Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1917-04-06

| Il
ceived letter only a day or so ago
asking me to devise some means to
carry on the work among the six mill
lions or people in Northern France and
the 1ve millions in Belgium. They fear
that they will starve If break be-
| tween the United States and Germany
would come. l have copy of letter
from Belgians in Germany, stating that
they have been carried off and forced
to work and that they solicit protec-
tion. The letter says that twenty exiles
were packed in small space on a
train and travelled for forty-six hours
with nothing to eat but six bowls of
soup. Later they were taken to a hotel
where they were forced to sleep on
the bare floor. They refused to work
and were kicked and beaten with the
butt ends of guns and compelled to
labor under military guard. One hun
dred and fifty thousand Belgians have
been carried into forced slavery since
the war broke out; taken from a little
country which never did anything but
resist an unjust invasion.
Scores Autocracy
when the President said in his
| speech that war was declared to fight
system, he was right. German auto
cracy is without bounds. The Reich
! stag Is composed of this autocracy and
! 1T is nothing more nor less than de-
batting society, which debates on the
laws. Germany has been ruled by
militarism since the war broke out.
! The people have no say and are sub
| Jects of the army. Mayors and all
other civic officers and laws were cast
aside when war was started The
Kaiser cannot appoint an officer in the
army. To become an officer in the
army man must belong to certain
class. All the officers have a right to
blackball and in this way the Prussian
officers have kept control of the army.
Would Attack U. S. Next
The President has been superlativc-
ly patient for two years to keep out of
the war, but there is no other way out
If Germany wins the present war she
would attack the United States The
German people have a hatred for the
United States, which has not been
made known here. But have been
in intimate touch with conditions and
know The German Government has
said: We must keep the coast of Bel
gium clear so that we can attack Eng
land and the United States The news
which gets to this country is censored
by the Krupps and nothing gets
through concerning the real feeling of
the Germans toward the United States.
Many of the largest newspapers in Ger
many have advocated war with the
United States, to bear the expenses of
the present war should Germany win.
There isn't the slightest doubt of
Germany coming here If she wins the
war. Germany intends to destroy the
Monroe Doctrine If possible, but we
are not going to war to prevent this
alone. We are going to war for a
greater purpose-to establish the
democracy, liberty and peace of the
world"
Mr.. Geard was given a great ovation
at the conclusion of his speech.
Mr.. Catte1I Speaks oil Crisis
N1x1Fn ns.1 Taff oil 1ynn oil
the country as The Grand Old Man
of Pennsylvania" was the next speak
er and in introducing him Governor
Brumbaugh said: "Mr. Cattell is
man who makes from six to ten
speeches q day and eats meal with
every one. AS an eater and speaker
he is unparalleled in this State and
perhaps the country"
In his Introductory remarks Mr..
Cattell referred to the fact that his
uncle, the Rev. DIR. Cattell. was pas
tor of the Pine Street Presbyterian
Church in Harrisburg at the beginning
of the Civil War, who afterward be-
Mr.. Cattell said in part:
Greatest Page of History
I'VE are writing the worlds great
est page of history. We are signing
new Declaration of Independence. We
are once more affirming, as did our
to life, liberty and the pursuit of hap
piness, only, backed by the tre-
mendous wealth, the immense body of
population, the wonderful mental and
moral development of America. Under
spur of that first Declaration of Inde-
pendence, we are now embracing in
it's beneficent influence the old world
over seas and bringing message of
hope to millions who before have only
known a sun was shining by the
shadows on their path.
when we in America ranged our
selves on the side of those who recog-
nized the God in man and the sane
tity of human life, the life of man
was taken in many countries for the
most trivial offense against property
rights--the stealing of some small ar
ticle, an article which could be re-
placed or compensated fora human
life taken that could never be re-
stored. a gift received directly from
the hand of the living God destroyed.
This great Capitol of this great State
has during the present year, and all
through this holy season of Lent, been
vocal with clamor for the abolition
of the death penalty for murder.
marking the high crest of this wave
of sentiment, holding in higher and
still higher value, human life.
"It is important that we Americans,
Claiming to act each as a sovereign
of divine right, and basing our gov
ernment on the idea that we exist
through moral means to morals ends,
should see our way clearly in any
| radical change in policy, in the in
, auguration of such a momentous
policy as that of war with a great
European power. L have emphasized,
therefore, this dominant American
note-a value higher than ever before
placed on human life-in order to
more clearly answer the oft-repeated
argument that we Disseminated
against Germany. and in favor of En-
gland, during the course of this war,
and that out of this discrimination the
present situation has developed.
England, at times, did interfere
with our commerce on the high seas.
but only to attack property-never
human life. This property loss. can
! be repaid and will be repaid in due
course of law. On the other hand.
| Germany has taken human life, which
can never be restored or repaid. The
two lines of action are diametrically
opposite, the latter striking directly at
the root principle of our life as ma
tion.
Right to Sell Arms
another point which should be
clearly understood is the fact that we
were bound in honor, as well as under
law, to sell arms to the belligerents;
and therefore all this cry in favor of