Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1910-05-06

SANI ILL
States, lectured on international
Peace" Thursday, May 5, before the
Nobel prize committee which award
ed him the peace prize for his sue
cessful efforts in ending the war De-
tween Russia and Japan. The great
hall where the lecture was delivered
was filled to the doors, many distin-
guished persons being in the audience,
and Colonel Roosevelt's words were
heartily applauded. His lecture fol-
lows:
Need Of Industrial Peace.
1t is with peculiar pleasure that 1
stand here today to express the deep
appreciation l feel of the high honor
conferred upon me by the p~resenta-
ton of the Nobel peace prize. The
gold medal which formed part of the
prize 1 shall always keep, and 1 shall
hand it on to my children as a precious
heirloom. The sum of money provided
as part Of the prize by the wise gen
crosby of the fllustrious founder Of
this ~world-famous prize system, 1 did
not, under the peculiar circumstances
of the case, feel at liberty to keep. l
Lu1Ah IL SL111ASAC1y just dAu p1 OpC4
that in most cases the recipient Of the
prize should keep for his own use the
prize in its entirety. But in this
case, while l did not act officially as
president of the United States, it was
nevertheless only because l was pres
ident that l was enabled to act at all;
and l felt that the money must be
considered as having been given me
in trust for the United States. l there
fore used 1t as a nucleus for a fOunda-
ton to forward the cause of indus-
trial peace, as being we'll within the
general purpose of your committee;
for in our complex industrial civiliza-
ton of today the peace of righteous
ness and justice, the only kind of
peace worth having, is at least as
in the industrial world as
it is among nations. There is at
least as much need to curb the cruel
greed and arrogance of part of the
world of capital, to curb the cruel
greed and violence Of part of the
world of labor, as to check a cruel
and unhealthy militarism in interna-
tional relationships.
WHSH FSdCC way DC Evil
We must ever pear in mind that the
great end in view is righteousness,
justice as between man and man, ma
ton and nation, the chance to lead
our lives on a somewhat higher level,
with a broader spirit of brotherFy good
will one for another. Peace is gen
orally good in itself, but it is never
the highest good unless it comes as
the handmade Of righteousness; and it
becomes a very evil thing if it serves
merely as a mask for cO~wardice and
sloth, or as an instrument to further
the ends of despOtism or anarchy.
We despise and abbO~ the bully, the
brawler, the ~OppressOr, whether in
private or public life; but we despise
no less the coward and the vOluptu-
airy. No man is worth calling a man
who will not fight rather than submit
to infamy or see those that are dear
to him suffer wrong. No nation de-
serves to exist If it permits itself to
lose the stern and virile virtues; and
this without regard to whether the
loss is due to the growth of q heart
less and a~ll-absorbing cOmmercialism,
to prolonged Indulgence in luxury and
soft effOrtless ease, or to the deif1ca-
ton of a warped and twisted senti-
mentality.
Moreover, and above all, let us re-
member that words count only when
they give expression to deeds or are
to be translated into them. The lead
ers of the Red Terror prattled OF
peace while they stepped their hands
in the blood of the Innocent; and
many a tyrant has called it peace
when he has scourged honest protest
into silence. Our words must be
judged by Il deeds; and in striving
for a lofty ideal we must use prac-
teal methods; and if we cannot at
tain all at one leap, we must advance
towards it step by step, reasonably
content so long as we do actually
make some progress in the right di-
rection.
Now, having freely admitted the
limitations to our work, and the quail
ifications to be borne in mind, 1 feel
that l have the right to have my
words taken seriously when I point
out where, in my judgment, great ad-
vance can be made in the cause of in
ternational peace. l speak as a rae
teal man, and whatever l now advo-
cate l actually tried to do when 1 was
for the time being the head of a great
nation, and keenly jealous of its hon
or and interest. I ask other nations
to do only what l should be glad to
see my own nation do.
Treaties of Arbitration.
Tho advance con he made olOnr
several lines. First of all there can
be treaties of arbitration. There are,
of course, states so backward that a
civilized community ought not to en-
ter into an arbitration treaty with
them, at least until we have gone
much further than at present In Sc
curing some kind of international po-
lice action. But all really civilized