Mountain Home Republican. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1915-1946, 1918-03-02

The following was published in a
recent issue of the Des Moines, (Iowa)
Capital, was handed us this week
for publication, The expression of
patriotism which il contains. repre-
sents the sentiment of probably an
overwhelming percentage of the peo-
pie of German descent in this coun-
try, and can be read and pondered
on with profit by those who are still
inclined to sympathize with the
Fatherland in the world war In
which we are engaged
For the reasons stated to you In
my telegram of Monday, ii will be
simply impossible for me to attend
the meeting to be held ON Friday,
Feb. lst at Ds Moines, for the pur-
posed American Patriotic
association.
II can assure you, however, that |
keenly regret my inability to attend
because my whole heart and soul are
in the project of makinfi all Ameri-
can citizens of German birth or pa
rentage understand what this world
war is really about and what there is
at stake in it.
zone of my GermanAmerican
friends said to me the other day, II
don't see how YOU being of German
blood, can be against the Germans in
this war" and | answered him by
saying II don't see how you, being an
American citizen, can be against
America in this war
1T seems to me that we ought to
do everything in our power to make
our German-American citizens realize
that the Germany of today is not the
Germany of forty or even of twenty
five years ago, but is a Germany that
has become far worse than the old
Germany If the Germany of forty
years ago was so bad that our fore
fathers were glad to leave it with
all its aristocratic despotism and its
hard and rigid military rules and
its heavy taxes levied to build up
vast war machinery and come to free
American where they could shake
themselves free from the heavy
shackles of this awful military bur-
den and start life with some show of
real success, they certainly ought to
be glad that they are not living in
the Germany of today. For in the
Germany of today no one but the SOL
dier has any opportunity at all and
even he has very little chance unless
he belongs to the official class
THE Germany Of today has become
nation which simply worships war
which exhalts soldering high above
every other calling In life and has
thus become a constant source of aw-
ful danger to the other nations OF the
world danger loaded with dis
aster, one that may suddenly de-
stroy all human happiness and blast
the race of man with untold suffer
ing, horror, pain, anguish and mad
ness. II is as result Of Germany's
militaristic system alone that her
men have been turned from kindly.
gracious human beings into snarl-
ing rayenous beasts who have top
pied over the beautiful and shaply
built structures of civilization upntil
now they lie in hopless smokeless,
maddening ruins at their feet. The
Germany of today has become a
fiend at the fireside of the family
of nations and in such a sulphur
Gus atmosphere, the flower of human
freedom has become scOrched and
5hriveled, and liberty has been ut
terly lost in a land ruled by the
soldier.
In this soldier cursed Germany
the will Of the COMMUNICATIVE hief
is now the sole and only law and
blind obedience to that will has
become the one great virtue. The
will of Wilhelm the war-lord, is
now supreme in all the walks of
life. He tells the preachers what
what they shall present and pro-
pound, and the papers what they
shall print The citizen is a
slave OF the state and the kaiser
is the state The one and only law
is obey, obey, Don't think,
don't kick. just obey, obey The
| individual has no will Of his own
| left for he has surrendered him
self body and soul to the state.
Poor German people are in the iron
clutch of their kaiser. He has
them bunfafoed, locoed, hypnotized,
walking in a mad dream of obedi-