The daily Nome industrial worker., 1915-12-18

There's a multitude of prepared ness plans suggested by the differ Gnt politicians, most of whom know more about the requirements of building fences or handing out line of complete end baffl1ng bull tional defense.
 But that'G how it goes. There never was yet . politician who wasn't ready to logiS,Gte on any matter, and who given half chance would not undertake to deliver ready made enactments~ on tho most intricate and scientific matters under the sun That's their business; to iegislate, and there is none can com plain that they don't attend to it.
 Politicians have not the slightest objection or hesitancy in putting in where angels fear to tread, and Q fine example is this variety of measures now being introduced to meet the requirements of an ina ginary situation. But who ever heard of politicians being selected for the reason of their fitness tc Iegislate upon certain matters? The entire conception of representation is based upon the theory that the elected man is the embodiment of an omniscience which enables him to make laws on everything under the sun from eugcnics to tho ta- riff.
 Yet there's an eGrnestness abou. this preparationiGt campaign that may not be overlooked. None have arisen to suggest that a Committee he appointed to investigate the needs of the situation in this re- sard; none have intimated that 1T would be appropriate to probe the matter to the bottom and act upon such report after a thorough in veStigation.
 Certainly the Democratic Admi- pistration has been noted for the appointment of Commissions of in vestigation. They have probed this and probed that, and it came to pass that anything needed shelving, no matter how urgent or how i'm portant, was conveniently shelvod by the appointment of a commission whose reports lay upon the shelves forgotten and ignored.
 But most of such matters are Of q different kind to the prepared ness plans. Thus for example no member of Congress vory much oD- jects when disquietj ,a laHcr m9tters are to be postponed consideration. Indeed they are so awkward to gent lemen who like to straddle the fence, that any way of postponing 8 labor question is seized with avidity For after the first flush of action they know and the public knows, they can easily forget what it was all about
 Thus the Industrial Relations Commission investigated matters Ot prime importance. They didn't do it half ways either. It was, quite an unusual thing in labor ques- tion, very thorough probe. There were exciting developments ill the labor world which surely empha- -igod tho Doooccitv for cOma aotinn But members of Congres who want ed to be friends with labor, ana who wanted also to be friends with capital from whom flowed so many blessings, didn't want any action and the Commission was the handf- est way of postponing matters and keeping them postponed.
 Not so with the Preparationist plans Indeed there is nothing has ever been before the govern ment which is so little a politician , business and so much a soldier : business. The questions involved demand a highly technical know ledge of far from elementary prin- ciples of the art of war; they re- 'ouire a wide experience and an eX- tensive training. They involve mat ters which cannot be settled over : night. They are prolific with pro- biems, knotty questions. absIruse propositions-the very last things in the world that a politician can be expected to grasp. The average pc- aitician is a man who has dealt all his life with superficial things. His accomplishments more often than not are confined to an ability to