The Spokane press. [volume] (Spokane, Wash.) 1902-1939, 1910-05-20
ORDER FIVE TROOPS OF

Tacoma Times, Portland News, San
Francisco News and Spokane Press,
Representative McLachlan dis
played the most intimate knowledge
of both the strength and weak
nesses of the militray arm of sthe
government in not providing the
coast states with even sufficient
military protection to prevent their
occupation in case of war with
Japan.
The speaker, after reading a re-
quest from Mr.. B. H. Garfield, rep
resenting the papers mentioned, re-
Questing that the government be
interrogated concerning the state
of the defense of the coast states,
in ciew of the charges made by
public men to the effect that the
coast could be readily occupied by
an invading army Of Japanese,
charged that our defenselessness
was known to every officer in the
armies of the world, and that only
the American people were held in
ignorance by the government.
The costly system Of coast de-
lenses installed during the past
two decades at cost of 100000
900 were characterized by the
SPEAKER as being more dangerous
to the cities they were supposed
to defend than to an enemy, owing
to the absence of mobile troops to
protect the big guns from land at
tack. The fact that the capture or
every sea coast gun could be eff
fected without single shot beng
fired from one Of them. owing to
their empocement being such tnat
they can be fired only toward the
sea, was declared by the speaker
as admitted even by the chief OF
coast artillery, Gen. Murray.
1t was charged by the speaker
that it was common knowledge
among the military authorities that
every mile on the Pacific coast had
been charted by Japanese naval Of
ficers, and that Japanese engineers
resident in this country had mark
ed every tunnel, culvert and bridge
on the transcontinental railroads
in the mountain passes for demoli-
ton. The severance of commune
cation with the east, the speaker
declared, would offer opportunity
to Japan to pour an army of
trained soldiers through to the
mountain passes and so fortify
them that no frorce we could raise
could force their dislodgment. This
startling statement. the speaker
challeneg the government to deny,
as even differing from reports
made to the government by mill
tary experts who had been detailed
to study out the problems OF a
Japanese invasion of the Pacific
states.
While paying tribute to the
militia Of the several states for
the efficiency In military art
acquired, Representative Nc
Lachlan characterized the
sending Of partly trained citi.
zen soldiers against trained
REGULARS ar "murder," and the
fact that in our wars the gov
eminent had sent armies OF
men to the field unhabituated
to tho duties Of soIdier,/the
speaker said, made "this nation
in it's military operations the
greatest spendthrift Of life in
ancient or modern times
The statistics of the civil sand
Spanish wars, showing the deaths
from disease in camps owing to
the troops being unframed in car
ing for themselves in the field, was
offered by the speaker in substanti-
alton. The danger of relying. on
militia, unsupported by a sufficient
force of regulars, was set forth by
the speaker in quotations from
every national military commander
from Washington to the present
chief of staff.
1T was not individual cowardice
but collective fear which ran from
Bull Run" said the speaker, who
then drew a picture of the same
troops. who as raw levies had fled
from that battlefield, withstanding
without flinching the terrific as
sault of Pickett's Virginians at