The Columbus commercial. (Columbus, Miss.) 1893-1922, 1905-10-22
les, SO we are knit together by


the bond of our common duties
in the present, our common in
ter+sts in the future. |
MANY and great problems lie
before us. If we treat the mighty /
memories of tina past merely as
excuses for sitting lazily down in
the present, or for standing aside
from the rough work of the world,
then these memories will prove a /
curse instead of blessing. But
if we treat them as | believe we
shall treat them, not as excuses
for inaction, but as Incentives to |
make US show that we are worthy |
of our a h ers and OF our
fathers fathers, then IN truth |
the deeds of the past will not have
been wasted, for they shall bring
| forth fruit a hundred fold in the
present generation.
"We of this n a n, we the
citizens of this mighty and Won
derful republic, stretching across
a continent between t h e two
greatest oceans, enjoy extraor-
binary privileges, and as our op-
portunity is great, therefore our
responsibility is great. We have
duties to perform both abroad
and at ho ne, and we cannot
shirk either set of duties and full
lv retain our self-respect
SIN foreign affairs we must
make up our minds that whether
we wish it or not, we are great
people and must play great part
in the world. 1t is not open to US
to choose whether we will play
that great part or not. We have
to play it; all we can decide is
whether we shall play it we'll or
i'll. And I have too much conf
dence in my countym en- to doubt
what that decision will be.
"Our mission in the wor d
, should be one of peace, but not
the peace of cravens, the peace
granted contemporary to those
' who purchase it by surrend ering
| the right. No! Our voice must
be effective for peace because ii
is raised for righteousness first
| and for peace only as the hand
: maiden of righteousn ess. We
2 must be scrupulous in respecting
: the rights of the weak, and nc
3 less careful to make it evident
r that we do not act through fear
l of the strong.
"We must be scrupulous in do.
t ing Justice to others and scrupu-
: lous in exacting justice for our
l selves. We must beware equally
J of that sinister and cynical teach
, ing which would persuade us tx
, disregard ethical standards in in
3 ternational relations and of the
: no less hurtful folly which woulc
Q stop the whole work of eiviliza'
: ton by we'll meant but silly
9 persistency in trying to apply tt
e people untitled for them thos'
8 theories of government and o
j national action which are onl.
d suited for the most advanced
. races.
t SIN particular we must remem
: Der that In undertaking to built
up the Panama canal we hav
Q necessarily undertaken to polio
Q the seas at either end Of 1t; an'
L this means that we have q pecul
8 lar interest in the preservation 0
, order in the coasts and islands o
i the Carbide | firmly believ
i that by a little wise and gener
Y Gus aid we can help even tn
: most backward of the peoples II
d these coasts and islands forwar
t along the path of orderly libert,
Q so that they can stand alone.
n we decline to give them such help
: the result will be bad both 70
!, them and for US; ana will in tn
: end in all probability cause US t
face humiliation or bloodshed.
IMPORTANT PROBLEMS AT HOME.
J.. "The problems that face U
q abroad are important, but tn