Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1915-09-18

least one editorial on this subject.
giving your attitude for or against
the whole idea, or for against
the various plans of defense that
have been widely discussed. Will
you cooperate with us in making
really national referendum on
the subject by sending us clippings
of such editorials? We shall
greatly appreciate your courtesy,
Sincerely yours.
THE EDITORS.
V. H. n.
For war. no; for defense, yes.
The Kennebec Journal has carefully
refrained from adding to the inevitable
fever Of the world caused by the Euro
pean war. We thought we foresaw, a
year ago. the seizure of the opportuni-
ty to create war preparedness"
craze a tremendous scare" over the
possibilities of the United States being
overwhelmed by a greedy or a jeal-
Gus nation on the other side the At
lantic, or the Pacific.
The American people have retained
surprising calmness. They have re-
fused to be stampeded by the extrem-
list, the war jingoes or the peace ia
natics. They have sanely watched the
bankrupting of prepared" nations and
the defamation of the flower of pre-
paredness." They have noted the de-
velopment of new war methods and the
dumping of old They have seen the
best of preparedness" equipment be-
come obsolete in a day They have
come to understand that the innova-
ton in war equipment yesterday will
be out of date and outclassed tomor-
row.
The American people have read and
listened to the frantic appeals and
navy opponents, the great army would
be beneficiares, and the interests
which would fatten from a wild policy
of preparedness" They have also lis
tened to the inane declarations that we
are too big and too rich to be schemed
against; too generous to be hated; too
fair to excite jealousy They have
weighed one against the other and.
by the process of cancellation. have
come to the core.
We would advocate. and we believe
the American people are ready for,
preparedness" to prepare for defense
Of American honor. homes, lives and
property.
No other form of preparedness"
stands a ghost Of show in a final
analysis.
The American people are not ready
to spend hundreds of millions upon
equipment that will be useless when
the lessons of the present war are
learned. Nor are they likely to tax
their energies and resources in the ac
quirement Of an equipment to abandon
IT, as altogether possible, all Europe
becomes satiated with war and Joins
when it's powers are exhausted, in pre-
paredness for unbeatable peace.
If a peace" which is only an arms.
tice for further prepare ton and more
terrific carnage ahead, be reached in
the near future of Europe, then the
United States should Immediately tax
her peoples great resources in prep
aration for DEFENSE.
We should be READY to prepare;
we should have expert knowledge Of
the best in defensive warfare; we
should know what to do and how to
do it-and have a nucleus of up-to-
the-minute army and navy. Therein
lies the duty of the government and
its advisers, experts, inventors, war
geniuses
But the idea of undertaking pre-
paredness" as the German people have
lived preparedness, is as alien to Am
erican liberty, intelligence and heart as
is intoxicating drink to the fishes Of
the sea.
So TAR AZ its need for enforcing our
claims against any other nation, war
preparation would be a dead loss a
shameful waste-ws shall never make