The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1918-05-06
GERMAN HORROR
CONDUCT OF THE HUNS RECITED
BY FORMER PRESIDENT.
(By Theodore Roosevelt


The Hague conference laid down a
number OF rules which the signatory
powers, including Germany, agreed
to observe in order to mitigate the
horrors of war. Germany has with
equal cynicism and brutality violated
every one of these rules. She has
waged wal as il was waged in the
dark ages. She has shown revolving
cruelty towards soldiers and espe-
cially towards noncombatants. in
Guiding women and children.
At this moment a great n is
~bombarding Paris. Not a soldier has
been killed by it; it has not in the
smallest degree affected Frances
military power nor was ii intended
to do SO. 1t was intended to terror
ize the French civilian population by
the destruction of churches, hospitals
and private buildings and the muir
der of women and children. On Good
Friday one of the shells wrecked a
church and killed a number of the
little choir boys and a number of
oiith VIM "tAc at pa dyVls Ei1oh6
the killed were three American WON
en- whom | knew who were abroad
working for our soldiers. An Amer
lean friend who saw the horror
writes me-:
Evidently the Germans do not
worry owe the fact that their shells
descend on women and children
kneeling in prayer on a Good Friday
before the cruicifix."
Another American friend, a Red
Cross woman, writes:
"One shell burst in a maternity
hospital, killing a nurse, a young
mother and a little baby. Several
other mothers and new born babies
were injured"
The zeppelins and airplanes are
continually bombarding undefended
English and French cities and have
killed women and children by the
hundreds. The submarines have
waged war with callous merciless-
ness. Their crews have continually
practiced torture on the prisoners
they have taken. They leave women
and children to drown. They shoot
into the lifeboats. At this moment
Americans are dying from the poison
gas which the Germans in contemp-
have made an ordinary weapon of
war. / have just been talking with
an American soldier absolutely trust
worthy who himself saw the body of
a Canadian whom the Germans had
just crucified.
Every violation of the laws of war
fare has been practiced by Germany.
BY her outrages on humanity she has
made herself an outlaw among ma
ions. and unless she pay heavily for
her crimes the whole world will be
in danger. 1T Is Germany and only
Germany who is responsible for the
lideons atrocities hat have marked
this war-atrocities which all civil
lied men outside of Germany believ-
cd to have been eliminated from civ
ilized warfare. Germany has habi-
tually and as a matter of policy prac-
ticed the torture OF men, the rape of
women and the killing of children.
1t was deeply to our discredit that in
the shameful years of our neutrality
we refused to protest against those
hideous atrocities. Now. at last.
this nation has awakened and has
gone to war against the enemy Of
America and of mankind. Let our
people now keep steadily in mind
just what kind of a foe W. are fight
ing and just what kind of infamy
that foe is h~abitually practicing.
Then let us resolve that come what
may Wa will fight this war through
10 a finish until the authors of this
hideous infamy have paid in full and
have been punished as they deserve.
For in no other way can a peace
worth having be obtained.