WHY AMERICA IS AT WAR.

Taranaki Daily News, 26 November 1917, Page 7

WHY AMERICA IS AT WAR.

TIME FOR TALK PAST. A CAMPAIGN 01? ENLIGHTENMENT. "Wd found that Germany was, as •Zimmerman stated, planning world control, and had already begun the work of dividing up the United States. A part 'f it she would take for herself. A few more States she would give to Mexico, and she would bribe Japan to become our enemy by offering her still more o: our territory. • We found that Germany's 1-lan was to crush each great country in turn, to win in Europe first, and thenafter conquest, on our shores—do as she liked with us. We found that if we did not fight with the Allies and help them win the Allies would be beaten, and we would have to fiyht Germany alone." The foregoing are some of the reasons, apart from Germany's submarine barbaritios, for the entry of the United States of America into the war, which are put forward in a brochure which has been issued to the public by the National Security League of New York. Emphatic declarations are made upon three points: "Why we are at war," "Why you must help" and "What you can do," and the keynote of the leagues conclusions is '"We can win peace only by fighting for it." There is, it says, nothing in the world worthy of thought now except winning the war. "This is our war, because if we do rot fight with all our power we and our Allies will lose," says the league in discussing why it is the duty of every person to help. "The war has been going 1 on long enough," it continues, "to bring home to the people of Europe, who are near the scenes of the conflict, what German purposes and German methods are, but here in this country our fancied security, through long distance from the battlefield, dulls our imagination and lulls us to a feeling of security. What has not happened, we feel, cannot happen. Did we ever imagine that Germany, would pursue a campaign of ruthless barbarity through submarine warfare, or that she would destroy over 2,600,000 tons of shipping in less than 15 months' I time? Did we over imagine .that Ger- | many could and would destroy churches, cathedrals, and homes, raze and obliterate everything needed to support life, t poison wells, and maim the inhabitants lof a conquered country? Yet she has 'done all of these. Did we ever imagine : that Germany would thrust into slav;cry men, women, and young girls? Yet she has done and is doing this. Why ' should it be so difficult for us to imagine that Germany may defeat the Allied fleets, conquer England, and, in command of the seas, invade this country? Why should it be so difficult for us to imagine the German' Kaiser in control of our liberty and the pursuit of happiness denied to us, and in some instances life itself taken away?" "What You Can Do."—Under this heading the league indicates duties for all. "Fight—if you can, and have no dependants who will become a burden to the nation," it declares. "If you can not fight, help others to fight and win. Encourage and vote for men in Congress who stand for sound and efficient eonduct of the war; who think of America first—and of themselves not at all. Aid prosperity by working hard and spending wisely. , . Save for the Liberty Loans.—Remember that if we don't help the Liberty Loans we may have to subscribe to an indemnity loan to pay Germany. Expose the slackers. The brave should not have to defend the coward, and if a slacker slacks another must take his place. The slacker cheats the Government and all below him in the conscription lists, and you should prevent this injustice. Prove wrong the view of the so-called 'conscientious objector' who would allow you to protect his family, his property, and his comfort by force, while lie snugly profits by ypur patriotism and sacrifice. Be loyai to our Allier, who are fighting with us for tho world's liberty. Read about and understand the war, and oppose all talk of peace until peace means the end of all war, except with consent of the people. Those who talk peace now are as ignorant as the pacifists who opposed our preparedness, one, two, and three years ago, saying there never could be a war for America. . . The time for talk is past; we must now act. We must prove our belief in America, and in all that her liberty means."