East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1918-04-11
WHY WE ARE
AT WAR WITH
GERMANY
BY
EPHRAIM DOUGLASS ADAMS
Executive Head, History Depart
ment
Leland Stanford Junior University

menace ard the actual power Of . vast
y rnllissry sstabllshmsns eontrolled ny ar
secretly planned 90 oomfnate the world
proeeeded 20 carry out the plan without
of trsa,y Or TIE cS lo"s sSu ss,sslsSsas sSe psSe.
tlees END long. cherished principles ef In.
ternatlonsl action ard honor; /. This
the ruthless master Of the osrman peo.
pie. ls our business TO see e
y l. thst the history e ths rest q trs
--Presldent Wilson, August ~, 1917.
THE NATION AND MORAL DUTIES
The rulers Of Germany believe that
they have the right to prevail over all
other nations. They also believe that
the pOtcer Of the state is the only OBJ.
tect for which its rulers should strug.
gle. Still further. they believe that
moral principles and ideas have no
place in determining the actions OF
the state, since the sole duty OF the
state is to get power. This is Ger.
man political philosophy. American
political philosophy, from the very be.
ginning OF cur institutions, has op-
posed this theory, and now In this war
Is fighting against IL. For the Ger.
man theory necessarily carries with Il
utter denial of the claims OF moral
feeling, of international right, Of hu.
man decency and chivalry.
The German historian, Treitsehke.
at whose feet princes and rulers sat,
eagerly absorbing his teachings, de
voted his life to spreading this gospel
Of P0iOer. 1t is true, he said sneer.
ingly, that "a stock OF inherited con.
ceptiOns OF integrity and morality is
a necessity for government" (asefuI,
that subjects Of the state be obedienf)
but ''the end all and be all OF a
state is Power" "The state is the
sole Judge OF the morality OF its own
actions. II is, in fact, above morality,
or. in other words, whatever is nee.
essary is moral"
From this IL follows, in international
relations, that there is no rule or
guide to conduct except self-interest.
In this present war a follower of
Treitschke. one Of the leading com
mon-school educators of Germany,
Kirschensteiner OF Munich. drives
home the theory. 'The great lesson
which the German people has had to
learn is TO think in terms OF power
.. Let no one here say that
small states. too. can have a national
life OF their own. True, so long as
the great states around them allow
them to exist. But any day may see
the end OF their existence, in spite
OF all treaties TO the contrary. .
Neither alliances nor treaties provide
The least security. There are
no ethical friendships befi0eeH states
IN our day. There are only
friendships Of convenience. And friend
ships of convenience last just as long
as the convenience itself" q.
Professor Gutenberg OF Leipzig sums
IL hp. "All ethical considerations are
completely alien TO the state and the
state must therefore resolutely kesp
them at arms length"
Can We wonder that the German
Foreign Secretary spoke Of the broken
treaty with Belgium as n scrap OF
paper?" or that the school children
OF Germany celebrated the sinking OF
the LusiiaHidf or that German agents
in America, smoothly friendly In ap-
pearance, secretly plotted, before we
were IN the war, to destroy our in.
dustries, our railways. even our lives?
Is there no such thing any more
AZ a common humanity-no decent
respect TO the opinion OF mankind"
as Thomas jefferson stated IL IN the
Declaration Of Independence? Is our
ideal Of Righteousness. yes. even OF
unselfishness, impossible In interna,
tionai politics? THIS todr, n Germany
Is defeated, may decide these qHes-
fiOHs. but n Germany t0iHs, the sfruO.
ole has but Just begun.
This American democracy OF our
denies, and has always denied. the
German theory; Il asserts that the
laws which formulate the duties OF
men toward each other are binding
upon nations equally with individuals. |
For centuries civilization has been
slowly advancing from Ignorance. |
prejudice. and selishness toward sym
pathy. understanding, and a desire 10 |
see Justice done. whether between in. /
dividpais or nations The "be all and /
end all" Of q state 10 not Power-it /
is Justice.
And the German government has
left us In no doubt as 10 the results |
of her theory. in application. That
government has broken a solemn I
treaty with Belgium. ordered the muir
der of innocent hostages, bombarded
unf0rtihed towns. tOrpedOed unarmed
passenger ships, destroyed works Of
art where they could not be carried |
10 Germany. plotted secret war against
neutral nations-aH OF them actions
she once pledged herself 10 foregO-
has lost, In short, all sense. Eppar.
entity, that she Is dragging the former
good name Of the German people
through a mire Of dishonor. the stain
OF which will not be removed for
Against this mad phL
losophy aud mad government the war
must be waged. until they are de.
feated. or there is no safety for men
or nations.
This Is the third of . sarlss ef ter