The Oroville weekly gazette. [volume] (Oroville, Wash.) 1905-19??, 1915-01-01

usions about the customary prOprie-
lies or conventions that have hereto
'ore debarred far more practical and
business men from trad
ing their positions for Chatauqua cir
cult commissions.
This canny characteristic of our sec
rotary of state makes his naive and IN
treatment of public ques-.
tons all the more incomprehensible-
In spite of this incongruity in his men
tai processes, his earnest simplicity
in advocating the impractical, and the
feebleness of his argu-
ments have added priceless gems to
the unconscious humOr of American
political discussion in the last decade.
AS heretofore suggested, Mr.. Bryan
is nothing if he is not radical in his
views and utterances. AS is often the
his very ardor frequently does more
harm to the subject of his interces-
sion, than all the shafts of the oppOsi-
ton. Just at present he is the leader
in this country of the peace at any
price" cult. His special dogma is that
you can not prepare for war unless
YOU intend to make war And on this
premise he bases all of his arguments
against armament for defence.
Now Mr.. Bryan exercises just as
little common sense and wisdom in
discussing the problem of national de-
Tense as, in the past, when he discuss
ed the monetary problem and the in
sular or oversees questions that form
ed issues in two presidential cam
paigns. True it is that he is a veteran
of the Spanish-American war of 1898.
He volunteered his services and. with
that other florid orator and patriot, j.
Ham. Lewis, won distinction and hon
ors and the title of colonel. But his
hazardous campaigns among the corn
ed beef and canned salmon depOts APP
parently failed to enlighten him as to
the necessity or advantage OF adequate
preparation for war, and he is just as
obstinate and vOciferous in his OPP
position to organized defense as the
most inexperienced pacificist in the
country. 1t seems that the fearful
lessons taught by the loss Of life
through ignorance in the mobilization
| camps in this country, where thOus-
ands of men died of disease because
they had not been trained to care for
| themselves and because we did not
have enough trained men to instruct
them in the sanitary and ordinary
safeguards of camp life, were wholly
lost on Colonel Bryan. The fact that
many times more Americans were
killed by preventable disease in that
| war than by Spanish bullets evident
~ has no Significance in the mind
Of this great statesman and soldier
The countless other lessons taught by
the disasters of unprepardness in all
our wars are entirely lost so far as
MT. bryan is concerned.
With charming disregard for the
facts Of experience; with fine faith in
necessity providing where prudence
might prevent, Mr.. Bryan declares
| that the president knows that If this
country needed million men and
needed them in a day, the call would
go out at sunrise and the sun would
go down on a million men in arms.
Pray, Mr.. Bryan, where would the
million get the arms?
If the arms were to be had, would
that million men be anything more OF
less than helpless mob?
What absurd folly to issue from the
mouth of statesman!
The people of this country do no!
want and will not support a militar-
istic policy, but neither do they want
nor will they accept such inane or
| atorical pabulum in lieu of adequate
and sensible preparation for national
defense. 1t would be better to refuse
to defend our rights and suffer ex-
IRENE indignity than to call out a mil
lion unframed, unorganized and un-
equipped men to be slaughtered by an
enemy trained in the art and accust-
omed to the weapons of modern war
fare.
But there is no need of getting ex-
cited over the utterances on this or
any other subject of the guiless Mr..
Bryan. The American people have
long since taken the measure of that
eloquent, kindly and irresponsible
gentleman, and they listen to him with
good humored federation, amused by
his fancies and his fallacies but never
deluded into accepting his doctrine.
4 uyS