Evening star., 1916-06-13
PRESIDENT SOUNDS
AMER|CAN|SM NOTE

Continued from First Page)
h. a very hazardous thing if we did
not know what We wanted to DO WIN
the force that we mean to accumulate
and to get into fighting shape
America, fortunately, does KNOW
what she wants to do with her 1orce.
America came into existence for a par.
tfcular reason. When you look apoul
upon these beautiful hills and up tnls
| stately stream and then let your I'M
agination run over the whole ooos -,
| this great country from wh1ch you
youngsters are drawn, far and VIDE
YOU remember that while 1t had ap-
original inhabitants, while there were
people living here, there was no CRY
| ilization which we displaced. II was
as IL in the providence of God con
tinent had been kept unused and> wait,
| ing for a peaceful people: VINO ioHeu
| liberty and the rights OF men more
than they loved anything else. to come
and set up an unselfish commonwealth
| II is a very extraordinary thing.
| YOU are so familiar with American
| history, at any rate in it's general char
acter-I don't accuse you OF KNOW ~, 3
| the details Of it, for l never found the
youngster who did-but you are SO
| familiar with the general character OF
American history that 1t does not seem
strange to you, but it is very strange
history.
None Other Like It.
There is none other like II IN the
| whole annals of mankind-of men
| gathering out of every civilized naion
of the world on an unused continent
and building up polity exactly TO suit
| themselves. not under the domination
| of any ruling dynasty or of the am
| bitions of any royal family; DONG
what they pleased with their own ile
on a free space of land which God haa
made rich with every reSourceN Whlcn
| was necessary for the civilization they
meant to build up. There is nothing
| like it. Now what we are preparing =
| to do is to see that nobody mars thaI'
and that. being safe itself against m
reference from the outside, all It's
force is going to be behind its moral
idea, and mankind is going to know
| that when America speaks she means
| what she says.
| Il heard a man say to another II
| YOU wish me to consider you witty, l
must really trouble you to make Joke
We have a right to say to the rest OF
| mankind, If you don't want to lnter-
| fere with us, If you are disinterested,
| we must really trouble you to give the
evidence of that fact We are not in
for anything selfish and we want the
whole mighty power Of America thrown
| into that scale and not into any other.
You know that the chief thing that
| is holding many people back from en-
thusiasm for what is called prepared
ness is the fear of militarism. l want
to say a word to you young gentlemen
| about militarism. You're not mill
tarist because you are military. Mill
tarism does not consist in the existence
of an army not even in the existence of
| a very great army. Militarism is a
spirit 1t is a point of view. 1t is a
system. 1t is a purpose. The purpose
of militarism is to use armies for ag
gression.
Opposite of Civilian Spirit.
Tho spirit of militarism is the oppo-
site of the civilian spirit-the citizen
spirit. In a country where militarism
prevails the military man looks down
tupon the civilian, regards him as in
ferior, thinks of him as intended for
Ibis (the military man's) support and
use, and just so long as America is
America that spirit and point of view
| is impossible with us. There is as yet
| in this country. so far as l can dis
cover, no taint of the spirit of mill
| tarism
| You young gentlemen are not pre-
ferred in promotion because of the fam
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 ma kes
its 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
| idea 1 want to leave with you boys to-
day is this: No matter what comes. al
ways remember that first of all you are
citizens OF the United States before you
| are officers, and that you are officers be-
cause you represent in your particular
profession what the citizenship of the
| United States stands for. There is no
danger of militarism if you are genuine
Americans, and l for one do not doubt
| that you are When you begin to have
! the militaristic spirit-not the military
spirit; that is all right-then begin to
doubt whether you are Americans or not
Civil Power the Superior.
You know that one thing in which
| our forefathers took pride was this,
| that the civil power is superior to the
military power in the United States.
Once and again the people of the Unit
| ed States have so admired some great
military man a. to make him President
| of the United States when he became
commander-in-c chief of all the forces
| of the United States, but he was COM
mander-in because he was Presi-
dent, not because he had been trained
to arms. and his authority was civil.
not military. | can teach you nothing
of military power. but l am instructed
by the Constitution to use you for con-
stitutional and patriotic purposes. And
that is the only use you could be put to.
That is the only use you ought to care
to be put to, because, after all, what is
the use i'll being an American If you do
not know what it is?
You have read a great deal In the
books about the pride of the old Roman
citizen who always felt like drawing
him self to his full height when he said
I am a Roman" but as compared with
the pride that must have risen to his
heart our pride has new distinction;
not the distinction of the mere imperial
power of a great empire, not the dis
tinction of being masters of the world,
but the distinction of carrying certain