The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-10-12

I
 he said. 'I would not have hit him for
 anything in the world, but as it was
 could not control the machine to save
 my own life"
 
 inative and they have forgotten that
 the nrst duty of nation is to express It's principles in the action of the fam lily Of nations and not to seek to aid ana aDet any rival or contrary ideal I American Ideals
 Il "Neutrality is a negative word. It is T a word that does not express what America ought to feel. America has a heart, and that heart throbs with all sorts of intense sympathies, but Amer : lea has schooled it's heart to love the things that America believes in and if 1 ought to devote itself only to the things that America believes in. and believing that America stands apart In It's ideals it ought not to allow it. seir to be drawn, so far as it's heart Is concerned, into anybodys quarrel Not because it does not understand fhe quarrel; not because it does not in it's head assess the merits of the con | troversy but because America has promised the world to stand apart and | malnta1n certain principles of action which are grounded in law and in Jus- | or trouble; we are trying to preserve the foundations upon which peace can De rebuilt. Peace can be rebuilt only 1 upon the ancient and accepted prin- ciples of international law, only upon those things which remind nations of their duties to each other and deeper than that of their duties to mankind and to humanity.
 In Humanity's Cause
 America has great cause which ia not confined to the American conti- nent. It Is the cause of humanity it. | self I do not mean in anything that I say even to imply a judgment upon any nation or upon any policy, for my object here this afternoon is not to sit In Judgment upon anybody but our | selves and challenge you to assist all of us who are trying to make America conscious of nothing so much as her own principles and her own duty. l look forward to the necessity In every political agitation in the years which are immediately at hand of calling l upon every man to declare himself where he stands. Is 1t America first. or is it not? We ought to be very care l ful about some of the impressions that l we are forming just now. There is ton general an impression, fear. that very large numbers of our fellow citizens born in other lands have not enter tained with sufficient intensity and anection the American ideal; but their numbers are not large. Those who would seek to represent them are very vocal but they are not very influential 1 Some of the best stuff of America has come out of foreign lands and some of the best stuff in America Is in the men who are naturalized citizens of 1 the United States. I would not be afraid upon the test of America first | to take census of all the foreign born citizens of the United States, for I I know that the vast majority of them came here because they believed in America, and their belief in America has made them better citizens than some people who were born in America. Naturalized Citizens Patriotic They can say that they have bought this privilege with a great price. They have left their homes; they have left their kindred; they have broken all the nearest and dearest ties of human. life in order to come to a new land, take a a new rootage; begin new life. and so by self-sacrifice express their confidence in new principle; whereas, it cost US nothing of these things. We were born into this privilege; we were rocked and cradled in it; we did nothing to create it, and and it Is. therefore. the greater duty on our part to do a great deal to enhance it and preserve it. I am not deceived as to the balance of the opinion among the foreign-born citizens of the United States, but I am in hurry to have lineup and let the men who are thinking first of other countries stand on one side-Biblically, it should be the left-and all those that are for America first, last and all the time on the other side.
 Reference to College Life
 Now. you can do a great deal in this l direction. When I was a college officer l I used to be very much opposed to haz- ing; not because hazing Is not whole | some. but because sophomores are poor | judges. l remember very dear friend | of mine. professor of ethics on the | other side of the water. was asked if he | thought it was sometimes justifiable to | lie. He said yes, he thought it was some- times justifble to lie; but he said. | t is so difficult to judge of i the justification that I unusually | tell the truth. I think that ought to be | the sophomore. There are freshmen who | need to be hazed, but the need Is to be | Judged by such nice tests that a sopho- more is hardly old enough to determine. l But the world can determine them We | are not freshmen at college, but we are | constantly hazed. I would great deal | rather be obliged to draw pepper up my | nose than to observe the hostile glances l
 
 rather be beaten than ostracized would | a great deal rather endure any sort of | physical hardship If l might have the | affection of my fellow men. We con stantly discipline our fellow citizens by 1 having an opinion about them That is | the sort of discipline we ought now to administer to everybody who is not to the l very core of his heart an American l Just have an opinion about him and let | him experience the atmospheric effects of l that opinion. And l know of nobody of | persons comparable to the body of ladies l for the creating of an atmosphere of opin- l ion. have myself in part yielded to | the influences of that atmosphere, for | 1t took me long time to observe how | I was going to vote in New Jersey
 Government Difficult
 'So it has seemed to me that my 1 privilege this afternoon was not mere ! ly privilege of courtesy. but the real Il privilege of reminding you, for am II sure am doing nothing moro, of the III great principles which we stand asso- I| ciated to promote; and for my part rejoice that we belong to country