Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 281, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 December 1917 — American People Cannot Consider Any Peace Proposed by Prussia [ARTICLE]

American People Cannot Consider Any Peace Proposed by Prussia

By STEPHEN S. WISE.

Rabbi of the Free Synagogue of New York

We cannot and will not consider peace at the instance of Prussia or of any witting or unwitting agents of Prussia. The only peace “the American people at any time will be prepared to consider is a peace which must be disastrous to every hope of Prussia s rulers or a peace made over their heads and perhaps their bodies with the German people, returned.to reason and humaneness after the dethronement of the war-mad lords, who have been suffered to defile and to damn the whole German people. . * The president not merely willed to keep us out of war but throughout nearly three years of irritation and insu’t, of contumely and outrage.-he achieved the miracle of keeping us but of the war. Why did the president lead us into war? Because he saw that we were not so much challenged to war as to defend, the elementary sanctities of life in the only intelligible to that band of militarists who had brought hurt to half the world and shame unutterable to their dumbly trusting peoples. Groups other than the uncompromising pacifists are to be found the leadership of the peoples council, and these, mindful of the seriousness of my charge, I accuse 1 of readiness to accept an outcome of the war, which would not bring peace toymen but seal dominance of the sword in the world.