Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1918-07-13

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(Fhe award of the Pulitzer Prize of
$500 for ''the best editorial written dur
ing the year 1917 to Marse Henry
Watterson, Dean of American Journal
lists was fitting recognition of the gen
ius of the brilliant American.
The prize was awarded, as matter of
fact, for two editorials, one published
on April 7, 1917 and the other on April
10. In both the spirit Of virile, mcom-
promising Americansim is respondent,
and in the Watterson phrases the quick
ening notes Of the bugle are heard. Ev-
cry man who writes-every man who
holds in high appreciation the beauties
of English speech-every man who val
ues ringing presentation Of the ma
tional ideals will wish TO preserve these
historic editorials.
Last of the long line of Great Editors,
many of his conferers of this generation
will gladly concede to Henry Watterson
first place among them all. In these
editorials, as in his daily routine of
writing, he combines the authority and
solemnity of the Prophets Of old with
the clarity and polish of modern of
moderns. In his sevenSy-nnth year, re-
turning but lately from a seven week S
sojourn in hospital, where he had, to
use the phrase of Arthur B. Krock
managing editor of the Louisville Cou-
rier-Journal, "hovered under the Intel
of the House of Death, he has been
elected president of the great newspaper
to which he has given his whole life.
The editorials which won the Pulitzer
Prize are printed herewith in full, thai
they may be studied by all newspaper
men and prGerved in all newspaper ar
chives-EDITOR.)
Editorial by Henry Watterson in the
Louisville Courier-J Journal April z, 1910
s'VAE VICTIS"
orally around the flag, boys Uncle
Sam s battle son;
"Sound the bold anthem! War dogs are
bowling;
Proud bird of Liberty scream through
the airi''
--(The Hunters of Kentucky.
II is with solemnity, and a touch of
sadness, that we write the familiar
words of the old refrain beneath the
snvocation to the starry banner, the
breezy call of hero-brecding bombast
quite gone out of them: the glad shout
of battle;'the clarion not Of defiance;
because Of us, not as to Nick of the
Woods, and his homely co-mates of
the forest, the rather as to the men of
'6l, cones this present call to arms.
We may feel with the woman s heart
of Rankin, Of Montana, yet repudiate
with manly disdain the sentimental scru-
piles of Kitchin, of North Carolina.
There are times when feeling must be
sent to the rear; when duty must toe
the line; when the aversion brave men
have for fighting must yield to the ad-
Duration, "Give me liberty, Or give HE
DEATH" That time is upon us.
SAiNSo L Rtiibh iANhtl Nbo NiOhS
unless Washington and the men Of the
Revolution were wrong, that time is
upon us. 1t is to lie to pretend that the
world is better than it was; that men
aue trues, wiser; that war is escapable;
that peace NAV be had for the plan
ming and the asking. The situation
which without any act of ours rises be-
fore us is as eXigent as that which rose
before the Colonists in America when a
mad English king, claiming to rule
without accountability, asserted the
right divine Of Kings and sent an army
to enforce it. mad German Emperor,
claiming partnership with God, again
elevates the standard of right divine
and bids the world to worship, or die.
From the beginning the issue was not
less ours than Of the countries first en-
gagged. Each may have had ends of its
own to serve. Nor were these ends pre-
cisely alike. AT Least France-to whom
we owe all that we have of soverignity
and free edom-and Belgium, the little
David Of Nations-fought to resist in
vasion, wanton, cruel invasion; to avert
slavery, slavery, pitiless slavery. Yet
whatever the animating purpose-what.
ever the selfish interests of England and
Russia and Italy-the Kaiser scheme Of
world conquest justified it.
Mailed Figure of Ahsolutism"
In us il sanetifies it. Why should any
American split hairs DER the European
right and wrongs involved when he
sees before him grim and CHASTITY the
mailed figure of Absolutism with hand
uplifted to strike Columbia where three
years she has stood pleading for justice,
peace, and mercy7 God of the free
heart 5 hope and home forbidi
Each of these three years the Ger
man Kaiser was making war upon us.
he was making war secretly, through
his emissaries in destruction of our in
dustries, secretly through his diplomats
plotting not merely foreign but civil
war against us, and, as we now know,
seeking to foment servile and racial in
surreetiOn; then openly upon the high
seas lcvying murder upon our people
and visiting all our rights and claims
with seorn and insult-with seorn and
insult unspeakable-at this moment pre-
tending to flout us with ignominy and
contempt. Where would the honest pas
sivist draw the line7
Surely the time has arrived-many of
NJ AhiuLr ,x-ao Ia.r. ..x,ao o,-n.1,,a e.