HPVJTW'IW'W
The Commoner
WILLIAM J. BRYAN, EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR
VOL 17, NO. 2
Lincoln, Nebraska, February, 1917
Whole Number 694
Send telegrams, letters and petitions to the
President, to your Senators and to your Con
gressmen, giving your views on the question of
going, to war. If opposed to entering this war
on either side, say so at once. If you favor a
referendum oh a declaration of war, tell your
representatives so and tell them immediately.
4
Fresi
dent Wil
son's Address to Congress
A Washington dispatch, dated Feb. 3, says:
The president in his address to congress an
nouncing the severance of diplomatic relations
with Germany said:
"Gentlemen of the Congress:
"The imperial German government on the
31st of January announced to this government
and to the governments of the other neutral na
tions that on and after the 1st day of February,
the present month, it would adopt a policy "with
regard to the use of 'submarines against all
shipping soeldng to pass through certain desig
nated areas of the high seas, to which it is
clearly my duty to call your attention. .
"Let me remind the congress, on' the 18th of
APril last, in view of the Sinking on the 24th of
March of the cross-channel passenger steamer
Sussex by a German submarine, without sum
mons or warning, and the consequent loss of the
iives of several citizens of the Uriited States, who
'ere passengers aboard her, this government ad
dressed a note to the imperial German govern
ment in which it made the following declara
tion: If it is still.the purpose of the imperial gov
ernment to prosecute relentless and indiscrim
inate warfare against vessels of commerce by
the use of submarines, without regard to what
the government of the United States must con
sider the sacred and indisputable rules of inter-
CONTENTS
PRESIDENT WILSON'S ADDRESS TO
CONGRESS
AN APPEAL FOR PEACE
INVITING DISASTER
"CONSTITUTIONAL" LAWYERS
THE PEACE TREATY PLAN
CONSTRUCTIVE PATRIOTS
A QUESTION OF HONOR
THE "DERISION" ARGUMENT
FOUR ESSENTIALS TO PEACE
PRESIDENT WILSON SPEAKS FOR
WORLD PEACE PLAN
MR BRYAN'S NEW YORK SPEECH
BISHOP OF TUCSON ,ON PROHIBITION
GERMAN NOTE TO UNITED STATES
A REFERENDUM ON WAR
Tho forms of this issue of Tho Commoner
closed February 13, 1917.
national law and the universally recognized
dictates of humanity, tho government of the'
United States is at last forced to the conclusion
that there is but one course it can pursue.
" 'Unless the imperiul government should
now immediately declare and effect an abandon
ment of its present methods of submarine war- .
fare against passenger and freight-carrying ves
sels, the government of the United States can
have no choice but to sever diplomatic relations
with the German empire altogether.'
"In reply to the declaration tho Imperial
German government gave this government tho
following assurances: .
" 'The German government is, prepared to do
its utmost to confine tho operations of war for
the rest of its duration to the fighting forces of
the belligerents, thereby also insuring tho free
dom of the seas, a principle upon which the
German government believes now, as before, to
be in agreement with the government of tho
United. States.
" 'The German government, guided by thia
idea, notifies the government of tho United
States that the German naval forces have re
ceived the following orders: In accordance with
'1
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