Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1918-03-27
What Is your business
You NAV not think So. but it is.

W hat Is YOUR btSlncSSt
II Is war.
You NAV not think so. but it is.
True YOU are doing something else for
a living II may occupy most of yOur
time. most of your energy. But the
chief interest IN life now for you, for me
for all of MS. whether we realize IT or not.
has become the successful running of this
vast national industry called war.
Our personal affairs. our private am
billions, the unsclhsh rs well rs the selfish
ones are all incidental now.
Not merely Of Incidental importance
as compared with the war. | mean that
everything We desire, everything we bold
dear now depends directly upon the
outcome Of this great war.
Ii we. collectively, win this war. then
We. individually. may keep what We have
and possibly get what We want If We
lose this war, then VIC all. individually
and collectively. lose everything.
To he SURE, you and might not lose
our lives necessarily. Not even our boys
who are doing the fighting for us WI
necessarily lose their lives. The
majority ot them WI survive.
And all or most If MS who stay
at homc viii be permitted to survive O.
exist
But everything that makes lifc worth
living To frec-born. self-respcctlng Amor-
cans would 20 forever We should
have Ia do as told hv foreign master
We should have to live as instructed bN
military rulers. We should have IN work
as directed bv cast iron bureau which
would designate when, where. and ~
what we should work and how much or
how little Nc should got for IT, The
ideas IN books. the news ~ the paper,
oven the subjects for omen discussion would
be prescribed and prescribed for us hy
those over us. our masters. our rulers
Ycs. We should still live if living
means merely to toll and rest. 80 breathe
and breed. to cat and sleep Even the
Bclgiaus. some. not all of them, have been
allowed such privileges. under certain
efflclcnt and terribly enforced restrictions
We have q cholce then between two
propositions
IL Arc we going 70 let Germany own
u.s. or
~ Are We going to own ourselves?
Don't make any mistake about II
That Is not an overstatement That Is
literally and precisely what YOU and ! arc
up against today World conquest has
been the aim of Germany for half con
turv WHY deny what the Germans
themselves have proclaimed for wears
II Is all there as PLAIN As print can make u
IN books by their philosophers, IN speeches
bv their rulers
The sheer effrontery oi It made IT seem
incredible before the war We used to
laugh at il as the vague theories of i'm
practical college professors. the wild
dream Of crazy kaiser
The more fools we White We were
laughing AZ IT. they were preparing for
it-,urlnC half century
That Is vhv they came so near gg4tInF
into q position. At the beginning oi the
war. 10 make this Wild dream come mn
mecllately, almost maglcallv true That
Is why they viii not abandon II without
the most stupendous struggle in the
history of the world They had been
baked, but not beaten Not vef They
are now desperate 1t Is all or nothing
for them now They know II
sCHEME OF CONQUEST
II the Germans were to conquer France
and England. either in this war or 1T
the next war, for which make no mlstake)
thew will immediately begin preparing
at the close of this one, unless they them
selves are conquered by 1t. what be-
comes of Canada And then what will
happen along our northern border? We
have already had foretasto Of what they
intended to do along our southern border
that incredibly TnsOlent offer 10 Mexico
of United states terrltor, a. . brihe 10
hclp Germany in its fqI-sighted scheme ot
world conquest
Germany could never conquer America
on her own ground?
Nerv we'll Mavbe she could and mayhc
she' could not That Is an interesting
theoretical question But the practical
question for YOU and mo to consider now
Us this.
~ Shall We defeat Germany now over
there and with the and OF our allies? or,
(2) Do we prefer to attempt to defeat
Germany later over here without the aid
Of our allies?
For, If We do not succeed IN the first
proposition, then. as surely as night
follows day, we shall be up against that
second proposition.
~ what arc VIC going tn do about II.
vou and | who are not doing the actual
fighting?