The Washington times., 1914-11-19
INCREASING THE ARMY.

INCREASING THE ARMY.
The people in this country have
always opposed maintenance of a
large standing army; but there has
always been willingness to provide
a respectable naval force. 1t has
been urged, even by the most intense
little-army and little-navy people,
that the country has the wealth, the
population, and the patriotism, to
supply an army sufficient for any
need, when the need should arise.
Perhaps they have not quite realized
the bigness of the task Of making
an army on the spur of the moment.
They have assumed that the dangers
of large standing army in time Of
peace were such as to warrant TAX
ing some chances to avoid them.
This very argument, even if it be
accepted as sound throughout, as
sumes that when the time of need
comes we shall provide an army.
There remains, then, the detail Of
agreeing when the time Of need shall
have come.
Is the present a time Of need?
1t is regarded as such by most of
the nations in the world. They are
straining all nerves to make the most
effective showing of force. Those
which are actually at war are max
ing efforts which only exceed those
of many neutral countries. The ma
tions at war have no occasion to de-
bate whether their time of need is
at hand. They know it is upon them.
The neutrals, looking about them at
the worldwide struggle, seeing how
others which at first were neutrals
and which desired to remain such,
have been dragged into the conflict,
have feared that there might be fur
ther extensions of the warning area.
So they have mobilized their troops
or perfected every preparation to
mobilize; they have increased appro-
priations for army maintenance;
they have done everything possible
to insure that they should not be
taken by surprise.
General Wotherspoon, retiring
chief of staff of our army, evidently
believes that the present is a time
for this country to recognize these
conditions. He does not believe that
this country is immune from condi-
tions that involve all the rest Of the
world. He knows that our army has
rather less than 100000 men, and
that Europe has something like 20,-
100000 men under arms, fighting in
all quarters of the world. He is de
manding that the Pacifists come
forward, now, and explain what they
will be willing to regard as a time
of menace and danger, if this is not
one.
General Wotherspoon does not de-
mand anything extreme. What he
asks seems. rather to be moderate
considering that he is an army man
He wants the militia system made
efficient, for one thing; and every
body agrees that that much ought to
be done. Even the little-army advo-
Gates have to fall back on the militia
as their proof that we need no con-
siderable standing army. But the
militia gives their argument no sup
port at all unless it is effective and
numerous enough to be Of real serv-
ice in a real crisis.
This question of preparation for
national safety is growing rapidly
into a very big and urgent one. 1t
may have a determining political in
fluence in the near future. 1t is very
plain that the Republicans are going
to take the view that more capable
military establishment is needed. If
the Democrats, who have never been
so militaristic as the Republicans,
shall make the mistake of espousing
the opposition without consideration,
simply because it is the opposition to
military expansion, they will assume
a great risk of political disaster as a
result.
Nobody wants a great standing
army in this country. But every
body wants reasonable guarantees of
national safety, and those guaran-
tees do not reside in the present
army, under present conditions.
KNITTING AND RAVELINC