Weekly journal-miner., 1916-09-06

ject of capturing him" On April Sth
 the announcement was made from tht White House that the troops would
 remain in Mexico until Villa was cap
 tured. Ii was furthermore announced
 in the press dispatches from Washing
 ton that he was to be taken dead oI
 alive Fine words! Only - they
 meant nothing. He is not dead. He
 has not been taken alive.
 Hit Hard When Necessary.
 It should be a cardinal rule of con-
 duct in international as in individual
 affairs never to hit if hitting can pos
 sibly be avoided: but never under any
 circumstances to hit soft. Mir. Will
 son has been engaged in continual
 hitting. But he has always hit soft
 And whenever his opponent has hit
 back, he has promptly dropped his arms, stopped hitting, and taken ref uge in platitudcs about peace, non- intervention and humanity. Where, however, his opponent was sufficient ly weak, as in the case of Haiti, he has dropped these platitudes, and has (with "blood-spilling') intervcned. Haiti did not behave as badly to us as Mexico behaved: but Mir. Wilson intervened, fought the Iayticns, she'd ding their blood and the blood of our troops, took possession, and now has our armed forces in control of Haiti and directing its government. His course of action in Haiti can be de- tended only if his course of action in Mexico is unqualiiicdly condemned: for such action was far more needed in Mexico than in Haiti. But there was difference in the two cases: and to Mir. Wilson it was a vital differ cncc. Haiti was weaker than Mexico. No one was afraid of Haiti.
 Policy of Spineless Failure.
 We arc told that the mass of the voters, the mass of the American people, will approve the policy of the administration, the policy of drift, the policy of spineless failure to do our duty to ourselves and to others be, cause they believe in safety first" Such being the case, it is worth while examining just what safety" or safety first" means, and now far a policy based only on considerations of safety is materially advantageous and. morally justifiable.
 To treat safety" as an indispensa- ble element of any continuous nation al policy is emincntly proper. It is to wisdom that we shall shape our military policy so as to make oursclves-our home country, our canal zone, all our islands-abso- lutely safe against successful attack by any great European or Asiatic mil itary power. To this extent safety CO., incides with duty. But this ultimate safety in the future is to be obtained, not by shirking, but by performing, our duty in the present When Prcsi- dent Wilson two years ago assured the American nation that there was no need for preparedness, no need for worry about our military shortcom- ings, no need for sclf-sacrifice and ef- fort in order to make good these shortcomings, he was sacrificing our future safety to considerations oi political popularity ob- taincd by pandcring to popular desire for the enjoyment of material ease, and the avoidance of effort and of serious facing of duties. Mir. Wilson then put safety first" as compared to duty: but he put it last as compared to momcntary enjoyment of case and pleasures, and lazy refusal 10 face facts l hold that this was cx- nctly the reverse of what he ought 10 have done. l hold that it is our clear duty to sacrifice some of our present -ase and soft enjoyment of material things in order to guarantee our fu lure national safety. l hold that we should provide for the ample safe guarding of the heritage which our fathers left us and which our chil- i lren should receive from Us undi- ninishcd. l therefore believe, as ! nave before said, that not only should NC provide big and efficient navy md a small and efficient regular army put that we should also provide for a system of obligatory military train ng of our young men, on the Swiss 1. md Australian models. With all my icart l believe in insuring the safety I han can only come through the full | 2crformancc of duty, by the exercise ! ,f couraoc and forcthor1crif tIudrr fhc |