Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1915-04-23

as IL it to excite her. Men are say
ing that If we should go to war upon
either side, there will be a divided
America-an abominable libel Of ig-
norance. America is not all Of 1t vo-
cal just now. 1t is vocal in spots.
But l for one have a complete and
abiding faith in the great silent body
Of Americans who are not standing
up and shouting and expressing their
opinions just now but are waiting to
find out and support the duty Of
America. l am just as sure of their
solidity and of their loyalty and Of
their unanimity, If we act justly, as
| am that the history of this country
has at every crisis and turning point
illustrated this great lesson.
1--WE are the mediating nation Of
the world. 1 do not mean that we
undertake not to mind our own busi-
ness and to mediate where other
people are quarreling. I mean the
word in a broader sense. We are
compounded of the nations of the
world. We mediate their blood. we
mediate their traditions, we mediate
their sentiments, their tastes, their
passions we are ourselves compound
ed Of those things We are, there
fore, able to understand all nations;
we are able to understand them in
the compound, not separately, as parti-
sans, out unitedly as knowing and
comprehending and embodying them
all. It Is in that sense that I mean
that America is a mediating nation.
The opinion of America, the action of
America, is ready to turn and free to
turn in any direction.
did you ever reflect upon how al
most all other nations, almost every
other nation, has through long GEN.
turies been headed in one direction?
That Is not true Of the United States.
| The United States has no racial mo-
! mentum. 1t has no history back of
it which makes it run all it's energies
and all it's ambitions in one particu.
lar direction: and America is partic-
ularly free in this that she has no
| hampering ambitions as a world pow
er. If we have been obliged by cir
cumstances, or have considered our
selves to be obliged by circumstances
| in the past to take territory which we
otherwise would not have thought of
taking, I believe l am right in say
, ing that we have considered it our
duty to administer that territory, not
for ourselves, but for the people liv-
ing in it, and to put this burden up
on our consciences. not to think that
this thing is ours for our use. but to
regard ourselves as trustees of the
great business for those to whom 1t
does really belong, trustees ready to
hand over the cosmique trust at any
time, when the business seems to
make that possible and feasible. That
is what I mean by saying we have
no hampering ambitions. We do not
want anything that does not belong
to us. Isn't nation in that position
free to serve other nations, and isn't
a nation like that ready to form some
part of the assessing opinion of the
world?
"My interest in the neutrality Of
the United States is not the petty de-
sire to keep out Of trouble. l have
never looked for it, but | have al
ways found it. do not want to walk
around trouble. If any man wants
a scrap-that is-an interesting scrap
and worth while, | am his man. l
warn him that he Is not going to
draw me into the scrap for his ad-
vertisement. but II he Is looking for
trouble and that is the trouble OF
men in general and I can help lit
tie. why then I am in for it.
But I am interested i'm neutrality
because there is something so much
greater to do than fight, because
there Is n distinction waiting for this