ion of
treason, which was punishable by death or by a heavy fine and
imprisonment. The acts defined as treasonable were: The use of force
or violence against the American army and navy establishment; the
acquisition, use, or disposal of property with the knowledge that it
was to be utilized for the service of the nation's enemies; and the
performance of any act and the publication of statements or
information that would give aid and comfort to the enemy.

The Government had previously assured Germans and German reservists
domiciled on American soil that they would be free from official
molestation so long as they conducted themselves in accordance with
American law. A general internment of German aliens was deemed to be
both impracticable and impolitic.

Precautions taken against internal uprisings by Teutonic sympathizers
proved to be sufficient without corralling the great number of German
citizens established among the populace--a step which would not only
be costly but inflict great hardships on many unoffending and orderly
aliens. The Administration held by its previous determination not to
resort to reprisals in its treatment of Germans nor to lose its head
in the periodic waves of spy fever which spread throughout the
country.

The President and his advisers, while taking all these preliminary
measures of war, were deeply conscious of the enormous field of other
activities, calling for leadership and statesmanship of a high order,
which the war situation had opened out. Without being daunted by the
prospect, the President took the step of appealing to the people at
large for cooperation. There were so many things to be done besides
fighting--things without which mere fighting would be fruitless. The
President thus stated them:

"We must supply abundant food for ourselves and for our armies and our
seamen, not only, but also for a large part of the nations with whom
we have now made common cause, in whose support and by whose sides we
shall be fighting.

"We must supply ships by the hundreds out of our shipyards to carry to
the other side of the sea, submarines or no submarines, what will
every day be needed there, and abundant materials out of our fields
and our mines and our factories with which not only to clothe and
equip our own forces on land and sea, but also to clothe and support
our people, for whom the gallant fellows under arms can no longer
work; to help clothe and equip the armies with which we