The Knoxville independent. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1894-current, 1918-06-22
KEEP THE BEAST
ACROSS The SEA
Prussian in War Has Neither
Honor Nor Decency Nor
Humanity.
INSIST GOD IS WITH Them
Past History Of Germany Shows Only
Barharic Tendencies and an Inher-
ent Desire to Rule the
World,
BY JOHN REED SCOTT.
(From the Committee on Public Infor-
nation, Washington, D. C.)

BY JOHN REED SCOTT.
tFrom the Committee on Public Infor-
nation, Washington, D. CO.
The American always makes the
mistake OF judging every other nation
by the American standard. We do
not allow for racial nor national traits
AMI customs. Because an American
wouldn't do something we fancy that
no other nation would do it. It's
against our conscience or against our
laws--or we just don't do it. There
fore, we assume that 1t must be
against the other nations law or con-
science-or 1t just won't do it.
And we have this peculiar idea, not
by reason of any self-conceit or fam
cied national superiority, but because
OF our proneness to play square; to
grant that the other nation is of the
same mentality as ourselves and as
ready and anxious as we to do the
right thing.
What we, as nation, aim at in our
dealing with other nations is the ulti-
mate right in concrete form. And
we are slow to realize-and quick to
forget, when realized-that other ma
tons either may not have the same
policy (may even be robbers and
brutes by natural instinct, may not
have the national altruistic idea-that
try to live by the Golden Rule, and,
as nation, be satisfied with what it
has.
AS result, the American people, in
the hundred and some few years of
their national existence, have had a
few fairly severe jolts. Now we are
In the midst of the German affair !;
and an amazing number of our people
refuse to realize what 1t means to us
or to appreciate the menace to our
national existence.
America, they know. wants no terri
tory, no conquests; therefore, they ask
why should Germany, if it win, want
them? Why should America send
troops to Europe to fight Europe's bat
ties? Germany Is in no danger from
us, so why should we be in danger
from Germany? We shall not do any
thing to Germany, even otter we are
victorious over her, SO why should Ger
many. If she is victorious, do anything
to us? Let Europe settle her own bat
.les, they say; we, of another con-
tfnent, are not concerned. If we let
Germany alone, Germany will let us
alone.
Estimating on American Basis.
1t is quite likely that some Ameri-
cans who now have such ideas will
have changed those ideas by the time
this article appears; but it is certain
that others will still be deluding
themselves by persisting in the old
American habit Of estimating others
even an enemy-on the American
basis.
And with some enemies-even some
,savages-the estimate would not be
far amiss, because they are not wholly
lost to honor and decency and hui
manity. But the Prussian is not Of
Them in war he has neither honor
nor decency nor humanity, as such
qualities are understood by civilized
nations. In ar-particularly the
present war-the Prussians have put
aside even the temporary veneer that
they had assumed to conceal from the
rest of the world-a decent and
human world, it is-the true nature
of the Prussian brutes; and, because
they had thought to win the world war
and to establish right on the basis
of might, they have dared to stand
forth in the buff The bully of Eu-
rope, having prepared himself with,
as he thought, an invincible thorough
ness, proceeded to carry out his long
nursed intentions and, by brute force
and atrocity, impose his imperial will
on an amazed and helpless world and
dragon it to his kultur-a Prussian
kultur. God save us!
/ say Prussian because, as everyone
knows, the central powers, as they
are today, are dominated absolutely
by and humbly subservient to Prus-
STA.
And in that process Of conquest and
enslavement the Prussians have, for
more than three years, inflicted on the
helpless nations and peoples whom
they overran such cruelties, such I'M
speskable atrocities, MS history has
never recorded. All the famous, or
Infamous, conquerors of the past are
Insignificant in comparison with the
savage Prussian brute-the brute who
has the cold effrontery to bid his sol
diers march onward with God" along
bis bloody way.
Assert God ls With Them.
Contemplate for a moment nation