The gazette-times. [volume] (Heppner, Or.) 1912-1925, 1918-05-16
WHY WE ARE
AT WAR WITH
GERMANY
BY
ePHRAIM DOUGLASS ADAMS
Executive Head, History Depart.
rnent
Leland Stanford Junior University

iy SSNdDHshment controlled Sy ar
irresponsible government, which, hsvirc
secretly planned 10 dominate the worid
proceeded to carry out the plan without
regard either to the sacred oblloatIons
o. treaty or the long, established prac.
yes ana ong-cherished principles Of in
ternatonal action ard honor; This
power is not the German people. II is
.he ruthless master of the German peo
PIE. -. II Is our business to see Ia
u tnat the history Of the rest Of m.
wr"ld Is no longer left to its handIIno. .
president Wilson. August 81. 1917.
WE FIGHT FOR GOOD FAITH
The faith Of treaties is the only
solid foundation on which a Temple
OF Peace can be built up." (James
Bryce Good faith between nations
as oetpeen men, is the one and only
safeguard from return to barbarism
Without 1t brute force, sheer mioat
must rule. Without it there is no
security in human relations-no So
curlty, even, for life itself. To keen
ones word, when once given, that is
the evidence of the progress of civ
ilization, and the test of it.
Hence the case of Belgium becomes
the single greatest German offense
against civilization in this war. At
hrst, in our American ignorance of
world conditions, We did not see this
We do see it now; more and more we
realize that until the crime against
Belgium is atoned for, there can be
no peace, and no hope Of, a world
at peace.
What the the facts? By treaties
signed in 1915, and again in 1881, and
still again in 1889, this last revision
being in effect in 1914, it was agreed
Belgium shall form a perpetually
neutral state. The five powers guar.
antee to it this perpetual neutrality
as also the inviolability of its ter.
ritory," These five powers we're Aus
trla, France, Great Britain Russia
and Prussia. By such treaties the
neutral state was pledged to defend
in arms the neutrality of it's terri.
tory; and each of the great powers
pledged itself not only not to march
troops into or through the neutral
state, but also to aid her, in case
her territory were violated.
The world, thinking no nation so
base as to break it's word. was com.
pletely taken by surprise by the at
tack on Belgium. But we know now
from German Statements that German
military plans had for years intended
to break this pledge German rulers
lied as to this consistently. and lied
up to the last day. On the morning
before the German troops advanced
the German minister assured Belgium
she need feel no alarm, and in the
evening of that same day he delivered
his ultimatum.
The world has never seen so com.
plete denial Of the binding effect
of the pledged word. Why has Ger
many so lost sight of the principle
of honor among nations? Her own
answer reveals the cause; 1t Is again
the plea of might. "The fate that Bel.
GUM has called down upon herself
(note the hypocrisy of this) Is hard.
but not too hard, for the
destinies of the immortal great ma
tions stand so high that they can
not but have the right, in case OF
need, to stride over existencies that
can not defend themselves" PRO
lessor Oncken.) When the British
Minister at Berlin notified the Ger
man Chancellor that Great Britain
was in honor bound to defend Bel
GUMS neutrality, the latter argued
that this was Terrible" a war lust
for word-'neutrality'-just for
scrap of paper" The pttiful-yeS, the
terrible-Signifcance of such utter
dnces, is that Germans beliepe them
justified.
"If | am asked what we are fight
Ing for" said Prime Minister AS.
quith, "I can reply in two sentences.
In the first place, to fulfill an obliga
ton not only Of law, but of
honor which no self-respecting man
could possibly have repudiated; sec.
ondly, to vindicate the principle
that small nationalities are not to be
crushed, in defiance of international
good faith"
America was not direct guarantor
like Great Britain. of the neutrality
Of Belgium, though in various con
ventions (of which Germany also was
. signer) we pledged to the main.
tenance of the world principle of good
faith" But every nation was attacked
when Germany broke faith. "The law
protecting Belgium which was vic.
lated was our law and the law OF
every other civilized country. II
was our safeguard against the neces.
sity Of maintaining great armaments
Our interest in having it maintained
as the laW of nations WdS q substdn.
tial, valudble, permanent INTEREST,"
(Elihu Root)
In the hope Of an enduring peace, in
the hope of an advancing civilization,
We can not forget Belgium. In the
hope for unmolested self-development
In the sense of our own security nee.
essary to progress, we must not forget
Belgium, until her wrongs are righted.