Page 197 - The interest of America in sea power, present and future

178 Preparedness for Naval War.

sake of peace, to refuse to support their con-
victions of justice. How deplorable the war
between the North and South ! but more de-
plorable by far had it been that either had
flinched from the maintenance of what it
believed to be fundamental right. On ques-
tions of merely material interest men may
yield; on matters of principle they may be
honestly in the wrong; but a conviction of
right, even though mistaken, if yielded without
contention, entails a deterioration of character,
except in the presence of force demonstrably
irresistible— and sometimes even then. Death
before dishonor is a phrase which at times has
been abused infamously, but it none the less
contains a vital truth.
To provide a force adequate to maintain the
nation's cause, and to insure its readiness for
immediate action in case of necessity, are the
responsibility of the government of a state,
in its legislative and executive functions. Such
a force is a necessary outcome of the political
conditions which affect, or, as can be foreseen,
probably may affect, the international relations
of the country. Its existence at all and its
size are, or should be, the reflection of the