The Washington herald., 1915-10-10

safety behind the frontier Of n.u,r,,
Switzerland
AS quickly as France could get to her
ieet after the Franco-Prussian war sbs
oiscarded conscription and adopted be
conqueror's system of universal military
training Austria drew the same Iesso,
from her defeat by the Prussiar. a..
hohisssratz In lsGs. and Italy followed
SUIT. Thus Europe bred her sons to war
| Russia finched from the task. She
adopted the principle. but she has sbrunL
from the cost and labor of calling ou,
] ana training more than fraction of he,
| huse military population. And England
rejected both the practive and the nr,n-
| ciple.
| fhiiure of Preparedness.
"hat are the fruits of this giant ire.
whose acorn Prussia planted more tb,,
i'' years ago under Napoleon's unsus-
recting nose? The nations are sathertns
them now from its widespreadine
prdhches. And If they do these things
m green tree. what shall be done in
| the dry
Long it was boasted that this .-,,;v,
OF the nations was the sures, r,.,
: preserving peace. But that shotgun
peace that war against war. has been
oitter failure. an overwhelming disaster
FOR hfty years it sowed the wind n,.h
nate and fear. and in an hour of NJ nj.
the peace Of Europe vas swept awav h,
the resultant whirIwind
Military preparedness not only f.,,.d
10 conquer peace, but it failed to win
the war. So much is already deter.
mined
IL Is agreed that GERMANY wa. -,-
more prepared than any other pow.r +o
succeed in swift. short war and to
compel speedy peace. Yet she v,.
haiked and stopped. and the war watt.
I'M. .I'h nations unprepared have had fuiI
10 P,epsre-even unmilitary, slow
gong England. Whoever wins in fhs
END. military preparedness will W, -
the victor "o' DC
II Germany wins in a long war su.,
as rms. 1t will not be because she NJ.
netter organized for war but becauss
she was better organized for peace That
10 .he secret OF the superiority and the
Hci dl HlSS Inu4 far.
Why Germany Wins.
Military drilling and the mamma, -.
arms play but minor part in this titanic
struggle of the peoples Germanv.s
great advantage is not that she know,
tne goose step. but that she is a drilled
nation fndustrially and socially.
A country that Is not orrsnizad <.-
peace is incapable OF organizing for
modern war. The bigger her military
machine. the worse off she will be IN ,
campaign. After Germany, France 4. th.
most closely organized and efficient ,.
tion in peace. So she is in war Mark
now steadily the French have held tbsyr
me. On the other hand. Russia IL no.
lorlousiy the least orga nized and efN-
Iieht economic force in Europe. 1t would
De almost as unkind as unnecessary 70
point the moral ~
Inc kaiser's government is efficient =,
war because it was trained to do thirs.
IN peace. 1t has been operating ratJ-
roads and telegraphs. canals and mines
and working forests and lands. II vas
pire. '' ''Ae eih-
When war came. therefore. il knaw
how to run trains and move troops bow
10 Hanufacture, purchase. collect and
forward supplies. And 1t knows how tn
ulrect and care for its soldiers and its
people. because it has met the ssme
problem in peace.
The Plain Lesson.
For a generation the German Empirs
mas been one vast army. And all Ger
mans have been soldiers engaged in on,
long war for the conquest of Ignorance
aho poverty at home and markets abroad.
Iney are enrolled at the portal Of ,bs
disciplined in schools. drill
ed In shops. watched over In sickness and
Unemployment and pensioned in old age
for Gerrnany's industrial army Is no mere
IoVins mob or Hessian mercenaries or
Italian condottieri
with II she made far more brilliant
dr1ves than even her martial army has
achieved and whipped the world on Land
ana sea. With il she won such spoiIs
as never fell to the sword Of any con-
quering nation
John Ruskin IN his Grown of Wild
ohves said. Il found. in brief. that all
great nations learned their truth Of
,oro and strength of thought in war.
mat they were nourished in war and
wasted in peace But Germany hs,
ound in organizing for peace the
'lsor and inspira ton, the discipline and
ne team work which until her time men
'hought that war alone could supply
Her military preparedness is but n nv
'roduct of her social and economic pre-
'aredness. And no nation can hope tn
,opy the first without adopting tine sec
ION. England discovered that Kitchener.s
irmy could not do its work in the field
While chaos reigned at home. md Mr.
Lloyd George was commissioned to inn
'rovise an industrial army. Russia Ia
waking up to the situation and IL tho
russian masses should wake I'D to tie
nefhciency of their rulers. there right
ollow day of stern reckoning.
The Duke of Wellington said the Batt,s
( Waterloo was won on the footbau
eld Of Eton. but Mr.. Dooley said IL wa,
von on the potato patches of Wexford.
iowever. those two authorities NAV dis
gree. Germany's triumphs in this war
we're won in peace. II may appear in
he sequel that her military machine
'as a Frankenstein monster, which urlv
rought to wreck the wonderful achieve.
lens OF her grea peace machine.
Copyright. lsl5. ss James Mors,n)