El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1914-11-28
By Theodore Roosevelt
K.--Summing Up Uncle Sans True Courage
In the Light o. the Wars Lessons
The Ninth In Series Of Articles By Mr. Roosevelt on the
Lessons For the American People In Great European Conflict

| to our obligations by taking action in
\ all of these cases without regard TO
] which power it was that was alleged
| TO have done wrong, We would have
! followed the only course that would
! both have told for world righteousness
| and have served our own Self respect
| The course actually followed by
/ Messrs. Wilson, Bryan and Daniels has
( been to permit our own power for sell
! defence steadily to diminish while at
! the same time refusing to do what we
] were solemnly bound to do in order to
I protest against wrong and to render
some kind of aid to weak nations that
| had been Wronged. Inasmuch as In the
J first and greatest and the most ruin
! Gus case Of violation of neutral rights
, and of international morality this Ha-
! ton, under the guidance OF Messrs.
Wilson and Bryan, kept umld silence
and dared not protest, it would be an
act of deliberate bad faith to protest
| as regards subsequent ana less Lnpor-
tant violations OF course, IT, as a
! people we frankly take the ground that
our actions are based upon nothing
! whatever but our own selIlSh-Anu
! short sighted-interest, it is possible to
protest only against violations OF neu-
| trality that at the moment unIaVor-
/ ably affect our own interests.
InactiOn is often itself the most OF
! fensive form of action; the admlnlstra-
/ ton has persistently refused 70 I'VE
up to the solemn national obugatI9ns
] to strive to protect other uno1Ieno'nS
nations from wrong; and this conduct
| ADDS a peculiar touch OF hypocrisy 10
! the action taken at the same ume IN
signing a couple of score Oh l-lnciu-
! siVe arbitration treaties preIenuOusly
! heralded as serving WorId-rlShteous-
/ ness.
If we had acted as we ought to have
acted regarding Belgium, we couiu
have then with a clear conscience maze
lee rrF
! case of violation of the rights OF neu-
trails or of offences committed by the
belIigerents against one another IN
violation of The Hague conye1 OlOlls'
Entitled to n Free Hand.
In facing a difficult and critical SIT
nation any administration IS entltled
/ TO a free hand until 1t has had time
| to develop the action which II cohsIu-
ers appropriate, for often there IS more
| than one way in which 1t is possible
! to take efficient action. But when 50
much time has passed, either "lIuOuI
action or with only mlScnleFOus aclOH'
/ as gravely to compromise either tnH
| honor or the interest OF the country
] then it becomes duty for seII-respect-
! ing citizens to whom their country Is
Z dear to speak out -. -. 49,,
From the very outset felt that me
/ administration was following wrong
{ course. But no action Of mine conI9
make il take tie right course, ana
I there was a possibility that there was
some object aside. from Po lIILS.a5 aU
! vantage in the course followed L
/ smoke only when it became imperative
| + speak under penalty OF tame acquI-
, escence in tame failure to perform nd
! tional duty. 49, 49,. ID
! rninistration had no plan Whatever
/ save the dexterOus avoidance OF an re
/ sponsibility and therefore OF all outy'
/ and the effort to persuade our peO ~
&C a whole that this action was OF
! their interest-combined with otner
] Ices oDenly expressed and less worthy
/ efforts of purely political type.
( There is therefore no longer any re ca
| con for failure to point out that II Ihe
, @Tesident and secretary of state had
| been thoroughly acquainted IN aoNSnce'
as of course they ought to have Deeh
acquainted, with the European sltua-
| ton. and if they had possessed an m
/ telliCent and resolute purpose squaIely
to meet their heavy responsibilities anu
thereby to serve the honor OF tnls
country and the interest OF mailklIlu,
rhev would have taken action on July
%, 80 or 81, certain ! not IaISr ~ .lid ~
AUGUST l. On such occasions there IS
a peculiar applicability IN the OIu
proverb: ,.;.+, IN
being wise in time.
If those responsible for the manage
ment of our foreign affairs had been
content to dwell in d world OF 1acl III
stead of a world of third rate Ilctloh,
they would have understood lHdI a.
such a time of world Crisis II was an
unworthy avoidance of duty 70 russ
with sillv little all inclusive arbitration
treaties when the need of the DAY De
handed that they devote all their ener-
gies to the terrible problems OF Ine Gay
They would have known that a GeI liII
invasion of Switzerland was poSslDle
but improbable and a German INVASION
of Belgium Overwhelmingly proDapIe,
Thev would have known that vigorous
action by the United States government
taken with such entire good 1alIn as
to make it evident that it was IN the
interest of Belgium and not IN the IN
terest of France and England, ana lhal
if there was occasion it would be taken
against France and England as quickly
as against Germany, might very pos
sibly have resulted in either putting
a stop to the war or in lOcalizing and
narrowly cirCumscribing its area II
is of course possible that the actlon
would have failed of its immediate pur-
pose But even in that case 1t cannot
be doubted that it would have been
efficient as a check upon the subse-
quent wrongs committed.
Had Warrant for Action.
Nor was the opportunity for action
limited in time. Even if the admins
trauion had failed thus to act at the
outset of the war the protests off
cially made both by the German en-
peTor and by the Belgian government
TO the president as TO alleged ulSCOn-
duct in the prosecution of the war not
only gave him warrant for action but
required him to act. Meanwhile, from
the moment when the war was de-
clared, it became inexcusabIe of the
administration not to take Immediate
steps to put the navy into efficient
shape
It is possible, not to justify, but TO
explain the action of the administration
in using the navy for the 16 months |
prior to this war in such a way as |
greatly TO impair its efficiency; for of |
course when the president selected Mr.. |
Daniels as secretary of the navy he |
not Indifferent to its welfare, an en- |
tire ignorance of what that welfare /
demanded; and therefore the failure to /
keep the navy efficient may have been |
due to mere inability to exercise fore
sight. But with war impending such |
failure to exercise foresight became in
excusable. None of the effective fight