New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-07-22
Roosevelt Would Have
Universal Military Ser
vice in the u. s.
WAR READINESS
NATIONAL DUTY
Otherwise He Foresees Belgium's
Fate for Country, Without
Worlds Sympathy.

San Francisco. July 21.-Theodore
Roosevelt delivered two addresses to-
day at the Panama-Pacifc Exposition.
one vigorous in tone on military prep
arations and the other a brief personal
talk TO "the men on the line" soldiers,
sailors and marines, at the enlisted
mems club.
lie held both willingness and ability
to be soldiers to be desirable attributes
Of good citizens. He told the enlisted
men "A man afraid to fight is not fit
10 vote" and "a mother who is not
willing to raise her boy to be soldier
is not fit for citizenship" Before tie
address at the club house he planted
a poplar tree.
"War and Peace" was the topic OF
Colonel Roosevelts address to an i'm
mense audience gathered in the Court
of the Universe.
Colonel Roosevelt was escorted from
his hotel by squadron Of the 1st
Cavalry and by various military and
public officials. He was given a Presi-
Dental salute of p guns by warships
in the harbor. He was introduced by
Governor Hiram W. Johnson of Cali
fornia. his running mate for the Pres
idency on the Progressive ticket IN
1912.
81 firmly believe that there should
be universal military service for our
young men on the Swiss model SAID
the ex-President.
Referring to the price which Bel
GUM had paid because Of her UMPIRE
paredness, the Colonel said:
"Some day or other it may well be
that we shall have to pay on tenfold
greater scale the same price for ex-
actly the same reasons, and, if such
should be the case, remember, my
fellow countrymen. that, whereas the
case Of the Belgians excited warm sym
pathy. our misfortunes would excite
nothing but scorn and contempt, for
rich, powerful boastful people invites
the ridicule of all mankind, if, whether
from sheer Stiffness and short-sighted-
ness. or from soft timidity, or from
gross and greedy devotion to the ma
terial benefits Of the moment, it fails
to prepare itself to defend its own
rights with its own strength"
Colonel Roosevelt spoke derisiyely OF
"elocution as a substitute Tor action
and i'm his arraignment OF those VINO
stood in the way of preparedness for
war he said the professional pacihsts,
the peace-at-any- price, non-reslstance'
universal arbitration people are seek
ing to Chinafy this country re-
duce it TO the level Of impotence 10
which old China sank"
The average Chinaman, the Colonei
said. had taken the view that emma
was too proud to fight" and I'm prac--
tice made evident his hearty approval
Of that abject pacifst song, I Didn't
Raise My Boy To Be Soldier.
No Use for Arbitration Treaties.
With all of his oldtime vigor Colonel
Roosevelt denounced the all-incluslye
arbitration treaties which the United
States had entered into, and said that
in declining to apply their prnclple IN
tho case Of the Lusltanla there had
been evidence Of national hypocilS y'
or else an utter reckleSsness OF iolly
in making promises. IL was heceSsaIy
70 repudiate the principle in the Lusi-
tonio case. the Colonel agreed, but "a
shameful thing to have put ourselves
/ I
( repudiated' .1o,,,
/ the Panama Exposition" said Colonel
| Roosevelt in beginning his speech. at
was nv good fortune to take the acuon
| IN 1qO3 failure 10 take which in exactly
. ,be shane I took it would have meant
/ that no Panama Canal would have been
built for half a century, and therefore
/ tbat there would have been no exposl-
/ ton TO celebrate the building Of the
/ canal. 49,
"In everything we did in connection
/ with the acquiring Of the Panama Zone
we acted in a way TO do absolute Jus
| tice to all other nations, TO beneht al
other nations. including especially the
adjacent states. and 10 render the utmost
/ service from the standpoint alike OF
honor and Of material interest TO the
/ limited States. | am glad that TINS Is
/ tho case. for il there were the Shghtest
faint upon our title or our conduct II
would have been an improper and
shameful thing to hold this exposition
/ CHOSE men who, like myself, believe
/ that the highest duty Of this nation is
/ TO prepare itself against war, so that
/ II NAV safely trust its honor and inter
est to its own strength, are advocating
merely that we do as nation regard
ing our general interests what we have
b already done in Panama.
Nation Culpably Remiss.
ave have been culpably, wellnigh
] criminally, remiss as a nation IN not
preparing ourselves, and II, with the
/ lessons taught the world by the dread
/ full tragedies Of the last twelve months
/ we continue with soft complacency 10
stand helpless and naked before the
world. we shall excite only contempt
/ and derision if and when disaster ulu-
mately overwhelms US.
preparedness against war does not
/ invariably avert war, any more than a
fire department in city will invariably
avert a fire; and there are well mean
ing. foolish people who point out this
fact as Offering an excuse for unpre-
paredness. II would be just as sensible
il. after the Chicago fire, Chicago had
announced that It would abolish its fire
department as for our people TO take
the same view as regards military pre-
paredness.
"The clearest teaching is conveyed in
the experience of China and OF Bel
GUM during the last year. As regards
Belgium, the comparison should be
made between it and Switzerland. The
territory Of Switzerland, like the terri
tory of Belgium, lay between the great
complaints. One offered as advantage