Washington sentinel., 1899-02-04
EVILS OF MiIitarism.

y III the LHkeTN0ElOHdE -/0HyNeFE
= EklicS Prof. T. J. Lawrence, c
e Cambridge, England, discusse
/. the Cars Tescript, presenting
:. some Of the economic and ethica
( arguments favoring halt in tht
d. policy ofincrcasing national arma
! ments. He says:
: "No one can fail to see that tht
withdrawal Of hundreds OF thou.
sands Of young men from the
peaceful careers just opening Out
before them involves enormous
social and industrial waste. More
over, during the time they are
learning the business Of mutual
slaughter they are supported by
public funds raised from the taxa
ton OF their countrymen. The
burden is already in some coun-
tries destroying the springs OF in
dustry and closing the avenues Of
commerce. Even wealthy Eng
land has been warned by the pres
ent chancellor Of the exchequer
that il her expenditure on arma-
ments continues to increase at the
present rate, she will have soon to
choose between increased taxation
and the cessation Of her efforts to
reduce her national debt. The
twenty-four thousand miles OF SOL
iiers which, according to a Ger
man authority, represent tine
sum total OF the armies Of con-
tinental Europe, are not fed,
clothed, and provided with muni-
tious Of war without an annual
expenditure oil hundreds of mil
lions sterling. And while mo-
neY is poured out like water for
warlike purposes, education Ian
guishes owing to the difficulty of |
raising the necessary funds. and |
the eternal lack of pence hampers
every effort to deal with such prob
lens as the housing Of the poor
and the provision in towns and vii
lagos OF the amenities OF COM
munal existence.
"Nor are the evils of miIitarism
confined to the diversion of ma
tional wealth from productive to
unproductive channels. 1t brings
with It grave moral dangers, which
it is both foolish and wicked to
ignore. M. Urbain Gohier, in his
book Il Aymee coHtye Ia Nation
which has brought upon him pro-
secution at the instance OF ihe
French Government, may possibly
paint too dark a picture. But
much OF his information is taken
rom official reports, and ne de-
liberately declares that barrack
life is school of drunkenness,
1ebauchery, and every filthy
'ice. The youths Of the nation 90
nto it healthy, clean and vigorous. ,
They come out rotten and tainted, {
o become centers OF moral and c
physical corruption on their return
o civilian occupations. 1t is inn :
'ossible to pronounce an opinion a
pom such sweeping charges with. c
ut an investigation, which few Z
,ould be able or willing to under Y
AXE. But it may not be amiss to c
emark in passing that human a
ature being what it is, the agpre- h
alton Of young men together in a
lrge masses without the possibil. I
y Of marriage, and with a good -
cal of time hanging idle on their ir
ands, is sure to lead to results Of ia
most unsatisfactory kind, unless n,
Ieir greatest pains are taken by &C
lie authorities to provide infiu- g
ices which shall counteract those 7,
her inf uences whose existence
so well known that they need be
1t be described. Unfortunately, &c
sometimes happens that those Id
no from their official position 70
ould be foremost in the combat of
It'll vice have adopted the doctrine be
at it is a necessity, and do their I'M
st to encourage what they ought pr
endeavor to stamp out. But -,
briefly is not the only evil that m,
ay easily be made to flourish in
= atmosphere OF camps. Con- rel
npt of civilians, impatience of an
,il authority, distaste for civil -.
=, are each and all iostered by ne
E overgTown military systems of CO
ost continental nations. The be
] doctrine Of the seventeenth and qu
ghteenth centuries, that a stand -
Z army is dangerous to liberty. rio
~ receive startling confirmation gu
the close of the nineteenth CEN Wit
~. lea
The House last Monday adopted Un
amendment to the Ioo, 900 inn osI os,
rial army bill, giving the Presi- The
Mt discretion 90 limit the number int