The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1915-12-02

glory and is capable Of vast and use
full military service. Instead Of con-
sisting Of only i27,li0. including Of
flcers and men, as IL does today, II
should he raised 10 100000 men, its
standards should be improved, its
men should be better paid. its train
ing should be made more thorough
and its constitutional functions
should be more clearly and definite
ly defined. Considering the small
cost OF its upkeep, in connection
with its splendid achievements, IL Is
entitled 10 the very highest praise.
; Although il is not my purpose u
speak Of our navy at this time. ],
never thcless. take the liberty Of OBJ
serving tina, 10 should be raised 10
a fighting force ~ at least fifty high.
class bat,lCships. with all the neces-
sary subordinate and auxiliary craft;
that all Of its parts and equipments
should be thoroughly coordinated
and brought up to date: that every
ship should he fully differed and
manned: and that il should, withal,
be brought 10 a rank among the
navies Of the world second only 10
that OF Great Britain. This. Of course
cannot be done at once, but IL should
he the goal for which We strive.
But you say all this will cost
something. Certainly IL will. And il
should. II will be worth some
thing. But when we are about 10
spend money for necessary national
defense, we should no more stand
back on expense than when we go TO
buy food and clothes for our chill
dren. or 10 employ a doctor. to treat
our family, or 10 procure any other
actual necessary Of life which we
must have whether IL comes high or
romes low. II is a case where ex-
pense is not a consideration. AIDE
quate preparation for defence would
be cheap at any price. I have no
love for the man who is unwilling
to fight for his country. or TO contri-
butte 10 its necessary defense. and !
can scarcely trust myself to describe
him. He neither loves his country
nor possesses the finer traits OF the
soul. But as matter Of fact, the
cost Of the additional defences
which advocate would entail no
very large expenditure. A very con-
siderable part Of the overhead ex-
pense OF this increase is already met,
since no additional physical or hous-
ing plants. or administrative forces,
would be necessary, leaving only the
items Of food. clothing and pay to
be provided for. A large saving
could be effected by cutting out a
number Of our needless army posts,
some OF which owe their existence
not TO the demands OF the service
but TO the pork barrel proclivities OF
politicians more ambitious than pa
triOtic.
And now, anticipating the cry OF
"militarism," let me say that the lit
tie nucleus OF standing army OF
10000 men, which propose, is only
one-sixth OF the standing peace army
OF Germany, although she is only
one-seventeenth OF our size and has
hut three-flfths OF our population;
is only one-flfth OF that OF France.
with only one-seventeenth OF our
size and but one-third Of our popu-
lation' is but One-fourth that OF
Austria Hungary, with but one-fif-
teenth OF our size and one-half OF
our population; is only one-tenth OF
that OF Russia with twice our area
and one and half times our popula-
ton; is but one-half that OF Great
Britain exclusive Of her colonies),
with but one-half Of our population.
There can never be any "militarism"
in this country. Whoever raises the
cry either does not know what he
says or does not care. In either case,
he is to be pitied. Our military and
our civil affairs are as completely
separated as are our church and
state. We are not in the least dan
ger OF military dominancy. Our only
danger is that we shall never be able
TO arouse the necessary military
spirit TO insure our safety and pro-
lection.
My earnest hope is that every
American citizen, unbiased by party
interest, and unswayed by personal
prejudice, may become, seriously in
terested in the preparation OF his
country for its honorable defense,
lest these shores Of ours be some day
trodden by foreign foes and this
glorious heritage OF ours become the
possession OF alien enemies. Let US
not forget that a few months ago
there was a nation called Luxem-
burgh, but IL was not prepared TO
defend itself and IL has now passed