Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1918-03-19
VAN DYKE IN CHARLESTON
Former Minister to the Netherlands
Makes Stirring Speech.
HIGH PRAISE FOR BRAVE PEOPLE
Seathins Arrangement Of German Am
bition and German Methods-com.
parison Of the Methods Of Germany
With Methods of America.

bition and German Methods-com.
parison Of the Methods Of Germany
| With Methods of America.
DIR. Henry Van Dyke, celebrated
preacher. orator and writer. who was
for time minister TO the Netherlands.
delivered an address under the aus
pices OF the Y. VI. Z. A. in Charles
ton recently. The News and Courier
published an excellent summary OF
| the address
| DIR. Van Dyke said In part:
| The speech has been called Fight
Through or Fall Through The sub
| sldized German American press has
attacked ME for referring To the sub
marine warfare oi the imperial Ger
man government as acts Of piracy. Oh
the ground that these boats as the
commissioned vessels OF government.
can not commit acts Of piracy
| Can they" Let us turn 10 the die.
tionary. Here We find piracy TO be AN
act Of robbery or depreciation COM
| mitted on the high seas without lu-
thority from sope civilized govern.
ment'
can nation that has plunged this
world into war that 1t did not want.
| and that has committed the acts OF
atrocity that have been committed BY
| the German submarines be called civil
llzed?
| Predatory Potsdam Gang.
Il shall not refer to the Imperial
government of Germany but l have
| an expression OF my own that fills the
| requirement. from both descriptive
and geographical point of view: that
predatory Potsdam gang.
I'm July Of last year German sub
marine attacked a British merchant
ship and brought her TO the point OF
sinking The crew and passengers
sought the lifcboats, and one boat
manned by officers and men OF the
sinking merchantman was summoned
10 approach the submarine. The
British obeycd. for they knew that to
refuse meant To be blown to pieces.
| They wcre ordered to climb on
the boat. The captain was sent below
II prisoner. while the others were
huddled on the forward deck, their boat
destroyed. and then the submarine
slowly submerged. leaving the forty
| helpless captivcs to be washed into the
sea- and OF that forty. thirty eight
were drowned. is not that piracy:
I'm February II submarine was dis
abled and brought to the verge OF
sinking by the American gunboats.
| The crew OF the sinking pirate swarm
ed to the deck. waving their arms and
shouting 'kamerad.. and then diysl-
into the water and swan toward the
American boats.
How America Does Il.
"Thesc pirates were helped on
board. some so weak that IL was nee
essary TO throw out ropes to help them
| on board and one so near complete ex-
| haustion that two American seamen
sprang into the water and lifted him
on board. They were taken below and
given warm food and dry clothes. Tha,
is the difference in spirit between tn"
| German and American navies
Germany prepared for this war
| long before there was an ostensibla
excuse for hostilities. In the summer
Of 1914. before the crown prince OF
Austria had been assassinated / saw
in Luxemburg. from whence the first
attack was made against neutral
| countries. German troops roll in by
every train.
while fishing in quiet little
stream with some German friends, l
inquired why so many troops were
mobilizing. and my German friends
said that they were giving the SOL
dicrs Il change Of air. and that the
air was very good at this particular
place.
| France at the outbreak Of the war
had a comparatively strong army. but
IL was in a state Of reorganization and
was not concentrated. Russia had a
large army in point Of man. power.
every nine men.
| Servia Tried to Keep Peace.
"Servia offered to settle the contro-
versY by acceding to eight Of Aus
tria's ten demands and agreeing to be
tried and punished by The Hague tri-
bunal for whatever she had done. but
Germany said. nothing doing When
speak Of Germany l also include
Austria, like including the tail when
speaking Of a dog.
| Great Britain. France. Italy and
Russia urged Germany to settle the
matter without actually resortlng to
arms. but again Germany replied
nothing doing and then invaded the
neutral territory Of Belgium. tearing
TO pieces its own treaty to protect the
neutrality of Belgium and never
dreaming that the little nation would
dare offer resistance.
| But, thank God Belgium did dare
offer resistance and during those first
six days Of the war prevented the light
Il VI oSiHB CNSH6
ed.
II have sat In my office in the
shadow Of the Palace Of Peace and
heard the stories told by Belgian re-
fugees Of how their women had been
violated before their eyes by drunken
| German soldiers. of their daughters
carried away into white slavery under
pretense Of being servants to German
officers. OF little child crucifed be-
cause 1t stumbled in the way Of a.
drunken soldier. and Of men and boys
stood up and shot for refusing to tell
the Germans things that would enable
| them to hunt down and kill the
Belgian soldiers
BeIsians WantonIy Murdered.
"Ltraveled through the ruins Of
the Belgian villages while the smoke
| was yet rising from the ruins and