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4 THE FATI-IERLAND
WOULD THEY FIGHT?
RESIDENT WOODROW WILSON in his “History of the
American People,” declared that the war of 1812 was neces-
sary to make it clear that the United States were not dependent
upon England for “their place and privilege in the world,” but
the present European war has demonstrated that in the eyes of
a numerous class who on festive occasions delight to air their
patriotism, the United States are as dependent as ever and dare
not send out a ship under the American flag if England objects.
It has been declared from a thousand platforms in the United
States by patriotic spread-eagle 'orators, and repeated in thous-
ands of American homes as a proud boast, that the United States
will fight any one who hauls down the flag.
Huerta, the President of a poor little nation, torn asunder by
internal strife, refused to salute the flag a year ago, and Presi-
dent Wilson sent American troopsgto assault and take Vera
Cruz. There was a battle, and a number of bluejackets were
killed. Our troops arrested a number of bushwhackers and
courtmartialed them.
A month ago English officers hauled down the American flag
from the masthead of the Greenbriar, which was towed into an
English port and subjected to insults that few nations would
submit to. The captain refused to take his ship out of the
harbor until the English flag had been hauled down and the
American flag hoisted to its legitimate place.
That captain had a little of the old-time American spirit; but
his act was not popular in Washington and small comfort was
extended to him.
Is it true that the United States only- protects its flag when it
is insulted by Mexicans, and nations too small to defend them-
selves? Or is it no better than an American passport in the
hands of an American citizen who happens to fall under the
suspicion of the British government?
Have we two flags? One for small nations, from whom we
do not stand any nonsense, and one for England, who can haul
it down, spit on it, trample on it and treat it as a rag?
The question is interesting. The issue is clear. Did the war
of 1812 really decide that we are no longer “dependent upon
England for our place and privilege in the world"? Or are we
still a vassal of Great Britain?
Senator Lodge warned us solemnly in the Senate on January
22 against raising the American flag on a German-bought ship
lest we provoke the enemies of Germany. Senator Lodge has
always been known as a loyal spokesman for “the mother coun-
try.” The Senator Lodges hold the United States to bear some
vague but perfectly legitimate vassalage to England, and regard
as Americans only those who descended from immigrants who
fought in the Revolutionary war-all others as citizens of the
second class, or “foreigners."
These are the same patriots who have a set question they
invariably submit to anyone who sympathizes strongly with
Germany: “If Germany and the United States were at war,
would you fight against Germany?”
The question should be reversed. “How many of those who
are constantly talking of ‘the mother country,’ and feel no thrill
of outraged patriotism when the American Hag is hauled down
and American passports are treated as mere scraps of paper-
how many of them would fight against England if war with that
country should come?” That is the vital problem of the hour.
There were 187,858 German volunteers in the Union army and
only 45,508 English. There were 144,221 Irish on the Union side.
but of French and other foreigners only 48,410. The Germans
and'more than 50 per cent. of the Irish in the United States
to-day are against England and her allies. If we should go to
war, the country would have to rely largely on the German and
Irish descendants, and these have never left the United States
in the lurch.
But how about the Anglo-Saxon hyphenates who are always
telling us that “blood is thicker than water" and singing patriotic
songs about “hands across the seas”? Can they be depended
on to fight if British insolence should finally force us to declare
our independence of England for the third time? How many
of themlhave Tory blood in their veins and would discover a
thousand excuses why a third war with Great Britain would be
an unholy revolution against “the mother country,” and would
refuse to fight?
“LESE MAJESTY”
AMONG the citations as evidence of class rule in Germany
we never hear the end of “lese majesty,” the German law
which says you cannot insult the German Emperor without going
to jail, if convicted. It is wonderful how that unpronouncable
Dhrase is made to do duty as an argument that Germany is a
country of persecutions and class privileges. Now the plain facts
about “lese majesty" are these: i -
There is a law on the statute books of the German Empire that
. if one man calls another a vile name, in other words, insults him
or defames him, he is punishable under the criminal code, and
if convicted he must make reparation or go to jail. He does not
have to institute a civil suit for damages to heal his wounded
feelings, and half the time he laughed out of court for his trou-
me: but he pays the penalty, and as a result people are ver)’
careful how they speak of their neighbors.
The same law that applies to the humblest citizen, applies to
the Emperor. In the case of the Emperor the law is called
“lese majesty”; in the case of the humble citizen it is called by
some other name; but the effect is the same, and the law is no
respecter of persons. Of the prosecutions of the humble indi-
vidual under this code we never hear a word. VVhen some
editor is prosecuted for insulting the Emperor, the English cor-
"“5p"“d"‘“5 Who Supply the American papers with their foreign
news, herald the act as a small sensation, and hence the sentiment
that the Kaiser has special privileges under the German law.
L955 ma“ “V0 Years ago, the Kaiser discharged the SuP<’J'i“'
tendent of his experimental farm for being incompetent. The
5“P""ime"de"t Dromptly sued the Emperor, and the court re-
turned a verdict for the plaintiff, who proved that, he was not
incompetent and that the assertion, coming from so eminent a
Source’ had seriously damaged and humiliated him in the CV95
of his fellow citizens.
As a result, the Kaiser not only satisfied the judgment of the
court, but published a public apology in which he generously
acknowledged that he had done the man an unintentional ir1iU5'
tice on the information of others, having meanwhile satisfied
himself that the superintendent was in every way competent.
WHAT GERMANY IS FIGHTING
. According to the latest returns Germany is now fight‘
mg:
Montenegrins Gonds I Rajputs
Russians Senegalese Sikhs
Servrans . Belgians Australians
iurcosnans Fiiis Kyberi
narfmes Welshman Tartars
Enghsh Zulus Usbegs
Fmnch Canadians Kalmucks
Smith Irish Kerghis
Japamse Portuguese Baluchi
Cossacks Burmese Basutas
Yakuts
‘X7HAT right has Christabel Pankhurst, an alien. ‘G come
to a neutral country like ours and abuse the Gefma“
PEODIC at public meetings?