The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1917-01-22

desire to eXalt an abstract pOl1tlcal
principle which has always been held
very dear by those who have sought
to build up liberty in America, but
for the same reason that ! have SpOk-
en- of the other conditions of peace
which seem to me clearly indispensa-
ble-because I wish frankly to I'M
cover realities Any peace which
does not recognize and accept this
principal will inevitably be upset. It
will not rest on the affections or the
convictions of mankind. The fer
ment of spirit of whole populations
will fight subtly and constantly against
it and all the world will sympathize.
The world can be at peace only if it's
life is stable and there can be no
stability where the will is in rebel
lion, where there is not tranquility
of spirit and a sense of justice, of
freedom and of right
$50 far as practicable moreover, ev-
cry great people now struggling to-
ward a full development of it's re-
sources and of it's powers should be
assured direct outlet to the great
highways of the sea. Where this can
not be done by the cession of territory
it can no doubt be done by the neu-
tralization Of direct rights of way un-
der the general guarantee which will
assure the peace itself. With right
comfy of arrangement no nation need
be shut away from free access to the
open paths of the worlds commerce
"And the paths of the sea must
alike in law and in fact be f1f,e. The
freedom of the seas is the sine gus,
ton of peace, equality and co-opera-
SION. No doubt somewhat radical
reconsideration Of many of the rules
of International practice hitherto
sought to be established may be ne
cesary in order to make the seas in
deed free and common in practically
all circumstances for the use Of man
kind: but the motive for such changes
is convincing and compelling. There
can be no trust or intimacy between
the peoples of the world without
them. The free, constant, unthreat-
ened intercourse of nations is an es-
sential part of the process Of peace
and Of development. 1t need not be
difficult to define to secure the free
dom of tie seas If the governments of
the world sincerely desire to come to
an agreement concerning it.
''It is a problem closely connected
with the limitation of naval arma-
ments and the cooperation Of the ma
vies Of the world in keeping the seas
at once free and safe. And the ques-
ton Of limiting naval ornaments
opens the wider and perhaps more
difficult question Of the limitation of
armies and of all programs of military
preparation. Difficult and delicate as
the questions are, they must be faced
vxyif1, tho 11f ncf y,tdny. az cd iy,
a spirit of real accommodation if
peace is to come with healing in it's
wings and come to stay.
Peace cannot be had without con-
cession and sacrifice. There cAn be
no sense of safety and equality among
the nations If great preponderating
armies are henceforth to continue
here and there to be built up and
maintained. The statesmen of the
world must plan for peace and nations
must adjust and accommodate their
policy to it as they have planned for
war and made ready for pitiless con-
test and rivalry. The question Of
ornaments, whether on land or sea,
is the most immediate and intensely
practical question connected with the
future fortunes of nations and Of
mankind.
'1 am proposing that all nations
henceforth avoid entangling alliances
which would draw them into COMPETE
tons of power, catch them in a net Of
intrigue and selfish rivalry and dis
turb their own affairs with influences
intruded from without. There is no
entrangling alliance in a concert Of
power. When all unite to act in the
same sense and with the same pur-
pose all act in the common interest
and are free to live their own lives
under a common protection.
Il am proposing government by the
consent of the government; that free
dom of the seas which in internation-
al conference after conference repre-
sentatives Of the United States have
urged with the eloquence of those
who are the convinced disciples of
liberty; and that moderation of arm
mants which make of armies and
navies a power for order merely, not
an instruction Of selfish violence.
These are American principles,
American policies. We can stand
for no others. AS they are also the
principles and policies of forward
looking men and women everywhere,
of every modern nation, OF every en-
lightened community. They are the
principles Of mankind and must pre-