Honolulu star-bulletin., 1915-12-21
ROOSEVELT TSAYSPROTESTS MADE
BY PEACE, NATION ARE futile

SiI.BdT mccliUSS OH DGudiI OF the BEL
gians, who yet do not fear to take
such action on behalf OF the Armeni
aRg-for the simple reason that there
is In America no Turkish vote, anG
because Turkey is not our neighbor
as Mexico is, and not a formidable
aggressive power like GERMANY, ane
so II is safe, both politically and ma
terially. to denounce her. The Amer
ican professional pacifists, the Amer
lean men and women Of the peace-at
any-price type, who join in meet ac
70 denounce war or with empty
words protest on behalf OF the Ar.
menians or; other tortured and ruin.
ed peoples. carry precisely the weight
that an equal number of Chinese paci-
fists would carry If at a similar meet.
ing they went through similar antics
in Pek.ng. They do harm instead OF
good; and they deeply discredit the
nation to which they belong.
It was announced the other dav. b
certain politicians interested in secur-
ing votes, that at the end OF the war
this government would Insist" on
Russia and Rumania doing justice to
all Jews. The conduct of this govern
ment during the present war, and its
utter refusal to back words with
deeds, has made IT utterly unable to
~insist" on anything of the kind,
whether as regards Russia and Ruma-
MIA or any other power A nation too
timid TO protect its own men. women
and children from murder and outrage
and too tiniid even to speak on behalf
Of Belgium. win not carry much
weight by protest or "insistence." !"
on behalf Of the suffering Jews and
Afnen|ans. Foreign powers viii at
tribute such protest" or insist
eiice, coupled with our failure to act
IN cases OF other nationalities, merely
to the fact that there is in this coun-
try neither a Russian nor a Turkish
vote aud viii, in consequence, despise
our actions.
All OF the terrible iniquitfes Of the
last year and a half, including this
crowning iniquityf of the wholesale
of the Afmenians. can be
traced directly to the initial wrong
committed on Belgium by her invasion
and subjugRtion; and the criminal re-
of Germany must be
shared by the neutral powers, heades
by the United States, for their failure
to protest when this initial wrong was
Responsibility Of America.
In the case of the United States ad-
ditional responsibility rests upon it
because its lack Of influence for JUS
tice and peace during the last i,
months has been largely due to the
course of timid and unworthy aban-
donment Of duty which it has followed
Tor nearly five years as regards Mex
ico Scores of our soldiers have been
killed and wounded, hundreds of our
civilians, both men and women, have
been murdered or outraged in person
or property, by the Mexicans, and we
have not only taken no action, but
have permitted arms to be exported
to the bandits who were cutting one
another's throats in Mexico and who
used these arms to kill Americans:
and, although we have refused to help
our own citizens against any of these
chiefs or these bandits, we have now
and then improperly helped one chief
against another.
The failure to do our duty in Mexi-
co created the contempt which mad
Germany rightfully think it safe to go
INTO the wholesale murder that accom-
panied the sinking of the Lusitania,
and the failure to do our duty in the
case of the Lusitania made Germany,
acting through Austria, rightfully
think It safe to go into the wholesale
murder that marked the sinking OF
the Ancona.
The invasion of Belgium was fol
lowed by policy of terrorism toward
the Belgian population, the shooting OF
men, women and children; the de
struction of Dinant and Louvain, and
many other places; the bombardment
of unfortified places, not only by ships
and by land forces, but by aircraft,
resulting in the killing of many hun.
dreds of civilians-men, women and
children-in England. France, Bel
gium and Italy; in the destruction OF
mighty temples and great monuments
of art, in Rheims, in Venice, in We
roma. The devastation of Poland and
OF Serbia has been awful beyond de-
scription, and has been associated
with infamies surprising those of the
dreadful religious and racial wars of
18th century Europe.
Let us realize that the words of the
weakling and the coward, of the pa
cificist and the poltroon, are worth
less to stop any wrongdoing. Wrong
doing will only be stopped by men
who are brave as well as just, who
put honor above safety, who are true
to lofty ideal. of duty, who prepare
- yoolya thaf,- cfranufh Of.