The Lynden tribune. [volume] (Lynden, Wash.) 1908-current, 1911-02-09

II. GIVEN $4,000. 900 to be used Dis
fund to promote uiiiVei 81, $50 his
In a recent interview he eApi''in ..,a
idaas of how to go about
- Tbe first step would be for al
,,,roanent between the United States
70, rnglapd He then believes the
-. sre,t nations would come III
without a great deal OF coaAihs.
could result in the disarmlng ol al
nations He suggests that each hatioh
1,,.,.ing the agreement should Keep
- commission lust one battleship,
rbicb should do police duty. Ihese
police battleships of all nations shoui"
Ia available to destroy any fleet that
any rebellious nation could build.
What a wonderful thing it would
be If the disarmament of the ma
tions could be accomplished. Do you
know. We of the United States spend
something over S250,000,0OO yearly to
keep up our puny army and navy
and We are away down in the list OF
nations spending money for that puf-
pose. If we could use that S25o,Coo,
600 yearly for building roads what
n showing We could make? Ever think
of IL? Even in this country where
road building is very expensive 3ocd
macadam roads. 80 feet wide can be
constructed for a cost of less thaa
SO 900 a mile. Well at that price the
money we spend yearly on the army
and navy would build around the
world. 1t would build three national
highways across this continent from
east to west.
But. there are many uses besides
road building that the money could
be put to that would be worth While
worth more than hireing men ana
building machines to do wholesale
murder. In our war department we
have $50 vessels. Some of them nave
cost more than the finest trans-At-
lantic liners. Hundreds of them will
compare favorably with the average
ocean passenger and freight steam
ers. and yet of these 600 vessels not
a one is being used to carry passen-
gers or freight. We have no mer-
chant marine, but we have ships 10
destroy other country's merchant mar
inc.
We might divide up S25O,OOO,GOO
ilto 80 parcels and build so schools
throughout this country to teach
labor to our children.
Oh, there are so many things chat
A nation might do with the money
hat would really count for HUMANE
ty. instead of against it, that ii seems
as if every civilized person would
boost for disarmament.
Get busy and smile. You may
have the tooth ache tomorrow.
At this writing r. l.. Mccormick,
of Tacoma, is reported to be dying at
Sacramento, Cal.
Mccormick had a. great deal about
him that was lUvable. | have often
wondered if he wouldn't have really
been a lovable man, had he been Il
poor man. In fact | have somatimes
suspected that he was slandered On
account of his money, and, it is sell
dom that | have met rich men of
whom | had any such suspicion
Mccormick has been reputed 20 he
very rich. He made, it is said, mil
lions in the logging and lumber bust
ness with the Weyerhauser syndicate
He has been the Pacific coast repre-
sentative of that firm for years. In
some ways he was a great man. | sup
pose one day he must have been a
great organizer, but of late years he
has not been that. l have always
suspected that Mccormick would have
gone to his final home leaving a great
reputation for public spiritedness be-
hind him, if--there is so often N
Tiff he hadn't attempted to butt In
re. politics just at time when The
old order was changing for The new
and just at time when he, probably
through old age, was losing his know
ledge of men, and ability to organize
Mccormick has really been a public
spirited man. | shouldn't be greatly
surprised, if in fact he is dying, tc
hear in few days that he has re-
membered his city and possibly his
state in his will.
McCormicks first big mistake was
in allowing the republicans of Tacoma
to nominate him for mayor ut time
when the machines of both parties
had slated a democrat to win. That
didn't show seneralship, did It? We'll
he didn't show any more generalship
during the campaign, but to few
who worked with him, or near MIN
daily during that time, he really did
show himself to be mostly man, and
of a good sort. Again there was moth
ing shrewd in his allowing his name
to come UP for senator last fall Even
had he been well he had no more
show of landing the senatorship than
a snow ball would have of rolling
from here to the Panama canal. He
was worked to be a candidate hy
men who wanted to get their hands
in his barrel. But, this very ignorance
of the political game, and yet the ap-
parent desire to get into it, is one of
the things that convinces me chat
Mccormick wasn't nearly as much 4
plutacrat as he was plain man.
couldn't have supported him for Office
but, | liked the man.