Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1918-06-12
II ONE years ago, the Jewish play
- right, Zangwill, wrote a play
under that title AS the play

made a great hit, the express
ion became popular name for the
United States. America is supposed
to perform the functions of a melting
pot, in which different ingredients are
melted and fused into one substance.
So it has been assumed that the diff
ferent races and nationalities, coming
to us from all quarters of the globe,
would, after few months or years of
American life, be melted down and
fused into one great unified nation,
loyal to our flag and government
Josh Billings once said that the
trouble with great many people is,
not that they know so much, but that
they know so much that isn't so. This
war is showing us that a number of
things which we thought were so are
not so at all.
For instance, for years our pacifist
dOctrinaires have been assuring us
that this country would never be at
tackled by foreign foe, that We were
perfectly safe between our two great
people and our vast material re-
sources would scare any foreign maui
rauder out of the notion OF molesting
us, that it always takes two to make
a quarrel, and that as long as we let
other nations alone and attended to
our own knitting, it would be the
height of folly and sinful waste of
money for us to build up a great navy
or maintain large army for pur-
poses Of national defense. It all
sounded we'll, and we took it for
granted that it was So
But the war has shown us that it
isn't so. We were not at war with
Germany, we had no desire to go to
war with Germany; and for more
than two years President Wilson bore
the arrogance and insults of the Ger
man government with patience that
actually began to get on our nerves.
But when Germany had murdered
over two hundred of American men,
women and children, who were pur-
suing their lawful calling on the high
seas, when she had done her best to
draw us into war with Mexico and
Japan, when she had covered this
country with network of espionage
and her official representatives, the
guests of our government, were con-
stantly intriguing against the peace
and prosperity of our nation, then, on
the 9Th of April, 1917, we declared, not
that we would make war upon Ger
many, but that state of war between
US and Germany already existed, and
that it was Of Germany's making.
So today we are at war, after all,
with foreign foe. And we have al
ready learned that it does not nee
essarily take two to make a quarrel,
but that one party with belligerent
purposes is amply sufficient to stir
up any amount of strife. And now
the German submarines are teach
ing US that even our great oceans are
no longer a protection.
Then, too, we have been assured for
years that, in case war were sudden
y
trouble in defending ourselves. To
abandon the pursuits of peace and take
up the business of war was the simp-
lest thing in the world.
Our eloquent friend from Nebraska
grandiloquently proclaimed that, in
case of a foreign attack, million
brave Americans would spring to
arms over night and be ready by sun
rise to annihilate anything that might
threaten us. Where these million men
were to get their arms, their equip
ment, their organization, their train
ing. and the thousand and one things
required by a modern army, did not
trouble the optomistic philosopher
the Chautauqua audiences that yelled
their applause. 1t sounded well, and
for years the average American has
been disposed to think that whatever
sounded well along these lines was so.
This war has brought us up with
rude jolt against the fact that it isn't
so. 1t is now more than a year since
we went into the war, and although
during all that time we have been
every nerve in the work of
we are only just begin
ming to take hand in the real bust
ness; and it will take us from one to |
two years more to become fully pre-