Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1918-04-04
United States and destroyed AmeFI:

United States and destroyed AmerI-
can property here.
Why are We at war? Can any
American with red blood in his veins
ask that question We are not at
war primarily to secure liberty for
other peoples, but we are at war to
preserve our own liberty, not alone
upon the sea but upon the land as
well. The acts of which We complain
are not the acts of the German people
but are the acts of the autocracy of
Germany headed by the Kaiser, whose
mind is seething with ambition, as
was Napoleon's, to conquer and rule
the world. The fact that the German
people support the autocracy does not
dfsprove this statement, for we have
abundant proof that the Kaiser has
lied to his own people as he has lied
TO the rest of the world.
The German government did not
dare permit the publication of Presi-
dent Wilson's war message in full in
Germany. | have in my pocket
copy of the message as printed in
Germany and more than one-half has
been suppressed by the German gov
eminent. But some say they could
heartily support the war if our soil
was actually invaded by German arm
les but are unwilling to send our boys
5000 miles across the sea to fight.
We may thank God that this war is
being carried on upon foreign soil
instead of our own.
mo soldier of the United States is
lying awake tonight fearing that his
wife or daughter may be raped, the
hands of his children cut off or his
parents shot. We may thank God
that we are not fighting this war
alone. If a fire should threaten your
city you would not wait until your
own house had actually caught fire
before assisting in putting it out A
fire like the Kaiser knows no mercy
it makes no distinction between hui
man beings and property; it destroys
everything in its path, and one must
either fight it or run away from it.
But some say Germany could never
invade us. Let Germany conquer
England, France and Italy and acquire
their navies, what would prevent their
invading our shores? Our fleet as
against these combined fleets would
be bottled up in some port, as the Ger
man fleet is now bottled up, South
America, Central America and Mexico
would be theirs with scarcely a strug-
gle 1t would then be as easy for
them to land armies on Mexican soil as
it is now for us to land our armies in
France. But why should they? Will
they not be weary of war? The Ger
man autocracy knows as we ought to
know, that as Lincoln said of slavery,
that this government cannot exist half
slave and half free, so the civilized
world cannot long exist half autocratic
and half democratic. 1t must be all
one or the other.
eff Germany wins this war we must
in self-defense become a military ma
ton, not only this year, and next
year, but for generations to come
We have but one aim in this war and
that is to secure peace-a peace that
shall insure T. e continuation of the
blessings of freedom to our own peo-
pie, and with it of all peoples who de-
sire it. Why cannot that be secured
at once? Why do we not begin nego-
tiations now? Because there is no
responsible party to negotiate with.
We cannot make treaty with a man
who regards treaties as scraps of
paper. We cannot accept the promises
of an autocracy that has lied to us,
murdered our citizens and violated
every principle of international law
There are but two solutions: one,
complete defeat of Germany and the
crushing of her military power for
ever; the other, treaty of peace,
guaranteed by the German people
themselves by the establishment at
least of a parliamentary government
such as England, Italy, Norway,
Sweden and Denmark have, a govera-
ment that will be responsible to the
Reichstag elected by the people, for
its acts. 1t is my hope that this may
come, for the war will be shortened,
and our entry into it will eventually
prove to be blessing to the German
people themselves.
One OF the greatest tragedies in
this war is the more or less general
suspicion of the real loyalty of those
Americans who have German blood
in their veins. l believe the vast ma
jority of German Americans in Wis
consin and in the United States, while
their heartstrings may be wrung, are
true and loyal Americans, whose de-
votion to our flag is as great as that
OF other citizens, and indeed, why
should it not be so? Many, many of
them are descendants of the forty
Fighters who fed from Germany to
escape persecution by an autocracy
similar to that which now EXISTS there
They came with the great Carl
Schurz, who was for time an hon
ored citizen of Missouri. They came
with Siegel, that great patriot of the
Civil War, who with his famous Ger
man brigade became immortal. There
may be some in this audience tonight
who could boast, Il fights NIT Siegel'
They came by the thousands to escape
militarism, and to enjoy the blessings
of liberty, freedom and self-govern-
ment. They are loyal American citi-
Gems. They know what liberty means.
They have prospered here, and they
should be the last to desire to see
planted here this tyranny which they
or their fOrefathers escaped from.
"One of the greatest blessings Of
liberty is free speech. 1t is the in
alienable right of every citizen to say
what he thinks so long as he obeys
the law. But the right of free speech
does not confer the right to violate
the laws Of the land. For instance, if
should from this platform advocate
the murder of some one, and acting
upon my suggestions and for reasons
given by me, some one in this audience
should go out and kill the man that
named, would be guilty Of murder
as well as he. So, in this war, trea-
son is a crime, and treason consists
in giving aid and comfort to our enc