Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1918-04-02
A Mean ADVANTAGE

Ellis Parker Butler thinks America
is taking a mean advantage" OF
Germany, putting it this way:
An evening or two ago 1 was walk
ing through the great Pennsylvania
railway station at New York when il
was crowded with men, women and
| children. 1t is a magnificent build
ing. 1t covers two entire city blocks
looked up at the great roof that
sheltered the vast structure, and it
came into my mind that. seen from
| high in the air. the spread Of the root
must be enormous. 1t would be re-
markable target for bombs dropped
from high above it.
| 1t suddenly occurred to me that the
United States is taking a mean ad-
vantage Of Germany. We have
plunged into war against Germany
and are sending fighting men and
lighting ships to fight her fighting
men and fighting ships, but we are
taking mean advantage of the
three thousand miles of ocean that
stretch between us. We are so far
away that Germany cannot use
against us her splendid system of
numbering women and children.
Are We, l ask, quite fair to Ger
many? She is SO far from our shores
that she cannot send Zeppelins
sneaking through the night to drop
death on our babies sleeping in their
cribs. Are we not taking an unfair
advantage of her? When Germany
goes to war she expects to fight with
neighbors close at hand, so she can
lombard the homes of combat
ants and MAIN and murder helpless
old men and gentle women and Sleep
ing children? Is it fair to go to war
with her when she will only have the
chance to fight our fighting men?
! Why, 1t is possible that Germany,
! in fighting us, may have to fight fair
and as civilized nations fight Except
! for poison gas, murder of sailors on
| the high seas and other dirty barbar-
isms). That is not giving Germany
the chance she feels she ought to
have. 1t is not giving her an oppor-
tunity to murder our wives and
fathers and daughters
I think something ought to be done
about this. Germany is liable to dis
| Tine Us IL we let tllS tillUS go on
| What will she think of us if we do
/ not arrange things so she can kill our
! babies in the night. as she is killing
the English and French babies in
their cribs?
Shall we send, say, eight thousand
old men. ten thousand women and
, seven thousand babies to Europe and
/ place them in some convenient place
so that Germany can bomb them to
! death, and thus give Germany a
| chance to war against us as she is
warning against other nations? Or
shall we say that, come what will
and happen what may, this nation
Will not make peace with the das-
tardly Hun until he is thrashed and
crushed and taught once for all that
! the murder of just one helpless baby
/ Of Paris or London has been suffci-
ent to sentence the HohenZollern
beasts to everlasting determination =?
Good friend. how do you stand =?
/ Will YOU be one of those who are
willing to send their babies to Lon
don to die by the hand of the Hun?
OR will YOU stand with all Christian
/ humanity, steadfast ,and firm, until
the Great Criminal is given his just
deserts?
What name shall we give the Baby
! Killer of Berlin? What name shall
! We give ourselves if we allow him to
| triumph after such facts as these?