The Union times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1894-1918, 1915-12-31
NATIONAL DEFENSE
The ISSUE
Roosevelt Believes in Pre-
paredness-To Be Unpre-
pared is to Invite Destruc-
tion-Might, the Servant
of Right, Must Oppose
Might, the Servant of
Wrong.

Washington, Dec. ga paper by
Theodore Roosevelt on "Social Values
and National Existence" furnished q
theme for an animated discussion to-
day before the American Sociological
Society in annual session here. 1t was
read by Professor Edward A. Ross. of
the University of Wisconsin, president
of the society.
Infinitely the most important fact
to remember in connection with the
war and militarism in relation to NOR
al and social events" wrote Mr..
Roosevelt, "is that if an unscrupulous,
'war-like and militaristic nation is
not held in check by the warlike abil-
ity of a neighboring non-militaristic
and well-behaved nation, then the
latter will be spared the necessity of
dealing with moral and social values
because it won't be allowed to deal
with anything.
1T seems to me positively comic to
fail to appreciate, with the example
of Belgium before our eyes, that the
real question which modern peace
loving nations have to face is not
how the militaristic or warlike spirit
wik4in their own borders will affect
these values but how failure on their
part to resist the militarism of an un-
scrupulous neighbor will affect them"
Mr.. Roosevelt referred to medieval
Persia and Russia and to modern
China, Korea and Armenia to show
what happened to nations wkhich ap-
plied practically the theories of pa
cifists.
There ae well-meaning people" {"
read the letter, utterly incapable of
learning any lesson taught by history,
utterly incapable of understanding
& az'T2nt bae axnpes on b&fora their
8 ewes duxjng the past year or
Two, who nevertheless, wish to turn
this country into an occidental China
the, kind of China which every in
teI;gent Chinaman of the present day
Is seeking to abolish. There are
plenty Of politicians, by no means as
wei:-meanlng, who find it to their pro-
mt to pander to the desire common
to most men to live softly and easily
and vaoid risks and effort. Timid
and lazy men, men absorbed in money
getting, men absorbed in 7 he and
luxury, and all soft and slouthful peo-
pie naturally hail with delight any-
body who will give them high sound
ing names behind which to cloak
their unwillingness to run risks or TO
toll and endure. Emotional philan-
thropists to whom thinking is a dis
tasteful form of mental exercise, en-
Enthusiastically champion this attitude" ."
Discussing the mental confusion of
the average citizen who thinks war
IN itself is wrong, Mr.. Roosevelt wrote
that war could be defined as the use
OF force between nations and that the
question of whether it. was right or
wrong depended purely upon the pur-
pose for which and the spirit in which
it was waged.
Ihere are, of course, persons who
believe all force is immoral and that
it is immoral to resist wrong doing
by FORCE" he added. 81 have never
taken much interest in individuals
who profess this kind of morality, and
I do not know the extent to which
they practically apply it. But OF
course if they are right in the theory,
then it is wrong for a man to en-
deavor by force to save his wife or
sister or daughter from rape or other
abuse, or to save his children from abb
duction and torture. 1t is a waste
of time to discuss with any man a
position of such folly, wickedness and
poltroonery."
"At present in this world, and for
the immediate future" wrote Col.
Roosevelt in conclusion, "it is certain
that the only way successfully to op-
pose the might which is the servant
Of wrong is by means of the might
which is the servant of riphto -