AN AMERICAN STATESMAN.+
Two volumes have now been issued of the collected addresses and State papers of Mr. Elihu Root. His is a name dear to English. men for his undeviating sympathy with the Allied cause, of which, as many of the papers in the present collection testify, he has been the unswerving champion since 1914. A distinguished authority on International Law and a keen student of history, he realized the impossibility of the attractive ideal of " Peace without victory" as a last act to a war with Prussia, sooner than did the majority of his countrymen. And lie was not afraid to tell his vision. His " war record " is indeed admirable. His voice was one of the earliest and most impressive of those raised for preparedness. Always accomplished, his oratory takes a deeper tone as in 1916 he pleads with his fellow-citizens to " believe that the trouble is going to come," to hurry in their realization " that there is no nation on earth . . . with a greater stake in the success of the Allies in this war against German militarism than the United States " :-
" We are able to hold this peaceful meeting . . . because we are protected by the armies and navies of the Allies ! . . . I hate war, but I welcome the coming of the inevitable in the begin- ning. I do not want to defend my house by putting off an attack during the brief moments I can spend under the bed. . . . The self-respect, the dignity, and the honour of our country require that we shall no longer live under the protection of others."
In fighting Germany the United States once more champions human freedom. Gallantly has the people responded to Mr. Root's "winged words." The country that he desired so passionately to serve that he did not fear to upbraid her, has been stirred to her depths. We can imagine no greater happiness for a patriot than that which Mr. Root must now enjoy when over a million of his countrymen have taken the field in the New Crusade.
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