fortunes of every people who fall under their powergovernments clothed with the strange trappings and the primitive authority of an age that is altogether alien and hostile to our own. The Past and the Present are in deadly grapple and the peoples of the world are being done to death between them. There can be but one issue. The settlement must be final. There can be no compromise. No halfway decision would be tolerable. No halfway decision is conceivable. These are the ends for which the associated peoples of the world are fighting and which must be conceded them before there can be peace: I. The destruction of every arbitrary power anywhere that can separately, secretly, and of its single choice disturb the peace of the world; or, if it cannot be presently destroyed, at the least its reduction to virtual impotence. II. The settlement of every question, whether of territory, of sovereignty, of economic arrangement, or of political relationship, upon the basis of the free acceptance of that settlement by the people immediately concerned, and not upon the basis of the material interest or advantage of any other nation or people which may desire a different settlement for the sake of its own exterior influence or mastery. III. The consent of all nations to be governed in their conduct towards each other by the same principles of honor and of respect for the common law of civilized society that govern the individual citizens of all modern states in their relations with one another; to the end that all promises and covenants may be sacredly observed, no private plots or conspiracies hatched, no selfish injuries wrought with impunity, and a mutual trust established upon the handsome foundation of a mutual respect for right. IV. The establishment of an organization of peace which shall make it certain that the combined power of free nations will check every invasion of right and serve to make peace and justice the more secure by affording a definite tribunal of opinion to which all must submit and by which every international readjustment that cannot be amicably agreed upon by the peoples directly concerned shall be sanctioned. These great objects can be put into a single sentence. What we seek is the reign of law, based upon the consent of the governed and sustained by the organized opinion of mankind. These great ends cannot be achieved by debating and seeking to reconcile and accommodate what statesmen may wish, with their projects for balances of power and of national opportunity. They can be realized only by the determination of what the thinking peoples of the world desire, with their longing hope for justice and for social freedom and opportunity. I can fancy that the air of this place carries the accents of such principles with a peculiar kindness. Here were started forces which the great nation against which they were primarily directed at first regarded as a revolt against its rightful authority but which it has long since seen to have been a step in the liberation of its own people as well as of the people of the United States; and I stand here now to speak-speak proudly and with confident hope—of the spread of this revolt, this liberation, to the great stage of the world itself! The blinded rulers of Prussia have roused forces they knew little of-forces which, once roused, can never be crushed to earth again; for they have at their heart an inspiration and a purpose which are deathless and of the very stuff of triumph! AN INDEPENDENCE DAY MESSAGE (Read by "Four-Minute" Orators in more than Five Thousand Communities, on July 4, 1918.) You are met, my fellow-citizens, to commemorate the signing of that Declaration of Independence which marked the awakening of a new spirit in the lives of nations. Since the birth of our Republic, we have seen this spirit grow. We have heard the demand and watched the struggle for self-government spread and triumph among many peoples. We have come to regard the right to political liberty as the common right of humankind. Year after year, within the security of our borders, we have continued to rejoice in the peaceful increase of freedom and democracy throughout the world. And yet now, suddenly, we are confronted with a menace which endangers everything that we have won and everything that the world has won. In all its old insolence, with all its ancient cruelty and injustice, military autocracy has again armed itself against the pacific hopes of men. Having suppressed self-government among its own people by an organization maintained in part by falsehood and treachery, it has set out to impose its will upon its neighbors and upon us. One by one it has compelled every civilized nation in the world either to forego its aspirations or to declare war in their defense. We find ourselves fighting again for our national existence. We are face to face with the necessity of asserting anew the fundamental right of free men to make their own laws and choose their own allegiance, or else permit humanity to become the victim of a ruthless ambition that is determined to destroy what it cannot master. Against its threat the liberty-loving people of the world have risen and allied themselves. No fear has deterred them, and no bribe of material well-being has held them back. They have made sacrifices such as the world has never known before, and their resistance in the face of death and suffering has proved that the aim which animates the German effort can never hope to rule the spirit of mankind. Against the horror of military conquest, against the emptiness of living in mere bodily contentment, against the desolation of becoming part of a State that knows neither truth nor honor, the world has so revolted that even people long dominated and suppressed by force have now begun to stir and arm themselves. Centuries of subjugation have not destroyed the racial aspirations of the many distinct peoples of eastern Europe, nor have they accepted the sordid ideals of their political and military masters. They have survived the slow persecutions of peace as well as the agonies of war and now demand recognition for their just claims to autonomy and self-government. Representatives of these races are with you to-day, voicing their loyalty to our ideals and offering their services in the common cause. I ask you, fellowcitizens, to unite with them in making this our Independence Day the first that shall be consecrated to a declaration of independence for all the peoples of the world. PROCLAMATION PLACING TELEGRAPH AND TELEPHONE [EDITORIAL NOTE: For many years there had been advocates of Government operation and control, if not ownership, of the telegraph and telephone systems of the country; but the proposal had lacked support both in Congress and among the people. As a war measure, however (and following Government operation of the railroads), it quickly became an accomplished fact when a threatened strike of telegraphers seemed likely to interfere with efficient “wire” service. In both branches of Congress there were only twenty votes in opposition to a resolution empowering the President to take over the telegraph and telephone systems, for the duration of the war, whenever he deemed it necesThe measure was signed on July 16, and six days later the President isued the following proclamation, assumsuming control through the Postmaster General:] sary. By the President of the United States of America. A PROCLAMATION Whereas, The Congress of the United States, in the exercise of the constitutional authority vested in them, by joint resolution of the Senate and House of Representatives, bearing date July 16, 1918, resolved: That the President, during the continuance of the present war, is authorized and empowered, whenever he shall deem it necessary for the national security or defense, to supervise or to take possession and assume control of any telegraph, telephone, marine cable, or radio system or systems, or any part thereof, and to operate the same in such manner as may be needful or desirable for the duration of the war, which supervision, possession, control, or operation shall not extend beyond the date of the proclamation by the President of the exchange of ratifications of the treaty of peace: Provided, that just compensation shall be made for such supervision, possession, control, or operation, to be determined by the President; and if the amount thereof, so determined by the President, is unsatisfactory to the person entitled to receive the same, such person shall be paid 75 per centum of the amount so determined by the President and shall be entitled to sue the United States to recover such further sum as, added to said 75 per centum, will make up such amount as will be just compensation therefor, in the manner provided for by Section 24, Paragraph 20, and Section 145 of the Judicial Code: Provided, further, that nothing in this Act shall be construed to amend, repeal, impair, or affect existing laws or powers of the States in relation to taxation or the lawful police regulations of the several States except wherein such laws, powers or regulations may affect the transmission of Government communications or the issue of stocks and bonds by such system or systems. And, whereas, It is deemed necessary for the national security and defense to supervise and to take possession |