The Bemidji daily pioneer., 1915-06-15

only nation not working for peace
The president hoped that he would
soon see Colonel House that he
might learn from his observations
Of the sentiment. which now exists
in Europe.
The president denied that House
had been ordered to rush back and
said that he came of his own &C
cord.
Urges National Defense.
New York, June 15.-Immediate
preparation for a national defense
adequate to meet any eventuality was
urged last night by Henry L. Stim-
son, secretary of war in the cabinet
of President Taft, in an address in
Carnegie hall before the National Sc
curity league.
"The main danger of war today"
said the former secretary, "lies in the
fact that we have so acted in the
past as to give good reason for be-
ieving that we do not really mean to
protect our rights. The surest way
to get into a fight is to use strong
language and then stand with your
hands in your pockets. Is there a
man who doubts that President Will
sons note to Germany would receive
more attention if it were known that
our navy was in readiness and our
free people, in the language of
Washington, disciplined and trained
to arms'?"
Mr. Stimson opened his address by
calling attention to what he de
scribed as "the acute issue that has
arisen because of the destruction of
American lives on the Lusitania." I"
Sc diselaimed intention of saying
anything that might embarrass the
government, but declared that he
considered 1t his duty and the duty
of every American citizen to help
create an intelligent public opinion.
Mr.. Stimson asserted that the devel-
opment of the rights of the neutral
has been the means of putting the
brakes upon savagery," and then con-
tinued in part as follows:
Face to Face With War.
To-day we are face to face with
the European war in which one Of
the combatants has reverted to the
thorough-going logic of primitive
warfare. Finding force to be the
ultimate factor in war, she has de-
clined to recognize any inconvenient
restrictions upon the use of force
which interfered with her purpose Of
warfare.
1--WE were not concerned as ma
tion in the origin or cause of the war; !;
we are now vitality interested in It's
results. We cannot stand by and
see centuries of progress swept into
the dust heap without vital injury to
our national rights. From the Con-
solat del Mar-that maritime code
which regulated sea trade in the mid
die ages-until today it has been be-
yond dispute that the lives Of neut-
raj passengers, even on merchantmen
of ones enemy, must be protected.
This right of our neutral citizens,
sanctioned by centuries of interna-
tional usage, Germany has trodden
down on the plea that it embarrassed
her methods of warfare, just as last
umphed on the neutral rights of Bel
GUM Only the width Of the At
lantic, not Germany's forbearance
nor our power of self-protection,
made the loss which we sustained
less than that of Belgium.
Stands Pledged.
If the government of the United
States is not to omit amy act neces-
sary to the performance of it's sacred
duty it stands pledged by this dec
laration in President Wilson's note Of
May 13, to the use of force if Ger
many persists in her attacks upon our
citizens travelling on the high seas.
"Under these circumstances, with
matters in this condition, what ought
we, the American people, to do?
What have other neutral nations done
when placed in similar position
On the news of the invasion of Bel
gium, the Republic of Switzerland
and the Kingdom of Holland at once
mobilized their troops and guarded
their borders. Today the frontiers
of these little countries are inviolate
their honor is safe, and they stand
before the nations of the world as
having done their uttermOst to pro-
tect the rights Of neutrality. Is oul
standard of duty different in measure
or in kind from that which has guild.
ed these other neutral countries? Il
the right which in our case has been
violated less important than thu
CONTINUED on last pa1o,1