Page:The Shield (Knopf, 1917).djvu/146

120 in time of war? For the same reason that the rest of the national problems have made themselves felt.

We have called the present struggle a war of liberation. We entered the war with the avowed purpose of liberating those who are situated at a distance from us. While liberating distant strangers, why then do we oppress those who live close by our side? We wage war against tyranny outside of Russia, and we allow oppression to reign within her. We pity everybody but the Jews. Why?

Are they not dying on the battlefields for our sake? Do they not love us—who hate them? Do we not hate them—who love us? If we continue to act as we have done in the past, would not everybody lose faith in us, and would not the nations of the earth be justified in saying to us: "You can love only from afar. You are liars!"

We believed our righteousness to be our strongest weapon. We wanted to conquer brute force by the tmth. If we persist in this desire, let us not lie; let us not weaken our truth by falsehood.

The Teutons say: 'Wе fight to be the