| OCR Text |
Show H A TIME TO BE BROAD. WHILE dealing with the present delicate situation botwecn the H United States and Germany it is tho B time of all others for tho president of HL the United States and his cabinet to H bo big, broad and deliberate. If wo H iiavc war with Germany, tho purt of H aggression should be ull on Germany's H side, and the fact that it is already be- H set upon every hand, with no navy to H uko in invading our lurritory, and lit- H tie chance of injuring us, should not H lmvo tho slightest bearing, unlcsii itis H direct be to mako lib more tolurvut. B Nor should wo permit ourselves to H' look with greedy eyes upon tho two B hundred of more German ships raa- H rooncd in our waters, which soma Ht people aro disposed to viow as valua-K valua-K , bio und legitimato prizes in tho event H of war. . The United Statc3 has assumed a IR groat rcapcDsibiiity in Ettoraptinc to S! sat an example ta tiro remainder o rfSSp the world in tho furtherance and JtP&t maintenance of peace, and it would WfcaL e P'acc h stamp of insincerity f and cowardice upon our past course, WmL to hastily and without exceptional & provication declare war upon Ger- j3BL munv at this critical time. War, if HCJjj at all, should be positively the last fXj resort in dealing with tho present sit- H uation, and should bo avoided even at B tho sacrifice of some of our dignity, B' as cowardice could not possibly, un- H" der existing conditions, bo ascribed as H a motive. B Germany is in a desperate plight, w gradually being hemmed in on all Hi' sides, with no means of obtaining food and munitions of war other than thoso produced nt home, and cither desperate retaliatory measures, such as tho activity of their submarine craft, or positive surrender, arc their only alternatives. They havo no ships of their own afloat and at liberty in European waters, the ships of neutral countries are prevented from carrying supplies to them, and all that they can do in return is to sink nB many ships as possible engaged in transporting trans-porting supplies to their enemies. It is tho opinion of .Tho Record, ns already al-ready expressed,' that it would bo better bet-ter for tho United States to stcar clear of the conflict entirely, keeping our citizens and ships at home, so far ns possible, until tho war is over. At the present time the United States occupies th,c most exalted position po-sition of any nation on earth. We arc setting the example to the rest of the world that will in future have a wonderful won-derful bearing upon tho spreading of the gospel of universal peace, and it would be n disheartening disappoint-ment, disappoint-ment, indeed, 'were we to descend from the pedestal and engage in tho general gen-eral riot that exists ovor the greater part of the world today. God forbid! |
