Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1916-01-21
ROOSEVELT
Continued from Page One)

and thanks to the activities of the
emissaries OF foreign governments with
the torch and the bomb on our own
soil. we have had much more Ameri-
can property destroyed. than was the
case during the open war with Spain;
and whereas no benefit whatever has
come from this loss Of life and destruc-
ton of property during the last three
years, the short war with Spain
brought incalculable benefits to Cuba
Porto Rico. the philippines. not to
speak Of ourselves.
"Strict Accountability"
On February 18th it will be
a year since the time when
we notified Germany that in case any
of our citizens were killed, we would
hold her to a strict accountability
and during these II months the
passenger ships sunk by German or
Austrian submarines in defiance of
our warning have included among
others the Falaba, Lusitania, Arabic,
Hesperian, Ancona, Yasaka, Vile de la
Ciotat and Persian. They were Brit
ish, Italian, Japanese and French.
Many hundreds of Americans were
among the passengers and a couple of
hundred Of these, including many wo-
men and children. were killed. The
total deaths on these ships since
! March last amount to between 1000
and POO. The campaign against
them has been a campaign of sheer
murder, on a vaster scale than any in
dulged in in like time by any of the
old time pirates of the Indian Ocean
and the Spanish Main. Now, the total
number of lives of noncombatants, in
Guiding many hundreds of women and
children, thus taken exceeds many
times over the aggregate in all the
ea-fghts of the War Of 1912 both on
the American and on the British side.
1t is over double the number of lives
lost by the British sailors in Nelson's
three great victories at the Battle of
Trafalgar, at the Battle of the Nile
and the Battle of the Baltic combined.
1t much exceeds the total number of
lives lost in the Union Maryland in
deed in the Union and Confederate
navies combined-durinS the Civil
War That is this nation has been
"peaceful' during the past year, while
peaceful ships on which it's citizens
were sailing lost larger number OF
lives than we lost at sea in the entire
War of 1912 and then we inflicted at
sea in the War of 1912, much great
err loss than Farragut's fleet suffered
in the aggregate in all it's victories, a
greater loss than Nelson's fleets suf-
fered in his three great victories. II
any individual finds satisfaction in
saving that nevertheless this was
peace and not "war." it is hardly
worth while arguing with him: for he
dwells in land of sham and of make
believe.
Contempt for Our Stand
OF course, incidentally, We have
earned contempt and derision by
our conduct in connection with the
hundreds of Americans thus killed in
time of peace without action on our
part. The United States Senator, or
Governor of a State, or other public
representative, who takes the position
that our citizens should not, in &C
cordance with their lawful rights,
travel on such ships, and that we need
not take action about their deaths.
occupies a position precisely and ex-
actly as base and as cowardly (and
use those words with scientific pre-
cision) as if his wife's face was
slapped on the public streets and the
only action he took was to tell her to
stay in the house.
Every man who is both intelligent
and patriotic must therefore advo-
cate preparedness, thorough-going and
adequate, and therefore the Willingness
to incur the necessary expense for
financing preparedness.
Dawn of Preparedness
Nearly IS months have gone by since
with the outbreak CT this war it be-
came evident to every man willing to
face the facts. that military and naval
problems and international problems
of every kind were infinitely more
serious than we had had reason to be-
lieve. that treaties were absolutely
worthless to protect any nation unless
backed by armed force, and that the
need of preparedness was infinitely
more urgent than any man in this
country had up to that time, believed.
The belief that public opinion or inter-
national public opinion, unbacked by
force, had the slightest effect in re-
straining a powerful military nation
in any course Of action it chose to I'M
dertake was shown to be a pathetic
fallacy. But any man who still public
ly adheres to and defends that opinion
at the present time is engaged in prop
agating not pathetic, but an abso-
lutely mischievous and unpatriotic,
fallacy. 1t is the simple and literal
truth that public opinion during the
last is months has not had the very
smallest effect in mitigating any atroc-
tiles or preventing any wrong doing
by aggressive military powers, save
to the exact degree that there was
behind the public opinion actual
strength which would be used if the
provocation was sufficiently great.
Public opinion has been absolutely use
less as regards Belgium, as regards
Armenia, as regards Poland. No man
can assert the contrary with sincerity
if he takes the trouble to examine the
facts.
1t remains therefore for us to pre-
pare in adequate fashion. I commend
to you very strongly the speeches and
statements of Congressman Augustus
P. Gardner on this subject
For Is months, with this world -cy-
clone before our eyes we as a nation,