The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1899-11-02
The Bugaboo of Militarism.

| regular army OF the united OIdlGS DIT
different dates, from the beginnings of
our national history down to the pres
ent time, and the ratio of soldiers to
population at corresponding periods
By these figures it was shown that the
| limitation of our regular army to 25,-
900 men-as demanded by Mr.. Bryan
oring. to brighten the American people,
and ESPECIALLY our German citizens,
with the bugaboo of "1nilitarism p
would result in allowing the nation,
with a home population of 100000
and a dependent population of 10000
900 more, only one soldier to every
3, 444 people; a force vastly smaller in
proportion that at any date in Our rec
ords, and insufficient even to man and
keep in order Our seacoast fOTtlnca-
tons. The present temporary limit
of 100000 men was shown to afford
only one soldier to every 800 people.
This, with the Philippine instruction
tied populations of Porto Rico and
Cuba to keep in order, is but slightly
in excess of what Gen. Miles, before
the Spanish war, declared his official
report should be the maximum peace
establishment of the country, if we
would properly guard Our costly sea-
coast defenses, arsena1s and military
posts, protect our frontiers and have
small number of men available in case
of internal disturbances.
Since the Pioneer Press article was
printed ex-senator Henderson, of Ne
braska, has produced some other very
effective figures bearing upoh the same
topic He shows that while the United
States, with 100, 600 men in arms, has
one soldier to a little less than 1000
inhabitants, France has 14.5 to every
1000, Germany lis, Russia 6, and
Great Britain SIS. The size of a
nations area, also, is an important
factor in considering the strength of
it's military forces. Mr.. Henderson
shows that the American republic had
on the recent basis of $4,000 men only
one soldier to every ffty-fve and a half
square miles. On the basis of 100000
men it has but one soldier to every
thirty-six square miles. This is with
out reference to the added area of Our
new dependencieo. Against this
France and Germany have approx
mate1y one soldier to every third of
square mile and Great Britain one to a
little over half a square mile of it's own
island areas.
Getting down to the cost of main
tanning armies, the tax for this pur-
pose is shown by Mr.. Henderson to be,
in France, 1921 per capita; in Ger
many, 1910; in Great Britain, 1921,
and in the United States only u cents
per capita.
Where are the grounds for alarm in
such a showing as this? The only
alarm which patriotic Americans can
feel in this connection is one lest dem
agogic appeals of the leaders who are
shouting 'Miitarism!. "Inperia1ismW
etc., may induce shortsighted polite
ians in Congress to propose, the mo-
ment the Philippine revolt is ended, a
reduction of our army to $4,000 men or
less. Such Americans recall the days
preceding the Spanish war, when,
under the impression that the naval
and military power of Spain was far
greater than it proved to be, the whole
Union was in a state of apprehension
| lest an attack should be made before
our armies or forts could be put in
shape to resist it. Not a few of us ex-
pected that Spain would gain some
advantages at first-perhaps lay waste
some of Our Atlantic cities. And, &C
companying the general feeling of
graduation that Spain was not an
other France or Germany or Russia,
there was an equally general deter
mination, that, if such a power as
either of these should ever attack us,
we should not again be "caught nap
ping as we were in the early part of
1898.
AS to the c1amor about the growth
of the military sentiment" and the
Gloss to the enterprises of peace
through the absorption of ab1e-bodied
men in the ranks of our army"-the
growth, SO far as it has been apparent,
is just what we needed, and the loss
has anybody felt it? AS consumers of
our products, those 100000 men in uni
| form contribute even more largely to
sustaining Our markets than before
| they put their uniforms on; and as
producers part of them were not known
as such before enlistment, and the &C
tivities of the other part, merged in
those of 100000 people were hardly
appreciab1e, and are certainly not
|