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THAT HAND What makes this powerful German thing so horribic is that its soul has been destroyed From human understanding it is utterly cut off When tfie world talks of morality of right and wrong of faith and humanity of something higher than the law of selfpreservation it leers and says VHypocriss has its uses But lets get through with all the necessiiry phrases and talk of what we mean It dons not know what we are talking about It does not kuaw fundamentally why we i irc rc at war with what it ruprmuty And it docs not know that it doesnt know More terrifying than its crimes is the unfathomable fact that it is apparently unaware of its criminality Therefore it cannot comprehend the horror with which civili ¬ zation regards its acts This seems a necessary conclusion for how otherwise could you account for the face with which it insults its enemies by proposing first a truce and then negotiations negotiationsThe The new imperial chancellor speaks of a new German government and of a new epoch in Germanys internal history dating from the decree of the Hohenzollerns He 1ms the colossal impu ¬ dence or shall we say the abysmal misunderstand ¬ ing to say that at the peace negotiations the new German government shall iise its efforts to stipulate in the treaties for conditions and institutions in all lands to improve the lot of the laborers A11 of that is German rubbish rubbishThe The kaiser also speaks It seems incredible He says saysBut But I will only extend my hand for an honora ¬ ble peace The world will not touch that hand handThe The German kaiser lias but one peace to make and that is his own peace with God And as we believe in God so we believe that he cannot make peace with Him until he lias paid a price beyond the power of mankind to imagine That is Gods own business He leaves much for us to do in our way with all the faith and fortitude we have haveLittle Little as the Germans know of the moral values whfeh the rest of us will save or perish in the effort they seem to know even less about the temperament of the American people peopleThey They thought we sold arms and ammunition to the allies for profit only onlyThey They thought we shelved the Lusitania atrocity from motives of cowardice and greed commingled commingledThey They thought we were pacifists and profiteers entirely entirelyThey They thought we went into the war without meaning to fight fightThey They thought we were half German GermanAnd And they now apparently think we are willing to embrace peace because it can be proved that it would be to our material advantage to end the war warThey They address their overtures to us pretending to accept in principle the conditions of peace laid down by President Wilson But they arc wrong We are not the peace makers We are the war makers makersIt It is true that we have laid down certain ab ¬ stract conditions of jjeuee but thesu concern only o r allies and ourselves and are not open to Ger ¬ many for discussion discussionWe We have laid down one condition of war one only ami thitt is to use force force to the utmost force without stint or limit until we shall have destroyed forever in this world the indecent in ¬ tolerable criminal thing that now holds out its dripping hand handTell Tell your people that Prince Maximilian of Bu lcii and if they can understand an epoch may be Sin ew York Tribune
