTS in some form of the policy o1 frightfulness. We do not hate Ger man people or the German nation and while we repudiate the false philosophy which has made spoil of 3 great people, let us remember ou1 debt for the fine and noble contribu- tions which they have made for hu- man welfare
 Dr. Day told of his student days 1T Berlin when he attended classes ir the same building in which the grea1 historian and specialist in politics Von Treitschke, 1ectured to multitudel on this philosophy of the mailed fist Von Treitschke was Saxon born but had come into Prussia and was using his genius to make Germany su- preme He hated democracy. and promoted every action that led te the suppression of the common peo. pie. He hated England, and Ameri- ca, saying on one occasion: 'tCivil- ization suffers every time a German is turned into a Yankee" His concep- ton was-As Rome ruled the world so should Germany; Prussia should rule Germany, the Hohenzollern rule Prussia. : Nothing must take place in the world without the sanction o1 the German Empire. The attempt to abolish war was immoral and un- worthy of the human race. The po- 1itical history of Germany is mean ingless except as a movement toward world power, with war with England as a necessary preliminary.
 War was inevitable. not because o1 an overmastering dynastic ambition that was willing to do anything to preserve it's life, although dynasties have always had more or less of thai attitude; not because there was an official caste, but because that official caste were persuaded that it was the only path that led to a place in the sun-because that official caste had been led away by a false philoso- phy.
 We will be morally the poorer, said Dr. Day, eff we Americans for get the worlds debt to this mighty people that for the time being have been dominated by a false and d1a- bolica1 philosophy. The German people are no more brutal or de- prayed than the American people. We must take care that the philoso- phy of Christ and not of the mailed fist dominate us. We must be care full to have fair play with those with whom we are in conflict, and to re- member that we would probably dc the same if we were in their places We must remember Christs phil osophy which is Thou shalt love thine enemy, and pray for the one who despiteful1y, uses you. pr. Day closed with the poem Sandy and His Trophy