May 11, 1915 Birthday

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Tues. May 11, 1915

18 years OLD

Mother gave me a shirt, nice bow ties and 5 beans. Pres. Wilson in a speech in Philadelphia yesterday said that there is such a thing as being too proud to fight and too right to have to fight. War is wrong and destructive and we should think of humanity as a whole and not in groups. He has the right idea alright. If some other man were Pres. we would have been at war long ago.

Rode down on my bike. Got cards yesterday and got 4 +s. Rode downtown and bought some paint for my canoe - Home and put up bench in garage. Lesson and to bed. Was ideal day - but pretty hot. Everything is green and fresh and beautiful.

Note: On 10 May 1915, US President Woodrow Wilson gave what is known as the “Too Proud to Fight Speech” in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. What is not commonly mentioned is that this speech was given at a citizen naturalization ceremony, and is properly titled, “Americanism and the Foreign Born.” The most famous passage in the speech is as follows:

The example of America must be a special example. The example of America must be the example not merely of peace because it will not fight, but of peace because peace is the healing and elevating influence of the world and strife is not. There is such a thing as a man being so right it does not need to convince others by force that it is right.

The speech itself does not mention the Lusitania sinking directly, but rather only makes an oblique reference. Still, given the political tensions at the time, everyone who heard or read the speech knew that President Wilson was indeed referring to the Lusitania disaster and the question of whether the United States would go to war over the sinking.  For the entire speech

Wed. May 12, 1915

Ideal, sunny and warm - Hot

Went to town in aft with Mother and got a suit for graduating at The Standard- $15. We rode out to Lake and Nic. [Nicolette] in a Ford Jitney and took only a second, it seemed. 7 on board. There are a great many Jitneys now. I walked over to school and got my bike and rode it home. Helped show Hovelman where to oil and grease his car "etc." Mother and Pa to meeting. I rode down to Lake - lessons and to bed.