The Yazoo sentinel. (Yazoo City, Miss.) 1878-1916, 1915-07-22
Mr.. LEEON'S GENIUS TO
Be UTILIZED BY UNCLE sam
Win Head Advisory Board Of Inven-
tors for Defensive and Oaen-
sive Purposes.

The announcement contained in yes
terday's press dispatches--that "ThOs
A. Edison has accepted an invitation
from Secretary Daniels to head al
advisory board Of civilian inventors
for bureau Of invention and develop
ment to be created in the navy de-
partment'-is decidedly interesting,
In recent interview expressing his
adherence Of the war, and his amaze
ment that the German nation had been
led into such a frightfpl attack on
their neighbors, Mr.. Edison spoke es-
pecialy Of the additions that modern,
scientific, agencies had Made to the
destructiveness of war; @And that
while he could, he was sure, carry the
murder art to greater lengths, he had
no inclination to do so. But he said
if his own country made demand on
his genius he would respond. The
interview referred to, in the New York
Times, is quoted:
"Mr. Edison thinks it reasonably
certain that we shall have war some
day, and he wants us to be prepared
for it. He would not increase our
regular army. He would have ma
tional training Of our state militia
which would develop $4,000 to 10000
men efficient as drill sergeants to
teach our millions of potential fight
ing men. Trench warfare is more
matter of machines than Of men. He
would therefore have the machinery
on hand for million men. A large
number of small factories should be
equipped for the manufacture of all
kinds of guns and ammunition, with
raw material stored ready for use.
The shops should meantime be occu-
pied in the works Of peace. We
should have stored in dry decks su
perdreadnoughts, submarines, etc,
ready for use. But not in commits
sion. The same care should be taken
as to transportation, and the govern
ment should have the right to COM
mandeer all the private automobiles
in the country, for these, he thinks
more efficient for transportation than
any other means. He says 100000 au-
tomobiles and 100000 men could be
on parallel roads 100. miles a
day. a
"He would thus store war materials
and have small West Points to edu-
cate officers and drill sergeants, and
so with the navy where men should
be trained and sent to sea and then
retired, but under obligation to keep
up to date in studies.
"After that the time NEEDED to
our citizenry into soldiers
would be7ishort. The modern condi- 4
ions of swarfare as shown by the
present war prove the needlessness of
tanding armies withdrawn from :
peaceful industries. The drill ser /
.eants and the naval officers trained t
o the work would, after training, re- q
urn to private life, but be in touch
nd under command of the govern "
1ent. Thus we should have all Of n
he material ready for war and at n
he same time avoid the taxation r
,hich standing armies and navies v
ow exact. b
"The idea elaborated as it is in the '
lterview sounds feasible. Certainly b
he brains IF man like Edison are !,
OF to be secuted. His life and career
now that he is eminently practical. I,
is equally certain as he shows that "
he present war has demonstrated D
rat wars of the future cannot be
arried on on the same lines of read il
less for war as in the past-namely, N
Y standing armies-for volunteers, 81
bove all, the Canadians, whom Ed h
IN praises most highly, have shown Ii
hat a brief training can do. What D
needed is the officers and instruct
men to do the training, but, most h
all, to have stores Of machines v
'om ships to aeroplanes, not in COM al
ission, but in storage, to equip IN r,
antly the greatest force needed" 81
There is much N this plan Of "pre- in
to commend it to the tax a
ayers as well as the patriot. The e
uropean war has shown that the n,
pply Of food for powder" is an easy
lex compared with having enough a
'Owder;" Of modern munitions. The "
Ie nation that was prepared has al
ost won over all the others, through
periority solely. in the art Of pre- II
Iredness.-Vicksburg Herald.