The times., 1899-06-06
ImnerinI.~m and MiIitnrtsm.

imperialism and Militnrfsm.
We have already paid our friend, former
Senator German the compliment of ed
itorial comment in this edition. We must
do so again because We find text for
a timely sermon in some of his remarks
in a newspaper interview published in New
York yesterday. He said: "A policy Of i'm
perialism must inevitably be followed by
militarism.'
The term "militarism" is a fearsome
thing as used by Arthur Pue German and
other gentlemen, and we presume that its
ability to spread panic among the people
is largely due to innocence of what is
meant, or sought to be meant. by it. Be
il known, then, that the expression has
been evolved with the idea of making the
American people believe that it suggests
to them miserable subjection to military
administration such as the people of some
Old World countries suffer under. Let us
look into this dark and hopeless future.
Mr.. German bases his fears of militarism
upon the fact that the Government backed
By the universal sentiment of the Ameri-
can people, asked Congress at its latest
session to authorize an army of one hun
dred thousand men. Great heavens, are
our liberties thus to be crushed and wiped
off the slate? All honest trained soldiers
of the Republic knew when Mr.. German
stood forth in his might in the Senate
and essayed to hamper expansion by cut
ting down the Army, that every man of a
hundred thousand would be needed for
what Mr.. German himself insists should
be done in the Philippines and elsewhere
He knew. or should have known, when
he antagonized both the numbers and the
scientific organization proposed by the best
strategists in our service, that he was
tying the hands of the commanders who
today are upholding the honor of the flag
Cuba. Yet he says. and in the words of
patriot, that Otis ought TO have all the
, troops he needs to crush the Tagal insur-
rection! There are inconsistencies in some
people that are hard to understand.
But, to the main point Why should the
organization and use of an Army barely
large enough TO attempt the task that even
MI GOlluGl dIiL4l5 10 DelOIt lue '
involve the principle of European militar-
ism as a menace to civil government,
which is the point he and persons who
agree with him are seeking to make? All
this 'militarism' practically consists in
the employment Of enough soldiers to
pacify and hold the territory which we
must either occupy and develop or aban-
=. Vbo og bo
osition We may as well consider as set
tied Mr. German or anybody is welcome
to hunt the pages Of American history
from first to last, and if it can be found
that the American flag has ever been
hauled down in any place where it has
floated On the strength of treaty, conquest
or other competent authority. the lucky
! finder will be rewarded with a handsome,
gold-f framed chrome of Benedict Arnold.
To get down to first principles. Why
should a standing Army of a hundred thou
sand. or two. or even three hundred thou
sand men, be regarded as dangerous to the
liberties of a nation of seventy-fiye mil
lion people? We do not see any necessary
reason for fear in the premises. England,
with less than fifty per cent of our popula-
tion, has a standing army three tim-s
what ours is. and that force is supplement
/ ed by a still larger provisional army in her
Indian and other possessions. England has
also a settled colonial policy, in extreme
cases enforced by that army and its aux
iliaries. and yet We have never heard that
the Unr.ed Kingdom suffered from the as
saults of the bogey 'militarism."
If there is nation under the sun which
would resent 'militarism" it is the Brit
ish The sentiment against anything oi
the kind is so strong from Lands End tC
John o. Groats that one will never see al
officer off duty in his uniform. The army
like the navy, Of England is completely
outside OF politics. and is a myth excep
socially and as it may act under order!
from the Horse Guards.
With such an example in full view +
will never be possible to delude the Amer
lean people with the idea that they ma.
net have colonial possessions and sufh
cient army to maintain and defend then
without running the risk of military slav
cry.