Wheeling majority. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1907-192?, 1911-02-16
Increasing
he Army
The FirohtfuI Cost Of Wars Past and
Wars 10 Come increase Wose
Than Folly.
fRx Aanes Il. pownIne.l

me secretary VI w 81 hoo sou -
urgent appeal to the House OF Rep
resentatiyes for standing army Of
at least four hundred and fifty thou
sand trained men: and that it would
be better to have six hundred thou
sand. This would be a force fully
four times as large as the combined
regulars and organized militia at
present. In fact, it is an army OF the
same size with which Napoleon pass
ed through the hostile states of Ger
many and invaded the Russian EN-
pire.
Secretary Dickinson also asks that
our coasts be fortified. There is, too,
demand to increase and render more
effective the organization of the
militia.
AS q matter of fact, in the last ten
years one billion Of dollars has been
expended on the navy on the pretext
that it was the navy that must defend
us. Now it appears that the Secretary
of the Navy is dead sure that a foreign
foe would make quick work Of the
powerful Dreadnaughts. SO, forsooth,
we must have land force.
According to a statement in the
New York World:
"For all purposes of wars past
and wars to come we are using
each year Of every 500 devoted
to ordinary national expense $72
for military ends.
"Mr. Dickinson seems to COM
template standing army almost
as large as that of Germany,
fully equipped, abundantly spu-
piled with reserve material, and
ready to the last button, as was
Moltke's machine, for slaughter.
The United States army which
Mr.. Dickinson now decries is cost
ing about one hundred million,
dollars year. How many hum
dreds of millions would he needed
u Md1uL6lA pAOPOoC0 oAN AAe--A
dred thousand men while they
awaiting imaginary invaders?"
Then, when we remember that those
are all young strong men thus with
drawn from family life and from pro-
ductive industry, and placed as dead
weight on our already overburdened
society, we can see what it means.
And this for. country that has never
been attacked by foreign invader.
There is no real danger of such an
attack. Increasing the army would
not help if there were because other
nations could also increase.
1t is said that resolution passed
at the last Peace Conference at The
Hague declared that to attack an I'M
fortified city would be considered a
gross breach of international amity.
If this be true, then an unfortl1ed
city would be safe and to fortify q
city is to invite attack.
In reality the whole proceedings is
an expensive and wasteful farce got
ten up partly by contractors who wish
to furnish the supplies. In all serious
ness there is but one use for armies.
Walter Thomas Mills is authority
for the statement that the military
maps Of America locate all factories,
show all the lines Of approach and
the best plans for their defense. Mills
also says: Within the various coun-
tries the home sevice of the soldier
is none other than to overawe the
workers at all times and to actively
use the weapons Of war in trades dis
putes in time of strikes"
And further: Every great indus
trial center in the world has supply
of soldiers. with machine guns and
every possible equipment for street
fighting always close at hand"
And this is the secret for the de-
mand for an increased standing amry.
The workers of he country are forced
to maintain their sons in the heavy
harness of war to keep themselves in
submission. It is the very worst humi-
liation that capitalism puts upon them
It is one of the very best reasons why
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