Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1916-1918, 1917-03-06
WILSON DEMANDS
NATIONAL UNITY
CONTINUED From Page ~

1t Is in this spirit and with tni
: thought that we have grown more AM
more aware, more and more certail
that the part We wished to play wa
the part of those who mean to vlnd1
cate and fortify peace. We have beef
obliged to arm ourselves to make goo
our claim to a certain minimum o
right and of freedom of action. W.
stand firm in armed neutrality since i
seems that in no other way we cal
demonstrate what 1t Is we insist upo1
and cannot forego. We may even b
drawn on, by circumstances, not BY
our own purpose or desire. to a more
active assertion Of our rights as We SET
them and more immediate association
with the great struggle itself. But moth
ing will alter our thought or our pur
pose. They are too clear to be OBJ
scured. They are too deeply rooted II
the principles of our national life tt
be altered We desire neither conquest
nor advantage We wish nothing thai
can be had only at the cost Of another
people. We have always protested IN
selfish purpose and we covet the oppor
tunity to prove that our professions are
sincere.
I
There are many things still to dc
at home, to clarity our own politics and
| give new vitality to the industrial pro
! cesses of our own life, and we shsll dc
them as time and opportunity serve:
but we realize that the greatest thinga
that remain to be done must Re done
with the whole world for stage and
IN cooperation with the wide aud unit
| making our spirits ready for those
things. They Will to!lew in the inme.
dtate wake of the war itself and Will
set civilization liz Ix2!n, The fragical
events Of the thirty months Of vital
turmoil through which We have Just
passed have made sf1s citizess Of the
world. Our own fortunes. - a nation,
are involved, whether we would have
It so or not.
"And yet we are not the less Ameri.
cans or that account. We shall be the
more American II we but remain true
to the principles IN which we have
been bred We have known and boast
ed all ascng t!.st they were the prin.
ciples of liberated mankind. These,
therefore are the things we shall stand
for, whether In war Or in peace.
"That all nations are equally inter-
ested in the peace OF the world and in
the political stability Of free peoples,
and equally responsible for their main.
tenance.
"That the essential principle Of
peace is the actual equality Of nations
IN all matters OF right or privilege.
"That peace cannot securely or Just.
ly rest upon an armed balance OF
power.
"That governments derive all their
just powers from the consent Of the
governed and that no other powers
should be supported by the common
thought, purpose or power Of the FAM
lily of nations.
THAT the seas should be equally
free and safe for the use of all
peoples. under rules set up by com.
mon agreement and consent, and that,
so far as practicable, they should be
accessible to all upon equal terms:
THAT national ornaments should be
limited to the necessities Of national
oredr and domestic safety;
"That the community of interest
and Of power upon which peace must
henceforth depend imposes upon each
nation the duty of seeing to 1t that all
influences proceeding from its own
citizens meant to encourage or as
sist revolution in other states be stern
~ and effectually suppressed and pre-.
vented.
I need not argue these principles to
you. my fellow countrymen. They
spring up native amongst US. Upon
this platform Of purpose and of action
we can stand together.
Must Stand Together.
And 1t is imperative that we should
stand together. We are being forged
into a new unity amidst the fires that
now blaze througout the world. In
their ardent heat We shall in Gods
providence, lot us hope, be purged of
faction and division. purified Of the
Grant humors Of party and OF private
interest and shall stand forth in the
days to come with new dignity Of
national pride and spirit. Let each
man see to 1t that the dedication is In
his own heart, the high purpose Of the
nation in his own mind, ruler of his
own Will and desire:
II stand here and have taken the
high and solemn oath to which you
have been audience, because the
paorIe Of the United States have
chosen me for this august delegation of
power and have by their gracious
Judgment named ME their leader Ia az
fairs / know now what the task
sneane. realize to the full the respon-
H!bi!i-y which it involves. pray God
! may I've given the wisdom and the
prudence to do my duty In the true
spirit of this great people am their
servant and can succeed only as they
sustain and guide me by their conf
dence and their counsel. The thing !
shall count up, the thing without
which neither counsel nor action will
avail ia the unity OF America
united in feeling, in purpose
and in vision of duty, of opportunity
and OF service. We are to beware OF
all men who would turn the tasks and
the necessities Of the nation to their
own private profit or use them for the
building up Of private power; beware
that no faction or d1sloyS intrigue