A   841,634


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766.lv87




PRESENTEDI B'
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LEONARD WOOD
ON
NATIONAL ISSUES












/...,...          -        I
From a drawing by Boardman Robinson
LEONARD WOOD




LEONARD WOOD
ON
NATIONAL. ISSUES
The Many-Sided Mind of a Great Executive
Shown by His Public Utterances
COMPILED BY
EVAN J. DAVID
With a Foreword by Edward S. Van Zile
GARDEN CITY        NEW YORK
DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY
1920




COPYRIGHT, 1920, BY
DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, INCLUDING THAT OF
TRANSLATION INTO FOREIGN LANGUAGES
INCLUDING THE SCANDINAVIAN




To
FREDERICK MOORE
A Friend and Fellow
of my own Craft


353984




I




FOREWORD


WHATEVER may be the outcome of the
Presidential contest of 1920, the fact has been
well established that Major General Leonard
Wood has won for himself a permanent place
among the truly great Americans of this
generation, and that his personality and
achievements will be accorded attentive study
by all historians who may endeavor to give to
posterity an accurate account of our country's
influence upon the destinies of mankind during the epoch-making first quarter of the
twentieth century. In presenting to the public, therefore, the many-sided personality of
Leonard Wood as revealed through his writings and speeches, Mr. David, the compiler of
this timely volume, has been inspired by the
belief that his work was not ephemeral, that
there would be permanent value in a collection
of this virile, versatile American's public utterances regarding the vital questions that agitate
a period overwhelmed by the vast significance
of the problems it is called upon to solve.
The cynic who asserted that speech was
vii




viii            Foreword
vouchsafed to us that we might manage to conceal our thoughts must have associated with
men of a type with which Leonard Wood has
nothing in common. His clear thinking leads
him irresistibly to clarity of expression, and his
intrinsic sincerity, his romantically varied experiences of life, his supreme courage and the
white heat of his patriotism combine to give
to his views on the basic principles involved in
our present national and international complications a significance that will outlast any connection they may seemingly have with the
political activities of the moment.
Convinced, as the compiler is, that Leonard
Wood's attitude toward the vital problems of
our generation is an integral part of the history of our time, of import to the future as
well as to the present, the endeavor has been
made in the following pages to throw upon
many vexed questions the illuminating light of
this great leader's trained mind, a mind free
from visionary tendencies, clear, logical, broadly sympathetic, and always American in its
contact with contemporary issues.
The Standard Dictionary defines a statesman as "a man versed in the arts of government." To his mental and temperamental




Foreword


ix


qualifications for statesmanship, Leonard
Wood has added the illuminating experiences
of an administrator in several parts of the
world, an experience that has given to him an
enviable reputation in his own country and
among foreigners as one "versed in the arts of
government." It required the forcefulness
combined with tact of a thoroughly-equipped
statesman to bring order out of chaos to Cuba,
opportunity for advancement to the Philippines and law-enforcement without bloodshed
to Gary, Ind.
In presenting to the public the following
diversified evidences of Leonard Wood's masterly grasp of the great problems of our generation, Mr. David wishes to express his
thanks for courtesies extended to him by the
Outlook, the Metropolitan Magazine, the
Ladies' Home Journal, P. F. Collier & Son,
Reilly and Britton and Mr. F. L. Huidekoper.
In conclusion, permit me to say that my
knowledge regarding the career of the compiler increases the pleasure I have taken in
writing this foreword. Mr. David's early
career was spent in manual labor in coal mines.
Ambitious and courageous, he worked his way
through Harvard University, and has, through




x              Foreword
industry and ability, become a writer of books
and magazine articles. The broad sympathies
that his varied contacts with life have given
him naturally make of him an enthusiastic admirer of Leonard Wood, who also worked his
way through Harvard University and is, like
Mr. David, a many-sided lover of his kind.
EDWARD S. VAN ZILE.




CONTENTS
PAGE
Frontispiece
FOREWORD...                          vii
INDEX...                                     xi
THE COMPILER'S INTRODUCTION...  xiii
How CUBA WON SELF-DETERMINATION..    3
CAPITAL, LABOR AND THE GOLDEN RULE.        19
AMERICAN WOMEN-TODAY AND TOMORROW.   27
WAR AND PEACE..                      33
THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS..   45
THE FARMER-HIS RIGHTS AND WRONGS              49
TEACHERS, MOULDERS OF THE FUTURE..   59
IMMIGRATION WITHOUT ASSIMILATION..  63
OUR DEFENSIVE WEAPONS..71
AMERICANIZATION...                          75
ARBITRATION-ITS VALUE AND LIMITATIONS.   83
NEEDED-SOUND MINDS IN SOUND BODIES..   89
ORGANIZED GOOD SAMARITANS..             97
No PARLEY WITH THE REDS..            103
OUR DUTY TO OUR VETERANS..            109
SOLDIERS AS LIFE-SAVERS....11
OUR PROGRAM IN A NUTSHELL..121
GROVER CLEVELAND..123
THEODORE ROOSEVELT...126








THE COMPILERJS INTRODUCTION


I
IN COMPILING this book the object has
been to collect representative statements from
the speeches and writings of General Leonard
Wood on national problems. At first the idea
was to confine the volume to selections from
Wood's recent speeches and writings which
touch on present-day affairs, but on investigation it was soon discovered that much else that
Wood had said was well worth including.
While it is true that Wood has not been able
to take the time to give exhaustive treatment
to some topics which he has discussed, yet it
is a fact that, in the brief statements which he
has made, he has singled out the cardinal principles of the issues, and has clearly enunciated
his position on each particular subject in hand,
displaying his analytical method in arriving at
conclusions. This is especially true of his
speeches upon Americanization, the Reds, and
Farm Problems.
In all his writings and speeches, Leonard
Wood reveals his sterling patriotism, his clear
vision and the high moral platform from
xiii




xiv          The Compiler's
which he judges every issue. Always his point
of view seems to be the greatest good for the
greatest number; always he places his country
first. Always his sympathies are with the oppressed, the down-trodden and the unfortunate. Always his statements are delivered
with the object of righteousness, uplift and
patriotism. His broad human sympathy can
be compared only with that of his friend, the
late Theodore Roosevelt.
II
GENERAL WOOD'S style, as revealed
in his speeches and writings, is best explained
in his own words when speaking of the style
of Roosevelt:
"In speech he was simple and direct. His
purpose was to go directly to the heart of his
subject in the simplest and clearest language;
he used words to convey ideas, never to befuddle the public.... You know exactly what he means when you finish what he
has written; there are no empty phrases nor
glittering, unsound idealism, but just a plain
statement of those simple truths which are the
wisdom of the ages, the deductions of right
thinking men and women."




Introduction


xv


General Wood uses very few figures of
speech. His language is the simple language
of the Bible and Abraham Lincoln. His
vocabulary consists largely of words derived
from the Anglo-Saxon rather than from the
Latin. He makes no attempt at the use of
symbolism which may confuse, or convey a
doubtful meaning. Practically no ornamentation is contained in the General's speeches or
writings. When he does use a figure of speech,
it is usually very clear and graphic, such as the
one in which he compared Roosevelt to a
boulder standing solid against the on-rushing
waters, or when he complained that unrestricted immigration to America was putting
too much sand into our concrete. Like General Grant in his autobiography, General
Wood uses the speech and the language of
the soldier; it is direct, forceful and clear, and
is never employed for any other purpose than
to drive home an argument. This gives a
ruggedness and strength to the General's
speeches and writings that remind one of the
hills and mountains of his native New England, and reveal the eminently substantial,
solid, determined, dignified character of the
man. His words are full of sincerity, honesty




xvi


The Compiler's


and sterling integrity, such as we always associate with the character and writings of
Abraham Lincoln.
III
IT MAY be said by some that the selections
do not cover every question before the American public at the present time. That may be
true, but the most important and vital ones are
certainly treated very definitely and very
clearly. In extenuation it can be said that
Leonard Wood has been too busy of late with
his multifarious duties as Commander of the
Central Department-where so many of the
great strikes and disorders occurred during
the year 1919-to go on record on every subject. And he has also been hampered or restrained by the fact that as an officer in the
army he could not at all times speak freely.
In regard to Internationalism, General
Wood had written a great deal before we entered the war. How far his views have been
modified by the Great War can be perceived
by reading his more recent references to the
subject.  Extensive quotations from  those
writings show the reasons why he takes the
stand that he does. Since the armistice he has




Introduction


xvii


also gone on record to the effect that he does
not believe that the League of Nations will
abolish war; and he states that the treaty
should be adopted with the Lodge reservations.
In regard to his position on the Labor question, perhaps it ought to be stated here that
General Wood, while at Gary, did not limit
free speech, provided nothing hostile to our
form of government was said and provided no
words were uttered to incite the strikers to
violate law and order. He allowed the strikers
to meet in their halls and he granted Mr. John
Fitzpatrick, leader of the steel workers' organization, the privilege of addressing the
strikers in the public square after Mr. Fitzpatrick had given General Wood his word that
nothing to incite disorder would be uttered.
Mr. Fitzpatrick kept his word. General
Wood also permitted pickets to be stationed
by the strikers, but he would not allow them
to intimidate any man or to coerce or interfere
with any person who wished to go to work.
The same thing was true in the coal fields of
West Virginia. In this way, by his tact, General Wood prevented bloodshed and no property was destroyed during the time that his




xviii


The Compiler'


troops occupied those districts, nor was a
single shot fired.
IV
ON THE matter of preparedness, General
Wood believes that a small standing army of
225,000 men is sufficient, but he also believes
that the physically fit young men of the land
ought to have six months' intensive training in
their nineteenth year.
The Reds and the I. W. Ws. General Wood
has very vehemently denounced. To quote his
own words, "There is no room for the red flag
in this country," and "we should kill it as we
would a snake." But while at times allowing
himself such liberty of expression, he has also
explained very carefully and definitely that
any and all action against those who would
destroy our government should be orderly and
within the law.
No man in the country was better able to
appreciate and analyze the character of Theodore Roosevelt than General Wood. This was
due to their long and intimate friendship and
to the fact that they had worked out so many
problems together. This section of the work
is illuminating, for it may be clearly seen that




Introduction


xix


Wood, in his analysis of the former President,
has given an explanation of the underlying
sentiments which Wood shared, and which
have shaped his opinions and beliefs.
In urging Americanization, General Wood
has touched upon the cardinal evils that now
threaten the country and has suggested
remedies.
General Wood's familiarity with educational problems in Cuba and his views on the
importance of education as a means of Americanization and progress clearly show that the
teachers who instruct our children should certainly be paid better if we hope to get the right
kind of instructors to perform that important
task.
v
LI KE    Theodore Roosevelt, Leonard
Wood knew the important part that women
would play in the forming of the policies of
the Nation in the future and gave expression
to his views on this timely and vital subject.
In regard to the Farm Problems, Leonard
Wood's extensive travels and keen observation in all sections of the United States together with the fact that he was brought up in




XX


The Compiler's Introduction


a rural community make his views on agricultural subjects carry considerable weight.
Although this volume is not exhaustive, it
contains much that should be inspiring to true
Americans, and no matter how much we differ
with General Wood in regard to the way in
which certain problems should be solved, we
cannot gainsay the fact that he is animated
by sincerity and patriotism and that his sayings reveal the sterling honesty and integrity
of the man. In the following pages General
Wood will speak for himself, and there can be
no doubt that the cumulative effect of his
splendid and inspiring outpourings regarding
the vital issues of the day will convince every
open-minded reader that among the great
Americans of our time there is none greater
than Leonard Wood.
EVAN J. DAVID




LEONARD WOOD
ON
NATIONAL ISSUES








LEONARD WOOD ON NATIONAL
ISSUES
How CUBA WON SELF-DETERMINATION
THE purpose of our military government
of Cuba, after the Spanish War, was to prepare the Cubans for self-government and to
establish conditions which would render the
establishment of a Cuban republic possible and
its orderly and successful maintenance probable. The occupation of Cuba began with the
occupation of the city of Santiago and extended rapidly over the province of the same
name. The territory occupied by the military
forces of the United States prior to the general transfer of the Island, January 1, 1899,
was limited to this province. Conditions in
Santiago at the time of occupancy were as unfavorable as can be imagined. Yellow fever,
pernicious malaria and intestinal fevers were
all prevalent to an alarming extent. The city
3




4


Leonard Wood


and surrounding country were full of sick
Spanish soldiers, starving Cubans and the
sick of their own army. The sanitary conditions were indescribably bad. There was little
or no water available and the conditions were
such as can be imagined to exist in a tropical
city following a siege and capture in the most
unhealthy season of the year.
The first work undertaken was feeding the
starving, taking care of the sick, cleaning up
and removing the dangerous material in the
city. In addition to correcting these local conditions, it was necessary to send food and
medicine throughout the province, maintain
order, re-establish municipal government, reorganize the courts, and do the thousand and
one things incident to re-establishing the semblance of government in a stricken and demoralized community. The actual difficulties
were increased by the fact that the people with
whom we had to deal spoke a foreign language
with which few of us were familiar. The death
rate among our own troops was heavy and the
percentage of sick appalling. The regulars
and volunteers engaged in the siege and capture of the city were withdrawn late in August
and their places filled with one regiment of




On National Issumes


5


regulars and a number of regiments of volunteers. The arrival of these green troops in the
height of the unhealthy season was a cause of
grave anxiety and their care required unusual
precautions. By this time the city had been
cleaned; the death rate greatly checked; food
had been sent by pack train to the interior and
by sea to the various seaport towns of the
province and couriers had been sent through
the country to inform the inhabitants where
they could procure food and medicine; custom
houses had been established at all the ports and
with the funds collected from this source public works had already been undertaken.
II
THE first public works were carried out
in the city of Santiago to drain certain unhealthy surroundings of the city, improve the
water supply and render the place more habitable. The purpose of the public works was
not only to improve conditions, but to give
occupation to the thousands of idle people, including disbanded soldiers of the Cuban army.
Some were paid in money and some in rations.
Every effort was made to get the people out




6


Leonard Wood


to their homes in the country, and, with this in
view, men were furnished with a few necessary
agricultural implements and food enough for
a month and sent out to their homes. In this
way thousands of idle people about the city
were disposed of and placed upon their own
property, and surrounded with those members of their families who had survived the war
and its consequences.
A rural guard composed of Cubans was
rapidly organized for the maintenance of
order in the rural districts. During this period
troops were also used for this purpose. As
soon as conditions of actual starvation had
been done away with, and the worst features
of the sanitary situation improved, steps were
taken to organize municipal government in the
various towns. There was no time to write an
electoral law and put it in force. The method
adopted was to go to a town, assemble from
sixty to one hundred men representing all
classes of the people and ask them to name
municipal officers and to present their list as
soon as completed. In this way the officials of
all the municipalities of the province were in
time appointed. Temporary regulations were
drawn up governing local taxation. Stores




On National Issues


7


and business houses were divided into classes
and were required to pay so much per month
to the municipal treasury. Under the means
so procured, municipal governments were
started. Expenses were kept at the lowest
figure.
III
AS SOON as a municipal government was
organized, steps were taken to temporarily relieve the situation in each municipality, and
medicine, food and assistance were given those
most needful of it. The next step was to establish village schools in all the different towns.
In October the Spanish garrison, consisting of
twelve thousand men, was withdrawn from the
northwest portion of the province. Upon the
withdrawal it was found that smallpox was
epidemic in most of the towns that they had
occupied and an investigation showed that
there were approximately three thousand cases
of smallpox existing in the Holguin district
and that the disease was of a malignant type.
Six hundred men of the 2d Immunes under
Colonel Hood were vaccinated and re-vaccinated, under the careful supervision of their




8


Leonard Wood


surgeons. When this was completed they
were all sent into the infected districts accompanied by several extra medical officers and
charged with the suppression of the epidemic,
a work which was soon completed. Some
twelve hundred cases of smallpox were treated
in hospitals. Small settlements (made up as
a rule of thatched houses), where it was most
prevalent, were burned. Settlements containing buildings of permanent construction were
thoroughly disinfected, and some thirty thousand people vaccinated. The efforts taken were
effective in bringing the disease to a summary
conclusion, and since this epidemic Cuba has
been free from smallpox. As an illustration
of the efficiency of vaccination, it can be stated
that there was not a case of smallpox among
troops sent into the districts.
IV
WITH the stamping out of this epidemic,
the worst features of the sanitary situation
were removed, and affairs began to have a
more hopeful outlook, and at the end of the
year the province was orderly and fairly
healthy; municipal governments were running,




On National Issues


9


with rather crude machinery to be sure, but
performing the necessary functions. Nearly
two hundred public schools had been established, and all incurred expenses had been paid
from revenues collected, and approximately
$160,000 was on hand for carrying out certain
sanitary work in the city of Santiago, for
which arrangements had been made. The
Supreme Court, courts of first instance, for
municipal courts had been established throughout the province. Custom houses were in
operation, and starvation had disappeared. A
proclamation embodying the general principles of a Bill of Rights had been published,
giving the people the right to carry arms, to
hold public meetings, and, in fact, to do all
things which people do under free governments. Such was the condition in the province
of Santiago at the time of the transfer of the
island to the United States on January 1,
1899.
Conditions were encountered in Havana
similar to those in Santiago, but not so severe,
as the city had not undergone a siege and had
not suffered from the demoralizing conditions
necessarily following. Still the condition was
exceedingly grave and an immense amount of




10


Leonard Wood


work was required to place affairs upon a comparatively normal basis. The work of straightening out Havana, both in a sanitary and administrative sense, was performed with singular ability by General William Ludlow, since
deceased. General Ludlow's work was of the
highest character, and was carried out by the
exercise of excellent judgment and great ability, and the work which he accomplished resulted in a saving of thousands of lives and in
the organization of a suitable government in
Havana and the establishment of good sanitary conditions. Similar work, and on a
smaller scale, was carried out by General Wilson in Matanzas, General Carpenter in
Puerto Principe, and other officers in various
parts of the island.
V
THE work outside of Havana called for
extensive care of country people in the way of
supplying food, medicines, etc., and was carried out with remarkable ability by our officers.
During the year 1899, under the administration of General Brooke and his subordinates,
an organization of the courts in the four west



On National Issues


11


ern provinces of the island was accomplished;
municipal governments were inaugurated; and
police forces provided for the rural districts.
A rudimentary school law had been published
and preparations were under way for the establishment of a school system.   Custom
houses had been established, under the supervision of General Tasker H. Bliss, and
revenues were regularly collected.
This was the condition of affairs in December, 1899, at which time I was appointed Military Governor of the island. A year and a
half of experience in Cuba had shown that the
island was in need of a general revision of the
law of public works, beneficence, education,
municipal administration, prison administration, etc.; that it needed an electoral law; and,
in fact, that the whole machinery of the government needed overhauling and readjustment. The general law was excellent. I shall
always feel indebted to Justice White, of the
Supreme Court, for some very sensible advice
which he gave me to the effect that the law was
all right, but to look out for the procedure,
which needed many modifications. President
McKinley's instructions to me were to prepare
Cuba, as rapidly as possible, for the establish



12


Leonard Wood


ment of an independent government, republican in form; to arrange for an efficient administration of justice; and a good school system. Whatever results were obtained were
made possible by the policy of the President
and the Secretary of War in defining the object to be attained and leaving their representative in the island to work it out, and he
was given entire freedom in so doing.
VI
THE government was transferred eventually to the Cuban people exactly as promised,
with no debts but, of course, some current liabilities for public works in process of construction, and with $1,613,000 free for allotment.
Approximately 97 per cent. of the officials
were Cubans, and they proved loyal and efficient and honest. The courts of justice were
entirely in the hands of the people. The attitude of the Spanish element was always
friendly. They represent the bulk of the business interests of the island. They are people
of order, and make excellent citizens.
Cuba has been given an excellent start.
What she needs now is the establishment of




On National Issues


18


good economic relations with the United
States; in other words, a reasonable degree
of reciprocity. Her purchases have been in
the neighborhood of $68,000,000 per year, and
with confidence and stimulation to business
which will come with reciprocity, we shall have
-if we have the good sense to take steps to
establish reciprocal relations which will in addition give Cuba herself a chance to live and
carry out the obligations we have put upon her
-in all probability, in from five to eight years,
$150,000,000 to $200,000,000 per year of
trade.
The powers of the Military Governor were
absolute in every particular, and yet there was
but one instance of a reversal of the action of
the native court; this exception being for reasons which were published in full in the Official
Gazette in Havana, and which met with general approval. The basis of the action taken
by the Military Governor in this case has since
been adopted as a basis to govern in similar
cases. The courts have been untrammeled in
the exercise of their authority, and the municipalities have been governed by officials elected
by the people at the polls.




14


Leonard Wood


VII
THE government was transferred as a going concern. All the public offices were filled
with competent, well trained employees; the
island was free from debt and had a surplus
of a million and a half dollars in the treasury;
was possessed of a thoroughly trained and
efficient personnel in all departments; completely equipped buildings for the transaction
of public business; the administration of justice was free; habeas corpus had been put in
force; police courts had been established; a
new marriage law on lines proposed by the
Roman Catholic Bishop of Havana, giving
equal rights to all denominations, was in operv
tion; the people were governed, in all municipalities, by officials of their own choice elected
at the polls; trials in Cuban courts were as
prompt as in any State of the Union, and life
and property were absolutely safe; sanitary
conditions were better than those existing in
most parts of the United States; yellow fever
had been eradicated from the island; modern
systems of public education, including a university, high school and nearly three thousand
seven hundred public schools, had been estab



On National Issues


15


lished; also well organized departments of
charity and public works. The island was
well supplied with hospitals and asylums, beggars were almost unknown. A new railway
law had been promulgated; custom houses had
been equipped and thoroughly established; the
great question of church property had been
settled; a basis of agreement between mortgaged creditors and debtors had been established; municipalities had been reduced from
138 to 82 in number; public order was excellent; the island possessed a highly organized
and efficient rural guard; an enormous amount
of public works had been undertaken and completed; harbors and channels were buoyed; old
lighthouses had been thoroughly renovated
and new ones built; in short, the government
as transferred was in excellent running order.
The great expense of organization and equipment was borne by the Military Government.
At the time of the transfer, government buildings and equipment of every description were
in such condition as to be able to render useful
services for years at a small outlay compared
to the cost incurred by the Military Government in renovating, building and purchasing
the same. The insular government was under



16


Leonard Wood


taken without a dollar of public money on
hand, except the daily collections of customs
and internal revenue, and involved the collection and disbursement of $57,107,140.80, during its existence, for improvements in material
conditions and the upbuilding of insular institutions. This sum does not include the municipal revenues, only the    general insular
revenues.
VIII
THE work called for and accomplished was
the building up of a REPUBLIC, in a country where approximately 70 per cent. of the
people were illiterate; where they had lived
always as a military colony; where general
elections, as we understand them, were unknown; in fact, it was a work which called for
practically a rewriting of the administrative
law of the land; including the law of charities
and hospitals, public works, sanitary law,
school law, railway law, etc.; meeting and controlling the worst possible sanitary conditions;
putting the people to school; writing an electoral law and training the people in the use
of it; establishing an entirely new system of




On National Issues


17


accounting and auditing; the election and
assembling of representatives of the people to
draw up and adopt a constitution for the proposed new republic; in short, the establishment, in a little over three years, in a Latin
military colony, in one of the most unhealthy
countries of the world, of a republic modeled
closely upon the lines of our own great AngloSaxon republic; and the transfer to the Cuban
people of the republic so established, free from
debt, healthy, orderly, well equipped, and with
a good balance in the treasury. All of this
work was accomplished without serious friction. The island of Cuba was transferred to
its people as promised, and was started on its
career in good condition and under the most
favorable circumstances.
The government of Cuba while called "military" was so in name only. The courts exercised full and untrammeled jurisdiction from
first to last. Means of appeal to the Supreme
Court of Cuba from the decisions of the Military Governor were provided, in all cases except for appeals against such acts of the Military Government as were of a legislative character, such as the promulgation of laws, etc.
Nearly all public offices were filled by




18          Leonard Wood
Cubans, and the government, as conducted,
was as nearly a government by the people as
was possible under conditions existing.




CAPITAL, LABOR AND THE GOLDEN RUI.E


I
WE have emerged successfully from the
Great War. We are now confronted with the
problems of peace, problems of readjustment
which follow the war. They are many and
their solution is vital to our progress and
stability.
It is no time now for rash experiments or
untried ideas. We must hold on to the policies
and methods of established worth which experience has shown to be sound. We must
progress, but we must know where we are
going.
We must do all we can to encourage good
business, whether it be big business or small
business. If it is good business and beneficial
to the public, it is worthy of encouragement;
if it is bad business, we must control it and
regulate it. Good business means prosperous
labor, and this means increased production and
nothing must be allowed to interfere with
19




20


Leonard Wood


ample production. It is the real remedy for
the high cost of living. Limitation on production is an invitation to disaster-disaster which
strikes first the poor but eventually affects all.
We cannot consider business and labor separately. They are inter-locking and inter-dependent. We must spread the war burden
over a much longer period of years than at
present contemplated. The present excess income tax is paralyzing initiative. It is a
strangle hold upon the throat of business
which must be relaxed if American business is
to have that initiative which will be necessary
to give us our share in the world's trade. We
must do everything we can to help on good
business, for on it depends national prosperity.
Labor and Capital in this country must work
together in order to meet the problems which
are going to follow this world's war. We do
not wish an autocracy of either Capital or
Labor, but a real democracy in both, characterized by a spirit of co-operation and helpfulness. We must inject more of the human
element into our relations with those about us,
whether they be our associates or our subordinates-more gathering about the table and
discussing matters fully and frankly. We




On National Issues


21


must recognize that the workingman is neither
a machine nor a commodity, but that he is a
collaborator with capital. Individual capacity
and ambition must receive encouragement and
recognition. The employer must recognize
the dignity and status of the worker and give
him every consideration due. The closest possible contact and the fullest understanding
should be maintained between employer and
employee. Arrangements for the adjustment
of grievances must be provided which will
work smoothly and promptly. We must do
all we can to improve the worker's living conditions, to make his surroundings decent and
attractive to himself and family. His hours of
work must be such as to give him an opportunity for reasonable recreation with his
family during the hours of daylight. He
should receive a wage that not only permits
him to keep body and soul together, but enables him to lay by something for the future.
If these conditions are to be obtained and
maintained, labor must recognize that high
wages can only be maintained under conditions
of high production and high efficiency. Capital must be paid in accordance with the risk of
the enterprise. Those who direct and plan




22


Leonard Wood


must be paid adequately, labor must be adequately paid, and after this, if anything remains, comes the question of an equitable distribution. Many of the more progressive, intelligent and far-seeing men are already beginning to give to labor a participation in this
surplus-a share varying with its amount.
II
THE main thing is for Labor and Capital
to pull together in the present great crisis, remembering that only through co-operation and
frank and full understanding and mutual concessions can the wheels of industry be kept
going.
You cannot legislate the Golden Rule into
the hearts of men. Most of the difficulties between capital and labor are due to a failure to
apply those basic principles. Theodore Roosevelt's great strength in this country was not
due to the fact that he evolved so many new
ideas. There are not many new ideas produced, there is not much that is new. But, he
was constantly presenting to the American
people old fundamental truths, sometimes in
one garb and sometimes in another, but always




On National Issues


23


in impressive array. There is nothing new in
the Ten Commandments. There is nothing
new in the Lord's Prayer. Yet, we say them
over day after day, and year after year, and
they lie at the very foundation of our religious
and moral life; and they embody the basic
principles for our personal conduct and our
relations with other peoples. They are very
simple and so are the basic principles which
govern the relations between labor and capital.
We must introduce into those relations more
of the human element, more of that element of
sympathy and association, more of the Golden
Rule.
Labor is older than capital; capital comes
from labor; nevertheless, they are one and inseparable. United they stand, separated they
fall. If a man is going to handle labor successfully, it is not enough to give fair hours of
work and fair wage-we must not only let
live but help live.
III
WE must impress upon all, both labor and
capital, the words of Abraham Lincoln, for
they embody a sound doctrine which must




24


Leonard Wood


govern: "Let not him who is houseless pull
down the house of his neighbor; but, rather,
let him strive diligently to build one for himself, thus, by example, showing confidence that
his own when built shall stand."
We could not handle an army unless we had
the human element and employed it very
largely in dealing with our men. If we did
not see the men every day, how they are
housed, how they are fed, how they are clothed,
how they are protected from the weather and
looked after generally, they would soon lose
interest in us and we would not have their loyal
support. I think we have got to have a great
deal more of that spirit with reference to labor.
I think we must see how the women and children of those working for us are living. We
must come more in contact with them. We
cannot handle the matter in a purely academic
way.
One of Theodore Roosevelt's greatest holds
upon the American people was in his use of
the human element; he always brought it into
play. If he was in camp, no matter how rough
and simple, he always had a good word to say
about something. If the cook turned out a
good breakfast he had a good word for him;




On National Issues


25


if he did not have a good breakfast he had a
good word for him about something else. If
the engineer of his train made a good run, he
was never too busy to say, "Well, old man,
you gave me a good run this morning and it
was very important, too, that I be here." Just
try a little of that with labor and see how it
works.
IV
I HAVE had some labor groups to meet
lately, and I have found about 95 per cent.
of American labor is square and straight.
Where they have had troubles, nine times out
of ten it has been due to alien leadership of the
type I have been urging that we get rid of in
this country. Give them a square deal, put
the thing up to them fairly, and you will be
surprised to see how quickly they respond.
Of course, you find men who do not respond
to a square deal, but their numbers are small.
I generally go on the assumption that every
man in the organization intends to do his duty
and I find that in about 98 per cent. of the
cases I am right. You find obstinate and
queer characters, you find many amusing inci



26          Leonard Wood
dents, but that is to be expected, and there is
no use of becoming irritated. But if you assume that about 98 per cent. of all the people
you have to deal with-be it in the army or in
the navy or in your dealings with labor —are
square, you will be surprised to find how true
that assumption is.




AMERICAN WOMEN-TO-DAY AND ToMORROW
I
THERE is a field into which the women
are coming and it is the big field. It is the field
of national politics. Personally, having seen
what the women did during the war, both at
home and abroad, I feel very confident that the
entrance of American women into the field of
American politics is going to have a very helpful and good effect. I think they are going to
bring a healthy influence. One which will
make our politics cleaner and introduce a better spirit into the political field.
I think women are going to do another
thing; I believe they are going to make the
men go to the polls, and if they do that they
will have done a good and helpful piece of
work. There is too much indifference among
people like ourselves. The danger within our
gates today is not so much the alien element,
although that is rather prominent at the mo27




28


Leonard Wood


ment, as it is our own indifference. We want
all our people interested in their civic dutiesboth men and women. You cannot have a
successful representative government unless
all classes of people discharge their citizenship
duties loyally and well.
You women have been dreaming for many
years of bringing about certain results; you
have dreamed of establishing better conditions
of public and private morality; you have been
thinking of and hoping to establish better
housing conditions for the poor, of doing away
with child labor; hoping to establish better
conditions as to the training of children, and to
bring about various regulations which will do
away with vice and diseases which are a menace
to our civilization. All those things are going
to be possible for you if you come into the
party organizations, whichever one you decide
to join. Do not go into politics in little groups
of women. Go in on a footing of absolute
equality with men, and in equal or even greater
numbers and play the game straight through,
remembering that you can only accomplish results through organization.




On National Issues


29


II
WE have reason to be proud of the work of
American women during the war. I do not
know of any part of the country where American women did not take hold of the situation
with keen energy. I know from personal experience in the Middle West and neighboring
states the women did everything humanly possible to send our men overseas sound in body
and clean in soul. They looked after the men
in the towns near the camps; they maintained
excellent conditions of public morality; they
looked after the men when they were en route
to the sea; they were at the ports of embarkation to give the last help they could give, and
when the men arrived on the other side they
found American women scattered at various
points of activity from the ports of debarkation up to the fighting line. We found the
women of the Red Cross, the women of the
Salvation Army, and others, actually in the
battle area doing their work. In fact, the
work of women in all kinds of war activities
was wonderful.
Some one wrote me and asked what I
thought about the work of women in the war.




30


Leonard Wood


I answered very briefly and said that without
the work of women during the war we could
not have taken our part in it as we did. I do
not think there was any class of our population more earnest than American women in
carrying on the war to an effective and victorious end.
III
MANY States in the United States already
have Woman Suffrage and women have been
given a proper participation in municipal and
political affairs. Many women have already
been appointed to office. The work that they
can do on the police force in dealing with
women and the work which they can do as
officers in many branches of municipal government is clearly evident to everybody. The
part that women played in the Great War as
nurses, canteen workers, and in selling Liberty
Bonds, is also well known to all. The moral
force that women will exert in performing
their municipal and national duties will be very
considerable. Indeed every woman did some
kind of war work and their efficiency has been
very well proved.




On National Issues


31


School affairs ought certainly to have the
voice of the woman heard in them because she
is so closely connected with the education of
her children. The problems of child labor are
also being very successfully attacked by women welfare workers. The conditions of vice
are being diminished owing to their efforts.
They will undoubtedly wield a greater influence on the affairs of the nation with the
passing of time and as their efforts in the new
field of suffrage become more evident.
IV
THE great bulk of women workers in the
shops, in the mills and the factories, as well as
the offices, and the training that they have received will stand them in good stead as their
opportunities to gain suffrage approach.
During any period of disturbance, strikes,
war, revolution, the women suffer most. It
was so in the beginning, it was so during all
the days of history; and it is so today. The
wailings of the women of captured cities have
been echoed and re-echoed down the pages of
history from time immemorable. The cries of
the women of Russia today are being heard
around the world.




32          Leonard Wood
The home is the cornerstone of our modern
civilization. Woman is the center of the home.
From the home emanate the teachings and
morals and religion and the things we hold
most dear. Anything that tends to destroy
the home or diminish its influence is the greatest menace to the fundamentals of our civilization. All wars and revolutions threaten the
security and the influence of the home and the
protection of women.   Consequently any
movement that advocates any kind of violence
or disorder should be combated by all the
women of the land with all the weapons in
their power.




WAR AND PEACE


I
THERE is nothing new in the movement
for peace. It is centuries old. Men have
dreamed of it since they had things of value
to hold. Women have prayed for it through
ages. Good people have looked forward to
the day of peace and tranquillity since the beginning of written history, and doubtless long
before. Just as they have desired to avoid
great misfortunes, plagues, earthquakes, fire,
or famine, so they have struggled to escape
war, except in those instances where war was
the lesser of two evils. Yet war is with us today, was with us yesterday, and so through all
the years since history records man's action or
tradition tells of his deeds.
Today, initiated as a rule with more formality, conducted with greater regard for the lives
of the noncombatants, and characterized by a
larger measure of observance of the dictates
of humanity in the treatment of prisoners and
33




34


Leonard Wood


the helpless, war is still with us. Peace leagues
struggle to prevent it; great alliances attempt
to abate it through preponderant forcesthrough war itself, if need be.
II
ARBITRATION serves to lessen it a little
through disposing of many minor questions
which, if allowed to grow, might bring about
disputes resulting in war. As one of the
means of possible avoidance of a resort to
force, we welcome arbitration with open arms
and strive to give it the largest measure of
success, although realizing that in many cases
it will not avail to prevent that final resort to
force which can only be avoided when all great
Powers think alike. That time will come only
when absolutely unselfish justice marks international relations; when trade is equitably
shared among competing peoples; when competition, greed, selfishness, race interests and
prejudices and religious intolerance pass
away; when men and nations have no fixed
convictions which differ from those of others;
when they neither dream dreams nor see
visions. Until then, strive as we may, the cry




On National Issues


85


will be "Peace! Peace!" and yet there will be
no permanent peace. Nevertheless, we must
strive unceasingly to reduce war to the minimum, and to build up arbitration, but in so
doing we must not lose sight of the fact that
our efforts will not always be successful.
III
AN infinite wisdom has established the conditions under which we live and put in being
the great law which runs through the universe:
The law of the survival of the most fit. We
may struggle against it, but it rules in its general application. The most fit in a military
way, which includes good bodies, based on
good food, careful sanitation, well thoughtout training, clear intelligence resting on good
schools and early training, good armament,
equipment and organization, all springing
from intelligence and education applied to
self-protection and expansion of interests and
trade, will win in war just as they win in commerce.
They may not be the most fit in abstract
morality as relates to business relations between individuals or nations, or with regard to




Leonard Wood


86


generosity or sense of justice. The characteristics of selfishness, self-interest and the spirit
of acquisitiveness are often accompanied by a
development of the means to get what is
coveted and to hold it securely. Human
nature in the mass is still human nature; under
a little more restraint, perhaps, but still the old
complex proposition of the ages, characterized
and controlled only too often by expediency
and self-interest.
IV
NATIONS are but collections of individuals; we need courts for the individual man,
and courts are of no avail without the police.
In the vast group of individuals constituting a
community, city or nation, the resort to force
by small groups representing perhaps a
thousandth, or less, of the population, is a
nuisance and is not permitted by the great
aggregation of the individuals among whom
they live, as it interferes with the interest and
activities, often safety, of too many other
people. The individuals in the community of
nations are few in number, and it is much less
easy to bring preponderant force to the control or restraint of the more powerful.




On National Issues


31


Yet as men struggle within the community
and too often resort to force unless restrained,
so do nations struggle and resort to force in
the world community, only here counter force
in the form of international police has never
been resorted to. Can it be effectively done
while there still exist strong groups characterized by century-old prejudices of race and interest? This is one of the great questions of
the hour. While considering it we should not
neglect preparation for defense or fail to
recognize conditions as they are.
v
THE maintenance of peace and the prevention of war have been attempted through alliances to compel or regulate the action of
other groups or other combinations of nations,
by efforts so to group nations as to maintain
the balance of power between people whose
territorial expansion and increase of population and interests might otherwise jeopardize
peace. These efforts have usually resulted in
war sooner or later, although in many instances serving to maintain peace for long
periods. The policy of no combination satis



38


Leonard Wood


fies the greed, ambition or policy of all its
members, and eventually the dominating interest of one or more members of such a combination, or the injection of new interests or
conditions, serves after a time to bring about
the loosening of the bonds of the alliance and
the formation of new combinations, too often
with a resort to force as the final argument.
Thus far we see little prospect of change.
We may hold down for a time the explosive
pressure or give it a safe vent, but from time
to time human effort will fail and the explosion will occur. In other words, the controlling nations are too few in number and
their vital interests are so coincident or interwoven with those of the controlled nations that
constant changes and rearrangements result in
this grouping, and these changes inevitably
bring about an appeal to force. It is difficult
to see how this condition can be changed so
long as national lines exist and racial groups
continue, or certain trade areas remain under
the control of these groups.




On National Issues


VI
JUSTICE and righteousness are not
enough to insure protection, nor is an upright
and blameless personal or national life a guarantee against the unscrupulous. A Pilate was
found to crucify Christ; and a strong, aggressive nation, believing in its own worth and
right to expand, has always been prone to
crush and coerce a weaker one, regardless of
the abstract justice of the weaker nation's
cause.
Why all these things are, is a question which
this world cannot answer in precise terms, and
with such answer we are not at this moment
concerned.
We can with justice say that public and
national morality is largely the reflection of
the education of our youth.  Sound moral
training in the home, a healthy body and
a developed sense of justice and fair play,
probably make the sound, just and normal
man in public life, the best citizen, and, collectively, when assembled in legislative bodies or
engaged in executive or administrative work,
the man will act on the most just, reasonable
and tolerant lines. But even among men of




40


Leonard Wood


this class there will be strong differences of
opinion and it is little short of folly to assume
the contrary. We may diminish the frequency
of strife and make more humane the struggle,
but for the present nothing more.
VII
BLOOD, race, tradition, trade and a host
of other influences, capped by ambition to go
on, to lead, to expand, will always produce
strife. We cannot escape this conclusion if
we take as our guide the evidence of things
done and being done, rather than follow the
dictates of fancy or desire. The struggle for
peace is centuries old, and efforts to end war
and establish undisturbed peace have filled the
minds of men and taxed the resources of
nations. The great combinations of power to
prevent war were, after all, the combinations
of forces to restrain the exercise of force, and
have more often than not ended in a great
struggle for readjustment of the balance of
power.
The theories and policies of addled minds
and shallow intelligences, products of the applause of the lecture platform, or of minds




On National Issues


41


upset by the flattery incident to sudden wealth,
have had their share of attention, and even of
sympathy. After all, they indicate only a failure to understand that war generally has its
roots running deep below the surface that is
swept by the gaze of such observers. The
authors of these theories never have studied
seriously the causes of war. They assign as
causes the little incidents which serve to touch
off the mass of explosive which other forces
have been accumulating and piling up for a
generation or perhaps a century.
VIII
WAR, whether it be for evil or good, is
among men, and our clear duty is to recognize
this fact, instead of denying the evidence of
our senses simply because it is disagreeable
and brutal, something that we would get rid
of. Our duty is to protect ourselves as best we
can against war and build our protection on so
secure a foundation and maintain its efficiency
so systematically that our own institutions,
ideals and interests may be secure and that we
may be able to hand down to our children all
the benefits we have received from our fathers.
God has given us eyes to see, ears to hear, and




42


Leonard Wood


intelligence and memory to glean and carry
from the lessons of the past something of wisdom to guide us in meeting the issues of the
present. If we fail to make the best use of
those faculties which have been given us, we
must pay the penalty.
IX
WE must continue to strive for world
peace, for the betterment of human conditions;
we must do what we can to promote arbitration, love of justice; but we have no right to
forget that none of these will serve to protect
us against an unjust aggressor. Let us do all
these good things, but at the same time take
those measures of wise precaution which the
experience of time and of all people teaches,
that we may be prepared to defend with force
those things which justice, honesty and fair
dealings are inadequate of themselves to defend? As Cromwell said: "Trust in Godbut keep your powder dry." In other words,
do right, but do not trust to that alone. The
highwayman is not especially concerned with
the morals of the man whose purse he covets,
nor is the great nation struggling for trade




On National Issues         43
and expansion disposed to give especial consideration to the morals of the people standing in her way. Every nation does, however,
give serious and prompt heed to the strength
and ability of another to hold and protect
what she has.








THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS


I BELIEVE we should adopt the League
of Nations with reservations which thoroughly Americanize it and leave America
absolutely untrammeled to follow the dictates
of the American people, expressed through the
agencies provided by the Constitution.
Whatever comes out of this discussion of the
League of Nations, there is one thing we
should try to preserve, and that is the machinery whereby the representatives of the
different nations can get together around a
table to talk things over before a resort to
force. You do not fight with any less determination if you give the other fellow a chance
to talk, and we do need something through
which we can get together and talk things over.
In urging the building up of a strong national spirit, I do not mean that we are to be
lacking in international charity or in the spirit
45




46


Leonard Wood


of international helpfulness, but if we have a
strong and vigorous national spirit, we shall
be a real power for good. We want a spirit
which will stand for international fair dealing
and a willingness to help in world crises, such
as that through which we are now going. In
other words, "we want to speak softly, but
carry a big stick," that is to say, be just and
fair but also be strong and ready to support
the right, not only with words but with force
if necessary.
IF WE are to be a great force for maintaining the peace of the world, a great influence for good, we must have not only
honesty and integrity of purpose, but we must
have organized and at our hands the forces of
right. We can be strong without becoming
aggressors. We can have weapons without
turning them against our brothers. We can
organize against the forces of wrong doing
without becoming an enemy of the right. It
is not enough to mean well, to desire that the
right shall prevail, but we must have the organization and preparedness to serve our
ideals.




On National Issues


47


III
I BELIEVE that we should accept the
League of Nations as modified and safeguarded by the existing Lodge reservationsreservations that Americanize it and safeguard
our traditional policies, reservations which
leave America absolutely free and untrammeled to follow the will of her own people in
all questions of foreign and domestic policy.
I, of course, at all times favor getting the
views of the people of the country where it is
practicable. However, in view of the fact that
the people have clearly indicated-as I see it
-that they are in favor of the treaty if our
traditional policies, interests and freedom of
action are fully safeguarded, it seems unnecessary to delay this most important question for
a general election in which their views could
hardly be more decisively expressed than they
have already been.
IV
WITH reference to my views on our foreign policy, I am in favor of and shall continue
to be in favor of the well-established policy of




48


Leonard Wood


this Government which conserves and promotes the interests of our own country. I do
not think this treaty with the reservations impairs that policy. It does not entangle us; it
leaves us free to exercise our own judgment;
it is temporary. If we choose to have it so,
we can retire on two years' notice.
One aim of America's foreign policy has always been the promotion of the peace of the
world. In order to accomplish this end her
people must be free in any given situation to
stand for righteousness according to their
judgment. As an important means to that
end, instrumentalities should be created and
developed by which, consistently with this freedom, the momentum of the other free and
peace-loving nations of the world, acting concurrently with us, can be added to our efforts.




THE FARMER ---HIS RIGHTS AND WRONGS


I
AGRICULTURE is the principal source
of our wealth. The farmers are the stable,
conservative element. They stand for good
government, for the rights of property and the
rights of men. The Red Flag never flies over
a farmhouse.
The decrease in agricultural production
compared with the increase in the population
of the country and the number of people who
live and work on the farms is disastrous and
should not continue. In other words, the food
supply should never be allowed to fall below
the country's requirements. We ought always
to be self-sustaining.
During the war, under every sort of handicap, the farmers of America rendered magnificent service in producing the food necessary to
feed not only the United States but very
largely our Allies. They sent their sons to
49




50


Leonard Wood


war and in spite of the shortage of labor and
by dint of increased effort they tremendously
increased this country's output of food. Had
they not done so, it would have been impossible for us to have taken our part in the war
as we did. The war would have dragged on
and probably been lost. Now the farmers feel
that their service was not adequately recognized.
The farmers constitute a full third of our
population, and the welfare of the nation is
practically bound up with theirs. Yet the
benefits of modern civilization have not been
extended to our rural communities in any such
measure as they have a right to demand.
Education for farm children should be universally accessible. Rural schools should be
up to the standards of city schools in every
way. The little state of Denmark, we are told,
has managed to build up a system of rural
schools that leads the world. No doubt this
explains the reason why Denmark leads the
world in agricultural productivity per acre
under cultivation. There is no reason why we,
with our greater resources, cannot duplicate
Denmark's feat, even outstrip it. Moreover,
if we are to keep up our national progress, we




On National Issues


51


must see to it that our farming population has
comparatively equal educational, social, political and economic advantages with our urban
population.
II
LONG hours of labor, lack of proper returns, and lack of social and intellectual attractions are largely responsible for the constant flow of young men and women from the
farms to the towns and cities. We have done
little or nothing to make farm surroundings
more attractive or farm labor less of a drudgery. We have not developed our rural highways and modes of communication as they
should be.
Every sound and normal man and woman
should have a fair and workable chance to earn
a living and to receive the benefits of their toil,
a fair and workable chance for a decent, useful and desirable life, with a chance to marry
and support a family, and give the children a
reasonable opportunity for a reasonable start.
The farmers have a right to expect from
every national administration a Department
of Agriculture in full and intelligent co-opera



52


Leonard Wood


tion with them and the great farm organizations of America. They deserve to be given
the results of thorough and intelligent study
as to the cost of farm products at home and
abroad, and should be furnished the uncensored facts.
We must keep constantly in mind one most
important fact, which is that nothing must be
permitted to interfere with ample production.
There must be no fixing of prices which will
result to the detriment of the farmer. Indeed, price fixing, especially minimum price
fixing, should be entered into most cautiously
and only when it is certain that good and not
harm will result.
I believe in a far larger measure of direct
dealing between producers and consumers of
food. Today altogether too small a portion
of the consumer's dollar gets back to the
farmer. In Omaha the other day I met a
farmer who was getting his breakfast at a
hotel in the city. He said to me: "I sell my
milk at six o'clock in the morning at eight
cents and three hours later I find it selling at
fifteen cents. After a year's work-for I
raised the cow, fed her, milked her and brought
the milk to market-I get only eight cents.




On National Issues


53


After three hours' work another fellow gets
fifteen cents. Some one in between gets seven
cents in a few hours. How does he do it?
That's what I want to find out." The farmer
feels that he has a right to sell directly to the
consumer wherever he can. Means should be
furnished him for greatly amplifying his opportunity in this direction.
III
I BELIEVE, and I think most persons
who have given the matter thought will agree
with me, that we have permitted too much of
speculation to grow up in the handling of life
necessities. I think there can be no question
that the number of middlemen in trade can be
reduced with advantage to our economic life,
to both producer and consumer. While the
storage of food supplies is absolutely necessary to feed our people, since crops are not
produced throughout the year, the hoarding of
food supplies should be severely punished and
vigorously suppressed.
Much has been done in the way of co-operation among the farmers of Europe; co-operation in marketing their products and co-operation in purchasing. Big business and large or



54


Leonard Wood


ganizations of workingmen have come to realize that the best results are often obtained by
co-operation. This should not involve discrimination against any man who chooses to
work for himself, because there are always
positions in which individual work is the best.
I believe that co-operative organizations of
farmers should be given the same consideration as to other organizations under similar
circumstances.
Secure provision should be made to enable
farmers to obtain adequate credit so as to develop and improve their land. Steps should
be taken to increase the production of necessary fertilizers, so that the farmer may never
be without an adequate supply. Steps should
be taken looking to the increased production
of nitrates. We are still dependent for our
nitrates upon importations from Chile, and in
case of war with a power controlling the seas
this great supply of fertilizers would be cut
off. We should push forward at once the coInpletion of the nitrate producing plants commenced during the war. It is very essential
that the country should be entirely self-supporting and in no way dependent upon other
nations for fertilizers.




On National Issues


55


IV
THE gradual abolition of farm tenancy
would be a healthy development. Since our
earliest beginnings, the typical farmer has
owned the land and has cultivated it with the
aid of his own sons and a few hired men. We
do not wish this type of farmer to be supplanted by one who holds his lands as a tenant.
We do not wish to see the farmers absorbed by
the big land holders to the detriment of our
best farming interests. The tenant farmer
should be encouraged through a liberal system
of credits to buy and own his land. Tenant
farming generally means the exhaustion of the
soil. The tenant farmer takes out as much as
possible from the soil and puts in as little as he
can. The result is the gradual falling off of
production from one of the most serious of all
causes, deterioration of the soil.
We want to maintain the traditional type of
farmer-the man who lives upon and owns the
land. To do this we must make his life and
surroundings as attractive and comfortable as
possible. The man who owns the land and tills
it is the man who stands for good government,
conservation, the rights of property, law and




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order-in fact, for those basic principles which
give a nation stability and life.
A wide extension of the present Farm
Bureau System, in co-operation with various
State agricultural departments and local committees, seems to me most desirable. It ought
to solve many of the economic questions which
confront the farmer, problems which are evervarying, problems of production and distribution. All this work should be done under the
expert advice, guidance and assistance of the
Government.
One of the great problems which confront
us is not only to keep up an agricultural population, but to increase it. By multiplying the
farmer's opportunities for improving his farm
and production we will continue to make this
a self-sustaining nation. The moment the output of farms falls below the demands of our
people, new and grave problems will confront
us.
In order to keep up increasing interest in
agriculture we must give heed to existing conditions of discontent and take intelligent steps
to remedy them. The increase in urban population at the expense of rural and agricultural
means increased unrest, increased cost of liv



On National Issues


57


ing and diminished stability. Let us give to
the agricultural class the attention it deserves.
V
IN building up the republic of Cuba from
the wreck of a war-worn Spanish colony, I
turned my attention first to order and to agriculture as the foundations upon which the
structure must rest. The returns were marvelous. We pushed forward agriculture as
rapidly as possible. Taxation was suspended
on all estates whose owners were attempting
to put them under production. Farmers were
furnished food, supplies and implements which
enabled them to live on the farm and plant and
harvest their crops. Animals were imported
an 1 turned over to farmers on easy terms, securities being taken in form of liens on property. Import duties on all agricultural and
plantation supplies and machinery were reduced to merely nominal rates. The result
was that in a very short time agriculture was in
a most flourishing condition, and, figuratively
speaking, for every dime of outlay there was a
dollar in return. The sugar crop jumped
from 200,000 tons per year to nearly 1,200,000
tons in less than three years, and tobacco increased in proportion. The money received




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from crops was expended largely in rehabilitating the island. Revenues increased; peace
and tranquillity went hand in hand with advancing agriculture. Today the foundation of
the prosperity of the island of Cuba rests
squarely on its agriculture.
VI
THERE should be much more attention
paid to the development of stock throughout
the country. I shall never forget the words
of the Secretary of Agriculture of the Argentine Republic when I commented on the tremendous prices the Argentine was paying for
selected stock for breeding purposes: "Oh, yes,
we do pay high prices; but for every dollar we
pay for good stock we get back hundreds of
dollars from increased quality." And as one
looked at the great beef herds of square, blocky
Herefords, one could understand what le
meant. So it was with all other lines of stock
whether cattle, horses or sheep. To secure the
best of stock was the object of the government.
There is no question that much more
could be done advantageously by our Government to aid in the improvement of stock without any great increase in expense to the
farmer.




TEACHERS, MOULDERS OF THE FUTURE


I
THERE is much work to be done in behalf
of our public schools. The draft showed a
very alarming condition of physical unfitness.
Practically fifty per cent of the American men
between the ages of twenty-one and thirtyone were unfit for hard front-line service.
That is a rather alarming condition. It is bad
enough from a military standpoint; it is infinitely worse from the standpoint of industry,
and it is peculiarly sad when one remembers
that most of the defects, at least a very large
percentage of them, could have been done away
with by a thorough calisthenic training in the
public schools. I think that is one thing we
ought to interest ourselves in, to strive to better the training in the public schools.
We need a broader moral training in public
schools. I do not mean narrow sectarian
training, but we must teach more of the broad
moral principles. We want to teach in our
schools at all times a spirit of truth, of fair
play, the square deal, honesty and loyalty, de59




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votion, good citizenship, and the spirit of service and sacrifice. All these ought to be built
up in the schoolroom, and in that connection
very serious consideration ought to be given
to the condition of your teaching forces in both
universities and public schools.
II
TEACHERS are very much underpaid.
There is no class today in America which has
the opportunity to do more important or more
constructive work in the building up of good
citizenship, I do not know that I could except
the church itself, than those who are teaching
in our universities and schools. They are forming the men and women of tomorrow. They
are working quietly but effectively day after
day, week after week and month after month.
They have our children with them much more
than we have them, and as they incline the
minds of these youngsters so will they be later
on. They are not only implanting knowledge,
evoking power and teaching the children how
to use the knowledge they give them, but they
are also waging that silent battle against ignorance and prejudice upon the successful outcome of which depends very largely the stabil



On National Issues


61


ity of this country. The average country
school teacher in many sections of this country
receives less than the average first-class chauffeur.  The college professor is not paid as
well as the average good bricklayer, and the
result has been that since the war many of our
ablest professors and teachers have had to seek
employment in other lines of work.
III
WE want in this country for our teaching
force men and women of the very best intelligence, and of the highest character. Many of
the very best are staying, it is true, because
they have the missionary spirit, because of love
of the work. The teaching force of America
is making the citizens of tomorrow, and it is a
most important duty.   Pay them well and
treat them well.
We talk of other things, and of many progressive ideas, and so forth, but one of the big,
practical things is to see to it that the teaching
force of America is given the recognition
which it is entitled to, because you cannot trifle
with the education and training of your children. As your children are trained and educated, so will the Ship of State be tomorrow.




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The security of our Republic rests largely on
the educational system of the States.
We want to put into our high schools a great
deal more of sound, economic training than we
have hitherto. We ought to give at least the
fundamentals of economic training in the lower
schools, and in the high schools it ought to be
gone into pretty thoroughly. That an honest
day's wage means an honest day's work; that
the real remedy for the high cost of living is
increased production; that the real enemies
of labor are those who talk reduced production. We want to drive some of those ideas
home. When our children go out from the
schools and colleges they want to have more
than a mere superficial knowledge of many
things; so let us teach a little more of these
basic, homely principles, and let us try to drive
home, too, something more in the way of information as to what our Government stands for,
how it is run, how it is operated, what the Constitution means, what is meant by the Constitutional guarantee.
We want to impress upon all our children
that the Constitution is vital to our national
life, and that every step we have taken away
from it has been a step toward chaos.




1MMIIGRATION WITIHOUT ASSIMILATION


I
WE must give more care to our immigration. We must look into the quality of our
immigration. We have put all the sand into
our cement that it will stand. There is no
use having the portals open on the one hand
for the deportation of the alien Red and wide
open on the other hand for the admission of
the undesirable immigrant.
We need a certain amount of immigration,
but we have a right to know something of the
quality of the people who come here, and we
are negligent in our duty if we do not ascertain very carefully what the quality of those
people is. It is not enough that they shall be
physically sound and of reasonable mental intelligence, but we have a right to know whether
they come from the anarchistic group, whose
religion is destruction and whose object is the
ruin of all government. We do not want this
class to come into this country.
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As we look over Europe today we see this
great wave of unrest, the so-called Red movement. It is beating now on the frontiers of
Hungary, it is beating against the remnants
of the German army; you find North Italy
under martial law, and in Spain you find great
unrest. You find France bled white by war,
trying to re-establish order and prosperity, to
rebuild a devastated country and start again
the wheels of commerce. In England you
have another nation bled white by war but
struggling tremendously and with great intelligence and energy to re-establish her commerce and gain the main trade areas.
We do not know just why this unrest has
come to our country, but to a certain extent
it has come. We do not want to have this
element increased. We should deport the
man who comes here determined to tear down
our institutions, and we should deport him
through due legal processes, but very promptly. There is no use of arresting thousands of
people in a spectacular manner and then failing to deport them if they are found unfit to be
citizens.




On National Issues


65


II
I THINK we ought to look over the people
who are coming here, just as we look over men
and women before we give them a passport in
time of war. They go to our consular and
diplomatic agents and are examined very carefully before a passport is issued. We ought
to have a searching examination of the immigrants who are coming to America now and
in the future.
You know these people are going to live
among you; their children are going to marry
your children; their blood is going to be intermingled with yours. We are all of us interested in the maintenance of the highest possible
standard in America, and we must look much
more carefully to immigration into our country than we have in the past.
When these people arrive I think we ought
to hold them for a time under observation; not
for a long time, but long enough to give them
a course in intensive Americanization and
teach them what our Government stands for,
the difference between liberty and license, and
impress upon them that here true liberty is
found within the law and never outside of it;




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try to give them an idea of the conditions under which they are going to live.
What happens now? As soon as the immigrant comes ashore he goes to live usually in a
racial area, to be fed on a dialect press. I
think we ought to try to obviate that and to
use our best influence to have these people go
to sections of the country where their previous
training will be of the most use to us, and of
the greatest value to them; where they will
have the best opportunity to succeed. New
York, for instance, is the largest Italian city
in the world, and some of our other cities have
enormous racial groups, and there they are in
congested racial masses, fed by a dialect press
and retaining the ideals and prejudices of their
own lands, at times even stronger than they
were in the old country.
III
WE are glad to welcome the immigrant who
comes here to adopt our institutions and live
up to our standards and ideals. If he comes
with the intention of becoming a part of us
and to support our Government, we are glad
to have him; but we should turn our faces like




On National Issues


67


flint against the class of people who are coming here with avowed dislike for our institutions and with declared intention of pulling
down our Government. We ought not, with
this condition of unrest prevailing throughout
the world, receive this kind of people. We
have the right and the moral obligation to our
own people of today and those who will live
tomorrow, to see that the people who are coming here to be the Americans of tomorrow are
of the right kind; that they are for us and not
against us.
While we are proud that America is called
the home for the oppressed, let us see to it that
she does not become the dumping ground of
the degenerate.
IV
AMERICANIZATION of the alien and
some native born is one of the great tasks before us. We have got to drive this home to
our people. Our work is not going to be limited entirely to foreigners and those who have
come to us and have not been assimilated, but
it has to be applied to a good many who have
been born here. We want to get rid of the




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Red element, ship it out, keep any more from
coming in, and take hold of the problem of
Americanization very seriously among our
newcomers. Teach them to love our flag.
They may have a sentimental fondness for
their own flag and own language. We want
to stand, however, in this country for one language in the public schools, for one flag and
one loyalty, and we must do it if we are going
to build up that spirit of solidarity which we
want. We want to build up an intense American spirit; not a selfish spirit but an intense
American spirit, America, first and a long way
first. This is what we want. And, we should
have behind that spirit an American conscience, a conscience which will make this
nation do its duty whenever called upon to do
it, and do it promptly.
In these days there is a good deal of talk of
mandates, but the mandate that our people
will always accept is that mandate which comes
from the conscience of the American people.
That is the mandate which Americans will respond to and no other.
We have one such mandate now. It is that
we, with the wealth that has come to us, shall
do all that is humanly possible to alleviate the




On National Issues         69
conditions of destitution and suffering in Europe. This does not mean sending men overseas arms in hand; nor does it involve us in
the intrigues of European diplomacy, but it
means simply doing our duty as a Christian
nation. There are literally millions of people
who stand without shelter, without food, without necessary clothing. It is a condition unparalleled in the world's history. It is a condition we can do a lot to alleviate and in doing
it we make no enemies, we become entangled
in no entangling alliances.








OUR DEFENSIVE WEAPONS


WE need a highly efficient but small Regular Army, 200,000 to 250,000 men, sufficient
for the peace needs of the nation, and a firstclass Navy, always ready.
VlWe must have a definite and well-established
policy of national preparedness. Never again
must we permit America to be caught so utterly unprepared and unready as we were in
the Great World War. We paid for this lack
of preparation in blood and treasure. We
grant universal suffrage; we must demand universal obligation for service in peace and war
whenever the nation calls. To fail to do this
is to deny the basic principles upon which the
Republic rests, equality of opportunity and
equality of obligation within the limit of our
powers.
The Army of the Republic should be built
up with the idea of maintaining the smallest
number of men living the lives of professional
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soldiers, only enough to give us an army sufficient for the peace needs of the nation, but behind it some system which will give our youth
enough training to make them quickly available in case of attack.
II
WE must insure the largest possible amount
of security, together with the absolute avoidance of anything un-American or militaristic.
We won't call it compulsory military training, but training for national service which
will combine vocational, industrial and citizenship training. They all go together in the
making of the American citizen.
We are concerned with the making of better, more effective men. The soldier training
is only a part in the making of the citizens of
the Republic.
The young men who have been through this
war are the men to whom this country is going
to look for a military policy. It has got to
be an American military policy on purely democratic lines, but there must be some kind of
policy, and when we get over the war weariness and give our attention to home affairs




On National Issues        73
the country is going to look to the American
Legion to outline a military policy, one founded on the wisdom of experience.
We should have a strong but conservative
foreign policy, not an aggressive or bullying
policy, but the foreign policy indicated in the
words of Theodore Roosevelt, "Speak softly
but carry a big stick." He believed in a foreign policy which assured the safety of American citizens who are living within the laws of
the land of their abode, no matter where. You
remember when an American was captured by
some North African bandit the words of
Roosevelt, "Perdicaris alive or Raisuli dead."
That has the American ring and means safety
to Americans and American interests.








AMERICANIZATION


I
IF Theodore Roosevelt were here now, I
believe that he would feel the same keen interest that we do in the great issues of the day.
The war is over, but the problems after the
war are confronting us and they are rather
large and some of them are rather serious. We
want to bring to the solution of these problems
the same kind of enthusiasm, the same cooperation of effort, that we have brought to
the conduct of the war. We want to do all
we can first toward Americanizing the newcomers. We have been doing our work very
superficially thus far. Marching in the street
parades and carrying banners, while the national air is being played, is not Americanization.
We want to take up very systematically and
earnestly real Americanization. I think we
want to have throughout the graded public
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Leonard Wood


schools but one language. I think the slogan
ought to be that in the graded schools of this
country there should be only one language
and that language the language of the Declaration of Independence.
II
WE want to build up a strong, intense
American spirit, not selfish, but a real American spirit. We must avoid dangerous internationalism as we would avoid death, for it
means national death. There must be a strong,
well-balanced nation. We want an intense
national spirit, helpful to the world in trouble,
but still American, and we want behind it an
American conscience which will make America
always quickly responsive to her duties. We
want a real American conscience, a Christian
conscience.
Americanization is a vital subject in these
days when there is so much unrest in the world.
The Red menace is rapidly sweeping over
Europe. We are looking on the rather thin
line of the defenders of the integrity of Hungary and Poland, and we wonder whether that
thin line is going to be strong enough to hold




On National Issues


77


up the force of disorganization. We find the
spirit of unrest in Spain and all over Europe.
We find it here. But I think that the manifestations of unrest are only psychological
phases. They are here because they are in
Europe.
We are going to govern this country by
Americans. When I say Americans I do not
mean necessarily people whose families have
been here many generations. But I mean the
real Americans, the people who have adopted
and are trying to live up to our standards and
ideals, the people who stand for law and order, who stand for government under the Constitution, who adhere to a policy that has made
us what we are, who are ready to offer everything, even life itself, for this country. These
are the men and women who are going to govern this country.
III
WE want to make it possible for the good
foreigners, who wish to come to our country
and become American citizens and live by our
form of government, to come to our land; but
we do not want to be a dumping ground for
radicals, agitators, Reds, who do not under



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stand our ideals, who do not know what our
ancestors suffered to build up our institutions
and who have no respect for our flag. This
can be done by a more careful scrutiny of the
immigrants who apply for admission to our
country. If we do this, it will save us a great
deal of the agitation which has been frequent
in this country for some time. We should also
have an organized system for distributing the
desirable foreigners in sections of the country
where they can do the things that they have
learned to do. Those who have been farmers
ought to go to the country. Those who have
been skilled tradesmen, to the trades and to
the factories of the kind that they have been
trained in. In this way we shall be able to absorb the foreigners more readily than if they
go into the highly congested neighborhoods
where only people of their own nationalities
live.
IV
THE I. W. W. is like a plague of infected
rats. At Omaha, they drugged the crowd
with booze. The Reds are a menace to the
country. The red flag is a menace to our
country.




On National Issues


79


We must strive to educate these foreigners
in the ideals of Americanism. We must assure them that equality of opportunity is given
to all to make the best of themselves; that all
reforms in this country must be brought about
in an orderly manner and that we believe in
Americanism and not internationalism!
In this work of Americanizing, the employer
can aid a great deal by insisting that the English language be spoken in the factories, the
mills and the shops; in encouraging foreign
laborers to attend night schools and to utilize
the newspapers and other American journals
so that they will familiarize themselves with
current American public opinion, which is,
after all, a great formative influence in our
American political life. In short, if the employer will treat these foreigners, who are
working for him, with as much consideration
as he does his customers, a sympathetic bond
could be established between these foreigners
and their employers that could not very well
be severed. It is the duty of every loyal
American to do all in his power to help the
country in the great task of absorbing the foreigner and Americanizing those who have come
to our shores from foreign lands. If we all co



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operate in this work it will only be a question
of a short time before the doctrines of the Reds
will find no fertile fields to grow in, and we
shall hear no more about revolution and violence.
v
WE want to keep our feet on the ground
and hold on to the ideals and policies which
have made us great, to the Constitution and
the national policies whose wisdom has been
demonstrated by our security and progress.
We must do all we can to build up a sound
national spirit, an intense spirit of Americanism.
We must do all we can to complete the work
of infusing into one homogeneous mass of
Americans the various elements which make
up our population. We have had in our armies representatives of all the fighting groups
in Europe, and I want to say a word of appreciation of the loyalty of these new citizens,
of these Americans of alien descent. We were
a bit uncertain as to what some of them would
do, for some of them came from the blood
strains of our enemies, but we have only to
read the lists of our dead to realize that Ameri



On National Issues        81
cans of German and other descent have been
loyal. They have written anew their oath of
allegiance. This time it has been written in
their own blood.
These new people are now a part of us in
every sense. They have offered their lives in
defense of the country. They have stood prepared to make the supreme sacrifice and many
have made it. So let us hear no more of hyphenated Americans, and look upon all who
have been loyal and lived up to our ideals as
Americans, for through their service and their
loyalty they have measured up to the standard
of true Americans.








ARBITRATION-ITS VALUE AND LIMITATIONS


I
MOST men, and practically all soldiers,
believe in the principle of arbitration. They
are anxious to see its application extended and
amplified. Yet we must not be blind to the
fact that it is not of general application. Arbitration can be resorted to only when both
parties believe that there is something to be
arbitrated. When one party to the controversy is confident it is right, is absolutely resolved to maintain the right and justice of its
claims, arbitration appears neither desirable
nor reasonable. Again, many questions are
of vital importance to one nation and of little
or no importance to another. The vitally interested party does not care to arbitrate these
questions. For instance, we do not care to
arbitrate questions of immigration. Nations
have always guarded very jealously questions
affecting citizenship, and have held that they
are questions to be decided by the nation itself.
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Leonard Wood


The Monroe Doctrine is another instance.
This policy, of vital importance to us, is not
generally approved by other nations. If we
should submit to arbitration questions arising
under it we should have difficulty in finding
an impartial board. In the maintenance of
the Monroe Doctrine we have had the unexpressed, but nevertheless strong, approval of
England. So, too, the most vital questions
leading to the present Great War have never
been subjects of arbitration.
II
THERE are relatively few people who appreciate the true causes of war; who realize
that the great majority of wars arise through
differences or controversies concerning commerce, trade routes, trade areas, and lines of
commercial expansion. Race expansion and,
to a lesser extent than heretofore, religious
differences are also causes of war. The great
underlying causes, in most cases, run back directly to trade or to the possession of certain
favorable areas for racial or industrial expansion. The old days when the arbitrary decision of kings ordinarily determined whether




On National Issues


85


war was to be waged or peace maintained have
practically passed away, and no leader or ruler
in the present age would venture to involve his
people in war unless he felt that he had their
support.
III
THE plan for an alliance of nations to enforce world peace is not a new one.  The
desire for such peace has led to many earnest
efforts to build up agreements and alliances
which would insure it. Thus far such efforts
have been without lasting success. Coincident
with these efforts are declarations of men who,
deeply impressed with the horrors of war, honestly believe that each great war is the last,
and announce their conclusions to the world
as statements of fact. Many men doubtlessly
honestly believed before the beginning of the
present great war that international strife on
a large scale was passing away. Charlatans
and tricksters and professional "peace-at-anyprice" men backed up their arguments with
the statement that war was at an end, hence
there was no need of preparation. There is
nothing new in this propaganda. It is as old
as written history. War has been always one




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of those rugged paths of suffering through
which nations have from time to time had to
pass in the discharge of their duty toward
themselves and in the upholding of principles
of international morality and right. I do not
now refer to wars of conquest. I am speaking
simply of defensive wars or wars for great
principles.  Charles Sumner believed and
stated in 1848 that the world had seen its last
great war. Some of our professional pacifists
of lighter timber and louder voices were proclaiming over the entire country up to the outbreak of the present war that the Balkan war
was the last of the world's great wars. Block,
the author of that remakable book, "The Future of War," which had much to do with the
creation of the Hague Conference, gave extensive reasons why a great war could not
again occur. Even our distinguished pacifists
have predicted that war has passed out of the
realm of possibility. All these statements are
idle and wholly unwarranted, either from the
standpoint of history or that of present conditions, or from that of the probabilities of the
future, which must be judged very largely by
the past.




On National Issues


IV
IN recent times we have had various alliances which are really alliances for the maintenance of peace. The Triple Alliance, the
Triple Entente, the Entente Cordiale, are all
marked efforts in this direction, all of which,
as the recent Great War indicates, have been
doomed to failure. I doubt very much whether
this country will ever go into a world alliance
and pledge herself to use her forces to maintain peace perhaps at the expense of a cause
with which we may be in sympathy and more
autocratic forms of governments not. Our best
policy is to be ready to defend with our own
arms and our own resources our territories,
our rights, and our institutions. One of the
dangers of the present effort in the line of an
alliance to preserve peace by force of arms is
that it still further delays the undertaking of
absolutely necessary organization and preparedness.
The problem which confronts us is one of
preparation, such preparation as will make all
possible antagonists hesitate before forcing us
to resort to war. An upright and just life
does not protect the individual or the nation




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against aggression. The best men who have
ever lived on this earth have suffered martyrdom, and inoffensive nations have been swept
ruthlessly aside by more powerful ones in
whose way they stood. All this is very unfortunate, but it is fact. Wars will become
less frequent when people are less selfish and
more moral. Universal responsibility for service will help build up, as much as anything
can, a habit of seriously considering and weighing the causes which may lead to war. It will
not prevent war. Wars will never cease until
human nature is radically changed. No nation can fold its hands and submit to oppression, be neutral in all things, both good and
bad, refuse to contest any issue, and continue
to exist. It will be swept aside and absorbed
by other and more vigorous peoples, or linger
an inert mass, subject to the will of others.




NEEDED-SOUND MINDS IN SOUND BODIES


I
THE application of the principle of universal service brought to the colors through
the draft, first and last, approximately three
million men-men from all sections of the
country and from all the races and race mixtures which make up our population.
It furnished an excellent opportunity to see
the men of America as they are, and while the
showing was splendid in all that which related
to willingness to serve the Nation in time of
war, either in the ranks or wherever sent, and
to do their part in the great struggle for civilization and humanity, for good faith and fair
dealing among nations, it brought to our attention certain conditions which are not only
regrettable but alarming. Only about half of
the men of military age are really fit for hard
military service. This rating is based upon
standards of physical excellence well below
those of the Regular Army, Navy and Marine
Corps in time of peace. The draft boards
sent forward to the training camps 65 per
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cent of all who presented themselves for enrollment and were suitably examined by the
board.  Of those sent to the training camps
an average of 7 per cent were rejected as unfit
for any service, and a large percentage was
sent to development battalions, and others
to labor battalions, camp utilities, and special
lines of work not requiring the best physical
condition, so that, deducting all, it is safe to
say that not over 50 per cent, probably less, of
the men were fit for line service when the Nation was called to the colors.
II
IN some of the racial groups from certain
sections vice diseases, active and latent but
dangerous, were found amounting to over
30 per cent.  Through all the draft there
was a lamentable and alarmingly heavy percentage. The percentage was lower among
men coming from the agricultural and ranching districts of the Middle-West and Northwest; much heavier among the colored than
among the white race. The heaviest percentages, taking the men as a whole, were found
among those coming from the large towns and
manufacturing centers,




On National Issues


91


When it is remembered that the men sent
to camps for training had passed selective
draft boards, and that they represented those
who were considered most fit to undergo training and preparation for military service, it
does not take much imagination to picture the
physical and health conditions of the remaining 29 per cent. Think what this condition
means: what its effect is upon the race, upon
national efficiency and national morality and
character.
I believe that, generally speaking, the percentage of vice diseases was found to be lower
in the sections of the country where women
have taken an active part in public affairs, and
in those sections of our country in which alcoholic liquors are not to be obtained. But
throughout the nation the percentage is distressingly heavy, and indicates very clearly
the need of stricter enforcement of the laws
against vice and increasing efforts everywhere
to stamp out the social evil.
III
THERE were numbers of men with digestive disturbances, great numbers with defective
teeth, defective vision, minor curvatures and




92


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deformities, flat feet, ruptures, either actual
or incipient; general defects in the way of flat
chests, stooping postures, ear troubles, and
large numbers of men suffering from hookworm, with its accompanying anaemia and
sluggishness of mind and muscle. Many of
these defects, in fact most of them, were in a
way unknown to the men. They had grown
up that way. They felt no special consciousness of being physically defective. There were
many men in whom the co-ordination of mind
and muscle was very poor. Their impulses
were slow and their reaction sluggish. In
other words, the co-ordination of mind and
muscle was far from what it should have been.
While many of these defects were susceptible of cure or of such improvement as would
render the men fit for some kind of service,
and to carry on the ordinary duties and labors
of men in time of peace, remember, always,
that these were among the 70 per cent who
represented those considered fit for service.
In the other 30 per cent much worse conditions existed. This is not an attractive picture; but it is one well worth considering and
studying with a view to the correction and betterment of conditions referred to.




On National Issues


IV
WHEN the men came to camp they were
thoroughly gone over, and those who were not
considered fit for full training were placed in
development battalions, where each man received such special treatment as his case demanded, and a large number of them were
eventually made fit for service. The men suffering from vice diseases were given the benefit
of the best possible treatment, and they were
held largely segregated until they were considered clean and safe to go among their fellow-men. Their curative treatment was carried on systematically even after their assignment to organizations. When they were discharged from the service it can be safely said
of the men with vice diseases that many of
them were sent back no longer active menaces
to society or unfit to become the fathers of a
race.
Taking the defectives as a class, as they came
out of the development battalions, the change
in appearance was remarkable. They were
entirely different-appearing men. They had
found themselves, or were at least well on the
way to so doing. Mind and muscle were bet



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ter co-ordinated. There had been a great improvement in all-around physical efficiency,
and a marked increase in mental alertness and
power of concentration.  Of course, there
were a considerable number who never became
fit for military service, but almost without exception all had greatly improved.
Generally speaking, a serious effort was
made to hold men who were dangerous to society until they were no longer so.
The mobilization of the selected men of our
Nation brought to our attention an intolerable,
unnecessary, and a dangerous condition, dangerous to us and to the race.
V
ONCE we have established throughout the
land proper physical training in our schools,
both public and private, the training which will
give the youth of the country erect figures, a
proper carriage, proper co-ordination of mind
and muscle, the work in the training camp
will be much easier and the percentage of
men fit to serve their country much greater.
When they come to the training camp for
their military training, combined, as I hope it




On National Issues         95
will be, with some form of industrial and vocational training, they will receive the final systematic setting up and corrective work, which
will send them back to their communities better men physically, and, consequently, of
greater economic value, better men from the
citizenship standpoint and better men to be
the fathers of a nation-men who will know
that their sins will be visited upon their children's children, men with a better appreciation
of the clean, decent and moral life.
Universal training for national service is
worth all it may cost because of the physical
betterment which will come through it, because
it means a better all-around race of men and
consequently a better people, a nation with a
sound mind in a sound body.








ORGANIZED GOD SAMArITANS


AMONG the most remarkable and useful
developments of the war has been the growth
and broadening of the field of effort of the
American Red Cross and other organizations,
some of them expressly organized to meet war
conditions and all of them directed with a view
to sending our troops overseas clean and sound
in mind and body, and to helping in the conduct of the war.
Generally speaking, their work has been exceedingly well done-done with an effectiveness which is best appreciated by those who
have been in contact with the troops in the
great training camps, ports of embarkation
and debarkation, and at the large railway distributing centers.
These organizations, individually and collectively, have been a great force for building
up morale, and, hence, for winning the war.
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The activities of these organizations have been
extended, especially those of the Red Cross.
Its efforts have not been limited merely to
providing nurses, equipment of hospitals,
preparation of surgical dressings, provision of
supplies and aid for the sick and wounded.
This organization has gone into the training
camps, established itself at railway stations,
at hospitals, military posts, and other points.
It has distributed food, clothing, surgical
equipment, supplies of various kinds. It has
made good deficiencies in necessities. It has
established houses and rooms for recreation.
It has been an agent for the dissemination of
sound propaganda in camps at home and in
the battle area. It has built up the morale in
great armies. It has fed families behind the
line. It has raised enormous sums of money.
It has been a great force for civilization and
humanity.
THERE are other splendid patriotic organizations, such as the Y. M. C. A., the
Knights of Columbus, Salvation Army, Y. W.
C. A., Jewish Welfare Board, War Camp
Community Service, Camp Activities, and




On National Issues         99
others which have also done yeoman service in
many fields.
The days of active field service are practically at an end, as far as our forces are concerned. The Army is home and work in its
behalf will soon be reduced to comparatively
insignificant proportions. The question arises
-what are going to be the peace-time activities of the Red Cross and of the other organizations? Their work must not cease. Millions need their services in this country. Great
natural disasters will occur in the future as in
the past. It is reasonably certain wars will
occur. The Red Cross should be organized
and prepared to meet promptly and effectively
the demands made upon it.
Our Red Cross must be essentially an American organization if it is to be strong and have
the spirit which comes from nationality. It
will be called upon from time to time to meet
calls for help in various parts of the world.
It must be prepared to respond to them in the
energetic and generous manner which characterized it in the recent war. To do this it is
essential that the organization be maintained
upon an effective basis.




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III
THE peace-time demands for what we consider normal Red Cross work are a simple
problem for the present great organization,
with its millions of members; but even these
cannot be met effectively unless the organization is continued upon an efficient basis and
well-thought-out plans prepared in advance to
meet possible emergencies.
The work of the Red Cross during the war
has been a wondeful work, beneficial not only
to suffering humanity, but helpful and broadening to those who have taken part in it. A
wonderful machine has been developed, embodying much of the best ability of our people.
Why should we not amplify the field of activity of this and the other great organizations,
with their splendid spirit of service, with their
millions of enthusastic members and supporters? Why should we not make use of this tremendous force in solving some of our great
problems at home?
If we can hold these organizations together,
or the greater portion of them, and direct the
energies of the splendid men and woman who
have done so much to help our soldiers, sailors




On National Issues        101
and marines during the war and to aid suffering humanity overseas to bettering the conditions in the slums of our cities, among the poor,
and among the industrial workers, results of
inestimable value could be attained-results
which will make for better relations between
capital and labor.
IV
UNITED effort on the part of these organizations for real Americanization, for the
establishment of better social and industrial
conditions, will deprive the professional agitator of his following and will bring the people
from the different walks of life into a more
sympathetic understanding and tend to build
up that which makes for a Brotherhood of
Man. We must go into the highways and byways as have the practical missionaries and
organizations of some of our churches and societies; as the Salvation Army has. Americanization and betterment work are not accomplished by the building up of idle organizations, by after-dinner speeches, but by practical work-work which carries with it the human touch. We wish our unassimilated citizens
to know what our Constitution and institue




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tions mean; what America stands for. We
want them fed on American ideas and ideals
and not on the dangerous teachings of a dialect press. We desire them to come under the
leadership of Americans and not under that of
those who neither understand nor sympathize
with our institutions.
The existing spirit of unrest springs in part
from conditions which need remedying, in part
from vicious and false leadership and in part
from the organized dissemination of unsound
and dangerous doctrines under the guise of liberal ideas. These conditions can be largely, if
not wholly, done away with if the organizations which have done so much during the war
attack them with the energy and intelligence
with which they attacked the war problems. It
is no time now to let these organizations fall
to pieces, but rather to redouble their efforts,
so that America, strong and united at home,
may stand prepared to play her part in the
world as we would have her play it.




No PARLEY WITH THE REDS


THERE is room in this country but for
one flag, and that is the American flag. Put
down the red flag.  It stands for nothing
which our Government stands for.
It is against everything we have struggled
for. It is against the integrity of the family,
the State, the Nation. It only floats where
cowards are in power. It represents everything we want to avoid.
These are times of dangerous, subversive
psychology. The barriers between ordered
government and chaos are down in some nations and trembling in others. We must stand
squarely on our feet here. Avoid the dangerous doctrines of the hour which are masquerading under the banner of "Liberal Ideas
and Progress."
This is no time now for undertaking new
theories. The world must once more get on
an even keel and settle down after the up103




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heavals of the Great War. It is time now to
keep our feet on the ground.
Experience in the training camps brought
out very forcibly the desirability of having but
one language in our graded public schools, and
that language should be the language of the
Declaration of Independence, of the Constitution, of Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln,
Cleveland and Roosevelt. It is the language
of the best democracy.
II
THERE is an element of discontent abroad
that is threatening to break down governments and substitute chaos. It is important
that we shall be steady, and I can say that in
this country 95 per cent of us are steady.
We have no time for the new theory and no
desire to listen to too much new preaching.
We must keep our eyes on the ground ahead
of us and our stride steady, and stand by the
Constitution. It has looked at times as if every
step we have taken was leading to chaos, but
the world will settle down.
We are going to govern this country by
Americans and will have law and order. By




On National Issues


105


Americans I mean men who are living up to
the ideals and traditions of the country. The
foreigners must be recognized. Through their
part in the war they have built up a great spirit
of American solidarity. They have stood
shoulder to shoulder with us to serve our country. It has been a military age and the war
has been of some use. It has given us the
flame to fuse the people into a class of. Americans. There are problems ahead, but we are
going to solve them. All that is needed are
two  things-courage  and  common   sense.
What we want to do is to drive home to these
people the meaning of law and the meaning
of liberty.
III
THE big issue today is, first and foremost,
maintenance of law and order, respect for constituted authority and maintenance of a government under the Constitution.
Ninety-five per cent of American labor is
on the square and wants to run straight.
Where it is running wrong it is under bad
leadership. Give labor American leadership.
Don't allow it to drift into the hands of anarchistic Red leaders. As for the Reds, let's




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stamp them out. They grow only in communities where government is timid and slack.
They are a cowardly lot, assassins and murderers often, cowards always. With them go the
I. W. W.; their brand is treason.
We've got to follow up our immigrants
more closely. Why not instruct them in
Americanism? When they get over the gangplank the literature of the Reds is placed
in their hands. Let's meet them with the literature of Americanism.
IV
IT seems to me that the watchword today
is "steady." We must do all we can to give
a square deal to both capital and labor, to
push forward good business and increase production. We must also make a much more
serious and thorough effort to Americanize the
immigrant who comes to us.
I found throughout the disturbances at
Gary, at Omaha, and in the coal fields that
these aliens were well supplied with the literature of destruction, and that they had barely
been touched by Americanizing influences.
The necessity is upon us of promptly get



On National Issues


107


ting rid of the alien or naturalized Red either
by deportation or proper legal procedure and
of emphasizing the vital importance of the
maintenance of law and order, respect for
property, and the rights of the individual.
The destructive group is small but well organized. The danger from within is not alone
from the Reds, but from our own indifference.
We must impress upon all these new people,
and our own who have become disaffected, that
true liberty is found within the law, and never
outside it.
v
WE are very proud that America has been
called for generations "the refuge of the oppressed." Let us be very careful to see that
America doesn't become the dumping ground
of the degenerate. What is the use of bringing these people in here who are unfit to be
citizens, who are moral degenerates, or descendants of criminals? It isn't enough to be
physically sound. I think we must take better care of our immigrant when he arrives. He
is met today by the literature of the Reds. His
foot is hardly over the gangplank before he
begins to receive destructive literature.  I




108          Leonard Wood
think we want to take hold of him, hold on to
him for a while, teach him something of our
institutions, load him up with good American
literature. Let him see what this country
really is, have it explained to him, and let us
try to arrange, instead of allowing him to settle in racial groups fed by a dialect press in
our cities, to influence him or her to go to that
section of the country where his or her previous training will be most valuable. In other
words, we have got to take hold of our immigration a little more systematically and a little
more carefully.




OuR DUTY TO OUR VETERANS


I
WE sent our men abroad with every possible encouragement, told them how much we
thought of them, the splendid mission they
were going on, that they were the warriors of
civilization, crusaders in a holy cause. We
showered upon them everything in the way of
praise, encouragement and personal attention.
Committees were organized to look after them
in camp, to see that they were fed en route to
the sea, and to look after them over there. In
short, we did everything to send them over in
the best possible condition.
They have done the work they were sent to
do. They have done it well, done it with sacrifice and great losses. They have fought
splendidly, and those who died gave their lives
with a smile.  Their reckless courage has
aroused the admiration of all Europe. They
have seen great things, they have felt the spirit
of the great adventure, they have seen men die
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Leonard Wood


for an ideal, for duty, for country. They have
worn the uniform with credit, lived up to the
best fighting traditions of our military service, and now they are back, some two millions
of them. No sacrifice has been too great for
them. Losses have not staggered them. In
return, no amount of trouble and care must be
too great for us.
II
IF these men are left to stand in idle groups
they may be misled by the lawless. Neglected,
they will ask themselves, "What were we fighting for? Who are these people for whom we
offered everything and who now forget us?"
We must not fail in our duty to these men.
We have preached patriotism, we have instilled
the spirit of sacrifice, and now is the time to
show that we meant what we said. Don't let
the soldier feel that now that the fighting is
over he is forgotten. Too often that has been
the soldier's fate. We must, in our treatment
of these men, show that we regard the soldier
engaged in righteous war as one discharging
the highest type of citizenship duty.
It is not sufficient to have big public receptions, it is not enough to award medals and




On National Issues


111


decorations through local communities. All
these are good in their way, but we must do
something more; we must look after those who
need looking after. We must carry out
through our local committees a scheme for
proper care of the soldier with the same thoroughness with which the Government is attempting to look after the physical and
mental restoration of the crippled and unbalanced.
III
IN hospitals, in the convalescent wards
and in the streets are small groups of men
-men who move slowly or not at all, wrecks
of what were once strong, upstanding fellows,
who went cheerfully to the front to risk all
and give all, if necessary, in the national cause,
in the cause of civilization and fair-dealing
among nations; men who have given muchlimbs, sight, hearing, power of motion, power
to do a man's full share in the years to come.
We must not forget that they played a man's
part and played it greatly for a short but
splendid period, and that the obligation is
upon us to see that everything humanly possible be done in giving these men such new




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Leonard Wood


equipment, such new training for life's work,
as the shattered limbs and dulled senses they
have left make possible.
They have given greatly for the Nation and
for Humanity. Given without stint, without
selfishness, without thought of self, and we
must labor greatly, plan wisely and provide
generously for them, not only as a matter of
simple justice to them, but that the youth of
the Nation may see that its soldiers are not
forgotten; that they may note and remember
that a grateful and intelligent people are carrying on to the end, and thereby have the
spirit of service strengthened in them.
IV
WITH those who have risked all and given
much it is not words and gifts that will count,
but rather the protecting care and careful
training which will carry on to the end with a
purpose single to making them again useful
members of society, making them men in whose
souls the fires of ambition are once more kindled, men whose sightless eyes see again a
light of hope and whose crippled members are
once more taught to do the things which will




On National Issues


113


enable their masters to become independent
and to feel that they are once more useful
members of the community in which they live,
that life still holds out much for them. The
battle-fields gave them up reluctantly, life
came back into their veins slowly, and it remains for us to inspire their souls with hope
and confidence in the future.
WE must not forget these wrecks of men
who went out full of hope, dreaming of gallant
deeds, of honor and glad home-comings, looking forward to the family ties which are in the
dreams of all normal men. Crippled and shattered, many of them feel themselves hopelessly
unfit for life's work, and that they are but
wreckage drifting with the tide.
Not only is it important from the standpoint
of national morale that we do all possible for
these men, but it is most important from that
of national economic efficiency.
Success in overcoming the difficulties and
the handicaps resulting from wounds often
builds up a very real pride of accomplishment
and carries one on to greater effort and sur



114          Leonard Wood
prising results-results which at first seemed
unattainable and impossible; and out of despondence comes a cheerful, conquering spirit
which takes the man over the top again to victory, and in so doing removes many a center
of discontent which would draw to itself others.




SOLDIERS AS LIFE-SAVERS


I
WE hear a great deal about the destructive
work of the soldier. But he also performs a
constructive and life-saving work. Starting
with Porto Rico, we find that, principally due
to the efforts of a medical officer of our Army,
Dr. Bailey K. Ashford, tropical anaemia, or
hookworm disease, as it is ordinarily called,
has been about eliminated. Not only was this
discovery of value in Porto Rico, but it was
made use of throughout our own Southern
States, with a result of revitalizing and reenergizing hundreds of thousands of people
afflicted with this disease. The annual deathrate in Porto Rico alone was reduced by a
number exceeding the total number of men
killed during the Spanish-American War, and
a recent inquiry made of all planters in the
island with reference to their workers indicates that, in their opinion, the average increase in efficiency is 60 per cent-a truly
115




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Leonard Wood


startling figure, and one which illustrates very
well the far-reaching and wonderful effects of
sanitary measures and preventive medicine.
II
PASSING on to Cuba, here we have the
wonderful discovery of Major Walter Reed
and his associates, Carroll and Lezear, which
resulted in discovering the method of transmission of yellow fever and the means of controlling it, and the eventual elimination of that
dread disease not only from Cuba, but from
all the American troops, with the resulting
saving in life which runs into many thousands
each year, and a saving in money so vast that
it is difficult to estimate it; for the days of yellow fever, with the consequent quarantine,
which tied up the movement of men and materials throughout the entire South, limited
the movements of ships coming from yellow
fever countries, while costly disinfection resulted in an expenditure running into hundreds of millions. Indeed, it is safe to say
that the saving from yellow fever alone every
year in life and money has exceeded the cost
of the Spanish-American War and the Philippine rebellion.




On National Issues


117


III
IN the Philippines, splendid sanitary work
has been done by the civil government. Beriberi, one of the most dreaded of the Eastern
diseases, has been done away with. Malaria
has been brought under control. Infant mortality has been halved. Most of this latter
work has been done under the civil government, but the foundations were laid by the
medical officers of the Army, who at first had
charge of the work. In Panama we see the
direct effect of this work in the completion of
the Panama Canal. This great and splendid
piece of engineering, remarkable as it is from
an engineering standpoint, and conducted with
wonderful efficiency by General Goethals and
his assistants, could not have been built had it
not been for the application by General
Gorgas of the results of the sanitary discoveries made in Cuba, which made it possible to
carry on this great work under conditions of
health which equaled those anywhere in the
United States. It may be truly said without
taking one atom of credit from the engineers
that this great work was built on a sanitary
foundation. Had we not got rid of yellow




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Leonard Wood


fever and learned to control malaria, the deathrate would have been so heavy that the work
could only have resulted in our hands as it did
in the hands of the French, for nothing demoralizes working forces more effectively than
great epidemics. They are worse than battles
in some ways.
IV
THE mobilization on the Mexican frontier
was not without its great and lasting benefits.
It enabled us, because of the prevalence of typhoid in the Mexican villages and along the
Rio Grande, to insist upon general typhoid
inoculation of officers and men, and the result
has been the removal of typhoid from the
Army. When one remembers thousands of
cases in the camps of the Spanish-American
War, the importance of this discovery is appreciated. The general application was made
possible only by the mobilization of troops and
in the struggle to protect them. So it was
with the discovery concerning yellow fever
and the elaboration of the methods employed
in controlling malaria. The results of these
discoveries are now all of general application,
not only to the population in our own coun



On National Issues


119


try, but to the population of all countries in
and bordering on the American tropics, as well
as in the insular possessions. Not only were
great sanitary results secured through the
military arm of the Government, but it should
be remembered also that it, the military arm,
established and maintained a civil government
in Porto Rico, Cuba and the Philippines, and
conducted these governments with great success-in Cuba up to the point of the transfer
to the Cuban people of a completely organized
republic, and in Porto Rico until the transfer
to the American civil government; likewise
in the Philippines the military authorities were
in full charge during the most trying period
and turned over to the civil commission which
followed them a well-organized government
and a well-filled treasury.








OUR PROGRAM IN A NUTSHELL


I
THE war is over. The big struggle after
the war is on; the struggle of world-wide commerce, and we want to take the proper interest in building up a merchant marine. We
want a small but highly efficient army. We
want a first-class and ever-ready navy. We
want sound public opinion behind some kind
of training system. We don't want to see
this country ever again fall into such condition
of utter helplessness that she cannot immediately become a force to be felt. Verbal massage is a very charming application and quite
sedative for a certain length of time. But
sometimes we have to demonstrate that force
is within us. Sometimes we have to break the
peace in order not to break the faith. Sometimes we have to demonstrate that it was the
blood of the martyrs which was the.eed of the
church and not their words.


121




122         Leonard Wood
II
WE hope those times will be few, but sometime they may come, and we must look ahead
always to a sound condition of national organization for defense. We don't want in this
country, and we won't tolerate for a moment,
anything of a militaristic type. What must
we do in the matter of the reorganization and
establishment of our defense? Whatever we
do we are going to do it upon sound American
lines, and I think in that purpose we shall have
the support of our people throughout the
country.




GROVER CIEVELAND


I
GROVER CLEVELAND met issues as
they arose, never shrinking from them. He
realized that in a democracy there must be a
free press, honest criticism, and pitiless publicity; that people must have the facts if they
are to act intelligently. Like Lincoln, he had
absolute confidence in the good sense and judgment of the people once they understood the
issues before them. I-Ie realized that without public opinion little could be accomplished.
II
IN the opinion of Grover Cleveland, there
was no room in America for those who were
part American and part something else. Like
Roosevelt, he was intolerant of shams, detested
snobs, and hated insincerity.
With him language was intended to convey
123




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Leonard Wood


ideas and not to confuse the people. He was
not an adept at verbal messages. He believed
in the Monroe Doctrine absolutely, and in the
last words of his inaugural address he said
the genius of our institutions forbade any departure from the foreign policy commended
by our history, traditions, and prosperity. He
rejected the policy of our sharing in foreign
broils and ambitions upon other continents,
and repelled their intrusion here. He believed
in friendship with all nations, entangling alliances with none. He believed in national
spirit, and was not a believer in an uncertain,
weak internationalism.
III
HE believed in a square deal for labor, in
establishing the fullest and best possible understanding and co-operation between labor
and capital. He believed in voluntary arbitration of their differences, and to that end he
proposed, in his message of April, 1886, that
steps be taken looking to the establishment of
a Federal settlement of differences between
employers and employed. He was also keenly
interested in protecting not only the country,
but labor, against the inroads of an undesirable
immigration.




THEODORE ROOSEVELT


I
AMERICA lost-indeed the world lostits soundest and most effective advocate of
peace when Theodore Roosevelt died. The
soundest and most effective because, while hating war, as do most normal men, he realized
that the peace of righteousness is often maintained through preparedness-to do our duty
even through war, if necessary; and that arbitration is most effective when a nation is not
only right, but also able to use force, if needed,
to back up the right. He understood that a
nation is most effective as a force for peace
and for justice when it is of resolute spirit and
understands that the strength of right must
be organized against the day when it may be
necessary to meet the force of wrong.
He understood, as few have, that it is not
enough to be filled with the spirit of sacrifice,
to have lofty ideals. But that if our sacrifice
is to be effective, if our ideals are to be real125




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Leonard Wood


ized, we must have ready the necessary force
and organization, moral and physical. To him,
empty words and lofty sentiments, unsupported by a resolute and brave spirit and a determination to do one's clear duty, were hateful things, contemptible, dangerous and unworthy of an upstanding and right-thinking
people.
It
AS time passes our sense of loss has grown
greater and greater, and more and more our
people miss the voice which always spoke the
truth, the voice whose wisdom and lofty patriotism are more and more understood in these
days when we are beset by the temptation to
"listen with credulity to the whisperings of
fancy," and to "follow with eagerness the
phantom of hope"; when the Constitution,
which is the foundation of our liberties, and
the wise policies which have contributed to our
greatness and security are being spoken of as
archaic.
III
A CLEAN soul in a vigorous body-this
was the impression Theodore Roosevelt made




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upon me at our first meeting. This first impression never changed, but rather grew as the
years went on. We had many tastes in common. We loved the simple and strenuous life,
and had that common understanding and appreciation of many things which drew us
closely together.
Though a many-sided man, gifted in many
ways, his was a simple and open character.
He sometimes impressed one as thinking aloud,
so frank and unreserved was his conversation.
His absolute candor and simple directness were
sometimes misunderstood, by those who did
not know him, for impetuosity or even egotism, for he spoke of himself as candidly as he
did of others, and yet he was, withal, a modest
man. He had a keen sense of humor and was
quick to see the amusing side of men and
events. He was never pessimistic when it was
humanly possible not to be. He realized that
optimism and pessimism have their roots in the
common soil of trouble and uncertainty, and
that the one grows up into the sunlight, the
other down into the darkness.
His plans grew generally upward and were
intended to be seen by a struggling world and
to cheer men on,




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IV
WHILE he had the simplicity and directness which mark a really great man-one that
has seen enough and done enough to realize
how small he is after all-yet he had great
personal dignity, and could interpose a most
effective barrier against undue familiarity.
He had a wide experience in many fields of
activity, where he had been brought into contact with all sorts and conditions of men, an
experience which had given him a singularly
wide knowledge of human nature and of the
good and weak points of men. He was equally
at home in the mining camp, on the range,
addressing a mothers' meeting, or before the
Sorbonne. This because he was always natural, always himself. While intensely American, his sympathies were as broad as the world.
v
CONSIDERED by some to be rash, impatient and intolerant, he was, as a matter of
fact, conservative and patient, especially in a
crisis, always seeking advice from those best
fitted to give it, regardless of party lines or
personal relations. Big enough not to fear




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competition or comparison with the best men
of the day, he strove to surround himself with
the ablest. They were required to be one hundred per cent American, and to have qualifications for the task at hand-nothing more.
He understood the spirit of our people, and
they understood him.
VI
HE had a very keen and human interest in
that great producer of original wealth, the
farmer. He was interested in the building of
a merchant marine, and distressed at the absence of our flag on the seas; for in this condition he saw the absence of a merchant fleet in
time of peace, with the resulting lack of a
naval reserve in time of war, as well as the
loss of money paid to foreign shipping for the
transport of our products.
As President he pursued an unbroken policy
of international understanding and good will.
Arbitration took on new life, as the numerous
arbitration treaties made while he was President testify.
He did more than any other President to
make the world realize what the United States
stands for and what "government of the peo



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pie, by the people, for the people," means to
humanity.
His foreign policy was firm and courteous,
straightforward and steady, enhancing everywhere respect for American rights and American honor..
In sending the battle fleet around the world
he demonstrated that the Pacific is not a closed
sea, nor the exclusive zone of influence of any
Power.
New life and character were put into our
consular service. A Department of Commerce and Labor was created, great desert
areas were reclaimed, a wise policy of conservation of our natural wealth was establishedone which all far-seeing persons will follow,
since it is of vital importance to those who
come after us.
VII
AS President his policy was one of preparation, for he understood, as do all who have
learned anything from the lessons of history,
that a war prepared for is often a war avoided;
that it is better to get ready for war and not
have it than it is to have war without being
ready for it....




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In his opinion no man who refuses service
to the limit of his physical and mental capacity, when the nation calls, whether in peace or
in war, is fit to be a citizen. It was impossible
for him to be neutral in the face of wrong.
He dreamed dreams, and he saw visions; he
worked hard and played hard; he put his soul
into whatever he did.
He was a many-sided man, but four-square
to all the world; soldier, statesman, scientist,
student of nature, scholar and writer on
many subjects, builder of standards, patriot
and Christian gentleman - a man whose
watchword was Duty, whose guiding stars
were Truth and Humanity, whose life was one
of service for the right, for country and for
GOD.
VIII
IN 1897 he came to Washington as Assistant Secretary of the Navy. He was at the
height of his energetic manhood, thirty-eight
or thirty-nine years of age, physically hard as
nails-a fighter who was beginning to worry
the faint-hearted by his demands for vigor in
national and international affairs-a keenvisioned and patriotic American who saw




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storm clouds ahead and realized the need of
making ready in advance. In me he found a
keen sympathizer, for I had seen enough of
Washington to feel that we were rather drifting with the tide in all which pertained to preparedness for possible trouble.
From the very beginning of our acquaintance we were thrown much in each other's
company. We were both fond of exercise in
the open, and did a great deal of tramping
and climbing up and down the banks and cliffs
of the Potomac, where it was rough enough to
give us a bit of hard work, and took long
tramps and runs in such rough country as we
could find about Washington.
IX
I WAS then a young medical officer in
Washington-on a duty which took me frequently to the White House at all times of
night and day. President McKinley, one of
the best and most lovable of men, whose real
worth and character were too little understood
by many, was thoroughly familiar with the
views of his Assistant Secretary of the Navy
and my own, and he understood and appreciated them. When I came in in the morning




On National Issues


188


he would laughingly ask, "Well, have you and
Theodore declared war yet?" and I sometimes
replied, "No, Mr. President, we have not, but
we think you should take steps in that direction, sir." One night, after we had been talking for some time about the probability of war,
the President said with great seriousness, "I
shall never sanction war until all efforts to obtain our ends by other means have failed, and
only when I am sure that God and man approve. I have been through one great war.
I have seen the dead scattered over many battlefields-I have seen the suffering and I do
not want to see another unless the cause of
right and humanity make it necessary. I pray
God we may escape it!" And hesitating a
moment, he continued, "But the intolerable
situation in Cuba must be terminated, even if
it has to be done through war." The President at that time was bearing bravely the heavy
burden of serious illness in his family, illness
which taxed him to the uttermost, and struggling against a peace-at-any-price group; but
rapidly reaching the conclusion that war was
inevitable.
x


I OFTEN think, as I look back to those




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days, how little the President was understood,
for he was really bringing the strongest influences to bear to prepare the country to meet
the crisis which was rapidly approaching. In
purpose he and his young Assistant Secretary
were closer together than either realized at the
time. The apparent difference between them
was more that of temperament than purpose.
Then came that ghastly report by Senator
Proctor, based on his personal observation of
conditions then existing in Cuba; conditions of
concentration of the starving inhabitants in
camps which were death camps; camps of horrors unspeakable-a report which aroused
a spirit of hot indignation throughout the Nation and a determination to terminate these
conditions.  Mr. Roosevelt, John Addison
Porter, who was then President McKinley's
secretary, and I dined with the Senator at the
Metropolitan Club the night before he made
his speech, and heard first-hand the substance
of what he was to say. We all felt sure that
it would result in action on our part, and that
the action would be war.
It was about that time that Secretary Long,
much exhausted by long, hard service and anxiety, decided to take a short leave. The Colonel and I always took an afternoon run as




On National Issues


185


soon as he could get out of his office and I
could finish my work. On this particular day
he came up to my house on R Street, panting
hard. He had been running all the way up
Connecticut Avenue. As soon as I came out
on the steps he said: "Leonard, I have done
some real work this afternoon.  Mr. Long
went off to take a rest, a much-needed rest."
And with great emphasis-"I was Secretary
of the Navy this afternoon for some three or
four hours, and the responsibility for action
was mine.   I have mobilized everything at
Mare Island, at League Island; I have bought
thousands of tons of coal in the Far East for
the fleet; I have directed a certain concentration of ships now in the Far-Eastern waters
under Dewey." Then he stopped a minute
to catch his breath; he said, "You know, I
think Mr. Long will be back in the morning
very early, but I have done what I could to get
the Navy ready."
Next day I asked, "Did Secretary Long
come back?" "Yes," he said, "he was in the
office earlier than he had ever been before, and
it is a question now whether I am sustained
or he. I think the President is going to sustain me." And he did. The young Assistant
Secretary of the Navy, filled with the convic



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tion that war was upon us, and realizing the
importance of being ready, unafraid of responsibility, had, in his short period of full authority, done what he deemed best. Subsequent events proved that his action was a wise
and far-seeing one, one of far-reaching effect
in securing sea control in the Far East and
victory in the Philippines.
XI
IN Cuba the Colonel's fine qualities as a
leader came out. He was perfectly indifferent to danger, so far as he himself was concerned. He possessed the qualities of an excellent officer. He was ever on the alert in the
matter of guarding the lives of his men and
looking after their welfare. He never recklessly exposed his men. He was always looking after their interests. He had those fundamental qualities of an officer which lie at
the basis of real efficiency-that is, a real interest in the welfare of his men. He was very
earnest in their instruction, very careful, very
efficient, and very thoughtful of their lives and
of their morale. If there was anything short
in the regiment and you could not find Colonel Roosevelt, you knew that he was off rustling up something for the men.




On National Issues


187


During the first fight we were in he was conspicuous for gallantry, always looking after
weak points in the line and splendidly cool;
nothing whatever of that rather characteristically rapid and impulsive manner, but as
well-balanced and cool as an officer ought to
be-always on the alert and always ready.
XII
AFTER the fight at Las Guasimas, we had
a week of rest before the big fight at San Juan.
All of that week he was industriously at work,
building up the command in every possible
way. Just before the fight I was given command of the brigade and he succeeded me in
the regiment. He led the regiment in the attack on San Juan in perfectly splendid fashion. He was cool and collected, and handled
his men admirably. In the long days of the
siege, after we had taken the heights, he was
always on the qui vive. I do not remember
ever going out along the lines that I did not
find Colonel Roosevelt on the alert and
where he ought to have been. He was one of
the keenest soldiers. He had the same qualities that his sons have shown in France and
elsewhere. The Colonel had an inspiring effect upon his men. They almost worshipped




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him. He had that rare quality which made his
men feel that they were doing something for
him. There was not a man in the regiment
who did not swear by him. If it was a cook at
a campfire he would stop and say, "Well, you
gave me some pretty good coffee this morning, Brown," or whatever the man's name was.
Always something showing appreciation of the
other man's effort. He had the human touch.
After we had taken Santiago he came back
within a short time with the regiment. You
know the history of the camp at Montauk.
There is no question whatever that if he had
had an opportunity he would have been a military leader of marked distinction-a military
leader fit to handle large forces. He was thoroughly official (if I may use that term) in
military matters. He never presumed upon
acquaintance or friendship. There could not
have been a better disciplined, a more subordinate subordinate than Theodore Roosevelt.
XIII
HE inspired the kind of discipline that was
portrayed by the same old philosopher-the
discipline that comes not from fear but from
respect-respect for the leader and confidence
in him. I do not think any man went through




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the Spanish War who had his men more solidly behind him than Theodore Roosevelt, and,
I believe, if he had had a chance later on, that
he would have gone steadily on, with splendid
devotion on the part of his men, and with that
growing leadership which would have made
him in war the great leader that he was afterwards in the battles of civil life.
I shall always look back to the days which
immediately preceded and to those which covered the Spanish War period with the greatest
pleasure and satisfaction, for it was then that
I learned to love and to understand this man,
whose life and work mean so much to America and to the world; whose ideals and policies
-if we only live up to them-will be of the
greatest value to us today and in the days to
come, for he stood for the best and truest
Americanism. We never needed him more
than we do today.
The sympathy and understanding which
were built up in these days continued through
his period of service as President, and during
the period of the great war. One could not
know Theodore Roosevelt without appreciating his rugged honesty, his forgetfulness of
self and his absolute devotion to the best interests of this country. One loyalty, one lan



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guage, one flag, a square deal to all. These
were the things he stood for.
XIV
IHE was the most inspiring character in our
national life since Lincoln. His last message
should be stamped upon the heart of all true
Americans. He said in part:
4'I cannot be with you, and so all I can do
is to wish you Godspeed. There must be no
sagging back in the fight for Americanism now
that the war is over. We should insist that
if the immigrant who comes here does in good
faith* become an American and assimilate himself to us he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else. There can be no divided allegiances at all. We have room for
but one flag, the American flag, and this excludes the red flag, which symbolizes only wai
against liberty and civilization. We have room
fot but one language here, and that is the English language, for we intend to see that the
crucible turns our people out as Americans,
and not as dwellers in a polyglot boardinghouse, and we have room for but one loyalty,
and that is loyalt to5te.merican people."
Ij    15 ~2mrian     pep4.




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GRADUATE USRARY


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