Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1915-11-05
NOT IN THE Days NEWS
Sprghtly and Forceful
Events, Contributed Every a While
By ROBERT DOUBLEDAY.
1t takes all sorts of men to make

1t takes all sorts of men to make
a congress and all sorts of ideas to
fill the mind of a congressman
some congressman, at any rate. All
of which will serve to introduce one
j. w. Ragsdale, NJ. c., of South Caro-
lima, who INDUCED in verbal pyro-
technics and things at Tacoma some
short while since, and purposes seeing
to it, he says, that the approaching
congress shall make provision for:
ga fleet SO large that no nation
would dare to violate our rights;
so great that even England would
not dare to oppose us; so great
that the vessels would loaf in the
harbors of the globe and impress
all the peoples of the earth with
the risk of violating the rights of
the United States and it's people
such a feet the United States
should have"
All this is done in the interest Of
peace. One may almost hear the dove
of concord notwithstanding that a
dove konws how to cackle-cackling
right gleefully over the prospect. I
fancy that dove might even be in
duced to crow over such a full-blown
forest of olive branches in sight. And,
why not?
OF course, we could stay at home
and mind our own business. Whole
families and nations as well have
been known to get on real nicely fol-
lowing that course. Or we might so
limit and conform our adventures
abroad and into foreign lands that
our hosts and distant cousins would
not feel that they had been trimmed
and despised, but would be glad that
we came, and happier yet in the hope
that we would come again and stay
longer. All of those things are quite
within the range of possibility.
But what is the use? Why go
about things in peaceful way in the
interest of peace? Why spread good
fellowship, and why smile on the
wicked foreigner in his lair when we
can frown on him with 14-inch guns
and behave like holy terror brand
ishing his shootin' irons and looking
for trouble? Why do anything else
when we can Just as well as not have
a flock of dreadnaughts, which do not
cost more than twelve or fifteen mil
lion dollars apiece, to loaf In the
harbors Of the globe and command
the denizens thereabout to love us;
love us, IL for nothing else, for our
obviously peaceful ways Of promoting
peace? There is nothing like full
set, upper and lower. of naval war
machines, and commanding ways, to
promote and maintain sweet peace.
If one, perchance, feels faint doubt
yelling up within him as to the truth
of this. let him contemplate the love-
feast and peace festival now being eel
ebrated in Europe, and be assured.
So carried away with the beauty OF
this idea Of having an American navy
big enough to choke all harbors
lthroughout the world and elsewhere,
and Just naturally compelling all for
eigners, regardless of color or pre-
vious conditions of mind, to love U.S.
love us peacefully, right down to the
ground; so carried away, as say, is
the gentleman that he has unwilling
ly permitted a reform burr to stick to
his coattails, and he proposes that
congress shall arrange to finance this
stupendous display Of loafing war
ships, and other tokens of peace and
emblems of love and industry, by
direct taxation, Labelling himself
more or less distinguished ass even
for an average congressman.
And why is this financing proposal
of his asinine? Well, mostly for the
reason that people will not pay direct
taxes for things they do not like. and
despite the joyless jeremiads OF the
| jingoese jawsmiths, people do not like
war and the costs of war acroutre
ments-if they have to pay for them
and know that they are paying FOL
them.
No one had ever previously heard