Waterbury evening Democrat., 1907-12-03
THE ARMY.
No Ground For Demagogic Defamation
 Against Miiitarism.

Against Miiitarisnl.
 I think it is only lack of foresight that troubles us, not any hostility to the army. There are. of course, fool ish people who denounce any care Of the army or navy as 'militarism.' but I do not think that these people are numerous. This country has to con tend now and has had to contend in the past with many evils and there is ample scope for all who would work for reform. But there is not one evil that now exists or that ever has exist ed in this country which is or ever has been owing in the smallest part 10 miltarism. Declamation against militarism has no more serious place in an earnest and intelligent move ment for righteousness in this country than Reclamation against the worship of Baal or Astaroth. It is declama- tion against a nOneXistent evil, one which never has existed in this coun- try and which has not the slightest chance of appearing here, We are glad to help in any movement for in- ternatonal peace, but this is because we sincerely believe that it is our duty to help all such movements, provided they are sane and rational, and not be- cause there is any tendency toward militarism on our part which needs to be cured The evils we have to fight are those in connection with in dustrialism, not militarism. Industry is always necessary, just as war is sometimes necessary. Each has its price, and industry in the United States now exacts and has always ex- acted q far heavier toll of death than all our wars put together The statis. tics of the railroads of this country for the year ended June 30, 1906, the last contained in the annual statistical report of the interstate commerce com. of 10S324 casualties to persons, of which 10,G1S represent the number of persons killed. In that wonderful hive of human activity. Pittsburg, the deaths due to industrial accidents in 1906 were 919, all the result of acci- dents in mills, mines or on railroads. For the entire country, therefore, it is safe to say that the deaths due to in- dustrial accidents aggregate in the neighborhood of 10000 a year. Such n record makes the death rate in all our foreign wars utterly trivial by comparison. The number of deaths in battle in all the foreign wars put to- gether for the last century and quar- ter aggregate considerably less than one years death record for our indus tries. A mere glance at these figures is sufficient to show the absurdity of the outcry against militarism.
 But again and again in the past our little regular army has rendered serv- ice literally vital to the country, and it may at any time have to do so in the future. Its standard of efficiency and instruction is higher now than ever in the past, but it is too small. There are not enough officers. and it is i'm possible to secure enough enlisted men. We should maintain in peace fairly complete skeleton of a large army. A great and long continued war would have to be fought by volunteers. but months would pass before any large body of efficient volunteers could be put in the field, and our regular army should be large enough to meet any Immediate need. Tn particular it is es- sentlal that we should possess a num- Der Of extra officers trained in peace to perform efficiently the duties ur- gently required upon the breaking out of war
 The medical corps should be much larger than the needs of our regular army in war. Yet at present it Is smaller than the needs of the service demand even in peace. The Spanish war occurred less than ten years ago. The chief loss we suffered in 1t was by disease among the regiments which
 
 ment the nation seemed deeply impress cd by this fact. yet seemingly it has already been forgotten. for not the slightest effort has been made to pre- pare medical corps of sufficient size to prevent the repetition of the same disaster on a much larger scale if VIC should ever be engaged in a serious conflict. The trouble in the Spanish war was not with the then existing officials of the war department: 1t was with the representatives of the people as a whole who for the preceding thir- ty years had declined to make the necessary provision for the army. In less ample provision is now made by congress to put the medical corps where 1t should he put disaster in the next war Is inevitable. and the respon- sibiIity will not lie with those then in charge of the war department, but
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