The Plague
of
Kaiserdom
o
By WILLIAM V. COWAN
State Chairman, "Four -Minute Me
2
Issued Under the Auspices of
THE STATE COUNCIL OF DEFENSE
Sacramento, California
February 15, 1918
California State Printing Office
Sacramento
1918
THE PLAGUE OF KAISERDOM.
Not many years ago the world was congratu-
lating itself on having emerged from the Dark
Ages; much was said about the abolition of war;
peace palaces were built, and every crowd gave
its applause at the mention of a world-wide
brotherhood.
The Story of the Past had been written in the
terms of human misery and, as it had been told
and retold, we turned the pages indifferently.
Hungry lions devouring men and women in the
arena; Nero playing his harp happily while
Rome burned; the human sacrifices to Baal;
the rack, the ordeals, witchcraft, the savagery
of redskins ; all these were taught in school only
as mere matters of history.
There were also tales of the ancient ferocity
of the Germans. How they had drunk human
blood from human skulls and how they had car-
ried oft captive women into the Black Forests.
But that, too, was mere history. It did not
concern us much. We boasted of our wondrous
civilization; how human nature had improved,
and we said that if in the remote possibility of
things there should be a war, it would be a
humane war.
Had not all nations signed a contract to this
effect? 1 Was there not honor among nations
particularly great civilized nations?
And so we built our Peace Palaces, basked in
the sun most of us and smoked our pipes of
contentment.
Particularly did we so in America. Yet, not-
withstanding our own good feeling toward man-
kind, the thunder cloud rolled across Belgium
and into France, across Poland and into Russia,
across Serbia and into Asia. But we heeded it
not. We looked on in bewildered apathy as if
ira/ing at an intense panorama in a moving pic-
ture house. And so some of us continued to
count our shekels and reach out for more ; others
looked on indifferently and said: It is not our
affair.
And^then there came a day when the Lusitania
and those other ships were sent deep into the
sea. We looked up from our pipes for a moment,
said a few naughty words, listened to weak apol-
ogies, and then returned again to our pipes.
The tinkle of coins, the ease of luxury, the
complacent knowledge of latent power, the
worryless contentment of peace at any price,
lulled us into drowsy indifference.
'Regulations of The Hague.
( 4 )
Now and then, for a short afternoon, we
would strut about with our swagger-stick, and
believe that we had frightened the lawless ones.
Hut a plague is a plague. A malignant dis-
ease can not be driven away by rhetoric or
Fourth of July speeches.
For a decade and more Prussian writers and
army men wrote of the unkind things that
they would some day do to the rest of the world.
With cynical frankness Bernhardi proclaimed
the ultimate crushing of the British and the
French ; proclaimed that might is right ; that war
is justifiable and is smiled upon by Providence. 2
Others brazenly spoke of the time when Germany
would subdue and plunder America. But in the
main such preachments fell on deaf ears.
' ' The desire for peace has rendered most civ-
ilized nations anemic, and marks a decay of
spirit and political courage," said Bernhardi. 3
."Woe and death unto those who oppose my
will. Death to the infidel who denies my mis-
sion. Let ;ill the enemies of the German nation
perish. God demands their destruction,"
said Kaiser AVilliam II. 4
"Bismarck would have never made the mis-
take of asking for his country ;i military equip-
ment sufficiently powerful to (i^lil England,
"Germany and the Next War," by F. von Bernhardi,
912
'"Germany and the Next War," page 17.
4 "Out of Their Own Mouths, page 4.
1912
( 5 )
Prance and the Slav masses, only to keep it
unemployed during long years of peace," said
Maximilian Harden in 1913.
"Of late years we (tcrmans have had cause
for political irritation with the United States,
due largely to commercial reasons" . . .
"The question for us to consider is what
plans must eventually be developed to put a
stop to the overreachings by the United States
which are detrimental to our interests. It is
by armed action that we must ultimately en-
force our will upon that country," wrote Baron
von Edelsheim in 1901. 5
And then the Baron went on to tell how it
should be accomplished. Among other things he
would seize Atlantic seaports and levy upon
them heavy war contributions.
In fact, German military and naval men fre-
quently and frankly boasted of plans to subdue
England, France and America. "In our next
war, 'World power or downfall!' will be our
rallying cry," said Bernhardi. 6
At all this France looked on unbelievingly;
England turned up her nose in contempt; Amer-
i ,-i LTJIVO an extra quarter to the fiddler, heaped
In ) banquet plates and danced merrily to the
; 1 didn't raise inv bov to be a soldier."
""Out of Their Own Mouths," page 80.
See, also, "Gems (?) of German Thought," by William
Archer.
(6)
But it happened. It happened.
It was a sunny day in a sunny month.
The French were busy with their fashions.
In Paris there was revelry and song.
The Belgians toiled in their fields in innocent
happiness and content. In Brussels they made
their lace.
The English fox-hunted in sportive chase.
From Liverpool ships pursued the commerce of
peace. From Manchester there was a ceaseless
Ho\v of the implements of peace.
*But it happened.
Like a thief in the night, when his powder-
house was filled, the Kaiser touched the match.
In a Serbian village, a degenerate son of Haps-
burg was assassinated. There is strong belief it
was by German intrigue.
But any excuse will do when an excuse is
needed.
Then came the interminable tramp of Prussian
troops.
All day long and all night long.
Tramp, tramp, a ceaseless tramp.
(7 )
And then, out of the tumult and noise of
battle, beyond the dugout and the screech of
shell, came the agonizing cry of noncombatants.
There were stories of debauchery, of rape and
of murder stories of cities and towns being
wiped from the earth hellish stories of hellish
scenes.
France doubtfully investigated.
England disbelieved.
America laughed at the very idea.
But the proofs came thick and fast. Affidavit
upcn affidavit were filed in government archives.
Judicial testimony was taken. Voluminous
diaries of German soldiers were collected.
Bryrr and men of like character were selected
to make investigations. Neutral visitors wrote
and talked. 7
And too, there were those that escaped across
the fields of liquid-fire wounded men and
maimed women, prisoners and priests, nurses
and nuns and children.
And the stories were the same.
"In Christian countries murder is a gravi-
crime; amongst a people where blood-ven-
ircanci- is a sa<-n-<l duty it c;m be regarded as a
moral act. and its nculiM-t as a crime," Avrote
Bernlianli in 1912. 8
'See "The Deportation of Women and Girls from Lille,"
by the French Government.
"Germany and the Next War," page 3.
(8)
' ' The German people is always right, because
it is the German people. Our fathers have left
us much to do," wrote Von Tannenberg in
1911. 9
"Be as terrible as the Huns under Attila,"
said the Kaiser to his soldiers a few years be-
fore the war. 10
And so churches were profaned, priests mur-
dered, boys driven into exile, women-folk handed
over to the lust of licentious soldiery, homes
burned and destroyed, towns and cities oblit-
erated.
History reveals no greater savagery. Not in
darkest Africa or the pioneer forests of
America.
"As the German troops passed through the
communes and towns of the arrondissements of
Ypres. ITaxebrouck, Bethune and Lille, they shot
indiscriminately at the innocent spectators of
their march; the peasant tilling his fields, the
refugee tramping the roads, and the workman
returning to his home. * * * Old men and boys,
and even women and young girls were shot like
rabbits." 11
'"Out of Their Own Mouths," page 79.
'/rf. Proclamation.
""German Atrocities" by J H Morgan. See, also "The
Crimes of Germany," issued by the London Field ; also,
"Germany's Violations of the Laws of "War," issued by the
French Government.
( 9 )
People in hiding in the cellars of houses have
heard the voices of women in the hands of Ger-
man soldiers crying all night long until death
or stupor ended their agonies. 12
Living screens of priests, old men, and women
with babes at the breast were thrust between
German troops and the enemy. 13
"Soft-hearted men put the French wounded
out of their misery with bullets; the others hew
and stab whenever they can * * * but whether
they are slightly or mortally wounded, our brave
musketeers save the Fatherland the costly care
of numerous enemies." 1 *
A hairdresser was murdered in his kitchen
win-re he was sitting with a child on each knee. 15
Priests in particular were insulted by the sold-
iers who cried incessantly, "Down with Cathol-
icism ! Death to Priests ! All priests should be
shot!" 16
Twenty-five priests were held as prisoners in
one place and continually insulted by guards.
12 "German Atrocities," page 89.
""German Atrocities," page 43. (Reported by France
and Britain.)
"German officer in newspaper article "Out of Their O\vn
.Mouths," page 191.
"Bryce Report, page 15.
""The Germans In Belgium," by L. II. Grondys, page 24.
( 10 )
At another place two priests were made to pump
water tAvo hours for a company of soldiers; an-
other was hung three times and left for dead. 17
A young Jesuit prirst of Belgium \\Tote in his
note book:
"AVhen formerly I read that the Huns
under Attila had devastated towns, and that
the Arabs had burnt the Library of Alex-
andria. I smiled. Now that I have seen with
my own eyes the hordes of today, burning
cli arches and the celebrated Library of Lou-
vain, I smile no longer."
In punishment therefor lie was shot in the
presence of thirty priest prisoners Avho were
made to watch his death agony. 18
At Andenne, Belgium, after placing her hus-
band close to a machine gun and shooting
through him. soldiers ransacked the wife's home,
piled up all eatables in a heap on the floor and
relieved themselves upon it. 1 ' 1
At Malines one witness saw a German soldier
cut a woman's breasts after he had murdered her,
and saw many other dead bodies of women in the
streets. 20
17 "The Germans in Belgium," by L. H. Grondys, page 27.
1s "The Germans in Belgium," by L. H. Grondys, page 89.
"Bryce Report, page 15.
-"Bryce Report, page 25.
( ID
"I am sending: you a bracelet made out of a
piece of a shell," wrote a Bavarian soldier to his
betrothed. "This will be a fine souvenir of a
German warrior, who has gone through the whole
campaign and has killed heaps of Frenchmen. I
have also bayoneted a good number of women.
During the battle of Budonwiller, I did away
with four women and seven young girls in five
minutes. The captain had told me to shoot these
French sows, but I preferred to run my bayonet
through them." 21
At Boort Meerbeek, a German soldier was seen
to fire three times at a little girl of five years old.
Having failed to hit her. he subsequently bay-
oneted her, but was himself killed with the butt-
end of a rifle in the hands of a Belgian soldier
who from a distance had seen him commit the
deed. 22
At llaecht a child of two or three years old
was found nailed to the door of a farmhouse by
its hands and feet. 23
Near Malines a German soldier thrust his bay-
onet through a suckling child after having killed
its father and mother, then put his rifle on his
shoulder with the child on it. "Its little arms
stretched out once or twice," said a witness. 24
"Letter of Bavarian soldier to his betrothed, "Out of
Their Own Mouths," page 195.
-Bryce Report, page 27.
^Bryce Report, page '28.
:4 Bryce Report, page 25.
( 12 )
The village of Lienden was fired because one of
the inhabitants killed a German soldier. The
latter, along with a companion, had violated a
young girl after tying her parents to chairs. The
father freed himself from his bonds, seized a gun,
and slew one of the aggressors. The German
officers ordered fire set to the house, and the par-
ents of the young girl, bound again to their
chairs, perished in the flames. 25
A Sister of Mercy, wearing the sign of the Red
Cross, was seized by the Germans and Austrians
on the Russian front, beaten with swords and
pricked with needles because she refused to give
information regarding the Russians, and was
later lodged with lustful German officers. 20
' ' A private of my regiment and I in searching
for doors for a roof for our dugout in a shell-
ridden cottage in the vicinity of Ypres which was
recently vacated by German soldiers, on entering
the kitchen saw a woman dead in an upright posi-
tion, her two hands, one on top of the ether,
nailed to the wall. On a lamp hook hanging
from the ceiling was a boy about three or three
and a half years of age. The hook had been run
through the back of his neck. The body was
covered with blood which indicated he was
hanged there during life. No other wound was
""The Germans in Belgium," by L. H. Grondys, page 24.
^"German Atrocities," page 88.
(13)
on the child or woman. Both had been dead
apparently sonic time. This occurred ;d>out
April 22,1915.""
"German military usage has methods also of
dealing with children. They have little hands
that are delightfully easy to cut off. Their feet
are barely attached to their legs at all. M. Le
Senateur Henry Lafontaine Nobel prizeman
and famed for moderation and pacifism has tes-
tified in public meeting that children's nostrils
and children's ears have been burnt with the
flaring stumps of lighted cigars." 28
"The scene is a country-house near Antwerp.
A merchant of the city has chosen to remain in
his home, with his two daughters, aged respec-
tively twenty and seventeen years. Both are
beautiful, with that placidly joyful beauty that
has distinguished Flemish women from the time
of Rubens onwards. After the fall of Antwerp,
the Germans spread about the neighborhood and
several officers quarter themselves on the mer-
chant, who has had the rash courage to stay on
in his country house. Being a man of means he
receives them with all the hospitality possible.
The most comfortable bedrooms are given up to
them; for the first evening an abundant dinner
is prepared. Five German officers sit down to
"Sergt. Albert Goads of British Army at San Francisco
in IKter to author.
*" Belgium's Agony," page 32.
( 14 )
i his nif.-il. ;it which there is every promise of
pli'iitit'ul wine as well as food, ("nfoi-lnnately,
however, drunkenness can not he pleaded in their
defense. llefore the feast begins at all, the Ger-
man captain, the oldest and senior officer of the
five, orders the owner of the house to be thrust
into his own cellar, and the door guarded by two
sentinels with loaded rifles and instructions to
shoot, if necessary.
This precaution having been taken, the two
girls are commanded by the revellers to undress.
They protest, resist, implore. All in vain. As
answer to their prayers the captain orders some
of his men to strip them naked and hold them
during the meal before the leering eyes of the
diners. At last, sated with eating and pleas-
ingly drunk, the savages, before the amused eyes
of the common soldiers, themselves reeling with
drink, take the two poor children for their
amusement. You will forgive me for not repro-
ducing here the further details quoted by the
[Minister of War. It is enough to say that when,
the following morning, the merchant was set free
from his prison, his daughters had been handed
over to the tender mercies of the common sold-
iery. One had gone raving mad; the other has
sine,- killed herself in shame and grief." 29
This last, s;iys Yerhaeren. is the German pro-
cedure for women who are not pledged to marry.
-""Bel si urn's AK<>".V," pages 30-31.
( 15 )
And so on in Belgium almost ad finitcm.
And so on in Belgium ad nauseam.
In that lovable land the Kaiser smeared the
pastoral scenes with red in late summer with
burnt-umber in early autumn. There are vol-
umes and volumes telling the horrid details. It
makes one's blood pressure go up. No wonder
the wounded boys in France fret to return to the
battle front.
And thereafter thereafter !
After these scenes of butchery and pillage
and debauchery came
Starvation ! Deportation ! Slavery !
Perhaps the little babe on the bayonet's end
was happier after all.
In June, the Belgian peasant smilingly began
to save his mite for the Christmas to come.
In December on a cattle car he was carried off
into Saxony.
Breathing the air of freedom in June a
slave in December.
But it is useless to try to describe it all. The
pen falls helplessly. Vocabularies are inade-
quate. History records nothing like this; hence
there are no words to fit, no phrases that fully
apply.
(16)
But this is only Belgium.
And still there is Northern France !
And Poland and West Russia!
And Serbia !
And Armenia!
In Poland there was systematic starvation of
a mighty people ; also, a coal famine scientifically
produced with German precision.
Coal famines make cold homes. Cold homes
breed tuberculosis.
And Prussia has found tuberculosis a useful
implement with which to eliminate undesired in-
habitants of conquered provinces. It saves
powder, does not dull bayonets, and is more
scientific.
And so, it is said that in Poland there are no
children under seven years.
And then there are other stories many
many !
Horrid, horrid tales of Pan-Germanism.
Tn West Russia the peasants and all fled
before the German advance.
All day long; all night long; wearily, wearily
they traveled eastward.
On foot, by wagon, or horse.
The procession moving no one knew whither.
(17)
"Info llic unknown,*' says Doroshevitch,
"Silently, al)ovc ;ill.
The over-wearied horses do not shy when
motor cars pass them. They do not even pi-iek
up their ears.
And the dogs don't bark.
The people in the carts do not talk.
They have said all they've got to say.
They move like gray shadows, like the dead.
The peasant women are silent.
Even the children do not cry.
At the relief points, where thousands of
people are gathered together, you are im-
pressed by the silence.
What a silent country it is!
You can go for tens and for hundreds of
versts and still meet an almost uninterrupted
stream of grey carts.
Like a series of spectres.
And silent, silent, silent.
Nothing but hopeless boredom and grief in
their eyes.
Weary and indifferent faces, as of convicts
being marched along the road.
And only by the new white wooden crosses
along the side of the road can you see how
much suffering has silently passed there. * * *
Along this 'Way of the Cross' takes place
A selection.
A terrible 'natural' selection.
All the weak ones perish.
Both of people and cattle.
They are tried by sickness, hunger and cold.
From Baranovitch to Bobruisk, from Bob-
ruisk by way of Dovsk to Koslavl. and in
Uoslavl, all the weak ones remain behind." 1 "
""The Way of th.- Cross," 1>> V. I >..r,.sli.--vit<-h.
Hut what; is tin: use ol' multiplying tales of
horror.' Why a<j,urava1e Hie bitterness of feel-
in. ir/ Why rake over (he oft'al and liuinaii debris
in the Prussian path?
There is a reason.
In America there is a special reason.
Here we have hardly begun to realize it all.
The horse-laugh of unbelief has barely died from
our lips.
For a time, when we were watchfully waiting,
insidious propaganda raised a doubt.
It is reason enough.
But there is another why and wherefore.
Public opinion ! AVorld-wide public opinion !
"We should be informed. Speakers, public
servants men, women and children should
know.
For the sake of Posterity, we should know.
"It is a safeguard against a relapse to
barbarism," says Mr. Bryce. "Spread the
knowledge so that war will become even a
greater curse in the minds of men."
Our children and their children should know.
Should be taught to shrink from the plague.
And thus, perhaps, prevent a recurrence.
And too, they who stay at home should know
what manner of foe our boys go forth to fight.
Hut mainly, if these stories do not move you
you and each of you to a resolute purpose to
( 19 )
bend every thought and every act toward blot-
ting the origin of this plague from the face of
the earth, then the telling perhaps has been
useless.
But the deed can not be done by words or by
noise, or by a false sense of security, or by an
exaggerated idea of American valor, or by list-
lessly leaving the matter to Fate, or by boasting
of what we have already done in this war, or by
singing "Over There," or by serving on com-
mittees at noon and attending Hooverized ban-
quets at night, or by reading about Molly Stark
and Barbara Frietchie, or alone by buying Lib-
erty Bonds, or by marching in parades, or by
having war bread and a meatless meal only when
we invite our friends in, or by saluting the flag
or standing when the band plays "The Star
Spangled Banner," or by following numerous
fads and fancies, or by shutting our eyes to the
truth, or by believing every report of a riot or
revolution in the enemy's country.
For remember, the enemy hears like tales of
riot and revolution in your country.
And remember, too, thus far Germany is the
victor in this war.
For two years and more she has had forty
millions of people working for her as slaves. 31
Peace today means a Prussian victory. Peace
today will endanger American freedom of to-
morrow.
31 Major G. M. P. Murphy, formerly In charge of Amer-
ican Red Cross inTSurope, on his return in January, 1918.
( 20 )
True it is that German manpower is dimin-
ished, that she has thrown millions into the fiery
furnace. So have England and France.
Regretfully, I fear, so must we.
How many must we sacrifice?
That depends upon how earnestly we enter
into the fight. That depends upon what sacri-
fice you have made you you in your cozy chair
at home near the fireside.
Have you begun to sacrifice? If not, perhaps
it is not yet too late. Soon it will be.
And if it be too late, do you know what may
happen? Can you realize ? Do you understand?
Have you thought of it seriously?
May God preserve the British Navy.
May He sustain the thin line at the Front
French and English and Italian and the rest.
All Heaven knows we need them. They are
protecting America!
They can not defeat the Hun's forty years of
preparation but God grant that they can hold
the line hold it until we in America are ready
to drive the hordes back.
But if this thin line should fail !
If Britain be starved! If her Navy be
scattered !
Then, added to the fifty millions in Europe,
there may be the wail of a hundred million in
America.
(21)
Impossible, you say ? Stop ! You do not
know the truth. You do not understand. You
still hear those flamboyant July orations.
Then, it may be but God forbid all day long
and all night long; wearily, wearily Eastern
Americans will travel westward.
- And then our churches too will pray: "0
Lord, remember those who wake this morning
under the open sky."
And like in Belgium, women and children A\ ill
.become the playthings of German lust! :!2
And like in Poland, there will be orgaui/ed
I'M mi ne and scientific starvation especially in
populous centers.
And like in Belgium and Poland millions will
become beggars.
And like in France, the only social function
will be the meeting to hear the list of wounded
and dead, where the women folk will crowd for-
ward to listen and then some will drop a tear,
some will smile hopefully, but many will sob
with a breaking heart.
There will be insolence that knows no pity and
feels no love.
For the ruthlessness, the contempt for human
life, the somber fatalism, the indifference to
personal liberty, the chicanery, the love of es-
pionage, the brutal bestiality of Prussia will be
\vreMked on Anieriea.
" 2 Seo "Dor Tag for Us," by Samuel Blythc in Saturday
cniny Post, Dec. 22, 1017.
( 22 )
Can we hope otherwise?
Germany says she bore no hatred toward
Belgium
But look at the ruins!
"When the Lnsitania wont down, and the
mothers and little ones on it, Germany declared
a holiday and her children marched joyously in
parade.
O the Plague of Kaiserdom ! The Plague of
Kaiserdom !
For a quarter of a century this pestilential
knltur germ has thrived in the Prussian Hot-
house until Germany has gone mad until she
has run amuck.
Her whole people seem afflicted with the ac-
< -ur:sod maladv.
Hear the poet Vierordt.
"0 my Germany, into thy soul thou must etch
a deep and terrible hate. . . . Retribution,
vengeance, fury are demanded; stifle in thy
heart all human feeling and hasten to the fight.
"O Germany, hate! Slaughter thy foes by
the millions and of their reeking corpses build
a monument that shall reach the clouds.
(23 )
"0 Germany, hate now! Arm thyself in
steel and pierce with thy bayonet the heart
of every foe ; no prisoners ! Lock all their life
in silence; turn our neighbors' lands into
deserts . . . Beat in their skulls with rifle butts
and with axes."
Hymns of Hate ! All Germany sings the
chorus
Even the children, while old folk approve.
Even the clergy who pronounce a benedic-
tion on blood-dripping hands.
Do you understand what this means ?
You you farmers who dream of bigger crops ;
You miners ; you workers in shop and factory ;
You laborers, you greatest in numbers, who
toil and sweat and strive and toil,
but return at night to a snug nest and re-
freshing sleep ;
You commuters who rush to your daily grind :
You women smothered in feathers and furs,
and in lace and linen;
You men who follow your bent;
You dreamers of luxurious homes in days to
come;
You other men who make your business or pro-
fession your religion and your god ;
(24)
You housewives whose daily moil is never at
an end;
You giddy gigglers who skim the surface and
seldom scratch into depths below ;
You, all of you Americans all
Is it possible you can not or will not compre-
hend?
Is it possible that you do not realize that the
boys in the shell-shocked trenches are fighting for
YOU for YOUR freedom, for YOUR protection?
For your right to work for a living wage
instead of working as a Prussian slave?
For your right to have your home, to read
your paper, to express your every thought?
For your right even to enjoy your family
and to keep your little ones playing unharmed
about your feet?
Where the Prussian blot has fallen, where the
ITohen/ollern has touched his reeking finger, all
these little simple things of life have been denied
the laboring folk, the farmer folk, and all.
Therefore awake! Awake you farmers and
laboring men, you housewives and all Awake!
TlIIS IS YOUR FIGHT !
(25)
Awake now ! Must you wait until the front
page of the press be covered with red lists of
dead and dying before you see the peril ?
Before you discard the useless things ?
Before you strain every arm in the fight?
Will you listen to words, or must you first see
blood?
Will you heed the indisputable pictures drawn,
or must you first look on the stark, stiff corpses
of women and children, of innocent men run
through, of soldier-prisoners crucified on dugout
doors?
Must it first be proved to you logically, sta-
tistically and in cold judicial reasoning?
Where is the Red Blood of your ancestry?
Has it stagnated in your scramble for greater
ease and comfort?
Until this danger, this red risk be passed
let us forget profit, ambition, partisanship
every little thing that does not help to win.
The boys in the trenches endure the ceaseless
swarms of lice and the sleek, hairless, vile-
smelling rats ; they dig in the mud through long
winter months of homesickness and discomfort
and still they smile as they go. Surely you and
I you and I in our cushioned chairs and soft
beds can deny ourselves a few pleasures in order
that those boys shall not have died in vain.
(26)
For if we remain indifferent, if we hesitate
to sacrifice if we fail to rush into the fray, it
may be too late.
And then the millions of French and Belgians
and the others, will have died in vain. The world
will go back to the Dark Ages and human
freedom will be lost.
The Plague of Kaiserdom!
On the Ganges there have been times when
folk died by the hundreds of thousands from the
pestilence.
But the Plague of Kaiserdom !
It is festering and festering in Europe.
Calculating, precise and cold-blooded;
Subtle, stealthy, insidious and uncanny ;
Its cankered poison crept into the flesh of
Italy ; and into the vitals of Russia.
And America has not escaped.
Insidious propaganda, spurious tales, sly
phrases, cunning remarks, rumors, malicious and
mendacious, whisperings secret and subtle, creep,
knowingly and unknowingly, into the press and
the pulpit, into the club, the lodge, and the
home. If a public servant be zealous in his
patriotic work, if a public or private institution
does noble service in the fight, then soon there
are whispers about
(27)
Rumors, whispers and rumors:
The man is not what he should be, or
The institution is useless, or
What's the use, there will soon be peace.
And so forth.
The base chord of prejudice and the high
chord of passion are played upon in every varia-
tion. There are lies that spring from nowhere.
There are stories that can not be traced.
So do not be deceived, you mothers, every pro-
German statement is a direct shot at the life of
your boy in France.
Wilhelm has a great Secret Army in America.
It digs in among the ultra bigots, the govern-
ment-destroyer, the greedy, the pacifist, the over-
ambitious, the thoughtless everywhere.
As villainous as the sleek rats that dig into
shell-craters and fatten on the dead, these secret
soldiers of his not always his countrymen
fatten on the putrescence of dead patriotism.
Therefore beware, America! Beware the plague
of Kaiserdom !
There is grim business ahead.
(28)
It is well that all America be aroused to anger
Not to sing bitter hymns of hate and rejoiee
in butchery
But with anger enough to go at this grim
job with relentless determination.
It is regrettable, but there is no other way.
For we can not toy with leprosy, nor can we
compromise with murder.
t 29)
000 011 551
Date Due
IN regard to these essential rectifications of wrong
and assertions of right we feel ourselves to be
intimate partners of all the governments and
peoples associated together against the imperialists.
We can not be separated in interest or divided in
purpose. We stand together until the end.
For such arrangements and covenants we are
willing to fight, and to continue to fight, until they
are achieved. * * *
The moral climax of this culminating and final
war for human liberty has come, and they (our
United States) are ready to put their own strength,
their own highest purpose, their own integrity and
devotion to the test.
WOODROW WILSON,
Message to Congress, January 8, 1918.
******
"I made the mistake of my career, when I had the
opportunity, that I did not remove the Hohenzol-
lerns from the throne of Prussia. As long as this
house reigns and until the red cap of liberty is
erected in Germany, there will be no peace in
Europe."
Napoleon at St. Helena.