Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-08-30
Disarmament.

| Disarmament by all the nations would
| mean more than the disbandment of armies,
| the dismantling Of ships, the closing of
| armories and the return of levies to the
| fields, the factories and the offices. These
| things would in themselves produce marked
| changes in the worlds economical aspect.
| They would unquestionably add to the
| worlds output of value and the sum total
| of human happiness. The process, how
| ever, would have to go further than this.
| Full disarmament means the putting aside
| of the material instrumentalities for waging
| war. both directly and indirectly, the scat
| tering of establishments where ships, guns.
| ammunition and other military equipments
| are created, the destruction of all machines
| for the production of every form of fighting
| tool. Otherwise there would still remain, in
the place of the actual forces of wkicn the
| car now complains forming an intoler-
able burden upon the people, the factors
| for their speedy reassembling. There could
be no guarantee that the nation with the
| strongest lighting force today would not, at
any Tina after disarmament, spring for
ward with a relatively equivalent power for
campaigning, with great an advantage
over its foes as its powerful equipment to-
day affords But even with this dispersal
of the machinery for making war-waging
materials the chief potentialiteS for re-
storing former conditions would remain, the
nations wealth and population. With money
and men in hand the war-making tools are
within sight. Time may be required to re-
store former conditions, to reassemble scat
tered elements, but with the nations once
disarmed the race is to the swift; that is to
say, in this connection. the rich, the re-
sourcaful, the populous.
The case thus presents a paradox. Dis
armament becomes palpably impossible
To be effectual it must be complete, and 1t
cannot, in the nature of things be COM
plete. If there be retained the military
reans of coping effectually with domestic
problems-which in the cars own case
are matters for the deepest thought and
the most painstaking PRECAUTIONARY may
/ not these be at any time swelled
into the proportions required for interna-
tional campaigns? The nucleus for the
creating of the fighting force, for the re-
establishment of old conditions, remains
/ available. No nation will consent to strip
itself of every item of defensive power.
The fighting is not all between civilized ma
items. The world Is not yet entirely
brought up to the standard of Great Brit
ain and that of the ruling classes in Rus
STA There millions of savages in
many of the worlds yet untitled corners
ready and eager for invasions into the
alluring fields now guarded by bayonets.
With the civilized nations disarmed such
disasters would be inevitable. Barbarous
hordes would sweep over the borders Of
the lands and once again the force of num-
bers would tell as they did in other times.
Civilization is not yet ready thus to
trust savagery. to throw into it's way a
temptation withdrawn for centuries. Nor
are the powers ready themselves to trust
each other. The formal disarmament of all
the civilized nations would unquestionaby
be quickly followed by secret reIarations
for possible war. by the stealthy assem-
blage of fighting materials, by the advent
of an era of suspicion, double-dealing and
deception such as the world. with all its
record for mischief, has never before
known. Frank preparedness Is far better
than underhanded armament. The more
open the display of force the stronger the
guarantee of peace. The cars proposal
would not lead to disarmament, but to the
cealed weapons. perhaps as costly as the
present method and less effective.
The cars suggestion may have the prac-
tical effect of checking the competitive
increase of military expenditures among
the European powers, and by calling at
tention forcibly to the burdens of prepara-
ton for war. and to the horrors of actual
war, it will doubtless have a wholesome
though limited influence in promoting the
worlds peace