Grand Forks daily herald., 1916-04-28
PREPAREDNESS
ONLY SAFEGUARD
*'Tirnidity and Weakness
Invited War, Declares
Roosevelt.

New York. April 2s.-Theodore
Roosevelt urged the doctrine Of pre-
paredness upon a large number. of
Methodists gathered last night at the
annual banquet of the Methodist So
cial union of New York and referred
to the latest phases of the relations
with Germany and Mexico as showing
that "timidity and weakness. invite
war instead Of averting It,"
Il have q right to speak to you for
peace said the colonel in declaring
that he abhOrred a wanton and un-
just war. 81 was president seven and
q half years. This nation during all
that time never for one moment per-
mitted any power to wrong this coun-
try or to wrong Americans either In
their person or property or to make
us recreant to our duty to others; and
yet. during those seven and a half
years not one shot was fired by any
man IN American uniform against
any foreign foe and not one Ameri-
can man, woman or child, was slain
BY representatives Of any foreign ma
tion.s-. 3,s1
.$:.. ::...:. Peace Hot Only Thuueht.. -, ~
! III those old Mefhodist circuit nd
ers who spread Methodism had con-
sidered peace the chief Of all earthly
goods they would never have gone
west of the Alleghenies. If Petet
Cartwright and his fellows had fear
ed to face trouble, If their zeal for
the faith had been less than their
dread of disturbance, there would not
have been single Methodist church
west Of the Alieghenies. They be-
lieved in keeping the peace. But they
believed more in keeping the faith.
They strove for the peace that comes
through Righteousness. They were
not only good Methodists, good Chris
tians. but they were, sound. stalwart
American patriots. They knew that
there Is a peace which is the peace
OF cowardice: and that the peace OF
cowardice becomes In the end the
peace of death. They. knew that the
peace which comes through the aban-
donment Of duty, through shrinkine
back when. the forces Of evil advance.
through putting ease and material
we'll being and soft. .sentimentality
above stern devotion to unpleasant
duty. may mean. and in all proba bility
will mean, the loss of everything that
makes life livable to honorable men
and upright women.
4'.China has sought peace through
helplessness, through refusal to pre-
pare, through inability to hold her
own. and China now sees half her ter
ritory in the possession of alien DOW
ers and Is not even her own master
In the territory which she retains;
and Is a menace instead Of an aid to
all cause OF world peace. 1t is, OF
course. true that trained strength In
either man or nation may be an In
strument for wrong-doing: but this is
merely to say what lis true Of every
other attribute. what is just. as true
Of oratorical power, Of legal ability,
Of business ability, OF trained and
educated brain in any profession. But
we DO not pray that our sons should
be either fools or weaklings in order
that they may be- saved from the
temptations incident to the possession
of courage and intelligence and
strength. On the contrary. We pray,
that they shall be strong and brave
and wise; and We strive to implant
In them that spirit Of service to God
above through. the service. Of man on
this earth which shall, make them
use their strength Of body and Of
mind Alright. And all this should be