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Show THE DUTY OF THE HOUR, (ISy Major 11. II. Roberts) For more than two anil a half ) i'n rs tin? United Slates of America li:ivt stood apart from the great world uur, an oljserving and an Interested Inter-ested u itncsH (if its progress, but not : participant In the conflict. Beyond ronti ovi'i'sy the great majority of the American people have desired to be kept out of the war. One of the factors fac-tors that contributed to the re-election of President Wilson was the sin. cere belief of the American people that his policy of patience under very many and trying circumstances have lie pt the country out of war. The people of the United States are essentially a peace-loving nation. This from the nature of their government as also from the disposition of the people. Their government being founded upon the principle that governments gov-ernments derive their just powers Irom the consent of the governed all thought of conquest is eliminated from their polity. Satisfied with their station in the world, not only politically politi-cally but also as to commerce and in. dustry, the people of the United States, have no restless ambition to gratify, or struggle to make for "a place in the sun" that would develop a martial spirit or create a national military party. All our inclinings are away from war and towards peace, as also are our interests. And yet, in the face of all this, a state of war will soon be declared by congress to exist between the United States and the Imperial government of Ger. many. What has led to this condition? condi-tion? Certainly no overt act on the part of our government against Germany Ger-many can be alleged. It cannot be said that the United States has violated vio-lated any of the cannons of international interna-tional law. The causes of this state of war have been furnished by Germany Ger-many alone. Her acts of aggression against the United States and the rights of their people are responsible for it. Germany has killed our citizens citi-zens upon the high seas, men and women and children. She has sunk without warning our ships, and intrigued in-trigued with other nations with whom we are at peace, to stir them up to war against us, and proposed to them the dismemberment of our country, 'sections of it to be divided to these 'nations Mexico and Japan as the spoils of war, and the reward and indemnity in-demnity in the war they were conjointly con-jointly to make upon us. What more than this could be none to give cause for the impending declaration of an existing state of war by the congress of the United States? What element of Justification is lacking for such a declaration. Throughout the progress of events i leading to this present climax, Ger-many Ger-many was repeatedly warned against following the course she had apparently appar-ently marked out for herself. She was told by the President of the United States that she would be held i to "a strict accountability' for the (loss of American lives and the (infringement of the rights of ,'he United States for her violations viola-tions of international law. She was informed that "no word or act" would be omitted to maintain at their full height the rights of American citizens cit-izens and the honor and dignity of the United States. But all these warnings were of no avail. In maters mat-ers of action, the United States has .iven every opportunity to Gremanv lu abandon her high handed course , w ithout loss of dignity. There was 'first the warning of the severance of diplomatic relations if the imperial government persisted in her ruthless iubmarine attackes upon our shipping, ship-ping, and the lives of our people. Then, as she persisted in this fright-tful fright-tful course, there was the severance iof diplomatic relations instead of a declaration of war. So that in pverv way in our intercourse with Germany opportunity has been afforded the imperial im-perial government to avoid war with i the United States. Dispite all this, however, Germany has steadily per-;med per-;med a course that has brought into (existence a state of war between the two countries. In siuch a crisis the question Arises for the American people, for ..he people of Utah as part of the American people what is to be lione? And the answer comes as dear as an Angel's trumpet call to prayer or any other high duty of I man: Maintain, Oh Americans, the rights of American people to travel 'unmolested the highways of the world, the marked and unmarked ocean paths. Maintain the honor and the dignity of your country. Sustain Sus-tain in full measure of your duty, ,as true and loyal citizens, that statesman states-man leader, who, thank God, is the President of the United States, in the noble policy he has outlined in his recent re-cent address to the Congress of the United States, and which will doubtless doubt-less be accepted by the congress as making out the path of duty for our country to follow. Ifgou are young men and posess the physical and mental equipment for service at the front, enlist in one or other of the branches of service in the army or the navy; if you are fathers or mothers, consecrate such of your sons as a're capable of military mili-tary duty to that service of the country. coun-try. If you are men or women incapable incap-able of rendering such immediate service as is to be found in 'army or navy, there is the sphere of mobolized industry, and of general helpfulness at home open to all. Let e.veryone, everywhere, respond re-spond to the high call of duty in this national crisis, and then shall the rights of Americans and of all men upon the high seas be maintained; the honor and the dignity of our country be vindicated, and our God-given God-given mission as a nation be fulfilled. |