Japanese Quarantine Speech
I
am glad to come once again to Chicago and especially to have the opportunity of
taking part in the dedication of this important project of civic betterment.
On
my trip across the continent and back I have been shown many evidences of the
result of common sense cooperation between municipalities and the Federal
government, and I have been greeted by tens of thousands of Americans who have
told me in every look and word that their material and spiritual well-being has
made great strides forward in the past few years.
And
yet, as I have seen with my own eyes, the prosperous farms, the thriving
factories and the busy railroads - as I have seen the happiness and security
and peace which covers our wide land, almost
inevitably I have been compelled to contrast our peace with very different
scenes being enacted in other parts of the world.
It
is because the people of the United States under modern conditions must, for
the sake of their own future, give thought to the rest of the world, that I, as the responsible executive head of the
nation, have chosen this great inland city and this gala occasion to speak to
you on a subject of definite national importance.
The
political situation in the world, which of late has been growing progressively
worse, is such as to cause grave concern and anxiety to all the peoples and
nations who wish to live in peace and amity with their neighbors.
Some
15 years ago the hopes of mankind for a continuing era of international peace
were raised to great heights when more than 60 nations solemnly pledged
themselves not to resort to arms in furtherance of their national aims and
policies. The high aspirations expressed in the Briand-Kellogg Pact and the
hopes for peace thus raised have of late given way to a haunting fear of
calamity. The present reign of terror and international lawlessness began a few
years ago.
It
began through unjustified interference in the internal affairs of other nations
or the invasion of alien territory in violation of treaties. It has now reached
the stage where the very foundation of civilization are
seriously threatened. The landmarks, the traditions which have marked the
progress of civilization toward a condition of law and order and justice are
being wiped away.
Without
a declaration of war and without warning or justification of any kind,
civilians, including vast numbers of women and children, are being ruthlessly
murdered with bombs from the air. In times of so-called peace,ships are being attacked and sunk by submarines
without cause or notice. Nations are fomenting and taking sides in civil
warfare in nations that have never done them any harm. Nations claiming freedom
for themselves deny it to others.
Innocent
peoples, innocent nations are being cruelly sacrificed to a greed for power and
supremacy which is devoid of all sense of justice and humane considerations.
To
paraphrase a recent author, "perhaps we foresee a time when men, exultant
in the technique of homicide, will rage 80 hotly over the world that every
precious thing will be in danger, every book, every picture, every harmony,
every treasure garnered through two millenniums, the small, the delicate, the
defenseless - all will be lost or wrecked or utterly destroyed.
If
those things come to pass in other parts of the world, let no one imagine that
America will escape, that America may expect mercy, that this Western
hemisphere will not be attacked and that it will continue tranquilly and
peacefully to carry on the ethics and the arts of civilization.
No,
if those days come, "there will be no safety by arms, no help from
authority, no answer in science. The storm will rage until every flower of
culture is trampled and all human beings are leveled in a vast chaos."
If
those days are not to come to pass - if we are to have a world in which we can
breathe freely and live in amity without fear - then the peace-loving nations
must make a concerted effort to uphold laws and principles on which alone peace
can rest secure.
The
peace-loving nations must make a concerted effort in opposition to those
violations of treaties and those ignorings of human
instincts which today are creating a state of international anarchy and
instability from which there is no escape through mere isolation or neutrality.
Those
who cherish their freedom and recognize and respect the equal right of their
neighbors to be free and live in peace, must work together for the triumph of
law and moral principles in order that peace, justice, and confidence may
prevail throughout the world. There must be a return to a belief in the pledged
word, in the value of a signed treaty. There must be recognition of the fact
that national morality is as vital as private morality.
A
bishop wrote me the other day: "It seems to me that something greatly
needs to be said in behalf of ordinary humanity against the present practice of
carrying the horrors of war to helpless civilians, especially women and
children. It may be that such a protest might be regarded by many, who claim to
be realists, as futile, but may it not be that the heart of mankind is so
filled with horror at the present needless suffering that that force could be
mobilized in sufficient volume to lessen such cruelty in the days ahead. Even
though it may take 20 years, which God forbid, for civilization to make
effective its corporate protest against this barbarism, surely strong voices
may hasten the day."
There
is a solidarity and interdependence about the modern world, both technically
and morally, which makes it impossible for any nation completely to isolate
itself from economic and political upheavals in the rest of the world,
especially when such upheavals appear to be spreading and not declining. There
can be no stability or peace either within nations or between nations except
under laws and moral standards adhered to by all. International anarchy
destroys every foundation for peace. It jeopardizes either the immediate or the
future security of every nation, large or small. It is, therefore, a matter of
vital interest and concern to the people of the United States that the sanctity
of international treaties and the maintenance of international morality be
restored.
The
overwhelming majority of the peoples and nations of the world today want to
live in peace. They seek the removal of barriers against trade. They want to
exert themselves in industry, in agriculture and in business, that they may
increase their wealth through the production of wealth-producing goods rather
than striving to produce military planes and bombs and machine guns and cannon
for the destruction of human lives and useful property.
In
those nations of the world which seem to be piling armament on armament for
purposes of aggression, and those other nations which fear acts of aggression
against them and their security, a very high proportion of their national
income is being spent directly for armaments. It runs from 30 to as high as 50
per cent. The proportion that we in the United States spend is far less - 11 or
12 per cent.
How
happy we are that the circumstances of the moment permit us to put our money
into bridges and boulevards, dams and reforestation, the conservation of our
soil, and many other kinds of useful works rather than into huge standing
armies and vast supplies of implements of war.
Nevertheless,
my friends, I am compelled, as you are compelled, to look ahead. The peace, the
freedom, and the security of 90 per cent of the population of the world is being jeopardized by the remaining 10 per cent who are
threatening a breakdown of all international order and law. Surely the 90 per cent who want to live in peace under law and in accordance
with moral standards that have received almost universal acceptance through the
centuries, can and must find some way to make their will prevail.
The
situation is definitely of universal concern. The questions involved relate not
merely to violations of specific provisions of particular treaties; they are
questions of war and of peace, of international law and especially of
principles of humanity. It is true that they involve definite violations of
agreements, and especially of the Covenant of the League of Nations, the
Briand-Kellogg Pact and the Nine Power Treaty. But they also involve problems
of world economy, world security and world humanity.
It
is true that the moral consciousness of the world must recognize the importance
of removing injustices and well-founded grievances; but at the same time it
must be aroused to the cardinal necessity of honoring sanctity of treaties, of
respecting the rights and liberties of others and of putting an end to acts of
international aggression.
It
seems to be unfortunately true that the epidemic of world lawlessness is
spreading.
And
mark this well: When an epidemic of physical disease starts to spread, the
community approves and joins in a quarantine of the patients in order to
protect the health of the community against the spread of the disease.
It
is my determination to pursue a policy of peace and to adopt every practicable
measure to avoid involvement in war. It ought to be inconceivable that in this
modern era, and in the face of experience, any nation could be so foolish and
ruthless as to run the risk of plunging the whole world into war by invading
and violating, in contravention of solemn treaties, the territory of other
nations that have done them no real harm and are too weak to protect themselves
adequately. Yet the peace of the world and the welfare and security of every
nation are today being threatened by that very thing.
No
nation which refuses to exercise forbearance and to respect the freedom and
rights of others can long remain strong and retain the confidence and respect
of other nations. No nation every loses its dignity or
its good standing by conciliating its differences, and by exercising great
patience with, and consideration for, the rights of other nations.
War
is a contagion, whether it be declared or undeclared.
It can engulf states and peoples remote from the original scene of hostilities.
We are determined to keep out of war, yet we cannot insure ourselves against
the disastrous effects of war and the dangers of involvement. We are adopting
such measures as will minimize our risk of involvement, but we cannot have
complete protection in a world of disorder in which confidence and security
have broken down.
If
civilization is to survive, the principles of the Prince of Peace must be
restored. Shattered trust between nations must be revived.
Most
important of all, the will for peace on the part of peace-loving nations must
express itself to the end that nations that may be tempted to violate their
agreements and the rights of others will desist from such a course. There must
be positive endeavors to preserve peace.