Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1917-07-06
Senator Opposes Blind Con-
CuTenCe in Any Policy
Proposed for y. S.

Especial Dispatch to The Journal
COLUMBUS. Ga. July 5-On the sub
ject 'Our Country" United States Sena-
tor Thomas w. Hardwick delivered an
ADDRESS at the court house here yester-
day afternoon before a large audience,
he being the principal speaker of the
Independence day exercises.
Senator Hardwick first congratulated
the country on it's attainment of its one
hundred and forty-first birthday. He
stated the object and purposes for which
the government of the United States wus
founded and the circumstances under
which it was founded, reading copiously
from the declaration of independence and
from the farewell address of President
George Washington. He drew two fun
damental lessons-frst, that this coun-
try ought to AVOID the danger OF over
grown ana permanent military esJab-
lishments; second, that our true foreign
policy was to stay clear of permanent
alliances with any foreign countries, SO
far as possible TO avoid entangling en-
SaSementf with European nations.
The senator briefly sketched the early
history of this country, It's struggles and
its final success in revolutionary times,
the war of 1912; its causes, its prosecu-
ton and its effects; the civil war, the
causes that lea TO II and the results that
flowed from il.
AGREES WITH DECATUR.
Coming down to the situation in which
our country finds itself today. he as
serted that he was in full and hearty
sympathy with Stephen Decatur's noble
sentiment-"Our country, may she al
ways be right; but right or wrong, our
country" He. asserted, however, that he
drew a sharp distinction between loyalty
to the country and concurrence in any
and every plan or policy that might be
proposed or suggested by the president
and any one else. Not to draw this
distinction, he asserted, was to forget
and ignore the distinction between free
dom and serfdom.
Asserting that he would support ana
uphold the country in everything that
made. for It's advancement and it's hap
piness, and support and uphold the war
in every way that was necessary to its
vigorous and successful prosecution, he
nevertheless denied that congress ought
10 surrender it's prerogatives or snirk it's
responsibility with reference to the fiS-
cal and civil policies of the country,
even though it should leave all details
of the prosecution of military and naval
campaigns to executive authority, I'M
hampered and unhindered.
The senator expressed the opinion
that, while war with Germany was un-
avoidable after Germany fired on our
flag and murdered our peaceful citizens
on the high seas, and that such a war
ought to be vigorously prosecuted to a
successful conclusion, still he believed
that such a war ought to be primarily
an American war, for the vindication of
American honor and the establishment of
American rights, and for no other pUr-
pose on earth.
For those purposes, he asserted, he
was willing to wage war with Germany
to the last drop of blood and to the
last dollar, but he said that he was
unwilling to devote a single drop of
American, blood to any attempt to settle
the boundary line of a single European
state or the form of government of a
single foreign country. In this respect
he said he followed the doctrines and
teachings of Washington and jefferson
and Madison and Monroe. rather than
those of the later day prophets.
SHOULD AVOID ALLIANCES.
Applying the above principles to the
situation, the senator asserted that he
believed that we ought to aid other ma
lions VINO were enSdBeu III llBiiIi
our common foe and ought to cooper
ate with them along military and naval
and financial and economic lines, keep
ing faithfully every temporary engage
ment with them; that such course is
necessary, but that we ought 20 avoid
becoming permanently drawn into these
European Quarrels and squabbles, and
that we ought to wage the war with a
purpose of indicating American rights
and conclude peace with our enemy
whenever. in our judgment. those rights
| are INDICATED and secured.
He was unwilling to predict the
| length Of the war although freely ad-
| hitting the seriousness of the situa-
| ton and the heavy sacrifices in blood
! and treasure that this country will be
| called upon 10 make.
Although opposed to some of the spe'
cific plans that had already or might
hereafter be adopted, he advocated ODE,