The Commoner
OCTOBBB, 1915
.President Addresses
Veterans
A special Washington dispatch to tho New
York Worfd, dated Sept. 28, says: Five thousand
G. A. R. veterang gathered in Camp Emery to
night to hear President Wilson address the sur
vivors of tho civil war at their annual encamp
ment. In the middle o tho address of the pres
ident there was a commotion In the rear of tho
hall between ushers and officers on one side and
old soldiers on the other, because the latter wero
not permitted to occupy vacant seats in front
after they had complained that they were unable
to hear the address.
For a time there was a shuffling of feet and
moving of chairs. One man in the middle of the
hall shouted that the veterans were leaving, but
another, wearing tho garb of the survivors, arose
in his chair and called for three cheers for the
president. These were given with a roar, and
quite was restored,
PRESIDENT EXTENDS WELCOME
President Wilson in his address said:
"I bid you a cordial welcome to the capital of
of the nation; and yet we feel that it is not neces
sary to bid you: welcome here because you know
that the welcome is always warm and always
waiting for you. One could not stand in this
presence without many moving thought. It la a
singular thing that men of a single generation
should have witnessed what you have witnessed
in the crowded fifty years which you celebrate to
night. You took, part when you were a young
man in the struggle the meaning of which I dare
say you thought would not be revealed during
your lifetime, and yet more has happened in the
making of this nation in your lifetime than has
ever happened in the making of any other nation
in the lifetime of a dozen generations.
"The natiqn. in which you now live Is not the
nation for whose union you fought. You have
seen many things which have made this nation
one of the representative nations of the world
with regard to the modern spirit of that world,
and you have the satisfaction which I dare say
few soldiers have ever had of looking back upon
a war absolutely unique in this that instead of
destroying it healed; that instead of making a
permanent division it made a permanent union.
"You have seen something more interesting
than that, because there is a sense in which the
things of the heart are more interesting than the
things of the mind. This nation was from the be
ginning a spiritual enterprise, and you have seen
the spirits otthe two once divided sections of this
country absolutely united. A war which seemed
as if it had the seed of every kind of bitter
ness in it has seen a single generation put bitter
ness absolutely out of its heart, and you feel, as
I am sure the men who fought against you feel,
that you were comrades even tnen, rhough you
did not know it, and that now you know that you
are comrades in a common love for a country
which you are equally eager to serve.
ALL MAY TAKE PRIDE
"This is a miracle of the spirit so far as na
tional history is concerned. This is one of the
very few wars in which In one sense everybody
engaged may take pride. Some wars are to bo
regretted; some wars mar the annals of history;
but some wars contrasted with those make theso
annals distinguished, show that the spirit of man
sometimes springs to great enterprises that are
even greater than his own mind had conceived.
"So it seems to me that standing in a presence
like this no man, whether ho be in the public
service or in the ranks of private citizens merely,
can fail to feel the challenge to his own heart,
can fail to feel the challenge to a new consecra
tion to the things we all believe in. The thing
that sinks deeper In my heart as I try to realize
tho memories that must be crowding upon you
is this, you set the nation fre$ for that great
career of development, of unhampered develop
ment, which the world has witnessed since the
civil war.
"But for my own. part I would not be proud
of the extraordinary physical development of this
country of Its extraordinary development in ma
terial wealth and financial power, did I not be
lieve that the people of the United States wished
all of this power devoted to ideal ends. There
have been other nations as rich as we; there
have "been other nations as powerful; there have
been other nations as spirited; bat I hone we
shal never forget that we cVeated this , nattolj
not to serve ourselves, but to serve mankind,
w J this country becauso it is my home,
tSL TlLlVehl home' u doe not suffice
that I should bo attached to it becauso it con
tains tho places and tho persons whom I love,
becauso it contains tho threads of my own life.
I hat does not suffice for patriotic duty.
I should love it, and I hopo I do love it, as a
great instrument for the uplift of mankind, and
what you gentlemen have to remind ua of as you
look back through a lifetime to tho great war
in which you took part in that you fought that
this instrument meant for tho service of man
kind should not be impaired either In Its mate
rial or in its spiritual power.
SPIRIT OF PEOPLE RULES
"I hopo I may say without even an implication
of criticism upon any other great people In tho
world that it has always seemed to mo that tho
people of the United States wished to be regard
ed as devoted to the promotion of particular
principles of human right. Tho United States
wero founded, not to provide free homes, but to
assert human rights.
"The flag meant a great enterprise of the hu
man spirit. Nobody, no large bodies of men, In
the time that flag was first set up believed with
a very firm belief in the efficacy of democracy.
Do you realize that only so long ago as the time
of the American revolution democracy was re
garded as an experiment In th world, and we
wero regarded as rash experimenters? But we
not only believed in It; we showed that our be
lief was well founded and that a nation as pow
erful aa any in the world could be erected upon,
tho will of the people; that, indeed, there waa
a power In such a nation that dwelt in no other
nation unless also ia that nation the spirit of
the people prevailed.
"Democracy Is the most difficult form of gov
ernment, becauso it Is the form under which
you have to persuade the largest number of per
sons to do anything in particular. But I think
wo wero the more pleased to undertake it be
causo it la difficult. Anybody can do what la
easy. We have shown that we could do what
was hard, and the pride that ought to dwell In
your hearts tonight is that you saw to it that
that experiment was brought to tho day of its
triumphant demonstration.
"We now know and the world knows that the
thing that we then undertook, rash as it seemed,
has been practicable, and that wo have set up in
tho world a government maintained and pro
moted by the general conscience and the general
conviction.
"So I stand here not to welcome you to tho
nation's capital as If I were your host, but mere
ly welcome you to your own capital, becauso I
am, and am proud to bo, your servant. I hopo I
shall catch, as I hopo we shall all catch, from the
spirit of this occasion, a new consecration to tho
high duties of American citizenship."
MR. BRYAN'S ATLANTA INTERVIEW
Following is a report of an interview pub
lished In the Atlanta Journal of October 7:
"William J. Bryan, who will speak from the
platform at the auditorium Thursday night on
"The Causeless War and Its Lessons." seated
in a comfortable chair at the Piedmont hotel
Thursday morning, discussed live topics relat
ing to American politics.
"The former secretary of state looked the pic
ture of robust health when he received a Journal
reporter shortly after reaching Atlanta from
Birmingham, where he spoke Wednesday night.
"The Interview began immediately, and ran
In this strain:
" 'Colonel Bryan, would you care to discuss
President Wilson's announcement of his purpose
to vote for woman suffrage in New Jersey?'
" 'I am very much gratified at the president's
announcement,' answered Colonel Bryan. 'I felt
sure that he would take that side when he was
ready to take a stand. His announcement will
greatly strengthen the cause of woman suffrage
in the four states in which It Is an Issue this
fall New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts and
Pennsvlvania.
" 'Woman suffrage Is growing very rapidly,
more rapidly in the north than In the south, but
I have no doubt the women will vote in prac
tically all the states in a few years
"Mr. Bryan .was asked if he agreed with the
president that woman suffrage is a question for
the states and not for the federal government to
decide. ..'am. l
" 'I agree that It is a state question at pres
ent, but it is likely to become a national ques
tion whenever cnoagh states adopt It to make II
provable that a aational aaicadmcnt weak! fe
ratified.
" 'Tho situation is tho same as in tho case ef
prohibition. If you will examine tho vote 1
congress on the prohibition araondmont you will
seo that its support camo from tho districts ia
which tho prohibition scntimont prevailed.
" 'I hopo that neither of theso amendments
(prohibition or woman suffrage) will onter into
tho next presidential campaign, but tho issue
will havo to bo met in national politics when tke
timo is ripe for them.'
" 'Would you care to give an expression as t
tho president's statement yesterday to the boar
of experts on preparedness?'
" 'No; I do not caro to discusH his position un
til ho expresses himself moro definitely as to the
nmount he desires appropriated for the army and
tho navy.
"When Colonel Bryan passed through Atlanta
last week enrouto to Nashville from Jacksonville
ho was asked by his interviewers:
" 'What of politics, Colonel Bryan; is there a
chance that you may be a candidate for tho dem
ocratic nomination?
" 'I have discussed that question fully ia Tke
Commoner, and if you don't read The Conmos
er you aro behind the times
"Thursday morning the attentloa of the form
er secretary of state waa called to the foregoing,
and ho was asked If he cared to elaborate apo
his aaswer to the question aa regarded his polit
ical future.
" 'Yea said he, 'I referred you to The Com
moner because I did not have time to answer
in full. To eave yog the trouble of looking up
Tho Commoner, I will repeat In substance what
I have said on several occasions, namely: That
the pi ass which I have made for the remainder
of my lifo include active participation in politic,
but do not include tho holding of any office.
" 'I enjoy the liberty of tho private citizen
and the opportunity to discuss not only pending
issues but approaching questions also, and I am
interested in many other subjects besides pol
itics, among them educational questions, ethical
questions, tho temperance question, Including
the legislative phase of' it, and religious que-
tiona.
" 'I expect to lecture enough to make what I
neqd.for my living expenses and I shall continue
In the future as in tho past to make more public
speeches, traveling at my own expense and
speaking without compensation, than lectures.
" 'This is all that I can say, and it covers all
reasonable requirements.
" 'I havo not felt it necessary to promise or
givo a pledge against any candidacy for office. I '
have simply slated my plans and expectations.
No friend would ask mo to go further and 1 do
not take counsel of thoso unfriendly In deciding
my course
"Colonel Bryan was asked whether he thought
tho one-term plank in the Baltimore platform
would be held up against the possible candidacy
of President Wilson for renomination.
" 'Writo out your question,' he suggested, and
it was written as follows:
" 'Do you think that the one-term plank of
tho Baltimore platform will be held against Mr.
Wilson?'
" 'I do not caro to discuss the president's con
nection with the next campaign until after he has
himself announced his Intentions he said, spoil
ing what gave promise of i real good story.
"Colonel Bryan expressed himself as very
much pleased that the dispute concerning the
sinking of the Arabic 'seems to havo been satis
factorily settled
Messrs. Borah, Cummins and Hartley are still
very active In nursing along their presidential
booms, serenely forgetful of the fact that the re
publican party has not tho remotest idea of going
west of the Mississippi for its presidential nom
inee. A party of the classes has no intention of
subjecting itself to the charge that it Is thinking
of going out to make a choice from that section
of the country where the people do their own
thinking.
Collier's declares that "peace may be had only
fcy thoso who are strong, those who aro willing
and prepared to fight-for it." Germany was
strong, it was willing and prepared to flght for
it; so were England, Austria, France, Russia and
a few other nations in Europe. Yet none of them
has peace, and none is likely to have peace soon.
Twaddle is a poor substitute for argument, but
the .militarists seem to complacently ignore th!
fact. . .
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