Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1918-04-12
WHY WE ARE
ATWAR WITH
GERMANY
BY
rpHRAIM DOUGLASS ADAMS
sx.eu,lye Head, History Depart
ment
Land stanford Junior University

ohi.et of this war Is to deliver
IN. ~. neopes of the world from the
~ .snacs and the actual power o. z VaH
nll,n1r. government, which, having
lrrea4.Iw planned to dominate the world,
,sssse rS to carry out the plan without
a pro. .es slthsr to the sacred obligations
"a res.rs,tv or the long established prac-
q a.. md long che 4shed principles of In
u.sn,,Ionsl action and honor; This
nower 10 not the German people. II 10
W W II Is our business to see TO
that the history Of the rest o. the
.sorld 10 no longer left to lts handling"
Nprssldent Wilson, August ~, 1917
Il THE MATERIAL AIMS OF GER
MANY.
Germany believes that she has the
,;oht to dominate the world Her
milltaristic autocracy believes that
this war is a step toward such world
ANIMATION, but that German demands
FIR the present may rest satisfied with
substantial gains in Europe For years
German political writing has been full
Of the terms of peace" after a war,
and today those terms remain unal-
tered The Russian negotiations have
served to prove that what has for
long time been public opinion, Is now
official opinion. The quotations will
show this.
First, the more general purposes:
III we come victorious out Of this war,
we shall be the first people on the
earth, rich stream OF gold will pour
over the land" Expansion of our
T power both East and West, If possible
/ dlso over seas; political and military
+ domination combined, indissolubly con-
nected with economical expansion, this
Is our war aim" The territory open
to future German expansion must ex-
tend from the North Sea and the Bal.
tic to the Persian Gulf, absorbing fhe
Netherlands and Luxembourg, SWit-
zerland, the whole basin of the Dan
ube, the Balkan Peninsula and Asia
L Minor"
Second, the immediate aims: Our
relations with Turkey have drawn US
into this war; the Bagdad
Railway must be extended by us to
the open sea, even to India itself"
Belgium must remain under German
Il domination there exists no
better line of attack for the German
army in future war with France"
whom 1t Is necessary Ito weaken to
such degree that she can never again
be dangerous to u.s." will ANYBODY
believe that we will hand over the
lands which we have occupied In the
L whit oL,
b pie has fowed?" I'VE are not an In
stitute for frightening the life OF
dying states"
But 1t is on Poland and Western
Russia that Germany has all along
liked her eyes. we ought not to
let fall the sword from our hand be-
lore we have assured our future. Our
eastern boundaries must not remain
where they are" "Livonia, Kurland
Esthonia, have been for more than
seven centuries sister-countries united
through German traditions. 1t is true
Germans do not yet represent 10 per
cent of the inhabitants; but their char
acter filters through the whole" Let
Us OraVely organize great forced mi
Nahons OF the inferior peoples. Pos
'eflty Will be grateful to US. We must
coerce them! This Is one of the tasks
Oh war, Such forced migrations may
appear hard, but 1t is the only solu.
uon' The inefficient peoples.
discouraged and rendered Indifferent
!" 'he future by the spectacle of the
superior energy Of their conquerors,
may then crawl slowly towards the
peaceful death of weary and hopeless
01nillty The writer of this was here
viewing especially the non-Gern.dn
popa'dttons of South America,
NJ" Is America interested In the
european political and territorial re-.
'ui'S OF this war? Well, first. we are
At war. Germany believes that peace
now, on the terms she outlines means
germany victorious. That means a
cOu''nuance of military autocracy In
W Aany-a continuance of an aggres.
49, poilcy-a continuance of German
world, ~ iuie the
against that German ideal we are
IN "' We are also nghtlng
sto. sa'e the Americas from the inert
s.a p III German imperialism. In the
,as "s year of the war, the one great
IN. expressed by German officers was
Sow. long war in Europe would
M rause America to wake up" Wake
Az. :" what? Not to the need OF
Tho ', n participation In the war
naa, uerman officers thought America
and S"sioie for this war. But they did
sw a uo' fear that America would
Ide ane 10 the danger to herself, her
s Teais, her institutions, her interests
neT, 'aat being awakened. Germany's
hs he, step in world domination would
T6 harder than the present one.
E m.n uere Is no hope of a changed Ger.
and or establishing those peaceful
detaul friendly relations which should
Gsrn, liine International conduct - II
mart many gains her. objects. or any
SCI y, VI them, In this war. she has
ob,.a "e' heart Upon certain material
doe. We must see to it that she
stem , NOT gain them. Then her first
Dssp blocked, We may hope that her
SPie may aWalap So