The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1918-06-17
Why We Fight
DsssussG ernmy'sL~ls thsLav
e d. Junlle nd Her Ooott1o
I" Mitht u .RiGe"
~ CLARENCE I. SPEED

By CLARENCE I. SPEED
Secretary Of tho War Cotnrnittee Of tns
Union League Club OF Chicago
We are ut war with Germany BE-
cause Prussia dominates Ger
many, and from the Gays Of Freder-
lex tho Great, Prussia's law has been
the Law Of the jungle, her doctrine
might 10 Right" and her policy, In
dealing with other nations, one Of rob.
bing the weak and terrorizing the
strong. Germany has grabbed terri
tory and exacted tribute from her
neighbors, and finally, her greed be-
coming greater, has locked out over
more distant lands, and has commit
ted herself to a policy Of world domi-
nation which menaces the continued
free existence Of every nation wMcn
will not submit to her will.
Germany.s policy Is not an acciden-
tai one. 1t has been carried out with
remarkable singleness Of purpose
from generation to generation OF
Hohenzollern rule, from the dme
Of the Great Frederick until to-
day. Germany's atrocities are not
accidental. They are q dehber.
ate, we'll Thought out part OF thfs
Hohenzollern policy. which was TO
break down the resistance Of her OPP
ponents, not only by fighting and de-
feating their armies but by killing.
torturing and terrorizin1 the civil
populations.
The German rulers committed them
A. ~ hA OnpvHVAv
Of the fittest. Through generations OF
teaching they made the German PEG
pie believe that they. and they alone.
were the At.
We have the words Of the German
rulers and German warriors and Ger
man leaders Of thought for all Of this.
More than that we have the perform
ance Of German officers ana German
armies in conquered lands to prove It
Let's start with Frederick the
Great in presenting the evidence.
This monarch, who earned his sou
briquet through despoilfng his neigh
bors, ra4i,er than through any real
qualities Of mind which he allowed.
said, in q letter TO hiS minister, BAD
twill:
III there IL anything to be gained
by it. we will be honest; II deception
IS necessary, let Ms be cheats. One
takes what one can, and one II wrong
only whe. obliged to give back"
This philosophy, applied to present
conditions, means that Germany wal
right when she took Belgium. and VII
be wrong only II she u not able II
hold 1t.
From Frederick the Great to Bis
| marck is . long jump in the mattel
Of time: but We and the Prussian, pol
! icy unchanged. Speaking before thu
| military committee Of the PrusstaE
Chamber Of Deputies IN 1852 Bis
marck said:
"Not by speeches and resolutions
Of majorities are the great question:
|. Of the time decided. but By iron ant
blood"
Then, with blood and iron. Prussia
| went out and despoiled Denmark Of
| territory in 1864, beat and robbed Aus
tria in 1855, and finally. in 1870
brought France to her knees and tool
her richest provinces
Here is what the present kaiser told
| his troops when, In 1850, they wef'
! about to depart for China to put down
the boxer uprising:
"Use your weapons IN such wa!
that for q thousand years NO chi
nese shall dare to look upon German
askance. Be a. terrible as Atdlla''
| Huns"
/ Coming ON down to the present VA
We find q German minister accredited
to 4 neutral state far across the sea-
one which one would think should b.
free from the entangiements Of worls
| politics-writing home to his govern
ment, in a state paper, advising thu
| sinking Of two ships fr0n this neura
nation, in such q manner that no trace
be left. Dead men. he believed tel
no tales.
It was Baron Luxburg. minister pleni
| potentiary to Argentina. who wrot
this amazing dispatch on May 10, 1917
II beg that the small steamers Oral
and Guazo which are near1ni
| Bordeaux be spared If posi-
BILE, or else sunk without a trace be
ing left"
! 1ulS IleSId" was CohSePISN AAA->
United States and published. 1t sen
thrill of horror around the world.
Chancellor Won Bethmann-Hollweg l
true disciple Of Frederick tn
Great, Bismarck and his royal master
In public speech on January 81, 191,
he said:
"When the most ruthless method
are calculated to lead Us to victory
swift victory, they must be employed.
So they were used, and are bein
used today. They include sinking @
hundreds OF neutral ships, the burnin
of cities, the deliberate devastatfn
Of the fair lands Of France, the ravist
ing Of women. the enslavement 0
workmen and the murder Of little chi