February 1st, 1917.
Received by James Padgett.
Washington D.C.
I am here, James G. Blaine.
I want to write a few lines as I am interested in the affairs of our country, and I see the present critical condition of affairs growing out of the recent declarations of the Germans as to the policy that they intend to pursue regarding the blockading of the ports of the Allies, which means, in substance, that the ports of our country will also be blockaded, for if the merchant vessels travelling from the U.S. to the ports of the Allies are not permitted to land at their destinations, there will, of course, be no departures from our ports, and the result will be the same as if such ports were actually blockaded.
It is a serious condition for Mr. Wilson to deal with and he must act quickly and firmly, and not in any particular recognize the right of the Germans to carry out their policy, or to permit, so far as possible, the cessation of the travel of ships from our ports to those of the Allies. Temporizing will not do, and he must at the very start let the Germans know that America will not submit to the dictation, and that, if necessary, the America nation will not only sever diplomatic relations with Germany and her allies, but will become active participants in the war, which humanity and the welfare of the majority of the nations of the earth demand shall be recognized and enforced.
He, the President, may in his dream of peace, which he has recently given expression to, and which is wholly impracticable at this time, attempt to conciliate the Germans, and by further reasoning show them that they are wrong and violators of all recognized laws of nations, and this hope to avoid war; or the involving of America in this conflict. But to do so, will constitute a great mistake, for his protestations will fall on deaf ears, and create in the German mind the impression that his great desire for peace will restrain him from asserting to the extent of force, the power of the U.S. to prevent the Germans from carrying out their policy of murder and destruction.
I write this, not because I am in any way antagonistic to the German people, or have any special predilection for the Allies, but because I see the right of the matter, and that which is necessary to the salvation of not only the larger part of the nations of the earth, but also to preserve the rights and dignity and substantial welfare of the U.S. This action of the German nation must not for a moment be tolerated, and the sooner the President strikes the better it will be for all concerned. Of course with the Germans it is a matter of life and death, but even so it is not right that the other nations of the earth should suffer ruin or destruction in order that the German nation should continue to exist, and be enabled to carry out its policy of domination, which is really the foundation of the existence of the present war.
While I am a spirit and supposed to be interested only in spiritual things, yet my thoughts and interests are with my people, and incidentally with all the nations and peoples of the earth, and these nations and peoples must be preserved and not be permitted to be ruined by any other nation, and especially so in the present war for which no justification exists, for the course that the entente have pursued in attempting to carry out it unholy desires for destruction and aggrandizement. I know what the rulers of the various nations contemplate and what their policies are in the prosecution of this war, for I visit the councils of each of them and learn the thoughts of the leaders, and the objects of their efforts and desires. On both sides there is much that deserves condemnation and entails suffering, but in weighing the wrongs perpetrated by these various nations I realize that the Germans are guilty of the greater wrongs, and if God should interfere as the Kaiser and the rulers of some of the other nations believe He will, the German nation would have visited upon them the just indignation and punishment of that God. But He will not interfere, and men will be left to themselves to settle this war, and they alone; but here I may say that as right and justice are more powerful in the long run than wrong and injustice, the nations that have the most of right on their side, will come out victors. And according to my understanding of the things and motives and ambitions that have entered into and caused this war, the Allies must become the victors.
Of course, I cannot tell when this war will end, but considering the conditions that exist and the causes that are now operating, I believe that the end is in sight and that very soon the Germans and their allies will have to sue for peace, and the end will soon follow. I would like to write more tonight, but your wife advises me that I have written enough, and so I will close. So good night,
Your very dear friend,
James G. Blaine.