The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1910-05-19
BY United Press Wire.

| washington, May ll.-Dcclarine
that in the present state of the nat.
ional defense, War with an Orient.
al power might mean permanent
separation of the Pacific Coast from
the >union, Representative James
McLachlan, of California today ar.
ranged the weakness of the United
States army and navy, i'm a speech
In the House in support of a resolu-
tion. which he introduced calling
upon the Secretary of War for re-
port on the state of the military
| forces. McLachlan disclaimed any
prediction toward mllitarism. He
declared that he had awaited time
when All the world was at peace to
present his resolution in order that
no friendly power might be Offend
cd.
Charging that every officer in the
worlds armies was acquainted with
the weakness of our military defense,
McLachlan demanded that the Ameri-
can people be placed in the same
secrets, he said, but only that an
uncolored and truthful statement of
the national defense be given to the
people.
That the entire system OF coast
defense, installed during the past
two decades at n cost of 500, 900, 900
Is absolutely useless for want OF
mobile land forces to defend IL from
land attacks was one of McLachlan's
startling statement. In case of war
with Japan. he said, the Pacific Coast
states would be invaded and occup-
led by Asiatic soldicry who could be
"dislodged only by a dishonorable
and humiliating peace"
While paying high tribute to tho
state MALTA, the speaker character
lied as sheer murder the placing of
but partly trained soldiers i'm the
field, unsteadied by an adequate re-
gular force against trained and dis-
plined troops. In substantiation OF
this statement McLachlan quoted
"every great national military leader
from Washington 10 the present day"
He produced statistics of the Spanish
war and other American wars TO prove
been the greatest spendthrifts of life
and treasurer among the nations of
the earth. ancient and modern"
The inability of the Navy to lend
assistance on the Pacific coast In
event of war with Japan, owing to
the batteship fleet being stationed
on the Atlantic was set forth y>the
speaker who proceeded to review the
obstacles that would confront a Jap
anese invasion. He charged that II
was common knowledge among mill
tary authorities that every mile of
the Pacific coast had been charted
by Japanese military officers.
Maps are in the possession. of the
Japanese, he said, showing every
tunnel, culvert and bridge on the
transcontinental railroads, the de-
molition of which would entirely
isolate the Pacific coast states from
the east. The occupation of the
mountain passes traversed by the
transcontlnental railroads by any
army of veteran Japanese troops
would CALL the speaker claimed, for
the recuitng and equipment of an
army of a million men to dislodge the
invaders, He challenged the govern
ment to show that such force could
be equipped and sent against She
enemy within year
Following Is a condensation com
posed of excerpts from the speech,
which went into the subject in great
detail:
"What Is easily conceivable for
the Pacific coast Is not merely at
tack, threatened or actual, but at
tack accompanied by invasion of