Henry B. Joy

“ Some nation may be today looking with covetous eyes on our "place in the sun," which location has made Mr. Ford so prosperous under the wise laws which in the main through generations have controlled our international affairs and protected our industries and prosperity and peace. ”

“ But he does not seem to realize that there are always the big fellows, the big bullies that have to be curbed, who have to be regulated and limited by stronger authority than their own wills. He surely must know that the races of the earth never have lived at peace, and while the United States has had great immunity from war during the period of its existence, yet during that inter- val the world has been made to grow very small by improved transportation and that all nations now are very near neighbors. The ocean instead of a barrier of defense is the highway open to the invader. ”

“ Will any peace, which is only a peace during which to repair and recuperate, be a beneficial peace ?
The nations of Europe are doing more to establish permanent peace than is the United States of America, or Mr. Ford. They are struggling, fighting, sacrificing, dying for that very object.
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Their citizens are dying by thousands that permanent peace may be restored and the invader held back to the limitations of his own country. ”

“ It is even a serious question whether as a people serving our own ends as a nation, we should not aid in defending the weak against the strong. Should we not possibly even aid those nations who have followed our example and Mr. Ford's advice, and not maintained a condition of complete preparedness, and who are now consequently the victims of the impossible attitude of dis- armament and unpreparedness for defense of their industries and their homes ? What is our duty as a people ? ”

“ Any American who in these times wittingly seeks to embarrass and prevent the President and the Congress from insisting on and obtaining every respect for American rights which it is right- ful should be ours from any and every nation of the earth, is, whether he knows it or not, deliberately tending to precipitate this country into a war a righteous war to protect its honor, compel respect and defend its citizens, who have a right to look to their flag and their American passports as an adequate protec- tion in their lawful affairs. ”

“ It is certain that no other nations are particularly devoting their efforts to the promoting of American international or domes- tic trade, and if we propose to develop and expand and protect our trade it will be because of our wilful intent and preparedness to do so, and to maintain the prosperity of our country.
It is not beyond the realm of reason, it is indeed very possible, even probable, that Germany may, in the event of her being vic- torious, lay a heavy tribute on the United States for our having shipped supplies and munitions of war to her enemies. ”

“ It seems apparent also that our responsibility as a nation, if we are to be one at all, requires us to be able to take our share of the burdens of such a responsibility and be capable of joining others to enforce right and justice among nations, and to defend ourselves in the event some other power does not think our ideas of justice are correct ones. ”

“ The small boy is taught and has been taught the horrors of war through all time, but nature has provided that what may be the horrors of war to those it has endowed with peace-at-any- price ideas, are not by any means the views of war held by the young hopefuls of the world's people. In fact, nature has pro- vided that those youngsters look upon war as a pretty good prop- osition. They see lots of opportunities of proving their superior mettle and ability. I do not think Mr. Ford would get very far with the child at its mother's knee. ”

“ The levying of unfair tribute, as it was then viewed, led the American Colonies to break away from England and set up the nation of red-blooded people that have grown and developed to a condition of prosperity so that Mr. Ford has created for him- self a mighty industry out of that prosperity, the foundations of which were laid by Washington and his half-starved, half- clothed, armed citizenry, aided to the point of success by France and Lafayette. France crossed what was then a very wide ocean
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to come to our aid. ”

“ I know I cannot with mine and the more dead and dreadful horrors there are in the war pictures of the day the more delighted he is with them, and the delay is irksome until he can get over to the neighbor's yard and engage in the sham battles which sometimes become real and now and then end disastrously for him. ”

“ Ford had had the whole picture before him, he would not have by thought or act tended to aid those who are obviously seeking to embarrass the American peo- ple in the performance of the plain duty they owe themselves as a people, to instantly plan and put in force a scheme for effi- cient military preparedness commensurate with the ability of this nation so to do, and fully and amply in proportion to our national military and naval requirements as urged by those who know, and they are not civilians, namely, the General Boards of the Army and Navy. ”