The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1916-04-14
ROOSEVELT WON' 7.
BACK PEACE OF
COWARO|CE"
Will Make National Honor His
Campaign Issue
SUPPORTS A PROTECTIVE TARIFF
Appeals to the Soul Of the Nation Not
to Allow National Record of
Shame.

oyster Bay, L. J., April l3.-Colonel
Theodore Roosevelt, after the four days
Of comparative quiet which marked his
trip to Massachusetts and Connecticut,
jumped into the pre-conyention cam.
paign with redoubled vigor today. He
was asked to comment ON The New
York Tribune's editorial pledging the
support of that Republican newspaper,
and he dictated the following state
ment.
OF course | deeply appreciate what
The Tribune says or me, but ] appre-
ciate infinitely more what II says in
advocacy OF the things for which
stand
The final sentence of the editorial
says: Eve are choosing which way
the country shall 20 in the era that
is now opening just as our fathers
chose the nation path in the days of
1860"
This sentence should be in the mind
of every man who at Chicago next
June takes part in formulating the
platform and naming the candidate
The men at Chicago should act in the
spirit Of the men who stood behind
Abraham Lincoln.
From time to time II has recently
been announced that the fight against
Mr. Wilson is to be waged only, or
almost only, on the tariff. Such an
appeal would be an appeal to the
belly and not to the soul of the Amer.
lean nation
BY all means provide for the things
of the body, but only on condition
that we treat the body as the servant
OF the soul
believe heartily in a protective
tari,
Unless we return to protective tar.
iff, preferably administered through
commission of experts, we. shall
face widespread economic disaster at
the end of this war.
But this is not the great issue on
which the fight is to be made if the
highest service Is to be rendered the
American people
The issue is that the American peo-
pie must find its own soul National
honor is a spiritual thing that cannot
be haggled over In terms of dollars.
We must stand not only for America
first but for America first and last
and all the time and without any sec.
ond
Our loyalty must be to the whole
United States. The East must stand
for the safeguarding of the Pacific
Coast against every foe. The West
must stand for the safeguarding of the
| Atlantic Coast against every foe East
and West and North and South alike
| must hold the life of every man and
| the honor of every woman on the most
remote ranch on the Mexican border
as sacred trust to be guaranteed by
| the might OF our united nation. n ~
We can be true TO mankind al large
| Dnly IL We are true to ourselves. II
we are false to ourselves we shall be
false to anyone else. We have a
lofty ideal to serve, great mission
to accomplish for the cause OF free
dom and of genuine democracy and oI
justice and fair dealing throughout
the world,
If we are weak and slothful ant
absorbed in mere money getting anC
vapid excitement we can neither serve
these causes nor any others. We must
stand for national discipline and for pr,
paredness. military. social and in
dustrial, in order to help the soul o
this nation
| We stand for peace, but only for tn,
peace that comes as a right to tn,
Just man armed and not for the peac,
which the coward purchases by abjec
submission to wrong, The peace o
cowardice leads in the end to wa
after record of shame.