UNITED STATES.

Taranaki Daily News, 14 April 1917, Page 5

UNITED STATES.

COMRADES IN ARMS AMERICAN INTERVENTION SPEECH BY MR. LLOYD GEORGE. London, April 1?. Mr Page,. American Ambassador, presiding at an American luncheon to Mr Lloyd George, at the Savoy Restaurant, proposed his health and said that America was coming to the Old World to answer duty's call and succor democracy. The foremost consequence would be a better understanding between the free peoples of Europe and America. Mr Lloyd George, replying, said he was proud to be the first British Premier to welcome Americans as comrades in arms. He rejoiced in America's advent into the war, because it finally stamped the. war ns a struggle for human liberty against military autocracy, and became it would have been a trnaody if America did not sit at the Peace Conference, The Kaiser bail promised that Prussia would be a democracy after the war. He thought he was right. (Cheers.) The Prussian ideal at present amounted simply to constituting an all-conquering army and intimidating the world. The Kai c cr, intoxicated be Prussiamsm. delivered the law to the world a = if Potsdam was a new Sinai and lie was uttering the law from the thundercloud-. Two facts clinched the argument that this was a struggle for freedom—America's advent and the Russian revolution. If the Russians realised, as apparently they were doing, that national discipline was compatible with and essential to national frcedon they would become a free people. Field Marsha] llindonburg, continued Mr Lloyd George, recently disclosed the real reason that Germany had provoked America, and showed he was relying on one of two tilings, either that 'submarines would so destroy shipping that England would be put out of action before' America was ready, or that when America was ready there would be no ships to transport her army. Hiudcnburg had drawn a no-thoroughfare line across the Allies' territories. The Allies must make a similar line at Germany's legitimate frontiers. It behoved the Empire and America principally to make Hindcriburg's reckoning as false as bis computation regarding the vaunted line which wo had already broken.

What, lie asked, was the Himlcnaurg line? It meant a line across other peo"plc's territories with a warning that the inhabitants should only cros- at Hie peril of their lives. Europe, after enduring this for mnnv generations, had now made up its mind that the Hinder bur? line must be drawn across the legitimate frontiers of Germany herself At this stage the audience rose up, for several moments cheering loudly 'the statement that America's advent meant that the Hlndenbnrg line must not be drawn across the American shores, Its proper place was on the Rhine Continuing, Mr Lloyd George said that the Peace Conference would settle the destiny of nations and the. course 0 < human life for countless vears .He saw peace coming now, a real peace, which would never know the strange things that happenyl in this war. »Stran«ei things were coming and rapidly. Si* week, ago Russia was an autocracy; now it was one of the most advanced democracies in the world. t,.| lv rt were waging the most cl- ;,',„ WI)J . in history; to-morrow, , . ° lot a distant to-morrow, war mio-iit' \,« B ished from the category of hum'ir, enmes.

J lie absolute assurance cf victorv v> ■ to be found in the one word ■•«hiin Germany's military advisers mu-t si ready- be realising that this constitutes another tragic miscalculation, wiik-u ■,,•«, going to lead them to dis-.stor and ruin lie paid a tribute to the assistance America had already rendered the A'lies America would not only wage> a sucecs-' fti war, but would aNo ensure a beneficient peace. He concluded: "The British advance on Easter Monday began nt «„» was a work fit , P r th, ,ln-vi, (),,• J lant soldiers are the heralds of ,!•- The Allies will , 00 „ en, r ™<. f nro t h [*™ radiance of a perfect diy" '