The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-06

Ic the Editor of The Age-H Herald: President Wilson, with honest purpose
 and patriotic intent, is endeavoring to inject into the vitals of the country poison that will ultimately change it from
 a land of liberty to land of oppres-
 sion. Preparedness is a protoplasm,
 where the blending gases will eject vol
 tune after volume of future history whose
 pages will contain only records of war
 and bloodshed. Orators and writers con-
 tend that continued peace and advocacy
 of peaceful measures will destroy the courage. From the terminal ton of the Mexican war until the beginning of the war of 1861 the nation possessed small army, a smaller navy, with no contem-
 platon of preparedness. History will cer-
 tify that in the great fratricidal conflict,
 no more courageous soldiers ever con
 fronted each other on the field of battle
 In land of liberty and education men
 become nobler, stronger, more patriotic
 and more jealous for the honor and safe
 ty of the country they love. It is in the
 tyrannical country, without education.
 without hopeful environment dominated
 and crushed under the heel of military
 despotism that men deteriorate. The
 great nations of Europe are practically
 exhausted; the large part of their fight
 ing force is already slaughtered, and if
 hostile feelings were entertained at the
 termination of the conflict they cannot
 be materialized, as it will require many
 generations to sufficiently recuperate. The
 people of Europe, and indeed of the whole
 II t,- 1o-
 termined that in the future their sons
 shall not be ruthlessly slain on the altar
 of cupidity and ambition, or to avenge
 some false conception of national honor.
 The establishment of universal peace by
 some method that will make war impossi-
 ble never was more suspicious since the
 beginning of the historic period. The
 stream is small, but uninterrupted, it may
 become great avalanche washing, away
 every vestige of hostilities.; ~ It ill be-
 comes a great, powerful, peace loving,
 Christian nation to throw obstructing
 pebbles. sf fls
 The preparedness of Germany is tri-
 umphantly referred to. What has the
 preparedness of Germany. accomplished
 for the human race? It has enabled Ger
 many to slaughter millions of magnifi-
 cent young men, whom it took. many generations of culture, training and Chris tianity to elevate to the Sltellectual, re- ligious and moral plane which, they oc-
 cupied. It also brought upon Germany
 the execration fear and vengeance Of
 the surrounding nations, and when the curtain goes down on the horrible Euro pean tragedy, it is probable that Ger many, as well as other nations, will be found behind that curtain, a ghastly wreck In the future, as a result of the annihilation of 2O,000,OO0 or 30000,00Of cul- tured young men, the European family x@x,x, &aI by an inferior order. It will require many generations of training and culture to bring the lower order up to the intellec- tual and moral perfection attained by the slaughtered millions The right process and direction must be adopted in order that the elevation may ever be reached. This is not assured from the fact of the general demoralization. If the wrong di- rection is taken, like the destroyed. civil- ization of Greece and Rome. the human family may drift into another dark pe- riod and it will require more than the inductive and experimental philosophy of a Bacon to drag the race out of intel lectual and moral chaos nl'y.
 The naval preparedness of England is equally applauded By naval prepared ness England was enabled to conquer and subjugate every unprotected country with which her war vessels came into contact. History will never disclose the number of slaughtered men. women and children who perished in their effort to protect their freedom, their homes and their country. English naval preparedness has more; it has placed upon the shoulders of the poor of all countries a great burden of taxation being forced to construct great and costly ships of war for self protection. The unprepared ness of China is held up by the orators as a terrible warning If China, with her oOO00,OOO or 5OO,0Oo0OO, her enormous wealth, and inexhaustible resources, had armed and equipped on the land and the sea, the yellow peril, | which was a creature of the imagination, would have become threatening and lity. Corea, Japan, the Phil l ippine Islands, Hindustan, India, Mongo- lia and Asiatic Russia would have become l and assimilated. This great heather unit of 1,00O,000,O0O possessing l a great and courageous army and num- l berless war vessels would be prepared | to colonize and hybridize the balance of | the world, If national and international affairs had been solely supervised by the Christian nations, it is not sacrilegious | to say that our Lord would have surren- 1 |