New-York tribune., 1908-01-13
MIR. STEAD'S REVERSI0N
From Missioner of Disarmament to
EuanScl of Sea Po1rer-
London. December 30


the voice crying in the wilderness to make
staistt the maths Of peace by lowering the costs
of ,,ren.ratIons for war He has been the fore
runner Of the Parliament of Man journeyins
from, capitaI TO capital TO with sovereisns
and prcniers preaching the peace OF the world
in international conferences in America and on
the Continent supporting Mr.. Bryan's OFatoFiesi
outh,,rgts ", westrninster-fall for enlargng the
scope of arbitration. prououncing bensdlcton
upon the Prime Minister'S resolution 70 set a
good example by cutting down military expenses
and naval construction. and issuing daiiy oaiie-
Tins during the sessions of the Hague congress
on the progress OF humane civilization Presto
change. Mr.. Stead. disiIlusioned by the meagre
results of the peace congress and resentful be-
cause the German Emperor would not allow
ANYTHING Of real importance 20 be done. poses
bareIegged and with war locks streaming in the
wind as the Evangel OF Sea Power Proudly
does he proclaim the maintenance OF an irresist-
ible naval supremacy as the first 'aw OF Eng
lands self preservation; heavily does he plump
for Sir John Fisher against Press Admirais'
and treacherous mischief makers
Naturally. Mr.. stead has caused hubou0. and
that is a congeniaI atmosphere when agitation
is the breath Of his life The emergency com
rnittee of the International Arbitration Leasue
dAnounces him as a renegade and panic maker.
Lord Chancellor and the Prime Minister in the
+o,,-nar,ant of sentiment in the Hall Of William
Fuf,s are disrnaved by the discovery that there
was a ravening wolf in sheep's clothing Peace
advocates turn away from him with sorrowfui
Indignation aa an apOstate- who repudiates What
he once preached and advocates what ne mas
condemned with destructive Criticism Inc
Nav, League would welcome him an ally IL
he had not become a partisan in the Fishsr-
Beresford controversy and accused II OF aiding
and abetting an almost traitorOus conspiracy
against the present administration OF the Ad-
r,ira1tv". and this is angrily resented as wan
ton and sroundIess libel. Mr. Stead finds TINS
general onslaught the most enjoyable Of holiday
recreatfons He reaffirms his belief IN power
full navy and in a double standard based on the
fighting resources of America and Germany; he
restates his case in two-colunn letters OF plain
talk" and he poses anew as the Apostle OF
Peace consistent and infallible in the presence
Of '.muddIe-h e-headed" critics who do not know
that vuInerability at sea makes for war and
barbarism 1t may be a fantastic holiday trans
formation but 1t is ever the same Stead, agile
and vociferous.
What is described loosely as a conversion is
in reality reversion- Dear old Bromley. whose
memory is always fresh in the circle Of Trib-
me readers had story Of Professor Marsh
watching moving black dot in the horizon
which gradually enlarged with approach until II
was a mounted Indian warrior. stark naked and
I'm full war paint armed to the teeth and in
vfnribIe in aboriginal might The fossil hunting
professor covered before this apparition. but
was speedily reassured by the neighborly greet
ing: Good morning. Professor Marsh. How
are all the Hadleys?" The Indian on the war
path was native missionary educated in New
Haven who had returned to the plains and. over
nowered bv predatory instincts, had suddenly
reverted" That apparently is what has hap
pened to the Missioner of Disarmament. As
long ago as 1884 he one Of the most active
agtators for an invincible navy superior to any
possible combination Of maritime powers Dur
ing recent years he has been preaching re-
trenchment disarmament. compulsory arbitra-
ton in place of war. amphictyonic councils, the
Golden Rule in diplomacy. the ways Of neigh
bOrly pIeasantness and peace and the beatitudss
as substitutes for standing armies and floating
armadas Suddenly the oldtime fighting ardOr
has taken possession of him He has reverted
to his original state irrepressible Briton
bent upon having absolute command Of the sea,
even if millions millions be added TO the na-
tionaI budget and the exhausted taxpayer he
crushed out of existence
In his jingo war paint Mr. Stead is battling
with two devils. he himself describes his aC-
tivities One is National Insecurity. if naval
supremacy over two or three naval powers COM
bined be frittered away. The other is Military
Conscription which becomes inevitable if the
safeguards against invasion of the home soil arc
weakened. He proclaims himself a consistent
advocate Of peace in demanding invulnerabls
navy in order TO avert national helplessness and
conscript army: and the responsibility for his
reversion to ornaments after he has labored
strenuously for an international guarantee for
systematic reduction of military and naval ex-
penditures he saddles upon the peace congress
Since there is no agreement among the mari
time powers that naval supremacy Of Great
Britain shall not be challenged. he is fierce a
jingo as can he found fighting the battle Of the
standards He viii build two British Dread
nOughts for every additional German battleshiP
and maintain a level of construction and equip
ment which viii keep the two strongest rival
and he will go on increasing indefinitely the
vulnerability of other maritime powers by url-
limited taxation in England for anything SIR
John Fisher and the Admiralty may ask IL
may not b. easy 10 recognize in this plain
spoken jingo the COLLEAGUES OF Mr.. Bryan at
Westminster Hall. the private coach Of the PriTns
Minister in retrenchment and the Missioner cc
Peace among the nations: but the aboriginal
Briton in paint and feathers comes out strons
with resounding warwhoop. y T.
RHODES SCHOLARSHIP EXAMINATIONS.
rBy Telegraph TO The Tribune