Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1915-05-15
DRIFTING POLICY
RECKLESS GAMBLE
DEMOCRATIC BOOSTERS HEAR
WASHINGTON AoMlNlsTRA.
TON uAMsAsTED.
BROTHER OF OFFICIAL
LETS LOOSE BoM1sHELL
Nations Unpreparedness For War
Given JOLT by Or. Frank 3. vrooman,
in Address Before Homo Club Of
Washinston-Poliey Held to Be Most
Reckless Kind Of Gambling.

tuTer ana, lnclQeltally, DTotueE u AS
sistant Secretary of Agriculture Carl
| Vrooman, exploded in the usually
peaceful center Of the Home Club here,
pack of highly charged ideas. Secre
tary of the Interior Lane is president
of the Home Club, and the organiZa-
; ton itself has been considered a
boosting" institution for the perpetual
ton Of the present democratic admin
istration. Mr.. Vrooman was entirely
tactful in his specific illusions to the
administration and its attitude toward
national defense and the Asiatic prob
lem. He went out Of his way to say
"a good word for the president whom
he described as poker payer who re-
fuses to call the game because in his
hand there is nothing but two spots,
but he mercilessly fayed the "supine
unconcern in the presence of grave is
sues on the part of statesmen which
results in policy Of drift which
recklessly and deliberately ignores the
facts of the situation, and replaces
them with certain languid and jejune
theories: in other words it substitutes
optimism for eyesight."
=
Mr. Vrooman's address was a pow
erful plea for national preparedness
on the ground that the United States
stands today In a position Of an un-
armed country which is attempting to
maintain its own integrity and that of
its ideals in the midst Of a world in
arms. He quoted Secretary OF War
Garrison "as virile and sound man
IN,
net" as making the fundamental dis
tinction that while we are apparently
unwilling to trust ourselves with
proper defenses for fear they may be
made into instruments Of aggression.
we seem to be perfectly willing to trust
lawless and aggressive nations armed
to the teeth to act from christian
motives. II have found nowhere" de-
clared the speaker, "a more funda-
mental and important distinction in all
the literature of world politics. 1t IL
illustrates exactly what / mean by the
tragic confusion of credulity and be-
lief, But it leads me to say that it in
wolves a problem Of pathology. as OF
something essentially unsound. and
therefore unsafe. It results IN ma
tional poicy of drift, which is at bot
tom the gamblers policy. and the
gamblers policy is criminal policy
and more-it is an unintellgent policy.
Just here and now what does 1t all
mean? 1t means that the people OF
the United States witnessed the events
coming with a harsh crescendo to the
climaxes of the past week in Europe
and in Asia. and that not yet have we
learned our lesson. It means that the
American people have allowed them
selves to be doped and duped to that
degree that we are no longer respon.
sible and no longer capable Of self
government: that we have deliberately
ieopardized the lives and possessions
and future destinies Of their posterity,
of the hundred million people OF our
nation upon the proposition that there
are no war mad peoples in the world.
when all we have to do Is to look up
and see with the naked eye hall the
world war mad We are the maddest
gamblers the world has ever seen
homeless. witless, reckless and ire
J sponsible gamblers, to hazard not only
| ther destinies Of the nation itself, but
| the very experiment of democracy upon
| this hemisphere, which is in immediate
danger OF extinction, in that 1t seems
quite probable that the day OF democ-
racy is done, since it is no longer abe
/ or willing to defend itself.
Talks Fling at Bryan.
Without mentioning his name, Dr..
vrooman took fling at Bryan's state
ment that in case of war president
Wilson could call a million men in the
morning and they would respond to the
| call before night. On this point the
sneaker said, II find myself stunned
with amazement to find that there IS
man who. on some subjects has un-
us,,al intelligence, and the probity OF
whose character is unassailable, VINO
| does not know the difference between
an army<and a mob-dOes not know the
revolutions in modern warfare-in tao
tics. strategy and organization ano
1 especialIy in arms and ornaments and
their uses better than to make a STATE
ment that a call could be made IN the
morning and an army would be ready
| in that evening. II that man were q
4 general instead of a colonel he Wouio
/ rely upon the man from heaven for
his commissariat, and win his VIC
tories by beating t!nrens around the
walls Of Jericho.
On the subject Of japan Dr. Vrooman
also spoke with authority. The Pacinc
problem he described not as one OF
color but as one Of unassimilable blood
Understandable mind and spirit, unas-
similable ideas, and absolutely r.
Ireconcilable economic interests. Fol
some years DR.. vrooman has lived n
british Colombia, and his report OF the
Isituation in that part OF the world was
i full of interest. He said. in part:
Secs Menace in Japan.
~ have watched her aggression
from Hawaii to Alaska and have seer
what she is doing. They have nearly
as many fighting men in British
Colombia as our whole standing army
There are more fighting men IN oul
Pacific states than our whole standint
army. There are probably az many O
the Flower Of the -Mikado's troops II
Mexico as our whole standing army
How many there are in the PhiHppine
/ do not know, but I do know that IN
Japanese paid propagandists In Thu
country are saying they do not wan
the Philippines and that is the bes
evidence that they do. They hav
, their bases already established OF
this continent and they are ready AM
;. armed and trained, and their swollel
ambitions have been revealed in thet