Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1918-08-12
SOUTH AROUSED
TO WAR SPIRIT
1t Is Declared That Ignorance Of
War Causes Is Giving Way
To Grim Determination
WAR TO BE OVER SOON

The gradual arousing of the South
and Southwest 10 an aggressive wal
+ spirit. from an almost complete ignor
ance OF the reasons for the participa
tion Of the United States in the con.
fiiet and the meaning of the German
Z menace, is set forth IN report issued
today by the National Security League
from its speakers who have been tray
cling in that territory.
James Sullivan, State Historian OF
New York State and DR.. E. z. Sperry
of Syracuse University. are two of the
principal members of the Security
Leagues National Patriotic Educa-
tion Faculty" who have been working
in the states of the South and South
west. They report that they found the
people in the communities which they
visited almost completely ignorant of
the pan-German plan Of world con-
quest but readily responsive to every
thing explaining the underlying mean
ings of the war and the necessity for
the exertion of the full power of this
country in seeing it through TO a
finish
One particular danger pointed out by
these gentlemen was the widespread
feeling that the war would be over in
a few months. Mr.. Sullivan expresses
himself on this point as follows
Il found an inclination to a belief
that the war was going TO close in a
very short time. There was a tend
ency TO dwell on the closing of the war
in ninety days, or by the first of Janu-
airy, etc l couldn't help feeling that
there was an element of German prop
uganda in this, sort of undetermined
way of getting the people Indifferent TO
the appeals which were being made by
the Government. Obviously, if the
war is going to end in ninety days, or
by the first of January, what is the use
of buying War Savings Stamps or sub
scribing TO Liberty Loans; why buy
clothing for our soldiers or furnish
Red Cross Supplies; why in fact de-
prive ourselves of any of the things
which we ordinarily wish to have?"
MY experience in the South proved
to me that there is a great and urgent
need for educational work there" says
DR.. Sperry. THE people of the regions
which l visited need instruction con-
corning many of the elementary as
poets of the war For example, the
pan-German plan of conquest was I'M
known to many, even by name. The
events which Immediately preceded
the war, and the attempts made by
England, France and Russia to avert
it. are known only in the vaguest man.
ner, if at all.
II found the people, however, eager
for instruction. That this should be
given to them in every way possible is
shown by the fact that before many
months Americans will begin to feel
the pinch of war and our one great
problem will be to keep the people
braced to the point where they will see
it through The right knowledge will
help to do that The pro-Germans,
pacifiists, and Socialists are still with
us and will raise their heads if they
find the spirit of the nation weaken
ing under the strain of self-denial and
losses abroad This condition must be
Il was impressed everywhere by the
almost total unanimity of feeling with
regard to our just cause in prosecuting
the war" says Mrs. Sullivan. Each
locality seems to feel that it is respon-
sible for the successful prosecution of
the war So far as l was able to detect
there was no backward pull on the
part of any element in the community
along these lines. l found in every
community a willingness to go TO any
sacrifice which the Government may
call upon the citizens to undergo.
The sort of appeal that seemed to
reach the people most eradily was for
restoration, restitution and retribu-
ton Again and again, members of
my audiences told me that which led
me to believe that, though perfectly
loyal and willing to support the coun-
try in every way in order to defeat
Germany autocracy, they were being
appealed to on the ground of Christian
charity not to support any measures
for furnishing the German people. They
had evidently been appealed to on the
ground of Christianity, and what not.
to pursue a line of conduct which
would not call for any restoration, res
titution or retribution. When they
had it shown TO them that the reason
why the Germans were acting as they
are at the present time was because
they had not not been properly punish
ed in the past for their doings there
was a totally different attitude. Even
the people of German descent could
see the force of this argumnet and rea-
lie that if we did not wish repeti-
ton of such things in the future we
should have TO see that proper punish
ment was administered to them in the
-,,.nro,nt aar and ernr,ara finr1 =