Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-02-12

but by states. II the United stntes makes
the nitrulstlc rule the basis of It's internn-
! interests Of Americans to the interests
of fcrsignsr"' ITS arst dIty, Is s,dd- Sell
ton of Americana. ~ either of these be
ism Will fall to pieces.
| TT WAS a great day for the United States
L when John Hay declared that it's dipo-
macy was controlled by but two maxims,
the Golden Rule and the Open Door. Those
were times of peace, when idealists talked
about the brotherhood of man and theorists
invented "the international mind" And
under the polished, polite crust of diplomatic
courtesy there was brewing the most signif-
cant outbreak of natonalsm since the Mid
die Ages
Today, looking on the struggle and begin
ming to doubt the practical value of the
altrustc rule men say, with Major General
Leonard Wood, that you must put iron into
gold before you can forge armor out of it.
The United States is still a country Of high
ideals II must decide whether the ideal of
unsehsh devotion to the interests of all the
world does not actually destroy whatever op-
portunity we have of being Il lesson and an
example to the rest of the world.
BY modern business standards the Golden
is an even give and take, in private life.
When 1t is applied to nations it begins to
mean something else. 1t means that this
country shall regard every other country as
a cooperating equal and a friendly one in
the work of spreading civilization. 1t means
according to some pacifsts, that the
country recognizes the very highest prin-
cpes of right and wrong, and no matter
what the outrage against its citizens, will
not strike blow in behalf of the wrong to
avenge those insults. 1t means that the
right of every other national is held equal
to the right of American nationals that If
a Mexican rebel kills Americans there is to
be no redress, because the sacred cause of
liberty may be compromised Carried to
extremes, it means abdication of all national
rights.
These extremes are not purely imaginary.
Until this began the talk of the French
socialists and of the English pacifsts was
in precisely the words used above. In this |
country the more fantastic opponents of a |
protective tariff have urged the equal right |
of Germans and Swiss to thrive on American |
markets Napoleon III of France with his |
high minded, generous-spirited ideas of the |
concord of nations, prepared for the disas- |
ters of Sedan, and were 1t not for the selfish |
directions given to French thought by its
leaders since then. the second invasion of
France would have been more crushing than
the first. Napoleon III was the forerunner
of anti-defense policies. and his face should
be the ballot of any American party
which will dare to go before the people with
anti preparedness as a platform pledge
at seems to be an idiosyncrasy of the
international mind,'" says William Morton |
Fullerton, who studied that phenomenon as |
Paris correspondent of the London Times
ito take an atruistlc pleasure in sacrificing
its own patriotic impulses to the prejudices
of its neghb"rs." There are frequent
sions when an individual, who seeks the light
of the Golden Rule, cannot condone the
policy of his country In time of peace, in a
democracy, he criticises, many men crti-
csed the Mexican policy of 1s4S and many
men criticise the Mexican policy of 1916. But
In time of peril the right to criticise lapses;
there is only one right, and that is duty.
What is wrong for citizen is often most
right for a state. No man has the right to
kill. No State can be denied that right.
The highest virtue of state. said Spinoza,
who lived before the time of William Jen-
nings Bryan, is security. The cry against
preparedness in the United States is a cry
for national weakness Every appeal to
kindness in international relations is, in some
way, an appeal against American citizens.
Because if this country weakens itself by
pacifsm, it will not persist.
The evil is not that Japan may take the
Philippines snatch San Francisco from
us. BY applying the Golden Rule we might
persuade ourselves that Japan needs them
more than we do The disaster would be
that this country, dedicated to freedom and
to democracy. Offering not only a haven of
rest for the prosecuted but harbor of hope
for those sickened by Bureaucracy and
tyranny abroad, would crumble and fall TO
the ground. If the United States is to remain
a country in which the Golden Rule can be
practiced by individuals without fear of the
encroachments of power. it must give up the
altruistic rule in its relations with other coun-
tries. 1t need not become militaristc it need
not cease to strive for peace among nations
1t need only forge a breastplate of gold and
iron to protect its heart. Because once the
heart is pierced the most golden of golden
rules will avail nothing.
=------