The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-07-22

days OF great wars had passed. and that
anyhow Belgium was absolutely In
offensive. SO that nobody would invade
her, and that II her territory was threat
med with INVASION the opinion OF the
civilized world would ne sufficient to pre-
'.nt the carrying out OF the threat and
besides, II was pointed out that thcr"
were treaties absolutely guaranteeing
Belgium against invasion and further
more. 1t was explained that the Hague
conventions. which we ourselves signed
but which We Immediately treated as
scraps Of paper when the demand was
made TO show that our signatures meant
something, made the whole world guar
antors Of Belgian territorial intesrity.
Cautiously enough 1t was the dis
tinctly ~workingmen's party which hnally
became the most considerable FACTOR IN
insisting that a beginning should be
made In preparing for defence. The be-
ginning was made. hut II was only "A
beginning and war overwhelmed poor
Belgium before she had more thar
barely entered IN the path that Switzer-
land mad so Wisely trod.
belgium has saved her seif-respect,
has won honor and glory because THIS
beginning was made. because che did
hight for her own defence. because she
scorned the ignoble doctrines OF the
ittiiFA N"Af' fN"N's tN'N "'
there was no peace because the remnant
OF her sons stu ~valiantiy continue 10
battle for her rights.
But. thanks to her utter UMPIRE
patedness. she was able 10 put on her
frontiers an army which all told was
relatively to that OF switzerland only
one-tenth of the strength
victim of unprrparedness.
'Cnprcparedness brought war upor
her. Preparedness would probably have
saved her from war. Hat she been ab,s
to mobilize on her frontiers a force
relatively as strong as Switzerland
force there would hay been. in all
probability no invasion Of Belgium
and even If there had been such an In
vas!on Brussels and Antwerp and the
great mass of Belgian territory woult
now be in Belgian hands. exactly as
Paris and Marseilles and the great mas.
OF French territory are stiil In the handi
OF the French people.
Belgium WIS unprepared and be
cause of her unpreparedness Belgium
has paid the most frightful price In blood
and misery. Some day or other II may
we'll be that We shall have TO pay on d
! tenrold greater scale the same price
I for exactly the same reasons. and !
: such should be the case, remember. m,
|. fellow countrymen. that whereas tn
. case Of Belgium excited warm sympathy
our misfortune would excite nothing bu
/, scorD and contempt FOR a rich, power
full. boastful people invites the r!dicul
u Of all mankind II. whittier from shee
. Stiffness and short sightedness, o
from soft t.m.dity. or from gross an
=, greedy devotion to the material bene
: fits OF the moment. 1t fails TO prepar
. itself 10 defend It's own rights with 1t
own strength.
Chinn's Cnse.
A China offers an ever more perfec
parallel to the condition To- which |
practice the doctrines OF the ultra paci
8 fists would lad US. Fifty years ag
!. Japan and Chlna occupied Substantial
n the same positions as regards the worl
AT large. Japan now stands abreast q
the leading civilized nations OF the worlc
:, her progress having been on the Who'll
= more remarkable than that OF any othe
A nation known to history.
This is not merely due to her de
%velopment of fighting efficiency. for tn
!, history OF Turkey has shown that mer
fighting efficiency by itself Will not say
a nation from ruin. But II Is ~ les
u true that without ishting efficiency "a
other national efficiency amounts TO
a house built on the sand, Japan
progress would have been Absolutely IN
" possible II it had not included progress
in fighting efficiency exactly as in ~
). dustrial and social efficiency.
y "China. on the other hand. had fc
generations been trained to regard pea,
! as the most desirable OF all aims and I
q look down upon war and soldiers. 81
has acted on the theory that tho wor,
p peace was better than the best war. an
therefore she has suffered all the evi,
of the worst war and the worst peace,
"China has steadily refused to PR
pare for war. Accordingly China Ia
G had province after province Topped O
her, until one-half of her territory
70 now under japanese, Russian, Enslis
d and French control. During the pa,
< year China has looked helplessly q
while the English and Japanese and III
Germans fought on her territory IL
: what legally belonged to her, hut w
taken away from her simply because sl
s was not in the condition of military pr
paredness necessary for her defence, an
. at present China Is not in any re,