The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1907-04-17
FULL TEXT OF ROOTS SPEECH
BEFORE PEACE CONFERENCE

theories into ractice are at libert,
to look upon the world as IL ough
to be and to urge mankind on toward
acceptance of their ideals. Thes,
men are masters of their own power,
they have a warrant from all whom
their eloquence their persuasion, theil
reasoning, or the inherent soundness
o. their ideas, brings into agreement
with them. to press their views upon
the world and to insist upon con.
formity. In every civilize;, land
their numbers, their power, and their
following have increased, most of all
In lands where freedom Is most per-
feet and justice most pure, until the
voices of the few visonaries, long ago
crying In the wilderness, have be-
come the sound of a multitude, and a
public opinion of the world. insisting
upon Righteousness and peace among
nations as among individuals, is be-
ginning to be perceived and to affect
the national purposes which govern
ments represent.
1t is inevitable that the men who
are directed by these two widely diff
ftring impulses should sometimes be
impatient Of each other. The human.
itarian is repelled by the hardness of
the practical man, who seems unsymp-
athletic in his failure to act upon
views that are certainly sound in the
abstract, and which ought to be ac.
cepted by all the world. The prac.
tical administrato. is distressed by
the urgency of the theorist, who. ig-
norant of real conditions, urges him
tn a course Of action which he
Knows can not possibly be taken. or.
If 1t were taken under existing con.
ditions. would result only in evil.
One tends to think lightly of the
other as an impracticable theorist
anc in return is condemned by the
other as unfeeling and cynical. Both
judgments are probably often. to some
extent, true, but both are generally.
and to a much greater extent wrong.
Each class plays its necessary mart
III the great work of advancing ciyili-
zation. 1t can not be doubted that
the supreme results for humanity are
secured by the combination. the
union, the blending of the two i'm.
pulses. to the end that national self
ishness may be most broadly intclli-
gent and humanitarian idealism
most effectively practical.
Your invitation to take part in the
opening of this Peace Congress has
come to me as an occasion to declare
the alliance and sympathy of the
American Goyernnlent with that other
Rower-the sentiment of humanity.
which In all lands and most strongly
I" our generation, without fleets or
armies or titles or dignities or com
pulsion OF force, Is leading mankind
continually to nobler life. The
American people are practical, mater
ial, strenuous In business, eager for
wealth, energetic In production and
Ventulous In commerce insistent nm
Oh their rights, proud of their coun-
Try jealous of its power and its
prestige; but there Is strain of
icealism in the American nature
"hich saves our nation from the
grossness of sordid materlalism and
niakes 1t responsive to every appeal
In behalf OF libcrty and righteouness,
o! peace with justice. and Of human
brotherhood the world over. No
American Government could truly rep.
resent its people fl ii did not sympa.
thize heartily with the purposes which
iris. Congress meets to promote, and
the American Government of today
does sympathize heartily with those
purposes. In behalf of the Govern
ment ! give you the kindly and appre.
ciatiye greeting of the people of the
United States and welcome you as
spiritual kindred of those Americans
or great heart and clear intelligence
who IN times past. striving for ord
cred liberty and the peace of justice
ir this land, have conferred inestim-
able benefits upon all mankind and
whose memory and example are our
most precious possessions.
He is mistaken who depreciates tho
value of such meeting as this or
regards its discussions as merely
academic, because it's members have
not the power themselves to give
effect to their resolutions. The open.
public declaration of principle in
such way as TO carry evidence that
II has the support OF great body
o. men entitled to respect has a
wonderfully compelling effect upon
mankind. The adoption of a now
standard OF human action Is never
the result of force or the threat OF
force; 1t is always the result of a
moral process, and to the initiation
and continuance of that process public
assertion and advocacy of the prin.
ciple are essential. When that pro
cess has been worked out and the
multitude Of men whom governments
represent have reached the point of
Gtnulne ana not perfunctory accept
ance OF the new standard, govern.
ments conform themselves to It.
II Is common saying that the
world is ruled by force--that the ul-
innate sanction for the rules of right
conduct between nations Is the posi-
bility of war. That is less than