The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1915-12-29
COL ONEL TAKES
ANOTHER FLING
AT OPPONENTS
Says Pacificists, to Be Consist
ent, Should Abolish
Police Forces.

| Washington, Dec. ga paper by
Theodore Roosevelt on Social Values
and National Existence furnished a
theme for an animated discussion to-
day before the American sociological
Society in annual session here. It was
read by Prof. Edward A. Ross, of the
University Of Wisconsin, president of
the society.
Infinitely the most important fact
| to remember in connection with the
present war an militarism in it's re-
lations to moral and social values,
wrote Mr.. Roosevelt, "is that if an
unscrup 1lous war1tke and rnilitaristic
attitude is not held in check by the
Warike ability of a neighb oring non
n1i1itaristic and we'll behaved nation,
then the latter will be spared the ne
cessity of dealing with moral and
social values because 1t won't be al
| lowed to deal with anything. 1t seems
to me positively comic to fail to appre-
ciate, with the example of Belgium
before our eyes, that the real question
which we modern peace-loving nations
have to face is not how the Tnilitar1st1c
or warIike spirit within their own bor~
ders will. affect these values but how
failure on their part to resist the mill
tarism of an inscriptions neighbor
will affect them.'P
Mr.. Roosevelt referred to medieval
Persia and Russia and to modern
China, Korea and Armenia to show
what happened to nations which ap-
piled practically the theories of pacif-
lists.
There are we11-meaning people,.
said his paper, utterly incapable Of
learning any lesson taught by history,
utterly incapable OF understanding
Alright what has gone on before their
very eyes during the past year Or two
who nevertheless wish to turn this
country into an occidental China-the
kind of China which every Intelligent
Chinarnan of the present day is seek
ing to abolish. There are plenty of
politicians, by no means as we'll mean
ing, who find it TO their profit to pan
der to the desire common to most men
to live scftIy and easily and avoid
risks and effort. Timid and lazy
men, men absorbed in money getting,
men absorbed in case and luxury and
all soft and slothfu1 people naturally
hail with delight anybody who will
give them high sounding names be-
hind which to cloak their unwilling
ness to run risks or to toll and endure.
Emotional phi1anthropists to whom
thinking DIS a distastefu1 form of men
tai exercise enthusiastically champion
this attitude"
There are, of course, persons who
believe all force is immoral that it is
immoral to resist wrong doing by
force" he added. ST have never tax
en- much interest in individuals who
profess this kind of morality and
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 endeaVor by
force to save his wife or sister or
daughter from rape or other abuse
or to save his children from abduc-
tion and torture. It is a waste OF
time to discuss with any man a po-
sition Of such folly, wickedness and
po1trosonery.
eff the man who objects to war
objects to the use of force In civil
life his position is logical although
absurd and wicked. IF the college
presidents, politicians. automobile
rranufacturerstan and the like who. dur
ing the past year or two have preach
ed pacfffcism in its most ignobbe form
are willing to think out the subject
and are both sincere and fairly intelli-
gent, they must necessarily condemn
a police force or a posse condtatus
just as they condemn armies and they
must regard the authorities of the
sheriff and constable as being essen
TALLY nilitaristic and therefore to be
abolished When we have discovered
a method by which right living may be
spread so universally in Chicago ana
New York that the two cities can with
safety abolish their police forces, then
and not until then, it will be worth
while to talk about the abolition OF
war
aAt present in this world and for
the immediate future wrote Mr..
Roosevelt, in conclusion, sit is GER
tain that the only way successfully to
oppose the might which is the servant
of wrong is by means OF the might
which is the servant of right.