Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1913-02-16
The BaSeleSS Fear of War

! pass nphecded and peace would be preserved. and the foulcst blot uron Civilation would thus have been cras- ed. The treaty failed unexpectedly 10 get the required two-thirds vote in the senate, but let The peacemakers he of good cheer. hope and believe that the incoming administration is to re- new the efforts and succeed. There can be no such work as fail in cause so noble
 Let Wood, Mahan Goethals and others. admittedly the right me in the right place, give us one good reason why any nation should desire war with use. When they do this to the country's satisfaction We should lis ten. but not till then. To name our probable invaders and describe their means of invading us would banish all ground for anxiety. Think of a European power having to transport an army and it's supplies across the
 
 in mind the question why and with what object. Thanks to our Constitu- ton, if we must repel invasion we shall have the advantage of a civilian commander-in-c n-chief in the President and not professional theorist, in- capable of judging question of gen f an axiom in business. beware the expert especially those whose life work is dreaming of wars which sel- dom or never happen. Our naval and : military officials must dream of wars since most of them never even see one. They resemble our warships. few of which ever, fire a hostile shot. but parade round the world showing their guns as peacocks display their foa- thers, always ornamental. but seldom useful. Lincoln with a Stanton a Grant and Sherman, is the ideal , not one of whom but came direct from civil life to defend his country. It would possibly be our best policy to ' invite our invaders to land: guide | them into the interior as far as they : would go-getting in they would find 7 easy, but when it came to the ques- tion how they would get out it would be another story-surrounded as they would be by hundreds of thousands l of sharp-shooters from every quarter of the compass.
 Our Republic, soon to number 100,000,000 of free and independent citizens, our men old and young ready with their rifles to do or die for their country if attacked, surely every man. even the narrow professional soldier in his sane moments, must realize that no such hair-brained madness as invasion will ever be attempted. Our harbors could easily be torpedoed be- fore the enemy could prepare and ar rive.
 Men who refused today to walk abroad without lightning rods down their backs with a ground connection. because men have been struck with , lightning. would be the counterparts of those who fear invasion. The first risk, however, being much greater than the second, insurance companies would make huge profits by selling
 
 even at a dollar a head life policies against invasion-all would be clear gain less cost of printing. Falstaff' S foes, both in 'Buckram" and in Ken dal green,'' were scarcely less ima3i- nary than the fears which apparently surround the appeal most of our present professi onals, able men as these are in their respective fields. Not one of the three additional war ships demanded this year. if built in all probability, but rust into useless ness -forty-fiye millions of dollars needlessly squandered. What a waste ends in improving for the masses the conditions of life. There is to be an end to this folly some day. A man S profession is his hobby therefore if generals are to deci5e how many sol diers We are to maintain, and admi- rals how many -milliondollar batleships we are to build to rust away, farewell to common sense, for there are no extremes to which men 5 hObies may rot lead them.
 True, few if any of our officers of today have ever seen war, and thank God fewer still are ever to see il, but the professional hobby takes rool early and grows apace. The writer believes that the President will prove a man of sound judgment; that his first care will be to guard our country from present obvious dan gers, while consigning imaginary