Show HOW THE WAR CAME TO AMERICA vie follow follo lug ing series eel lea 0 of articles were received fi oin loin tile tho committee on oil public a coni recently appointed by president wilson tho the outbreak ol of tile tho war ivor lit jn 1914 caught tills nation by tho the peoples of europe had had at least somo homo warnings of tit the coming storm but to us its such a blind savage onslaught on oil tho the ideals deals ot of civilization had ape pared impossible tho the war was wa incomprehensible either side was championed hero here by millions living among its who were ot of european birth their contradictory accusations throw threw our thoughts into disarray anil and lit in tho the first cha chaotic t days wo we could soi so BC i no clear issue that affected froc ted out national policy thoro thero was no direct assault on oil our rights it EMMA at ill st to most of 0 us 1113 a purely burodean Hur Bur and our minds were not prepared to tako take sides aides in fit such a conflict tile the brebt dent 8 proclamation of was received by us tie sa natural anti and inevitable it was qui chloy followed by b tits ills appeal tu to tho the 1110 ro public alic every ma ilia neho really loves am c ailua lea will act acl mil speak lit in the true spirit of neutrality lio lie said which Is tile spirit of anil and fairness and friendliness to all concerned 4 0 4 it will lie he easy to excite pass pash ion and difficult dini cult to ro till alliey ay it ile ho u ux pleased tile four fear that our nation might bacomo divided in ill camps of hostile opinion such tilvis divisions lons a g us its might seriously stand bland lit in the lie way ot of tile tho proper performance of out our duty duly as th lit cobio one great nation at peace tile tho one people holding itself 40 if really ic ady to play a part ot of lin mediation and speak comi counsels sels of peace boac and nd not as a partisan san but as a friend tl this i la purpose the preservation ot of a strict neutrality in order that later w wo 0 might be ba of uso use in tile great tash presidents early speeches wo we are the mediating N nalton al ti 01 0 of f tile world lie ho declined declared in ili an address on oil april 20 1915 wo we are corn com pounded of tile nations of tile world wo we mediate their blood wo we ined mediate late their traditions wo we ined lato their sentiments sell their taster their passions wo we are our selva compounded of those things wo we are therefore able to understand dundei stand them in ili the coin not separately as sans but as Il knowing lowing and com pro pretending tendIng and them all it Is li ii that bonso sonso that I 1 mean that Ar arterina terica Is a mediating nation i morlean neutrality lit in first I 1 months of tile the great war was beyond any question real but tit th spirit of neutrality was not easy to maln talu public opinion was deeply disturbed by the german invasion of belgium and by reports of atrocities there the royal belgium commission which camo came in fit september 1914 1014 to lay their count rys cause tor for complaint before our national government wits received with concluded on oil pago b till WAK AVAR CAME CAMB TO ro concluded from pago 1 sympathy and respect tile president in ili his fits reply reserved our decision in ili tile tho affair it was the only course lie ho could take without an ail abrupt departure depar turu from our most treasured traditions of noninterference in ili old wort world disputes but tile the sym pathy of america went out alit to tile the belgians in ili their heroic tragedy and from every section of our land money contributions and supplies of food and poured over to tile tho commission nl lon for in belgium which was under the ablo able management of out our follow fellow countrymen abroad still the thought ot of taking an active part in ili tills this B european ur war was very for far from most ot of our minds mind s tile nation shared with tho the pres president tho the belief that by maintaining a strict neutrality wo we could best serve F europe at tho the end as aa impartial mediators hut but in fit tile very first lays days ot of tho the war our government foresaw that coil complications pi Icat ions on oil tile tho seas might put its iia in ili grave alak fit cf beang dhawn into tile tho conflict no neutral nation could foro fore tell what violat tolls t r tte iti vital interests at sea might ob eb at tempted by tile the and so on oil august 6 1914 our secretary Sec of 0 state dispatched dispatch eI an identical kotc fotr to all tile tho powers pow ers then nt at war calling attention to the risk of serious lo 10 arising out of tills his uncertainty of 0 neutrals as to their maritime rights and I 1 proposing that tho the declaration of f london bo be accepted accept pd by all nations for tho the duration of tho the war |