Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1908-04-17
OUR MOTTO is PEACE"

just when q wave of military fervor,
due to exceptional Condolences, y
sweeping over the land; when the
achievements of the fleet and its DEM
onstrations in western waters are held
un to public view; and when our own
high school cadets are very patriotical-
ly and very properly about to under
take journey that viii be replete with
ideas of military action-Just now, we
say. II Is good TO remind ourselves that
Americas mission is not to fight. but TO
feed, clothe and enlighten the people Of
other nations. AS our national hymn
declares Our motto is peace"
Inclined as we are to the ways Of
peace, and fully convinced that war in
any or it's forms is q monster, we think
that the proposition Tor q large increase
OF our military and naval establish
mhnts should be subjected to the most
searching scrutiny before this nation Is
committed to anything like a warike
policy.
No question more seriously divides
the opinion Of thoughtful people in this
country than that Of providing a large
war navy.
The question decided the other day by
Congress to build two battleships in
place OF the four recommended by the
President, Illustrates this difference of
attitude among public mon.
Tho rapidly increasing expenditures
of the government figured in the result
as 10 the building OF new battleshlps.
Only a few days ago Senator Hale called
attention to the fact that this year the
treasury had paid cut s56,000,00O more
than Il had expended at this date last
year, and that the income had been
Ss60O0Oo0 less, He showed that the cx-
pcndltures Just voted in time of peace
for army purposes ssSOOe,0O0, or $40 400
600 more than last years appropriation
for their purposes, had already in
creased the war budget so much that
this country Is expending 10 per cent of
all its revenues for war PURPOSES.
Lord Salisbury once gave in SEN
tencc some very sound advice as to the
adoption OF the costly projects adyocat-
ed by military officers. He said in writ
ing to Lord Cromer in Egypt: DO not
be piisIed by army experts Thcy
would. IL they could have their way.
make MS garrison Mars in order to Rse-
vent an invasion from the moon"
Lord Broushams sentiment "1'he
school master is abroad. / trust more |
to him. armed with his primer than | |
do to the soldier in full military array
has commended itself to the thoughtful |
APPROVAL of most Of our statesmen.
AS o nation we are now expanding so
much for military purposes that there
is practically nothing left for the usual
public buildings the deepening of rivers,
the improvement of ports, the building
of hrealSwaters, and for the arid land |
reservoir projects. Notwithstanding the
political abuses that sometimes attach |
to this form of national investment, 1t !
all represents productive expenditure, |
whiic what is spent for armies and bat |
tleships Is necessarily unremunerative'
Industrial schools, sadly headed in |
America could use most probably the |
vast sums contemplated in the military |
and naval programs; reservoirs Of the |
arid west need the money; the national
llNtbA iNSAiNNo aANNN Ni'~ A'''''Ns 49,
people need the money.
1t should be devoted TO military pnr-
poses no further than it can be shown
to be necessary for defense. For pur-
poses Of foreign aggression or conquest
we have no need of II,
1t does not seem to us at all probable
that any foreign foe can successfully
attack this nation Mt home; and we
have little occasion 70 go abroad seek
ing quarrel
or course there is the possibility of
a war with Japan. and We might sEFse
10 such an increase IN our navy as TO
impart a sense of national security
from POSSIBLE Japanese aggression
Beyond tho point Of securing the ma
tlonal safety through actual defensive
precautions, however We cannot think
Il necessary TO SO. Even that much in
wolves n considerable difference Of
opinion us TO how large an army and
navy may be necessary. But 10 per cent
OF the national revenues surely cannot
he Indispensable for the safety of this
country 80 far reunyed as 1t Is from
any of tho powerful nations,