Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-06-13
EVENING R-PH1LADELPHTA TUESDAY. JUNE 1916

youngsters are drawn, far and wide, YOU
remember that while II had aboriginal In
habtants, while there were people living
here there was no civilization which we dis
played 1t was as II In the providence OF
God a continent had been kept untrod and
waiting for a peaceful people who loved
liberty and the rights OF men more than
they loved anything else, TO come and set
UP an unselfish commonwealth
REAL AMERtcANtsM
at Is very extraordinary thing You
are so familiar with American history, at
any rate in its general character l don't ac-
cuse you of knowing the details of It, for
] never found the youngster who dld---but
you are so familiar with the general char
acter of American history that II does not
seem strange to you, but II is a very strange
history. There Is none other like II in the
whole annals of mankind Of men gathering
out of every civilized nation of the world
on an unused continent and building
policy exactly TO suit themselves not under
the domination of any ruling dynasty or Of
the ambitions of any royal family, doing
what they pleased with their own life on
a free space of land which God had made
rich with every resource which was neces-
sary for the civilization they meant to
build up.
Now what we are preparing to do is
to see that nobody mars vnat, and that,
DelnR SHte itself against interference from
the outside all of its force Is going to
he behind its moral idea and mankind
Is going to know that when America speaks
she means what she says. | heard a man
say TO another, II you wish me to con-
slider you witty must really trouble you
to make a Joke We have a right to say
to the rest of mankind IF you don't wanv
to interfere with us, II you are disinter-
ested. we must really trouble you to give
the evidence Of that fact
NO FEAR OF MILITARIsM
we are not in for anything selfish and we
want the whole mighty power of America
thrown into that scale and not into any
other. You know that the chief thing that is
holding many people back from enthusiasm
for what is called preparedness Is the fear of |
militarism | want to say a word to you
young gentlemen about militarism. You
are not a militarist because you are mill
tary.
"Milltarism does not consist in the eX-
stence Of an army, not even In the exist |
ence of very great army. Mtlitartsm is
a spirit. 1t Is point of view. 1t Is sys- |
tenn II is purpose. The purpose of mill |
tarsm is to use armies for aggression. The |
spirit of militarism Is the opposite of the |
civilian spirit the citizen spirit In a coun- |
try where mlitarism prevails the military |
man looks down upon the civilian, regards |
him as inferior thinks of him as intended |
for his, the military mans. support and use, |
and Just so long as America is America that |
spirit and point of view Is impossible with |
us. There is as yet in this country, so FAR |
as can discover, no taint of the spirit of |
There Is no danger of militarsm If you
are genuine Americans, and / for one do |
not doubt that you are, When you begin
to have the mitaristic spirit not the mill
tary spirit-that Is all right-then begin to
doubt whether you are Americans or not.
mo INTERFERENCE"
you young gentlemen are not preferred
in promotion because of the families you
belong to. You are not drawn into the
academy because you belong to certain
circles You do not come here
with a long tradition of military pride
back Of you. You are picked out from the
citizens of the United States to be that
part of the force of the United States
which makes it's policy safe against inter-
ference. You are the part of American
citizens who say to those who would inter-
fere, You must not and you shall not
But you are American citizens and the
idea want to leave with you boys today is
this
mo matter what comes, always remem-
ber that first of all you are citizens of the
United States before you are officers, and
that you are officers because you represent
in your particular profession what the
of the United States stands for.
CIVIL POWER ABOVE MILITARY.
you know that one thing in which our
forefathers took pride this that the
civil power is superior TO the military
power in the United States. Once and
again the people of the United States have
so admired some great military man as to
make him President of the United States
when he became Commander-n-Ch Chief of
all the forces of the United States, but
ne was COMMANDMENT n-Chief because he
was President, not because he had been
trained to arms, and his authority was
,ivil, not military,
"I can teach you nothing of military
power, but | am instructed by the Con-
,tituton to use you for constitutional and
patriotic purposes, And that is the only
Use you care to be put to. That is the only
Use you ought to care TO be put to, because,
after all, what is the use in being Amer
can If you do not know what it is.
You have read a great deal in the
books about the pride of the old Roman
citizen. who always felt like drawing him
ielf to his full height when he said, 4 am
Roman but as compared with the pride
hat must have risen to his heart our
,rde has a new distinction, not the dIstinc- I
ion of the mere imperial power of a great
mpre, not the distinction of being masters {
II the world, but the distinction of carry /