New Britain herald., 1916-06-13
WILSON DELIVERS STIRRING SPEECH
 ON AMERICANISM
Continued from First Page.)

SeullSlIleu no man can C6ftd1nly tell
 you what the immediate future is go-
 ing to be, either in the history of this 1 country in the history of the
 world It is not by accident that the | present great war came in Europe. | Every element was there and the con- test had to come sooner or later and 1t is not going to be by accident that
 the results are worked out, but by purpose-by the purpose of the men
 who are strong enough to have guild ing minds and indomitable wills when the time for decision and settlement comes.
 And the part that the United States is to play, has this distinction in it, i that 1t is to be in any event a dis l interested part. There is nothing that ] the United States wants that it has to get by war, but there are a great 1 many things that the United States has to do. It has to see that it's life is not interfered with by anybody else | who wants something
 | There are few days when we are making preparation, when the thing most commonly discussed around ] every sort of table, in every sort of circle, in the shops and in the streets 1 IS preparedness, and undoubtedly gentlemen, that is the present inn l perative duty of America, to be pre- pared.
 But we ought to know what we are preparing for. I remember hear Ing wise man say once that the old maxim that everything comes to the man who waits is all very we'll provided he knows what he is wait ing for, and preparedness might be l very hazardous thing if we did not know what we wanted to do with the force that we mean to accumu- late and to get into fighting shape.
 America Knows Use for Army.
 Amerlca, fortunately, does know what she wants to do with her force. America came into existence for a particular reason. When you look about upon these beautiful hills and up this stately stream, and then let your imagination run over the whole body of this great county from which you youngsters are drawn, far and Wide, you remember that while it had aborlg1nal inhabitants, while there were people living here, there was no civilization which we displaced. If was as if in the providence of God a continent had been kept unused and waiting for peaceful people, who loved liberty and the rights of more than they loved anything else to come and set up an unse1fish common wealth. It is a very extraordinary 1 thing. There is none other like it 1 m the whole annals of mankind-of men gathering out of every civilized nation of the world on an unused l continent and building up a polity exactly to suit themselves not under l the domination of any ruling dynasty or of the ambitions of any royal fam ] fly, doing what they pleased with l their own life on a free space of land 1 which God had made rich with every l resource which was necessary for l the civilization they meant to build l up.
 Now, what we are preparing to do ] is to see that nobody mars that and l that, being safe itself against inter- l ference from the outside, all of it's l force is going to be behind it's moral l idea, and mankind is going to know 1 that when America speaks she means l what she says. We are not in for l anything selfish and we want the l whole mighty power of America 1 thrown in that scale and not into any 1 other
 You know that the chief thing that l is holding many people back from en- l thusiasm for what is called prepared l ness is the fear of militarism
 Militarism.
 I want to say a word to you young ] gentlemen about militarism. You are not militarist because you are mili- tary Militarism does not consist in the existence of an army not even in the existence of a very great army. Militarism is a spirit It is a point of view. It IS system. It is a purpose The purpose of militarism is to use | armies for aggression. The spirit of i militarism is the opposite of the 1 civilian spirit-the citizen spirit In a country where militarism prevails the military man looks down upon the 1 civilian, regards him as inferior. | thinks of him as intended for his, the l military mans support and use; and l just so long as America is America | that spirit and point of view is i'm possible with us. There is as yet in this country so far as I can discover, no taint of the spirit of militarism.
 You young gentlemen are not pre- ferred in promotion because of the families you belong to. You are not drawn into the academy because you belong to certain influential circles. You do not come here with a long tradition of military pride back Of you. You are picked out from the citizens of the United States, to be that part of the force of the United States which makes it's policy safe against interference. You are the part of American citizens who say to those who would interfere You must not and you shall not But you are American citizens, and the
 
 today is this: No matter what comes h. hat Hrct nfn n1l