The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-09-27
Field Secretary of National Security League Lectures
 On National Defense
LOCAL BRANCH IS
 TO BE ORGANIZED
Has Visited 15 Cities On This Trip. Found Milwaukee German-Amer- jeans Loyal to the Core.
 Peace Men Converted

| William E. Brewster, field secretary of the National Security league. will
 deliver a lecture at the Chamber of Commerce auditorium this afternoon In which he will discuss the problem of adequately preparing the United States to resist invasion. Following MT. Brewster's lecture on National De- fence" local branch of tho league will be organized and officers elected. MT. Bewster arrived in Birmingham yesterday afternoon from Memphis, where he held a meeting and organ ized local branch of the league. He Is registered at the Tutwiler hotel and was entertained last night by W. Blanks Everett. assistant secretary Of the Chamber of Commerce.
 MT. Brewster manfests the greatest enthusiasm in his work and talks in- terestingly of his experiences Bir-
 mingham is the southernmost point he will reach, having covered consider able territory in the middle west Fol-
 lowing the meeting this afternoon.
 Mir Brewster will leave for Springfield, Mo. and will work east from there During the trip Mir. Brewster has organized about 15 leagues. Among the cities he has visited are, Cleveland, Detroit, Milwaukee, St. Paul. Minneap- oils, Keokuk. Ia.. Des Moines, Omaha,
 Council Bluffs, la. St. Louis. Kansas
 City, Topeka, Lawrence, Little Rock | and Memphis. He talks interestingly
 of his experiences in the work.
 Milwaukee For National Defense "I want to say word for Miiwau- kee." said MT. Brewster last night. "I spent four days in the Wisconsin city and I want to assure you that I found German Americans enthusiastic on the | subject of national defense. I talked with every leading German American
 in the city and found them, while loyal
 to the fatherland In the present strug-
 gle. first and foremost for the United
 States. August H. vogel was elected president of our society there. An indication of the changing sen timent of the people of the United
 States on the subject of adequate nat
 ional defense Is given In my experience in Minneapolis. While there I organ
 ized local branch of our league and
 Dr. Cyrus Northrup. president emiretus
 
 president of the Minnesota peace so- ciety. was elected head of the organ 1 izatio
 As you know, Joseph H. Choate is honorary president of the national or- | Sanitation and Henry IA Stimson, for
 rner secretary of war Is chairman of | the army committed In Cleveland
 Myron T. Herrick. ambassador to France when the war broke out was chosen president. Mr. Herrick had been face to face with condition
 brought about by failure to provide | adequate defense measures and he
 brought all the power of his forceful | assistance In Memphis, Gen. Luke K. Wright was chosen president and in Chicago Jacob M. Dickinson. both for-
 mer cabinet officers and both we'll
 known in Birmingham.
 | "As to the objects of the league. first of all we want to take the question of
 adequate national defense out of poli-
 tics. Whenever bills carrying appro-
 priations for the army and navy are considered in Congress, they are the
 subject of political chicanery and
 trades and we want to eliminate this. Pay Attention to Experts
 There are. in Washington. regularly maintained boards of experts to con
 slider problems arising both in the | army and in the navy. They study conditions and make recommendation | to Congress which are regularly thrown into the waste basket. We be- lieve that 1t is about time to carry out some of these recommendations. Another feature of the campaign upon which we have laid especial em- phasis is the reconciliation of labor to the National Guard. We are meeting with much success in this respect and
 many of the largest corporations In l the United States have given their l men full pay for all time spent in annual ehcampments of the National Guard.
 "The National Guard must be in- creased because. with our ridiculously l inadequate mobile army of 10000 men l scattered all over the country. the state organization would be our only 1 reserve in event of trouble. We are ! arousing sentiment in the state seeking l to have the legislatures increase ap- propriations for the maintenance of l the volunteer soldiery
 l Along this line we have promoted l business mems camps similar to tho | one being held at Plattsburg, N. Y., and have been very successful. We in- l tend to take up the question in the | co1leges of the country and we will begin camCp pgn during the fall to es- | tablish local branches of the National