The Washington herald., 1918-08-06
AFIELD WITH
THE
OBSERVER

NS" AoA aug
wrote of the movement to boycott
Germany In commercial lines, when
the war 10 over.
I said then that hundreds Of thou
sands Of Americans were indorsing
the movement with all their hearts,
and that the movement would likely
grow to mammoth proportions. so
that when peace came with 1t would
come anything but a rejuvenation of
German trade.
There are other hundreds here
who think we are prolonging the
war by making this announcement
at this time. They insist that Kaiser
Bill can readily get his legions to
see the hatred there is for German
| citizens in such a stand. and that
seeing this hatred the German peo-
pie are apt to battle to the bitter
end. Were the affair made less Bit
ter, these complacent individuals
| argue. We might readily force Ger
man citizens to repudiate their Kali
ser and take US up some time on our
conditions of peace.
Here and now. though, We want
to stamp out this doctrine. There
is no such thing as being too ienient
with the Huns. The battle is now
to the finish. II we must stamp
them all out in order to win our
cause. then that very thing must be
done. We have nothing else more
important to do this side of eternity,
and II the Job threatens to take
list for It with the consciousness
, that we are doing Gods work.
If this be the limit in the doctrine
most of 1t. There are hundreds of
restless city who are ready to go
through with the affair on these
terms-And we think the country
just beyond and farther and farther
on to the west coast is of a like
| mind.
There may be many discomforts in
the way and we may see times when
peace would appear welcome. But
we are fighting to preserve the future
against such wanton onslaughts as
the Germans started. and there is
nothing we need to do more than con-
tinue this fight with all the energy
and all the resources we have.
Seriously. there is no one here who
believes that the task is of such mag
nitude as to require years to finish.
They think there that the Huns are
on their home run, and that perhaps
before another winters fight has been
entirely gone through with the lead
| ers of the Hun peoples will be con-
WINGED their job is more local than
universal-and that his Boneheaded-
ness. the Manager of He'll. should not
have started what he did in 1914.
Those who entertain these glowing
ideas are not optimists-not undue, at
least. They are merely enthusiasts of
our cause. And they speak as Aif
they knew the fighting-spirit we have
transported to Europe in the many
ships we've used in that direction DUR
ing the past few months. God knows
none of them want to be too sanguine
but when they get to believing a
thing here and believe it for reason
they feel, but cannot always express
coherently, there's no use stopping
them, or trying to discredit the views
they hold.
After all, the heart Of America is
centered here. One can try the life
blood and tell here whether Ameri-
cas- heart is beating. right. A little
humanity toward the Huns can be
thought of here, in spite of the fero-
cious attacks they're making nova
days. But there isn't anyone who
feels that humanitarian principles
require that We build up a nation
Of bloodists-and there is nothing
the humanitarians and pacifists have
found in the Bible which would
seem to be an inexorable law on
the subject. However. the attitude
of the pacifists will hardly be de-
terminative on the subject when the
time comes. The men who have
fought and the mothers of men who
have made the sacrifices, when the
war was on, will be the ones who
speak finally on the subject And
their decision Is apt to last through
the ages and be something upon
which the generations OF hundreds
of years to come will build.
Now to change the subject-down
at Washington we have heard scores
of business men of the Middle West
and farther west insist that New
York doesn't know that the West
exists, and that If little ole New
York had its way there would-i3 ~
any Western participation IN the