East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1918-04-19
WHY WE ARE
AT WAR WITH
GERMANY
BY
EPHRAIM DOUGLASS ADAMS
Executive Head, History Depart
ment
Leland stanford Junior University

/ menace and the actual power Of a vast
/ irresponsible government, which, having
secretly planned to dominate the world,
PeSsrS stSer esy e cut ssese ses Pas SS
Of treaty or the long. established prae-
tees and long. cherished principles Of In
power Is not the German people. II Is
| the ruthless master Of the German peo-
L that the history ur Of % the rest q Of f the M
world ls no longer left to it's handling"
President Wilson, Augcst 27, 1917.
WE FIGHT FOR PEACE AND FOR
SELF-RESPECT.
What sort OF a peace does Germany
hope to secure? That can be an.
swered in a sentence: peace which
will enable her to fnIfH In the negt
1oGr the aims she has f0iIed to ful
MI In this. What is the peace the
Allies wish? Again the answer is
brief: a peace that will make sure
that 1T shall not happen again"
This war has already killed (not
MANNED or wounded) over 100000
young and vigorous men, yet Germany
still believes that war is essential to
human progress, and that any act,
however atrocious, is permissible so
that theory America has set her will.
Does anyone still doubt that Ger.
many believes in war; Here are four
leaders Of Germany speaking: per
petual peace is dream, and it is not
even a beautiful dream; war forms
part of the eternal order instituted
by God" "A long peace not only
leads to enervation, but allows of the
existence OF a multitude OF pitiful,
trembling, miserable creatures i
who cling fast to life with loud cries
about their right to exist, block the
way for real strength. make the air
fetid, and altogether defile the blood
of the nation" "The worst of hypoc-
risies is the participation by Ger.
many in The Hague Conference" I'VE
must not look for permanent peace as
a result of this war. Heaven defend
Germany from that" And Treitschke,
the historian-tutor to the military
class of Germany, taught over and
over again that war was the only
means of achieving world leadership;
that war Els TO be conceived as an
ordinance set by Cod; that. ''war is
just and moral, and that the idea of
eternal peace is both unjust and i'm
moral and impossible"
These theories, put in practice, have
made of Germany the Cain of civiliza |
tion-"his hand against every mans |
hand" In self-defense and in mere /
self-reSpect, America was forced to /
strike back. We could not sit still |
when we realized that # was our duty |
ito be and to remain the out spoken |
moral opponents OF the present Ger.
man policy, and Of the German State,
so long as it holds this present pol
icy, and carries on its present war.
Germany, as at present dis
posed, is the willful and deliberate
enemy of the human race" (Josiah
Royce)
But If there be any who have not
this larger vision of the issues of the
are not moved to stake all
on the abstract Justice of our cause
then let them ask themselves what
seIf-respect as a nation demands of
America, and Of true Americans, under
the treatment We received from Ger
many.
When the European war came in
1914, and while we were still neutral,
what insult was not heaped upon cur
The Austrian Ambas-
Sador, Dumba, plotted to organize
strikes in our munitions factories, and
% buy up agitators to incite workmen
% discomfort. German spies, now con
7icted and in jail, have admitted that I
hey worked under the direction of
.fsvk Ig to ~
n violation of our neutrality Some :
II these same officials have admitted
he expenditure of millions of dollars {
n illegal operations conducted "in
lireet defiance of our laws, and in in
olent disregard of international dip q
omatic courtesy" The catalogue of = :
crimes in America, and of
agents amongst us, t0hile zoe
Dere Still neutral, II published in full,
Vould be astounding almost to dis a
elief. y
The German acts have startled us at
ast to the knowledge that the nation ''
Thich permits them without resent Il
nent is no nation In that essential X
uality of patriotism = self-respect. A
that quality. we are but a y
iass OF disorganized peoples, having Il
o influence in world affairs, and ul. Y
Imately at the mercy of that state Y
Thich best knows how to carry on 2
hameless intrigues amongst us. Ger. 4
lany is that state. We are fighting
4 the hope Of saving the world from :
er immoral ideals; but De are also s
ohtin0 to restore our ser-respect
This Is the eighth of a series Of ten 3
-as.I.n nn.Enn.an 49, I.