Licking Valley courier., 1918-05-09
By RUDYARD KLPLING,
In a Speech at FoIkstone.

Dy NODI AND AIfLuNG,
I'm a Speech at FoIkstone.)
From time to time the representa-
tives of the Allies meet together and
lay down what the war-aims of the AL
lies are. From time to time our
statesmen repeat them. They all
agree we are fighting for freedom and
liberty, for the right of small States
to exist, and for nations to decide for
themselves how they are to be gov
erned. All this we understand and
perfectly believe. That is the large
view of the situation. What is the
personal aspect of the case for you
and me?
We are fighting for our lives, the
lives of every man, woman, and child
here and everywhere else. We are
fighting that we may not be herded
into actual slavery such as the Ger
mans have established by force of
their arms in large parts Of Europe.
We are fighting against eighteen
hours day forced labor under the
lash or at the point of the bayonet,
with dogs death and a dogs burial
at the end of 1t. We are fighting that
men, women, and children may not be
tortured, burned, and mutilated in the
public streets, as has happened in this
town and in hundreds of others. And
We will go on fighting till the race
who have done these things are in no
position to continue or repeat their
offense.
No Halfway House Tween
Victory and Defeat.
II for any reason whatever we fall
short of victory-and there is no half.
way house between victory and de-
feat-what happens TO us? This:
Every relation, every understanding,
every decency upon which civilization
has been so anxiously built up will
go-will be washed out, because It
will have been proved unable to en-.
dure.
The whole Idea Of democracy
which at bottom Is what the Hun
fights against-wllI be dismissed
---ffFr65rar hfsR's fFSlltrts, hsssase-it vii!
have been shown incapable Of
maintaining Itself against the
Hun. It will die; and It will die
dlseredlted, together with every
belief and practice that Is based
on Il.
The Hun ideal, the Huns root-no-
tions of life, will take its place
throughout the world. Under that dis.
pensation man will become once more
the natural prey. body and goods, Of
his better.armed neighbor Women
will be the mere instrument for con.
tinuing the breed. the vessel Of mans
lust and mans cruelty; and labor will
become a thing to be knocked on the
head II II dares to give trouble, and
worked to death II 1t does not
And from this order Of life
there will be no appeal, no possl-
billty Of any escape. This ls what
the Hun means when he says he
Intends to Impose German
kULTuR-whleh ls the German
rellglon-upon the world. This Is
preeisely what the world has
banded itself together to resist
II will take every ounce In us; Il
will try US out to the naked soul.
Our trial will not be made less by
the earnest advice and suggestions
that we should accept some sort OF
compromise, which means defeat, put
forward by Hun agents and confed
crates among us. They are busy in
that direction already.
- Or Earth Becomes
A He'll Without Hope.
But be sure OF this: Nothing
nothing we may have to endure now
will weigh one featherweight com
pared with what we shall most GER
tainly have to suffer II for any cause
we fail of victory.
The war must go on. The more
we have suffered in this war, the
more clearly do we see this necessity
Our hearts, our reason. every instinct
in us that lifts us above the mer,
brute, show us that the war must gC
on. Otherwise earth becomes a hel
without hope. The men. the ships
the munitions must go forward to tbs
war, and behind them must come tn,
money without which nothing cal
move. Where our hearts are ther,
must our treasure be also. There hai
been a great deal Of money spent II
England lately, several millions a da!
for the last twelve hundred days
That means that many people hav,
had the chance Of earning NOR,
money than they could have earne,
IN peace times.
Our security for our loan 10 not
only the whole Of the British EN-.
plre, but also the whole Of elvlllza.
tlon, which has pooled lts re-
sources In men, money, and mate
rial to carry on this war to Vie
tory. Nothing else under Heaven
, matters today except that the war
shall 90 on TO that end.