The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1916-07-01

OF conres W know you cannot ~
ern the etrcumstances Of the case al
together. and II may " necessary, but
for Gods sake do not do It unless
I. 10 necessary
II am for the time being spokemen
Of such people. gentlemen, have not
read history without observing that
the greatest forces In the world and
the only permanent forces are the
moral force-
Where Force Fails.
I'VE have the evidence OF a very
competent witness. namely, the first
Napoleon. who said. as he looked back
w the last days of his life upon so
much as he knew OF human history,
he had record and Judgment that
force had never accomplished any
thing that was permanent.
Force will not accomplish ANYTHING
that 1t is permanent, I venture to say !:
In the great struggle which is now CO.
ing on on the other side Of. the sea
the permanent things will be accom-
plished afterward, when the opinion
of mankind is brought to bear upon
the issues, aud the only thing that
will hold the world steady is this
same silent, insistent all-powerful
opinion of mankind.
Force can sometimes hold things
steady until opinion has time to form,
but no force that was ever exerted
except in response to that opinion
has ever a conquering and predomi-
nant force. / think the sentence In
American history that / myself am
proudest of is that Introductory SEN
tence of the Declaration of Indepen-
dence, where the writer's say that a
due respect for the opinion of man
kind demands that they state the
reasons for what they are about to
do.
Il venture to say that a decent re-
spect for the opinion of mankind de-
manded that those who started the
present European war should have
stated their reasons, but they did not
pay any heed to the opinion of man
kind and the reckoning will come
when the settlement comes.
Awaits Mankind's Verdict.
= so. gentlemen, am willing, no
matter what my personal fortune may
be, to play for the verdict of man
kind. Personally 1t will be matter
of indifference to me what the ver-
dict on November Is. provided |
feel any degree of confidence that
when a later jury sits. shall get
their judgment In my favor. Not In
my favor personally--what difference
does that make? but in my favor
as an honest and conscientious
spokesman of great nation.
There are some gentlemen who
are under the delusion that the power
OF a nation comes from the top. II
does not. 1t comes from the bottom.
The power and virtue of the tree does
not come from the blossom and the
fruit down into the roots in the OBJ
scure passages OF the earth where the
power Is derived which displays itself
in the blossom and fruit; and know
that among the silent. speechless
masses of the American people Is
slowly coming UP the great sap OF
moral purpose and love of Justice and
reverence for humanity which con-
the only virtue and distinction
of the American people.
Look for your rulers of the future.
Can you pick out the families that
are going to produce them? Can you
pick out the localities that are going
to produce them? You have heard
what was just said about Abraham
Lincoln. 1t is singular how touching
every reference to Abraham Lincoln
is 1t always makes you feel that
you wish you had been there TO help
him in some fashion to fight the bat