The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1918-02-14
CAMP PIKE BOYS
ENJOY Mr.. TAFT
EX-PRESIDENT DELIVERS SOUL
INSPIRING ADDRESS TO
THE SOLDIERS.
APPLAUSE IS strenuous
THERE MUST BE NO DOUBT OF
ULTIMATE VICTORY"
HE SAYS.
Camp Pike, Ark, Feb. 9, 1918.

Camp Pike, Ark, Feb. 9, 1918.
The most important event to break
the monotony of quarantine this week
was the visit of former President Taft
to Camp Pike. He spoke to several
thousand soldiers at the huge Y. M.
CA. Auditorium, yesterday.
"There must be no doubt of our
ultimate victory. We must win. 1t
is not war of the Allies against
Germany; it is the struggle of de-
mocracy, of civilization against super
barbarism."
Logically, point by point, the former
President, in his speech on the Great
War, reviewed the events leading up
to the war, showing the righteousness
of the allied cause and the national
iniquity and lack of faith of the Ger
man government. Stating some Of the
principles of international law, Mr..
Taft said that the United States is
justified both by the law and the right
! in every step it has taken before and
after this nations entrance into the
!, hostilities.
"The whispering traitors will say
that we were unneutral in selling
munitions to the Allies at the out
break Of the war in Europe" he said.
However, the right to make sales to
belligerents is. a tenet of international
law that was subscribed to by Ger
many. And, at the beginning, we die
not confine our sales to France and
England. We sold to Germany also
until the Allies established so effective
a blockade that the goods were not
deliverable. However, when the Ger
man underseas freightcr, Deutschland,
left Baltimore harbor she was laden
with all the American munitions she
could carry. Germany sold to belli-
gerents during our war with Spain
and during the Boer war. Suppose
we had acceded to her request to
close our commerce against her
enemies. How would those nations
have treated us should a crisis have
arisen when we needed war MUM
tons? For our own protection it was
necessary to keep up to these laws"
After the sinking of the Lusitania
in which many American lives were
Jest, Mr.. Taft said that German lies
prolonged our diplomatic CORES
pondence for year, at the end of
which another ship was SINK and 9TH
er Americans murdered. Then we re-
turned to the bosom of the kaiser
that eminent statesman, noted philan-
thropist, sneak and spy, Count Jahon-
mes Won Bernstorf, and our diplomatic
relations were severed.
Answers LaFollette.
Mr.. Taft ripped open the argument
formerly advanced by Senator La
Toilette to the effect that it was the
right.of a warning nation to destroy
ships carrying munitions to it's
enemies, as specious and quibbling.
eff Honduras had sunk a ship carry
ing non-combatant Americans" he
said, 'there is no question as to what
our declaration to her would have
been. We would have demanded
idemnity and a guarantee with securi
ties of no further destruction of Am
erican life. If that is what we would
say to Honduras, why not to Ger
many? The fact that Germany was
the greatest military nation of the
world does not absolve her from
amenability to the laws of the nations.
1--WE would have gone into this war
in no jinko spirit. We waited as long
as we could and did everything we
could to keep out of it. President Will
son in the early days was criticised by
my party for his delay, but now there
are neither Democrats or Republicans
in this matter-we are Americans all
Democracy VS.. Autocracy.
eve are not aligned simply as Am
erican, British, Italian and French
against the German; we are simply
democracy against autocracy. Itmay
be argued that both England and
Italy have kings, but in those nations
the will of the people is supreme. And
our enemy is Germany and nothing
but Germany.
Allied with Germany are some OF
the pewee nations, Austria, Bulgaria,
Turkey, but these are the etceteras
and the me toos. Speaking strictly
our war is with William Hohenzollern
vand the Prussian military hierarchy,
not the German people. But, also,
among them, we have extremists. If
any Of these, or anyone else, should
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