The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1916-02-04

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have been as powerful as we in ma
terial resources in comparison with
the other nations of the world; other
nations have built up empires and ex-
ercised dominion. We are not pecu-
liar in any of these things, but we are
peculiar in this: That from the first
we have dedicated our force to the
service of justice and Righteousness
and peace.
eve have said Our chief interest is
not the rights of property, but in the
rights of man; our chief interest is in
the spirits of men that they might be
free, that they might enjoy their lives
unmolested so long as they observ-
ed the just rules of the game; that
they might deal with their fellow
men with their heads erect, the sub
! jects and servants of no man, but the
servants only of the principles upon
which their lives rested.
"And America has done more than
care for her own people and think of
her own fortunes in these great mat
tiers. She has said ever since the time
/ of President Monroe that she was the
champion of freedom and the sepa-
rate sovereignty of peoples through
out the Western Hemisphere. She is
trustee for those ideals and she is
pledged, deeply and permanently
pledged, to keep those momentous
promises.
Must Fight to Keep Peace
"She not only, therefore, must play
her part in keeping this confagration
from spreading to the people of the
United States; she must also keep this
confagration from spreading to this
side of the sea. These are matters in
which our very life and our whole
pride are embedded and rooted and we
can never draw back from them. And
|, my fellow-citizens, because of the
extraordinary office with which you
have entrusted me, must, whether |
will or not, be your responsible spokes-
man in these great matters. 1t is my
duty, therefore, when impressions are
deeply borne in upon me with regard
to the national welfare to speak to
you with the utmost frankness about
them; and that is the errand upon
which l have come away from Wash
ington.
"For my own part, am sorry that
these things fall within the year of a
national political campaign. They
ought to have nothing whatever to do
with politics. The man who brings
partisan feeling into these matters
and seeks partisan advantage by
means of them is unworthy of your
confidence. l am sorry that upon the
eve of a campaign we should be
obliged to discuss these things for
fear they might run over into the
campaign and seem to constitute a
part of it. Let US forget that this is
year of national elections. That is
neither here nor there. The thing to
do now is for all men of all parties to
think along the same lines and to do
the same things and forget every diff
ference that may have divided them.
"And what ought they to do? Well,
in the first place, they ought to tell
the truth. There have been some ex-
traordinary exaggerations, both of the
military weakness and the military
strength of this country. Some men
tell you that we have no means of de-
Tense and others tell you that we have
sufficient means of defense, and nei-
Their statement is true.
Refers to Coast Defenses
"Take for example, the matter of
our coast defenses. It is obvious to
every man that they are of the most
vital importance to the country. Such
coast defenses as we have are strong
and admirable, but we have not got
coast defenses in enough places. Their
quality is admirable, but their quanti-
ty is in sufficient. The military author
tiles of this country have not
been negligent; they have sought
adequate appropriations from Con-
gress and in the most instances
have obtained them, so far as we
saw the work in hand that it
was necessary to do. And the work
that they have done in the use of
these appropriations has been admir-
able and skillful work. Do not let
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