The Rice belt journal. (Welsh, Calcasieu Parish, La.) 1900-19??, 1910-06-10


for the betterment of social conditions.
RIt i: is an unspeakaby foolish thing TO
strive for this betterment by means 50 r
destructive that they would leave no So
cial conditions to better. In dealing with
all these social problems, with the lnti-
mate relations of the family, with wealth.
in private use and business use, with Ia
bor with poverty, the one prime neces-
sitv is to remember that, though hard
ness Of heart is a great evil, 1t Is no
greater an evil than softness OF head.
But in addition to these problems inc
most intimate and important OF all
which to a larger or less degree affect all
the modern nations somewhat alike, we ]
of the great nations that have expanded,
that are now in complicated relations with
one another and with alien races, nave
special problems and special duties or our
own. You belong to nation Whlch pos
sesses the greatest empire upon when the
sun has ever ShOne. | belong to a nation
which is trying, on a scale hitherto uneX-
ampled to work out the problems or gov
eminent for, of, and by the people, Wills
at the same time doing the international
duty Of a great power. But there are
certain problems which both of us have
| to solve. and as to which our STANDARDS
| should be the same The Englishman, the
|
| homes across the seas, and the Amerl-
| can. both at home and abroad, are
| brought into contact with utterly alien
| peoples some with a civilization more an
| Cient than our own, others still IN, OF
having but recently arisen from, the bar
| barism which our people left behind ages |
| ago The problems that arise are OF we'll !
nigh inconceivable difficulty. They cannot
| be solved by the foolish Sentmentahty OF
| stay-at-hOme people, with little patent
recipes. and those cut-and-dried theories
Of the political nursery which have such
limited applicability amid the crash of
elemental forces. Neither can they be
solved by the raw brutality Of the men
who, whether at home or on the rough
frontier of civilization, adopt might az
the only standard Of right in dealing with
other men, and treat alien races only as
subjects for exploitation.
No hard and fast rule can De drawn as
applying TO all alien races because they
differ from one another far more wide
" than some Of them differ from us. But
there%are one or two rules which must
} not be forgotten. In the long run. there
can be no justification for one race man.
aging or controlling another unless the
management and control are exercised IN
l the interest and for the benefit of that
other race This Is what our peoples
have in the main done, and must con-
3 tinue In the future in even greater de-
} gree to do. in India, Egypt, and the Phil
r ippines alike. In the next place, as re-
t CARDS every race, everywhere, at hOne
\ or abroad we cannot afford to deVlate
e from the great rule of righteousness
r which bids us treat each man on his
S worth as a man. He must not be senti-
J., mentally favored because he belongs TO
: a given race; he must not be given I'M
s munity In wrong doing, or permitted TO
: cumber the ground, or given other privi-
f leges which would be denied to the
e vicious and unfit among themselves. On
n the other hand, where he acts in a way
e which would entite him to respect and
> reward If he were of our own stock, he
Y Is lust as much entitled to that respect
d and reward II he comes OF another
t, stock, even though that other stock pro-
IS duces a much smaller proportion of men
J. Of his type than does our own. This has
lie nothing to do with social intermingling
IS with what IS called social equality II
D has to do merely with the question Of do.
" ing to each man and each woman that
elementary justice which will permit hin
W or her to gain from life the reward
O. which should always accompany thrift
n sobriety, self-control, respect for th'
+ rights of others. and hard and intelli
,g gent work TO a given end. To more thar
n such just treatment no man Is entitled
8 and less than such just treatment no maj
rs should receive.
es Duty of Nation to Nation.
~ The other type of duty IS the interna
~ tional duty. the duty owed by one ma
ba ton to another. ! hold that the laws O
st morality which should govern individu
an ais in their dealings one with the othe
"a are lust as binding concerning nations i
- their dealings one with the other IN
- application of the moral law must b
10 different in the two cases. because
~ one case It has, and In the other it ha
r. r. not, the sanction of a civil law with fore
- behind it. The individual can depend fC
sa his rights upon the courts, which then
,ot selves derive their force from the poIlc
a. power Of the state The nation can do
~ pend upon nothing Of the kind; an
~ therefore, as things are now, 1t Is ii
-. highest duty of the most advanced an
he freest peoples to keep themselves in sue
"a a state Of readiness as to forbid to an
Nv barbarism or despotsm the hope OF a
~ resting the progress OF the world by str
n; king down the nations that lead in th'
ias progress 1t would be foolish indeed
TO I' nav heed to the unwise persons who d
~, sire disarmament to be begun by II
,o, | very peoples who. or all others, sNou
ien not be left helpless before any possib
~ foe But we must reprobate quite
73 strongly both the leaders and the peopl
-" s who practise. or encourage or condor
NV, NV aggression and iniquity by the strong
'e the expense of the weak. We should &c
e. crate lawlessness and wickedness Meth
Sc bv the weak nor by the strong; and DO
a6 weak and strong we should in retu
,Lu treat with scrupulous fairness. The 10
III eign policy of a great and self-respectil
Va country should be conducted on exact
oih, the same plane of honor, of insisten
teu upon ones own rights and OF respect l
the rights Of others, as when brave a.
men honorable man is dealing with his II
ely lows Permit me to support this stal
I'M ment out of my own experience. +
,lhe nearly eight years l was the head OF
ION. great nation and charged especially WI
EN- the conduct of its foreign policy a
IN during those years I took no action WI
hey ofana,oa n anv other people on the ia
of the earth that I would not nave
justified in taking as an Individual
any dealing with other individuals
its 7 believe that we of the great civihz
not nations of today have a right to feel IT
and long careers of achievement lie bel'
con- orr several countries. To each OF us
hes vorchsafed the honorable privilege OF {
nat ing his part however small, in that Wo
oirit let us strive hardly for success, even
INST nv so doing we risk failure. spurhl
II the noorer souls of small endeaVor