Valentine Democrat. (Valentine, Neb.) 1900-1930, 1904-12-15

est and most generous appreciation Of the
difference between right and wrong. 10 dis
arm. II the great civilized nations OF the
present day should completely disarm. the
result would mean an immediately recrud-
escence Of barbarism in one form or an
other Under any circumstances Il sufficient
armament would have to be kept up to
serve the purposes Of international police;
and until international cohesion and the
sense Of international duties and rights are
far more advanced than at present, ma
tiOn DESTROYS both of securing respect for
itself and Of doing good To others must
have Il force adequate for the work which
it feels is allotted to IL as its part of the
general world duty. a great free people
owes ii to itself and to all mankind not TO
sink into helplessness before the powers OF
evil.
Second Hague Conference.
We are in every way eudeayOring TO help
on, with cordial good will, every movement
which will tend To bring us into more
friendly relations with the rest Of man
kind In pursuance of this policy | shall
shortly lay before the Senate treaties Of
arbitration with all powers which are will
ing to enter into these treaties with Us.
Furthermore, ut the request OF the Inter
parliamentary Union, an eminent body com
posed of practical statesmen from all coun-
tries, | have asked the Powers to join with
this government in second Hague con
ference, at which it is hoped that the work
a
be carried some steps further toward COM
IietiOu.
Policy Toward Other Nations of West
crn Hemisphere.
1t is not true that the United States feels
any land hunger or entertainS any projects
as regards the other nations of the west
ern hemisphere save such as are for their
welfare. All that this country desires is to
see the neighboring countries stable, or
DERBY, and prosperous. II Il nation shows
u l, ~.
efficiency and deceucy in social and political
matters, if it keeps order and pays its OBJ
legations, it need fear no interference from
the United States. Chronic wrong doing,
or an impotence which results i'll a general
looSening of the ties Of civilized society,
may in America, as elsewhere, ultimately
require intervention by some civilized ma
ton, and in the Western hemisphere the
adherence of the United States 10 the
Monroe doctrine may force the United
states. however reluctantly, in fragrant
cases of such wrOngdoing or impotence, To
the exercise of an international police
power.
In asserting the Monroe doctrine in TAX
ing such steps as we have taken in regard
to Cuba, Venezuela ana Panama, and in
endeayOring TO circumScribe the theater Of
war in the Far East, ard 10 secure the
open door i'll China, we have acted in our
own interest as well as in the interest of
humanity at large. There are, however
cases in which. while our own interests are
-
made to our Sympathies. Ordinarily it -
very much wiser and more useful for US
TO concern ourselves with striving for our
own moral and material betterment here
at home than 10 concern ourselves with
trying to better the condition of things in
other nations. We have plenty CT sins Of
our own to war against, and under ordi-
nary circumstances we can do more for the
general uplifting of humanity by striving
with heart and soul to put u stop TO civic
corruption, to brutal lawlessness and VIC
lent race prejudices here at home than by
passing resolutions about wrOngdOing else
where. Nevertheless there are occasional
crimes committed on so vast q scale and
Of such peculiar horror as to make us
doubt whether it is not our manifest duty
to endeavOr at least TO show our disap-
prevail of the deed and our sympathy with
those who have suffered by it. The cases
must he extreme in which such 4 course is
justifable. The cases in which we could
interfere by force of arms as we interfered
to put q stop to intOlerable conditions in
Cuba are necessarily very few. 1t is in
evitable that q people like ours, which in
spite Of certain very obvious shortcomings
nevertheless as a whole shows by It's con
SiStent practice its belief in the principles
Of civil and religious liberty and of orderly
freedom, should desire eagerly to give ex-
preston to Its horror on an occasion like
that Of the massacre Of the Jews in Kshe-
nef, or when it witnesses such systematic
and long-eXtended cruelty and oppression
as the cruelty and oppression of which the
Armenlans have been the victims. and
which have won for them the indignant
pity of the civilized world.
The Navy.
The strong arm OF the government in
enforcing respect for its just rights in in
ternatiOnal matters is the Navy of the
United States. | most earnestly recon-
mend that there be no halt in the work of
upbuIlding the American Navy. We have
undertaken to build the Isthmian Canal.
We have undertaken to secure for our
selves our just share in the trade Of the
Orient. We have undertaken to protect
our citizens from improper treatment in
sist on the application of the Monroe doc
Urine 10 the Western hemisphere. Unless
our attitude in these and all similar mat
ters is to be mere boastfuI sham we can
not aHOrd to abandon our naval program
our voice is now potent for peace and is
so potent because we are not afraid of
war.
The war which now unfortunately RACES
IN the far East has emphasized i'm striking
Iashlon the new possibilities of naval war
rare The lessons taught are both strategic
ana tactical, and are political as well as
military; The experiences of the war have
shown In conclusive fashion thar while
sea-golng and sea-keeping torpedo destroy
erS are indispensable, and fast lightly arm
ed and armOred cruisers very usefuI. vet
mat the main reliance, the main standby.
III any navy worthy the name must he the
great battle ships, heavily armored and
heavily gunned. There will always no a
large field Of usefulness for cruisers. espe
c1aily of the more formidable type. but
most Of all we need to continue building
our heet of battle ships. or ships so mower
fully armed that they can inffct the mavi
mum Of damage upon our opponents. and 50
well protected that they can suffer q So
we're hammering in return without fa+eI
impairment of their ability to fight and
maneuver. Ample means must be nro.
yided for. enabling the personnel Of the
Navy TO be brought to the highest noint
OF ehlc1ency. Our great fighting ships and
torpedo boats must be ceaselessly trained
and maneuvered IN squadrons.
The Army.
WITHIN the last three years the Tinted
states mas set an example In disarmament
wnere disarmament was proper BY law
our army IS hxed at a maximum Of one
hundred thousand and minimum of sIytv
thousand men: When there was insnrrec
q ton a, in the Philippines we kept the Army
at the maximum. Peace came In the phil |
lpplhes. and now our Army has been re-
iuced to the minimum at which If is possI |
pie to keep 1t with due regard to it's eff |
cheney. The guns now mounted rpnuire !
twenty eight thousand men, if the coast
,ortlhcat1ons are to be Alternately manned |
we need more officers; there are not enough