The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-10-01
IN TIME OF A
A Small Army and Navy Are Worse
Than No Army and Navy.

To THE EDITOR OF THE SuN-Sr: l
congratulate THE sur on its most eN-
cellent editorial article Of September ~.
Exactly AS stated In the editorial. there
are three plans being advocated in this
country to meet the requirements OF
the country with respect to war. -.
All our army n navy men and all
rational thinkers throughout the coun-
try who have studied the subject In a
scientific way believe that we should
20 adequately prepare ourselves with
trained men. war %enginery and NUM-
lions against war as to minimize TO the
utmost the likelihood of war.
The ultrapacifists believe that we
should disarn and destroy our navy and
disband our army, and by rendering
ourselves utterly defenceless make II inn
possible for us to resist the invasion or
a foreign foe, thereby preventing the
slaughter either OF our own citizens or
the citizens Of the invading country.
DIR. John Haynes Holmes OF the Uni
tartan Church of the Messiah Is a peace
advocate OF this sort. He said In a
sermon that America should be read
to be crucifed. II need be. in order that
universal peace may be realized. lie
said that our duty would be to sacrifice
even life n property. II need be. for
the cause of peace.
DIR. Holmes is one OF a very large
number OF ~propagandists throughout the
country who are doing all they can In
what they conceive a righteous work,
that Of preparing Uncle Sam for cruel
Axiom Their propaganda rs the most
highly financed of any that has ever
been launched In this country. Gener-
Gus spirits have already endowed the
propaganda with more than twenty mill
ion dollars, with the promise that more
Is forthcoming II needed.
What these good %inten,ioned enthu-
siasts may be able to do with sixty tons
Of gold behind them should make the
and take notice.
The greatest evils with which this
world has ever been afflicted have been
those perpetrated by good intentioned
enthusiasts. Torquemada. the great
Spanish inauisitor, mean well. Tae
Duke of Alva slew for the love of God
: and the salvation Of the souls of the
slain.
But of all the highways of he'll that
have been paved with good intentions
since the dawn OF history there has
been none qualified to visit such calam-
ity upon q people as the broad highway
such pacihsts are paving into this coun-
try with their evil good Intentions for
the march of the invader.
But pernicious a. Is this sort OF
teaching. IL In not so bad as that OF
that class OF persons intermediate be-
tween the ultrapac!fists and the advo-
Gates of adequate preparedness, and
which class you ave very aptly desig-
mated az the n that is directly pre-
pairing for war.
This class OF persons are ~advocatine
neither disarmament nor adequate prep
aration. but merely just enough prep
aration TO make us offer resistance and
suffer enormous slaughter when he In
vader comes.
The teaching OF these advocates OF
the little army n the little navy i
even more pernicious than that OF the
ultrapaciiists who teach disarmament,
for "a little army and a little navy are
worse than no army and no navy.
The history Of all wars has taught
that 1t Is better for n nation TO b.
wholly u~nprepared and to offer no re-
sistance whatsoever than to be able q
offer just enough resistance TO harr.
and anger the invader and lead hin
to make cruel reprisais.
IL would have been far better fol
Belgium II she had been wholly un,
armed.
II We cannot have an adequate army
and navy. with sufficient munitions u
insure victory. then my prayers are FOL
the success Of the propaganda of tn
ultrapaclfsts who want 10 place Uncle
Sam on a cross. and wet his parcheC
lips with grape juice. for the Rryaniza
ton Of the world. Abject submission o
the country to England. Germany
Japan. any OF the great Powers. would
be better than sending the picked mel
of the country to a shsmbles of bloc,
and slaughter on the firing line. wh!cl
would be the inevitable result II We wer,
unready. HUDSON MANN.
LANDING r. o, Y J., September 2S,