The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-10-19
RlCHMON'S WELCOME IS
 GENUINELY SOUTHERN
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great part in the world. It is not open 10 us to choose whether we will play that great part or not We have to play 1t; all we can decide Is whether we shall play 1t well or Ill. And I have too much confidence in my countrymen to doubt what the decision will be. Our mission in the world should be one of peace. but not the peace of cravens, the peace granted contemptuously to those who pur- chase it by surrendering the right. Nol Our voice must be effective for peace be- cause 1t is raised for righteousness first and for peace only as the handmaiden of righteousness We must be scrupulous in respecting the rights of the weak, and no less careful to make 1t evident that we do not act through fear of the strong. We must be scrupulous in doing justice to others and scrupulous in exacting jus tice for ourselves We must beware equally of that sinister and cynical teach ing which would persuade us to disregard ethical standards in international rea- tions and of the no less hurtful folly
 which would stop the whole work of civilization by well-meant but silly persistency in trying to apply to peoples unhtted for them those theories of gov ernment and of national action which are only suited for the most advanced races. In particular we must remember that In undertaking to build the Panama canal we have necessarily undertaken to
 police the seas at either end of it. and
 this means that we have a peculiar in-
 terest in the preservation of order in
 the coasts and islands of the Caribbean. l firmly believe that by a little wise and
 generous aid we can help even the most backward of peoples In these coasts and islands forward along the path of orderly liberty so that they can stand alone. If we decline to give them such help the
 result will be bad both for them and for us; and will In the end in all proba- bility cause us to face humiliation or bloodshed.
 Home Problems More Important
 "The problems that face ,rs abroad are important, but the problems that face us at home are even more important. The extraordinary growth of industrialism during the last half century brings every civilized people face to face with the gravest social and economic questions. This Is an age of combination among cap
 italists and combination among wage workers. It Is idle to try to prevent such combinations Our efforts should be to see that they work for the good and
 not for the harm of the body polite.
 New devices of law are necessary from time to time in order to meet the changed and changing conditions. But after all we will do we'll to remember that although the problems to be solved change from generation to generation. the spirit in which their solution must be attempted remains forever the same. It Is in peace as 1t Is in war. Tactics change and weapons change. The Continental troops in their blue and buff. who fought under Washington and Greene and Wayne, diff
 fered entirely in arms and in training from those who in blue or gray faced one another in the armies of Grant and of Lee, of sherman and of Johnston. And now the sons of these same Union and
 Confederate veterans who serve In our
 gallant little army of today, wear different uniform, carry a different weapon. and practice different tactics But the soul of the soldier has remained the same throughout. and the qualities which drove forward to victory or to death the men of '76 and the men of 'el. are the very qualities which the men of today must keep unchanged If in the hour of need the honor of the nation is to be kept untarnished So il is in civil life. This government was formed with as its basic idea the brincinia of trAatins