Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1915-12-17
THE PEACE SHIP
or HENRY FORD
On Board the Good Ship Oscar II
Bound for Scenes of War
With Peace Commission.
RADIO VIA CAPE RACE.
What Henry Ford Thinks of the FRESH
dents Message America Wants
Military Preparedness.

AAhAGOA
At a mass-meeting held aboard Hen
ry Ford's Peace Ship on Tuesday even
ing December Z. S. S. Mcclure, the en-
inent magazine publisher and public
list, read important extracts from
President Wilson's message,an advanc-
ed copy of which Mr. Mcclure had OBJ
tanned before sailing. After the read
delegates, spoke as follows:
Il certainly do not believe this mes
sage should be received in silence by
this assemblage. This is a reaction
airy message; this message comes to
us at time when we cannot keep ST.
lent; we must speak out; we are going
abroad now, on a mission TO stop ter
rible war among nations, everyone OF
which is prepared, in military way,
for war. This is no time to disturb
American traditions and prepare us
for war, member of this delegation
said tonight, that, preparation in the
military sense, is only century old,
but this is not correct.
Preparation in the military sense is
many centuries old, the ancient histo-
ries are full of it; preparation in a
peace sense, however, preparation in
civil sense. is not so old. I call your
attention to che preparation for peace,
that now exists in the United States
and Canada. Where there are no forts,
where there are no soldiers, where
there are no trenches or guns. That
is preparation for peace, and that is
about a century old. A preparation for
peace exists between Norway and
Sweden. There is no fort between
their frontiers, and that is the kind of
preparation we need. America is in
danger. but Of what is she in danger.
"The President does not say in his
message of what America is in danger.
At this time the President does not
mention single nation that he dares
to say is an emmy of the United States
of America, but the United States of
America is in danger none the less.
1t is in danger of enemies from within
and they are not naturalized enemies,
either. They are the men who are
building battleships at tremendous
profits-men who are trying now to
add to the burden of taxation of the
United States of America and to mort
gage posterity for years to come. To
fasten this dreadful military burden
upon us. they are telling us that they
want to chinafy America, that we are
all molly coddles II may be true that
every molly coddle is a pacifist, but, it
is not true that every pacifist is a
molly coddle and this, we are going to
show President Wilson and the arm
ament trusts of the United States of
America before we are through.
ut is not true, perhaps, that every
one who favors preparedness in the
United States is a CRATER. but moth
/ ing can be truer than that every graf
ter in the United States is in favor of
/ preparedness; every corporation law
yer in the United States is in favor of
/ preparedness. Joseph II. Choates. the
other day, had the superlative impert-
inence to say that he had considered
this matter. that he had gotten the
facts from military authorities and had
| found that America was not prepared
in any single respect or in any partic-
ular Was ever there more absurd
| statement made by any man than this
| one-from q great international law
yer? America is prepared now, if you
want a military preparedness. What
| they want is a great military profit.
IF we want TO prepare ourselves.
| il is the simplest thing in the world.
Germany has spent a great amount
| OF money upon its fleet, its wonderful
| navy. Now how does it go about TO
| protect that fleet? BY the very sim
| pie provision of having mined the har-
/ bora very simple and inexpensive
| matter. but mines in the harbor offer
very little profit to the Steel Trust,
very little profit. indeed. There is
vastly more profit in battleships l do
not want to take too much of your
| time. ! am about through. but / feel
| this matter deeply and before am
| through. / want to say that we. this
| body CT earnest. unseIhsh men and wo-
| men should speak in no uncertain
! terms about this message.
We are. as President Wilson said.
! for national efficiency and security,
| but that is not the way to go about 10
| get that BY turning our best energies
to the making of murderous instru-
mentss OF destruction: by sending our
best men into vile barracks and muddy
trenches. and by turning over the pub
lie treasury 10 lot of profit mongers.
who are not aculated by the slightest
patriotic impulse whatsoever