The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1916-05-30


strength. and yet we decline to put il
behind plighted word when the
interests and honor of others are in
volved.
Iniquity Through Cowardice.
Performance of international duty
to others means that in international
affairs in the commonwealth of ma
lions. we shall not only refrain from
wronging the weak, but ACCORDING to
our capacity. and opportunity Of
fers, stand up for the weak when the
weak are wronged by the strong. Most
emphatically it does not mean that we
shall submit to wrong-doing by other
nations. To do so is a proof not of
virtue, but of weakness, and of a
mean and abject national spirit. To
submit to wrong-doing is to encourage
wrong doing; and il is therefore, it
self, a form of iniquity-and a pc
culiarly Objectionable form of inquiry,
for it is based on cowardice- The first
step in securing International justice is
that every peaceful well-behaved ma
ton shall develop its own strength
and It's intelligent will power. so as to
prevent ill-behaved nations from
wrong doing. The second step is that
the strong among these ill-behaved
nations shall, in some way or shape
extend aid and comfort to their weak
well-behaved brothers, when the lat
ter are wronged. The duty of a ma
ton like ours cannot be considered as
I if we stood alone in the world We
are one of a community of nations and
the effective condemnation of wrong
doing by that community is the great
force of civilization. If we shirk our
part of that duty to condemn, and if
necessary more than condemn, the
wrong we are aiding to break down
+ the force of the public opinion of
mankind in the support of justice and
righteousness, and with that we are
helping to destroy the forces of peace
and justice which serve TO prevent
Il L.
us and thus serve to preserve our
peace and safety. 1t is, however,
worse than idle. it is mischievous, to
indulge in visionary plans about
world-action in the future, until in
the present, We act as we should in
two vital matters: in the first place by
abandoning the pernicious habit of
making reckless promises which can
not, or ought not, or will not be kept,
ana in the second place, and most i'm
| portant of all. by preparing our own
strer 9Th so that we can protect our
own rights.
About Navy.
| Preparedness instead of being pro-
vocative of war and injustice, tells in
favor of peace and justice. Only
| through preparedness can we secure
| Justice for ourselves Well-meaning
persons who have not thought serious
ly or deeply on the subject sometimes
assert that we are too far away from
| the old world ever to fear assault or
invasion. The answer is two-fo1d In
the first place we have under our flag
the Canal Zone and Alaska, and Varl-
Gus islands. These it is absolutely
impossible to protect from any formid-
able foe except by a first class navy
and army. In the next place, the events
of the present war show that the
ocean is now a highway for any pow
| er whose ships control it. We nave
just witnessed the transfer by sea of
a Russian army from Eastern Siberia
to Franco sea voyage three times
| as long as that across the Atlantic
| We have seen a huge army gathered
| at the Dardanelles from England,
France and Australia; and the dis
lance from Australia to the Dard-
aneIles is far greater than the dis
lance from Asia to our shores. There
| gathered for the attack on CONSTANT
nople a host of fighting men drawn
| from the great island-continent OF
the South Pacific, and they were join
ed by the fighting men of the British
| Isles, who dwelt on the opposite side
of the world. From the northern and
the southern hemispheres, the trans
port steamers have carried with speed
and safety, over the two greatest
oceans, masses of troops ten times as
numerous as our whole mobile army.
If any army half the size of that
which attacked the Dardanelles was
landed near New York or San Fran
cisco in a time no longer than that
occupied by the British and AuStral-
ians in reaching the Dardanelles, we
should in the present condition of our
forces be utterly at its mercy: The
immediate loss would fall on the At
lantic or Pacific coast; but we are all
Americans, and the disgrace would
be shared by all of US wherever we
live. and the blow to our self-respect
and our material well-being would
shake our whole country to its foun-
dations.
We Can Be Attacked.
Those who confidently assert that
there is no danger of our ever being
attacked are either ignorant or for
getful of the multitude of examples
which show how international con-
flicts arise. The pressure of popula-
. ton and a desire for wealth and power
now in former ages are urging ma
tons in the old world to get posses
sion of all the unoccupied or weakly
held parts of the earth from which
profit can be derived. This is what
has often brought rival European ma
tions face to face and to the verge OF
: war in Asia and Africa 1t has played
a great part in bringing on the present
war. 1t is possible that some nation
) will attack US out of hand, making OF
| some action on the part of our people
a plausible cause of quarrel. 1t is
) much more likely that if we are not
|. strong enough to maintain our rights
l including the assertion of the Monroe
Doctrine, we shall be subjected to g
series of aggreSSions upon our right:
= growing more and more grievous unit
we reach a pont where we ourselve:
5 shall be obliged to resent the aggres
sion of or else to abandon policies es
sential to our national greatness anC
we'll being.
The prime needs in preparedness
s the needs which can be immediatel,
I met are to give US, first the navy W,
Y require, and second the regular arm,
we require. 1 have elsewhere giveI
j the reasons why we require the sec
4 ond navy in the world and a small
= highly efficient regular army of $50,
e 900 men. with a proper reserve. Her,
= let it suffice to say that such a nav,
0 and such an army would be our bes
e insurance against war and for peace.
e Nation Should Back Army