Roanoke Rapids herald. [volume] (Roanoke Rapids, N.C.) 1914-192?, 1918-04-12
s\lD PRESIDENT WILSON IN A
DARING ADDRESS BEFORE
BALTIMORE AUDIENCE.

The President spoke as follows:
Fellow citizens: This Is the al
niversary OF our acceptance Of Gel
many's challenge to fight for our righ
to live and be free. and for the sacrA
rights OF free men everywhere. TIL
nation Is awake. There Is no nee
to call to II. We know what the w.
must cost. curt utmost sacrifice, tn
lives OF our fittest men and, OF nee
be, all that we possess. The loan W.
are met to discuss Is one OF the leas
parts OF what we are called upon {,
give and to do, though In itself It Il
imperative The people of the Who'll,
country are alive to the necessity OF 1
and are ready to lend to the utmost
even where II involves a sharp an(
daily sacrifice to lend out OF meagel
earnings. They will look with repro
baton and contempt upon those who
can and will not. upon those who de
mand a higher rate OF interest, upon
those who think OF Il as a mere com
mercial transaction. have not come
therefore, to urge the loan. have
come only to give you. II can, a more
vivid conception OF what 1t is for.
The reason for this great war, the
reason why II had to come. the need
to fight It through, and the issues thai
hang upon Its outcome are more clear
~ disclosed now than ever before. Il
is easy to see Just what this particuli r
loan means because the cause we
are fighting for stands more sharr ly
revealed than at any previous crisis
OF the momentous struggle. The man
who knows least can now see plainly
how the cause Of Justice stands and
what the imperishable thing Is he is
asked to invest In. Men in America
may be more sure than they ever
were before that the cause is their
own, and that. II II should be lost.
their own great nations place and
mission In the world would be lost
with II.
81 call you to witness, my fellow
countrymen. that at no stage OF this
terrible business have judged the
purposes Of Germany Unexpectedly. |
should be ashamed in the presence
OF affairs so grave, so fraught with
the destinies of mankind throughout
all the world, to speak with trucu.
lence, to use the weak languages OF
hatred or vindictive purpose We
must Judge as we would be judged. I
have sought to learn the objects Ger.
many has in this war from the mouths
OF her own spokesman and to deal as
frankly with them as | wished them
to deal with me. have laid bare our
own ideals. our own purposes. without
reserve or doubtful phrase, and have
asked them to say as plainly what II
is that they seek.
I'VE have ourselves proposed no In
Justice, no aggression. We are ready,
whenever the final reckoning is made
to be just to the German people, deal
fairly with the German power. as
with all others. There can be no diff
ference between peoples In the final
Judgment. II Ii is indeed to be right
eous judgment. To propose anything
but Justice. even.handed and dispas.
sionate justice to Germany at any
time, whatever the outcome OF the
war, would be to renounce and dis
honor our own cause. For we ask
nothing that we are not willing to ac-
cord
ut has been with this thought thai
have sought to learn from those who
spoke for Germany whether II was
Justice or dominion and the execution
OF their own will upon the other ma
tions OF the world, that the German
leaders were seeking. They have an
swered, answered In unmistakable
terms. They have avowed that 1t was
not justice but dominion and the uli-
hindered execution Of their own will
THE avowal has not come from
Germany's statesmen, 1t has come
from her military leaders, whc are
her real rulers. Her statesmen have
said that they wished peace, and were
ready to discuss It's terms whenever
their opponents were willing to SIT
down at the conference table with
them. Her present chancellor has said
In Indefinite and uncertain terms. In
deed. and In phrases that often seem
to deny their own meaning, but with
as much plalnness as he thought pru
dent-that he believed that peace
should be based upon the principles
which we had declared would be ou
own in the final settlement.
AT Brest.Litovsk her civilian dele
gates spoke in similar terms; profess
ed their desire to conclude fai
peace and accord to the peoples will
whose fortunes they were dealing tn
right to choose their own allegiance'
But action accompanied and followe
the profession. Their military masters
the men who act for Germany an
exhibit her purpose in execution
proclaimed a very different concl'
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