Cornell University Library The original of tiiis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924018763304 Cornell University Law Library. THE GIFT OF J^CjJ,.t^...-rr-^?''^rrr^ .^t'^:<<5^rT 9181 ... Cornell University Library KF 334.N77 History of the Lawyers Club / 3 1924 018 763 304 President of The lawyers Qub, D^(ew York From portrait by H. W. Farlow To be hung in The Lawyers Club History of The J^wyers Qlub by JVilliam u^^Lu^J^^yx^^i^^^ f9] <'^^;^^ C.'^^^^iw.^^. ^f^lear Slr:> Ths War Committee of The lawyers Clnb desires to record its fcellef emphatically and insistently that the Institution of UnlTersal, Obligatory Military Training and Service under Federal control in the United States of all the male cltlaens of the country sfaoald bo established at the earliest practicable monent, This should be done, not only as a measure of National safety, but also for the sake of Its benefit physically, mentally and aorally to the recipients thereof. That an act embodying the measures suggested by the Chamberlain Bill or that of the War Staff or sooh inclusions or mod- ifications thereof as may be found sisest of adoption, should receive the serious and early consideration of Congress, and that pending such action a Selaotl»e Conaorlptlon Measure along the lines urged by the President should be passed and put Into application without delay. Very truly yours. President [44] The J^wyers Qlub Here is the Indiana Congressman's extraordinary re- joinder: W. E. COX Tmi»o Disthict of Indiana COHMITTCC: POST QrriCK «NO POST nOADS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES WASHINGTON Mr. Wm. Allen Butler, 115 Broadnay, New York City. Dear Mr. Butler :- I have your letter asking me to support compulsory draft conscription. Won't you be kind enough to tell me why it is, especially as New York is lagging far behind other states in its volunteers, that you have not enlisted, or your boys enlisted, or at least why your wife's relatives have not enlisted? Or why have not your fellowlawyers enlisted, or their ~~sons, or if you have enlisted, or any of your people, or you know of any of your fellow lawyers or their boys who have enlisted won't you kindly give me the date of their enlistment, together with their names and addresses* ? anxiety. I shall await your answer with a great deal of I April 22, 1917. Respectfully, >^^ [45] The War Teriod My reply to Mr. Cox was as follows: Hon. W. E. cox, c/^^^fi^ Apr. 25. 1917 Representative Third District of Indiana House of Representatives, Washington, D. C. My dear Mr. Cox:- in answer to your letter of April 22 in which you ask me to tell you why it is that New York is lagging far behind other states in its volunteers and ask me whether I, or my boys or wife's relatives have enlisted and asking their names, as to myself having been interested in the events of 1861, I am a. trifle beyond the enlistment age. I have to say that my son Dr. Charles T. Butler has gust spent seven months as a surgeon in the American Red Cross in the French Hospital at Ris-Orangis, France, that my son Lyman C. Butler is an officer in the Seventh Regiment and has been connected with that Regiment for upwards of six years, having re-enlisted June 1916, served in Texas and he is now a member of the organization. My brother's son Dr. Ethan Flagg Butler, in the early part of the European War, look two United States Red Cross Units to Servia and was in charge of a hospital there and did splendid service in fight- ing the typhus fever, two of his associate, doctors contract- ing the disease and died. My sister's son, Sara Paul for six months drove an American ambulance on the Verdun firing line [46] The J^wyers 0ub in France. My nephews, William Paul and Henry Franklin But- ler enlisted this Spring in the Naval Reserve and are now in active service on the Coast. My niece, Mary Paul, has taken a course as trained nurse for the Reserve -Corps. My daughter, Louise T. Butler has taken trained attendant courses and is a member of the Preslxyterian Hospital signed up for the reserve services. My nephew, Charles M. Butler is a lieutenant of the Officers Reserve Corps and goes into service at Plattsburg next week. My nephew, John Crosby Butler is in the New York Armed Motor Car Battery. Now passing to my wife's relatives, outside of her sons and daughter above mentl^oned she has two nephews, Czaykowskl by name, in the French Army now in the 'trenches. I am so busy, as an officer of a very patriotic club with various relief measures, that I have not the time to get the extended lists that you desire. I take pleasure, in answering your let- ter 80 far as my own and my wife's family are concerned at once, 1 remain. My dear Sir, Very respectfully yours. President of The Lawyers Club P. S. - I forgot to mention my son-in-law, Maitland Dwight, who is enrolled in the College Mdn's Training Corps, drilling at Governors Island and attending military lectures. W. A. B. NOTE — In the haste of dictating the above letter, I omitted my nephew, Andrew Butler, a member of the Seventh Regiment, N. G. N. Y. He had charge of mules of Company K in the border campaign. It is conceded in army circles that it takes real talent to handle the army mule successfully. Another nephew, Theodore S. Paul, was connected with a military organization in Philadelphia. My wife's nephew. Hunt Talmage, is about to leave for France to drive an ambulance at the front. W.A. B. [47] The War 'Period I then received the following laconic acknowledgment from Mr. Cox : W. E. COX tHIRD DlfTMtCT OP IMOIAflA COHMITTUt rcn emci *hb rorr hoam HOUSE OP REPRESENTATIVES WASHINGTON April 26, 1917 Mr. Wn. Allen Butler* 115 Broadway, Ma« York City. Dear Mr. Butler:- Your letter reeeired. It certainly sets forth patriotism* I am glad to get it* Reapeotfully* April 2eth. Dietated* "HM^ [48] The J^wyers Qlub In the meantime our Secretary, Mr. Perley Morse, had written to Congressman Chandler as follows : SIXTV-ONE DH.OA-D-WA.Tf irE>V YORK Hon. Walter U. Chandler, House of Representatives, April 25, 1917* Washington, S. C. lly dear Congressman:- Enolosed herewith you will find copies of correspon- dence between William Allen Butler, Esq., President of The lawyers Club and Representative W. E. Cox, Third District of Indiana. At a neeting of the War Committee of The Lawyers Club today, they have asked me as Secretary of this Committee, to write to you, requesting that you please be kind enough to read this cor- respondence into the Congressional Record and make such other use of it as you may desire. We have given this correspondence to the newspapers here in Kew York and have sent it, through the Associated Press to Ur. Coz*s district in Indiana. With kind regards, I am. Yours truly. / X^^w,y^^=^c:>7'^a»---a. FU.EFH On April 26 Mr. Chandler obtained the unanimous con- sent of Congress to extend this correspondence with Congress- man Cox in the Record, and on the following page is a fac- simile of same as it appeared therein: [49] ro £; CN .5 f^io ^ h^ «s !-' < ^f n Ss ^ a; o w O w o o 05 ^ *-. i- H _ 5 ? 5 I c ~ w, o "g a 3 « a -S a a; c -a; 5; »-, o 1^ S' a .. ^^ DC ?;- ^ ."5 .- o »4 tt-l. M c */P o o .2 SgS' 5 to .5 * . J > M s is m 2 ™ ^Mrr ■= -w ~ ^ E . s <— ?-• o t- 3 Sis l-i § a; i*4fn 45 -t-* bos oj M^ :>. H •rS^'o'SiJ?© l^ggg oS-ui 5 o S . >^=-B So " „ S s oa2oSo=„- oi- „, S c 0.5 cog — o a !> 53- iu .a j:! Be- o •^ r«S o-aH fciTjCtja "flaw n« oaS-g*" : " Ha ^•'[•la ■5'?3 bj Sj:: X-t-* EkiO ?^ Q^-^v ^ m aaa p^vriK pMS*'tng(,£a« The J^wyers Qlub Shortly after this was published I sent this to Mr. Chandler : , —- -~. ^ ly^wC^r^ May 2, 1917. Hon. Walter M. Chandler, House of Representatives U. S., Washington, D. C. My dear Sir:- I learned from our mutual friend, Perley Morse, that you were responsible for introducing my correspondence with Representative W. E. Cox of Indiana, into the Congressional Record of April 26, 1917, Pages 1196-7. I want to thank you most warmly and cordially for the interest that you have taken in this matter and for the honorable place that you have accorded to the records of my family. This is a time when everyone is called to the service of his country, and, as a patriotic American I am proud of the record of my family. With kindest regards, I am My dear Sir, Yours very truly. /^<^ii<.^^^^2^^ 15'1 'The War Teriod In reply I received this courteous note : WALTER M. CHANDLER 10TH New York dist. COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY May 3rd, 1917. X. William Allen Butler, ,^ Butler^ ffyckoff & Campbell, 54 Wall Street, New York Ci^y, N. Y. My dear Sir: This is to acknowledge receipt of yours of May 2nd and to say that it afforded me pleasure to in- sert your correspondence with Representative Cox in the Record. This created more comment in the House than you probably imagine. Indeed on the following day it was the subiect of continual conversation for several hours in the cloak rooms. Many wondered why Cox gave me his consent to insert it in the Record. He or any of his friends could have obiected and shut it out. It was a body blow for Cox ana the members of the House so 'regard it. Remember me very kindly to my good friend, Mr. Morse, and believe me to j?e Faithfully yours. Mr. Cox's "stern demand" received a great deal of editorial press comment and the following, from the New Tork Times, admirably sums up the matter: [52] '• All the Newa Th«t'» Fit to Prfnt." NEW YORK, TUESDAY. MAY 29i 1917., Crltietsm, \t not Con- His Answer demnatlon, as suilty Closed °' cruelty to a Con- Drscussion. f«^""^. !« P'-obabiy deserved oy one who calls further attention to the corre- spondence on the EUbJeot of enlistment which has Just passed between President WltLiAU Allen Builer of the New York tyawyers' Club and Representative W. H< Cox of Indiana. Still, journalism, as well as war, has risks that must be taken, and In this particular case the danger can be minimized by stressing, not the qualities of mind and manner which the Indiana statesman chose to illustrate when he was ssked to support universal military service In the House, but those which were manifiested'by Mr. Butler when his courteous request was answered by a sterh demand for Infor- mation as to whether he had himself volunteered and if his own near rela- tives and those of his wife had evi- denced an; eager desire' personally to encounter the dangers of battle and the hardships and tediums of army life. Mr. Cox, with characteristic Middle West resentment of what he pleased to take as advice from the East, made the "rash assumption that Mr. Butler would be reduced to silence and confusion by these rather Intimate inquiries. Unfor- tunately for him, however, Mr. Butler, though he had to confess that, as his own interest In military matters began In 1S61, he did not himself now contem- plate enlistment, yet was able to set down for Mr. Cox's edification an aston- ishingly long list of persons more or less closely connected with both sides of his family who are already actively serving in one or another military capacity or are energetically fitting themselves to do so. It was admirably done, as everybody who read the two letters — they were printed on this page Sunday — must have seen. A learned lawyer, Mr. Butler ob- served the old rule of " ne quid nlmls," and he restricted himself, in giving his testimony, strictly to answering the question that had been asked. Mr. Cox wanted to know. He knows. He may or may not be sorry he spoke. That de- pends on the thickness of his cortlca- tlon. But he should not be too deeply grieved. He has lightened, unintention- ally but appreciably, the gloom of these days. The War 'Period The Club in this unexpected tilt came off with flying colors, and my own vindication was complete and decisive. The War Committee now began to function energetically and earnestly, and one of its first moves was to communicate with other clubs and organizations in New York City and throughout the country with the idea of securing cooperation in relief work, through a joint committee. On May 8, thirty persons, representing the War Com- mittees of Clubs whose aggregate membership was about 19,000, met at The Lawyers Club, and this resulted in the organization of the War Committee of Clubs, with Messrs. Morris and Morse, its chairman and secretary respectively. Soon thereafter the Committee got in touch with the New York State Council of Defense, and a reorganization of the Council took place along the lines of the recommendations in its report on War Resource Organizations. In connection with the excellent work of the War Com- mittee of our Club, Mr. Perley Morse, Chairman of the Committee of Publicity, rendered valuable aid in bringing to the public's attention many important matters the Committee had in charge. On April 25 a planting pledge was entered into by each member of the Club, and as a result several hundred acres were planted so as to produce a maximum yield of various vegetables. Then nearly 4,000 clubs throughout the country were communicated with and urged to follow our example and have land planted. The response was very gratifying, good reactions being obtained from at least 50 per cent of the organizations written to. These Clubs were among the best in the country, their [54] T^he lawyers Qlub members being men of high standing and intelligence, and, through our initiative, this latent energy and talent was put to active use in War Service. Production of foodstuffs was speeded up, in this way, among farmers and owners or renters of cultivable land as far West as San Francisco. We wrote many letters and sent out a great deal of literature bearing upon the results of our own experiments in planting, the expense of this propaganda being borne by members of the Club who contributed I5 or $10 a month. Some members of our Club among those not wishing to raise crops themselves thought it a good idea to start a general fund and rent land and hire labor for the purpose. So the Club War Farms, Inc., was organized with a capital (150,000) sufficient to lease and plant 300 acres of land near Garden City, L. I. Staple crops were planted, and the farm was successful in materially helping out during the food shortage. The Committee on Recruiting, under Col. Duncan M. Stewart, Chairman, did very effective work. Col. Stewart's active recruiting service in Canada gave him a valuable practi- cal knowledge, and the efforts of himself and of his Committee proved an important contribution to the cause. On October 3, 191 8, was held a meeting of the War Com- mittee to formulate plans for the Club's participation in sub- scriptions to the Fourth Liberty Loan. Within a week eighty- one members had subscribed ^75,000, and by the required rime The Lawyers Club had completed its quota entitling it to the Honor Flag. After its long period of most arduous and valuable work the War Committee, on May 26, 1920, adjourned sine die. The War Committee was a very patriotic and active body and its report was printed and distributed to the officers of [55] T^he War Teriod the Council of National Defense, to the Adjutant General of the State of New York, members of the Mayor's Committee, Governors of the several States, Congress of the United States, members of The Lawyers Club, and to each club with which the Committee was in correspondence on war matters. The report of this Committee has been heretofore sent to every member of the Club and gives evidence of the wonderful work and team-play that existed between its members, and will forever stand as a record of practical and efficient work. The great and far-reaching results of the War Committee's work was in no small degree due to the activities of its Chair- man, Robert C. Morris, Esq., and Secretary, Mr. Perley Morse, and it would indeed be difficult to do these gentlemen justice for all they accomplished. Mr. Morris brought to bear a wide experience coupled with a high degree of executive ability. As a former president of the Republican Club and an officer of the Union League Club, he was the organizing, constructive force of a Committee which planned and finished splendid practical work. As well as advocating broad national ideas above party lines, Mr. Morris was a most earnest advocate of the ideals which this country entered the war to enforce, communicating his enthu- siasm to all associated with him. He was at once an inspiration as well as guide. Upon Mr. Perley Morse, the Secretary of the Committee, devolved an enormous amount of work, all of which though making serious inroads on his time, he conscientiously and ably performed proving himself a most excellent and tactful executive. Some idea of the magnitude of our indefatigable Secretary's task may be gathered from the fact that the stenographer's notes of the meetings comprise nearly five hundred closely typed pages. [56] The J^wyers Qlub Upon Mr. Morse also rested the responsibility of com- municating the results of the Committee's deliberations to thousands of other clubs and war-work associations, and in addition he conducted a voluminous correspondence with Federal, State and Municipal officials. He gave freely of his time and extensive office facilities to this work, which was a vital element in the usefulness and success of the War Committee. The sum of $658.15 remained in the War Committee's treasury at the close of its activities, and, as it was deemed too small an amount to return to members, it was unanimously agreed to divide it equally between the Bowling Green Neigh- borhood Association and the Salvation Army. On October 10, 1917, the Club began a series of meetings. A Reception was given to the Hon. Merton E. Lewis, Attorney- General of the State of New York. The Hon. Devoe P. Hod- son, the Candidate of the Democratic Party for the Office of Attorney-General of New York State, also addressed the Club. At our meeting of December 15, 1917, we had as guests, the Judges of the United States District Court of the Southern District of New York, the Justices of the Supreme Court, State of New York. We were addressed by the Hon. James W. Gerard, the Representative of the United States at Berlin during the three years of the war against Germany. When asked what impressed him most on his return to us he said: "A lack of optimism and enthusiasm." On this occasion, in presenting an American flag to the Qub — to stand on our speaker's platform as an inspiration — I said : "My friends: Our boys must have, in addition to good food, an ever-present realization that we are behind them. [57] The War Teriod holding them up and sustaining their courage. Let us, there- fore, as though we were a great wireless plant, throw our spirit- ual waves of sympathy and enthusiasm across the sea. "Our boys cannot win this war on food alone. They have got to have the moral backing of everybody here. . . . "Shortly ago my mother entered upon her ninetieth year, and her children gave to her a flag like this, and, in addi- tion to that, a flag with fifteen stars, which represented her 15 grandsons* who are now or had recently been in the service of the United States. "It has been said that these red stripes stand for the blood of every American who is ready to sacrifice his life for the principles for which this flag stands. Those stars represent what? Our ancestors believed in God. They believed, and their motto was, 'In God we trust,' and, therefore, they looked up and put the stars in the flag. These white stripes stand for peace, but what kind of peace today? A peace that shall have no place for those Potsdam pirates that sank the Lusitania . They stand for a peace that will bring back Belgium into her own. They stand for a peace that will allow the small rem- nants of Armenians to live; they stand for a peace that will relieve Poland from starvation; and finally they stand for a peace that will make this world a fit place to live in — for you and for me." Judge Gerard gave an experience of his life in Germany, and held his audience spellbound. His interview with the Kaiser, which follows, was only one of many interesting illustrations. As I say, when I finally forced an audience with the Kaiser in the palace at Potsdam — you, perhaps some of you that have been *SubsequentIy four more of her grandchildren entered the service. [58] The lawyers 0ub abroad, remember this extraordinary hall, arranged somewhat like this, with all the minerals and shells of all the countries of the world most inartistically stuck in the plaster of the pillars — and after wait- ing I was brought first into a large room where the Kaiser was alone. In one corner there was a great table covered with maps, compasses and rules, where evidently he had been working out what changes he had desired to make in the world; he was standing there in a Hussar's uniform, with gold braid. Then coming up, standing in front of me, and shaking his finger in my face, he opened the con- versation by saying, "I shall stand no nonsense from America after this war: America had better look out after this war." Just as I am telling you about it now. Then as he went on in conversation, gradually he calmed down a little and he expressed his hatred of lawyers. He said, "All the people opposed to me are lawyers." He said, "Lloyd George and Asquith are lawyers," and he spoke of others in Russia and Italy who he also said were lawyers or lecturers on international law. He said, "This is a lawyers' war," and then ex- pressed his opinion of lawyers in general and these in particular. Mr. Gerard was followed by the Hon. Job E. Hedges, who said, at the end of a stirring address: I close with an illustration which I have used before, because I can best express myself that way. My people signed the Declara- tion of Independence. They have been in every war this country has ever had, and I am the only one that cannot be a soldier. On the coast of Brittany, in France, there is a plain fisher folk that once a year meet on the shores of that rock-edged country, and as the waves beat and form a barrage of mist between them and the outer ocean, they imagine they see the forms of theis departed ancestors, of their brothers, husbands, sons. And these plain people sitting there commune with those imagined spirits, and they ask them questions and they reply, and they empty their souls to them, until they have received in return the sacred benediction of contact with those who have gone before. Beyond this barrage of fire at the front, I can see in imagination the spirit and voice of every human being, of whatever faith, of whatever favor, of whatever condition of life, who has contributed aught by word or act to decency and [59 7he War Teriod civilization; I can see the widow's mite; I can see the drop of water that quenches thirst; I can think of the crumb that saved from star- vation; I can think of the missionaries in all the fields of the world preaching the gospel of Christ as they understood it; I can think of every kindly act; and, back of that, are voices which say to us, "Hold fast, hold fast; you are a part of our civilization; but for us you would not be where you are; hold fast." With those voices in our hearts and our minds this is a nation; without them, it is an aggregate of individuals, and God have mercy upon us. The Hon. John B. Stanchfield addressing the Club on January 12, 191 8, said this high tribute to France: I wish for a passing moment ... to take you back to the War of the Revolution. In that history-making struggle, extending over a period of years, we were, from the firing of the initial gun at Lex- ington until the surrender of Cornwallis, aided and assisted by the military and financial power of France. It has often been said of Thomas Paine, whose book on "The Rights of Man" made him famous, that he did quite as much with his pen in the cause of Amer- ican independence as Washington with his sword. He for a period was in France. It was through his persuasive argument that the French monarch was induced to loan to our struggling colonies moneys with which to finance the war. It was due to his efforts that finally the French fleet with Admiral de Grasse, 28 ships, and 20,000 men, crossed the sea and, defeating the British Admiral Graves, sailed to Chesapeake Bay and enabled us to accomplish the surrender of Cornwallis. That was the beginning of independence. That is what France did for us in those days, and in this later period, in the war of which we are now speaking, it was the bravery, the courage and the chivalry of the French soldiers that at the battle of the Marne once more saved not only perhaps the British imperial struc- ture but also the liberty and the civilization of the world. The Rt. Hon. Sir Frederick Edwin Smith, K.C., M.P., Attorney-General of Great Britain, spoke of Belgium's heroism: Gentlemen, be under no delusion. The Belgian nation in that supreme moment of the history of civilization was under no delusion [60] The lawyers Qlub as to their power to dispute a passage through Belgium to these German hosts. Their InteUigence Officers, the officers of a small but highly trained and most gallant army, were well informed of the state of the German military preparations and of the swiftness with which those vast armies, composing millions of men, could be mobi- lized and conveyed along strategical railways. They were as well aware as the French staff officers and the British staff officers. We therefore contemplate the sublime spectacle of a nation which knew that the decision taken meant the destruction of everything in the nation except that which is indestructible, because it is spiritual, but nevertheless they made that choice and are entitled today to come before the American audience as the French were at Verdun where they said, "They shall not pass," because though they have passed by brute military force over the territory of Belgium they never passed over the high and proud spirit of that noble race; and I say to their representative here today that, friendless as they are, devastated and violated and insulted as has been their country — I say this war shall never end, if it goes on for ten years, until, as far as humanity can do it, we put that country back where it was in August 1914. Colonel George Vidmer, of the 306th Infantry, Camp Upton, gave an address on the "Training of the National Army" which was most interesting and instructive. The Hon. Chauncey M. Depew closed the meeting with the following remarks: We hear a great deal all our lives that America is the melting pot and certainly no description of the melting pot has ever been so graphic and complete as the one which the Colonel has given us when he takes the highbrow and takes the gangster and takes the millionaire and takes the pauper and takes the city man and takes the plow man and makes them all simply American soldiers and returns them American citizens. And I never have heard the comradeship of nationalities, especially those who are engaged in this war for the same causes and with each other, so publicly, so beautifully, so graph- ically and so eloquently expressed as was done by Sir Frederick Smith [61] The War Teriod in regard to Italy, Belgium, Great Britain and France. In other words, the melting pot is complete, both in regard to the National Army and in regard to the nationalities who are engaged in this war; and I want to add just one more word, and that is, I have heard a great many speeches on this war, both since it began and since we got into it, but I never have heard one which in so short a space was so illuminating, so brilliant, so comprehensive, so much to the point of stirring the blue blood, the gray blood and finally the red blood as did that of Sir Frederick Smith. Mr. Stephane Lausanne, an eminent journalist of France, addressed our meeting of February i6, 1918. His subject was: "France Determined to Fight to the End." Ladies and Gentlemen, this war, this terrible war, this wretched war, as I hear so many Americans call it — France never wanted it, never prepared for it, never declared it. You know how we are waging this war — we are waging it with all our hearts, with all our determination, with our men and our women and our children. As regards the men, I have lived with them in the trenches during months which were perhaps the most tragic, but also the most magnificent of all my life; and when today I speak of men, I cannot do better than repeat what our Commander-in-Chief, General Petain, said a few days ago to an American correspondent of a New York paper; he told him: "Don't speak of us, the generals, the chiefs, but speak only of the men; we have done nothing, the men have done every- thing, the men have been admirable. We, the chiefs, we can only kneel down before them. ..." A few days ago in an old street of old New York I entered into an old shop, and there my eyes fell on a very old picture, on a picture representing an old ship, a very old ship, which 140 years ago, as you recall it, Mr. Chairman, was bringing on this side of the water Rochambeau, Lafayette and the other French soldiers who were coming to fight side by side with you for the cause of liberty; and do you know what was the name of that ship? It was called in French La Victoire, which means "Victory," and under the picture the artist had put this title, "The Sailing of Victory." [62] The J^wyers 0ub Now, I should like to see that old picture engraved and circu- lated by thousands and thousands of copies; but near it I should like to see a modern picture, a picture showing the huge transports, the magnificent cruisers, carrying now to the other side of the water, your splendid, your fine American army, your boys who are going to fight side by side with us, for the cause of liberty; and, under that more modern picture I should like to see the title: "The Return of Victory." "The Return of Victory"; and let us make no mistake, of a victory which will not be the victory of France or the victory of Great Britain or the victory of Japan, or the victory even your vic- tory, the victory of the United States, but which will be the victory of the great and immortal idea — the victory of right, of justice, of humanity and of civilization. I thank you. Mr. Lausanne was followed by George Creel, who ad- dressed the Club on "The Work of the Committee on Public Information." Mr. Creel finished a most interesting address with these words: Stand fast and stand together. By your enthusiasm thrill America into unity and projectile force, write our aims and ideals on the heavens of the world, and cry a message across the sea, that shall shake the insolence of those who now find hope in our confusions. This is the hour of opportunity. For three years we proved our devo- tion to the ideals of peace, carrying our patient forbearance to an ultimate of humility, and we drew the sword only when the seas filled with our innocent dead; when ancient law was set aside, when treachery put the torch and bomb to our peaceful industry, and when it was seen that the Imperial German Government was dead to honor, faith and humanity. We fight for freedom, for the right of the world to work and aspire, for a peace that is not shadowed by the menace of an aggres- sive autocracy. Our ideals are not stained by a single ignoble motive, we ask nothing for ourselves that we do not ask for all, and having drawn the sword it shall not be sheathed until we have eflFected every high determination. [63] The War Teriod Dr. T. lyenaga, the Representative of Japan, followed Mr. Creel, and said: America unsheathed her sword to vindicate her honor, after her patience and long-sufFering were exhausted by the ruthless viola- tion of her rights, by the senseless murder of her citizens, by the con- temptuous defiance of her protestations — all committed by the auto- cratic government of Germany and the military machine she has created to attain her monstrous ambition and greed. Japan, on the other hand, entered the war in obedience to the terms of the Anglo- Japanese Alliance, which imposed upon her the duty of making military operations in common with her ally against its foe in the region of Eastern Asia, and its waters. Consequently, at the begin- ning of hostilities, Japan agreed with her ally to limit her military and naval activities to the Far East and its waters. . . . Japan did her part allotted to her by her allies with thorough- ness and fidelity. At one stroke she destroyed the German power in the Far East; hunted the enemy warships out of the adjoining waters; captured their bases in the south seas, and has ever since been keeping a vigilant watch over the wide expanse of waters. Furthermore, she has subscribed to the loans of her alhes to the full extent of her financial capacity. The ^700,000,000 or so — one-third of that which the United States has loaned to the cause of the Allies — -is no meagre contribution on the part of Japan, when we consider that her wealth is only one-tenth of what America possesses. Japan has also supplied her allies with munitions and other war materials. On March 16, 1918, we were addressed by James A. Whitmore of the Y. M. C. A., who gave a graphic account of the noble work of the Association — replete with personal illustrations of his experiences at the front. He was followed by Walter B. Walker, who closed his address with these words: Is it fitting that while the staunch youth of America — now thank God fiOing the bloody gaps in the long thin Une of the grandest alhed army the world has ever seen, the army of England— our [64] The J^wyers Qlub Mother country — and of France, our country's foster mother, is it fitting, I ask, that we should sit supinely by in our accustomed ease and wonder whether the great common people of Germany are at heart as cruel as the so-called military class? Strange it is that there can still be even a lingering doubt, when for three and a half years we have witnessed the violation of women, the slaughter of children, the crucifixion of soldiers, and the utter demolition of everything that civilization has builded up through twenty long centuries either of the human virtues or inanimate mass. For many years the German has proffered us the hand of friendship, and we, in turn, with our healthy faith in human nature, have given him freely of our confidence, our affection and our trust; all of which he took and encouraged us to yield it to him even more abundantly — not for its own beauty, but that he might on that "Great Day" betray it more completely. God grant that none such may survive! An understanding of this awesome thing — this apotheosis of treachery — completes our purpose here today. Mr. Walker then presented the Rev. Isaac J. Lansing, who gave a remarkable address on the subject of Antagonism of the German Pohtical Philosophy to Christian Faith and Morals, succinctly phrased, "What we are fighting, and what or. The agency of German domination should be the army. The army should perform its work with a ruthless disregard of all the so- called laws of war, of morality and of humanity. To sweep away the reverence of the German people for morality and humanity, it was necessary to get rid of the Christian religion, which was the founda- tion of these virtues, and to substitute therefor, as they did, another, which was anti-Christian, called "The Religion of Valor," as pagan as Attila's. To make sure that they could rid themselves and the German people of the Christian religion, they deemed it necessary that they should destroy the authority of the Holy Scriptures. This they did, among themselves, and, considerably, among the nations of the [65] The War Verio d world. But while they had a religion left, which, though pagan, was powerful, those of other lands who accepted their anti-Christian and anti-Bibhcal theories, had nothing left except the sentiment of reli- gion, and found themselves in this country, and to a considerable extent also in Britain, without an authoritative and divine religion and corresponding conviction; but holding as religion an emasculated, non-authoritative sentiment — many of us questioning whether it was consistent with Christianity to fight for faith, for humanity and for morality! So the German philosophy worked to its own strengthen- ing, for its own purposes, and to the weakening of all those nations on whom they proposed to fall. The Germans became ruthless warriors. Many so-called Christians became sentimental pacifists. You have wondered why the German Empire is making so many appeals to God and nevertheless seems to lack Christian moral sense and Christian humanity. I have given you the reason. The God of Germany is not the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, is not the God of the Christian Scriptures, but the manufactured patron of German conquest and world dominion. . . . Our battle is more than a war for national defense, great as that is; more than a war of American patriotism, the care of our own people on sea and land; more than a war for the integrity and rehabili- tation of Belgium and France, and the support of our Allies fighting for the world's right; more than cooperation with many nations who withstand Germany. Our war is a war for the race in its highest ideals and its greatest hopes. When Charles Martel turned back the Saracens in southern France in the early centuries, he did no less than is obligatory upon the nations of the world today in fighting back the German invasion. Against their overweening pride and vanity, their falseness, traitorousness, intolerable inhumanity, cruelty, tyranny, spoliation and subjugation we are fighting. Are not these causes adequate? Is there not motive enough in these to awaken the hundred millions of Americans to withstand, with the millions of Europeans, the terrific forces of German invasion and destructiveness? 66]