The Watertown weekly leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1912-1917, 1914-12-15

| n:ake itself effective should occasion
| arise. And especially when half the
| world is on fire we shah be careful
TO make our moral insurance against
the spread of the confagration very
definite and certain and adequate in
/ deed.
| Let us remind ourselves, therefore,
| OF the only thing we can do or will
do. We must depend in every time
of national peril, in the future as in
| the past, not upon a standing army,
nor yet upon reserve army, but upon
citizenry trained and accustomed
to arms. 1t will be right enough, right
| American policy, based upon our &C
customed principles and practices, to
| provide system by which every
! citizen who will volunteer for
! the training may be made familiar
| with the use of modern arms, the rudi-
| ments Of drill and maneuyer, and the
maintenance and sanitation of camps.
| We should encourage such training
| and make 1t a means of discipline
| which our young men will learn to
| value. 1t is right that we should pro-
| vide it not only, but 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
| little freedom and can seek the
physical development they need. for
| more health's sake, If for nothing
| more. Every means by which such
| things can be stimulated is legitimate.
| and such a method smacks of true
| American ideas. 1t is a right, too,
| that the National Guard of the states
| should be developed and strengthened
| by every means which is not incon-
sistent with our obligations to our
| own people or with the established
| policy of our government. And this,
| also, not because the time or occasion
| specially calls for such measures, but
because it should be our constant pol
| icy to make tLese provisions for our
national peace and safety.
| More than this carries with it re-
| versal of the whole history and char
| acter of our polity More than this,
| proposed at this time, permit me to
] say, would mean merely that we had
| lost our self-possession, that we had
| been thrown off our balance by war
| with which he have nothing to do,
whose causes cannot touch us. whose
very existence affords us opportun-
| tiles of friendship and disinterested
service which should make us
| ashamed of any thought of hostility
| or fearful preparation for trouble.
Ships Our Natural Buiwarks.
A powerful navy we have always
| regarded as our proper and natural
means of defense; and it has always
been of defense that we have thought,
never of aggression 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 there will
| be no thought of offense or of provo
cation in that. Our ships are cur
natural bulwarks. When will the ex.
| perts tell us just what kind we should
| construct-and when will they be
| right for ten years together, if the
| relative efficiency of craft for differ.
| ent kinds and uses continues to
| change as we have seen it change
| under our verv eyes in these last
| few months?
But | turn away from the subject.
| 1t is not new. There Is no new need
| to discuss it. We shall not alter our
| attitude toward it because some
| amongst us are nervous and excited.
| We shall easily and sensibly agree
| such a policy of defense. The ques-
| ton has not changed it's aspects be-
| cause the times are not normal. OuI
policy will not be for an occasion.
| 1t will be conceived as a permanent
| and settled thing, which we will pur-
| sue at all seasons, without haste and
| after a fashion perfectly consistent
| with the peace of the world, the abid-1
| ing friendship of states, and the un-
hampered freedom of all with whom
we deal. Let there be no misconcep-
| ton. The country has been misin-
formed. We have not been negligent
of national defense. We are not un-
mindful Of the great responsibility
| resting upon US. We shall learn and
| profit by the lesson of every expert
ence and every new circumstances;
| and what is needed will be adequately
| done.
Great Duties of Peace.
| I close, as l began, by reminding
i you of the great tasks and duties of
| peace which challenge our best pow
ers and invite us to build what will
| last, the tasks to which we can address
ourselves now and at all times the
free-hearted zest and with all the fin
est gifts of constructive wisdom we
| possess. To develop our life and our
resources; to supply our own people,
and the people CT the world as their
need arises, from the abundant plenty
| of our fields and our marts of trade;
| to enrich the commerce of our own
| states and of the world with the prod
ucts of our mines, our farms, and our
| factories, with the creations of our
| thought and the fruits of our charac-
ter-this is wha, will hold our atten-
| ton and our enthusiasm steadily, now
and in the years to come, as we strive
| to show in our life as a nation what
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