The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1917-04-07
sAruRD1y.MoRn,Ne, APRIL 7. 1917.
WAR

The congresssltfothe United States has cast the
die and the naAbp enters upon the greatest war
of all time Vafhy 1t is the Armageddon of the
nations. st:;,.;.,
We take omsNAeo in the alignment Of the des-
tiny with no lNtpnt speech upon lips, with
little Of the frow$.and babbc that sometimes passes
current for patlAStsm.
This is not a leonfct between rcuton and Anglo
Saxon, or Slavsdk Turk, or French 1t is of
democracy andHaee people against autocracy and
caste and age-a2A special privilege masquerading
under the form4$f kings and czars and kaisers.
When the final Eeveille of battle shall have been
sounded therea A. be kings kasers
hereditary arisl &scy. The returning battalions
form both sidasXEf dhe battle lines in France and
Belgium and - HID and the Balkans. decimated
in numbers, ragged and hungry, sick. wounded and
wretched. win Nteftn to wonder what il all
about 4G&
Who 1S6tARsibe, the people? No. Their
representatives III parliament the rechtag the
duma? No. W1N then? The kaisers, the kings,
the czars and tfatt cabinets! Why? For lust of
power and the Rhp and circumstances of h'ns'y
power. ,.E
On the 31st 63kAlly and the LIST of August. 1914,
neither the comnl8n people of Austria or Germany
Russia EngataaSwanted The imperial mon
arch of AustriaH1Iungary and his cabinet, backed
by the imperial. kasser of Germany gave the word
for mobilizaaM I'd without consulting the
wishes of thea ions of subjects ordered into the
field
Without thesl (Ertal autocratic forms Of govern
ment existing Earope. would not have
been possibleyM "a. Democratic governments do
not wage war, - backed by overwhelming pub
lie opinion a: lie. To prevent a recurrence of
these bloody d es. the returning remnants from
the battefielaS Europe will at last realize that
all imperial. alV ATTIC forms of government among
civilized men 8. be abolished
The Romano fhave already gone the way of
Louis Capet R6fe the last gun has been fired
the Hohenzollef & Tand the Guelfs and the Haps-
burgs and all NA dangers of kngly privilege
and divine rightSesilf have followed them into OBJ
'vlo". ,,,a&,
From the carrjke of European battlefields will
come forth ny Thorn democracy and the rule of
the people 'hen|1eses.
America has 9I4 the die. She enters the con-
flict to comma1A peace that will not be dis
turbcd in the fu1bc except at the mandate of the
people themselvd
Il VI.
If citizenship 43ns anything, it that it is
the duty of cvefysndividual TO serve the nation to
which he owes '3sEianco, in that capacity where
h" can best s"ryqH IF physically fit, the field OF
battle; ii he canH,S.or greater service in another
capacity, there ia1Thhrc duty calls him in the time
of the nation's@E pNll
We believe iqAzhy:ersol military service. million
aire and day lS,1,et alike. The present war not
gong to be asrH8 mans war and poor mans
fight 1t will ca pr equal sacrifice by every cti-
zen. That is free American democracy
stands for, if its Us anything, and We have faith
to believe that i es. y
If in the prGl WAR we going conscrpt
men, then we sh also conscript wealth. Some of
the more radid he racifists. in their anxiety
for convincing fnt. have intimatcd that the
rich were ur0 to war for selfish purposes
Some men wealth have been for a dec
laration Of WI psf the impossible conditions
thrust upon he imperial government of
Germany. OF a of great wealth have been
in determined Elton against assuming the
heavy burden ID upon by war.
We believe thf Aston of wealth poverty has
had nothing to q (fh the opinion of the the indi-
vidua Americahys Yen But war having been de-
clared it should4d4ANYshed forward to a triumphant
end with everyt1A D6ble resource of the nation.
The great ined 1s from great Accommodations of
wealth should he. Immediately modified along with
its fighting meN.&4& enactng the revenue
laws for carrying4 the war; congress should re-
wise the income & nw so as to take all personal