Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1916-02-03
5000 HEAR PRESIDENT
I'M FINAL SPEECH I'M TOUR
OF THE MIDDLE WEST
CONTINUED from Page One.(

tC0QtlIueu from dS6 outf
ton is that America is at peace with
all the world and wishes to remain at
peace.
America is the friend of all the
world. The friendship is genuine. We
are the friends of all the world be-
cause we are made up of all the world
and understand all the world
1T would tear the hearstrings of
| America to be at war with any other
nation.
/ we believe we can show our friend
! ship for the world better by keeping
out of this struggle than by getting
into it. l do not underestimate the
spirit of America.
mo man can lead America anywhere
that her people do not desire to be
! led.
so far as America is concerned, no
man need go amongst us preaching
peace. We are disciples of peace al
ready and no man need preach that
gospel to us
Suppose my neighbors' house is on
fire and the roof is of cOmbustible ma
terial, it is not my fault if the fire
spreads. The danger is not from with
in but from without.
"The commanders of submarines for .
the most part are in accord with the .
law Of nations, but the act Of one COM .
mander may set the world on fire"
There are cargoes Of wheat and /
cotton and manufactured articles on
the sea and every one Of them may
cause trouble because they go into the
zone Of fire.
America has drawn no fine points,
no new issues. in her international re-
lations; she has merely asserted the
rights of mankind when the life of
mankind is threatened in world
af1ame with war. She has rested on
what is already written plain on the
documents of international law"
The crowd cheered The president
said that some day statesmen of the
older countries would have to admit
that it was America that kept burn ,
ing the flame of international law on
its altar. when every other altar in
the world was swept by the winds of
passion.
Il am ready to make every patient
allowance" he continued, for those
whose tempers are upset by war.
You know how one set of belliger-
ents is shut off from the rest of the
world, Therefore the United States
is not able to express itself toward
: them as they would like. l believe the
, United States is really neutral
MY fellow citizens. while we know
our own purpose, it does not follow
that other nations understand
| Men press forward with sort of
blind recklessness.
Tells Choice America Has.
"The peace of the world, including
America, rests with the remainder of
the world and not with America. Now
here is the choice we have; here is
the alternative:
Either we shall sit still and wait
for the necessity for immediate ma
tfonal defense to come and then call
first few months, impotent against a
trained and experienced enemy;
Or we Shall adopt the ancient
American principle that the men of
the country shall be ready to take
: care of their own government"
The crowd roared it's approval.
"You have either got to get the men
ay 70 ~,
. first onslaught or you have got to be
:: ready to suffer from the first disaster"
+: When the president said he was
:! only asking for trained citizenship
i he was cheered. He said he did not
3! want to command a great army but to
!. command the support of confidence of
:: his fellow citizens. He said that II
r would be cruel to send unframed men
@ into battle.
t The plans now before congress are
n merely plans to save the lives of
l American youths" he said There is
no better service In the world than
! the service OF the United States navy
I But the navy must have more sbins
= ana We are going TO give the navy the
ships 1t needs
+ We are going to have more ships
We have been going about It leisure
ly but now We must get down to bust
Z ness.
We ought to have the greatest navy
In the world" he declared amid great