The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1904-09-23
FORCE And MIITARBh
ROO6ETHI'5 CREED
The President Forgetful of the Effec-
tiveness Of Moral Scasion and the
Appeals OF Justice Which Have
characterized the Conduct of the
American Nation IN the Past.
~ 20 Evening Post. M

CNew York Evening Post. Ind.)
Through Mr.. RooseveIts frank I'M
locking OF his heart in mis- letter OF ac-
I Ceptance We see again how steadily his
I thoughts dwell upon force. Power.
! military might, men with guns in their
hands. constitute to his mind the grea.
3 political and progressive energy of the
! world. He cannot conceive OF ciyiliza-'
/ tion getting forward except upon d
/ powder cart. This appears with a
Baiyete almost amazing in the presi-
( dents remarks upon the duty OF our
/ government 70 protect its citizens
( abroad. especially 10 secure a better
/ recognition OF the rights of naturaIiZed
( americans residing in foreign eOun-
I tries he Immediately couples the
I question with that OF the size Of our
army. Protests against i'll treatment
+ OF our citizens will be exactly proper
: Tomato" he affirms, Ito the belief IN
our ability TO make those protests ef-
I fective"-that is. if the peace footing
OF the American army were put back
/ where 1t was before the Spanish was.
I neither Russia nor Turkey. neither
/ france nor Germany nor Austria
l would pay the slightest heed to the
complaints OF our state department.
+ The implications Of this solemn argu-
ment OF President ROosevelts are
/ somewhat comic. According to him,
l when Secretary Hay demands the re-
lease Of a, natuTalized American held for
! military service in. Germany, Chancel-
] Tor Won BuelOw looks at our army OF
5000 men and trembles. II we had
only the $4,000 of 1896 ne would have
some hopes of being able TO hold US IN
/ check with his own army OF sos. 600; but
/ with Roosevelt ready 10 lead s., 900
( on to Berlin. the case is vastly differ
ent and the American citizen at once
gets his rights. Similarly. il was our
army Of 5000 which frightened Tur-
( key, with her 100000; while Russia with
( her l,l00.G00, Austria with 32S 900 and
France with 59S 900 saw at once that
resistance 10 our diplomatic appeals
would simply expose them TO invasion.
But it is not the absurdity OF Mr.
Roosevelts military reasoning that
most Invites comment. It is his com
pleJe oversight Of moral forces Il IS
I Ms forgetfuIness OF what this country
/ was and did when its military power
was contemplate According TO the
+ president. our words would have no
/ weight IN the far east today had we not
1 seized and kept the Philippines; no
1 european nation would stop 10 listen
/ to us If we had not a fighting army
and navy formidable and ready for
use This is pretty cool, coming from
a man who processes to be an historian
I What was the size OF our army when
/ Washington rescued LAFAYETTE from
! OlmutZ2 What was il when Webster
l wrote his famous Hulsemanu dispatch
/ What when John Quincy Adams and
Marcy stood up for the rights of Amer,
lean seamen and American ships, and
/ pressed firmly for the recognition Of
our Haturalized citizens as fuiI-fedged
Americans Why, ii was To Mr.
ROOsevelt's notions, despicabIe. as was
I the country that put up with such
( puny force; and he must think the for
! eign nations great fools that paid am
attention 70 legal and humane argu-
ments which we were not able, 10 make
! effective"
All this is pitifully 10 ignore the true
grandeur or this nation. It's historic
! position has been that Of a living pro-
1 test against both the burdens and the
methods OF militarism America has
/ believed in the cOgency OF sound rea-
s0ning: in the appeal 70 humanIty: in
! the self-witnessing sanctions Of justice.
But our president now comes TO tell Us
that the argument OF pike and gun IS
I the only one that counts The sole
/ way 70 secure your rights Is 70 kill. or
to threaten 10 kill, somebody. This iS
/ the true military theory OF govern
ment; and il crops out in the prestz
dents letter OminOusIy 4 doctrine
which public man uneonsciously be-
7 trays that he holds is apt TO be a
more vital belief with him than the
cOnyentionalities which he endorses
/ perfunctorily.
The president SCOTS at the idea OF
! there being a threat Of tyranny in an
army Of 5000 men for a nation o.
S0,000,000. But no one supposes that
there are TO be military arrests OF
/ Democrats, soldiers stationed at the
polls or in the courts. What rehectinG
people dread is, rather. the surrender
Of the government 10 the military
I spirit: the disappearance of reverence
( for law; the loss OF faith in moral
measures and in appeals 10 the brain
/ inside the Uranium Instead OF blows
upon its outside; and with al this ar
increasing weight Of unnecessary tax
alton 20 sustain a swollen military es-
/ Enlistment. President Roosevelt SHOULD
see a significant warning in the oppo-
! sitiOn TO him OF so many prominent
| German-Americans They know what
{ the big stick and the military boots
really are Many Of them came TO this
country TO escape precisely the evils
which the Roosevelt school would in
trOduce into our government. Germans
do not need 10 be told OF a sO1dier-rUIIar
brushing aside the constitution. BIS
nlarck took the money for the army be
wanted without the consent OF the
Prussian parliament. He ANTICIPATED
[ the Roosevelt plan Of taking things
into our own hands" law or no law.
( treaty 10 the contrary or no. This is
the real tyranny which is wrapped u
IN militarism. It is contempt for law.
imp2tieBee at any restraint: a feeling
that the constitutional limitation OF the
power Of any executive is only a dis
g greea bic way OF trying to make him
'inpotent.' The full flower OF this
spirit. those intelligent German-AmerI
cans, and other citizens OF foreign birth
who are against Roosevelt, have seen
and suffered from I'm their native lands.
and they do not wish 10 have il imi-
tated by their adopted country.
TACT ntncT0nr rN0st1