New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-05-21
Declares Evasion Will
Only Increase Wars Ca
lamity When 1t Comes
ARMS AS BREEDERS
OF STRIFE A MYTH
Professor Woolsey al MOhonk
Asserts German Victory Would
Doom World to Conflict.


lev NJ Garrison, Secretary Of War. and
Major General Leonard Wood. on one
side. and Norman Angel, on the other.
were the principals to-day in stirring
debate on armament at the Conference
on international Arbitration. Mr. An
CELL took exception to the arguments
of the others for greater military
preparations and declared that nowhere
would their speeches have been as
welcome as in Germany. -.
Mr.. Angel is an earnest advocate OF
disarmament He has just returned 10
New York from the war zone, where ne
was in the hospital service. Secretary
Garrison spoke first, and then General
Wood said:
we soldiers and sailors are merely
vour trained servants. You create
wars: we try TO eliminate them. Nlne
out of ten wars are based on trade:
The trouble with most conferences OF
this kind is that they do not look
conditions in the face. We must not
delude ourselves that our geographical
remoteness has made us safe.
The previous speeches made Dir. An
CELL so impatient that he falriy ran 20
the speakers stand 10 begin his reply
He insisted that increased ornaments
Oncrcd no SOIutiOH VI 1"' PNN f
lem.
Here are two nations anxious. to
keen the peace by being stronger than
the other" he said. This is an i'm
nossible situation. do not believe
that this Will be the war that will end
war. The mere piling up Of American
armament will not help the proDlem'
Obviously the miitaristlc solution
of being stronger than the other man
has failed. Do not let us make the
same mistake as the nations oil Eu-
rope" ~.
gates that the real problem OF nation
nj defence was in their own hearts
The real difficulty. he declared, lay
not in recruiting. not in munitions OF
war. not in military training, but IN
the reluctance of the people TO LOOK
the facts squarely in the face Ey-
erything else he regarded as incl
dental details that would almost set
tie themselves. q,
I'VE must deal with men as we find
them and with facts as they are, ne
said. I'VE can only secure preserVa-
ton by deserving IT,"
Mr.. Garrison enumerated the caiet
obstacles that stand in the way of get
2
/ that confront their nation in the same
, Light as those against which they in
sure themselves in their personal and
business affairs. Among them he men
toned those who rested confident IN
the belief that international agreement
would supersede war His courteous
insistence that he intended to attri-
butte no "thoughtless consideration TO
YOU or your associates" reminded some
of his hearers that they themselves
might be considered by some 10 be
IAN obstacle"
/ Such an epochal event as establish
ing potent world tribunal. he as
/ serted. could be brought about only by
/ the strong. No nation desired world
peace more than his own, he thought,
and if il were TO prove itself strong
enough 10 be factor in bringing 1t
about. its strength must now he de-
monstrated by an ability to face It's
! own problems.
"The voice which is firm and clear,
which is heard ard Needed he warned,
proceeds from the strong, sound, vir-
/ lie man pledged in word and deed TO
/ righteousness.
An inherited fear OF the abuse OF
military strength BY the government
.
~ohstacles." There was mo shred Of
/ foundation" for such fear in the United
( States. he said. Others, he continued,
stunned the thought Of war prepare
ton for its connotation. Secretary
Garrison was willing to admit that the
/ thought of war was an ugly one. But
! il was one that could not be side
stepped in the present day. he in
/ sisted. "and any attempt to do so
would but make the calamity more dis
/ astrous if. and when, it does come"
+ Other roots of public inattention he
traced to the notion that military
preparation begets war. Those who
held this belief he felt sure did not
amply it 10 their own affairs. They
did not think that preparation 20 resist
B temptation invited evil; that the or
oanization of ire department invited
confagrations or that the presence of a
trained corps of sanitarians and physl-
clans rendered epidemics more likely.
IF by this suggestion he added.
those who entertain 1t mean that the
strong are more likely 10 use their
strength than the weak, and that there
for strong nation is more likely 10
. 90 to war than a weak nation, let them
frankly say so and be prepared 10 an
swcr the obvious question when thea
arises. That question is: How do YOU
Justify your trust that other nations
which arc strong will refrain from mis-
using their strength against US ii YOU
fear that we. If strong. would misuse
our strength against other nations?
"If the only reason that we should
not prepare such strength as may be
necessary to protect ourselves IS be
/ cause of fear that we may be temple i
/ to misuse Il. and may in fact misuse II,
II were better 20 run that risk than the
risk Of feebeuess and weakness against
the strength Of others, which IS just
as likely, on this theory, TO be used
against Us"
Our geographical isolation. Mr.. Gar
rison declared. was only geographical,
and the relations between nations we're
now 50 close that il no longer assured
US freedom from conflict. The ques-
ton Of expense was not 20 be consid-
cred. he thought. True. 10 would be an
investment that might show no tangible
profit, but most governmental expenses
were such he thought. II was difiicuit
20 show any definite monetary gain IN
the maintenance Of police force or a
system OF courts II all came under
the head of overhead charges, Secretary
Garrison thought.
Theodore $. Woolscy, former professor
in international law at Yale. declared
that the triumph Of Germany would
make disarmament impos sible. because
philosophy bound up in militarism
would have triumphed also. lie speci-
fed two ways in which the peace OF the
future could be safeguarded By weak
ening GERMANY and her allies and by
IL AM - Ns
interests of civilization. he thought,
would appeal 20 japan. and OF the neu-