Charlevoix county herald., 1909-05-22


This then was the end of the great
venture by the island across the weat-
ern sea, which had staked its hope Of
advancement upon ruthless desceMt
on an unprepared and apparently i'm
potent nation. 1t had spent years in
anticipation, had purchased the most
deadly agents of destruction when
ever presented. had worked night and
day in its navy yards to build giant
ships of war, had covered the United
States with its spies until its espion-
age reached everywhere, and all for
this,
Now. after all its deliberate plans
and quick action, it was to accept as
sole cause for jubiation the return
or the men who had manned its mighty
fleet and wait for the return of ships
that were useless for all purposes. Its
dream of indemnities was gone, it's
ambition for more territory was never
to be realized, and its hope of COM
peting with other great powers as a
world factor had come to naught.
It is doubtful If the government
shared in the joy of those who had
given up for dead the ones they loved
and were now enabled to cast aside
scarfs of mourning. The Japanese
were to learn that one successful war
does not constitute a series, and that
all nations were not inefficient. The
lesson of civilization had been ham
mered home with sickening emphasis.
Scarcely had peace been concluded
when the administration by decla:a
ton to its own people cut as with one
blow of n knife knot which threat
ened financial panic. 1t was prefaced
with a statement that the reason why
no indemnities had been demanded
from Japan was because under altered
conditions following the war it would
be imposing hardship on a nation
already stricken, without the need
therefor In substance it stated that
| inasmuch as there would be no future
appropriations and consequently no
/ taxation for navies or Notifications,
vast reductions would automatically
! be made in the expense of operating
! the government. 1t was also an
nounced that as the United States
had been presented with new form
of transportation by it's inventor, it
! had set aside for him and his heirs
! sufficient royalties to render them
! financially Independent, and that fur
thermore in the interest of perpetual
| peace the secret of the radioplane
would be maintained inviolable.
The railways of the country would
be permitted to reorganize and con
tinue as freight carriers until such
time as their rates were deemed exor'
bitant or their charters expired the
government abrogating to itself all
passenger traffic within the confines
Of it's own continent, and declaring
itself competitor for all ocean trans
portation under tariffs to be formu
! lated 1t ended by asserting that gov
eminent ownership of aerial transpor
| tation was not adopted at the behest
of any political party, but solely that
the people might derive the benefit
and the nation maintain it's invulner'
able power Thus it was that the rail
ways were still permitted to exist and
no hardship worked save in the read
| justments of capitalization, which
losses fell mainly upon those who had
accumulated vast fortunes by the
very imitation which was now pune
! tured
AS If to knit the world together in
international harmony, the culmina
ton came in a message addressed to
all nations which was penned by the
hand of the president himself. 1t was
his proposal for the maintenance OF
peace, and read as follows:
That war and its barbarisms may
for all time be done away with, the
United States of America submits
that:
by the grace of God it has been
placed in possession Of such power
that it could not only conquer The
world, but destroy the inhabitants OF
other nations. This has been fully
demonstrated. 1t has no desire to util'
ize its strength unjustly, but purposes
to exert it for the benefit Of all men.
1T considers territorial greed to be
the real impelling motive in nearly
all international wars. Therefore II
requests all nations become signatory
to an agreement in perpetuity that I'M
der no circumstances shall there be
any invasion of the territory of one
country by another, and that all
boundary lines shall remain as now
established, except they be changed
by the mutual and amicable agree.
ment Of the adjoining powers to which
| they belong.
Questions involving national dig.
nifty can be adjusted by better means
than war, as can nearly all other
questions which from time to time
arise between governments; hence the
United States urges that full powers
of adjudication and arbitration be
vested in a standing commission repre-
senting each nation, which shall have
| for it's seat of Office some place upon
which the greater number may agree.
II