The gazette-times. [volume] (Heppner, Or.) 1912-1925, 1919-08-07
THEODORE ROOSEVELT
ON "NATIoNIALIsM

From His Lafayette Day" Speech.
frequently meet one Of those nice
gentry "a whom s0fness Of heart has
spread to the head who say, How
can We guarantee that everybody will
love one another after the war;" The
first step in guaranteeing it is to
knock Germany out.
Il Is now said that a part Of the
peace agreement must be a league Of
nations which will avert all war for
the future and put stop to the need
OF this nation maintaining its own
strength for its own defense. Many
Of the adherents Of this idea grandil-
oquently assert that they intend 10
supplant Lationialism by information
alism, and that the United States
must take the lead in doing this.
In deciding upon proposals of this
nature it behooyes our people to re-
member that competitive rhetoric is
a poor substitute for the habit of
resolutely looking facts in the face.
Patriotism stands in national mat
tiers as love OF family does IN private
life Nationalism corresponds to the
love a man bears for his wife and
children. Internationialism CORES
ponds to the feeling he has for his
neighbors generally,
The sound nationalist is the only
type of really helpful internationial-
ST, precisely as in private relations It
is the man who is most devoted to
his own wife and children who is apt
in the long run to be the most salts
factory neighbor. If | met new
neighbor and he ted me he loved
me as much as he did his own family.
I'd watch him. l should know that
he was not to be trusted.
To substitute internationialism for
nationialism means to do away with
patriotism and Is as vicious and as
profoundly demoralizing as to put
promiScuous devotion to all other
persons in the place of steadfast de-
voton to those to whom we owe it.
wish to insist with all possible en-
phasis that the men in this country
wha have stood the staunchest for the
performance of international duty
have always been the men who have
most keenly felt nationialism and
Americanism in their blood.
Every American pacifst is in ac-
tual fact, whether he knows it or not,
the tool and ally of every foreign mil
itarist and imperialist
We ought always TO act fairly and
generously to other nations. In in
ternational affairs l hold that We
should have the same standard of
morality that We have in private mat
tiers. But we must remember that
our first duty is always to be loyal
and patriotic citizens of our own ma
tion, defenders of her rights, main
tanning her noblest traditions. These
two facts should always be upper
most in our minds when we take up
any proposal for league Of nations
We can then be loyal to great ideals
as we'll as true to ourselves.
Test the proposed future league oi
nations SO far as concerns the pro
posal to disarm and to trust to any
thing except our own strength by tha
rule. In such league We have t
depend for its success upon the adhe
sion of nine nations which are &C
tually or potentially the most power
full military nations. ." Unless ou
folly is such that it will not depar
from US until We are brayed in NOR
tar, let US remember that any sucl
treaty will be worthless unless ou
own prepared strength renders it un
safe for any other nation to breaI
the treaty.