ted that "the letter
was a palpable forgery, too apparent to be read under any other
supposition than that the German Secretary never wrote such a piece of
work."

The dismay of these friends of Germany can only be imagined when
Secretary Zimmerman boldly acknowledged that he had written the letter.
He even defended himself in doing so. As if that were not sufficient, he
proceeded to complain because the United States had intercepted the
letter, for the Mexican President had quickly declared his ignorance of
any such message. It is difficult to say whether the calm assurance of
Zimmerman that he was the writer or his childish whining that the United
States had no right to intercept even such treacherous messages if they
chanced to be written by Germany, produced the greater consternation.
The inability of Germany to comprehend why any nation should object to
anything Germany wanted to do or say was itself beyond the ability of a
civilized people to understand. It was perhaps the most sublime
impudence the world ever has witnessed.

CHAPTER XI

WHY AMERICA WENT TO WAR WITH GERMANY

A STATE of war had been declared April 5, 1917, to exist between the
United States and the Imperial German Government. There is no clearer or
more forceful statement of the reason why we went to war than the
address delivered by President Wilson at Washington on Flag Day, June
14, 1917:

MY FELLOW-CITIZENS: We meet to celebrate Flag Day
because this flag which we honor and under which
we serve is the emblem of our unity, our power,
our thought and purpose as a nation. It has no
other character than that which we give it from
generation to generation. The choices are ours. It
floats in majestic silence above the hosts that
execute those choices, whether in peace or in war.
And yet, though silent, it speaks to us--speaks to
us of the past, of the men and women who went
before us and of the records they wrote upon it.
We celebrate the day of its birth; and from its
birth until now it has witnessed a great history,
has floated on high the symbol of great events, of
a great plan of life worked out by a great people.
We are about to carry it into battle, to lift it
where it will draw the fire of our enemies. We are
about to bid thousands, hundreds of thous