y h HoUinger Corp. pH8.5 Reprinted from The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Philadelphia, July, 1917. Publication No. 1131. THE UNITED STATES AND THE WAR By Samuel T. Dutton, LL.D., New York. For nearly one Hundred and fifty years we have been engaged in building a nation. At the bottom of all our endeavors there was a religious spirit and we have developed a tradition for honesty and fair dealing. We fought for liberty and for the preservation of the Union. As we review the history of those conflicts our conscience is clear. Great benefits have come to the world because liberty and union have triumphed on this continent. Other occasions where we have taken up arms we do not review with the same complacency. Our territory is vast and full of potential wealth and no longer can we say of different sections of our domain that the inhabitants are English or Dutch or Spanish. America is the home of all peoples and our large cities are more cosmopolitan then were ancient Rome or Byzantium. Of some countries it may be said that there are more of their people in America than in the home land. Never before has there been in any land such assimilation of diverse elements. The public school has done its full part and freedom of opportunity has done the rest. A great experiment in democracy has been successfully tried and we are one in spirit and purpose if not in blood. Witness how the people have responded to the President's call. Party lines have vanished. Democrats, Republicans, Socialists and Suffragists are all of one mind. There is a discordant element and it has made much noise but has prob- ably done no serious harm. From the north, the south, the east and the west is heard the voice of patriotism and better than that is the calm and steady readiness of the people to do their full part in the great struggle. America with her forty-eight states and her wonderful variety in climate, relief and population is not hetero- geneous as regards national character and ideals. Her relation to the great conflict will be one of both cause and effect thinking of national self-consciousness and solidarity. War is a terrible curse but it has this virtue: that when the cause is a 1 * — » 2 The Annals of the American Academy righteous one it unites all factions, promotes comradeship and draws into a common brotherhood persons differing widely in belief, rank, creed and vocation. And what, let us ask, is the justification which impels a peace loving people to plunge into a struggle the most terrible the world has known? The answer is found partly in the political principles underlying our common welfare and partly in the constituent elements which make up our population. To put it bluntly we are friends of the Allies either through kinship or political belief, or else because of the outrages committed by the enemies of mankind. This is no ordinary war. The issues at stake are profound. It is evident that there can be no safety for free institutions, much less for lasting peace, unless this hydra headed monster of militarism is destroyed. Here then is one most important relation which America bears to the war. It is that of a nation desiring world peace summoned by the voice of honor and humanity to join other peace loving nations in suppressing a gigantic evil. Another relation of America to the war is that of our relative unpreparedness. In the eyes of many this is to be deplored and some have thought it to be a national crime. I cannot agree with that point of view. If Great Britain and France had been prepared as Germany was it would have been difficult to say who caused the war. France was only moderately prepared and did not wish the war. Russia wished to avoid it. The communications of Sir Ed- ward Grey to the Central Powers during the few days preceding the war show conclusively that Great Britain earnestly sought to prevent the war. The preparedness of this country as compared with that of Germany was far below the requirements of the modern war. Ten years ago Colonel Roosevelt as President was clamoring for six battleships per annum. Some of us pacifists (the term pacifist was then in less disrepute than at present) thought that two were enough. We deprecated having our government act as though it were preparing to fight Japan. I now thank God that we built battleships only moderately. We have far less old junk on hand now and our friendship with Japan has been growing year by year in spite of Captain Hobson and the yellow press. Furthermore, ships built ten years ago would be of very little use now. Naval defense has been revolutionized by the present war and we do not know today what will be required two years hence or five years m 02 ■ u ^ J^ United States and the War 3 hence. We do know that we will have to build a different type of ship from those demanded two or three years ago. Of the three hundred war vessels hsted in a recent journal many are out of date; like automobiles warships must be of 1917, 1918 and 1919. Our army has been too small, everybody knew it, but in pros- perous times it is hard to get enlisted men. I wish to say that while I beUeve there has been a lack of efficiency in the administration of the departments of war and navy, I am glad that we have thus far maintained the reputation of not fearing our neighbors and have not needed to heap up great armaments. Moreover, I believe that when this struggle has reached its logical conclusion we can then adapt a policy of greater moderation in expenditure for the enginery of war. Now that the great conflict has drawn us into its eddying cur- rents the whole nation must think and act in terms of war. Our young men must now be trained as rapidly as possible. The office, the factory and the university must all contribute their quota. Young women also will be needed as nurses and helpers. Vast stocks of arms, munitions and food are to be provided and trans- ported. Lessons of efficiency and economy are to be learned by all the people. There never was a more righteous cause for the issue affects the welfare and destiny of all living and of countless genera- tions yet unborn. God grant that when the war is over there may be an end of deportations, atrocities, outrages and cruelties such as have never blackened the pages of history. The great conflict is bound to disturb our economic balance. Some industries will be highly expanded, others will suffer. Sub- marine warfare is disturbing foreign trade and will no doubt bring enormous losses. There will be the greatest displacement of labor from one field to another both for men and women that the nation has ever seen. During the period when we were introducing labor saving machinery we saw the working out of this process. Then it was gradual; now it will be abrupt, dramatic and even tragic. So in entering the war we have to deal with problems of industry, com- merce and taxation such as have not vexed us before. Two great evils are impending. First, lavish expenditure by those suddenly made rich and the sudden collapse which is likely to follow the war when the account of the world's losses is made up. Nothing but 4 The Annals of the American Academy some great calamity will waken the torpid minds of our people to the economic dangers which are wrapped up in such a world tragedy. Another relation is seen in the demand that the United States take a more active part in world politics and diplomacy. If this means that she is to become a military nation and help to maintain an armed peace, the idea is discredited by our history and ideals and should be resented by all loyal minds. If, however, it means that we are to join in a league of nations to establish international government founded upon justice, with equal rights for all states, using all sanctions such as public conscience and good-will, the sacredness of treaties and if necessary international police power, then America must play her full part. There seems to be another supreme reason for our action. While democracy has succeeded in the western hemisphere, there is reason to hope that all states in the eastern hemisphere may be transformed and uplifted under its benign influence. China is awaking to a new life. Schools and colleges, many of them inspired and supported by Americans, are models for a universal system of education and better material out of which to make self-governing citizens has never existed. Considering how many of her young leaders have been educated in the United States we may well take pride in China's progress. Then there is Russia. There are no words adequate to portray the things that are in store for that northern empire. It is the subtle spirit of democracy working silently year by year until the moment arrives for the nation's redemption. Surely America may well rejoice in the hope that the onward march of freedom may not be halted until all tyranny and oppression are relegated to the dark abyss from which they sprang. Here then is the most interesting of all of our relations to the great conflict, namely, our attitude to nations struggling for relief from the oppressor. Belgium, Poland, Serbia and Armenia all need our sympathy and our aid. As the President stated before Congress we have no ends to serve except those of humanity and democracy; but our relation to those impoverished and suffering states after the war should be close and salutary. America desires that all nations which have been deprived and defrauded of real freedom may in the crucible of war be refined and transmuted, and made fit to be members of the society of nations radiating the love of democracy and permanent peace. United States and the War 5 There are countless bonds which in the past have bound the world together, educational, social, economic and scientific. Amer- ica is involved by all these whether she will or not. As during the war, she has poured out her wealth to feed and clothe innocent sufferers and has now taken her place as an ally of those who are fighting for freedom, so, after the war, she must continue her minis- trations until hunger, pain and distress shall have vanished from the earth. There is also the world of thought and aspiration, of sympathy and of high-minded altruism. These are to be quickened and enhanced by the war, and afterwards it is to be expected that all nations will be drawn more closely together than ever before, and will come to hold in higher appreciation the things of the spirit and the great verities which give to man a high place in the kingdom of God. What can America do to aid in establishing international government dedicated to durable peace? That is a great question and one will hesitate to give a categorical answer. I trust that whatever we undertake will be based upon the expectation of a new world order. There is considerable prospect for a federation of democracies when universal suffrage, justice and humanity will be great words in the international conference. President Wilson has been disposed to state principles rather than advocate specific measures or remedies. The League to Enforce Peace has done a good work in calling the attention of the people of this and other countries to the possibility of a concert of nations with pacific means of settling all differences. The name of the league is not happy and undue emphasis has been placed upon force as the most important factor. At present the United States is joining with the Allies in the enforcement of war. When the war is over it is to be hoped that the need of force will largely cease. Democratic nations will not wish to look each other in the face and say we will compel you to do this or that. The suffering, humiliation and sorrow of the war will so chasten the nations that moral forces will come to the front as never before in history. The World Court League, which accepts all the proposals of the other league except one, is basing its hope upon the establishment of an international court and other subsidiary institutions, as well as upon the increased power of public opinion in favor of such agencies. The same public opinion which has caused the overthrow of autocracy in Russia and is 6 The Annals of the American Academy threatening to undermine the Prussian tradition, will be strongly- felt at every stage of the reconstruction period. The two leagues to which reference has been made and other organizations working for durable peace should not fail to hear the many voices in all parts of the world demanding that war should cease. There is good hope that an international executive may be developed and there must of course be a constabulary, or police force large enough to keep order and to represent the power and majesty of the united nations of the earth. And there will be no more suggestion of war in this than there is in the existence of municipal or state police. The United States will perform one of her greatest services to the world in helping to work out this beneficent plan. She may well take the lead in establishing a league of nations based upon justice and con- ciliation. So we may say in conclusion that the relation of America to the great conflict is one of understanding and appreciation. Joining in the war she expects to suffer, but her suffering and her losses will bring her into closer sympathy and fellowship with other peoples who in blood and in tears are battling for the welfare of mankind. All other relationships to the war seem less important than this. To have a share in freeing the world of oppression and cruelty is an undertaking worthy of America. With malice toward none and with good-will to all, we may see to it that in every land the principles of democracy and humanity are dominant. As our President has pointed out: we have no ends to serve but the good of mankind, but, if the adventure is successful, America will have a commanding influence and will rejoice eternally in having done her part. LIBRftRY OF CONGRESS 020 914 042 1 HoUing pH LIBRARY OF CONGRESS ^ 020 914 042 1 HoUinger Corp. pH8.5