The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1916-06-16

militarism, Americanism, the causes
of the war in Europe, peace, the Mon
roe ldoctrine, divided allegiance and
the ideals of America He declared
1T is the present imperative duty Of
the United States to be prepared, add
ing, Mankind is going to know that
when America speaks she means what
she says"
The president said the United States
should not be a clustering nation, a
nation with "a chip on its shoulder
but a calm nation which will with
hold its hand as long as possible and
strike only for justice.
The. presidents address ran through
the almost entire list of subjects dis
cussed by Former Justice Hughes in
his telegram accepting the Republican
nomination, and he declared that the
United States is ready to join with
other nations to see that the kind "
Justice it believes in is given.
Shaking his finger emphatically, the
president told the graduates Of the
military academy and large audi
enec that nobody who does rot put
America first can be tolerated. He
added, however, that true Americans
should set good example.
The president declared the present
war did not come by accident, but
that it had come. The United States
wants nothing frorl Europe, he said,
and there is nothing she wants that
she must get by war. He sounded a
warning that no man can tell what
the next day will bring forth in the
worlds events.
The word "Americanism'' was used
today by the president for the first
time in recent addresses. He con-
stantly referred to the West Point
graduates to whom he was speaking,
but referred more to national end in
ternational problems. He warned the
graduates against militarisn. The
presidents speech was frequently in
terrupted by applause and he was
cheered as he concluded.
The text of the presidents speech
follows:
Time of Responsibility.
81 look upon this body CT men
who are graduating today with
peculiar interest. I feel like con-
graduating them that they are liv-
ing in a day not only so interesting
because fraught with change, but also
because so responsible. Days ofrre-
sronsibility are the only days that
count in time, because they are the
only days that give test of quality.
They are the only days when man
hood and purpose is tried out as If
by fire. e
81 need not tell you young gentle
men that you are not like an ordi-
nary graduating class of one of our
universities. The men in those
classes look forward to the life which
they are to lead after graduation
with a great many questions in their
r,ind. Most of them do not know
exactly what their lives arc going to
develop into. Some of them do not
know what occupations they are go
ing to follow. All of them are con-
jecturing what Will be the line Of
duty and advancement and the
ultimate goal Of success for them.
There is no conjecture for you.
You have enlisted in something that
does not stop when you leave the
academy, for you then only begin to
realize it, which then only begins to
he filed with the full richness of
its meaning, and you can look for
ward with absolute certainty to the
sort of thing that you will be obliged
to do
"This has always Deen true Of grad
uating classes at West Point, but the
certainty that some of the older
classes used to look forward to was
a very dull certainty.
Some of the old days in the army,
I fancy, were not very interesting
days. Sometimes men like the pres
ert chief of staff, for example, could
fill the lives with the interest OF
really knowing and understanding the
Indians of the Western plains, know
ing what was going on inside of their