Part 19

We are accepting this challenge of hostile purpose because we know that in such a Government, following such methods, we can never have a friend; and that in the presence of its organized power, always lying in wait to accomplish we know not what purpose, there can be no assured security for the democratic Governments of the world. We are now about to accept the gage of battle with this natural foe to liberty and shall, if necessary, spend the whole force of the nation to check and nullify its pretensions and its power. We are glad, now that we see the facts with no veil of false pretense about them, to fight thus for the ultimate peace of the world and for the liberation of its peoples, the German peoples included; for the rights of nations, great and small, and the privilege of men everywhere to choose their way of life and of obedience.

[Sidenote: America has no selfish ends to serve.]

The world must be made safe for democracy. Its peace must be planted upon the tested foundations of political liberty. We have no selfish ends to serve. We desire no conquest, no dominion. We seek no indemnities for ourselves, no material compensation for the sacrifices we shall freely make. We are but one of the champions of the rights of mankind. We shall be satisfied when those rights have been made as secure as the faith and the freedom of nations can make them.

[Sidenote: America will observe principles of right.]

Just because we fight without rancor and without selfish object, seeking nothing for ourselves but what we shall wish to share with all free peoples, we shall, I feel confident, conduct our operations as belligerents without passion and ourselves observe with proud punctilio the principles of right and of fair play we profess to be fighting for.

[Sidenote: Germany only has actually made war on America.]

I have said nothing of the Governments allied with the Imperial Government of Germany because they have not made war upon us or challenged us to defend our right and our honor. The Austro-Hungarian Government has, indeed, avowed its unqualified indorsement and acceptance of the reckless and lawless submarine warfare, adopted now without disguise by the Imperial German Government, and it has therefore not been possible for this Government to receive Count Tarnowski, the Ambassador recently accredited to this Government by the Imperial and Royal Government of Austria-Hungary; but that Government has not actually engaged in warfare against citizens of the United States on the seas, and I take the liberty, for the present at least, of postponing a discussion of our relations with the authorities at Vienna. We enter this war only where we are clearly forced into it because there are no other means of defending our rights.

[Sidenote: America fights the irresponsible Government of Germany.]

It will be all the easier for us to conduct ourselves as belligerents in a high spirit of right and fairness because we act without animus, not with enmity toward a people or with the desire to bring any injury or disadvantage upon them, but only in armed opposition to an irresponsible Government which has thrown aside all considerations of humanity and of right and is running amuck.

We are, let me say again, the sincere friends of the German people, and shall desire nothing so much as the early re-establishment of intimate relations of mutual advantage between us, however hard it may be for them for the time being to believe that this is spoken from our hearts. We have borne with their present Government through all these bitter months because of that friendship, exercising a patience and forbearance which would otherwise have been impossible.

[Sidenote: Most Americans of German birth are loyal to the United States.]

We shall happily still have an opportunity to prove that friendship in our daily attitude and actions toward the millions of men and women of German birth and native sympathy who live among us and share our life, and we shall be proud to prove it toward all who are in fact loyal to their neighbors and to the Government in the hour of test. They are most of them as true and loyal Americans as if they had never known any other fealty or allegiance. They will be prompt to stand with us in rebuking and restraining the few who may be of a different mind and purpose. If there should be disloyalty, it will be dealt with with a firm hand of stern repression; but, if it lifts its head at all, it will lift it only here and there and without countenance except from a lawless and malignant few.

[Sidenote: Trial and sacrifice ahead.]

It is a distressing and oppressive duty, gentlemen of the Congress, which I have performed in thus addressing you. There are, it may be, many months of fiery trial and sacrifice ahead of us. It is a fearful thing to lead this great, peaceful people into war, into the most terrible and disastrous of all wars, civilization itself seeming to be in the balance.

[Sidenote: America will fight for democracy.]

But the right is more precious than peace, and we shall fight for the things which we have always carried nearest our hearts--for democracy, for the right of those who submit to authority to have a voice in their own Governments, for the rights and liberties of small nations, for a universal dominion of right by such a concert of free peoples as shall bring peace and safety to all nations and make the world itself at last free.

To such a task we can dedicate our lives and our fortunes, everything that we are and everything that we have, with the pride of those who know that the day has come when America is privileged to spend her blood and her might for the principles that gave her birth and happiness and the peace which she has treasured.

God helping her, she can do no other.

DECLARATION OF WAR

[Sidenote: Germany has made war on the United States.]

_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

[Sidenote: War is formally declared.]

_Resolved_, by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled. 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

[Sidenote: The President is given full authority.]

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 the resources of the country are hereby pledged by the Congress of the United States.

PROCLAMATION TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE

BY PRESIDENT WILSON

[Sidenote: Congress has declared war.]

_Whereas_, The Congress of the United States, in the exercise of the constitutional authority vested in them, have resolved by joint resolution of the Senate and House of Representatives, bearing date this day, "that a state of war between the United States and the Imperial German Government which has been thrust upon the United States is hereby formally declared";

_Whereas_, It is provided by Section 4,067 of the Revised Statutes as follows:

[Sidenote: Proclamation regarding alien enemies.]

"Whenever there is declared a war between the United States and any foreign nation or Government or any invasion or predatory incursion is perpetrated, attempted, or threatened against the territory of the United States by any foreign nation or Government, and the President makes public proclamation of the event, all native citizens, denizens, or subjects of a hostile nation or Government being male of the age of 14 years and upward, who shall be within the United States and not actually naturalized, shall be liable to be apprehended, restrained, secured, and removed as alien enemies. The President is authorized in any such event by his proclamation thereof, or other public acts, to direct the conduct to be observed on the part of the United States toward the aliens who become so liable; the manner and degree of the restraint to which they shall be subject and in what cases and upon what security their residence shall be permitted, and to provide for the removal of those who, not being permitted to reside within the United States, refuse or neglect to depart therefrom; and to establish any such regulations which are found necessary in the premises and for the public safety."

_Whereas_, By Sections 4,068, 4,069, and 4,070 of the Revised Statutes, further provision is made relative to alien enemies;

[Sidenote: All officers of the United States are warned to be vigilant.]

_Now, therefore_, I, Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim, to all whom it may concern, that a state of war exists between the United States and the Imperial German Government, and I do specially direct all officers, civil or military, of the United States that they exercise vigilance and zeal in the discharge of the duties incident to such a state of war, and I do, moreover, earnestly 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 constitutional authorities in prosecuting the war to a successful issue and in obtaining a secure and just peace;

And, acting under and by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution of the United States and the said sections of the Revised Statutes,

[Sidenote: Conduct to be observed toward alien enemies.]

I do hereby further proclaim and direct that the conduct to be observed on the part of the United States toward all natives, citizens, denizens, or subjects of Germany, being male of the age of 14 years and upward, who shall be within the United States and not actually naturalized, who for the purpose of this proclamation and under such sections of the Revised Statutes are termed alien enemies, shall be as follows:

[Sidenote: Alien enemies must preserve the peace.]

All alien enemies are enjoined to preserve the peace toward the United States and to refrain from crime against the public safety and from violating the laws of the United States and of the States and Territories thereof, and to refrain from actual hostility or giving information, aid, or comfort to the enemies of the United States and to comply strictly with the regulations which are hereby, or which may be from time to time promulgated by the President, and so long as they shall conduct themselves in accordance with law they shall be undisturbed in the peaceful pursuit of their lives and occupations, and be accorded the consideration due to all peaceful and law-abiding persons, except so far as restrictions may be necessary for their own protection and for the safety of the United States, and toward such alien enemies as conduct themselves in accordance with law all citizens of the United States are enjoined to preserve the peace and to treat them with all such friendliness as may be compatible with loyalty and allegiance to the United States.

[Sidenote: Penalties added to those prescribed by law.]

And all alien enemies who fail to conduct themselves as so enjoined, in addition to all other penalties prescribed by law, shall be liable to restraint or to give security or to remove and depart from the United States, in the manner prescribed by Sections 4,069 and 4,070 of the Revised Statutes and as prescribed in the regulations duly promulgated by the President.

[Sidenote: The necessary regulations.]

And pursuant to the authority vested in me, I hereby declare and establish the following regulations, which I find necessary in the premises and for the public safety:

[Sidenote: Cannot possess weapons.]

1. An alien enemy shall not have in his possession at any time or place any firearms, weapons, or implements of war, or component parts thereof, ammunition, Maxim or other silencer, arms, or explosives or material used in the manufacture of explosives;

[Sidenote: No signaling devices or cipher codes.]

2. An alien enemy shall not have in his possession at any time or place, or use or operate, any aircraft or wireless apparatus, or any form of signaling device or any form of cipher code or any paper, document, or book written or printed in cipher or in which there may be invisible writing;

[Sidenote: Property may be seized.]

3. All property found in the possession of an alien enemy in violation of the foregoing regulations shall be subject to seizure by the United States;

[Sidenote: Must not approach forts or munition works.]

4. An alien enemy shall not approach or be found within one-half of a mile of any Federal or State fort, camp, arsenal, aircraft station, Government or naval vessel, navy yard, factory, or workshop for the manufacture of munitions of war or of any products for the use of the army or navy;

[Sidenote: Must not speak or write against the United States.]

5. An alien enemy shall not write, print, or publish any attack or threat against the Government or Congress of the United States, or either branch thereof, or against the measures or policy of the United States, or against the persons or property of any person in the military, naval, or civil service of the United States, or of the States or Territories, or of the District of Columbia, or of the municipal governments therein;

[Sidenote: Must not commit any hostile act.]

6. An alien enemy shall not commit or abet any hostile acts against the United States or give information, aid, or comfort to its enemies;

[Sidenote: Must not enter prohibited areas.]

7. An alien enemy shall not reside in or continue to reside in, to remain in, or enter any locality which the President may from time to time designate by an Executive order as a prohibitive area, in which residence by an alien enemy shall be found by him to constitute a danger to the public peace and safety of the United States, except by permit from the President and except under such limitations or restrictions as the President may prescribe;

[Sidenote: May be made to remove by executive order.]

8. An alien enemy whom the President shall have reasonable cause to believe to be aiding or about to aid the enemy or to be at large to the danger of the public peace or safety of the United States, or to have violated or to be about to violate any of these regulations, shall remove to any location designated by the President by Executive order, and shall not remove therefrom without permit, or shall depart from the United States if so required by the President;

[Sidenote: Cannot leave country without permission.]

9. No alien enemy shall depart from the United States until he shall have received such permit as the President shall prescribe, or except under order of a court, Judge, or Justice, under Sections 4,069 and 4,070 of the Revised Statutes;

[Sidenote: Entering United States regulated.]

10. No alien enemy shall land in or enter the United States except under such restrictions and at such places as the President may prescribe;

[Sidenote: May be obliged to register.]

11. If necessary to prevent violation of the regulations, all alien enemies will be obliged to register;

[Sidenote: Alien enemies who violate rules to be arrested.]

12. An alien enemy whom there may be reasonable cause to believe to be aiding or about to aid the enemy, or who may be at large to the danger of the public peace or safety, or who violates or who attempts to violate or of whom there is reasonable grounds to believe that he is about to violate, any regulation to be promulgated by the President or any criminal law of the United States, or of the States or Territories thereof, will be subject to summary arrest by the United States Marshal, or his Deputy, or such other officers as the President shall designate, and to confinement in such penitentiary, prison, jail, military camp, or other place of detention as may be directed by the President.

This proclamation and the regulations herein contained shall extend and apply to all land and water, continental or insular, in any way within the jurisdiction of the United States.

* * * * *

Saloniki was one of the mysteries of the war. News from that city was brief and unsatisfying in the main. Great things, however, were done there, and none greater than those accomplished by the British. Some of these accomplishments are told in the pages that follow.

BRITISH OPERATIONS AT SALONIKI

OFFICIAL REPORT OF GENERAL MILNE

[Sidenote: Reinforcements needed north of Saloniki.]

[Sidenote: Italy to send 300,000.]

Since the conference at Rome the situation in Macedonia has been radically changed. The weakness of General Sarrail's position lay in the fact that neither England nor France felt free to send from the critical western front the large reinforcements of men which the situation north of Saloniki called for. Italy had the men, but was unwilling to send them and to incur the heavy additional expense of maintaining them in Macedonia. The conference at Rome, in which Premier Lloyd George was the dominant figure, overcame that reluctance, probably promising Italy parts of the Turkish Empire that had been earlier assigned tentatively to Greece and guaranteeing the cost of the new expedition. The result has been immediate and of the highest importance. Rome dispatches indicate that Italy has sent, or is sending, a force of not less than 300,000 men; that these troops, to avoid the danger of submarines, are being dispatched, not to Saloniki, but to Avlona, which is within forty miles of the Italian coast; and, finally, these Italian forces have not only built an excellent highway through the Albanian mountains but have already joined forces with General Sarrail's right wing at Monastir. All these facts indicate early activity in the Macedonian sector.

[Sidenote: General G. F. Milne's report.]

This glimpse of present conditions will serve to introduce the following report of General G. F. Milne, commanding the British Saloniki Army in Macedonia, on last Summer's operations in that sector. His report, submitted to the British War Office early in December, 1916, covered the army's operations from May 9, 1916, to October 8, 1916. The official text of the report is here reproduced, with a few minor omissions:

[Sidenote: Found army concentrated near Saloniki.]

[Sidenote: British forces responsible for front on east and northeast.]

[Sidenote: Construction of defenses.]

"On May 9, 1916, the greater part of the army was concentrated within the fortified lines of Saloniki, extending from Stavros on the east to near the Galiko River on the west; a mixed force, consisting of a mounted brigade and a division, had been pushed forward to the north of Kukush in order to support the French Army which had advanced and was watching the right bank of the Struma River and the northern frontier of Greece. Further moves in this direction were contemplated, but, in order to keep the army concentrated, I entered into an agreement with General Sarrail by which the British forces should become responsible for that portion of the allied front which covered Saloniki from the east and northeast. By this arrangement a definite and independent area was allotted to the army under my command. On June 8, 1916, the troops commenced to occupy advanced positions along the right bank of the River Struma and its tributary, the River Butkova, from Lake Tachinos to Lozista village. By the end of July, on the demobilization of the Greek Army, this occupation had extended to the sea at Chai Aghizi. Along the whole front the construction of a line of resistance was begun; work on trenches, entanglements, bridgeheads, and supporting points was commenced; for administrative purposes the reconstruction of the Saloniki-Seres road was undertaken and the cutting of wagon tracks through the mountainous country was pushed forward.

[Sidenote: British take over line near Doiran.]

[Sidenote: Capture of Horseshoe Hill.]

"On July 20, 1916, in accordance with the policy laid down in my instructions, and in order to release French troops for employment elsewhere, I began to take over the line south and west of Lake Doiran, and commenced preparations for a joint offensive on this front. This move was completed by August 2, 1916, and on the 10th of that month an offensive was commenced against the Bulgarian defenses south of the line Doiran-Hill 535. The French captured Hills 227 and La Tortue, while the British occupied in succession those features of the main 535 ridge now known as Kidney Hill and Horseshoe Hill, and, pushing forward, established a series of advanced posts on the line Doldzeli-Reselli. The capture of Horseshoe Hill was successfully carried out on the night of August 17-18, 1916, by the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry at the point of the bayonet in the face of stubborn opposition. The enemy's counterattacks were repulsed with heavy loss.

[Sidenote: The Bulgarian advance.]

[Sidenote: British and French attack.]

"On August 17, 1916, the Bulgarians, who, at the end of May, had entered Greek territory by the Struma Valley and moved down as far as Demir Hissar, continued their advance into Greek Macedonia. Columns of all arms advanced from seven different points, between Sarisaban, on the Mesta, and Demir Hissar. The four eastern columns converged on the country about Drama and Kavala, while the remainder moved southward on to the line of the Struma from Demir Hissar toward Orfano. On August 19, 1916, a mounted brigade with one battery carried out a strong reconnoissance, and found the enemy in some force on the line Prosenik-Barakli Djuma; on the following day, after being reinforced by a battalion, this brigade again advanced in conjunction with the French detachment. These attacking troops, after encountering the enemy in force on the line Kalendra-Prosenik-Haznatar, withdrew after dark to the right bank of the Struma. The French detachment was subsequently placed under the orders of the General Officer Commanding British troops on this front, and received instructions to cooperate in the defense of the river line.

[Sidenote: Bridges over Angista River destroyed.]

"On August 21, 1916, the railway bridge near Angista Station was demolished by a detachment from the Neohori garrison, and three days later two road bridges over the Angista River were destroyed. Both these operations were well carried out by yeomanry, engineers, and cyclists in the face of hostile opposition.

[Sidenote: Bulgarians in Eastern Macedonia.]

"The Bulgarians continued their advance into Eastern Macedonia unopposed by the Greek garrison, and it was estimated that by the end of August the enemy's forces, extending from Demir Hissar southward in the Seres sector of the Struma front, comprised the complete Seventh Bulgarian Division, with two or three regiments of the Eleventh Macedonian Division, which had moved eastward from their positions on the Beles Mountain to act as a reserve to the Seventh Division, and at the same time to occupy the defenses from Vetrina-Pujovo northward. Opposite the Lower Struma was a brigade of the Second Division, with a brigade of the Tenth Division, in occupation of the coast and the zone of country between Orfano and the Drama-Kavala road. This brigade of the Tenth Division was supported by another brigade in the Drama Kavala area. As a result of this advance and of a similar move in the west General Sarrail decided to intrust to the British Army the task of maintaining the greater portion of the right and center of the allied line.