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Show w . ROOSEVELT WOULD HAVE WAR. Who said Roosevelt could not get back to tho front pages of tho newspapers? news-papers? Yesterday the distinguished American addressed a great crowd at Plattsburg, N". Y., and was vigorously applauded when he referred to the European Eu-ropean war situation and declared the United States should prepare for the worst. He criticised President "Wilson, "Wil-son, took a rap at former President Taft and scored Bryan. He denounced the German-Americans who are not true to tho American government and characterized their conduct as coming perilously near to treason. Addressing tho Now York business men who are in military training at Plattsburg, Roosevelt said: "For thirteen months America has played an ignoble part among the nations. na-tions. Wo have tamely submitted to seeing the weak, whom we had covenanted cove-nanted to protect, wronged. Wo have seen our own men, women and chil- drcn murdered on the high seas without with-out action on our part. Inasmuch as wo as a nation havo dono nothing whatevor for national dofenso during tho past thlrteon months, it is well that private Individuals should havo tried, however insufficiently, to provide pro-vide some kind of substitute for proper prop-er governmental action. "You men havo had to pay for tho privilege of learning how to servo your country. Fr ovcry one man like yourselves who can afford to come hero there aro a hundred equally good American citizens, equally patriotic, who would like to come and are unable un-able to. It is undemocratic that the young farmers, that the young hired man on the farm, that tlic hard working work-ing clerk or mechanic or day laborer, all of whom wish to serve the country as much as you do and aro as much entitled to the benefit of this camp as you are, should bo unable to attond such a camp. They cannot attond It unless the nation does as Switzerland has done and gives the opportunity for every generous ajul right-thinking American to learn by say six months' actual service In one year or two years how to do his duty to tho country coun-try If the need arises. Every man worth his salt will wish to come to theso camps. As for the professional pacificists and the poltroons and col-leee col-leee sissies who organize nence-at-anv- prlce societies, and the mero money getters and mero money spenders, they should be made to understand that they have got to render whatever service the country demands. "Under The Hnguo convention it was our bounden duty to take whatever what-ever action was necessary to prevent, and if not to prevent then to undo the hideous wrong that was dono to Belgium We have shirked this duty. We have shown a spirit so abject that German has deemed it safe to kill our women and children on the high seas As for the export of the munitions of war, it would be a base abandonment of morality to refuse to make these shipments Such a refusal is proposed only to favor the nation that sank tho Lusitanla and tho Arabic and committed com-mitted the crime against Belgium It Is an evil thing to practice a timid and selfish neutrality between right and wrong It is right for a private firm to furnish arms to the policeman police-man who puts down the thug, tho burglar, the white- slaver and the black hander, the burglar and the white slaver with weapons to be used agalnBt the policeman The analogy holds true in international life Let us furnish munitions to the men who, showing courage we have not shown, wish to rescue Belgium from subjection subjec-tion and spoliation and degradation. And let us encourage munition makers mak-ers so that we may be able to hold our own when the hour of peril comes to us in our turn, as assuredly it will come if we show ourselves too 'neutral' 'neu-tral' to speak a word on behalf of the weak who are wronged nnd too slothful sloth-ful and lazy to prepare to defend ourselves our-selves against wrong." Much of the foregoing undoubtedly refers to Taft and Bryan. Giving' his attention then to President Wilson, Roosevelt said. "I wish to make one comment on the statement so frenuentlv marin Mint we must stand by the president I heartily subscribe to this oti condition, condi-tion, and only on condition, that it is followed by tho statement 'so long as the president stands by the country ' "It is defensible to "state that we stand by the country, right or wrong It is indefensible for any freeman in a free republic to state that he will stand by any official, right or wrong, or by any ex-official. "There is even a stronger reason for demanding of every loyal citizen that nftcr the president has been given giv-en ample time to act rightly, and has either not acted at all or has acted wrongly, he shall be made to feel that' the citizens whom ho has elected to servo demand that he be loyal to the honor and to the Interests of the land. "Presidents differ, just like other folks. No man could effectively stand by President Lincoln unless he had stood against President Buchanan. Buchan-an. If, after tho firing on Sumter, President Lincoln had In public speech said that -tho believers in tho union were too proud to -fight, and If, instead of acting, there had been three months admirable, oluocution-ary oluocution-ary correspondence with Jefferson Davis, by midsummer tho friends of the union would have followed Horace Greeley's advice lo let erring sisters go in peace, for peace at that day was put above righteousness by some mistaken mis-taken souls, just as it is at the present day. "To trust elocution as a substitute for action, to rely upon high sounding sound-ing words, unless backed by deeds, Is proof of a mind that dwells only in tho realm of shadow and shame." That Is very strong language. The comparisons are well framed and cal-ciliated cal-ciliated to stir up a feeling of distrust, but, it Roosevelt were president, ho might not be so strenuous, though holding to his views, ho would be impelled im-pelled to drive this country rapidly in the direction of war. |