The Columbus commercial., 1916-04-30
.T|M|D|TT INVITES WAR,
SAYS COL. ROOSEVELT
SAGE OF OYSTER BAY ISSUES
LONG STATEMENT ON
SITUATION.

York, and referred 10 the latest
phases of the relations with Ger
many and Mexico as showing that
''timidity and weakness invite war
instead of adverting it,"
IF those old Methodist circuit
riders had considered peace the
chief of all earthly goods they
would have never gone west of the
Alleganies," he said.
Continuing, Roosevelt said: "Chi-
ma has sought peace through help
lessness, through refusal to pre-
pare, through inability to hold her
own, and China now sees half of
her territory in the possession of
alien powers and is not even her
own master in the territory which
she retains; and is a menace instead
of an aid to all cause of world
peace. 1t is of course true that
trained strength in either man or
nation may be the cause of wrong
doing, but this is merely to say what
is true of every other attribute,
what is just as true of oratorical
power, of legal ability, of business
ability, of trained and educated
brain in any profession. But we do
not pray that our sons should be
either fools or weaklings in order
that they may be saved from the
temptations incident to the posses
sion of courage and intelligence and
strength.
"If during the few years prior to
the war of 1912 the American peo-
pie had been willing to build fleet
of twenty battleships and to have
those battleships manned by crews
thoroughly trained to handle them,
and if they had been able to provide
thoroughly efficient army of even
10000 men, there would have been
| 40 War Of 1912 at all. We wosld
have obtained peace, and would
have peace with self-respect. We
finally had to fight that war because
for the dozen years previously we
had surrendered ourselves to the
guidance of the professional peace
prattlers and had sought to obtain
peace without self-respect; and as
result we forfeited our self-re-
spect and also endured three years
of the suffering of war without the
reward of successful war. Refusal
to make ready, and truest in peace
prattle produced the war, and also
produced our failure in the war.
"We are at this moment engaged
in a little war in Mexico, futile
little war, which may at any time
burst out in a general blaze which
cannot possibly result in any rea
settlement of the situation. We are
so engaged because our nation failed
to do it's duty front he outset IN
Mexican matters, failed repeatedly
and continuously. Nearly hundred
Americans, some of them womer
and children, some of the soldiers OF
the United States were killed OF
wounded on American soil by Mexi
cans on different occasions before
the raid at Columbus took place. If
the very first time such an inciden
occurred, we had acted with instan
decision and crossed the border no
within two or three days, but thirt!
minutes afterward, had inflicted
immediate punishment upon the of
Tenders, there would never have
been a repitition of the offense.
"After years of these experiences
in Mexico and repeated killing o.
our own people in our territory OF
the border, our preparedness is sucl
that this mighty nation has not beer
able to grapple efficiently with tn,
situation created by the raid of thu
bandit chief who had been beaten b!
his fellow bandit chiefs when the.
ouarreled among themselves. In an.
event preparation could not posi-
bly caused more trouble than ha
been produced in Mexico by the pol
icy this nation has actually pursued
$50 it is as regards Germany
Fourteen months have gone by sine
as a nation we informed German
, that we would hold her to 'stric
accountability if she did what sh
said she would do as regards sub
marine warfare. Germany did nc
. believe that we meant what we sal
! and for fourteen months our action
, showed that we did not mean wha
we said and strict accountabilit!
turned into fourteen months of cor
versation on our part. When "
made the declaration we should hay
understood exactly what it NEAR
Nand the obligation is imposed upo
= us. 1t was declaration so seriol
g that mere severance of diplomat
{ relations could have hardly made
e good and of course it could only |
justified by immediate and tho
ough-going preparedness on oil
a part Yet for fourteen months aft
making that declaration and vii