The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1914-12-24

This investigation, however. should be
conducted without hysteria, for the
chances of attack upon US are remote.
: The fact that the administration is OPP
posing such an investigation is of itself
pretty good indication that things are
not as they should be. Mr.. Taft said:
1.-The American people as whole dur
ing the Mexican mess has shown great
self-restraint and is to be commended.
| But it seems to me that those who OPP
pose adequate defences exhibit an un-
reasonable optimism. We should be, it
seems to me, blindly sacrificing all the
benefits OF our splendid isolation if we
! did not take reasonable steps to give it
military effectiveness. We can take
them without doing anything inconsist-
ent with a peaceful policy. We can do
it without navy larger than that which
it was the policy of the several admins
trations before this to maintain. kept
up-to-date with modern instrumentall-
ties of offence and defence. We can
take such steps by making the needed
| appropriations for ammunition and artll-
| ery and by an increase of our army
proportioned to the new calls upon the
army in the last decade-that is, by an
increase of from twenty-five to fifty per
! cent. All this is possible. What should
be done can be done in short time and
with not excessive expenditure. We can
and ought to improve the militia, and we
can by reasonable appropriations attract
into the National Guard larger body of
men. We can supply want that would
be most pressing were we to engage IN
fNr f,~aI
might without extravaganza provide an
other West Point, or two more, giving to
those who enter it a free education on
condition of service with the colors. The
preparations to which we should and
must limit ourselves are preparations
that country with our history, our
prejudices against standing army, our
sense of security, due to our ocean isola- |
ton, will be patient with and willing to
support. The hope that the present agl- |
tation may easily bring this about is not
unreasonable.
Representative Gardner of Massachu-
sets precipitated a military discussion
on the House floor Dec. 10th with
speech criticising the Administration
"for laying the cold hand of DEATH on
his proposal for special investigation
of military and Naval conditions. He
devoted large portion of his speech to
an analysis of President Wilson's refer
ences to National defense in his annual
address to Congress Tuesday. He de-
clared the President had set up ga DOGGY
man of straw" and that eff war were
to break out today it would be found our
coast defenses have not sufficient am
mrnition for an hours fighting"
Mr.. Gardner quoted the President as
saying:
"We must depend in every time of
National peril upon citizerry trained and
to arms" Representative
Gardner commented thus: "But how are
we to get enough citiZenry, as he calls
US ordinary people? Does the President
realize that there are only 900 Mill
tiamen in this whole Nation? Does he
that $4,000 of them did not
even show up last year for annual in
spection? Does he know that 81, 900 did
not appear at the annual encampment?
Is he aware that SO, 1000, or nearly half
of this citizenry, never appeared at the
rifle range during the whole course of
last year?
"Where is this citizenry to get the
weapons of war?
According to the last report of the
Chief of Staff, we are short BIG field guns
and 1922, 1884 rounds of ammunition ne
eessary to equip our Militia in time of
war. Last year, Gen Wood asked for
enough guns and ammunition to bring
he United States up to the standard of
Bulgaria. That modest demand was
gently, but firmly, rejected.
81 will not say that we have only