The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1904-12-09

have acted in our interest as well
az in the interest OF humanity at large
There are, however. cases in which.
while our own interests are not CRAFTY
involved. strong appeal Is made 10 u
synpathies. Ordinarily IL il very much
wiser and more useful for Us to con-
Germ ourselves with striving for our own
moral and material betterment here at
home thar TO concern ourselves with
trying TO better the condition Of things
in other nations. We have plenty OF sins
OF our own 10 var against, and under
ordinary circumstances we can do more
Tor the general uplifting OF humanity
by striving with heart and soul TO put
a stop to civic corruption. to brutal
lawlsssness and violent race prejudices
here at home than by passing resolu-
tons about w~rongdoing elsewhere.
Nevertheless there are occasional
crimes committed on so vast a scale, OF
such peculiar horror Is TO make US
doubt whether II is not our manifest
duty TO endeavor ct least to show our
disapproval of the deed and our SYM
patty with those who have suffered by
il. This cases must be extreme in which
u C a course Is justfiable. There must
be no effort made to remove the mote
from our brothers eye IL we refuse TO
remove the beam from our own. But.
in extreme cases action may be justif-
able and proper. What form the action
shall take must depend upon the cir
cumstances OF the case: that is, upon
the degree of the atrocity and upon our
power to remedy it. The cases in which
we could interfere by force of arms, as
we interfered TO put a stop 10 into,era-
bic conditions in Cuba. are necessarily
very few. Yet il is not to be expected
that a people like ours, which in spite
Of certain very obvious shortcomings,
nevertheless as q whole shows by it's
consistent practice, its belief in the
principles of civil and religious liberty
and Of orderly freedom, a people among
whom even the worst crime, like the
crime of lynching, is never more han
sporadic, so that individuals and not
classes are molested in their funda-
mental rights-it is inevitable that such
a nation should desire eagerly to give
expression to its horror on an occasion
like that of the massacre of the Jews
in Kishenef, or when it witnesses such
systematic and long-extended cruelty
and oppression of which the Armenians
DCNLA ~ al oiiN "AiASi lldN
~ for them the indignant pity of the
civilized world.
Rights of American Citizens Abroad.
Even where it is not possible to secure
in other nations the observance Of the
principles which we accept as axio-
matte, it is necessary for us firmly to
insist Upon the rights of our own citi-
gems without regard to their creed or
race; without regard to whether they
were born here or born abroad. 1t has
proved very difficult to secure from
Russia the right for our Jewish fellow
citizens to receive passports and travel
through Russian territory. Such con-
duct is not only unjust and irritating
toward us, but i. is difficult to see its
wisdom from Russia's standpoint. No
conceivable good is accomplished by It.
If an American Jew or an American
Christian misbehaves himself in Rus
STA he can at once be driven out; but
the ordinary American Jew, like the or
binary American Christian, would be-
have just about as he behaves here,
that is, behave as any good citizen
ought to behave; and where this is thu
case it is a wrong against which we are
entitled to protest to refuse him his
passport without regard to his conduct
and character, merely on racial and re-
ligious grounds. In Turkey our difficult
ties arise less from the way in which
our citizens are sometimes treated than
from the indignation inevitably excited
III seeing such fearful naisrule as has
been witnessed both in Armenia and
Macedonia.
he Navy.
The strong arm of the Government
in enforcing respect for its just rights
in International matters is the Navy
of the United States. I most earnest
ly recommend that there be no hal,
In the work of upbuilding h Amer
lean Navy. There is no more patriotic
duty before us as a people than TO
keep the Navy adequate to the needs
OF this country's position. We nave
undertaken to build the Isthmian Ca
nal. We have undertaken to secure
for ourselves II just share in the
trade of the Orient. We have under
taken to protect our citizens from in,-
proper treatment in foreign lands.
We continue steadily to insist on the
application OF the Monroe Doctrine TO
the Western Hemisphere. Unless our
attitude in these and all similar mat
tiers is to be a mere boastful sham
we can not afford to abandon our ma
val programme. Our voice is now
potent for peace, and is so potent be-
cause we are not afraid of war. But
our protestations upon behalf of peace
would neither receive nor deserve the
slightest attention if we were impo-
tent to make them good.
The wal which now unfortunately
RACES in the far East has emphasized
in striking fashion the new possibil-
tiles of naval warfare. The lesscGs
taught are both strategic and tactical,
and are political as vel! as military.
The experiences of the war have
shown In conclusive fashion that while
sea-going and sea-keeping torpedo de-
stroyers are indispensable, and fast
lightly armed and armoured cruisers
very useful, yet that the main reli-