The Idaho recorder. [volume] (Salmon City, Idaho) 1886-1927, 1917-06-22
PRESIDENT WILSON
EXPOSES GERMANY
I'm Flag Day Address Chief Executive
Says Germany Has Effected Greater
Part of Her Conquest Plan.

~ Flag day address on the Wash
4ngton monument grounds today tia
Eiermany has carried Into effect %,
greater part of her immediate plan 81
conquest and now IL negotiating "a nea
@1ntrigne of peace" designed 10 ent
the war while her aggreaslons are Ne
cure.
All the central empires, the presI
dent declared. have been cenented In
70 one great autocraey ridden empire
Throwing broad belt OF German
military power and political control
across the very center OF Europe and
beyond the Mediterranean Into the
heart of Asia. This achieved" he said
ut Il easy to understand Why Ger
many Is fostering propaganda for
an early peace.
Peace. peace, peace, has been the
talk Of her foreign office now for a
year and more" said the president. a.
little Of the talk has been public, but
snost Of II has been private Through
all sorts of channels IL has come to me
and In MI sorts Of gulses, The mill
sary masters under whom Germany h
bleeding see very clearly 90 what point
fate has brought them. II they can
secure peace now with the immense
advantages still In their hands which
they have up 10 this point apparently
gained. they win have Justified them.
selves before the German people they
will have gained by force what they
promised 70 gain by H."
President Relterates German Agares-
siona.
The president reeited again the Ger.
man nggressions which drove the Unit.
ell States to war. lie declared the pur,
pose for which American soldiers now
carry the Stars aud Stripes 10 Europe
for the FIRST time In history are not
new 20 American traditions because
realization Of Germany's war aims
must eventually mean the undolng OF
the whole world. lie spoke la fun as
follows:
MY Fellow Citizens We meet 10
celebrate flag day because this flag
which We honor and under which we
s~,e y lie emblem of our unity, our
power. our thought ana purpesS rs n
nallun. II has no other character Than
that which we give II from generation
40 generation Tho choices are ours.
II floats In majestic silence above tho
hosts thnt execute those choices,
whether ID peace or IN war And yet,
though silent. IL speaks "a us speaks
90 Us Of the paat, If the men and wo-
men who went before us and OF the
records they wrote upon IL. We Cele-
brate the day Of its birth. und from
Its birth until now II has witnessed
a great history, has tluated on high the
symbol Of great events, OF great plan
of life worked cut by groat people
We are about TO carry Il Into battle,
60 lift IL where Il will draw the tire
of our enemies. We are about to bid
thousands, hundreds of thousands, Il
may be millions, of our men. the
young. the strong the capable men of
the naIian, To go forthNnd die beneath |
n on fields Of blood far away--for |
Mhnt7
unjust use U. s. Flag as II Has Al. |
waya aeen Used"
"For some unaeeustomed thlng1 For |
something for which II has never |
sought the fire before3 American ar
mics we're never before sent across |
the Nras Why are they sent npw2 |
For some new purpose, for which this |
great dag has never been carried be- |
fore. or for some old, mailiar. heroic |
purpose for which II has seen men. It's /
ewn men, die on every battlefield upon /
which Americans have borne arms /
Since the reyolntlonf
'aI'heae are questions which must be /
answered. We are Americans. We /
III our turn serve America, aud can /
ssryt her with 40 private purpose, We /
must use her flag as she has always /
used 1t. We are accountable ne the I
har of history aud must plead In utter /
frankness what purpose It Is NC seek /
Is serve.
III Il plain enough how we were
farced Into the war. The extaordt. |
nary Insults and ngeressi0as at the L
imperial GeFm8a government left us /
no elf,rNSpsstinE choice but 10 take 4
up arms la defense Of our rights as a
free people aud of our honor ~ a /
sovereign government, The military
masters OF Germany dentrd as the 4
right 60 be neutral They filled our /
unsnsperting communities with vicious 4
spies aud runSpirAturs aud sought 10 1
corrupt the opinion % our people In /
their own behalf When they found /
that they could not do that their
nrpnts diligently spry,sd seslltion
amongst Us aud sought Ia draw our
own citizens from their allegiance
and some % those ageats werv men
eonneeted With the official embassy 4
OF the German government Itself hers
ia our own capital They sought by
NIolence 10 destroy our Industries aad 4
arrest our commerce.
Tells Of Trying 20 inelte Mexico.
They tried to insite Mexico 10 take
up arms against us and "a draw Japan
into hestile alliance with her-aad
that. not ~ iadircetiuu, hut hy dtrect +
Suggestion ttuu tbr foreign office IN /
Berlin. They impudruuy drulod uS F.
che use uf tho hiEh -e8s apd repeat .
sdiy executed thrr fhrut that they .
aygald semi lo their death nuy ug cur
people Win sgAsgred Geo approach the +
'coaeJs ~ EHnlue And many of our
own ufepie HeHa currHufJ#I Msu Na=