New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-09-05
Preparedness-or What?

President Wilson has answered the pop
ular demand for showdown on military
preparedness by publishing his letters OF
Julv q last 10 Secretary Daniels and
Secretary Garrison. They are intended to
assure the country that the heads Of the
two DEPARTMENTS. under the Presidents
instructions. are hard at work on pro-
cramne of naval and military develop
mcnt (which will be Of such a character
rs 10 commend itself TO every patriotic
hnd practical mind"
That is as near defniteness as either
letter gets And, unfortunately, in the
letter TO Secretary Garrison the proviso
is made that the programme for the mod
ernization of the army shall be in every
way consistent with our traditions and
our national policy" Our military ira
ditions and policy have been thoroughly
unsound. uneconomic and disastrous, as
has been completely demonstrated in Cen
eral Upton's classic on the subject, THE
Military Policy Of the United States" we
want 70 shake ourselves free from those
antiduated decisions and base our military
programme entirely on modern conditions
and experience. We cannot hope to create
an ADEQUATE land defence unless we turn
our backs resolutely on the past.
The President failed to realize that
necessity when he delivered his annual
message TO Congress last December. he
evidently fails to realize it even now, and
that failure must be a encouragement to
those who hope to see the national defence
mt on a sound basis and short shrift
given tc the two great misconceptions OF
our past policy-the one that we are pro
.ected by our geographical isolation and
the other that we can improvise citizen
armies in case Of emergency.
Vet the publication of the letters shows
that Mr.. Wilson perceives-even though
somewhat hazily-what the public wants
He feels that the issue of military prepa-
ration cannot be sidetracked any longer.
At the next session of Congress he Will
have his last chance to show what ne Is
willing TO do-and what the Democratic
marty under his leadership is willing to do
to put the country in condition to de-
fend itself if an insistence on its rights or
a discharge Of its duties under the Mon
roe Doctrine involves it in war.
We have had many warnings recently
Of the need Of a stronger navy and re-
organized army. The opening of the
Panama Canal increased our responsible
ties as the guardian of the Western Heml-
sphere We backed out of our adventure
at Vera Cruz. But it was clear then that
our organized military forces were made
ouate for carrying through the policy OF
intervention to which the Presidents
utterances had apparently committed the
country.
When the President sent the note OF
February 10 last to Germany, chaHeng-
ing the Kaiser's purpose to sink neutral
merchantmen or unarmed enemy mer-
cbantmen without warning, prudence dlc-
tateG a quick and thorough reorganization
of our broken down military system. We
had raised an issue which threatened war
and in the anxious days which followed
the sinking of the Lusitania our position
would have been vastly more secure II we
had felt that we were really prepared to
back uD our righteous contentious by
force If Germany should so will it,
Our unpreparedness was temptation
70 Germany to hold our protestatlons
lightly. It was cause of humiliation to
us. aad though no break came few ioya
Americans would wish TO live through an
other such crisis, in which our power was
so manifestly inadequate 70 maintain the
rights which our diplomacy had asserted
The public is no longer willing to toll
crate that condition of impotency. 1t is
going to judge the administration by what
the latter does to improve our national
defence. II will be fortunate for the
President politically if he realizes this
fact in time. In order TO satisfy the coun-
try he must reverse his own policy and the
policy of most Of the Democratic leaders
in Congress. At the bar Of public opinion
on this controlling issue he and those
leaders are now more than ever on trial.