The Topeka state journal., 1916-05-01

came TO Cuba,t the Philippines and Porto
Rico than they had ever in all their
previous history known; whereas the
peace" with Mexico continues to rage
with unabated ferocity and with all
the accompaniment of murder and
violence No solution is in sight and
things have steadily grown worse in
stead of better.
Inadequacy of Army.
Surely the utter inadequacy of our
army must have been made evident
to every thinking man by what has
occurred on the Mexican border. After
tame submission to innumerable in
juries, one bandit raid was so fragrant
that our army followed the raiders.
The army was in such condition that
the immediate pursuit which would
have insured prompt success could not
be undertaken and after over a month
had passed by and after we'll nigh our
entire mobile army had been called
upon we were still entirely unable to
deal adequately with the situation. Re-
member that a month covered the
time from the opening of the great
European war to the Battle of the
Marne. Remember that if disaster
happened to our navy a month would
be sufficient for any one of several
of the great old-world military pow
erS, without subStracting from it's army
a force whose loss would be in any way
felt at home, to land in San Francisco
great as our mobile army. In actual
practice we have been unable within
six weeks to gather enough troops to
cope with the situation created by
Villas raid. Think, deeply, friends,
what this means and the impotence
it reveals for meeting any kind of SER
ious assault made on our shores by
any military power of the old world; !;
and remember that this war has
shown that save in the teeth of a navy
= xs.,%
of efficiency the ocean is a highway
for the rapid transport of troops 1t
is short-sighted folly of the most sin
lister kind not to provide at once, i'm
mediately, for regular army of
quarter of a million men, in order that
we shall have within our own limits a
mobile army of 125,000 men SO con-
stantly trained and maneuvered that
inside of a week they could be con-
centrated in the highest condition of
border or coast line. Relatively to the
population of the country this army
would be no larger than the Chicago
police force is to the City of Chicago.
My proposition no more SmackS of
militarism than does the Chicago DO
lice force am asking only for small
regular army which shall be first class
in point of efficiency.
No Value to Half Preparedness.
remember always IIldl there Is no
real value to half preparedness. To
prepare a little but not very much is
just like trying to put out a fire little
but not a great deal. If you want to
build a bridge across a river, you build
it for the whole distance. If you only
leave 1t unbuilt. To increase the
armed forces of the nation a little, but
not much, leaves the situation, from
the standpoint of national defense,
practically unchanged. The advocates
of half-preparedness are no more loyal
to the interests of this country than
are the advocates of unpreparedneSS.
As for the statement that prepared
ness incites war, it ranks on par with
that hoary falSehood which says that
it takes two to make quarrel. With
the fate of Belgium before our eyes no
man, not willfully blind to the truth,
can question that absolutely good con-
duct, absolute peacefulness, absolute
devotion to industry, and the posses
sion of good government and the do
ing Justice at home and abroad, all put
together, do not by one moment de-
lay or in the smallest degree work to
prevent an attack from a powerful
militaristic nation outside, if there has
been failure of military preparedness
on the part of the attacked nation and
if the militaristic nation thinks it ad-
vantageous to make the attack. Pre-
are individuals so wicked that they in
sure their houses for the purpose of
setting fire to them. Likewise there
are nations which prepare in order to
commit aggressions on other nations.
But the first fact does not alter the
desira bi1ity of fire insurance for hon
est men, nor does the second fact alter
the desirability of preparedness for
self-defense on the part of peaceful
and well-behaved Nations.
The preparedness of a big, highly ef-
ficient navy and a small, highly efficient
regular army will meet our immediate
needs and can be Immediately under
taken. But ultimately and to meet
our permanent needs I believe with all
my heart in universal training and
universal service on some modification
of the Swiss and Australian systems
adapted to the needs of our American
life Such training would not merely
indeed perhaps not primarily, be of
benefit from the military standpoint,
although the good from this stand
point would be ineStimable; it would
not take our young men away from
their life work; it would, on the con-
trary, help to fit them for their life
work, make them more valuable So
cially and industrially, train them to
order, discipline, the power to enjoy
and make use of self-respecting lib
erty, the power to cooperate with
their fellows. 1t would be an antiseptic
to militarism; for Switzerland and
Australia are the least militaristic and
most democratic of commonwealths.
1t would be done in the schools and
then by four to six months work in
the field when they leave the schools.
1t would mean only extending the
system already admirably applied in
Wyoming. With such a system we
should be guaranteed forever against
the kind of conflict which is known as
a rich mans war and a poor mans
fight. We should never have a war
unless the people who were to fight it
deliberately determined upon it. 1t
would be a war waged by the people
for the people
To Avoid War.
AS l have said again and again, and
as 1 cannot too otter repeat l adVo-
cate this preparedness as a means to