The Washington times., 1923-05-30
FULL TEXT'OF PRESIDENTS
MEMORIAL DAY SPEECH

) their flag-draped coffins, two
years ago.
Here was death in wars un-
needing allotment, corridors of
sorrow and sacrifice so far as the
eye could see, and grief that no
human soul could appraise.
Under the spell of the great
sorrow which gripped my heart,
| said then, and repeat now, 1T
must not be again! It must not
be again.
But the saying Is not enough.
We must do the things which
rational thinking leads US to be-
lieye will tend to render war less
likely. II we ever have the In
sanity to make conflict among
ourselves we will deserve to sacri'
flee. But that must never be.
Searching our own souls, beltev.
ing in our own good intent. we
Z can see no cloud on the horizon.
We are thinking of no war for
us, anywhere. But there was no
cloud for us in 1914, and yet we
were drawn into the very cata-
clysm of all wars.
It is not enough to seek as
surance for ourselves. believe
it is a God-given duty to give OF
our influence to establish the
ways of peace throughout the
world. We cannot guarantee, but
we can promote the peaceful ad-
justment of disputes, we can aid
in the establishment Of tho
agencies of peace, we can be IN
fluential in committing the world
to the triumphs Of peace, and
make hateful to humankind the
spoiIs OF war.
Americans have gloried in our
part as the exemplar of repre-
sentative democracy to aspiring
peoples of the world. If we have
been successful as the exemplar
OF democracy there Is a duty to
perform in pointing the way.
and influencing the adoption OF
democraey's peace:
Cites World Relationship.
This Is a world relationship
which we cannot avoid, and will
not avoid i'm the spirit Sof the
boast But there is one thing
which we may do among our
selves alone to make our own
ish much of wars hatefulness if
arms.
Standing amid a group OF vet
Grams of North and South in glad
reunion at Gettysburg in 1914,
/ heard these sturdy warriors
argue how they had been drawn
into conflict by the wealth OF
North and South. That was well
enough to argue that kindred
Americans had no reason to fight
one another.
But they were far away from
the great cause. Amid the con-
flicting ideas and interests in the
chaos OF the great beginning an
ambiguity was written into the
Constitution, and it had to be
wiped out. The fathers had not
settled the dispute in the max.
ing, and their descendants had to
fight it out in the development
of the nation. 1t has brought us
the needful concord OF union and
the greater possibilities of the
nation.
The arguing veterans, fifty
years after Gettysburg, on the
PNSHe VI .Nhc "OTIu-LdIneO COMBAT,
were thinking Of Industrial greed
in the North and slave owning
greed in the South. But in re-
ality their prejudices had been
inspired by the hateful profiteer-
ing incident to war
In all the wars of all time the
conscienceless profIteering has
put the black blot OF greed upon
righteous sacrifice and highly
purposed conflict. In our fuller
understanding OF today, in that
exalted Consciousness that every
citizen has his duty to perform,
and that his means, his honor
and his life are his country's in
time of national peril, in the
next war, If conflict ever comes
again. we will not alone call to
service the youth Of the land.
which has, in the main fought ali
our wars. but we will draft every
resource, every activity, all OF
wealth, and make common cause
or the nations preservation.
God grant that no conflict will
come again, but If 1t does 1t shall