The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-09-05
T 10 quite apparent that the public
IL very much concerned In the

o.. NJ CAPT. JOHN r. MEIGs.
+ T 10 quite apparent that the public
IL very much concerned In the
question Of u military unpre-
p~aredness. The number Of So
called defence societies and security
leagues 10 growing. and people I meet
from day to day have a good deal to
Soy upon this subject OF national i'm
portance. But In my own mind,
question: Are these organizations
merely 90 many waves of sudden birth
that may spend themselves on the
hbaoh Just as quickly as they have
stsen; OF DO they represent the rip
pies Of On onooming tide deep enough
70 bear and to'cafry on the ark of our
defensive mikht7si 49, ~
IT appears 10 ne that the good will
oe the public Is immense; that they
wish very earnestly TO supply a much
better military equipment than we
hhvs. However, I am not sure that this
disposition to tnke some action will
last indefinitely.
THE public 10 very busy In earning
8 living for 'self and family. and II II
Believes Il cannot accomplish ything,
tt will certainly let down in Its effort
moro or .ces. Therefore, as I see It, II
tNhooyes those VINO know more about
Ybatters ~ ml,rn-,, n-eparatIon thar
others Ia do n,lyhstis p5ssible TOWARD
utibzInp tte present moed OF the peo.
yis-in short 10 ,urn this sood will
through 't,ronrr attention 70 things
1yhich mat pnder popuIar effort pro.
6n,etive oer the common weal.
tBroadlv, tho, subject of military
o-reparntion ia, O, course. a single one
vhsther AZ ,concerns h land or tbs
"a foroes. -, Nev,,thela.x- exper,snce
~ taurht, ma that chs ouestion Is
actually 4 com,os,te "a consist,nS o,
= rreat , nuunber OF Apparently small
1hinra rathsr than OF a few large ones
Ooneraiiv speakinr. and from cauEes
which arc entirely natural. the rublic
considers principally the bigger cues.
lions, such, for instance, as wh.,he,
thS navy shall consist of submarine.
instead Of what we now call battle.
ships, OF how many mon WI, should
have in the regular army and he like
This attitude. is fairly general among
people whose knowledge OF militar,
matters Is limited.
, For example. not long ago I was
asked BY, q lawyer friend, a man who
has taken a great deal OF interest In
ZIP: :a .saa.S q 'b s4s sp anv IN S sass , iS'' aD p'
preparation OF $500, 900 900, which has
been so much talked about, should be
voted? To, me. familiar by long years
Of association With our fighting fleet
that question seemed. a very large ont
70 put to any ! felt justified ir
answering Il only in a general way
bad $500, 100000 to spend, would un,
doubleday want 70 build ships tina
would at least be as effective as those
they now have and with which they
IRE able to hold their enemy inactive
We often Gee tables and graph!
representations showing the sea fore,
Of this country as compared will
other countries. Occasionally suci
representations illustrate something
Of the numbers and conditions o.
the crews Of ships. But rarely in
deed DO they show anything as to tn,
preparation Of those ships In the mat
ter Of ammunition and other sup
plies, AMI yet without these the YES
sells are scarcely more than mer,
shells go far as battle usefulness 4
concerned, 4 r,
How thenoereJw el ga.n9 tolturn tn,
present popular movement into chan
pels that viii really make us rea
aonably fit to meet q bell!gerent con
tingency? It Is periodically wei
enough for every man to want I,
Serve in one or the other branch o
the national defence: We shall Ger
tainly need all OF these II the occa
sion arises, but the public should con
cern itself primarily with the exist
Ing fighting arms as they taad to
Gay.
To my mind effectiveness of effor
can be won only by having hes
patriotic organizations look first 4
the trained Officers Of the army an,
navy, BY strengthening the hand
of these men and by supplying tn
force required 20 bring about tina
state OF affairs which their tra,nln,
and technical knowledge have laugh
them 10 be necessary the nation wi
be the best served. The present goo
will OF the public and the popular,t,
of a move toward preparedness fur
nish the power that will achieve thl
end. but unless The la.ty unders,an
that thew must loot IN the once