Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1916-02-09
President Wilson on Preparedness.

titanic struggle. You cannot wonder,
do not wonder, that their affections
are stirred and old memories awak-
ened and old passion rekindled.
'The majority Of them are stead
fast Americans, nevertheless. For,
look what happened to them, my fell
low citizens. You and 1 were born
in America; they chose to be Ameri-
cans. They deliberately came to
America, beckoned hither by some Of
the fairest promises and prospects
ever offered to mandkind. - The
vast majority Of them have the pas
sion Of American liberty in their
hearts, just as much as you and
have. l do not want any American
to misunderstood the real situation,
and l believe that to be the real sit
uation.
Tried to Cause Trouble.
"Some men Of foreign birth have
tried to stir up trouble in America,
but, gentlemen, some men Of Amer
.can birth have tried to stir up trou-
BILE in America, too. If you we're to
listen to the counsels that are dinned
into my ears in the executive Office in
Washington you would find that some
Of the most Incorporate of them
came from the line of men who had
for generations together been identi-
fled with America, but who for the
time being are so carried away by the
sweep of their sympathies that they
have ceased to think in the terms of
American tradition and American
policy.
so that the situation for us Is
this: There is no country in the
world, suppose, whose heart is more
open to generous emotions than this
dear country which we love. You
have seen what the result was in the
extraordinary amount Of assistance
which we have tried to render those
who are suffering most grievously
from the consequences Of the war on
the other side of the sea. express
no Judgment concerning any matter
with regard to the conduct Of the
war, but the heart of America has
bled because of the condition of the
people in Belgium, and you know
how we have poured out our sympa-
thy and our wealth to assist in the re-
lief Of suffering in that storm-swept
land.
Combustible Material.
so what you have to realize is
that everywhere throughout America
there Is combustible material-com-
bustible in our breasts. 1t is easy to
make fire where everything Is hot. 1t
has been our daily and hourly anx-
iety in Washington to see that tho
exposed tinder was covered up and
the sparks prevented from falling
where there were magazines.
Moderate Proposals.
1--WE have been proposing only a
very moderate increase in the stand
Ing army Of the country because it is
already too small for the routine
uses Of peace. l have not had sold
iers enough to patrol the border be-
tween here and Mexico. I have not
had soldiers enough for the ordinary
services of the army, and there are
many things that 1T has been impos-
sible for me to do which it was my
duty to do, because there we're not
men to do them with. You are not
going to be jealous Of an increase in
the army sufficient to enable the ex-
ecutive to carry out his constitutional
responsibilities. And over and above
that we have proposed this: That a
sufficient number Of men out of the
ranks of the civil pursuits of the
country should be trained in the use
and the keeping of arms.
''Is there anything inconsistent
with the traditions of Kansas or with
the true traditions Of America in a
proposal like that? The very es-
sence Of American tradition is con-
tanned in the proposal.
"At the very outset the makers Of
our very institutions realized that
the force Of the nation must dwell in
the homes of the nation. l do not
mean the moral forces merely; Imean
the physical force. They realized
that every man must be allowed not
only to have vote, but, If he wanted
to, to have a gun so that when the