America's War for Humanity Part 3

WHAT THE YANKEE DUDE'LL DO

BY TOM H. DEVEREAUX.

Uncle Samuel blew the bugle call, For his boys to fall in line, And they came, yes, by the million, On the march at double time, With muskets on their shoulders They answered to the call To defend our nation's honor, And for Liberty of all.

They buckled on their knapsacks, And they loaded up their guns, To the tune of Yankee Doodle, They whipped those Turks and Huns; For their hearts were with the colors Of the red, the white and blue, And they've shown those fiendish Prussians What the Yankee Dude'll Do.

REFRAIN

Singing rally round Old Glory, boys, And fight for freedom true, Rally to the Stars and Stripes As your fathers did for you.

Oh! we sailed across the ocean deep, With the red, the white and blue, And we've shown that devilish Kaiser What the Yankee Dude'll Do.

From our north land, and our east land, To our far-off Golden Gate, From our south way down in Dixie And the old Palmetto State, Bravest sons of all the nation came To fight our country's foe, Who would follow our Old Glory, Where her stars and stripes might go; To the battle cry of Freedom, All our men would surely come, And fight for world-wide Victory At the call of fife and drum.

We have proved to all creation That our boys are real true blue, And we've shown those fiendish Prussians, What the Yankee Dude'll Do.

CHAPTER II.

UNITED STATES ENTERS THE WAR

_The President Proclaims War_--_Interned s.h.i.+ps Are Seized_--_Congress Votes $7,000,000,000 for War_--_Raising an American Army_--_War to Victory Wilson Pledge_--_British and French Commission Reaches America_.

On April 2, 1917, Congress having been called in special session, President Wilson appeared before a joint session of both houses and in an address worthy of its historical importance asked for a formal declaration that a state of war existed with Germany, owing to the ruthless and unrestricted submarine campaign. He recommended the utmost practical co-operation with the Entente Allies in counsel and action; the extension of liberal financial credit to them, the mobilization of all the material resources of the United States for the purpose of providing adequate munitions of war, the full equipment of the Navy, especially in supplying it with means for dealing with submarines, and the immediate enrollment of an army of 500,000 men, preferably by a system of universal service, to be increased later by an additional army of equal size. The President took pains to point out that in taking these measures against the German government, the United States had no quarrel with the German people, who were innocent, because kept in ignorance of the lawless acts of their autocratic government, which had become a menace not only to the peace of the world, but to the cause of fundamental human liberty. The object of the United States, said the President, was to vindicate the principles of peace and justice as against selfish and autocratic power, and to insure the future observance of these principles.

After due debate the following joint resolution, declaring war with Germany was adopted by the Senate and House of Representatives and signed by the President on April 6, 1917:

"Whereas, the imperial German government has committed repeated acts of war against the government and the people of the United States of America; therefore, be it

"Resolved, by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress a.s.sembled, That the state of war between the United States and the imperial German government which has thus been thrust upon the United States is hereby formally declared; and that the President be, and he is, hereby authorized and directed to employ the entire naval and military forces of the United States and the resources of the government to carry on war against the imperial German government; and to bring the conflict to a successful termination, all of the resources of the country are hereby pledged by the Congress of the United States."

THE PRESIDENT PROCLAIMS WAR.

Immediately after signing the resolution of Congress, President Wilson issued a formal proclamation of war, embodying in it an earnest appeal to all American citizens "that they, in loyal devotion to their country, dedicated from its foundation to the principles of liberty and justice, uphold the laws of the land and give undivided and willing support to those measures which may be adopted by the const.i.tutional authorities in prosecuting the war to a successful issue and in obtaining a secure and just peace."

The President further enjoined all alien enemies within the United States to preserve the peace and refrain from crime against the public safety, and from giving information, aid, or comfort to the enemy, a.s.suring them of protection so long as they conducted themselves in accordance with law and with regulations which might be promulgated from time to time for their guidance. The great ma.s.s of German-American citizens promptly avowed the utmost loyalty to the United States, but numerous arrests of suspected spies followed all over the country.

INTERNED s.h.i.+PS ARE SEIZED.

Following the declaration of war all the German merchant vessels interned in ports of the United States were seized by representatives of the Federal authority, their crews removed and interned, and guardians placed aboard. These s.h.i.+ps in American waters numbered 99, of an aggregate value of about $100,000,000, and included some of the finest vessels of the German merchant marine; for instance, the Vaterland, of 54,283 tons, valued at $8,000,000, and numerous other Atlantic liners.

The disposition to be made of the German s.h.i.+ps was left to the future for decision, with great probability, however, that they would be used to transport munitions and supplies to the Allies in Europe through the German submarine blockade.

CONGRESS VOTES $7,000,000,000 FOR WAR.

Prompt action was taken by Congress to furnish the sinews of war.

By April 14 a bond and certificate issue of $7,000,000,000 had been unanimously voted by both houses, and preparations were made to float a popular subscription for the bonds. Three billions of the amount was intended for loans to the Allies, and the remainder for active prosecution of the war by the United States. The debates in Congress indicated that the country stood solidly behind the President in a determination to bring the military autocracy of Germany to a realizing sense of its responsibility to civilization. RAISING AN AMERICAN ARMY.

Legislation was immediately presented by the War Department to the military committees of the Senate and House of Representatives, to provide for raising an army for active partic.i.p.ation in the war. This legislation was described by President Wilson as follows:

"It proposes to raise the forces necessary to meet the present emergency by bringing the regular army and the National Guard to war strength and by adding the additional forces which will now be needed, so that the national army will comprise three elements--the regular army, the National Guard and the so-called additional forces, of which at first 500,000 are to be authorized immediately and later increments of the same size as they may be needed.

"In order that all these forces may comprise a single army, the term of enlistment in the three is equalized and will be for the period of the emergency.

"The necessary men will be secured for the regular army and the National Guard by volunteering, as at present, until, in the judgment of the President, a resort to a selective draft is desirable. The additional forces, however, are to be raised by selective draft from men ranging in age from 19 to 25 years. The quotas of the several states in all of these forces will be in proportion to their population."

Recruiting for the army and navy became active as soon as war was declared. On April 15 President Wilson issued an address to the nation, calling on all citizens to enroll themselves in a vast "army of service," military or industrial, and stating that the hour of supreme test for the nation had come. The United States prepared to rise to its full measure of duty, confident in the patent justice of its cause, and echoing the sentiment of its President when he said:

"The hope of the world is that when the European war is over arrangements will have been made composing many of the questions which have hitherto seemed to require the arming of the nations, and that in some ordered and just way the peace of the world may be maintained by such co-operations of force among the great nations as may be necessary to maintain peace and freedom throughout the world."

ENGLAND WELCOMES U.S. AS AN ALLY.

The news of the President's proclamation of war, following the action of Congress, was received in England and France, Russia and Italy, with enthusiasm. A great service of thanksgiving was held in St. Paul's Cathedral, London, attended by the King and Queen, ministers of state, and an enormous congregation that joined in singing "The Star-Spangled Banner" and the national anthem, while the Stars and Stripes by official order was flown for the first time in history from the tower of the Parliament buildings at Westminster and on public buildings throughout the British empire. A high commission was appointed to visit the United States for a series of war conferences, and Premier Lloyd George expressed the national satisfaction in glowing terms of welcome to the United States as an ally against Germany, paying at the same time an eloquent tribute to the masterly address of President Wilson to Congress, which stated the case for humanity against military autocracy in such an unanswerable manner, the British premier said, that it placed the seal of humanity's approval on the Allied cause and furnished final justification of the British att.i.tude toward Germany in the war.

POPULAR DEMONSTRATION IN PARIS.

In France, the Stars and Stripes were flung to the breeze from the Eiffel Tower on April 22, and saluted by twenty-one guns. This marked the opening of the ceremonies of "United States day" in Paris.

The French tricolor and the star-spangled banner were at the same hour unfurled together from the residence of William G. Sharp, the American amba.s.sador, in the Avenue d'Eylau, from the American Emba.s.sy, from the city hall, and from other munic.i.p.al government buildings.

It was a great day for the red, white and blue, 40,000 American flags being handed out gratis by the committee and waved by the people who thronged the vicinity of the manifestations, which included the decoration of the statues of Was.h.i.+ngton and Lafayette.

Members of the American Lafayette flying corps, a delegation from the American Ambulance at Neuilly and the American Field Ambulances were the guard of honor before the Lafayette statue.

Amba.s.sador Sharp and his escort were received at the city hall by the members of the munic.i.p.al council and other distinguished persons. Adrien Mithouard, president of the munic.i.p.al council, welcomed Amba.s.sador Sharp, who was greeted with great applause when addressing the people of Paris. He said:

"Citizens of Paris: May I say to you, on this day you have with such fine sentiment set apart to honor my country, that America remains no longer content to express to France merely her sympathy. In a cause which she believes as verily as you believe to be a sacred one, she will consecrate all her power and the blood of her patriotic sons, if necessary, to achieve a victory that shall for all time to come insure the domination of right over wrong, freedom over oppression, and the blessings of peace over the brutality of war."

The French Government also appointed a war commission to visit the United States forthwith for conference.

Resolutions expressing the great satisfaction of the Allied nations at the action of the United States were adopted by the British House of Commons, the French Chamber of Deputies, the Russian Duma, and the Italian Parliament. ENTHUSIASM IN THE UNITED STATES.

War being declared, the people of the United States were not slow in letting the President know that they stood solidly behind him. From all parts of the country came a.s.surances that the action of the Government was approved. Organizations of every conceivable kind pa.s.sed resolutions pledging their support to all war measures decided to be necessary to carry the war to a successful issue. Recruiting was at once started for both the Army and the Navy. The recruiting depots were thronged daily and thousands were enrolled for active service while Congress was debating the respective merits of the volunteer system and the "selective draft" advocated by the general staff of the Army and approved by the President and his cabinet.

The full quota of men desired for the Navy, to place the s.h.i.+ps already in commission in a high state of efficiency, was soon secured. More men offered themselves for naval service, indeed, than could be accepted pending the action of Congress. Volunteers for the aviation corps, the marines, the field artillery, the engineer corps, and all the various branches of the military establishments came forward freely, and a general desire was expressed to send an American force to the trenches in Europe at the earliest possible moment consistent with proper training for the field.

As the reports of American diplomats from the war zone, freed from German censors.h.i.+p, were given to the public, the martial spirit of America grew apace. Amba.s.sador Gerard's corroboration of German atrocities in the occupied territory of France, and Minister Brand Whitlock's report on the situation in Belgium and the illegal and atrocious deportation of Belgian citizens for hard labor, ill treatment, and starvation in Germany, added fuel to the flame of national indignation, already running high as the result of continued destruction of American merchant vessels and the loss of American lives by submarine piracy and murder, continued almost without cessation since the infamous sinking of the Lusitania, one of the never-to-be-forgotten crimes of German ruthlessness.

One hundred million free-born people were at length aroused to action.

The Navy was ready for immediate service where it could do most good, and promptly took over patrol duty in the western Atlantic, relieving British and French men-of-war for service elsewhere. The raising of an army of a million or more men for active partic.i.p.ation in the war waited only on the action of Congress.

American women responded n.o.bly to the President's call for universal service, flocking to the Red Cross headquarters in every city and setting to work immediately in the preparation of comforts for the great army gathering on the horizon. They were promptly organized, so that their efforts might count to the best advantage. In August, 1916, the United States Navy included 356 war craft of all kinds, as against credited to Great Britain, 404 to France, and 309 to Germany, The latter figure does not include an unknown number of submarines of recent construction.

THE BRITISH COMMISSION ARRIVES.

On Sunday, April 22, the British war commission reached Was.h.i.+ngton, headed by the Right Hon. Arthur James Balfour, secretary of state for foreign affairs and former premier. The commission included Rear Admiral Sir Dudley R.S. De Chair, naval adviser to the foreign office; Major-General G.T.M. Bridges, representing the British army; Lord Cunliffe of Headley, governor of the Bank of England; and a number of other distinguished officials and naval and military officers, with clerical a.s.sistants. The party met with an enthusiastic welcome in Was.h.i.+ngton. Mr. Balfour was received by the President in private conference next day, and after a round of receptions and social functions of various kinds, arrangements were made for the business meetings affecting war policies, which were the object of the visit.

Mr. Balfour informed the President that the British commission had come to Was.h.i.+ngton not to ask favors, concessions, or agreements from the United States, but to offer their services for the organization of the stupendous undertaking of fighting Germany. He said that if the United States was confronted by the same problems that confronted England at the outset of the war, the British commission could be of service in pointing out many grievous mistakes of policy and organization that proved costly to the British cause. He was, in turn, a.s.sured by the President that the United States would fight in conjunction with the Allied until the Prussian autocracy was crushed and Americans at home and abroad were safe from the ruthlessness of the Berlin government.

MARSHAL JOFFRE IN WAs.h.i.+NGTON