The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1913-11-22
AT the Throttle of the World


Africa today are made known in America tomor-
row. and the shuttles of trade and travel have
woven all tribes and nations into great inter
national organism it is necessary to judge ques-
lions of public policy in the perspective OF the
world and in the light of planetary interests and
conditions Craftsmanship must hold itself &C
countabe to the generations to come and poll
tics must bring before the bar of its judgment
the peoples without as we'll within its terri
tories.
In nothing is world perspective more essen
tia than in dealing with the problem Of dsarma-
ment. Let all lay down our weapons, cry
the pacifists, and every day adds thousand
voices to their clamor for peace. They point
out the appalling extravaganza of navles and
armies, the burdens imposed upon the poor,
taxes laid the shoulders OF labor, the
drain upon capital, the human energies diverted
to unfruitfu fields, and the friction and hatred
engendered between nations
Every sound minded person capable of con-
fronting a question unbefogged by pre- udice
and undarkened by ignorance must second the
strenuous efforts everywhere being made to free
men from the great Illusion and turn them
from the battle to the harvest field.
Armies organized either to protect
the interests of money monopOlists in foreign
lands to maintain the balance of power IN
Europe For neither of these purposes has any
nation the moral right to fasten upon its citizen
ship the heavy burdens of arms. Not one just
voice can be lifted in the defense of ornaments
for such USE
STILL to say that SUCH armament is unneces-
sary and unjust is quite different from saying
that the nations should disarm There is one
other function for armies and naVies at this
Juncture of world history and that is the guard
ianshp of civilization and democracy.
A slight knowledge of the drift of affairs on
this planet will reveal to any amateur where the
greatest menace to the costly civilization of de-
veloped peoples now les:-the influx of barbar-
ic
At the present time there are 22O, 900, 900 Mo-
hanmedans in the earth, 100000 Of whom are
armed with modern weapons. These have
had ground into their very souls the fanaticism
of Allah and the sword. They occupy many Of
the strategic positions the earths surface.
Nothing holds them back but the lack of science
democracy and some great Napoleonic leader
who may, at any time, appear at the head of
swarming hordes Of the most fearless fighters
in the world
In 1857 there were $4,000, 900 Russians; in
1897 there were 129. 900, 900; by 1910 this num-
Der had reached the appalling extreme of
160,00O,0O0 Today the car rules over one
sixth of the habitabe surface of the planet He
holds his power through settled and thorough
ly worked out policy of popular depression.
Schools are denied the mutitudes; priest-craft is
carefully nourished and superstition has firm
er grip than among any other barbaric people;
and the masses systematically and by afore-
thought debauched by alcoholic beverages Be-
ing poor and destitute they breed like flies. In
1850, at the present rate of increase 26O 900 900
Russians will crowd their quarters; in the year
1000 the numbers will have swelled to 500 OOO-
600, Siberia and the great steppes will not feed
so great multitude and they will be compelled
to seek other territories
In India there at present 800 OOOO 900 per
sons who are among the most destitute. most ig-
norant and most hard pressed of peoples At
their present breeding rate they will swarm toI
450,0O0,OO0 in 1850 and to 675OOOOOO in 2OOO
Long before that time Indias available resources
will have failed her and struggle will be made
to secure holdings in other lands
Worst menace of all is the yellow peril. The
Monaghan peoples, the Chinese, the Koreans and
the Japanese now control one-third the surface
of the planet and show up with 600 900 900 in the
census. With birth-rate of so to so per cent
the imagination cannot conceive how rapidly
their numbers will multiply in a half century,
Already the Chinese in many parts of the en-
pire have reached the subsistence limit and sys-
tematically die of starvation.
When we consider how these barbarian folk
are growing in number and how soon they will
have reached the limits of their present resourc-
es it is inevitable that they will sooner or later