Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1909-05-26
.BR|TA|NS JEALOUSY
MENACE TO PEACE
eERmANYs NAVY AND OVER
SEA TRADE HAS HOUSED
ENGLISH PASSION.
VIEWS or NICHOLAS MURRAY
5UTLEE 5EFoRE LAKE MO-
HoNk CONFERENCE.

ANNHNS 4AoAoHh OOAiCAchSS III iHUcE-
national Arbitration opened yestar-
day. Nicholas Murray Butler, Presi-
dent of Columbia university, and
president OF the American Branch
OF the association for international
Cancellation, presided. In his open
ing address President Butler refer
red to the progress toward universal
peace made by the second Hague
conference, but deplored what he de-
scribed as present day emotional in
sanity which resulted in war talk
The speaker cited the attitude OF
England towards Germany as an in
stance of un'yarranted jealousy and
declared that no adequate ground
for British suspicious towarc Ger
many had been given by any re-
sponsible person. He continued:
The intensive application Of the
discoveries of theoretical science to
industrial processes has made Ger
many, in a sense. the worlds chief
te lcher il its great International
SCHOOL of Industry and commerce.
With this oversee trade expansion
has gone the building of German
navy. Il appears to be the building
of this navy which has so reused
the passions of the English people.
For the moment we are not treated
to tb well-worn paradox that the
larger a nations navy the less likely
it is to be used in combat and the
more certain Is the peace of the
world. The old Adam asserts him
self long enough to complain, in
this case at least, that if a navy
is building in Germany it must be
intended for offensive use; and
against whom could the Germans
possibly intend to use a navy ex-
cept against England? Their neigh
bors, the French and the Russians,
they could readily, and with less
risk. oyerrun with their great army
The United States is too far away
to enter into the problem as a fac
tor Of any real Importance There
fore, the inference In drawn that
the navy must be intended for an
attack upon England. 1t is worth
while noting that, on this theory
the German navy now building ap-
pears to be the first of modern nav
les intended for military uses. 1t
alone of all the worlds navies, how.
ever large, however costly, is not a
messenger of peacel
One must needs ask, then. what
reason is to be found in the nature
of the German people, in the dec
larations of their possible rulers. or
in the political relations between
Germany and any other nation
for the belief that the German navy
alone, among all the modern navies,
is building for a warlike purpose?
Those of us who feel that the bust
ness of navy building is being great
~ oyerdone. and that it cannot for
a moment be reconciled with sound
public policy. or with the increas-
ingly insistent demand for social i'm
provements and reforms, may well
wish that the German naval pro-
gram were much more restricted
than it is. But waving that point
for the moment. what ground is
there for the suspicion which is so
widespread in England against Ger
many. and for the imputation to Ger
many OF evil intentions toward Eng.
land? Speaking for myself. and
making full use of such opportuni-
ties for accurate information as /
have enjoyed / say with the ut.
most emphasis and with entire sin.
certify that [ do not believe there is
any ground whatever for those sus-
picioas of for those imputations.
But, says the objector, England is
Oh island nation. Unless she com
mands the sea absolutely her national
existence is in danger; any strong
navy in unfriendly hands threatens
her safety. That formula has been
repeated SO often that almost every
body believes ii. There was a time
when it was probably aud within linn
lis true. 1t is no longer true. and
has not been true for some time past
In the first place. national existence
no longer depends upon military and
naval force Italy is safe; so are
HOLLAND and Portugal Mexico and
Canada Then. the possibilities OF
aerial navigation alone. with the re-
sulting power OF destroying a popu-
lation huddled beneath monster
travelling through the air and willing
to risk its own existence and the
lives of its occupants for the oppor-
tunity 10 inhict a vital injury upon
another people 10 say nothing OF the
enginery OF electricity. have changed
the significance Of the word island.
The greatest present obstacle to
the limitation OF the ornaments I'M
der The weight Of which the world is
staggering toward bankruptcy. the
greatest obstacle to carrying forward
those social and economic reforms
for which every nation IS crying out
that its population MAY be better
housed. the public health more com
pie ely protected. and the burden OF
unemployment lifted from the backs /
OF the wase-earning classes. appears /
% me to be the insistence by Eng
land on what Il calls the twopoway I