The Washington herald., 1919-03-05


nothing more nor less than the
covenant that the world always
Will maintain the standards which
1t has now vindicated by some of
the most precious blood ever split.
(Applause.)
The liberated peoples OF the
Austro Hungarian Empire and of
the Turkish Empire call out to us
for this thing. 1t has not arisen
in the council OF statesmen.
Europe is a bit sick at heart at
this very moment, because it sees
that statesmen have had no vision
and that the only vision has been
the vision of the people. ZAP
plause)
Those who suffer see. Those
against whom wrong is wrought
know how desirable is the right
and the righteous. The nations
that have long been under the heel
of the Austrian. that have long
covered before the German. that
have long suffered the indescrib-
abel agonies of being governed by
the Turk, have called out to the
world, generation after generation,
for justice, for liberation, for sue
cor; and no cabinet in the world
has heard them. Private organiza-
tions, pitying hearts. philanthropic
men and women have poured out
their treasure to relieve these SUI
ferings; but no nation has said to
the nations responsible, you must
stop; this thing is intolerable, and
we will not permit it (Applause)
And the vision has been with the
people.
Critics Never Understood.
My friend, / wish you would re-
fleet upon this proposition: The
vision as to what is necessary for
great reforms has seldom come
from the top in the nations of the
world. 1t has come from the need
and the aspiration and the self
assertion OF great bodies of men
who meant TO be free. (Applause.)
And 1 can explain some of the crit
icisms which have been levelled
against this enterprise only by the
supposition that the men who utter
the criticisms have never felt the
great pulse of the heart of the
world. applause and cheers.)
4
but amazed-that there should be
in some quarters such a compre-
hensive ignorance of the state of
the world (App'rus-:) These
gentlemen 90 not yNno~ what the
mind of men is just now. Everr-
body elEe does Naughter) I do
not know where they have been
closeted. I do not know by what
influences they have been blinded;
but l do know that they have
been separated from the general
currents of the thought of man
kind. (Applause.)
Tides of World Spontaneous.
"And I want to utter this solemn
warning. not in way of a threat
the forces of the world do not
threaten, they operate (applausel:
The great tides of the world do
not give notice that they are 60
ing to rise and run; they rise in
their majesty and overwhelming
might and those who stand in the
way are overwhelmed. Now the
heart OF the world is awake and
the heart of the world must be
satisfied.
>
pose for a moment that the un-
easiness in the populations of
Europe is due entirely to eco
nomic causes or economic mo-
tives; something very much
deeper underlies it all than
that. They see that their gov
ernments have never been able
to defend them against intrigue
or aggression, and that there
is not force of foresight or of
prudence in any modern cab
met to stop war. And therefore
they say: There must be some
fundamental cause for this.
and the fundamental cause they
are beginning to perceive to be
that nations have stood singIy
or in little Jealous groups
against each other, fostering
prejudice, increasing the dan
ger of war, rather than concert
ing measures to prevent it:
and that If there is right in the
world, if there is justice in the
world, there is no reason why
Eations should be divided in the
support of justice. (Applause.).
Nations should Guard Peoples.
They are, therefore, saying if
you really believe that there is i
right, if you really believe that
was ought to be stopped stop
thinking about rival interests of
nations and think about men and
women and children throughout
the world (great applause). Ma
tiOns are not made to afford dis
tinction to their rulers by way of
success in the maneuvers of poll
tics; nations are meant, if they are
meant for anything, to make the
men and women and children in
them secure and happy and pros
porous. Applause.) And no ma
ton has the right to set up it's
special interests against the in
terests and benefits of mankind.
least Of all this great nation which
we love. (Applause.) 1t was set up
for the benefit of mankind; it was
set up to illustrate the highest
ideals and to achieve the highest
aspirations of men who wanted to
be free; and the world-the world
of today believes that, and counts
on US and would be thrown back
into the blackness of despair if
we deserted it. (Applause.)
Tragedy in Europe's Hopes.
II have tried once and again,
my fellow citizens, to say to little
circle of friends or to larger
bodies, what seems 10 be the real
hope of the peoples of Europe, and
tell you frankly I have not been
able to do so because when the
thought tries to crowd itself into
speech. the profound emotion of
the thing is too much; speech will
not carry.