Arizona republican., 1915-01-21
A Permanent Peace?

In the February number Ot century, w. MolSdn Shuster has a very interesting article World Hope of permanent Peace" which in his opinion is very bright He believes. that the horror which tho world feels at the spectacle of five hundred millions of people engaged in is leading to many fond delusions and many "super-optmists find breath say that there will never be another great war, ana that the one silver lining the clouds is the probability of disarmament, partial complete, after the nations Europe shall nave fought them selves to satiety, victory or defeat
 Disarmament says Mir. Shuster, q very vague which may anything from sation of naval construction and programs for the of standing armies to that purely dealistc condition when banners would be furled, standing armies dispersed to their homes and war vessels be transformed into commercial craft, remain dis mantled and interesting relics of a 5enighted past
 All this the writer declares to be impossible within many decades, for two principal reasons, which believe have never before been stated, at least boldly:
 The latter is manifestIy so impossible to expect, least within many decades that it may be promptly dismissed from consideration To ton only few of the material objections There millions of who substantially unfitted by education, experience. or temperament for other profession than that of arms. land at Society, industry and commerce have long since adjusted themselves their existence a ajor police force, and to attempt thrust them suddenly into peaceful pursuits would little dis turbance Professional fighters could be ex- pected to take quietly ideness, even on pay would they be be regarded as mere pensioned-off appendages of q baser social state
 Then the preparation of all nations for war even. during periods of peace created vast industries official and private largely dependent upon the ex isting armies and being maintained and even increased. Enormous amounts of capital are in- vested in such plants and hundreds of thousands of workmen would be thrown of employment should general disarmament be suddenly attempted. The expression general disarmament is used because manifestly, nation nations will begin it unless all do
 There might be agreement as to limitation of armament but Mir Sliusier points that the world has recently of how little value are the most sacred agreements between nations. Undoubt- ediy If Germany, France and Russia had not been well prepared war, ready to mobilize on a weeks notice along their frontiers, the present war would not have the in which it suddenly. precpitated. But no student knowing the behind the war; can doubt that it would have slowly perhaps more terribly
 We may suppose that none of the warning na- tOns had had a navy a standing army or had possessed cannon; that in other respects they
 
 leaousies and commercial rivalry There would have been feverish preparation for which would have begun along the frontiers by bodies of men armed with clubs and stones and the more elabor- ate but still primitive weapons of warfare Mean while, the development of armies and and the manufacture of arms, skill in which had been forgotten would have quickly been under way Standing armies says Mir. Sinister constitute only the first line of offense the quck-s striking force hind which is the latent force of the nations, always ready to be set in motion.
 MT. Shuster does leave the subject at a hopeless conclusion that complete disarmament is impossible and that limitation armament is futile He presents this problem to humanity:
 This question the most vital and important one that enlightened mankind faces today The present is here, and should peace ensuc over night it's material effects will be felt for half q century more to say nothing of it's irrepara ble losses in other directions But great is this calamity, it will be dwarfed by the losses and hard ships of the future unless some means can be de- vised whereby the probability of it's recurrence may be at least vastly diminished