Possible to cut Turkish Empire in two.
Petrograd advices at the time of writing (March 9th) state that the Grand Duke's main army is making for the Gulf of Alexandretta with intent to cut the Turkish Empire in two. This is not only possible, but highly probable, and the echelon formation of the Allies, together with the configuration of the country, lends itself to such an operation. The British army in Egypt and the British fleet could in such an eventuality coöperate to advantage.
Russians must take Trebizond.
Turks will endeavor to hold Armenian Taurus.
The road that Xenophon traveled.
As a preliminary the Russians must clear their right wing by capturing Trebizond and utilizing it as a sea base. Asia Minor is a high tableland, in shape like the sole of a boot turned upside down, with the highlands of Armenia representing the heel. The Turks, having lost their only base and headquarters at Erzerum, have now to rush troops, guns, and stores from Constantinople to the railhead at Angora and endeavor to rally their defeated forces to the east of Sivas. In the meantime, the Russians will have overrun some 250 miles of Turkish territory before they are held up even temporarily. The Turkish army in Syria will be rushed to Diarbekr to rally their defeated right wing and endeavor to hold the Armenian Taurus Mountains against the Grand Duke's left wing. If the Russians break through here, then all is lost to the Turks in the south. They, however, have a most difficult task before them, because the hills here reach their highest. There is a road of sorts, because we know that Xenophon in ancient times traveled it with his 10,000 Greeks, and the Turks did the same recently, when they sent reinforcements to Bagdad. Both must have traveled light, and the Russians will have to do the same. This means that the Turks on the south will be better supplied with guns than their opponents, whowill have to rely once more on their bayonets.
British forces in the south ample.
The Tigris and other available routes.
Plans of the British army.
Russian and British forces would join.
In the extreme south the British have ample force now to carry out their part of the contract. We know that some 80,000 veteran Indian troops have arrived from France, as well as other large reinforcements from India. It is unlikely that these will all proceed up the Tigris River, because sufficient troops are already there who are restricted to a narrow front, owing to the salt marshes between the bend of the river and the Persian mountains. Two other routes are available, the Shat-el-Hai from Nasiriyeh to relieve the garrison at Kut-el-Amara from the south, and the Euphrates River, to attack Bagdad from the southwest, while the Russian flying wing at Kermanshah threatens it from the northeast. The Turkish report of heavy fighting at Nasiriyeh would indicate that one or both of these routes were being taken. Athens reports that Bagdad is about to fall. As it falls, a British flotilla will ascend the Euphrates and make direct for Aleppo. The British army from Kut-el-Amara and the Russians from Kermanshah will, after the fall of Bagdad—which is a foregone conclusion—ascend the Tigris River to Mosul, where they may be expected to get in touch with the other Russian flying wing from the Lake Urumia district. The combined force will then be in a position to force a junction with the Grand Duke's left wing, and then continue their advance on Aleppo.
Turkish army might retire to defend the Taurus passage.
Should the main army of the Grand Duke, as reported, converge on the Gulf of Alexandretta with intent to destroy the Turkish southern army, then the latter would be in a very dangerous position, because their northern army being, as yet, without a base or organization, is not in a position to take the offensive to assist them. If, on the other hand, theTurkish army of the south declines battle at Aleppo and retires to defend the Taurus passage, after abandoning half their Empire to the Allies, the latter will, if they have not previously anticipated it, have a difficult problem to solve as to how they are going to get their large forces in the south over the Taurus range to assist the Grand Duke in the final struggle. The forcing of the Taurus passage will mean fighting on a narrow front and will take time.
So far this campaign had been conducted as one of India's little wars, which come as regularly as intermittent fever.
The Russians enter Armenia and later withdraw.
When Turkey entered the war she reckoned that Russia was so busy on the German and Austrian frontiers as to be unable to meet an attack in her rear. Turkey thereupon concentrated her main armies at Erzerum and invaded Caucasia. The Russians beat them back and entered Armenia, where the inhabitants assisted them. The same cause which led to the retirement from Poland—shortage of ammunition—compelled the Russians also to withdraw from Armenia.
Britain's reverse at Gallipoli.
Contemporary with these events, Britain met with a severe reverse on the Gallipoli peninsula, which likewise injured her prestige in the East.
An Anglo-Russian campaign from Kurna to the Black Sea.
It became a matter of first importance with both Britain and Russia that they should not only reinstate their prestige in the East in striking fashion, but that they should end once and for all time German intrigue and Turkish weakness in the East. These considerations were contributing factors in bringing about a joint war council and an Allied Grand Staff. The latter immediately took hold of the military situation in Asiatic Turkey, and the isolated operations of Britain and Russia in these parts now changed into a great Anglo-Russian campaign stretching from the junction of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers to the Black Sea.
The drama unfolding before us promises to be one of the most sensational in the great world war. The end of the Ottoman Empire appears in sight. Its heirs and successors may be the other great Moslem powers—Britain, Russia, France, and Italy. The last two have yet to be heard from on the western shores of Asia Minor.
The possible future.
The future may see the British in possession of Turkey's first capital, Mosul; the French in possession of their second capital, Konia; the Russians in possession of their third and last capital, Constantinople, and the Italians occupying Smyrna. Each of these powers is a Mohammedan empire in itself; and the greatest Moslem country in the world is the British Empire.
Britain may be stronger than ever in the East.
The Moslems in India not only approve of the idea of removing the Sheik-Ul-Islam, head of the Mohammedan creed, from Constantinople to Delhi or Cairo, under British protection, but the head of their church in India volunteered as a private soldier to fight in France, and is now with the Anglo-Indian army in Mesopotamia. It would seem as if Britain and Russia, at the end of this war, would find themselves stronger than ever in the East.
Copyright, American Review of Reviews, April, 1916.
Great Britain suffered one of her greatest losses during the war on June 7, 1916, when the cruiserHampshire, on board of which was Earl Kitchener on his way to Russia, was sunk by a German mine or torpedo. Over 300 lives were lost in this disaster. Earl Kitchener had been throughout the war the chief force in raising and training the British army, and to his ability and zeal was due largely the great feats of landing large numbers of British troops in France within a time which in the period of peace would have been considered impossible.
Lord Kitchener a mystery to the outside world.
Fond of old friends.
To the outside world Lord Kitchener was something of a mystery; they knew little of him personally, he shunned publicity, he was not a seeker after popularity. Though he had few personal friends, he was endeared to that chosen few in a way unique and rare. He was shy and reserved about the deep things of life, but a charming companion in ordinary ways—very amusing and agreeable. He had a great sense of humor, and his rapid intuition gave him a wonderful insight into character, and he soon arrived at a just estimate of people, and of the motives of those with whom he came into contact. He did not make many new friends, and the people who knew him well, and with whom his holidays or hours of relaxation were passed, were confined to those he had known for many years. He always impressed one with a deep sense of decency in conversation and conduct; one felt in talking to him how impossible it would be to drift into the easy-going discussion of questions and problems of our modern life, and it seemed impossible to imagine his taking a silent acquiescence in the jokes and insinuations which are not considered now extraordinary or unpleasant.
Economy in expenditure in Egypt.
Kitchener's unsparing activity in South Africa.
Lord Kitchener's strength lay in the fact that his views broadened as he went on in life. As long as he was confined to Egypt and had to carry out his task with the minimum of force and expenditure, he was careful even to penuriousness,and his subordinates groaned under his exacting economy; but he was justified in his care by the wonderful development of the country devolving from his unsparing activity. When he went to South Africa with a great staff and unlimited funds, he took a new departure. He worked himself unceasingly, and exacted the same from those around him, but he recognized inevitable limitations and was most considerate.
Medical aid for Egyptian women organized.
Trained English nurses sent to Egypt.
Lives of babies saved.
Expected to return to Egypt.
Ceaseless activity characterized his work in Egypt, when he went there after failing to be appointed Viceroy of India, which most of his friends anticipated, and which he would have accepted. Perhaps Egypt was a disappointment after the wider sphere India presented, but nothing ever prevented him from doing what came to him to do and giving his best to it. When he returned there, the question of infant mortality and the unhygienic condition of Egyptian women during child-bearing, from the neglect and ignorance of the most elementary measures, came under his observation, and he was deeply interested in devising means of providing medical treatment for them, and of training native women in midwifery and all that would conduce to improving the conditions under which they lived. He enlisted the sympathy and interest of the wives of officials, and of Englishwomen in Egypt, and carried out a scheme which in itself was a wonderful example of what his interest and driving power could accomplish. These women whose help he enlisted could tell endless stories of the task he set them to do and his tacit refusal to listen to any difficulties that arose in carrying it out. A number of trained English nurses were despatched to Egypt and sent to different localities, where they gave training to a large number of native women in midwifery and kindred subjects. The scheme was a great success,and the benefit it has been to thousands of native women is indescribable, as regards both their general treatment and the care of themselves and their children at birth. Little was known about the subject in England, and much less about all that was done to mitigate the evil; but it was a wonderful piece of administration, though perhaps not one that appealed specially to him; and when some one, knowing what had been achieved, congratulated him on his success and the boon it was to the women in Egypt, his characteristic reply was: "I am told I have saved the lives of ten thousand babies. I suppose that is something to have done." At that time, only a fortnight before the prospect of war seemed possible, he was talking with the keenest interest of his return to Egypt and of what he had still to do there.
The dinner at Lord French's.
There are incidents in life which leave lasting impressions, and one of a large dinner at Lord French's about the same time, at which Lord K., Lord Haldane, and others were present, comes to my mind; probably no one there but those three men had an idea of the threatening cloud which broke in so short a time over England, and the important part two of them would take in it. Lord K., as the world knows, was on the point of returning to Egypt; in fact, he had started when he was recalled, almost on board the steamer at Dover.
The country expects Lord Kitchener to head the War Office.
The two questions which moved the soul of the English people to its deepest depth were, undoubtedly, what part the country was going to take when it was realized that war was inevitable, and, after that, who was to preside at the War Office. There might have been hesitation on the one point; on the other there was none, and the silent, deep determination with which the people waited to be told that Lord Kitchener was to be Secretary of Statefor War can only be realized by those who went through those anxious days. There was never a doubt or hesitation in the mind of the country that Lord K. was the only person who could satisfy its requirements, and the acclamation with which the news flashed through the country when he was appointed Secretary of State for War was overwhelming, while those who were thrown into contact with him give a marvelous account of the cool, rapid, and soldier-like way in which he accepted the great position. He quickly installed himself at the War Office, even to sleeping there, so that he was ever at the call of his office, and lived there till Lady Wantage placed her house in Carlton Gardens, close by, at his disposal. Later on the King offered him St. James's Palace, and those neighbors who rose early enough saw him daily start off on his morning walk to his office, where he remained all day.
Lord Kitchener's arduous two years.
The last two crowded years of Lord Kitchener's life, full of their anxieties and responsibilities, had not changed him; but though he had aged, and the constant strain had told on him, he had altered outwardly but little. The office life was irksome, and the want of exercise to a man of his active habits very trying, for he hardly ever left London except for an occasional week-end at Broome. His intended visit to Russia was not known, and, like so many of his visits to France and the army at the front, were only made public after his return. Those who saw him that last week and knew of his going, tell how he longed for the change and how eagerly he looked forward to his holiday.
The great task completed.
The farewell visit to the King and to the Grand Fleet.
The last few months, with the controversies over conscription, had harassed him. He was not a keen believer in the conscript principle; he was more than justified in his preference for a voluntary army by the response he hadreceived on his appeal to the manhood of England. There was a wonderful completion of the task he had undertaken in those last few days. He had raised his millions, and the country had accepted the inevitable imposition of compulsion, and with it that chapter of his life was finished. He had met the House of Commons, and, uncertain as the result of that conference was, like all he did, it was one of his greatest successes. He had no indecision when it was proposed to him that he should meet the Commons, and, as was always the case, the result was never in doubt. What passed has never been divulged, but he left an impression on the two hundred members who were present which was perhaps one of the best tributes ever paid him. After his farewell to the King, his last visit to Broome and to Sir John Jellicoe and the Grand Fleet, he set sail for the shore he never reached, and the end had come. It was perhaps the most perfect end of such a life—a life full of high endeavor and completion. The service he had rendered his country by raising her armies and foreseeing the probable duration of the war could not have been performed by any other living man. If, as his critics say, he depended too much on his own individual endeavors, he was not to be blamed when we read day by day of the glorious deeds of the armies he had created.
The country staggered under the blow of his death, and one can never forget the silent grief and dismay of that dreadful day with its horrible tragedy. The grief was universal and personal, and the tributes to his work and memory were spoken from the heart by the great leaders of both parties. No more touching and pathetic tribute was ever said than the speech made by Lord Derby in the House of Lords on the resolution in reference to his death. There is not one word to be alteredfrom beginning to end, but the concluding words must go to every heart and find an echo:
The whole machinery of the new armies in running order.
Lord Kitchener said good-by to the nation at a moment when he left the whole of the machinery of the great armies that he had created in running order, and when it only required skilled engineers to keep going his work. It was really as if Providence in its wisdom had given him the rest he never would have given to himself.
With the memory of a great naval battle fresh in our minds we must all realize how rich a harvest of death the sea has reaped. We in these islands from time immemorial had paid a heavy toll to the sea for our insular security, but, speaking as the friend of a friend, I can say that the sea never executed a heavier toll than when Lord Kitchener, coffined in a British man-of-war, passed to the Great Beyond.
Copyright, Harper's Magazine, October, 1916.
How and why America joined with the Allies against Germany in April, 1917, is told in the three articles following. The summaries contained therein are official, and the war message of President Wilson condenses the reasons which impelled the United States, after long delay, to throw the force of its strength and resources against the German Empire.
Germany proclaims ruthless submarine warfare.
The Imperial German Government on the 31st day of January announced to this Government and to the Governments of the other neutral nations that on and after the 1st day of February, the present month, it would adopt a policy with regard to the use of submarines against all shipping seeking to pass through certain designated areas of the high seas, to which it is clearly my duty to call your attention.
TheSussexcase.
Let me remind the Congress that on the 18th of April last, in view of the sinking on the 24th of March of the cross-channel steamshipSussexby a German submarine without summons or warning, and the consequent loss of lives of several citizens of the United States who were passengers aboard her, this Government addressed a note to the Imperial German Government, in which it made the following statement:
The note to the Imperial German Government.
"If it is still the purpose of the Imperial German Government to prosecute relentless and indiscriminate warfare against vessels of commerce by the use of submarines without regard to what the Government of the United States must consider the sacred and indisputable rules of international law and the universally recognized dictates of humanity, the Government of the United States is at last forced to the conclusion that there is but one course it can pursue. Unless the Imperial Governmentshould now immediately declare and effect an abandonment of its present methods of submarine warfare against passenger and freight carrying vessels, the Government of the United States can have no choice but to sever diplomatic relations with the German Empire altogether."
In reply to this declaration the Imperial German Government gave this Government the following assurance:
Germany's assurances to the United States.
"The German Government is prepared to do its utmost to confine the operations of war for the rest of its duration to the fighting forces of the belligerents, thereby also insuring the freedom of the seas, a principle upon which the German Government believes now, as before, to be in agreement with the Government of the United States.
Promises that merchant vessels shall not be sunk without warning.
"The German Government, guided by this idea, notifies the Government of the United States that the German naval forces have received the following orders: In accordance with the general principles of visit and search and destruction of merchant vessels recognized by international law, such vessels, both within and without the area declared a naval war zone, shall not be sunk without warning and without saving human lives, unless these ships attempt to escape or offer resistance.
"But," it added, "neutrals cannot expect that Germany, forced to fight for her existence, shall, for the sake of neutral interest, restrict the use of an effective weapon if her enemy is permitted to continue to apply at will methods of warfare violating the rules of international law. Such a demand would be incompatible with the character of neutrality, and the German Government is convinced that the Government of the United States does not think of making such a demand, knowing that the Government of the United States has repeatedlydeclared that it is determined to restore the principle of the freedom of the seas, from whatever quarter it has been violated."
To this the Government of the United States replied on the 8th of May, accepting, of course, the assurance given, but adding:
The reply of the United States.
Rights of American citizens do not depend on conduct of another government.
"The Government of the United States feels it necessary to state that it takes it for granted that the Imperial German Government does not intend to imply that the maintenance of its newly announced policy is in any way contingent upon the course or result of diplomatic negotiations between the Government of the United States and any other belligerent Government, notwithstanding the fact that certain passages in the Imperial Government's note of the 4th inst. might appear to be susceptible of that construction. In order, however, to avoid any misunderstanding, the Government of the United States notifies the Imperial Government that it cannot for a moment entertain, much less discuss, a suggestion that respect by German naval authorities for the rights of citizens of the United States upon the high seas should in any way or in the slightest degree be made contingent upon the conduct of any other Government, affecting the rights of neutrals and noncombatants. Responsibility in such matters is single, not joint, absolute, not relative."
To this note of the 8th of May the Imperial German Government made no reply.
On the 31st of January, the Wednesday of the present week, the German Ambassador handed to the Secretary of State, along with a formal note, a memorandum which contained the following statement:
"The Imperial Government therefore does not doubt that the Government of the United States will understand the situation thus forced upon Germany by the Entente Allies' brutal methods of war and by their determination to destroythe Central Powers, and that the Government of the United States will further realize that the now openly disclosed intention of the Entente Allies gives back to Germany the freedom of action which she reserved in her note addressed to the Government of the United States on May 4, 1916.
Germany will sink all ships within zone proclaimed.
"Under these circumstances, Germany will meet the illegal measures of her enemies by forcibly preventing, after February 1, 1917, in a zone around Great Britain, France, Italy, and in the Eastern Mediterranean, all navigation, that of neutrals included, from and to England and from and to France, &c. All ships met within the zone will be sunk."
I think that you will agree with me that, in view of this declaration, which suddenly and without prior intimation of any kind deliberately withdraws the solemn assurance given in the Imperial Government's note of the 4th of May, 1916, this Government has no alternative consistent with the dignity and honor of the United States but to take the course which, in its note of the 18th of April, 1916, it announced that it would take in the event that the German Government did not declare and effect an abandonment of the methods of submarine warfare which it was then employing and to which it now purposes again to resort.
Diplomatic relations with Germany are severed.
I have therefore directed the Secretary of State to announce to his Excellency the German Ambassador that all diplomatic relations between the United States and the German Empire are severed and that the American Ambassador to Berlin will immediately be withdrawn; and, in accordance with this decision, to hand to his Excellency his passports.
Hard to believe Germany will carry out threats.
Notwithstanding this unexpected action of the German Government, this sudden and deplorable renunciation of its assurances, giventhis Government at one of the most critical moments of tension in the relations of the two Governments, I refuse to believe that it is the intention of the German authorities to do in fact what they have warned us they will feel at liberty to do. I cannot bring myself to believe that they will indeed pay no regard to the ancient friendship between their people and our own or to the solemn obligations which have been exchanged between them, and destroy American ships and take the lives of American citizens in the willful prosecution of the ruthless naval program they have announced their intention to adopt. Only actual overt acts on their part can make me believe it even now.
If this inveterate confidence on my part in the sobriety and prudent foresight of their purpose should unhappily prove unfounded; if American ships and American lives should in fact be sacrificed by their naval commanders in heedless contravention on the just and reasonable understandings of international law and the obvious dictates of humanity, I shall take the liberty of coming again before the Congress to ask that authority be given me to use any means that may be necessary for the protection of our seamen and our people in the prosecution of their peaceful and legitimate errands on the high seas. I can do nothing less. I take it for granted that all neutral Governments will take the same course.
America does not desire war with Germany.
We do not desire any hostile conflict with the Imperial German Government. We are the sincere friends of the German people, and earnestly desire to remain at peace with the Government which speaks for them. We shall not believe that they are hostile to us unless and until we are obliged to believe it; and we purpose nothing more than the reasonable defense of the undoubted rights of our people.We wish to serve no selfish ends. We seek merely to stand true alike in thought and in action to the immemorial principles of our people, which I have sought to express in my address to the Senate only two weeks ago—seek merely to vindicate our rights to liberty and justice and an unmolested life. These are the bases of peace, not war. God grant that we may not be challenged to defend them by acts of willful injustice on the part of the Government of Germany!
Reasons for addressing Congress.
I have again asked the privilege of addressing you because we are moving through critical times during which it seems to me to be my duty to keep in close touch with the houses of Congress, so that neither counsel nor action shall run at cross-purposes between us.
On the 3rd of February I officially informed you of the sudden and unexpected action of the Imperial German Government in declaring its intention to disregard the promises it had made to this Government in April last and undertake immediate submarine operations against all commerce, whether of belligerents or of neutrals, that should seek to approach Great Britain and Ireland, the Atlantic coasts of Europe, or the harbors of the Eastern Mediterranean and to conduct those operations without regard to the established restrictions of international practice, without regard to any considerations of humanity even which might interfere with their object.
The German ruthless policy in practice.
That policy was forthwith put into practice. It has now been in active exhibition for nearly four weeks. Its practical results are not fully disclosed. The commerce of other neutral nations is suffering severely, but not, perhaps, very much more severely than it was already suffering before the 1st of February, when the new policy of the Imperial Government was put into operation.
American commerce suffers.
We have asked the cooperation of the other neutral Governments to prevent these depredations, but I fear none of them has thought it wise to join us in any common course of action. Our own commerce has suffered, is suffering, rather in apprehension than in fact, rather because so many of our ships are timidly keeping to their home ports than because American ships have been sunk.
American vessels sunk.
Two American vessels have been sunk, theHousatonicand theLyman M. Law. The case of theHousatonic, which was carrying foodstuffs consigned to a London firm, was essentially like the case of theFrye, in which, it will be recalled, the German Government admitted its liability for damages, and the lives of the crew, as in the case of theFrye, were safeguarded with reasonable care.
The case of theLaw, which was carrying lemon-box staves to Palermo, discloses a ruthlessness of method which deserves grave condemnation, but was accompanied by no circumstances which might not have been expected at any time in connection with the use of the submarine against merchantmen as the German Government has used it.
Congestion of shipping in American ports.
In sum, therefore, the situation we find ourselves in with regard to the actual conduct of the German submarine warfare against commerce and its effects upon our own ships and people is substantially the same that it was when I addressed you on the 3rd of February, except for the tying up of our shipping in our own ports because of the unwillingness of our ship owners to risk their vessels at sea without insurance or adequate protection, and the very serious congestion of our commerce which has resulted—a congestion which is growing rapidly more and more serious every day.
This, in itself, might presently accomplish, in effect, what the new German submarine orderswere meant to accomplish, so far as we are concerned. We can only say, therefore, that the overt act which I have ventured to hope the German commanders would in fact avoid has not occurred.
Indications that German ruthlessness will continue.
But while this is happily true, it must be admitted that there have been certain additional indications and expressions of purpose on the part of the German press and the German authorities which have increased rather than lessened the impression that, if our ships and our people are spared, it will be because of fortunate circumstances or because the commanders of the German submarines which they may happen to encounter exercise an unexpected discretion and restraint, rather than because of the instructions under which those commanders are acting.
Situation full of danger.
It would be foolish to deny that the situation is fraught with the gravest possibilities and dangers. No thoughtful man can fail to see that the necessity for definite action may come at any time if we are, in fact and not in word merely, to defend our elementary rights as a neutral nation. It would be most imprudent to be unprepared.
I cannot in such circumstances be unmindful of the fact that the expiration of the term of the present Congress is immediately at hand by constitutional limitation and that it would in all likelihood require an unusual length of time to assemble and organize the Congress which is to succeed it.
The President asks for authority.
I feel that I ought, in view of that fact, to obtain from you full and immediate assurance of the authority which I may need at any moment to exercise. No doubt I already possess that authority without special warrant of law, by the plain implication of my constitutional duties and powers; but I prefer in the present circumstances not to act upongeneral implication. I wish to feel that the authority and the power of the Congress are behind me in whatever it may become necessary for me to do. We are jointly the servants of the people and must act together and in their spirit, so far as we can divine and interpret it.
Necessary to defend commerce and lives.
No one doubts what it is our duty to do. We must defend our commerce and the lives of our people in the midst of the present trying circumstances with discretion but with clear and steadfast purpose. Only the method and the extent remain to be chosen, upon the occasion, if occasion should indeed arise.
Diplomatic means fail.
Since it has unhappily proved impossible to safeguard our neutral rights by diplomatic means against the unwarranted infringements they are suffering at the hands of Germany, there may be no recourse but to armed neutrality, which we shall know how to maintain and for which there is abundant American precedent.
It is devoutly to be hoped that it will not be necessary to put armed forces anywhere into action. The American people do not desire it, and our desire is not different from theirs. I am sure that they will understand the spirit in which I am now acting, the purpose I hold nearest my heart and would wish to exhibit in everything I do.
Mr. Wilson the friend of peace.
I am anxious that the people of the nations at war also should understand and not mistrust us. I hope that I need give no further proofs and assurances than I have already given throughout nearly three years of anxious patience that I am the friend of peace and mean to preserve it for America so long as I am able. I am not now proposing or contemplating war or any steps that need lead to it. I merely request that you will accord me by your own vote and definite bestowal the meansand the authority to safeguard in practice the right of a great people, who are at peace and who are desirous of exercising none but the rights of peace, to follow the pursuit of peace in quietness and good-will—rights recognized time out of mind by all the civilized nations of the world.
America not seeking war.
No course of my choosing or of theirs will lead to war. War can come only by the willful acts and aggressions of others.
You will understand why I can make no definite proposals or forecasts of action now and must ask for your supporting authority in the most general terms. The form in which action may become necessary cannot yet be foreseen.
Merchant ships should be supplied with defensive arms.
I believe that the people will be willing to trust me to act with restraint, with prudence, and in the true spirit of amity and good faith that they have themselves displayed throughout these trying months; and it is in that belief that I request that you will authorize me to supply our merchant ships with defensive arms should that become necessary, and with the means of using them, and to employ any other instrumentalities or methods that may be necessary and adequate to protect our ships and our people in their legitimate and peaceful pursuits on the seas. I request also that you will grant me at the same time, along with the powers I ask, a sufficient credit to enable me to provide adequate means of protection where they are lacking, including adequate insurance against the present war risks.
I have spoken of our commerce and of the legitimate errands of our people on the seas, but you will not be misled as to my main thought—the thought that lies beneath these phrases and gives them dignity and weight. It is not of material interest merely that we are thinking. It is, rather, of fundamentalhuman rights, chief of all the rights of life itself.
To protect the lives of noncombatants.
I am thinking not only of the right of Americans to go and come about their proper business by way of the sea, but also of something much deeper, much more fundamental than that. I am thinking of those rights of humanity without which there is no civilization. My theme is of those great principles of compassion and of protection which mankind has sought to throw about human lives, the lives of noncombatants, the lives of men who are peacefully at work keeping the industrial processes of the world quick and vital, the lives of women and children and of those who supply the labor which ministers to their sustenance. We are speaking of no selfish material rights, but of rights which our hearts support and whose foundation is that righteous passion for justice upon which all law, all structures alike of family, of State, and of mankind must rest, as upon the ultimate base of our existence and our liberty.
I cannot imagine any man with American principles at his heart hesitating to defend these things.
The Monroe Doctrine a warning to the old world.
In the years when the Republic was still struggling for existence, in the face of threatened encroachments by hostile monarchies over the sea, in order to make the New World safe for democracy our forefathers established here the policy that soon came to be known as the Monroe Doctrine. Warning the Old World not to interfere in the political life of the New, our Government pledged itself in return to abstain from interference in the political conflicts of Europe; and history has vindicated the wisdom of this course. We were then too weak to influence the destinies of Europe, and it was vital to mankind that this first great experiment in government of and by the people should not be disturbed by foreign attack.
Our isolation fast becoming imaginary.
Reenforced by the experience of our expanding national life, this doctrine has been ever since the dominating element in the growth of our foreign policy. Whether or not we could have maintained it in case of concerted attack from abroad, it has seemed of such importance to us that we were at all times ready to go to war in its defense. And though since it was first enunciated our strength has grown by leaps and bounds, although in that time the vast increase in our foreign trade and of travel abroad, modern transport, modern mails, the cables, and the wireless have brought us close to Europe and have made our isolation moreand more imaginary, there has been until the outbreak of the present conflict small desire on our part to abrogate, or even amend, the old familiar tradition which has for so long given us peace.
American statement in the minutes of The Hague.
In both conferences at The Hague, in 1899 and 1907, we reaffirmed this policy. As our delegates signed the First Convention in regard to arbitration, they read into the minutes this statement:
"Nothing contained in this convention shall be so construed as to require the United States of America to depart from its traditional policy of not intruding upon, interfering with, or entangling itself in the political questions or policy or internal administration of any foreign State; nor shall anything contained in the said convention be construed to imply a relinquishment by the United States of America of its traditional attitude toward purely American questions."
On the eve of the war our position toward other nations might have been summarized under three heads:
The Monroe Doctrine.
I. The Monroe Doctrine.—We had pledged ourselves to defend the New World from European aggression, and we had by word and deed made it clear that we would not intervene in any European dispute.
The Freedom of the Seas.
II. The Freedom of the Seas.—In every naval conference our influence had been given in support of the principle that sea law to be just and worthy of general respect must be based on the consent of the governed.
Settlement of disputes by arbitration.
III. Arbitration.—As we had secured peace at home by referring interstate disputes to a Federal tribunal, we urged a similar settlement of international controversies. Our ideal was a permanent world court. We had already signed arbitration treaties not only with great powers which might conceivably attack us, buteven more freely with weaker neighbors in order to show our good faith in recognizing the equality of all nations both great and small. We had made plain to the nations our purpose to forestall by every means in our power the recurrence of wars in the world.
The outbreak of war in 1914 caught this nation by surprise. The peoples of Europe had had at least some warnings of the coming storm, but to us such a blind, savage onslaught on the ideals of civilization had appeared impossible.