South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1915-06-01

belligerents; the heat OF war enthusi-
asts and the lanquor Of chronic pa
cincts: the jingOism OF unscrupulous
partisans and the greed Of mercenary
men. all conspire TO make the present
situation most trying and to demand
the utmost of executive wisdom and
craftsmanship. we are here today
not to glorify war, but TO honor tho sc
who, in the stern emergencies of war,
proved themselves true heroes; we
are here not 20 outline national pol
icies nor TO advise our chief admin
stratOrs in government and state put
we are here 70 so use the historic day
with it's sacred associations and hOl-
lowed memories. that great and noble
lessons in patriotism may be implant-
ed in the hearts of this generation Of
younger Americans.
The speaker discussed the perils of
patriotism under these three heads.
The Peril of Pride" The Peril of
Party" and "The Peril of Power" He
said it was natural to glorify the
achievements of the past. If these
were not especially notable we make
them such. If they we're brilliant.
we magnify their brilliancy. We look
at bulk and we call 1t strength; we
mass our numbers and calculate their
power: we note the successful steps
in our career thus far and we turn
prophet 10 predict even greater sue
cess for the future. While this is a
peril to patriotism in any land the
facts seem TO justify the position that
we people of the United States have
been most severely bitten by this bug
of pride We have considered our
selves the financial and commercial
centers Of the world and yet what are
the facts?
Before the outbreak Of the pres
ent war the financial metropolis of the
world was London, not New York.
Just now the strain upon European
bank accounts and chancery revenue
is so great that big financial trans
actions are taking place in New York
as is witnessed by the recent South
American loan Of substantial dimen-
sions; whether America will be able
10 maintain her financial prestige in
the future is contingent upon events
now unknown.
And as TO commerce. our foreign
shipping has been a mere bagatelle
compared TO the world possibilities.
while, to use a single example. our
trade with China was actually denim
ishing previous to this war and that
in the face of the unrivaled expansion
in industry and commerce following
the institution of the Chinese republic.
ON the contrary, Germanys trade
with China was leapiHg forward with
herculean strides until this war mania
caused it to commit hari-kari.
Again. we have often heard the
proud but unthinking boast that the
United states could whip the world.
!, How? With a violence of intemper-
ate speech. maybe. with bluff and
blustCr, perhaps. But certainly not
with the weapons of carnal warfare.
our coast defenses are such by cOur-
tesy. rather than by fact; there isn't
defense on either shore that would
stand against a modern naval attack.
We maintain no standing army and
therefore it would be months before
one could be recruited. drilled even
in the rudiments Of war, and ade-
quately equipped.
And what about our navy? There
has been much divergency of opinion
on this subject from the wild words
of pessimistiC alarmist to the smiling
confidence Of Sec'l Daniels who de-
sCribed his view of the situation with
the lacOnic words when I put on my
cap the navy is ready Probably the
alarmists are extreme and yet there
is certainly much on their side of
the question. Recently a submarine
of the United States went down OF
I
since the naval review in New York,
Ave Submarines have been injured or
/ in some way put out of commission.
I in the recent naval war game the
/ enemy was victorious. while the ur-
hane Mr.. Daniels has given a 81 Ock
| TO his own confidence in the selection
Of Capt. A. w. Grant of the battle
! ship Texas, to take charge of the
submarine hOtillaS built and build
q in
/ his power to develop such weapons of
war to the highest possible state of
\ efficiency.
BE it far from me to utter one
word toward unleashing the dogs of
war; all these statements have been
used for is TO point out their sense
! less bigOtry and lift a word of caution
/ for sober judgment and restrained
speech
There is a popular superstition
/ that the Almighty takes care of chill
dren. fools, and the United States.
/ but let us beware less this lead us
! into folly"
The speaker said that probably
7 some OF the veterans would remem-
/ Der how this foolish pride brought
/ disaster at the beginning of the civil
war. The north was flushed with
/ over confidence: the three months vol
j unteeTs who had been doing garrison
! duty in Washington were FESTIVE for a
fight: the people began to murmur
ct inaCtiOn and called upon the army
10 move That's just like American
/ Impotence, If this country should
| become involved in this European war
before tomOrrow's sunset, the Ameri-
can public would expect an army re-
| cruited, modified. drilled and
| equipped. a navy increased and
manned, transports under naval pro-
/ lection landing a million men on
European soil and decided victory
won for our arms before snow flies.
/ So il was i'm 1861.
81 suppose ii 10 be within the range
Of legitimate party politics for the