The Arizona copper camp. [volume] (Ray, Ariz.) 1910-1920, 1918-05-04
WHY We ARE AT
WAR WITH GERMANY


"The object Of this war is to deliver
the free peoples of the world from the
menace and the actual power of vast
military establishment controlled by
an irresponsible government, which,
having secretly planned to dominate
the world, proceeded to carry out the
plan without regard either to the
sacred obligations of treaty or the
long established practices and long
cherished principles of international
action and honor; This
power is not the German people 1t
is the ruthless master of the German
people. 1t is our business to
see to it that the history of the rest
of the world is no longer left to it's
handling. President Wilson, August
German Ruthlessness an IncuIcated
A government asserting it's right to
conquer the world, denying any duty
except that of increasing it's own
power, and people drilled in this
|
horrify humanity Yet those acts are
but the logical result of a ruthless
ness in war deliberately planned 1t
was at first said by Americans: eyes,
there are occasional German atroci-
ties, no doubt, but so there are in
every war" We now know that cru
city and barbarism are definite part
of the German method of making
war.
First the teachers and professors:
where German soldiers had to seize
the incendiary torch, or even to pro-
coed to the slaughter of citizens, it
was only in pursuance of the rights
of war."1 "One single highly cultured
German warrior represents a higher
intellectual and moral life-value than
hundreds of the raw children of
nature whom England and France,
Russia and Italy, oppose to them. ~
"Eyen if there were no question
of vengeance, the
crime of opposing the development of
Germany is so great that the most
trenchant measures are scarcely a
sufficient punishment for it"3 "The
more pitiless is the vac victis, the
greater is the security of the ensuing
peace. In the days of old, conquered
peoples were completely annihilated.
Today that is physically impractical
BILE, but one can imagine conditions
which should approach very closely
to total destruction
Next the army officers: By sttep-
ing himself in military history an Off
Ger will be able. to guard himself
against excessive humanitarian no
tons; it will teach him that certaiE
seventies are indispensable to war,
nay, more, that the only true human
ity very often lies in a ruthless appli-
cation of them."5 "The warrior has
need of passion. 1t must not
be regarded as a necessary evil; not
condemned as regrettable copde-
quence of physical contact; nor must
we seek to restrain it and curb it as
savage and brutal forces
Last the clergy: one incident, and
one quotation from an address on the
Sermon On the Mount" lis enough for
Americans. whoever can not pre-
vail upon himself to approve from
the bottom of his heart the sinking
of the LuSitania, and give him
self up to honest delight at this vic
| torious exploit of German defensive
power-him we judge to be no true
German."7
German teaching has borne fruit
and the world is aghast. Yet we have
become so accustomed to German
atrocities" that some of our horror at
them has waned. 1t is wiser to re-
member. Volumes are needed to list,
merely, the proved cases Of barbarity
for Germany by refusing investiga-
ton through neutral jury proposed
by Cardinal MERCER, has confessed
guilt. No, rather, she acknowledges
the acts charged against her and
glorifies them.