The Alaska daily empire., 1916-05-02
COLONEL RoosEvELT AND BELGIUM
(Harper's weekly)

COLONEL ROOSEVELT AND BELGIUM
 (Harpers weekly)
 That Colonel Roosevelt is to be the Republica ominee seems an the more likely since his enteni ith Mir Root and Senator Lodge If he is the nor lee. foreign policy will be an that he will feel ome in. He surely win not attack the new currenC gstem and unless he is driven to it he will not { ito tariff questions He will attack by preferen' UT treatment of Mexico and Germany. Our seri n Huerta and Henry Lane Wilson throws sufficie ght on Mir. Roosevelts view that President WilsC ad not aided the only persons MT. Roosevelt thnl hould have been helped. Either Huerta is near pparently or Hearst and other genial foreign nve prs It must be admitted that Hearst, the New Yo un and in our guess. Wall Street generally will su ort The Colonel against the President
 On the German question 1t Is necessary to ho teadlly to the light what The Colonel thought befo e had decided to seek a political issue in fore fairs: while his partisanship after fashion, stopp t the waters edge" Hence our emphasis of rticle on The Outlook for September % 1914. AS t magazine thinks 1t has been misunderstood, we nc ring together In more orderly form the passag n that article which ought to be considered by ca aign speakers. They might do we'll to tear out tl age and keep it The Democratic campaign bo hould contain it Colonel Roosevelt says:
 Our country stands wellnigh alone among the great civilized powers in being unshaken by the present worldwide war For this we should be humby and profoundly grateful
 As regards the actions of most of the com batants in the hideous worldwide war now raging, t Is possible sincerely Go take and defend either of the opposite views concern ing their actions
 When Russia took part. 1t may well be argued that 1t was impossible for Germany not to some to the defense of Austria and that disaster would surely have attended her arms had she not followed the course she actually did follow as regards her opponents on her western frontier.
 I wish 1t explicitly understood that am not at this time passing judgment one way or the other upon Germany for what she did to Belgium am merely calling attention to what has actually been done in Belgium. in accordance with what the Germans unques- tionably believe to be the course of conduct necessitated by Germany's struggle for life.
 It is neither necessary nor at thep res ent time possible to sft from the charges. countercharges. and denias the exact facts as to the acts alleged to have been committed in various places.
 I think. at any rate l hope, ] have rem dered 1t plain that I am not now criticising, that ] am not passing judgment one way or the other upon Germany's action admire and respect the German people. l proud of the German blood in my veins. When a nation feels that the issue of contest in which from whatever reason. it finds itself engaged will be national life or death. it Is inevitable that it should act SO as to-, t. self from death. and to perpetuate life.
 The rights and wrongs of these cases where nations violate the rules of abstract morality in order to meet their own vital needs can be precisely determined only when all the facts are known and when mems blood is cool am not at this time critcisng the particular actions of which ] speak.
 deputation of Belgians has arrived in this country to invoke our assistance in the time of their dreadful need. What action our government can or will take know not It has been announced that no action can be taken that will interfere with our entire neu' trality It is certainly eminently desirable that we should remain entirely neutral and nothing but urgent need would warrant break. ing our neutrality and taking sides one way or the other Neutrality may be of prime necessity in order to preserve our own interests to maintan peace in so much of the world as Is not affected by the war, and to conserve our influence for helping toward the re-establishment of general peace when the time comes; for if any outside power is able at such time to be the medium for bringing peace it is more likely to be the United States than any other Of course N would be folly to jump into the gulf ourselves to no good purpose; and very probably nothing that we could have done would have helped Belgium. We have not the smallest responsi bility for what has betaen her, and l am sure that the sympathy of this country for the sui fering of the men, women and children of Belgium is very real Nevertheless this sym pathy is compatible with full acknowledgment Of the unwlsdom of our uttering a single word of official protest unless we are prepared to make that protest effective; and only the clearest and most urgent national duty would ever justify us in deviatlng from our rule of neutrality and non-interference
 ma writer yvh speaks with wanton offensiveness of foreign power or of a foreign people, whether he at tacim England or France or Germany, wheth CT he assails the Russians or the Japanese, is doing an injury to the whole American body polite. We have plenty of shortcomings at home to correct before we start out to criticise the shortcomings of others