Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1915-02-22
TAFT DECLARES j. s.
IS NEARING CRISIS
AND URGES LOYALTY
Tells Morristown Association
When President Acts eve Must
Stand by Him to the End"
GRAVE ISSUE NEAR, HE SAYS
I'VE Must Allow No lingo Spirit
to Prevail" Is Statement of
Former President
By Assoeiated Press

By dSSpCtufel fFCSA
AIorristown. y. j., Feb. %. - The
United States is threatened with a
serious invasion of its rights as neu-
tral by the warning nations of Europe
and is face to face with a crisis, i'm the
opinion of ex-President William Ill.
TAFT. In the solution of that crisis,
should il arise, no jingO spirit must be
allowed 10 prevail, MIR. Taft advised:
neither pride nor momentary passion
should influence our judgment.
And when the President shall act"
MI. Taft declared. I'VE must stand by
him to the end. In this determination
we may be sure that all will join, no
matter what their previous views. no
matter what their European origin.
All will forget their differences in self
sacrificing loyalty to our common flag
and our common country
Mr.. Taft's reference to the situation
confronting the United States was
made at the conclusion of an address
delivered here to-day before the Wash
ington Association of New Jersey.
Quoting from a reservation in the
Treaty of Algeciras, proclaimed in
1907 and entered into by the United
States and eleven European nations,
most of those now at war, Mr.. Taft
said:
Our interest in the present war,
therefore, under the conditions that
exist should be limited as set forth in
this reservation, to wit:
Preserving and increasing the
commerce of the United States with
belligerents; to the protection as to
life, liberty and prosperity of our citi-
Zens residing or travelling in their
countries, and to the aiding by our
friendly offices and efforts in bringing
those countries 20 peace
Efforts For Peace
Our efforts for peace" he con-
tinued, have been made as complete
as possible for the President has al
ready rendered his good offices by way
OF mediation between the powers, and
they have not been accepted
In preserving the commerce of the
United States with the billigerents.
however, we are face to face with
crisis We are threatened with a Sc
rious invasion of our rights as neu-
trails in trading with the belligerent
countries. What certainly is an inno-
walton upon previous rules in respect
to neutral commerce and contraband
of war has been initiated by belliger-
ents of both sides. The planting of
mines in the open sea and the use of
submarines to send neutral vessels to
the bottom without inquiry as to their
neutrality when found in a so-called
war zone of the open sea, are all of
ternational law governing the action of
the belligerents towards neutral trade.
when their violation results in the
destruction of the lives of American
citizens or of American property a
grave issue will arise as to what the
duty of this government is. The re-
sponsibility of the President and Con-
gress in meeting the critical issue thus
presented in maintaining our national
rights and our national honor on the
one hand, with due regard to the aw-
full consequences to our 90,000,000 of
people of engaging in this horrible
world war on the other, will be very
great. 1t involves on their part a
Judgment so momentous in its conse-
quences that we should earnestly pray
that the necessity for it may be avert
ed.
No Jingo Spirit
IF, however, the occasion arises, we
can be confident that those in autho-
rity will be actuated by the highest
patriotic motives and by the deepest
concern for our national welfare. We
must not allow our pride or momen-
tary passion to influence our judgment.
We must exercise the deliberation that
the fateful consequences in the loss of
our best blood and enormous waste of
treasure would necessarily impose up
on us. We must allow no jingo spirit
TO prevail. We must abide by the
judgment of those in whom we have
entrusted the authority, and when the
President shall act. we must stand
by him to the end In this determine
ton we may be sure that all will join.
no matter what their previous views.
no matter what their European origin.
All will forget their differences in
self-sacrificing loyalty to our common
flag and our common country.
This one hundred and eighty-third
anniversary of Washingtons birth, in
view of the present critical condition
in our international relations, should
bring to our minds the third great
achievement of his presidential term,
the maintenance of a policy of neu-
trality through a general European