The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-07-22
Shall Excite Only Contempt
When Disaster Over
whelms Us.

SAN Francisco, July 2i.-Col. Theo-
Gore Foosevelt's appearance at the ex-
position this afternoon attracted a tre-
mendous crowd. when tho ex-President
arose to address the gathering At
o'clock II was estimated that more than
$4,000 persons Joined in the cheers.
Al IL o'clock the space in front OF the
speakers stand In the Court of the Uni
verse began filling with the patient ones.
eager to hear the Colonel expound his
views on war and Peace"
Long before Col. Roosevelt arrived
every inch Of ground within the court
was occupied by men and women and
children.
In his speech the Colonel said In part
The events OF the past year
ought not to have been necessary In
order to convince our people Of the need
Of preparedness. The lessons they
taught have been taueh over and over
again In every century of recorded his
tory. But II 10 dlficult for a busy ma
ton, absorbed in Its own afairs and
without much knowledge Of foreign
matters. to wake up TO the truth unless
the truth Is forcibly brought TO its at
%tention. Therefore there was a GER
tain excuse for us. not "a Justification.
but an excuse. when up to a year ago
we failed to understand the abyss or
horror and misery into which a nation
can be plunged for no misconduct or
It's own IL II fails to prepare Itself to
defend itself when attacked. But after
what has happened during the last year
there is no further excuse for US.
I'VE have been %culpably, well nigh
! A,g,,,Ipany v.patas az N NATHAN In NOT
preparing ourselves during this year
} and II, with the lessons taught the world
by the dreadful tragedies OF the last
twelve months. we continue with SOFT
complacency to stand helpless and naked
before the world we shall excite only
contempt and deilsion II and when dis
aster ultim ,tely overwhelms us.
Some years ago I was looking over
some very old newspapers contempo-
raneous with tire early establishment OF
paid fire departments In this country.
and to my amusement, | came across n
letter which argued against a paid fire
department upon the ground that the
: knowledge OF its existence would tend
to make householders careless and there
fore would encourage fires. This argu-
ment does not now strike US as very
sensible. But II is every whit as RAJ
tional as the argument OF the worthy
people who at the present day say that
preparedness produces war.
Greece was not prepared for war when
!, she went to war with Turkey a score Of
. years ago. But this fact did no, stop
the war. 1t merely made the war I'M
successful for Greece. China vas not
, prepared for war with Japan twenty
: odd years ago. nor for war with the
allies who marched TO Pekin fifteen
years ago, But In neither case did the
fact prevent her from going TO var or
prevent her from wronging foreigners
II merely insured that the war should
do her the maximum of damage.
r France was not prepared for war
against Germany In 1870. She was In
fn!tely better prepared In 1914. The
appropriateness did not avert war In the
: first case. II merely rendered II an
n overwhelming and shameful disaster.
4 In the other case the preparedness did
. not bring on the war; IL merely stood
> as a barrier against such disgrace and
: disaster.
n China and BeIsium.
but the clearest teaching f. conveyed
In the experience OF China and OF Bel
GUM during the last year. As regard,
u Belgium the comparison should be mad,
} between it and switzerland. The ter
{ ritory of Switzerland like the territor,
: of Belgium lay between the great com
- bhAfllANs 'llt tltItu as duN tlldktpu
a path Of entry to those combatants a
the other.
D. "A century ago, for instance. whei
switzerland was utterly unprepared 70
war, the NapoleOnic armies used 1t al
a highway in marching against the Aus
a. trians and south Germans. II wa
ID actually the scene Of a great battle be
b. tween the French and the Russians an,
rs !nasmuch as the Swiss Of that DAY hal
H. not pr.pareI than sslyas fhay uara ahl
of 10 take almost no part in the contest
If which Their country was the theatre
u but were forced helplessly to submit Il
lie practical annexation to France.
Al Absolutely the same tate would hav
~ been theirs now a for the vital fac
re that in the century Intervening the Swis
y people, having learned the lesson, ha'
prepared In advance and were thorough
competent to defend themselves. The
had a first class citizens army. of abou
one-tenth the size OF their whole popula
A. ton. This army was instantly mobilize
IA and thrown on the frontiers and in COL
,s sequence Switzerland's territorial mites
OF rity was respected.
ID But Belgium, alas! had not learne
N the lesson which Switzerland had learned
For eighty years Belgium had been a
al peace and had achieved an eXtraordinar
IN measure Of industrial prosperity. He
10 people had done fundamentally wha
10 ours have done They have devote
themselves to to manufactur
ing, to agriculture. They had built u
"A high Industrial civilization Of an abso
lutely peaceful type.
10 Warnings Laughed Al.
For many years they declined to h
prepared to defend themselves at al
no Unfortunately, the wealthy men were 10
er busy making money and the cultivate
al and literary men were too busy drsamin
dreams to consider the need OF self-de
fence. When some far sighted n.sn pro
posed that Belgium should prepare a
Switzerland had prepared they were dc
ot, nounced as alarmists and milltarist
and jeered at and laughed at.
1T was confidently asserted that tn