Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1918-07-24
Why We Fight
Because Germany Having Split the
World in Hall Is Now Trying
to Deyour the Halves
f. BY CLARENCE L. SPEED
Secretary of the War Committee Of the
Union League Club of Chicago.

Secretary of the War Committee Of the
Union League Club Of Chicago.
We are fighting Germany. for one
thing, because Germany, having split
the world in half, Is now seeking to
devour the halves separately. She
has driven a wedge straight through
the heart Of Europe, and into Asia,
and is seeking to extend 1t to the Per-
sian gulf.
This Is no accidental happening, due
to the downfall of Russia and the sud-
den shifting in the fortunes Of war.
Germany planned 1t all decades ago.
She made no effort to keep the plans
secret. She told us all about 1t. She
had q reputation for making plans
and sticking to them, from one gener-
alton to another; yet the world paid
no attention. 1t seemed too prepos-
ferrous even for Germany to attempt.
AS long ago as 1895 a pamphlet,
"Pan-Germany and Central Europe
About 1880" was published in Berlin
and had wide circulation. 1t laid the
whole Mitteleuropa plan bare as fol-
lows:
"Poland and Little Russia 1.-THE king.
dom to be established at Russia's ex-
pense) will agree to have no armies
Of their own, and will receive In their
fortresses German and Austrian garri-
sons. In Poland, as we'll as In Little
Russia, the postal and telegraph serv.
ices as we'll as the railways will be In
German hands"
In 1911 Tannenberg's book, "Greater
Germany" was published. This was
only three years before the war. but
1t showed that the idea Of German
Mitteleuropa had not been allowed to
languish. It says:
"The new kingdom Of Poland Is
made up Of the former Russian por-
ton Of the basin of the Vistula, and OF
Galicia, and forms a part.of the new
Austria"
How the plan has grown since thenl
| Russia's collapse dropped whole prov.
inces into the lap of the kaiser, and
now Germany plans its empire on
scale which would dwarf that Of an
cient Rome. It is to embrace the orig.
inal Central Europe, inhabited by
some 100000 Germans, make the
Black sea a German lake, and extend
clear to the Persian gulf through the
vassal states Of Bulgaria and Turkey
The German government started to
put its scheme for Mitteleuropa In
to effect years ago when 1t began the
construction Of the archaeological
railway. Little Serbia stood in the
way, 80 Serbia was attacked and the
world was plunged into war. In the
opposite corner of Europe Belgium
was invaded and crushed. The world
then thought that this was only be-
cause Belgium offered the easiest
route to France; but study Of the Nit.
teleuropa plan Of years ago shows that
| Belgium was included In the scheme
Of conquest.
SLOW does all this affect America"
one may ask. Germany was a late
conner in the family of great nations.
Most of the uncivilized world had been
pre-empted by other nations before
she arrived. Germany wanted col
onies. To get them she would have
to take them away from someone else.
/ Africa and South America offered
! the best fields for German colonial
ton. England possessed the best part
of Africa-the parts in which the
white man might hope to settle and
| thrive. England had q mighty fleet,
and q disposition to hold what she
| had, even though she did not show q
| disposition to fight for more.
There remained South America. 1t
was divided among weak nations. 1t
was protected only by the Monroe doc
trine. This Monroe doctrine was q
sacred thing to Americans, but, not
being backed up by mighty armies and
| fleets, was not even "scrap of paper"
to the Germans. Can anyone doubt,
should Germany succeed In welding
into a mighty empire the 100000
Germans and the 100,OOOOOO inhabi-
tants Of the vassal and conquered
states Of her Mitteleuropa, that her
next step would be toward the west7
The very fact that she had this en-
pire would presuppose the defeat Of
| England, so that no British feet would
stand between US and Germany when
the time came for the kaiser to send
his legions across the Atlantic.
GAS In the East, so in the West"
Is a motto which, of recent weeks. has
been much heard in Germany. At
conference of the national liberal par
ty, held in March of this year, the fol-
lowing amazingly frank declaration
was made:
"Our policy has been directed to
making the government and majority
turn away from the reichstag resolu-
ton Of July 10. (Peace without an
hexations and indemnities). In that
we have succeeded. Peace has just
been made In the East under condi-
tons In fiat contradiction to the pol
icy Of July 10, and has received the
support and assent of all the burgeois
parties"
In other words, all Germany is now
| planning both annexations and indem-
| mites, such as will leave her without