This decision I have arrived at with the keenest regret; the possibility
of the action contemplated I am sure all thoughtful Americans will look
forward to with unaffected reluctance. But we cannot forget that we are
in some sort and by the force of circumstances the responsible spokesmen
of the rights of humanity, and that we cannot remain silent while those
rights seem in process of being swept utterly away in the maelstrom of
this terrible war. We owe it to a due regard for our own rights as a
nation, to our sense of duty as a representative of the rights of
neutrals the world over, and to a just conception of the rights of
mankind to take this stand now with the utmost solemnity and firmness.
I have taken it, and taken it in the confidence that it will meet with
your approval and support. All sober-minded men must unite in hoping
that the Imperial German Government, which has in other circumstances
stood as the champion of all that we are now contending for in the
interest of humanity, may recognize the justice of our demands and meet
them in the spirit in which they are made.
AMERICAN PRINCIPLES
[Address delivered at the First Annual Assemblage of the League to
Enforce Peace, May 27, 1916.
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