Kentucky Irish American. (Louisville, Ky.) 1898-1968, 1913-06-07
A Subterfuge For Enactment of
an Alliance With
England.
Does Not Forget Britain For
Attempting to Disrupt
Nation.
WOULD CAJOLE UNITED STATES


bration of the zone Hundred Years
of Peace With England" is nothing
but a subterfuge for the enactment
of an alliance with England, Whar-
ton Barker, twice a candidate for the
Presidency, banker, philanthropist
and statesman, of Philadelphia, re-
fuses to serve on the General Com
mittee. on which are Andrew Car
negie, Senator Elihu Root and 9TH
ers. Some time ago John A. Stewart,
Chairman of the Executive Commit
tee, sent Mr.. Barker a letter inviting
him to serve on the committee, to
which he sent the following reply:
81 must decline to serve as a
member of a General Committee
that will stand sponsor for an Execu-
tive Committee that will direct a
celebration in 1914-15 of the one
hundred years of peace between the
United States and England. because
I must keep my actions in accord
with my convictions. I could not
serve in such work as is proposed
without loss of self-respect; without
putting aside all the ideals l cher
ish; without forgetting the patriotic
teachings and examples of my an
cestors. OF course I believe in
peace, and I abhor war, but there
are times when war is less hurtful
than the wrongs men suffer from ag-
gressions only war can stop. When
such situations exist | am for war.
have no respect for peace at any
price, men; | can not believe such
men can preserve liberty, justice,
equality and opportunity, the broth
erhood of man, nor worship of God
after the manner of Him who
preached the Sermon on the Mount.
ut is true the United States and
Great Britain have not engaged in
physical war with each other for
almost one hundred years, but it is
also true that Great Britain in 1862
would have waged war upon the
United Stats in alliance with France
for the purpose of breaking up the
Union of the American States but for
the action of the Russian Emperor
Alexander II. Many remember the
coming of Russian ships of war to
New York and San Francisco in
1868, but few know the why of that
action. August IT, 1879, when l
was breakfast guest of Grand Duke
Constantine at his Palovski Palace,
the Emperor made an opportunity to
speak with me on several important
and great acts of his life. I will
speak now of only one statement.
He said:
90 sTn A. o,,4,,r,n 90 1890 tbo Cav
ernment of France and Great Britain
proposed to Russia in a formal but
not in an official way the joint rec
ognition by European powers of the
independence of the Confederate
States of America. My immediate
answer was: I shall not cooperate
in such action. and l will not ac-
quiesce. On the contrary, I shall
accept the recognition of the inde-
pendence of the Confederate States
by France and Great Britain as a
casus belli for Russia. And in order
that the Government of France and
Great Britain may understand that
this is no idle threat. / will send a
Pacific fleet to San Francisco and an
Atlantic fleet to New York; Sealed
orders to both Admirals we're given
"After a pause he proceeded: My
fleets arrived at the American ports;
there was no recognition of the in
dependence of the Confederate States
by Great Britain and France. The
American rebellion was put down
and the great American republic con-
tinues. All this l did because OF
love for my own dear Russia, rather
than for love Of the American repub-
lie. / acted thus because I under
stood that Russia would have a more
serious task 20 perform II the Ameri-
can republic with advanced indus
trial development were broken up
| and Great Britain should be left in
control of most branches of modern
Industrial development
During the whole period of the
war - 1S61-tS65 - between the
Northern and Southern States of the
American Union, Great Britain
sought in one way or another TO
break up the Na1on-weak then,
now powerful. Today Great Britain
seeks TO cajole the United States by
peace celebrations by arbitration
treaties by true history in the
SCHOOLS Dy marriage ana social ar
rangements, by 'gentlemen's agree
ments' that would establish alliance
compacts, offensive and defensive.
All this work to strengthen Great
Britain. Surely the United States
can gain nothing from the action
your committee proposes. So I am
not in accord with the programme I
am asked 10 take part in--I am in
opposition.
"If Great Britain and the United
States would propose an immediate
general disarmament I would believe
both sought peace; but the war
plans and expenditures OF both ma
tlons forbid such belief Surely the
great majority OF the American
people know that the Revolution OF
1915 was fought for a just cause,
and uuIor fho .ouidauQQ ~ GQorQQ