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The Commoner
VpL. 16, NO. 11
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in family fouds or in family greed, but in this
war tho families are mixed. The Emperor of
Germany, tho King of England, and tho Czar of
Russia are cousins, members of ono royal fam
ily, although you would nover suspect from tho
way thoy treat each other that they are closely
rolatcd by ties of blood.
And thero was no cause of war apparent on
tho surface. Within a month of tho beginning
of tho war tho rulers who are now fighting each
othor wcro visiting each other; thoy woro bolng
hospitably ontertained. When one of them had
a birthday, tho others all joined in wishing him
many happy returns of tho day. It would bo a
libel upon tho rulers now at war to say that they
know that a cause existed adequate to produce
such a war. For had they known of the exist
ence of such a causo, it would have boon their
duty to tholr subjects to lay asldo social festiv
ities and tho exchange of compliments that they
might join together and remove tho causo of
war. But without a race cause, a religious cause,
a family causo, or any cause visible tq tho pub
lic, this war began, and such a war as history
has never known! Thero must bo a causo and
it must bo a human cause, for no ono who loves
God would over blamo Him for this inhuman
war. It behooves us to And tho cause, that,
knowing the cause, wo may, by avoiding it, avoid
tho consequences.
I have tried to find tho causo of this war, and,
if my analysis of the situation is correct, tho
causo is to bo found in a false philosophy fn.
tho doctrine that "might makes right." This
doctrine was formerly proclaimed quite .pub
licly; now It is no longer openly proclaimed, but
it is sometimes practiced when the temptation
is sufllciont. Before you become excited while
you can yet reason, I appeal to you tos set tho
seal of your condemnation against this brutal,
barbarous doctrine that "might makes right."
And that you may see more clearly the import
ance of reaching a conclusion and proclaiming
it, I call your attention to the fact that there is
but ono code of morals known among men and
that is tho code that regulates individual life.
It this code of morals is not to be applied to na
tions, then thero is no moral codo which can bo
invoked for the regulation of international affairs.
Tho Way Out
No, they will not carry the war to the point
of annihilation, and if thoy did it would bo a
crimo against civilization. If they do not know
each othor, wo know them all, for their children
have come among us and have helped to make
this country what it is. Wo know that these ,
belligerent nations have reached their present'
positions through struggles that have lasted for
centuries and that each one has a priceless con
tribution to make to the future of the world.
God might have made all tho flowers of one color
and with a single fragrance, but tho world would
not have been as attractive had Ho done bo.
And so God might have made all the nations with
one history and a single language, but I believe
that tho world is better for their rivalries and
their competitions; they together constitute ono
resplendent political bouquet.
Some think that if tho war does not go on.
until annihilation takes place It must at least
go on until one side is so completely triumphant
that it can dictate the terms of peace, compel tho
acceptance of those terms, and thereafter main
tain tho peace of Europe by the sword. But when
we consider the immense masses of men on either
side this thought is almost as idle as the thought
of annihilation, and it will not brighten the tu
turo if as result of this war one nation or group
of nations emerges from the conflict master on
land or sea.
If thero is ono lesson which history teaches
moro clearly than any other it is that nations
which aspiro to mere physical supremacy have
no hope of immortality; the fact that they put
their faith in force is proof that they have in
them tho seeds of death. The pathway of hu
man progress is lined with the wrecks of empires
which, "when at tho zenith of their power,
thought themselves invincible.
What the world needs is not a despot to fix
the terms upQn which the rest Bhall live; ite
great nped is that these nationa shall be brought
together in a spirit of friendship and fellowship
"iihat they may oo-operate in working out the
r 'destiny of Europe. If this nation .has any influ-
"fene'ep&lAt iHfluence.anust-beexorted .to bring the
warring' riationfe together and notvto -encourage
them in tho false hopo that a permanent peace
can be built on force or fear
All of the rulers of thenations at war tell ua
that they did not want tho war and did not causo
it, but none of-them tell us how it Can bo brought
to an end. Have ndt these neutral nations, all
of whom bear burdeiiB though they are not to
blame, a right to know what it is that, being
done, peace may be restored? For what are the
nations fighting not in general terms but spe
cifically? Is it territory that they want, then
how much and whee is it located? Is it blood
that thoy demand, 'then how much moro blood
must bo shed to avenge the blood already shed?
If they will not answer the neutral nations, will
they not make answor to tlreir own people? Tho
day will come when this accumulated sorrow will
overflow when this pent-up anguish will find,
a voice and then, if not before, the rulers must
answer that stern question that shakes thrones
and Axes the farthermost limits of arbitrary
power "Why do wo die?"
Tho Peace Treaty Plan
Europe has had machinery for war, but not
for peace. The nations of Europe could go to
war in a minute, but they were not sufficiently
supplied with machinery for the adjustment of
difficulties that defied diplomatic settlement.
And we can not be harsh in our criticism be
cause, until recently, this nation was almost as
poorly supplied as the European nations with
the machinery for the preservation of p.eace Un
til within four years our best treaties were those .
known as the "Arbitration Treaties" and they
had two serious defects. First, they only ran
five years and then died. And when one of these
treaties died it had to be renewed by the same
formalities required for its negotiation. It had
to be ratified by two-thirds of the senate, which
meant that though the President might desire
to continue it and though a majority of the sen
ate might desire to continue it, the extension of
its life could be prevented if a minority of tho
senate, more than one-third, objected. But a
still moro serious defect was found in the fact
that these treaties did not cover all questions
they excepted question of honor, questions of
Independence, vital interests and interests of
third parties, the very questions out of which
wars are apt to grow. When a man is angry
every question is a question of honor, every in-
terest a vital interest. Man angry is a very dif-
ferent animal from man calm; when a man is
angry he swaggers about and talks about what
he CAN do, and he generally overestimates it.
When he is calm he thinks about what he
OUGHT to do and listens to the voice of con
science. We now have thirty treaties with nations rep
resenting three-fourths of the world and these
treaties cure the defects of which I have spoken. .
In the first place, instead of dying at the end of
five years they never die. They run on and on
until twelye months after one side or the other
has asked that they be discontinued. I believe
that neither side will ever ask that these treaties
be discontinued. I have- such faith in these
treaties that I believe that a thousand years from.,
now the name of Woodrow Wilson and my name,
will be linked together in the capitals, of the
world and that these treaties will preserve the
peace of our nation by furnishing machinery by
which peace can be preserved with honor.
But what is more important than length of
life, these treaties CONTAIN NO EXCEPTIONS;
they cover ALL disputes of every kind and char
acter. Each one of these thirty treaties provides
that every dispute that defies diplomatic settle
ment, if not by some other treaty submitted for
final settlement, must be submitted to an inter
national commission for investigation and re
port. Each one of these thirty treaties also pro
vides that the period of investigation may last a
year, and each one of these treaties further pro
vides that during the period of investigation
neither side shall declare war or begin hostil
ities. Here are three provisions, new to treaty
making, which reduce, war between us,andthe
contracting parties to a remote possibility.
position and turn over to some other nan
opportunity such 'as never came to any ivih
before and may never come again! ion
Then, too, we are the next of kin to all th
nations nqw at war; they are blood of our l in ,
and bone 6f our bone. Not a soldier boy f a
any battlefield over yonder but the wail of
row in his home finds an echo at some Amerind
fireside, and these nations have a right to
pect that we will remain the friend of all nifi
be In position to play the part of a friend when
a f fiend can aid. U1
Some nation must point the way to an endnr
ing peace built on love and brotherhoou
and I crave that honor for this nation. Mori
glorious than any page of history that has vet
been written will be the page that records our
claim to the promise made to the peacemakers
This is the day for which the ages have been
waiting. For nineteen hundred years the gospel
of the Prince of Peace has been making its ma
jestic march around the world, and during these
centuries the philosophy of the Sermon on the
Mount has become more and more the rule of
daily life. It only remains to lift that code of
morals from tho level of the individual and make
it real in the law of nations, and this, I believe,
is the task that God has reserved for the United
States.
We are less hampered by precedent than other
nations and therefore more free to act. I up.
preciate 'the value of precedent what higher
tribute can I pay it than to say that it is as uni
versal as the law of gravitation and as necessary
to stability? And yet the law of gravitation con
trols only inanimate nature everything that
lives is in constant combat with the law of grav
itation. The tiniest insect that creeps upon the
ground wins a victory over i't every time it
moves; even the slender blade of grass sings a
song of triumph over this universal law as it lifts
itself up toward the sun. So every step in hu-
man progress breaks the law of precedent. Prece
dent lives in the past it relies on memory; be
cause a thing never was, precedent declares that
it can never be. Progress walks by faith and
dares to try the things that ought to be.
This, too, in the leading, Christian nation. Wo
give more' money every year to carry the gospel
to those who live under other flags than any
other nation now living or that has lived. The
two reasons combine to fix the eyes of the world
upon us as the one nation which is at liberty to
lead the way from the blood-stained methods of
the past out into the larger and better day.
We must not disappoint the hopes which our
ideals and achievements have excited. If I know
the heart of the American people they are not
willing that this supreme opportunity shall pass
by unimproved. No, the metropolitan press is
not the voice of the nation; you can no more
measure the sentiment of the peace-loving
masses- by the froth of the jingo press than you
can measure the ocean's silent depths by the
foam upon its waves.'
Our Nation's Opportunity
Westand at the head of the neutral nations;
the world looks to us to act as mediator irnen
the time for mediation comes. If, forany rea
son mo onatter -what that reason may bo, we,en--ter?-thiswar,-we
must step: down from onrhigh
CHRIST BEFORE PILATE
There is a picture that has attra'cHety comment
wfierever it has been -exhibited the picture of
Christ before Pilate. Pilate represented the
power of the Roman government, and back of
him were the legions of Rome. Before Pilate,
helpless, unarmed, stood the Apostle of Love.
Forge triumphed; they nailed Him to the tree,
and those who stood around mocked and jeered
and said, "He is dead!" But that, instead of
being the end, was only the beginning. In a few
centuries the power of Caebar was gone and lus
legions forgotten. The power of Christ, how
ever, increased until hundreds,-yes, thousands
of millions have taken His name with reverence
upon their lips; and millions have been ready to
die rather than surrender the faith Ho put into
their hearts. He has become the great fact oi
history, the growing figure of all time. Tocia
Christ and Pilate .again stand face to face orca
and Love are aain striving for mastery am do
minion. The old world represents force. It oui.i
its hope of peace pn fear andlhreats of violence.
Each nation attempted to terrorize other nauoi
into peace, and in their efforts they engenaereu
hatreds -that ended in war.
If the nations now at war had spent one-tentn
as much trying to cultivate friendship as tnej
have spent.in cultiYating,hatredylhere woum
no war in Europe today.
(From St; Louis-Convention Speech, 101)
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