Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1914-12-19

process OF cutting out the timid ant
hardening The rest before your Nation
al Guard regiment will become an et-
fective volunteer regiment.
The Story Of the Spanish War.
oh. yes" somebody says TO me.
that is the same old story that we
United States is not prepared for war.
My friends, it is the same old story.
and il is a true old story. We were
not prepared for war when the Span
ish war broke out in 1898 and We were
not prepared for war when the Span
ish war ended.
At the end of April, 1893, war was
declared against Spain. and there came
a call for volunteers. for $4,000 only.
afterwards, in May. came a call for
-. 900 more volunteers. Did those vol
unteers mobilize, all equipped, rushing
70 the front like the coming OF the
wind? BY no means. A great many
of those volunteers have not modified
yet. Did you know, Mr.. Speaker, that
in the Spanish war a great many
states OF this Union were unable to
supply their entire quota until after
the war was ended? II the gentleman
from Pennsylvania, Gen. Hufngs. were
here today. he would tell you that on
the 9Th day of August, 1898, at COama,
p. r., three months and half after
war was declared, he led his men into
action, armed with rifles which had
only been in their hands for three
days In Cuba during the Spanish war,
in the month Of July, two regiments
went into battle armed with short
range Springfield rifles, shooting black
powder cartridges. There in the press
gallery sits Sergt. Goodwin of Com
pany X, Ord Texas. Were he on the
floor he could tell you how his CON-
pany for five months had to put up
with antique black powder Spring
| fields. To be sure, many Of those val
liable relics were at least safe, for
they had no triggers and no pIungers.
Mr.. Kahn-MIr. Speaker, will the gen.
tleman yield?
Mr. Gardner-Certainly.
Mr.. Kahn can assure the gentle
man that the situation is not as bad
as that today. We have 500, 600 rifles
of the Springfield 1904 pattern, and
that is the greatest reserve that this
country has ever uad at any one time
MIR. Gardner was coming to our
| rifle reserve. On my right another
Spanish war veteran, Mr.. Green of
Vermont, reminds me that those two
regiments in Cuba, of which | spoke,
were armed with ramrod bayonets in
stead of iRtrenching tools.
Deaf to Evidence.
! Let us see If the situation is much
better today. The naval board is con-
tinually DINING into our ears story
4 Of the unpreparedness of the United
States for war. Every time he issues
la report. Gen. Wood tells us the same
thing about the army. He appeals to
lus to arise from our lethargy and take
an interest in these questions which
are vital to the nation Yet we go on
slumbering and gibbering and scatter
ling money for all sorts Of projects
wherever the votes grow thiokest and
] am just as bad as anyone else in
that respect. What is the matter with
] us? Are we blind? Are we crazy?
Do we not see? OF course we see, but
we know that every boy in the United
States is brought up to believe that
we can lick all creation, and we are
!, ashamed. we, are afraid, to GO to our
Iccnst ituents and tell them the truth |
have been afraid all these dozen years
to turn around and say to the National
Guard in my district, We can not
depend on the greater part of the Ma
tional Guard to do effective service in
time of war" In all the dozen years
that have known that fact until this
minute have never said so.
We congressman have been salviRg
our consciences by trying to believe
that no one would dare attack the
United States. Are you SO confident
Of that assumption now, gentlemen?
Do you believe that If, after this war,
Germany found the Monroe doctrine
standing In her way-Germany or any
other powerful nation-do you feel so
sure that she would pay any attention
to that doctrine or ours IL the re-
dundancy of her population forced her
to look about for colonial outlets
The Monroe Doctrine and h%Ns. =
Asiatic Exclusion. %4 H..
The United States by the Monroe
doctrine has said to the world, You
must net eolonize in Mexico and you
must not colonize in South America
rich, fertile South America. We do
not intend to coionize there ourselves,
bat you shall not cclonize there, either.
You shall not be allowed to overflow
America with colonies recruited from
Your teeming population" Do you be-
lieye that we can maintain any such