Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-07-26

q hdtlOh WHICH 10 Gou Scou SOEh LUZ
the future; that Germany is the GEN.
ter of Gods plans for the world" and
concludes that we 'love our earthly
Fatherland so much that we gladly
barter our heavenly forfeit"
In another sermon Pastor Leh-
mann asserts that Germany has
never made war from unclean, i'm
moral motives. look upon 1t as
absolutely the deepest feature of the
German character, this dispassionate
love Of right, of justice, of morality.
This is something which the other
nations have not. Germany may be
vanquished, il may be crushed to
earth, but it can never side with
wrong and infamy."
Recalling the violation of treaties,
the murder of men. women and chill
dren, the sinking of unarmed vessels,
the shelling of victims of subma-
rines, the drowning of helpless men.
the rape of women, the enslavement
of men, women and children. the ie-
ception practiced in every direction,
the deliberate breaking of faith and
the records of unsurpassed infamy-
in view of all these things what must
we think of such stuff from an alleg-
ed Christian pulpit
1t might come to pass that we
succumb in this, the worst and
perhaps the last. fight of German
ism against the whole world of
ri nd n OF
falsehood and deceit. says this in
spired pastor, who adds: That
could only happen. am sure, over
the dead body of the last German,
we should all die happy in the
consciousness of having defended
God against the world. In the
same sermon he insists that Ger
many's fight against the whole
world is in reality the battle of
the spirit against the whole
worlds infamy. falsehood and
devilish cunning.
Devilish cunning! Falsehood! In
fanny! These applied to the forces
of righteousness which are now COM
bined for the crushing of an obsessed
people possessed of the demons of
lust and greed and selfishness, the
very foundations of their struggle TO
rule the world.
In another sermon. referring to the
Franco-Prussian war, the same pull
pit defender of the HohenZollerns
declares that glorious feat of arms
forty-four years ago gives us courage
to- believe that the German soul is
the worlds soul; that God and Ger
many belong to one another" He
also humbly urges that "the German
soul is Gods soul; it shall and will
rule over mankind. In the same
way as God is wont to rule: without
outward force, without compulsion,
with an inward. invisible strength,
with purity, righteousness and love-"
He admits further along that "af-
ter the war is over and there is time
for calmer contemplation we may,
perhaps, see that we ourselves are
not without fault or not blameless.
Sublime concession!
This sacrilegious discourse was de-
livered about four weeks after the
beginning of the war in 1914, and in
the course of his sermon he boasts
front of the enemy's capital and the
hundred thousand Russian prisoners
in their hands. He suggests that
such gigantic results might make
US presumptuous," but puts away
such a thought with a holy turning
of the eyes Heavenward and the
declaration that God has taken the
German nation under his special
care"
1T is true" he says, that there
are shortcomings in individuals with
in the German nation, but the nation
is the only one that stands morally
spotless in this war" He dwells up
on its piety, its strong humility and
denounces the neighbors of the Ger
man people as hypocritical and de-
ceitful. concluding that ION us Ger
mans the eye of God, we take it,
must especially rest; we must be his
ultimate purpose-that particularly
among us this war has called to life
beautiful and wonderful things"
And so on throughout this re-
markable collection of German state
ments-the utterances of preachers,
professors and publicists. A collec-
ton of poems published by German
pastor under the significant title
of ''Hurrah and Hallelujah" gave
the author of the book from which
we quote the suggestion for the title
of his own work, because it is so
absolutely characteristic of the Ger
man spirit"
Throughout, these documents
show how the Germans have taken
upon themselves all the virtues and
bestowed upon those opposed to
them all the vices.
A dangerous lunatic is always put
out of the way.