Arizona republican., 1915-05-19

clusion of this war all nations will at once have changed their habit of thought by which their conduct has been influenced from time immemor- al, and will never again dispute with their neighborS? Such an attitude upon our part would be sheer folly Let us hope that we may never be again involved in war. But we must be always alive to it's possibilities
 "The gravest problem now con- fronting us is to keep out of war. In certain eventualities I cannot see how we can avoid it-in certain eVentualities it would be moral crime to shirk it. Is not the pre- sentations and protest of President Wilson to Germany on the Lusitania incident tantamount to a conditional declaration of war?
 Every horror of war has it's coun- horror in dishonorable peace-in peace that is secured by disregard of moral duty and the sacrifice of the lives, the liberties, the property, and above all the happiness of a people and the craven abandonment of these opportunities for the de- velopment of their happiness, their property and their moral and ma terial welfare and the infliction upon them of untold misery extending throughout the years.
 If We do not fatuously close our eyes and our reason to the evidence afforded us by history, by our knowledge of human nature, we are fairly forewarned. It may be a false alarm that is sOunded-but that is no reason that We should not heed it until it's falsity is proved.
 We must be prepared foi the event of war.
 We ought not to invite it by un- preparedness and a manifestation of a determination not to go to war, even for just cause. We owe grave duties to the discharge of which we may find ourselves incapable, if we are not prepared to oppose force to any force that may seek to deprive us of the power to perform those duties. l do not believe in militar- ism, but lam a firm believer that this great nation, actuated by it's highest ideals should prepare itself Ito realize those ideals whether that duty be to ourselves or to our neigh bors and to the world
 If We expect to preserve our own lives, liberties and property and se- cure to ourselves and to our pos terity those great opportunities that life offers; if we expect to be influ- ential for good in world policies. and 1t is our duty to be so, it can only be by our power and the use of it. We should not aspire to be a bully among nations, nor seek to oppress our neighbors; but frankly I prefer that than that We should be the unresisting victim of truculent na- tions or if oppression by others. Might may not be right-but right that is not mighty cannot prevail. To be helpless and to be weak in this world is to be useless and fu- tile.
 Happily the potential force of the United States, mighty in the cer- tainty of it's military prowess de- veloped in time, may cause other nations to hesitate to attack us.
 But in these days of scientific war, mere numbers of untrained sol d1ers count less than ever before, and unpreparedness is almost a crime We ought not to be content tc rely too much upon our assumed ability to eventually repel an enemy by drilling, training and equipping our soldiers and building a navy af- ter war has begun-enormous in- jury could be inflicted upon us. though we might eventually pre- vail.
 Let the eXigency of the situation determine what preparation we should make viewed from the standpoint of the expert. But the event of war is always imminent and We should not be wholly unprepared for it.
 No man can more earnestly wish that war will cease than I; that 1t will become unnecessary and therefore uniustifiabe. But until we are free from angry waves of dis cord and contention let us not neg feet our means of self preservation a
 Dean William Scarlett held the close attention of the group of col lege men for twenty-five minutes He paid a high tribute to the ideals of the pacificist, and pointed out the fallacy of armaments as a prevnti- tive of war The great conflict now raging in Europe. he said, had led many to believe that nations would see the futility of trying to settle questions by violence, and lead them to adopt more peaceful means It had been urged, he said, that great armaments were a protection against war, but events of the past few months had shown the fallacy of this theory. The ideals of nations, he declared are changing, and the time is coming when they shall seek arbi- tration. and not war.
 Judge Richard E. Sloan, continuing the discussion, took the view ad- vanced by Judge Kibbey James Westervelt supplemented his remarks with arguments in favor of prepara- tion, a view endorsed by Judge Kent who said that while disarmament might come ultimately, the tfne was not yet ripe for universal h peace. Other members of the club joined in the discussion.
 Adjutant General Harris preseuted facts and figures as to the urB)re paredness of the United Statest for war, and pointed out weak points in the country's defenses. Passesk in the Rocky mountains he declaAad xyara bainp fortified fact thar was