Weekly journal-miner., 1916-05-03
PREPAREDNESS IS URGED BY
 ROOSEVELT


 is on trial, with the national character
 in the balance, Theodore Roosevelt
 said in a preparedness appeal here to
 night to the people living in the terri
 tory between the Alleghenies and the Rockies" The former president speaking before the Illinois Bar As sociation, discussed National Duty and International Ideals" alluding % conditions in Mexico and in Europe and urging industrial and social, as we'll as military, preparedness.
 T ask you of the West" he said Ito take the lead in the effort for a robust and virile nationalism. fit and ready to cope with all possible dan gers at home and abroad I ask for military preparedness as an arm to help the soul of the nation. I ask for 1t to quicken the national conscience, to help the national discipline I ask you to prepare so that we may secure peace for ourselves and for others; not the peace of cowardice nor the peace of selhshness. but the peace oi righteousness and of justice, the peacc of brave men pledged to the service of this mighty democratic republic and through that service pledged also to the service of the world at large
 Our national character is in the balance. Americanism is on trial Ii VIC produce merely the self-seeking. ease-loving. duty-shirking man, wheth CT ne be a mere materialist or a mere silly sentime1talist: if we produce only the Americanism Of the grafter and the mollycoddle and the safety hrst, get-rich-quick. peace-at-any- price man. we will have produced dn American faithful only to the spirit O. the Tories of l776 and the Copper heads of 1861 and fit only to vanish from the earth
 He pointed to what he declared % be the nations failure to prepare since the European war began. de- claring that the house of representa-. tives "has taken what measures it could to interfere with the organiza- tions on which we should have to rely l in any belated and hurried efforts to meet our needs should we have to lct in support of our note (the first American note 10 Germany and has passed legislation excellently design | d to prevent all efficiency from the | standpoint"
 "lf now there is no war" Colonel ! Roosevelt continued, it will be proof positive that ii fourteen months ago | We had made it evident that we meant what we said Germany would have abandoned her submarine policy and he lives of thousands of non-com- oatants would nave been saved, so hat their blood is at our doors, be- ,ause we failed, when we sent that 7ote, to show that we meant what ye said.
 If, on the other hand, war does ,ome. it will be cruel and a dread ul thing that, having had the ampiest opportunity and time to prepare for | on the largest scale, we drifted into [ stern foremost, having shown our elves helplessly unable to provide ;n he smallest degree to make our vast trength effective.
 No form of government will sur i've unless it can justify its existence. 'oasting about democracy won't make democracy succeed. We arc he greatest democratic republic ana ve are false, not only to our own ountry, but to democracy every where if we do not seriously cndeavor o show. by our actions and success. hat with us the many men can make
 nation as efficient as elsewhere na- ions have been made efficient by a cw men.
 We cannot afford to leave this emocracy of ours inefficient. If we b it will assuredly some day go down ; I ruin. We cannot afford to tolerate i -ith cynical indifference the pork ( aTrel' theories of government 50 [ ear 10 tEc hearts of politicians oi | he baSer sort. With a wealth of f illions of dollars and a population ol ( ne hundred million. we cannot afford C ) be in condition of utterly unstable | ocial and industrial equilibrium, nor I 9 sec our sons grow up steepcd in a i pirit of mere selfish individualism , .itnout self-control or discipline or ( ,nse of cooperation, or fairness of [ We have great individual h lpacity. This we must keep. But e must train it so that we shall have h reat collective capacity. so that lere may be that collective demo 2 -atic power and discipline without hich no great modern democracy In permanently subsist."