The Grit-advocate., 1904-12-09


tice for ourselves save as conditioned
upon the attitude We are willing 10 take
toward our army, and especially to"ara
our navy. II is not merely unwise. ii IS
contemplate for a nation. as for an IN
dividual. TO high sounding language
to proclaim its purposes, or to take po-
sitions which are ridiculous If unsupport-
ed by potential force, and then to refuse
to provide this force. II there is no m
tention OF providing and of keeping the
force necessary TO back up strong atti-
tude. then :. is far better not TO assume
such attitude.
The steady aim Of this nation. as OF all
enlightened nations. should be to strive
to bring ever nearer the day when there
shall prevail throughout the world the
peace of justice. There are kinds OF
peace which are highly undesirable
which are in the long run as destructive
as any war. Tyrants and oppressors have
many times made wilderness and called
it peace The peace of tyrannous terror.
the peace of craven weakness. the peace
of Injustice. all these should be Stunned
as shun unrighteous war The goal
to set before us as a nation, the goal
which should be set before all mankind,
is the attainment of the peace OF JUS
tice. of the peace which comes when
each nation Is not merely safe-guarded
in its own rights. but scrupuously rec
ognizes and performs its duty toward
others.
There is as yet no judicial way Of en-
forcing a tight in international law.
When on. ..ntion wrongs another or
wrongs many others. there is no tribu-
nal before which the wronSdoer can be
brought. Either it is necessary supinely
to acquiesce in the wrong. and thus put
a premium upon brutality and aggres-
sion, or else ii is necessary for the ag-
grieved nation valanty to stand up for
its rights. Until some method is devised
by which there shall be a degree OF in
ternational control over offending ma
tions. it would be a wicked thing for
the most civilized powers. for those with
most sense of international obligations
and with keenest and most generous ap-
probation Of the difference between right
and wrong. to disarm. If the great civ
ilized nations Of the present day should
completely disarm. the result would mean
an immediate recrudescence of barbar
ism in one form or another.
Arbitration Treaties.
We are in every way endeavorinE to
help on. with cordial good will, every
movement which will tend to bring us
into more friendly relations with the rest
of mankind. In pursuance of this policy
I shall shortly lay before the Senate
treaties OF arbitration with all powers
which are willing to enter into these
treaties with us. Furthermore. at the
request of the Interpariamentary Union.
an eminent body composed of practical
statesmen from all countries. have
asked the Powers to join with this gov
ernment in a second Hague conference,
at which it is hoped that the work al
ready so happily begun at The Hague
may be carried some steps further to-
ward completion. This carries out the
desire expressed by the first Hague con-
ference Itself.
Policy on Western Hemisphere.
1t is not true that the United States
feels any land hunger or entertains any
projects as regards the other nations of
the western hemisphere save such as are
for their welfare. All that this coun-
try desires is to see the neighboring
countries stable. orderly. and prosperous.
Any country whose people conduct them
selves well can count upon our hearty
friendship If a nation shows that it
knows how to act with reasonable eff
cheney and decency in social and political
matters, if it keeps order and pays its
obliga tions. it need fear no interference
from the United States. Chronic wrong
| doing. or an impotence which results in
a general loosening of the ties of civil
| lied society, may in America. else
| where ultimately require Intervention by
| some civilized nation. and in the western
| hemisphere the adherents of the United
| States to the Monroe doctrine may force
| the United States. however reluctantly.
| in fragrant cases Of such wrongdoing or
| impotence. to the exercise of an inter-
national police power.
Our interests and those of our south
ern neighbors are in reality identical.
| They have great natural riches, and II
| within their borders the reign Of law and
| Justice obtains. prosperity is sure to come
| to them. While they thus obey the pri-
mary laws of civilized society they may
he cd u
| us in a spirit of cordial and helpful SYM
pathy. We would interfere with them
| only in the last resort, and then only
| if it became evident that their inabiuoy
| or unwillngness to do justice at home
and abroad had violated the rights of
| the United States or had invited foreign
| aggression to the detriment of the en-
| tire body of American nations.
| In asserting the Monroe doctrine. in
| taking such steps as we have taken in
regard to Cuba, Venezuela, and Panama.
| and in endeavoring to circumscribe the
| theater of war in the far East. and to
| secure the open door in China. we have
acted in our own interest as we'll as in
| the interest of humanity at large. There
| are. however, cases in which. while our
own interests are not greatly involved.
| strong appeal is made to our Sympathies.
| There are occasional crimes committed
on so vast a scale and of such peculiar
| horror to make US doubt whether it is
| not our manifest duty to endeavor at
| least to show cur disapproval of the deed
| and our sympathy with those who have
| suffered by it. The cases must be ex-
treme in which such a course is jusu-
| fable. But in extreme cases action may
| be justiiable and proper. What form
| the action shall take must depend upon
| the circumstances 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 to
| intolerable conditions in Cuba are neces-
| sarily very few. Yet it is not to be ex-
pected that people like ours, which in
| spite OF certain very obvious shortcom-
| ings, nevertheless whole shows by
| its 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