The Days of a Man 1918 



4 



In the spring of 1918 I began a series of Thursday 

 evening evening meetings at my house, during which I dis- 



conftr- i i r t 11 r 



cussed with groups of students the problems of war 

 and peace, conditions in Europe, and later a variety 

 of other topics, many of them proposed by the young 

 people themselves. The plan of these 'gatherings 

 was suggested by Fordyce Grinnell, Jr., a student 

 in Zoology, later a teacher in secondary schools of 

 Hawaii. lam convinced that such informal conferences 

 are productive of much good to those who attend 

 them. In this case they have certainly been highly 

 appreciated. 



Early in 1918, also, I wrote at the request of Caspar 

 r wori? d Hod S son 1 of the World Book Company a volume 

 Relations" for school reference and teachers' reading circles, 

 entitled "Democracy and World Relations." This 

 appeared on Armistice Day, November n, 1918. 

 In my preface I asserted that 



Peace itself is not a finality, but rather a requisite of civiliza- 

 tion. Its maintenance may not be at all times a duty even to 

 itself. Peace is a natural resultant of freedom, order, and jus- 

 tice. When these are established, by whatever means, peace 

 follows as a matter of course. Moreover, peace cannot be secured 

 by mere submission. To lie down before aggression is to accept 

 the doctrine that might makes right, and further to throw open 

 the door to new assaults. 



Our stand in the present conflict is plain. It had to be done. 

 There were but two alternatives from the day the invading 

 hosts entered Belgium. At once we were deeply involved. 

 Whether as mediator or as combatant did not immediately 

 appear; the German war makers, however, progressively 

 removed all doubt. From the first there was no room for moral 

 neutrality legal neutrality was at last pushed to the wall. 



1 See Vol. I, Chapter xvn, page 413. 



