The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1916-03-21
MAN is AT HELM
OF OUR SHIP OF STATE
Rotary Club Hears Man Made Wise By Travel Give Views
of World Upheaval In Europe-Tels Of Part United
States Must Play When War Ends


cosmopolitan by extensive travel, and
an American by choice and inclina-
tfpn--aa American purely and. simply,
who owes allegiance only to Uncle
sam. in whose services he Is willing
TO shed his last drop of blood---was
the speaker before the Rotary CLUB
at its last meeting. He chose as his
subject of his talk THE Last Words
Of Calico" and spoke in part. as
follows:
''Epuor so muove," "and still she
moves" were his last words. about to
die for having proclaimed scientinc
facts antagonistic to the then pre-
vailing doctrines of darkness ana SUI
perstition Two thousand years GARNER
Socrates was condemned to death tor
teaching his disciples his convictions
of the mortality fthe coui re
drank the hemlock cup smilingiy. tell
inS his mournful followers, who sur
rounded his deathbed. that dea'1 was
the least OF all evils"
"And still she moves today, tnis
old Mother Earth of ours. as sne
moved through the countless ages, and
will move throughout eternity
Five hundred years from now MIS-
torians will probably adjudGe Us par
barians just the same as our pTesent
time is passing sentence upon me
every day mankind is evolving on n
higher plane, striving to right wrongs.
and destroy evil.
Tribute to Wilson.
TN these extraordinary times OF
world war, and upheaval. 1t is or
dained that one man. or group of men
keep q cool head. In order to heip to
read3ust matters, and eventuai'y
create order out of chaos. The man
/ refer to IL our iilustEous CHIEF execn-
tive, and the group Of men represents
our glorious country at large. DIVINE
Providence has put the right men ~
the helm OF our Ship of state. in the
most momentous period of Its history.
There Is not the slightest possibility,
in my mind. of our nation being drawn
into this vortex OF world war. THIS
war is going to revolutionize the old
order of things. a new civilization viii
dawn. promising freedom. happiness
and prosperity to generations yet an-
born. This new order OF things VIII
emanete from the western hemisphere.
and our glorious flag Will be the en-
blem OF real peace. real freedom.
I'VE do not want war, We want
peace; we do not want hatred. we
want love, we do not want poverty.
but we want prosperity. and all these
THINKS WITT be ours II we remain Aafl
calm. Our God-favored land has the
most wonderful RESOURCES upon this
earth, resources which have been
barely scratched. In the cd world, the
hungry have to be fed, and the naked
TO be clothed: who else could accom-
plish this but the United States FUR
theruore European competition in the
worlds markets In eliminated for at
least a decade. South America. which
produces n great deal, and manufac-
lures nothing, looks to US for our nm
ished products. We will take their
cogsee, their rubber, their dye-woods
their meats and hides, their nitrates
and other natural products too mum
erQus to mention. and there-aEainst
supply them with our textiles. our
machinery ia short. every manufac-
tured article. which articles have
formerly been supplied chiefly hy|
Germany and other European nations
Under the auspices OF the National
City Bank of New York. cham Of
banks is about 20 be established
throughout South America, enabling
American y rohants to export their
merchandise with the utmost amount
Of financial security. The adjustment
of the trade balance one way or the
other will then merely be a gorelgn
exchange transaction. with the Amer
lean Es-gie' being the most precious
monetary unit In the world.
Fashions From New York.
New York will be the arhtter os
fashions for mems and women's ap-
pare,. Our ladies' VIII get used. In
stead of buying dresses and millinery
imported heretofore from France aud
Germany, 10 purchasing these articles
made in America New York will be
the financial center OF the world. and
X Is safe 10 predict tnHt the StsrE Hnt
Stripes will eventually float over the
seven seas. whereas, prior to the Euro
pean war the British and German ffags
were paramount upon The waters,
This Is. In brief. the outline of un-
told prosperity for the United States
and. In my opinion, the most logical
reason for keeping out OF trouble. The
conquest OF the worlds markets. mills,
working day and night; everybody at
high wages In free and prosperous
democracy lis our peaceful destiny. 1t
Is veiy easy to talk war, and the waves
Of hatred over on the other side might
easily enough incite some excited
thinkers to deeds d words Of pas
sion. but. there again. Providence has
put the safety valve at the head OF
affairs. In the person OF our great
President. what could we gain II we
were to he drawn into this frightfnl
controversy, which has deporulated
Europe, and will cause endless misery
to those who viii! survive? We are
population of barely 100 ,0o0.0oo OF
Americans descended originally from
all Epropean nations There is vast
foreign element he~e, who naturally
enough while standing by their oath
Of allegiance as loyal American ciu-
xens. would fee, an ENHANCEMENT with
their respective native lands very
keen'y We would have internal dis
seution: former friends and neigh
bors would become enemies: instead
of mills working and prosperity rlil-
ing. we would have ldieness and pow
erty. No Such an eventuality is SO
utterly remote that IL Is we'll nigh In
the realm of iplpossihiiity. We have
everything to gain by peace, and a
great deal to lose by war. besides the
fact that when this European catas-
trophe will have come TO an end. the
United States viii have a. word to say
In the final settlement and the read
tustment OF the worlds map
Folly Of False Security.