The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1916-06-16

ness is the fear Of militarism | want
to say word to you young gentle
men about militarism. You're not a
militarist because you are military.
Militarism does not consist in the
existence of an army,'not even in the
existence CT q very great army. Mill
tarism is a spirit. 1t is q point Of vie*
1t is a system. 1t is a purpose. The
purpose of militarism is to use armies
for aggression. The spirit of mill
tarism is the opposite of the civilian
spirit-the citizen spirit In a country
where militarism prevails, the mill
tary man looks down upon the ciFi.
liam. regards him as inferior, thinks
of him as intended for his, the mill
tary mans support and use and just
so long as America is America that
spirit and point of view is impossible
with US. There is as yet in this coun-
try, so far as I can discover, no taint
of the spirit of militarism.
"You young gentlemen are not pre-
ferred in promotion because Of the
families you belong to. You are not
drawn into the academy because you
belong to certain influential circles.
You do not come here with long
tradition of military pride back of
you. You are picked out from the
citizens of the United States to De
that part of the force of the United
States which makes it's polity safe
against interference. You are the
part of American citizens who say 10
those who would interfere: You
must not and You shall not But
you are American citizens and the
idea 1 want to leave with you boys
today is this: No matter what comes
always remember that first of all you
are citizens of the United States be-
fore you are officers and that you arc
officers because you represent in your
particular profession what the citizen
shin of the United States stands for
Can't Live Together.
There is no Danger of militarisn
if you are genuine Americans and
for one do not doubt that you are
When you begin to have the militaris-
tic spirit-not the military spirit, that
is. all right-then begin to doub
whether you are Americans or not.
"You know that one thing in which
cur forefathers took pride was this
that the civil power is superior to the
military power in the United States
Once and again the people of the
United States have so admired some
great military man as to make nlnl
president of the United States when
he became cnmmander-in-chief of al
the forces of the United States, but
he was commander-in-chief because
he was president, not because he had
been trained to arms, and his author
| ity was civil, not military. can teach
you nothing of military power, but
am instructed by the constitution TO
use you for constitutional and patriotic
purposes. And that is the only use
you ought to care to be put
to, because after all what is the use
in being an American if you do no:
know what it is?
"You have read a great deal in the
books about the pride of the old Ro-
man citizen who always felt like
drawing himself to his full height
when he said, I'm Roman but as
compared with the pride that must
have risen to his heart our pride has
a new distinction, not the dlstinc-
ton of the mere imperial power of a
great empire, not the distinction OF
being masters of the world, but the
distinction of carrying certain lights
of the world that the world has never
SO distinctly seen before, certain
guiding lights of liberty and principle
and justice.
A World Race.
eve have drawn our people, as you
know, from all parts of the world and
We have been somewhat disturbed re-
Gently, gentlemen, because some OF
those-though I believe very small
number-whom we have drawn into
our citizenship have not taken into
their hearts the spirit of America and
have loved other countries more than
they loved the country of their adop-
ton