Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-02-01

insist that everybody who represents
you should stand ready to provide the
means for maintaining the honor of the
United States.
Il sometimes think that it is true
| that no peoeple ever went to war with
another people. Governments have gone
to war with one another. but peoples.
SO far as l remember. have not. ana
this government of the people and TINS
people is. not going to choose war. nut
we are not dealing with people We
ere dealing with governments we are
dealing with governments now engaged
in a great struggle, and therefore we
do not know what day or an hour
will bring forth. All that we know Is
| the character of our duty
| Would Make Citizens Ready.
I'VE do not want the question of
ipeace and war. or the conduct of war
intrusted too entirely to our govern
ments. We want war. if it must come
to be something that springs out OF
sentiment and principles and the action
of the people themselves.
! And it is on that account that L am
counselinG the Congress of the United
States not to take the advice of those
who recommend that we should have
and have very soon, great standing
it that the citizens of this country are
so trained and that equipment is so
sufficiently provided for them that.
whenever they choose. they can take
! up arms and defend themselves.
i THE Constitution of the United
States makes the President the COM
mander-in-chief of the army and navy
of the nation. but | do not want a big
mand If danger comes, I want to turn
to YOU and the rest Of my fellow
countrymen and say: Men. are you
ready And l know what the response
hot tlta- yx-tI
spring up out of the body of the ma
| ton a great host of free men. and
want those men not to be mere tar
gets for shot and shell; l want them
| to know something of the arms they
! have in their hands.
! Il want them to know something
about how to guard against the diseases
| that creep into camps where men are
unaccustomed to live ! want them to
know something of what the orders
mean which they will be given when
they enlist under arms for the govern
ment of the United States. l want
and easily and intelligently step into
the duty of national defense.
| And that is the reason that | am
urging upon the Congress of the United
system by which we can give very
considerable body of our fellow citi-
zens the necessary training.
| Il have not forgotten the great Ma
|
this country of 106,000.O00 people there
are only 10000 men in the Ma
tional Guard. and the National Guard.
fine as it is. is not subject to the orders
| of the President of the United States.
I 1t is subject to the orders of the gov
ernors of the several states. and the
Constitution itself says that the PreSi
| dent has no right to withdraw them
| from their states even except in case
of actual invasion of the United States.
| Il want the Congress of the United
States to do a great deal for the Ma
| tional Guard, but / do not see how the
Congress of the United States can put
| the National Guard at the disposal of
| the nation; therefore, it seems abso-
lutely necessary that in addition to the
National Guard there should be con-
siderable body of men of some train
ing in military matters who are will
ing to pledge themselves to come at
| the call of the nation. I have been told
/ by those who have greater knack at
guessing statistics than 1 have that
! there are probably several million men
in the United States who either in this
! country or in other countries from
which they have come to the United
States have received training in arms.
| 1t may be; do not know and I sus-
J pect they don't know either. But even
| if it be true, these men are not sub
| ject to the call of the federal govern
1 ment.
! Men Must Be Found.
They would have to be found. They
| would have to be induced to enlist;
they would have to be organized. Their
numbers are indefinite: they would
have to be equipped. Such are not the
material which we need. We want to
know who the men are and where they
are. and have everything ready for
them if they should come to our as
| sistance, for we have now got down.
not to the sentiment of national de-
Tense, but to the business of national
defense. 1t is business proposition
and it must be treated such.
There are abundant presidents for
the proposals which have been made to
Congress. Even that arch democrat,
Thomas Jefferson. believed that there
ought to be compulsory military train
ing for the adult men of the nation,
because he believed, as every true be-
lever in democracy believes, that it is
upon the voluntary action of the men
of great nation like this that it must
depend for it's military force.
There is another misrepresentation
that l want to remove from your minds.
Don't think that I have come to talk
to you about these things because
doubt whether they are going to be
done or mott don't doubt it for a mo-
ment-but ! believe that when great
things of this sort are going to be done
the people of this country are entitled
to know just what is being done AS a
friend of mine said: L am not arguing
with you; I am telling you I am not
trying to convert you to anything, be-
cause ! know in your hearts YOU are
converted already. But / want you to
know the motive for what is proposed,
and the character of what is proposed,
in order that we should have only one
attitude and counsel with regard to
this great matter
! 1T is being very sedulously spread
abroad In this country that the impulse
back of all this is the desire of the men
who make the materials of war to get
money out of the Treasury of the Unit
ed States ! wish the people that say
that could see meetings like this. Did
you come here for that purpose? Did
you come here because you were in
terested to see some of your fellow
citizens make money out of the present
situation? OF course you did not. ]
am ready to admit that probably the
equipment of those men whom we are
training will have to be bought from
somebody: and I know that IL the
equipment is bought 1T will have to be
paid for, and dare say that some body
will make some money out of 1t.
q. 8. Should Make Munitions.
ut is also true that there are men
now, a great many men in the bellig
erent countries, who are growing rich
out of the sale of the materials needed
by the armies of those countries II