The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1914-12-10

we are not prepared for war. What Is
that we are not ready upon brief notice
to put a nation in the field. a nation of
men trained to arms? OF course We are.
not ready to do that. and we shall never
be in time of peace so long as We re-
tain our present, political principle and
suggested we should be prepared to do?
TO defend ourselves against attack? We
shall find them whenever it is necessary
without calling our people away rom
their necessary tasks to render coi1pul-
sorry military service in times OF peace
Allow me to speak with great plain
ness and directness upon this great mat
ter and to avow my onyicaon With.
what America is, what her people think.
what they are, what they most cherish
and hold dear: In ! hope e t my s owns o. hea erer
some of the great conceptions and desires
which gave birth TO, TINS governments ana
which have made the voice OF this peo-
nile a voice of peace and hope and liberty
| among the peoples of the world, ana that,
speaking my own qE Sn5rs I a1s slai bow ae'
ever family and in~adequately, upon
this vital matter.
AFRAID of Nobody.
We are at peace with all the world. No,
one who speaks counsel based on fact
or drawn from a just and candid inter
probation of realities can. say That there
ter our independence or the integrity OF
our territory is threatened. Dread or
the power Of WI any 40 other net ia maF,0e of we riy are
ry in the fields of commerce or OF any
! other peaceful achievement. We, mean
to live our own lives as we Yill' but
friend to all the nations of the worlds
because we threaten none, coFet the pos
of none. Our friendship can be accepted!
| and is accepted without reservation, be-
cause it is snS otfSre no IN a ns spifl eva SRG aue esrf
| ton or suspect. Therein lies Our, great
ness. We are the champiLofs OF peace
| and of concord. And we should be very
| Jealous of this distinction which we havef
| sought to earn. Just now We should be
particularly jealous or 1t, oec4pSe u is.
| acter and reputation may presently, lm
Gods providence, bring us an oppor-
tuait;y such as has +5 seldom onro oeen T9oeh a.
| counsel and obtain peace IN the world
and reconciliation and Il healing settle
rnent of many a matter that mas cooled
and interrupted the friendship OF ma
| lions. This is the time above, all others
when we should wish and resolve to keep
our strength by self possession, our IN
tluence by preserving our ancient plln-
From the first we have had a clear and
| settled policy with regard to military
| establishments We never nave had, and
while we retain our present principles
standing army. If asked "are you ready
to defend yOurselveS?' we reply, most,
assuredly, to the utmost and yet we
shall not turn America into q military
| camp. We will not ask our young men
to spend the best years of their lives
making soldiers of themselves. There is
another sort Of energy in us. 1t will
| know how to declare itself and make
itself effective should occasion arise. And
| especially when half the world is on fire
we shall be careful to make our moral
insurance against the spread Of the con-
adequate indeed.
Favors Strong Army.
o+ nc rennipd ourselves therefore Of
the only thing we can do or viii do. We
must depend in every time. of national
upon a standing army, nor yet upon a re-
serve army, but upon q citizenry trained
and accustomed to arms. 1t will be right
enough, right American policy, based
| upon our accustomed principles and prac-
tees, to provide a system by which every
ing may be made familiar with the use
of modern arms, the rudifnents of drill.
and m~aneuver, and the maintenance and
age such training and make it a means
of discipline which our young men will
learn to value. It is right that We should
make it as attractive as possible, and
so induce our young men to undergo it
at such times as they can command a
development they need, for mere health's
sake, if for nothing more. Every means
is legitimate, and such a method smacks
of true American ideas. 1t is right, too.
that the National Guard of the states
should be developed and strengthened by
| every means which is not inconsistent
with our obligations to our own people or
with the established policy Of our gov
time or occasion specially calls for such
measures, but because it should be our
constant policy to make these provisions
More than this carries with it a reversal
of the whole history and character of our
polity. More than this, proposed at this
| TINA rlrmit mo tO saw UnlIll- mean
merely that we had lost our self-posses-
sion, that we had been thrown off our bal.
ing to do, whose causes can not touch u.s..
whose very existence affords us oppor-
~tunities of friendship and disintereste0
! service which should make us ashamed Of
any thought of hostility or fearful prep
aration for trouble. This is assuredly the
opportunity for which a people and a gov
portunity not only to speak but actually;
to embody and exemplify the counsels Of
peace and amity and the lasting concord
| which is based on justice and fair and
generous dealing.
For Strong Navy. 4
A powerful navy we have always re-.
garded as our proper and natural means:
of defense; and it has always been of de-
Tense that We have thought, never of ag-
gression or of conquest. But who shall
tell us now what sort of navy to build?
We shall take leave to be strong upon the
seas, in the future as in the past; and
| SiiSi Htti pS ~ tiiobSlI VI olleiiSS L VI
provocation in that. Our ships are our
natural bulwarks. When will the experts
tell US just what kind we should construct
and when will they be right for 10 years
together. If the relative efficiency of craft
of different kinds and uses continues to
change as we have seen it change under
our very eyes in these last few months?
But l turn away from the subject. 1t.
IS not new There is no new need to dis
cuss it. We shall not alter our attitude
toward it because some amongst us are
nervous and excited. We shall easily
and sensibly agree upon a policy of de-
Tense. The question has not changed it's
aspects because the times are not normal.
Our policy will not be for an occasion. 1t
will be conceived as q permanent and
settled thing, which we will pursue at ali
seasons, without haste and after a fashion
perfectly consistent with the peace of tho
world, the abiding friendship OF states.
and the ~unhampered freedom of all with
whom we deal. Let there be no miscon-
cception. The country has been misin-
formed. We " not been negligent of
national defense. We are not unmindful
Of the great responsibility resting upon us,