Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-04-07

issue of the nouyooddleIsn Of Uncle Sam
would give every red-blooded American an
opportunity TO stand up and be counted In
favor OF preparedness.
THE underlying issue in the approaching
i presidential campaign is whether this is
TO be nation Of pussyfooted mollycoddles or
not, even though It be not framed In set
terms.
America is confronted by conditions which
It can meet with resolute courage or with
shrinking timidity. The rights of our citi.
zens have been disregarded by belligerents In
Europe, and the Mexicans do not know that
Americans have any rights which they are
bound to respect The day of reckoning is
approaching when we shall find ourselves face
to face with the necessity of standing UP for
our rights or accepting what those who have
disregarded them are pleased to give us by
way of recompense.
Colonel Roosevelt's latest statement leaves
no one in doubt of where he stands on the
issue. He wants those who are thinking Of
nominating him to understand that he will
not "pussy.foot on any single issue have
raised" He says that should think
of supporting him who is not ready to take
the position that Uncle Sam should be strong
enough to defend his rights and to defend
every one of his people wherever they are,
and he declares that Uncle Sam cannot de.
fend his rights unless he has made prepara-
tion in advance; that every American must be
prepared in his own soul as we'll as with his
army and navy, so that when he makes a
demand the rest of the world may know that
he means it and that he is prepared to en-
force IL.
Whether Colonel Roosevelt shall be nom-
mated or not is of trivial moment in COM
parison with whether we to have pres
idential campaign deliberately waged for the
settlement of this great question. Roose.
welt is not the only Republican leader opposed
to pussy. .footedness. He is merely the most
voluble and gifted with the greatest skill in
putting the issue In a way to attract atten.
ton. II he were the only American who
thinks as he talks. the situation would be
hopeless.
There are hundreds of thousands of voters
who believe that America has the nerve to as
sert itself when the time comes to balance
the books after the war is over and to de-
mand a settlement No threat or force can
intlmidate them. They can stand the gafr.
And they believe in preparing the nation in
advance to make good when the crisis comes
They have learned from their own observa-
ton that the law of progress is that the great
est force wins, that the flttest survives and |
that in a world where force rules, even though |
II be the force of righteousness, the poorly |
equipped will go under. 1t is not necessary |
to marshal arguments to prove that brute
force cannot be resisted by moral suasion.
When 1t has been stated that a man cannot
habitualy be a mollycoddle two hours of the
day and brave-hearted champion of the right
the rest Of the time, every one admits 1t. The
man who is a pussy-footed mollycoddle at all
is a weakling all OF the time.
The United States can hold its own In the |
world only so long as 1t can resist the forces |
that are pressing against It. Nonresistance |
is beautiful doctrine, but 1t does not pre- |
serve the unresisting from destruction. And |
inadequate resisting power Is as fatal as non
resistance. When the avalanche rushes down !
the Rocky Mountains 1t does not ask whether
the trees in its way are so spiritually refined |
that they will offer no objections to being |
crushed or whether they are resisting its
passage with all their power. 1t sweeps on |
and everything less powerful has to give way
before 1t. Germany cared nothing for the
resistance of Belgium. She was more power
full and the strategic necessities OF her POSI-
ton urged her to force her way to France
over Belgian soil The fact that this was
stop her. What seemed greater necessity
drove her on. Germany has persisted in sink
ing merchant ships carrying Americans, while
our protests have been met with interminable
promises to make reparatlon some time. But
the submarines keeping up their deadly
work.
Americans who are not mollycoddles would
certainly like an opportunity to stand up and
be counted They would be delighted TO say |
that they believe the best way to preserve
the peace in America is for America to be so
strong that no one dare challenge the retri.
button which would surely follow disregard |
OF her rights. They are anxious to demon
strate that they are prepared in their souls
and are eager to be prepared with their navy
and their army for any probable eventualities. |
We shall not have to wait very many weeks
before we shall know whether pussy-footed-
ness is TO be the overmastering issue frankly |
admitted or whether we are to hide our heads
and try to pretend that we thinking about
something else during the campaign.
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