South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1914-05-11
IL Fancy 1t is lust As Hard to
Do Your Duty When Men Are
Sneering at You As When
They Are Shooting at YOU"
Asserts President.
BY WILLIAM NELSON TAFT,
STAFF Correspondent.

stan Torres DOHAtill.
BROOKLYN NAVY YARD. y. ".
May 11.-President Wilson. speaking
for the nation. today expressed the
deepest grief over the death OF the
marines and sailors who fell at Vera
Cruz. At the same time he said that
he personally felt a profound pride
that they had died as they had and
had "a sort Of envy for those permit
ted to do their duty SO quietly and so
we'll"
The presidential tribute was de-
livered in the presence of $4,000 per-
sons at the funeral services held mere
over the bodies of the Il heroes
brought to port on the funeral snip
Montana. but in his address the pres
ident did not omit the other two
American lads whose bodies are TO De
brought back later.
Feels Touch of Envy.
The president said:
Il know that the feelings which
characterize all who stand about me
and the whole nation at this hour are
not feelings which can be suitably eX-
pressed in terms of attempted oratory
or eloquence. They are things too
deep for ordinary speech. For my
own part, 1 have singular mixture
of feelings. The feeling that is up
permost is one Of profound grief that
these lads should have had to go 10
their death, and yet there is mixed
with that grief a pride that they
should have gone as they did, and II
I may say il out OF my heart, touch
Of envy Of those who were permitted
so quietly, so nobly, TO do their duty.
Have you thought of il, men, here
is the roster Of the navy, the list or
the men. officers and enlisted men and
marines. and suddenly there swim 1s
stars out OF the list, men who have
suddenly gone into a armament OF
memory. where we shall always see
their names shine; not because they
called upon us to admire them, but
because they served us, without ask
ing any questions and in the perform
ance Of duty which is laid upon us
as we'll as upon them.
Their Duty ImpersOnal.
DUTY is not an uncommon thing,
gentlemen. Men are performing II in.
the ordinary walks of life all around
us all the time, and they are making
great sacrifices to perform it. What
gives men like these peculiar distinc-
ton is not merely that they did their
duty. but that their duty had nothing
TO do with them or their own person
al and peculiar interests. They did
not give their lives for themselves.
They gave their lives for US, because
we called upon them as nation TO
perform an unexpected duty.
we have gone down to Mexico 70
serve mankind if we can find out the
way We do not want TO fight the
MeXicans. We want to serve the Mex
leans if we can. because we know how
we would like to be free and how we
would like 20 be served IL there were
friends standing by ready TO serve us.
A war of aggression is not a war in
which il IS a proud thing TO die. but
a war Of service is a thing in which
il is a proud thing to die.
Notice that these men were OF our
blood I mean OF our American blood.
which is not drawn from any one
country. which is not drawn from any
one stock. which Is not drawn from
any one language Of the modern
world. but free men everywhere have
sent their sons and their brothers and
their daughters to this country in or
der to make that great compounded
nation which consists Of all the sturdy
elements and Of all the best elements
OF the whole globe.
War Symbol OF Duty.
War. gentlemen. is only sort Of
dramatic representation. a sort OF
dramatic symbol Of a thousand forms
of duty. I never went into battle:
never was under fire. but I fancy that
there are some things just as hard 10
do as to go under fire. 7 fancy that
IL is just as hard TO do our dlity when
men are sneering a YOU as when they
are shooting at you. When they shoot
at you they can only take your nat
ural life. When they sneer at YOU.
they can wound your heart, and men
who are brave enough, steadfast
enough. steady in their principles
enough. To go about their duty with
regard TO their fellow men. no matter
whether there are Kisses or cheers:
men who can do what Rudyard Kip
ling in one of his poems wrote:
Meet with triumph and disaster
and treat these two impOsters Just the
same are men for a nation 20 be
proud Of Morally speaking. disaster
and triumph are imposters. The
cheers Of the moment are not what
a man ought TO think about, but the
verdict OF his conscience and OF the
conscience Of mankind"