The Brandon news. (Brandon, Miss.) 1892-1961, 1918-08-29
THE BRANDON NEWS. BRANDON, MISS.

ate need, Is given here merely as
the background for q discussion
Of why America and our Allies
should feel no hesitation whatev-
err, from any false sense Of pity,
in imposing the heaviest penalties
upon Germany.
Is it conceivable that we should
permit the $4,000, O0O,0 900 or
more of bonds which the German
people have gleefully taken be-
cause they expected that success
would redeem these bonds and
give them financial profit by loot
ing the world, to be made good by
Germany, while Belgium, France
and Serbia and Italy and England
have had to bear the tremendous
loss in lives and in money for
keeping these burglars, these loot
ers, these murderers, these de-
stroyers of womanhood and child
hood from overrunning the world !?
It would be unspeakable folly
for the Allies to permit this at
least until Germany has paid the
last farthing of the cost of the war
to our European Allies and to A
merica.
Moreover, the criminal should
be made to pay to the families of
every soldier killed in defense of
civilization a financial remunera-
ton, and also every man perma-
nently invalided in thestruggle Of
civilization against barbarism.
To all of this should be added
an indemnity sufficient to restore
all property destroyed by Germany
and to repay every dollar spent by
America and it's Allies in this
great struggle.
The terms are not harsh when
considered in the light of the fear
full crimes committed by Germany
in this long planned war for world
domination and world footing,
Even if every suggestion here
should be enforced to the letter,
the financial condition of the Ger
man people would be far better
than was the condition of the
South in 1865.
Within fifty years after the war
the South rose from the depth Of
poverty, from overwhelming ruin
and wreck to triumphant prosper
ity, and at the end of the first half
century after the close Of the Civil
War the agricultural and manu-
featuring output of the South and
the banking capital Of this section
and the amount expended on pub
lie school education far exceeded
the total for the entire country in
1880, though the population Of the
entire country at that exceed
ed by 100000 the population Of
the South in 1880.
No one has charged the United
States with having dealt unfairly
or dishonorably with the conquer
ed South; no one ever thought that
the country should redeem the
bonds and the money issued by the
South for the carrying on of the
war, and though it seemed great
hardship upon a section stricken
to desperate poverty as was the
South, that it should be taxed to-
ward the payment of the pensions
for the men who fought against it
yet there never was any aggress-
i've agitation against this hard
ship.
The South, though it had fought
a long and desperate war for what
it believed to be a sacred constitu-
tional right, accepted the decisi o
of the sword and never cringingly
struggled against bearing it's bur-
den.
The South fought its war in
the highest form Of civilized
warfare, typified in that superb
order Of General Lee, when he
invaded Pennsylvania, in which
he warned his soldiers against
any violation of the laws of civ
ilized warfare, and required
them to protect life and proper
ty of non-combatants, for said
he, 1--WE do not war upon women
and children or unarmed men."
AS against this struggle Of the
South to maintain a principle,
which it regarded as a constitu-
tional right. guaranteed from the
foundation Of our Government,
with this civilized method Of war
fare, where the highest Of honor
prevailed, there is q contrast
as wide as the distance between
Heaven and He'll compared with
the war Germany has made.
Germany's war was for no
principle; it is a definite, prear-