The Alaska citizen., 1915-08-09

| of the commandment Thou shalt it presents a selfevident truth; and yet we know that the man who steals a small amount is, as rule, more certain of punishment than the man who steals a very. large amount. Why? There is no logic by which the fact can be justified, but We all know that the man who commits grand larceny has more apologists than the man who is guilty Of petty larceny; and We further know that the stealing of any amount by an individual is more quickly con demned than the larceny of terri tory by nations How many must join in the violation of moral law in order to convert theft into patri- otism?
 And so with the commandment Thou shalt not kill" no one would risk his own reputation by attempt ing to defend the act of any indi-
 
 yidual who commits murder either for money or out of revenge By who process of reasoning then shall we convince ourselves that the moral character of the act is changed when the killing is done on a large scale for the securing of territory, as the outgrowth of race or religious hatred, or because of family ambitions or trade rivalries? :?
 A NATIONS GREATNESS.
 The greatness of a nation must be measured by the same rule which we apply to individuals. If the in dividual is great, not in proportion as he takes out of the world, but in proportion as he contributes to the welfare of his fellows. so the nation is great, not in proportion as it absorbs, but in proportion as it gives to mankind.
 We need not fear to apply this measure of greatness to our Ma tion. It has earned its primacy by the assistance which it has rendered to the world assistance rendered in many ways. two of which deserve special mention.
 First it is giving money to worthy or ever has given; we are each year spending unselfishly more money per capita for people who do not live under our flag than any other peo- pie now living or whose donations history records
 Second: We are giving that which money cannot buy; we are giving ideas and ideals. The idea is the only thing that defies monop- oily; it is as free as the air we breathe and as necessary to the spiritual life of the individual and the world as air is to the human body. It is ones own fault if any otber person has higher ideals than his own, for he can appropriate any ideal if he will.
 Ideas pass from nation to nation, and they are more priceless than merchandise, although they cannot be burdened by import or export duties or veXed by customs collec- tons.
 This brings me to the third thought, namely, the methods which we should employ in dealing with other nations. In international af- fairs we are compelled to choose between two opposite and conflicting theories; one is supported by the precedents of history-the other is in harmony with the principles which we are more and more ap- plying in daily life. One of these theories relies upon force, and the other on persuasion.
 PERSUASION IS BEST.
 Force has back of it the physical power of the nation and it's purpose to compel Persuasion has back of it the spirit of friendship and seeks to convince The program Of force contemplate3 a consent grudglngly given as the result of coercion; per suasion contemplates an agreement voluntarily reached as the result of agreement A victory secured through threat of force is only temporary; the resentment which it arouses and the spirit Of revenge to which 1t gives birth rob the triumph of it's permanence On the other hand, victory secured by persuasion is lasting and destroys the foundation for cooperation which creates in stead of destroys.
 "This Nation more than any other great nation is at liberty to put Gods truth to the test, and in inter- national affairs try the efficacy or those methods which have proven successful among individuals. With an ocean rolling on either side; with a mountain range along either coast we are singularly free from the possibility of nvasion-invasion, the fear of which has led the European nations to convert themselves into