The theocrat. [volume] (Zion City [i.e. Zion], Ill.) 1914-1949, 1916-04-08
ROOSEVELT WILLING TO ACCEPT
REPUBLICAN NOMINATION ON
CERTAIN TERMS

A SINGLE ISSUE-EvERY AMERICAN CITI-
ZEN MUST BE FOR AMERICA FIRST-U. S.
MUST BE STRONG ENOUGH, HE DECLARES,
TO DEFEND ITS RIGHTS.
Reports from Oyster Bay, New York,
dated April 5, state that Colonel Roose-
velt's hat is in the ring" and that there
is no longer any doubt of the fact
The Colonel made known his attitude
last Wednesday in a conversation with a
visitor from nearby state, who has
been nominated for Congress, and who
expects to go to the Republican National
Convention as delegate. 1t is said that
the conversation which took place will
go down in history as another of the
chapters in the politics of the nation, in
which the Colonel has prominently fig
ured.
There were five men present who
heard the conversation, which was in
substance a declaration of Roosevelt's
platform It is related that the Colonel,
with his characteristic vehemence, had
been talking of international problems,
when the visitor interrupted "You
know, Colonel, may make up my mind
that we will have to nominate you"
Like flash, the Colonel turned on his
visitor, and said:
"We1l, now let me give you a piece
of advice. If you have any doubts on
the subject, don't nominate me.
"Get it perfectly clear in your head
that if you nominate me it must not be
because you think it is in my interest,
but because you think it is in your inter-
est, and the interest of the Republican
party, and because you think it is in the
interest of the United States to do so.
"And more than that, do not do it if
you expect me to pussyfoot on any single
issue have raised.
Don't be for me unless you are pre-
pared to say that every citizen of this
country has got to be pro-United States,
first, last, and all the time, and not pro-
anything else at all, and that we stand
for every good American everywhere,
whatever his birthplace or creed, and
wherever he now lives, and that in re-
turn we demand that he be an American
and nothing else, with no hyphen about
him.
EVERY American citizen must be for
America first, and for no other country
even second, and he has not any right to
be in the United States at all if he has
any divided loyalty between this country
and any other.
81 don't care a rap for the mans
creed or birthplace or national origin, so
long as he is straight United States. |
am for him if he is straight United
States, and if he isn't, am against him.
"And don't you nominate me unless
you are prepared to take the position
that Uncle Sam is to be strong enough
to defend his rights and to defend every
one of his people wherever these people
dIS, dIlu HS Gall NC oCIOllS C1lOuSH uIlICOo
he prepares in advance.
"I am not for war. On the contrary,
l abhor an unjust or a wanton war, and
I would use every honorable expedient
to avoid even a just war; But I feel
with all my heart that you don't in the
long run avoid war by making other
people believe that you are afraid to
fight for your rights.
Uncle Sam must never wrong the
weak, he must never insult anyone or
wantonly give cause for offense to either
the weak or the strong, and the surest
possible way to enable him to keep the
peace and to keep it on terms that will
enable Americans to hold their heads
high and not hang them in shame, is for
him to be so prepared in advance-and
I mean prepared in his own soul, as well
as with his army and navy-that when
he says anything the rest Of the world
will know that he means it and that he
can make it good"