The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1918-03-04
Basis Of Morality.

with his international neighbors or
with his own people.
Basis Of Morality.
I'VE live in a nation in which the
christian religion is the basis OF
morality. The Ten Commandment
and the Sermon on the Mount an
nounce ever present principles OF
conduct. The great distinguishing
feature between our Civilization and
that of the ancients Is that these
principles of christianity have made
us enlightened. The Golden Rule Is
to be just as binding rule OF oon-
duct between nations as It Is between
individuals. Yet our great enemy
denounces every principle of chris
tianity. In place of thou shalt not
KILL he says that war Is a universal
good; that the object of peace is to
prepare for war. In place of the
gentle principles of the Sermon on
the Mount, he tells you that you need
not be merciful to the weak and he
denies blessedness to the peace
maker. He denies that the meek are
blessed and shall inherit the earth,
but says that the earth shall be in
herited by men whose feet are In
cased in military boots and whose
head is adorned with the spiked he'll
met of Mars. While he says, suffer
little children to come unto me, he
only entices them for the purpose OF
cutting Off their hands or tinpaling
them with bayonet- Instead OF
clarifying that great rule OF doing I'M
to others as you would be done by,
he says, we must not scruple to be-
gin an offensive. Wars must be mad }
frightful. The German soldier must
so conduct himself that his enemies
dare not look him in the face.
If we do sincerely and from the
bottom of OUT hearts believe in chris
tianity, If we really believe that
christianity should endure and that
the teachings of the Sermon on the
Mount, the Golden Rule and the Ten
Commandments should not perish
from the earth, then we must know
that on the battlefields of France our
!, boys are fighting that these great
principles may endure.
Might and Right.
"For the first time In the history o.
civilized nations the claim is made
that might makes right Always
heretofore such a principle of con
duct WAS the mark OF utter degen
eracy. Wild animals might act on
such principle. The most brutal
savages might possibly admit such q
claim. But. from a nation claiming
the highest civilization and with sc
high culture that she felt 1t heI
duty to force it upon the world. such
principle of conduct shocked the
conscience of the entire world.
"Germany's code of ethics In this
particular has been plainly stated by
>ernhardi. He says that in all times
the right of conquest has been ad
mttted In such cases might gives
the right to occupy or to conquer
Might is at once the supreme right
The practical question that now con
fronts US is whether we shall submit
our fortunes and the fortunes o.
posterity to such principle. We
have built here fabric OF popular
| liberties, founded upon the PROPOSE
ton that might can never make right
and that Justice is the only criterion
in the intercourse of individuals ant
of nations. That the weak have
every right that the strong have and
one more, the right OF being protect
ed All our ideals of morality and
we'll being are founded on thes,
principles. Can we imagine our chil