The daily morning journal and courier., 1906-04-04
That New DattIeshIp.

TO Editor of the Journal and Courier:
 I have been pondering on an article l read in a recent issue of your esteemed paper and wondering if l might ask few questions The article was entitled The Biggest and Best"
 I cannot tell when l have been more deeply affected or more haunted by dread, past and future, by reading an article, than I have been since reading that one; and l ask the questions to have the humanity and the Christianity in the subject, if it contains those ele- ments, made clear to me, as l fear it may be weakness in me that l do not see them in it at all; while I will have to admit I am very poor mathemati- elan and would like aid in adjusting conclusions regarding figures later on.
 The biggest and best" What? Why batteshipl Ten million dollars to be expended on a single tHing called a battleship, and that by nation boosting of its humanity and Chrlsti- anityl But perhaps here is where l am foggy. What is a battleship, and for what is it construeted2 My own hay brain sees only floating insult to Jehovah where every instinct of hu- manity is lost In diabolic debasement and depravity. A thing built Tn peace and for peace" where young men are trained in the arts of warfare which means bloodshed and death; where the principles of humanity and Christian ity are taught one day in seven, per- haps, and on the other six they are taught to kill with all the skill that the brightest brains can devise.
 Why do we need another battleship? the smiling blue of yon fair sky there is black cloud rising that means war? God forbid!
 I am pondering over the fate of so many cherub-faced little boys kneeling to-day at their mothers knee in purest childish faith accepting mothers faith in God who said, Thou shall not kill" Who are to be slaughtered by that very battleship, and will it be hav- ing lived and died in the interest of humanity and Christianity? It may be, only I do not see it in that light.
 Then, again, I have been thinking of the money expended and wondering if it could not be better expended--won- dering if it would take S10000,000 to ed ucate one little boy so that he would never wish to fight In all his hfe-he or his descendants forever and ever; won dering if that could be made to pay, if considering future generations amounts to anything. Or, putting that thought aside and thinking only of the present. how many acres away off in the hills and valleys of this great God-fearing land Of ours, as we say could be bought for that sum, and how many heaVy- hearted and ill-fed but brave, noble young men in crowded death-dealing arms-manufacturing factories could be transported to them, there to live in the peace and plenty of this great land Would 1t take $10,00O000 to purchase one acre and transport one man, or could 1O,000,00O acres be bought and 10, O,OOO,O 900 men be transported for 1t?
 But 1t is just here where my mathe- matical inability comes to confuse me, and I only wish 1 could be endowed with the knowledge of those whose bril- 1 liancy in figures I saw displayed the other evening within the classic walls of beautiful Woolsey Hall during a learned discussion on the oetterment of conditions for poor humanity, and which l followed with intense interest until the figuring came, and then, of course, l suffered collapse as usual when confronted by them.
 Oh, figures are such strange things! Ten million dollars to be spent on a