Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1913-10-16

Japan again emphasize the unprepared condition So
this country. In event Of war a large army would DC
required; and while there is no doubt OF the ability
of this country to raise all the volunteers it desires.
the cost in men and money would be tremendous
Our policy of Peace on earth and good will toward
men, - however beautiful in the abstract, can only De
carried into effect by the strong but just arm of
might. H
The charge that a nation is declining ii patriotism
is so serious that it should not be made unless it can
be substantiated by facts and figures. When we say
patriotism, we do not mean that kind of patriotism
which compels our young men to offer themselves up
as a sacrifice to our unpreparedness after war is
declared, or which causes them to rush to the front
without enough experience to be able to load their
rifles, but that patriotism which leads a citizen to give
up a part of his time, and possibly income, to the
service of his state or country in preparing himself
to be an efficient defender of his home and tireslde.
That this latter kind of patriotism is on the decline in
this country, is shown by the great difficulty expert
enced in keeping the national guard and the regular
army recruited up to the required limit.
We are rapidly reaching a state where it will be
the United States and not China taat will be held up
to ridicule and derision by all other nations as an
example of how patriotism can be subordlnated to the
scramble for the almighty dollar. While the ordinary
citizen is absorbed in the struggle for wealth, the
peace societies, are carrying on their fight against the
~bugaboo of militarismi hand in hand with the social
lists, the trade unionists, and educational bodies. In
assaulting and opposing military education, our peace
enthusiasts have gone far astray. Let their ardor and
their millions be directed toward removing the causes
of war by the correction of social conditions, and the
promotion of just dealings between man and man,
between nation and nation. They also fall into the
fallacy of assuming that general peace can be brought
about law, %lo COMMUNICATION ~ ilitor +roipipv ar1
preparations; that the neglect OF the art of war will
induce peaceful inclinations and hasten the -nillenni
UNI. Could there be d more dangerous doctrine, one
more dangerous to the stability of the nation? AS
well say that the suppression of medicine will cause
the disappearance of disease. You must first abolish
the causes of war by changing human nature so that
there will be no selishness or desire for power or
wealth in the world. You must abolish yellow joru-
nails and remove the demagogue from our legislative
halls.
The fact is overlooked that the cultivation Of the
military art has restrained and not provoked war.
France and GerManykfer forty years have been pre-,
vented from locking in a deadly struggle by the
knowledge of their respective preparedness. 81.
1t has been pointed out by the opponents of a
standing army that the little republic of Switzerland
maintains no standing army, but they do not take
into consideration the fact that every male citizen Is
a trained marksman, and a nation of sharpshooters
calls for consideration and respect. In that little
republic, not as large as some of our states, there are
3 900 shooting societies, with a total membership of
214,0 600. The population Of Switzerland is o%nethirti-
eth that OF our country. If we should train our
citizens in rifle shooting in the same ratio, We should
have in the neighborhood Of 100000 trained marks
men. #a-
Ex-Speaker Of the House Joseph Cannon, who in
troduced the bill appropriating $4,000, 900 when the
war with Spain broke out, has stated that we never
should have had that war if at that time We had
been in a state of preparedness. How fortunate for
us it was that the war was with a nation that had
lost it's vitality and was near the end of its resources
both in men and money. What a sorry spectacle our
much Wanted volunteers, the class which included
more than 40 per cent3of our army, made at that time
owing to their having had no previous training!
Major General Joe Wheeler, of the Volunteers, has
stated that not more than 10 per cent of his division
had ever fired a military rifle before landing in Cuba.
Is it not a crime against humanity to send such
unframed youth to their destruction? And this is
what peace societies stand for.
AS against the great and numerous peace societies
with unlimited funds behind them, we have in this
country only three societies that are working for
peace by advocating the upbuilding Of our national
defenses and the encouragement of military training
loA~t ~ FN~ASN ofHNJ AANAASA1 = sN~ A>N'y ANSNo"~3 49,
National Rife Association of America, and the recent.
ly organized Army League, The main object of the
first is to develop a. strong navy; that of the second
is to promote and revive the rapidly decreasing inter
est in rife practice among the citizens and youths of
the country; while the Army League is endeavoring
to Great a military policy. The activities of the Ma.
tional Rife Association of America had their origin
in the awful experience Of the spanish-American
war, where so many of the volunteers lacked the first
rudinent and requirements of a soldier, the ability to
shoot straight. For over eight years this association
has been pleading with congress to pass such legisla
ton as would give go%vernemntal sanction and support
to rifle training generally among citizens, but there
appears to be less and less inclination on the part Of
our law makers to do 50. In 1905, the military com
mittee of the house reported such legislation favor
ably, and in 1910 the bill was passed insthe senate
A bill now pending before congress authorizes TIL
war department to issue obsolete arms to rifle clubs
and provides an annual appropriation to carry on the
work under government supervision. The United