Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1916-05-19
President Tells National Press
Club That Force Is NeCeS-
Sary Occasionally in Order to
Retain Moral Influence
{ b. Associated Prass.l

innate review of his three years in the
white house and his impressions OF
foreign and domestic problems, de-
livered confidentially Monday night be-
fore Washington correspondents gath
cred at the National Press club. He
spoke of the difficulties of the presi-
dency and particularly of the motives
which have guided his handling of the
European situation.
Au1erica, the president said, is for
peace because she loves peace and be-
lieves the present war has carried the
nations engaged so far that they can
not be held to ordinary standards of
responsibility" But he added the
United States has grown to be one of
the great nations of the world and there
point of view of the rest of the world
FORCE IF NECESSARY.
IF I can not retain my moral in
fluence over a man except by occa.
sionally knocking him down." he said
If that is the only basis on which
he will respect me, then for the sake
of his soul L have got TO occasionally
knock him down."
The president declared he had been
Kept awake nights considering the Eu-
ropean situation, because there might
come time when the United States
would have to do what it did not de-
sire to do, and the great burden on
my spirits has been that it has been
up to me to choose when that time
came" He added that he did not con-
ceive that he had been elected presi-
dent to do as he pleased. eff I were
1t would have been very much more in
teresting," he said.
Impressions of public men as a class
were given frankly by the president
with the comment that some grew and
some swelled. He also discussed the
relations of the newspapers to the af-
tairs OF the nation. and sounded a
warning that false information about
foreign affairs was more than likely 10
lead to trouble.
The presidents remarks as originally
delivered were read by him carefully
before 1T was made public, but no i'm
portant portions were eliminated. and
the wording was not changed substan-
TALLY.
TEXT OF ADDRESS.
The text of the presidents speech follows.
II am both glad and sorry to he here. glad
because am always happy to be with YOU. and
Know and ike so many of you, and sorry be.
cause l have to make speech One of the
leading faults Of you gentlemen of the press Is
your inordinate desire to hear other men talk
70 draw them out upon all occasions, whether
Der being in this Press club once before making
many unpremeditatew disclosures of myseIf
and then having you with your singular instinct
for publicity insist that / should give it away
to everybody else.
Il was thinking as / was looking forward to
coming here this evening of that other occa-
sion when l stood very nearly at the threshold
OF the duties that have since been called upon
70 perform, and ! going over In my mind
the impression that | then had by way of fore.
cast Of tile duties of the president and compar.
ing them with the experiences that have fol
lowed must say that the forecast has been
very largely verified, and that the impressions
! had then have been deepened rather than
weakened.
"You may recall that ] said then that 1 felt
constantly a personal detachment from the presi-
dency; that thing that l resented when
was not performing the duties of the office was
being reminded that l was the president of
the United States. | felt toward IL as man
feels toward a great function which, in work
ing hours, he is obliged to perform, but which
out of working hours he is glad to get away
course of his own thoughts. / am constantly
reminded as go about, as l do sometimes at
the week end, Of the personal inconvenience of
being president of the United STATES If ] want
to know how many people live in a small
town all l have to do is to go there and they
at once line up to be counted. ] might. in a
census taking year, save the census takers a
great deal OF trouble by asking them to accom-
pany me and count the people on the spot.
Sometimes, when l am most 6eset, seriously
think of renting a pair of whskers of de-
manding something else that will furnish me
with an adequate disguise, because ! am sorry
to find that the cut of my jib is unfnistakable,
and that must sail under false colors If am
gong 10 So TAKEN by BY SURPRISE.
''Yet as l have matched my experience with
my anticipations, 1, of course, have beer
aware that l taken by surprise because
Of the prominence of many things to which
had not looked forward. When we are deal
ing with domestic affairs, gentlemen, we are
dealing with things that to us as Americans
are more or less calculable.
There is a singular variety among our cit
izenship, it is true. a greater variety even
than l had anticipated: but, after all, we are
all stepped in the same atmosphere, we ar,
all surrounded by the same environment, we
are all more less affected by the same tradi
tons and, moreover, we are working out some
thing that has to be worked out among our
selves, and the elements are here to be dealt
with at first hand.
''But when the fortunes of your own coun
try are, so to say, subject to the incalculablt
winds OF passion that are blowing through
other parts of the world. then the strain is OF
singular and unprecedented kind, because
you de not know by what turn of the wheel
OF fortune the control of things is going Ia
be taken out Of your hand; it makes no diff
ference how deep the passion of the nation
lies, that passion may be so overborne by the
rush of fortune in circumstances like those
which now exist that you feel the sort of
had almost said resentment that man feels
when his affairs not within his own
hands. You can imagine the strain upon the
feeling OF any man who is trying to interpret
the spirit Of his country when he feels that
certain point. And one of the greatest points
OF strain upon me, If / may be permitted to
point it out, this:
TWO REASONS FOR PEACE.
There are two reasons why the chief wish
Of America is for peace. One is that they
love peace and have nothing TO do with the
present quarrel; and the other is that they be-
lieve the present quarrel has carried those en-
gagged in ii SO far that they cannot be held to
ordinary standards of responsibility; and that.
therefore, as some men have expressed it to
me, since the rest of the world is mad, why
should We not simply refuse to have anything
to do with the rest Of the world in the Ordi-
nary channels OF action? Why not let the
storm pass, and then when it is all over hava
the reckoning?
Of view the passion of America was for peace,
] was, nevertheless, aware that America is
one Of the nations of ,he world, not only, but
one OF the chief nations of the wOrld--a ma
ton that grows more and more powerful al
most in spite of herself: that grows morally
not aware Of it; and that. if she is to play
the part which she most covets, ii is nPces-
ssry that she should act more or less from
the point Of view of the rest Of the world II
I cannot retain my moral influence over u
man except by occasionally knocking him
will respect me. then. Cor the sake Of his SOul.
I have got occasionally TO knock him down.
"You know how we nave read in-isn't il
Ralph Corners stories Of western life in Can
aGa that all his sky pilots ready for a
fracas at any time and how the ultimat sal
ponds upon their using their fists occasionally.
II man viii not listen 70 Won quietly in y
seat. sit on his neck AMI make him listen:
lust as 7 have always maintained particularly
in view Of certain experiences OF mine, that
the shortest road to boys moral sense is