Okolona messenger. (Okolona, Miss.) 1900-current, 1916-08-24
Iervlce In tlmee of neace.

~ WV w haHtS0 ~ RNaO@s
ALLOW me to speak with great
plainness and directness upon
this great matter and to ayow my
convictions with deep earnestness.
! have tried to know what Amer
iea ~. gnat her people think,
what they are, what they most
cherish and hold dear. | hope
that some some Of their finer pas
sions are in my own heart-some
OF the great conceptions and de-
sires which gave birth to this Gov
eminent and which have made the
voice of this people a voice OF
peace and hope and liberty among
the peoples of the world-and
that, speaking my own thoughts,
shall, at least in part, speak
theirs also, however family and
inadequately, upon this vital mat
ter.
I'VE are at peace with all the
world. No one who speaks coun-
sci based on fact or drawn from a
just and candid Interpretation Of
realities can say that there 10 rea-
son to fear that from any quarter
our independence or the Integrity
Of our territory is threatened.
Dread Of the power Of any other
nation we are incapable of. We
are not jealous of rivalry In the
fields OF commerce or OF any other
peaceful achievement. We mean to
live our own lives as we will, but
ali 30 la4
indeed, true friend to all the ma
tions Of the world, because we
threaten none, covet the possess
sions of none, desire the over
throw of none. Our friendship
can be accepted and is accepted
without reservation, because it Is
offered in a spirit and for a pur-
pose which no one need ever ques-
ton or suspect. Therein lies our
greatness. We are the champions
of peace and of concord. And we
should be very jealous of this dis
tinction which we have sought to
earn. Just now we should be par
ticularly jealous of it, because 1t
is our dearest present hope that
this charae ter and reputation may
presently, in Gods providence,
bring rs an opportunity such as
has seldom been vouchsafed any
nation, the opportunity to counsel
ard obtain peace IN the world and
reconciliation and a healing set
tlement Of many q METER that has
cooled and interrupted the friend
ship of nations. This is the time
above all others when we should
wish and resolve to keep our
strength by selfNossession, our
influence by pre- irving our an
cient principles of action
From the first we have had a
clear and settled policy with re-
gard to military establishments.
We never have had, and while we
retain our present principles and
ideals we never shall have, large
standing army. If asked, Are you
ready to defend yourselves? we
reply Mot assurety, to the ut ,
most: ard ""t W. ehalI not turn
America INTO military camp. We 4,
will not ask our young men to
socTd the bess years of their lives
making soldiers of themselves.
There is another sort of energy
in u. 1T will know how to de-
clare 't7e'f and make itself effec- }
tive should occasion arise And !,
especially when half the world is
on fire we shall be careful to make
our moral insurance against the :
spread of the confIaqration very I.
definite ard certain and adequate
indeed. /.
Let us remind ourselves, there
fore, of the only thing we can do
or will do. We must depend In ev-
cry time of national peril, In the
future, as in the past, not upon a
standing army, nor yet upon a
reserve army, but upon citizenry
trained and accustomed to arms. ;
1t will be right enough, right
American policy, based upon our 2
accustomed principles and prac- }
tees, to provide system by
which every citizen who will val
unteer for the training may be Il
made familiar with the use OF Z,
modern arms, the rudiments of
drill and maneuver, and the main I
tenance and sanitation of camps. :.
We should encourage such train
Ing and make it a means of disci- y
piine which our young men will
learn to value. 1t Is right~that =
we should provide 1t not only, but a
hot oh p,,1I ~
tive as possible, and so induce>our
young men to undergo it at such
times as they can command a lit
tie freedom and can seek the
physical development they need, y
Tor mere health's sake, if for moth e
ng more. Every means by which
such things can be stimulated Is =
legitimate, and such a method =
;macks of true American ideas.
( is right, too, that the National
Guard of the States should be de-
Ieloped and strengthened by ev-
Try means which Is not inconsist-
mt with our obligations to our
'wn people or with the establish
ID policy of our Government. And
his, also, not because the time Z
occasion specially calls for such
measures, but because it should be
'ur constant policy to make these
provisions for our national peace
md safety. =
"More than this, carries with lt II
reversal of the whole history :
md character Of our policy. More
han this, proposed at this time,
'ermit me to say, would mean
merely that we had lost our self q
possession, that we had been
brown off our balance by a war n
With which we have nothing to do, ! y