The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-07-25
Thinks We Should go Slow and Learn Lessons From
 Present War
PROSPERITY IS AT
 HAND IN DELAWARE
Says Unprecedented Activity Exists Among Manufacturers of Pow der and High Explosives.
 Great Opportunities

Gen. James H. Wilson of military fame,
 who is also known in the business world
 as constructor of railroads has writ
 ten personal letter to Gen. F. w. Fucker
 which is of such timely interest that by
 General Wilson's permission 1t has been handed to The Age-Herald for publica- ton
 General Wilson is a graduate of West
 Point, and during the civil war rose to the
 rank of major general of volunteers. In
 1ss5 ho was appointed a lieutenant colonel
 of cavalary in the regular army, but
 in 1870 he resigned to engage in railroad
 construction. In the Spanish-American
 war he was a major general of volun-
 teers and corps commander His letter follows:
 Wilmington, Del, January IT, 1915 Gen. E. w. Fucker, Birmingham: My Dear General-I am In receipt of
 your letter of the 18th. Permit me to
 thank you for the same and to say that Wilmington being manufacturing city
 and our ship yards. machine shops and leather factories being all busy, and as there has never been such a boom in the worlds history as has overtaken the black powder and high explosives manu- lecturers. labor is or soon will be fully
 employed and prosperity fully restored.
 All branches of business seem to be look ing upward. Our crops in this region are fine, and if no complication takes
 place in respect to international relations, see no reason why the country gener- ally should not have a period of great
 prosperity.
 Tn view of the fact that the present
 European war marks the most remarkable
 and radical changes in the machinery and
 methods of warfare that the world has
 ever seen. I am open in expressing the hope that our government will under no
 circumstances join the ranks of the mili-
 tary nations, but steadily and patiently adhere to its own policy of an army merely
 large enough to maintain peace, protect
 persons and property, and prevent insur | rection. l regard our nominal force of 900 men as amply sufficient for these purposes. We have no dangerous neigh bors and no conditions prevailing any where in the United States that would jus tify taking 100000 young men from the
 ranks of productive industries and turn | ing the mover to the regular army for
 drill and discipline.
 "It seems to mo that the submarine has knocked out the dreadnaught, and that it would be a wild bit of folly for us to go | to building dreadnaughts without limit in order to put ourselves on an equality with the other great naval powers of the world. It is also true that the flying machine has knocked out the cavalry as an intel ligence gatherer, that the automobile has largely displaced the army mule wagon that the machine gun Is supplanting the rifle and that the larger calibers of field | cannon are making the use of shrapnel very much more effective than 1t used l to be In our own day.
 "In view of all these facts I am dls- tnctly in favor of standing fast, watch | ing, waiting and learning till we know the final lessons of improved military machin- cry as well as the exact terms of the in- | ternational settlement. If you concur with me, I hope you will do what you can to strengthen the hands of the admin istration at Washington.
 Meanwhile. as there Is a great risk which we must take in all this, 1 see no objection to the schools and colleges throughout the country organizing their
 students for military instruction. The training, work and discipline that will come therefrom are good of themselves for growing students. But if we want to prepare ourselves for being ultimately n | a greater navy the best way to furnish | ourselves with competent officers would be to establish three more national mill tary acadmies and one more naval acad- emy. The four would cost less than one
 modern dreadnaught. and ought to give us 10000 more selected, well educated of ficers per annum than we now have, and these in few years would supply all we could possibly need But the greatest argument In favor of this Is that there would be no waste in it, for every gradu-
 ats not required for the army or navy would find useful employment in civil life.
 "I heartily reciprocate the pleasure which you express in the declaration that there does not exist any feeling among your people in regard to our late war Its termination in a reunited and indissoluble union Is one of the greatest boons ever conferred upon our race and if we shall only show ourselves capable of utilizing the opportunities now offered us. we shall
 probably have greater influence upon the civilization of the future than has
 ever been exerted by any people. 'I am passing most of my summer at home, for I find 1t more comfortable in my own surroundings than in knocking about in summer resorts. Hoping that you can say as much for your home in Bir- mingham, I am, with sincere regards,
 most faithfully your friend,
 JAMES H. WILSON"