The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-09-21
AN ARMY OFFICER
TALKS OUT AGAINST SENDING
 FLEET TO THE PACIFIC.
captain w. V. Judsen says Country's Salvation Lies fin Big Army Re- serve-Observer of RuHslan-
 Japanese Fight Is Likely to
 Raise H0rnet,s Nest.

Washington special to Brooklyn Eagle
 most extraordinary government document. which. by Its criticism, promises to raise hornets nest about the ears of its author. Capt. William ". Judson. of the Corps of Engineers, United States Army has just made it's appearance. Captain Judson, in an off, etal report. gives ground for complaint not only on the part of naval officers. members of the diplomatic corps and
 brother officers In the army, but has something to say about the foolishness
 of sending American warships to the
 tar Pacific. which Is out of harmony.
 to say the least, with the. announced in-
 tentions of the President in this regard.
 Captain Judson is ontl of the officers
 who were sent to China to report on
 the operations of the Russian and Jap
 anese armies The scenes of carnage
 which he witnessed appear to have had
 most demoralizing and depressing in-
 fuence upon Captain Judson.
 The Iudson report cotnains q fling
 at military attaches. These offices oc- cupy diplomatic status. Captain Jud-
 son thinks it is bad thing to permit
 them to accompany armies in the field. only than war correspondents" and fa- vors the policy of "satiating pulp
 lie curiosity about a nations wars by
 handing out typewriter statements i from some official source." Speaking further of military attaches, he says: Many of them will be ill-disposed, for one reason or another. Some will l try to make records in getting out information. and so may even try co- vertly to furnish information to the press"
 It is apparent that Captain Judson believes that Germany and Japan have designs upon the United States. He
 has a chapter on this topic. and. aI- | though he does not mention either nation by name, he indicates them be-
 yond reasonable doubt At the same HYrra hn AuroI hn hnn f0a raC faf1 f1-
 der which this country must struggle
 in defending itself from such an enc
 my.
 '.As to the chance of war. which would threaten us with invasion and disaster,' he says, 'it Is only necessary
 to reflect upon the speed with which
 nations now align themselves in groups
 bound together by communities or in- terest. It is not only easy to conceive
 that in the near future may hA formed such groups hostile to us. but contem- plation of our increasingly successful invasion of foreign fl rkets with manu- factured goods; of u-.f stragetfc weak ness resulting from the ownership of islands beyond the seas; of the tempt ing bait that will be afforded by u nearly completed isthmian canal. nct yet able to add to our strength by RiV- Ing passage to our naval vessels; of the Monroe Doctrine, with Its attend ant dangers. and of the fatuous optim- | ism widespread now among our people WhtCn IS not uHilkelN III thG AolUAO ~ compel the government to assume an | ndefensible position; contemplation or all these circumstances must lead to 1 the conviction that such hostile groups are almost certain to form. If some such group does not involve us in war. war that will be shameful and dis i astrous to us. it win only be because we have made the necessary prepara- | tions to defend ourselves.
 Captain Judson's scheme for avoiding | national humiliation at the hands or an
 enemy Is the organization Of big army reserve. He has naval officers by l the ears because of his sighting refer encas to the navy. For instance, he | says: Despite the great importance we justly attribute to the navy, fin the | end 1t must be admitted that it's princt- | pal functions are but to defend or at- l tack the lines of communication ot | armies where the same lead across the seas In the last resort, to prevent the | final catastrophe of war, 1t is, after all
 the army that Is required"
 1 In the opinion of the military observ- er the absence of an American army | reserve will -nbablv result in our de- | feat even by minor nations. He says | If we should ever have to land troops in Argentina or Chill we should,
 doubt not, be very much surprised anC chagrined to witness the advantages | secured by those little nations througf
 their adoption of systems or military
 training"
 (Captain Judson was the engineer IT charge of the Montgomery district fol
 several years, and Is well known anc greatly esteemed in this city anc | fn