Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1900-09-19
WEDNESDAY EVENING SEPT. 10, 1900

ing, and placed IN couspiououo Poo'
ton. When he came to discuss "ml-
itarism" MIR. Roosevelt called on these
FIVE soldiers to rise up, aud then said to
the audience, Behold your tyrsnts !"
The republicans laughed loudly at the
idea that five men could tyrsnnize over
a thousand. such is the superlatlve
idiocy of the average partisan whom
scoundrels lead by the nose, that II
never occurred to Roosevelt or his au-
dience that the same cheap trick o.
calling on FIVE soldiers to rise up couIo
have been played as we'll at Paris, St.
Petersburg or Berlin, or in any country
where, VIGOROUSLY, the army dominates,
or rather where certain men dominate
absolutely the use of the army over the
people. 1t is not the soldiers that ty'
rannize, but the men who can control
and order them about, and who have
their implicit obedience. SO, too, hVe
armed men may not be much OF force,
but a very small body of well-srmed,
weIl-drilled men, acting together, are
often a match for a multitude, unarmed
and usaccustomed to act together. Ii
q small police force can handle mob
with their little clubs, what cannot q
regiment do when armed with modern
weapons, the Calling gun or the Max
i'm? It was a knowled 20 of this truth
that led the fathers of the republic to
fear and to deDounce the idea of large
standing army as q menace to public
liberty. Washington, Jefferson. Hamil-
ton, Madison and all our great men OF
that day dreaded standing army.
The intelligent German, who knows
what miltsrsm means 10 Europe for
the poor man, wants none OF it here.
He is not deceived by Mr.. Roosevelt's
stage trickery or by his shallow argu-
ments. Mr.. Roosevelt is amused that
any one should be alarmed at the dan
ger of a standing army Of one hundred
thousand men. 1t is a true saying that
stools rush in where angels fear to
tread" Possibly, if the army were Of
ficered by swashbucklers like himself,
the danger would not be SO very great,
after all.
In very thoughtful article lately
printed, London journal called atten-
ton to the "powerlessness OF the peo-
pie" against military force. The writer
well observes that 1.-THE conditions Of
iDsurrectionsry war have been chang
ing for thirty years and all the changes
have tended to diminished popular
power" The army ia now equipped
with long range, quick firing guns,
with artillery almost resistless and
rapid firing cannon and everything
in short that makes trained body for
midable. 1t is accustomed and drilled
to implicit obedience. 1t does not
Gbink. 1t acts. 1t ia machine. 1t is
as easy for it to fire on the American
people as on Spauiards, Malays or
Chinese, and regulars will do 1t. Against
such a force of even FIVE or ten thou
sand, what could hundred thou
sand men do, imperfectly armed, with
out artillery, without powder possibly,
without drill, discipline or trained COM
maudersP They would only be in one
another's way, a helpless, inert mass
as helpless.as d herd Of buffalo on the
plains before the Winchester or repeat
ing rifle. Some people may be foolish |
enough to suppose that to resist ty- |
rant, with his large standing army, the |
people could raise money, and buy and |
import guns and cannon. But what
would the tyrant ADD the usurper re |
doing in the meantime? II MI. Roosevelt |
really believes that the people would |
be any match for large regular army,
no matter how clear and just the popu-
lar cause, or however wicked and cruel
the usurper and tyrsnt might be-, be lie
a bigger fool even than We take him
to be.
The proposition is to increase the
standing army from twenty-five thou
sand to one hundred thousand men
that is, to multiply four times the old
force of 1898, or even more. Every
military man and every intelligent civil
Ian knows that by the use of improved
arms, repeating guns and modern ar.
ullery, force of twenty. i've thousand
regulars is today twice or three times
as effective as it was thirty years ago.
One half the men who fought ct G ettys-
burg, armed and equipped as soldiers
now are armed, would be a match for
both armies of that great battle. Pick
ett's famous charge would have been
aD impossibility with modern arms.
II would not have been even ATTEMPTED.
The multiplication of railroads all over
the land has also greatly increased the
g efficiency OF small force. The Indian
question has disappeared. Even FOR a
foreign foe, the old army OF twenty
five Thousand men Is not now needed.
But the vast increase TO one hundred
thousand men or upwards, as pro-
posed, is not intended to guard
our coasts or cities against for
eign invaders. These soldiers are
desired for the new colonial or i'm