Kentucky Irish American. (Louisville, Ky.) 1898-1968, 1918-12-21
Cardinal MERCER Says That This
Country saved Allies
and World.
Folly to Talk of Germany Landing
and Taking Possession
Here.
GREATEST POWER ON EARTH.

HiHCS "VAc uSAedteu we were IN Tor
slavery, etc, and the following from
Arthur Brisbane in the New York
American is convincing and logi-
cal statement of the fact that we
are under no obligations to any
other nation, the United States be-
ing able to protect itself against the
world:
There are two ways of treating
our part in the war. One is to be-
little 1t. and one is to give it right
full and grateful Acknowledgement.
One method is illustrated by this
quotation from the New York Even
ing Sun:
"LLet us always remember that
but for the British sailors and the
French army Germany today would
rule the world, and we should be
slaves"
The other method Is illustrated
by this quotation from an interview
granted to an American corre-
spondent by Cardinal Mercier on
November %:
"You have saved us. You have
saved the world"
Some American newspapers think
and say that France and England
saved the United States. The Bel
gian Cardinal thinks and says that
the United States saved France and
England and Belgium. We take
Cardinal Mercier's view. Because It
is the right view and the only
view justified by the facts.
We are very tired of hearing
America belittled by Americans: Of
hearing our wonderful and decisive
part in the war made of small ac-
count. We are tired of two state
ments in particular which have be-
come stock in trade with a certain
class of Americans. One is that the
British navy protected us from be-
ing beaten up by Germany before
and during the war. The other is
that the British and French armies
prevented the conquest and subjuga-
ton of the United States by Ger
many.
To begin with, an assumed con-
quest of our country by Germany
presupposes that Germany could de-
feat our navy and then convoy a
conquering army across the Atlantic
to our shores. But there has never
been day since the formation of
the German Empire when the
American navy was not superior to
the German navy and would not
have whipped the German navy in
sea fight. And of course the only
way in which Germany could have
attempted the conquest of the
United States would have been to
send her navy across the sea to
meet our navy in open battle, with
the time and place wholly at our
own commanders choice. The Ger
man Admiralty knew too well the
certain result of such an undertake
| ing ever to attempt 1t.
In the next place. assuming the
unbelievable, that the inferior Ger
man navy could leave its base 5000
miles away and annihilate our SUI
perior navy near its own bases, the
next necessary thing would have
been to transport and land on our
shores an army large enough to
overrun and conquer our vast
country and to hold in subsection a
hundred million intelligent, cour-
ageous, resourceful, free people, as
willing to fight desperately as any
people on earth. The proposition
Is too absurd ever to have been
considered by Germany or any other
| European power. There is only one
power that could make even a
showing of war upon us, and that
is England, with her immense navy
and even England could only de-
stroy temporarily our commerce and
harass our coasts, while we pre-
pared to overwhelm her colonial
empire north of us and finally to
starve her at home with a sub
marine warfare that would make
Germany's effort look like child's
play
The nation does not exist that
can conquer our country. There Is
no possible combination of nations
that can conquer our country. Eur
ope and Asia and Africa all COM
bined can not conquer our country.
We can produce our own food and
fuel and every possible weapon and
munition of war in unlimited guam
titles. Our sea walls front Europe
and Asia; on the south the narrow
front is impregnable; and on the
north we could defend ourselves
with the most effective of all de-
lfenses-an irresistible offensive.
This United States. this land Of
ours, this mighty republic, is the
greatest potential power that exists.
and we Americans are the most
powerful people ever grouped to-
gether in all the history of the
world Nobody can conquer us. No
body can beat us.
We do not love war for wars
sake. We love to do right and to
keep the peace. But, believe it.
we can make the mightiest and
most terrible and most irresistible
war If compelled to do so, and the
nation or the alliance that COM
pels us to go to war will be ground
to powder before we are done with
our war making. Nobody protect
ed us from Germany. Nobody
saved us from being Slaves" That
Is an untruthful assertion. and an
assertion that does not become
an Americans m 5uth. We saved
France from conquest by Germany,
and England from defeat by Ger
many. and Belgium from being en-
shaved by Germany. That is the
ltrue statement. II is statement