El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1914-11-07
By Theodore Roosevelt
W.-An International Posse Con1itatus
The SIXTH In Series Of Articles By Mr. Roosevelt on the
Lessons For the American People In Great European Conflict

words as peace" and neutrality" is
a Wretched thing, and an obstacle to
securing the peace of righteousness
throughout the world. We must recog-
nlze clearly the old common law doc
Line mat right without a remedy is
Vold. We must firmly grasp the fact
IhaL measures should be taken to put
force back of good faith in the OBJ
SefVance of treaties. The worth of
Lreatles depends purely upon the good
Ialth with which they are executed;
and 1t is mischievous folly to enter
mo treaties without providing for
Inelr execution and wicked folly to
enter into them if they ought not to
De executed.
1t is necessary to devise means for
putting the collective and efficient
strength of all the great powers Of civ
lllza1on back of any well behaved
power which is wrOnged by another
power. In, other words, we must de-
wise means for executing treaties in
good faith, by the establishment Of
some great international tribunal, and
Dy securing the enforcement of the de-
crees OF this tribunal through the ac-
tion OF posse cOmitatus of powerful
and civilized nations, all of them being
bound by solemn agreement to COerce
any power that Offends against the de-
crees of the tribunal That there will
be grave difficulties in successfully
working out this plan l would be the
ALAot u COnCeQe, ana would pc the
first to insist that to work it out sue
cesstully would be impossible unless
me nations acted in good faith But
the plan is feasible, and it is the only
one which at the moment offers any
chance of success. Ever since the days
OF Henry ". of France, there has been
a growth, slow and hating, to be sure,
but yet evidently growth, in recOgni-
ton by the public conscience Of civil
lied nations that there should be a
Ta~sfT Of lii
uonal morality obligatory and binding
among the powers. But merely to trust
to public opinion without organized
force back of it is silly. Force must
be put back of justice, and nations
must not shrink from the duty of pro-
ceeding by any means that are necessary
against wrOngdOers. It is the failure /
to recognize these vital truths that has /
rendered the actions of our govern (
ment during the last four OF five years J
impotent TO preserve world peace and /
fruitful only in earning for us the half I
yelled derisiOn of other nations.
Treaties Worthless.
The attitude of our own government (
during the last three months shows
how worthless the present treaties, I'M
backed by force, are, and how utterly
ineffective mere passive neutrality is
to secure even the smallest advance in
world morality. I have been very re-
luCtant in any way to criticise the ac-
foreign affairs; I have faithfully, and
in some cases against my own deep
rooted personal convictions, sought to
Justify what it has done in Mexico and
as regards the present war; but the
time has come when loyalty to the ad-
action in foreign affairs /
means disloyalty to our national SELF
interest and to our obligations towards
at large As regards Bel
GUM, the administration has clearly
taken the ground that our own selfish
ease fOrbids us to fulfil our explicit /
to small neutral states
when they are deeply wrOnged. It will
never be possible in any war to commit
a clearer breach of international NOR
atty than that committed by Germany
in the invasion and subjugation of Bel
GUM. Every one of the nations in
volved in this war, and the United
states as well, have committed such
)utrages in the past But the very pur-
pose of the Hague conventions and Of
IL similar international actions was to
put stop to such misconduct in the
uture
The United States and all the great
member that what 1 say is based on
he assumption that We are bound in
good faith to fulfil our treaty obliga-
ions; that we will neither favor nor
condemn any other nation except on
he ground of its behavior; that we feel
S much good will to the people of Ger !
many or Austria as to the people Of |
England, Of France or of Russia; that { :
re speak for Belgium only as we could
peak for Holland or Switzerland or /
ne of the Scandinavian or Balkan ma I
ions, and that il the circumstances as ]
egards Belgium had been reversed we
7Ould have protested as emphatically
gainst wrong action by England or ! {
rance as we now protest against !
'rong action by Germany.
The United tSates and all the great
overs now at war were parties to the
code created in the reg
lations annexed to the Hague cOnven-
ons of 1889 and 1907. AS president,
citing on behalf of this government,
ish of our people, I ordered the sig
AZURE of the United States to these
inventions. Most emphatically 7 would
OF have permitted such a farce to
ave gone through if it had entered
" head that this government would
OF consider itself bound to do all it
)uld to see that the regulations to
hich it made itself a party were ac-
ally observed when the necessity for
leir observance arose. I cannot i'm
CINE any sensible nation thinking it
orth while to sign future Hague con-
.ntions if even such a powerful neu- /
al as the United States does not care
lough about them to protest against
leir open breach. Of the present neu- S
al powers the United States of Amer
a is the most disinterested and the t
and should therefore bear
lie main burden of the responsibility
this matter.
It is quite possible to make an ar G
lment to the effect that we never
ould have entered into the Hague I n
inventions, because our sole duty is to
-rselves and not to others, and our p
lie concern should be to keep our
Ives at peace, at any cost, and not
help other powers that are Gp- ~
essed, and not to protest against "
I do not myself accept
is view; but in practice it is the Ii
aw taken by the present administra-
IN, apparently with at the moment / :
e approval of the mass of our people.
ch a policy, while certainly not ex-
ted, and in my judgment neither far