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Show WILL IT FIT MEXICO EXGEPT US LASilESORT President Wilson Declares He Is Ready to Sacrifice His Political Fortunes to Carry Out Convictions. WINS APPLAUSE FROM AUDIENCE Address Delivered at New York Press Club Banquet, Many Prominent Men Being Present. NEW YOKK, June 30.- President Wilson made it plain in his speech at the New York Press club banquet tonight to-night that he will not countenance a war with Mexico until there is no other alternative al-ternative for settling the border troubles. trou-bles. Again he declared that he was ready to sacrifice his own political fortunes in order to carry out his convictions as to what would be the just course to pursue pur-sue in the situation. , , The president's nudience, composed of newspaper men, state and municipal political' po-litical' leaders and others prominent in public life, signified their indorsement of his position by repeated outbursts of applause. When he asked if the glory of America would be enhanced by a war of conquest in Mexicp shouts of "no came from all parts of the banquet hall. A similar response was made to his query whether it is America's duty to ( carry self-defense to the point of dictation dic-tation into the affairs of another people. peo-ple. ' ' Servant of the People. The president dwelt also on his efforts to serve the whole people, thousands of whom, he said, are appealing to him to maintain peace as long as possible. (;I have constantly to remind myself, my-self, ' he said, "that I am not the servant ser-vant of those who wish to enhance the value of their Mexican investments, but that I am the servant of the rank and file of the people of the United States.' Bainbridge Colby, who placed Theodore Theo-dore Bopscvelt in nomination for the presidency at the Progressive convention conven-tion at Chicago, paid President Wilson high tribute, but did not declare unqualifiedly un-qualifiedly that he would support bim in the coming campaign, as it was reported re-ported he would do. President Wilson arose from his seat and shook hands with Mr. Colby as he finished speaking. Mayor John P. Mitchel, Ralph Pulitzer and Irvin S. Cobb also spoke. The presidential party that included Mrs. Wilson occupied seats in the balcony. President Wilson did not begin to speak until almost 11 o 'clock. President's Address. In his address, President Wilson said: I realize that I have done a very imprudent thing; I have come to ad dress this thoughtful company of men without any preparations whatever. If could have written as witty a speech as Mr. Pulitzer I would have written it. If I- could have written as. clear an enunciation of the fundamental funda-mental ideas of American patriotism as tiie mayor, I should have attempted attempt-ed it. If I could have been as appealing appeal-ing a person and of as feeling 'a heart as Mr. Cobb, I would have felt safe. If I could have been as generous and interesting and genuine as Mr. Colby, I should have felt that I could let myself my-self go without any preparation. But, gentlemen, as a matter of fact, I have been absorbed by the responsibilities which have been frequently referred to here tonight, and that preoccupation preoccupa-tion has made It impossible for me to forecast even what you would like to hear me talk about. Admits Fallibility. There Is something very oddly contradictory con-tradictory about the efTect you men have on me. You are sometimes, particularly par-ticularly in your photographic enterprises, enter-prises, very brutal to me, and you sometimes invade my privacy, even to the extent of formulating my jung-ments jung-ments before they are formed, and . yet I am tempted, when I stand face to face with you, to take off all guard and merely expose myself to you as tiie fallible human being thai T am. Mr. Colby said something that was among the ffv things I had forecast to say myself. He said that there are some tilings which It Is really useless lo debate, because they go as a matter mat-ter of course. Of course, It is our duty to prepare, this nation to take care of its honor and of its institutions. Why debate any part of that, except the deta il. except the plan Haelf, which is always' debatable? Of course, it is the duty of the government, gov-ernment, which it will never overlook, to defend the territory and people of this country. It goes without saying that It is the duty of the administration administra-tion to have constantly in mind with the utmost sensitiveness even' point of natlonjil honor. But, gentlemen, after you have said and accepted thee obvious things, your programme of action is still to be formed. When will you act, and how will you net ? The easiest thing is to strike. The (Continued on Page Tnreo.) rWILL NOT GO TO WAR 1LESS COMPELLED (Continued from Page One,) brutal thins is the impulsive thin?. Xo man has to think before lie takes ftjrressive action, but before a man really conserves the honor by realizing realiz-ing the ideals of the nation, be has to think exactly what he will do and how he will do it. Do you think the glory of America would be enhanced by a war of conquest con-quest in Mexico? Do you think that I any act of violence by a powerful nation na-tion like this against a weak and destructive de-structive neighbor would reflect distinction dis-tinction upon the annals of the United States? Do you think that it is our duty to carry self-defense to a point of I dictation into the affairs of another I people? The ideals of America are written plain upon every page of ; American history. i I want you to know how fully T realize whose servant I am. I do not own the government of the United .States even for the time being. I have no right in the use of it to express my own passions. I have no right to express my own ambitions for the de- I velopment of America if those ambi- , tions are not coincident with the am- bitions of the nation itself. j And I have constantly to remind i mvself that I am not the servant of those who wish to enhance the value of their Mexican investments, that I am the servant of the rank and file ! of the people of the United States. j People Against War. j I get a great many letters, my fel- j low citizens, from important and influential in-fluential men in this country, but I get a great many other letters. I get letters from unknown men. from humble women, from people whose names have never been heard ant., never will be recorded and there is but one prayer in all of these letters: "Mr. President, do not allow anybody to persuade you that the people of this country want war with anybody." I got off a train yesterday and as I was bidding good-bye to the engineer, he said in an undertone. "Mr. President, Presi-dent, keep out of Mexico." And if one man has said that to me, a thousand thous-and have said it to me as I have moved about the country. If X have opportunity to engage them further in conversation they say: "Of course, we know that you can not govern the circumstances of the case altogether and it may be necessary, but for God's sake do not do it unless it is necessary." Judgment of Napoleon. I am for the timey being the spokesman spokes-man of such people gentlemen. I have j not read history without observing , that the greatest forces in the world and the only permanent forces are j the moral forces. We have the evidence evi-dence of a very competent witness, namely, the first Napoleon, who said that as he looked back in the last days of his life upon so much as he knew of human history, he had to record re-cord the judgment that force had never accomplished any tiling that was permanent. I Force will not accomplish anything that is permanent, I venture to say, in ; 1 the great struggle wblcn is going on on the other side of the sea. The i permanent things will be accomplish-; accomplish-; ed afterward when the opinion of mankind is brought to bear upon the issues, and the oniy thing that will ' hold the world steady is this same j silent, insistent, all-powerful opinion of mankind. Force can sometimes hold things steady until opinion has time to form, but no force that was never exerted, except in response to that opinion, was ever a conquering and predominant force. I think t he sentence in American history that I myself am proudest of is that in the introductory sentences i of the Declaration of Independence, ! where the writers say that a decent ' respect for the opinion of mankind demands that they state the reason for what they are about to do. T venture to say that a decent respect for the opinions of mankind demanded ttiat those who started the present European war should have stated their reasops, but they did not pay any heed to the opinion of mankind, and the reckoning will come when the settlement comes. Wants Verdict of Mankind. So. gentlemen. I am willing, no matter what my personal fortunes may he, to play for the verdict of mankind. personally, it will be a matter of indifference to me what the verdict on Hie seventh of November is, provided I feel any degree of confidence confi-dence that when a later jury sils I shall get their judgment in my favor. Not my favor personally what difference" dif-ference" does that make? hut in my favor as an honest and conscientious spokesman of a great nation. There are some gentlemen who are under the delusion that the power of a nation comes from the top. It does not. It comes from the bottom. Power and virtue of the tree does not L-ome from the blossoms and the fruit down into the roots, but it comes from the roots in the obscure passages of the earth, where the power is derived which displays its blossoms and the fruit; and I know that along the silent, speechless masses of the American people Is slowly coming up that sap or moral purpose and love of justice and reverence rever-ence for humanity which constitutes the only virtue and distinction of the American people. Look for your rulers of tiie fulnre! Can you pick out the families that are to produce them? Can you pick out the localities that are going to .produce them? Case of Abraham Lincoln. You have heard what has been said about Abraham Lincoln. H is singular singu-lar how touching every reference to Abraham Lincoln is. H always makes you feel that you wish you had been t lie re to help him in some fashion to fight the battles thntjie was fighting, fight-ing, some times almost 'alone. And couid yon have predicted had you seen A bra ham Lincoln's hirt It and boyhood where that great ruling figure of the world was going to spring from? I have presided over a university, but I never deceived myself by supposing sup-posing ' that by university processes you were producing the ruling forces of the world. I knew that all a university uni-versity could do. if il knew its business, busi-ness, was to interpret the moral forces of the world and let the young man who sat under its influence know the very truth of truths about where it came from, and that no man could produce it unless he felt In his blood everv corpuscle spring into delighted de-lighted life with t he mention of ideals which have lifted men slowly, oh. so slowly, up the arduous grades which have resisted progress since the world began. Kf, gentle men t, I have not come here tonight to do anything but remind re-mind you that vou do not constitute lite United States; that 1 do not constitute con-stitute the United States: that it is something bigger and greaier and finer than any of us; that it was born in an ideal, and only by pursuing an ideal in the face of every adverse circumstance will it continue to deserve de-serve the beloved name whirh we love and for which we are ready to die, the name America. |