Weekly Caledonian. (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1919-1920, 1919-02-05
Feeding Germany

The German "yellow" streak has
taken refuge behind the petticoats of
the nation to save the junkers, landed
aristocrats and militaristic cars from
feeling the pangs of hunger. Let no
one be fooled. The frantic appeal
wirelessed from the Nauen station
to Mrs. Woodrow Wilson and Miss
Jane Adams is propaganda of the
rankest sort. And all the more con-
temptible because it stoops to use
German womanhood as the buffer to
ward off what by mny is considered
merited penalty to bestial cruelty.
Yes, we are a humanitarian nation.
But our first duty is to those who
for so long have felt the iron heel of
oppression. 1t is not our desire to
be the medium of cruelty nd saw
agery. We abhor the thought. And
yet down deep in the hearts of many
true Americans is the belief that Ger
many has not sufficiently paid for
her crimes. For no matter how dill
gently President Wilson has sought
to differentiate between German mil
itarism and the German people, the
facts remain that if the people all
horred the war, if the people were
opposed to slaughter, massacre, rape
and rapine, the "vox populi" would
have manifested itself in such a way
the Kaiser would have been forced to
heed it,
The fault of the Kaiser was not
his crime but his failure. The Ger
man people were eager for the war
as long as victory crowned their
arms.
But now that Colt is no longer
init uns" they whine and stoop to
despicably low depths to avoid retri-
button.
In the name of womanhood they
ask that the terms Of the 'armistice
be modified. If the allies were not
to enforce the demand for 100000
railroad cars, what good would it do?
There is little food coming from the
farms now as winter grinds on.
Merely another subterfuge to keep
money in the pockets of the bankers
and the wealthy. Little they care for
their women folk else would they
have hesitated at plunging the world
into such holocaust.
It was only yesterdy that we read
Of German soldiers plundering, rob-
bling and stealing and outraging the
civilian inhabitants of Belgium, and
this when they had to thank the len
iency of the Allies that they were
not annihilated. These are the vul-
lures that appeal to us for food in
the name of their womanhood.
Faugh!
Prussianism is born and bred in
the majority of the German people.
The only master they recognize is
force. And having violated the laws
Of justice and humanity, the law of
compensation should take its course
with them.
But humanity will prevail even
though we turn in loathing from the
supplicants.
So let no one say that he will not
eat war bread in order to feed the
Germans, as many in this place have
remarked this week. Our first duty
Is to the peoples liberated from Prus-
sian domination. America must feed
them. We save for them as we
fought for them. The assertion of
refusal to remain on a war basis
is part not becoming to America
and Americans. Russians, Poles,
French, Belgians, Serbians, Ruman-
ians, Czechs and other nationalities
must be provided with food, else they
starve. And then when we have
ministered to the deeds of these long
suffering peoples, feed Germany with
what is left. She can afford to wait
for the second course.