The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1917-12-08
AMERICAS PART IN THE WAR.
Why She Went In and What She Musi
Get Out OF 1t.


Perhaps no speaker in the country
has given the people an altogether
clearer or more forcible exposition OF
the irresistible causes that carried
America into the world-war and the
purposes this nation is bent upon ac
complishing as belligerent than Hon.
VIM. G. McAdoo, the able and elo-
quent secretary Of the treasury. The
Chief has taken previous occasion to
quote some of Mr.. McAdoo's pa
triotic utterances on this all-import-
ant subject, and we are glad to give
space now to the following extracts
from an address he delivered at a
meeting of business men and bankers
of Iowa in Des Moines:
"In the first place, gentlemen, let
it be understood now that this war
was just as unacceptable for the Amer
ican people as it is to escape the rls-
ing of tomorrow's sun. Your great
! president, at whose side | have had
| the privilege and the honor of serving
! for the past four years, has done
everything that mortal man could 90
| to keep this country honorably at
| peace. I know how his soul has been
wrung with the anguish of the man
whose whole thought is Of humanity
when he has had to face the terrible
problem of leading this peaceful ma
| tion into war. But there is power
above that of any human being,
which, in these momentous crises tnat
arise from time to time in the worlds
| life. directs action and against which
fallible man is powerless to assert
himself. This is one of those crises
| We are in the midst of one OF those
| great upheavals of civilization, one OF
| those cataelysmic times out OF which
great events are born, great events
| chat are going to profoundly affect
the whole future of the human race
for centuries, perhaps; and 1t IS be-
canse the omnipotent God has seen
in this country the greatest leader O.,
i democracy, the greatest champion OF
liberty in the civilized world, the m
I strument to restore to suffering hu-
manity the blessings of peace-stab,le
i peace based upon justice through the
destruction of military autocracy-
that we find ourselves forced INTO
this struggle.
"Whatever the difference OF OPINION
NAV have been about peace or war
heretofore-and I am quite sure
there were honest differences OF
oninion as to whether or not America
should have entered this war; l am
, nerfectlv willing to respect the
oninions of the men who thought
/ differently from me upon that great
;ss,e--this is no time to talk about
that. The die has been cast, the rep.
= resentatives Of the people OF ths
> United States, after being INFORMED
/ bv your president Of the sltuat1o.
} have. by almost unanimous VOTE sale
s. that America must go INTO TINS @ngfs :
y Now that she is in, her duty to Goa
to herself, and to humanity is to WI
" ss quickly as possible in order u
s ston this horrible slaughter upon tns
e hattie fields of Europe that threatens n
n To destroy the very soul Of the civil W
IS ;1ad world. We are just as much IN
Y terested, my friends, in stopping tn
t, clauphter of Germans as we are II
d stonpine the slaughter Of Engllsn
men and Frenchmen and Serblans ahs
Relpians and Russians and ltallans !!
We are lust as much Interested II
e stonping the slaughter OF every huhlal "a
" ha;np as we are in stopping Tn
il sIanehter of Americans. But let m
l. say here that in this great seLs,I w " ~
g which God has called US, TO Wrleh VI. u.
f voice of stricken humanity cries 1u, 1oa
X if it be necessary to dram the .as 41s
e drop of American blood from VI. I'll
e veins of every freeman in this coun
# trv in order that civilization may .
h reastablished upon the bases OF soapl
Ie neace and justice in the world, W W
J. must be prepared to make tha1 saoi'
le fee. c4,n9 We ar
not fighting the German people. M. M
friands. this is the most extraofdlnai
war of all time. Here we 1lno ~
y selves. a great people, without enmlI l,
- ~ ~ ~ hostilitv to another great peopl.
y aneaoed in a war with them. al
% % nof fighting the German people w W
~ are ~ fehting the German military a. a.
a tocracv which is. trying to ensiaVe III IL
o. world, America in the pargain. a.;o-, =
). once we succeed in the desC1ee.,On
,e that military autocracy. sell-goss;a, /,
g ed peoples may then rest IN se.u, oa1;. H.,
n because. my friends, do you rea.i1 ~,
- that the one grave menace 70 Oll ~
Is k naace rna. Of the world for the last 1or. Tor
is wears has been the military autocraI a.,
r of Germany? We are STRIVING ~ - -
10 obstruction of that autocracy, -.
- - oniv % To save America for the futul'
,e Int we are, strange as It may seen .,a'
~ T fahting in order that the German Pc .,
- llgirn a7, he d;senslayed. We are tt.
10 ~, p,o mo to- to helm them get self-governrme1
,e in order that they may IN tne ul iu;ul
es he able to enjoy the same piessl,f ,s'hI
n that the people of this great spa IepaDo .
have enjoyed, that they may shahe ..s+ q =
The shackles of this military ;, sys1e 5
wb;ch n, has enslaved them all tnes
-, Years Years When that is accompilsnre n ;
~ ~ and we have succeeded, as l pldss als oo, ~
e = that we may, in extending selaogJ aas1
r. eminent to all the responsloie peop, =,
Eo ls, Of the world, then and then only, =
Sc Sc friends. have you got the guasranIll' =
"a of ri that stable peace which is founas
~. ~ upon Justice; and unless peace -,
- - founded upon justice you VIII ii0
~ have stable peace in this Wotui Wi,,, >,
ds h "Do you realize how proto,u!lloiy s, =,
oS us ideals of this great republic ma Nd
III moved the world in the last i've year
Do YOU realize that the greates'' -
one sense, of all autocracles 4ha+ ~ y
matter of sovereign power-.sna;as..,,
ne the despotic power of the soVeIelggn s.lga
has crumbled by the very eAahp.e !,