El Nuevo mexicano., 1916-05-25
How the Pacifists Have
Dragged Us Nearer and
Nearer War Maelstroim
FROM THEODORE RoosEvELT's
DETROIT SPEECH

.NROW AS TO THE PACIFISTS. They
I'M have told us that Ii VIZ remain help
2 y less, we shall escape all difficulties with
other nations and earn their good viii Let
them ponder on what has happened in Mex
leo today. Let them ponder our relations at
this moment with Germany and the other
great powers engaged IN the world war
They will then realize the utter futility OF
their hopes. For nearby Eve years we have
followed the principles of the pacifists as
regards Mexico. We have not ourselves pre-
pared; but we have helped the Metxicans to
prepare by furnishing them arms and mum.
tions. We have tamely submitted to the
murder Of our men and the rape Of our woms
en-. We have permitted foreigners to be
plundered in Mexico: and murder has been
added to plumber, Many Of our troops have
been shot. While we have been nominally
at peace with Mexico, the Mexicans have
killed more American citizens than the
Spaniards killed in the entire Spanish war.
Moreover, when the Spanish war was
Through, it was through; and Cuba, Porto
Rico, and the Philippines were started on
a career Of peace and prosperity such as had
never been known in all their history. But
in Mexico after all the b%loodshed, the trou-
Bile has only begun and we are no nearer a
solution than we were three years and a
quarter ago.
! call the attention of the pacifists to the
fact that we have not avoided trouble in
Mexico. On the contrary, although we are
assured that we are at peace with Mexico
we have killed and wounded nearly as many
Mexicans as were killed and wounded among
Fthe Spaniards when our armies in the Span
ish war took Santiago and Manila We have
not gained the good will of the Mexicans.
They hate us and despise us infinitely more
than they hated US five years ago-at which
time they did not despise us at all. The
policy of pacifism has been practically ap
plied in Mexico and it has resulted in meal
culahle loss of life and property: It has
gained us the utter contempt of the people
with whom we dealt; and it has brought us
70 the verge of war with them,
Exactly the same thing 10 true as regards
7ermany. For sixteen months we have been
employed in sending Germany uItimatum
after ultimatum in monotonous succession
while Germany in equally mOnotonous sue
cession sank ship after ship, drowning our
men. women and children by the hundreds.
4 use the word "ultimatum" in the sense
that it has been given by our practice with
both Mexico and Germany during the past
three years-for under this condition an Ill
timatum is a note which Is not ultimate, but
an invitation to further correspondence, artd
Is on no account to be translated into ac-
tion.) We have suffered as a nation from
prolonged and excessive indulgence in note
writing: and incidentally we have made the
discovery that underwriting is o an anti
dote to murder. The p~acifists assured us
that underwriting and sitrilar intellectual ex
e~rcises would avert all difficulties and keen
foreign nations feeling friendly toward us.
AS a matter OF fact, while we have been
writing these notes, the loss OF life among
lnon.combatant men, women and children on
the ships which were torpedoed and about
which I'VE wrote notes, has exceeded the to-
ftal number Of lives lost in both the Union
and Confederate navies during the entire
Civil War. Think Of that, friends! Such
has been the net result of our noteswritingl
and incidentally we have incurred the con-
temptuous dislike of all the great powers
engaged ia the war; AS regards the loss OF
American lives, and the sinking Of these
ships, | hold Germany less responsible than
i hold this nation. Germany is engaged in a
life and death struggle; and we need not
exreet that she will forego any advantage
which the weakness or timidity of our ma
ton, or this republic, offers her. | firmly
believe that il at the outset we had clearly
made II evident that our words would be
translated into deeds, that our first ultima
tum sixteen months ago was really an
ultimatum, Germany would have yield
ed, the Lusitania and tn other ships
would not have been sunk, and all the
lamentable loss of life would have been
avoided. 1t is our own attitude OF eulpable
weakness and timidity-an attitude assumed
under the pressure of the uitraspacifists-
which is primarily responsible for this
dreadful loss of life, and for our national
humiliation.
we have suffered a loss Of Friendly feeling
with each Of the countries at wal, and we
have been within grave danger OF trouble
that would eventually lead to our being
dragged into war with one or more OF them
would rather go to war than permit our
women and children to be killed. But 1t Is
a crime against this nation that our own SUI
pine folly, our weakness and yacillation,
cur utter failure to prepare, should expose
us to the possibility of war without having
made US ready for war. II, as soon as the
great war broke out, our navy had been MOB
ilized, and a competent man put at the head
of the navy department (appointed for ma
Eticnal and service reasons, instead Ut pure
fly political reasons), and II we had begun
vigorously to prepare, and had shown thet
we meant what we said, the Lusitania would
never have been sunk; no power would have
fnfringed on our right; and we should today
be absolutely free from all danger OF war. !
The p~acifists have had their way as re
CARDS Mexico, and as regards our -behaV-
Tor IN the great war. IneT poiSy mas pSSn
practically applied. 1t has resulted IN the
loss of thousands of lives and in imrneas.
urable national humiliation. It has render
ed war more likely instead of less likely.
am advocating preparedness SO as to avoid
war, and 1 am advocating preparedness in
the work of peace as in military matters. l
believe in a thoroughly efficient navy, the
second in size in the world, ! believe in 2
small hut thoroughly efficient regular army.
G+FHL-n.4 IS ON A0n mon with "a nrpnoV Tn-
serve. This would give us a mobile army
OF l25.Q00 men. But back OF the regular
army and navy must stand the strength or
the people themselves, and this strength
must be prepared IN advance or it Will be
utterly useless in time Of trial.