The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1919-04-24
Follow the Law

Under this caption, DR.. w. G. Dennis, lega
adviser to the Chinese government, who is vel
known in Richmond and son of the late DIR. u
w. Dennis, presents in the special anniversary
supplement of the Peking Leader learned dis
cussion of the immoral principles of Germany
that lead to her inevitable downfall.
Ever since men began to think they have
differed as to the relative value of the concepts
of right and expediency and as to whether the
two were not after all, broadly speaking, identi-
CAL" says Dr. Dennis "And of those who held
that they were, there have been many who have
argued that it is right because it is expedent
and smaller but growing number who have re-
lied it is expedient because it is right
whatever may be the abstract, philosophical
and dialectical merits of this controversy, the
world is now in position to report upon the act
ual results of great working test of the doc
trine that expediency is the measure of right
an experiment tried under the most favorable
conditions on great scale and over long per-
od of time
DR. Dennis reviews the history of the Hohen-
zollern dynasty for 500 years, eliminating in
Wilhelm II who not only followed in the foot
steps of his predecessors and teachers but sought
to better their instructions. He grated on to
Prussian medievalisn, the very latest in the way
of archaeological utilitariansm. Germany,
therefore went into the European not only
with half century of specific preparation in a
material way but, and this is equally important
for our present purpose, with historical back
ground of 500 years, the moral of which had been
carefully, nay religiousy, pointed out in every
school and pulpit in Germany for fifty years.
The doctrine that the state can do no wrong, the
gospel of anything to win, stood to have fair
trial at the hands of it's abest and most convinced
opponents"
The gospel of expediency decreed that Ger
many should attack France the easiest way by
going through unoffended Belgium, says DIR.
Dennis. "The deliberate policy of intimidation
through frightfulness was adopted for the same
reason, thereby dashng down the slowly and
painfully reared edifce of the laws of war and re-
verting to the barbarism of Attila with scientific
improvements. Expediency required another
sacrifice of principle and unrestricted submarine
warfare with it's murder of innocent women and
children and it's incidental horrors by way of the
destruction of hospital shops followed. Again
Germany knew that this fresh atrocity would
bring America into the war and again the choice
was deliberately made on cold calculation of
material point of view, as events have shown,
was not unreasonable The world knows
the results The submarine was beaten and the
most crushing defeat ever inflicted upon a civil
lied nation was administered to Germany and
her allies. The devil of expediency made the
old offer of Kingdoms of the earth in exchange
for law violated and right destroyed, but he did
not make good ON his offer Law and right
were duly inundated but it did not pay. This is
the lesson of Germany: 1t did not pay. If the
world learns the lesson it will easily be worth all
the cost; and in view of what the cost has been,
more could hardly be said.
ut cannot of course, be expected that the
full importance of the lesson will be learned and
acted on at once by all mankind, but it is believed
that unless the world is to run the gravest danger
of slipping back for long way and long time,
those who control the destinies of the great ma
tions of the world and that means in large
part their peoples as whole must show real APP
probation of the lesson and an honest effort to
profit by it. Mistakes inevitable as they