The gazette-times. [volume] (Heppner, Or.) 1912-1925, 1918-04-11
WHY WE AR
AT WAR WITH.
GERMANY
BY
EPHRAIM DOUGLASS ADAMS
Executive Head. History Depart
ment
Leland Stanford Junior University

The object of this war is to d-V4
tEe free peoples of the world from t
menace and the actual power of va;
military establishment controlled by
irresponsible government, which, haViF
secretly planned to dominate the Wo"'o
proceeded to carry out the plan witEo
regard either to the sacred obioauo
of treaty or the long established pra
tees and long. cherished principles of
terrationai action and honor; T.
cover is not the German people. It
the ruthless master of the German rar
Pile. It is our business to see
It that the history of the rest OF
world is no longer lett to it's handli o
President Wilson,. August 27, 1912,
THE MATERIAL AIMS OF GER
MANY.
Germany believes that she has u
right to dominate the world. +
militaristic autocracy believes tn
this war is step toward such worl
domination, but that German demaUd
for the present may rest satisfied with
substantial gains in Europe. For years
German political writing has been full
of the terms of peace" after a war
and today those terms remain unal
tered. The Russian negotiations have
served to prove that what has for
long time been public opinion, is now
official opinion The quotations will
show this.
First the more general purposes:
If we come victorious out of this war
we shall be the first people on the
earth, rich stream of gold will pow
over the land "EX0aYsion of oui
power both East ami West, if possible
also ouer seas; political and military
domination combined indissolubly con.
nected with eoonom cal eXNansion, this
is our war aim" The territory open
to future German expansion must ey.
tend from the North Sea and the Bal
tic to the Persian Gulf, absorbing the
| Netherlands and Luxembourg, Swit
zerland, the whole basin of the Dan
ube, the Balkan Peninsula and Asia
| Minor"
Second, the immediate aims: "Oul
relations with Turkey have drawn us
| AAiNN NllA1 Nti VIC bdSudu
Railway must be extended by us tc
the open sea, even to India itself
Belgium must remain under German
domination there exists nc
better line Of attack for the German
army in a future war with France,
whom 1t is necessary ito weaken tc
such degree that she can never again
| be dangerous to us" will anybody
believe that we will hand over the
lands which we have occupied in the
West, on which the blood of our peo.
pie has f1owed?" I'VE are not an in.
stitute for lengthening the life OF
dying states"
But it is on Poland and Western
Russia that Germany has all along
fixed her eyes. We ought not tc
let fall the sword from our hand be-
fore we have assured our future. Oul
eastern boundaries must not remain
where they are" "Livonia, Kurland
Esthonia, have been for more thar
seven centuries sister-countries united
through German traditions 1t is true
Germans do not yet represent 10 pei
cent of the inhabitants; but their char
acter filters through the whole lie
us bravely organize great forced mi
gratf0ns of the inferior peoples Pos
terity will be grateful to us We mus
coerce them! This is one of the task!
of war. Such forced migrations may
appear hard, but 1t is the only solu
tion. The inefficient peoples
discouraged and rendered indifferen
toSthe future by the spectacle of tn,
superior energy of their cOnquerors
may then crawl slowly towards th'
peaceful death of weary and hopeless
senility." The writer of this was her
viewing especially the non-Germdj
2 populations Of South America
t How is America interested in tn
European political and territorial re
suits of this war? Well, first, we ar
at war Germany believes that peac
now, on the terms she outlines. mean
a Germany victorious That means
continuance of military autocracy il
Germany-a continuance of an aggres
sve policy--a continuance Of German
faith in it's special destiny to rule tn
world
Against that German ideal we ar
1 fighting. But We are also ightin
to save the Americas from the "ner
STEP in German imperialism. In tn
first year of the war, the one grea
fear expressed by German officers wa
/ that a long war in Europe woul
cause America to wake up Wax
up to what? Not to the need Q
American participation in the wal
The German officers thought Americ
I negligible for this war. But they die
I and do, fear that America woul
+ awake to the danger to herself, he
I ideals, her institutions, her interest.
I and that being awakened, Germany
! nert step in world domination woul
I be harder than the present one.
+ There is no hope of a changed Gel
I many-of establishing those peacefr
! and friendly relations which shoul
I determine international conduct -
! Germany gains her Objects or an
{ part Of them in this war. she ho
! set her heart upon certain mnteric
Z OBJECTS We must see TO ii that sh
! does not gain them. Then her fir
Z step blocked, we may hope that he
! people may awaken from their dreal
T Of empire We fight for a world peac