The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1916-05-19


for war. Instead of adopting-and
adapting-Germany' admirably sue
cessful method of dealing with her
industries SO as to insure their eff
cheney in time of war. our govern
mental agents at Washington have
taken no step whatever except the
thoroughly mischievous step of en-
deavoring to cripple a great private
industry by the creation of govern
ment armor plant-whereas, of course,
they should encourage and at the
same time efficiently regulate and
control the private industry in ques-
ton. To list plants is useless when
there are no efficient plants to list
and when the efficient plant is
promptly selected by the government
for destruction. We need a big gov
eminent munitions plant for regula-
tory purposes. We do not need a gov
eminent armor plant, because we can
do better by controlling and regulat-
ing and aiding in the development of
the great and efficient plant which al
ready exists. To destroy such an in
dustry is sheer folly. In the event of
war it is as impossible to improvise a
great industry as to improvise a great
army.
We must abolish pork-barrel meth
DDS in the army-as regards army
posts, navy yards, as regards every
thing else. Remember that after pre-
country and the necessary funds,
voted. the real work will have only
begun. EnglandS navy represents
over three centuries and Germany
army over two centuries of develop
ment along an unbroken line of tradi-
ton and progress to the present stage
of efficiency. The first and all i'm
portant essential is to divorce the
army and navy organizations absolute
ly from politics.
Policy must be correlated to arma-
ment. To appoint the secretary of
state, the secretary of war, and the
secretary of the navy, for political rea-
sons only, without regard to the eff
ficiency of the men for the tasks.
should be accepted by this country as
being even more Ubiquitous than to
appoint as secretary of the treasury a
or currency, and as secretary of labor,
a man who had never heard of a labor
union or of the minimum wage. Pork
barrel graft is a crime against the
nation when the army and navy are
involved But honesty and efficiency
in managing the army and navy only
represent the beginning of military
preparedness.
Must Develop Merchant Marine
We can have no effective army I'M
less business is modified and espec-
tally unless our transportation sys-
tenn is nationalized. The railroads,
whose business is directly or indirect
ly interstate, must, in all their rela-
lions, be regulated by the national
government and not by forty-eight
conflicting state governments. The
merchant marine must be developed
not only for our own purposes of
peace, but as a basis for the navy. It
must be proportionate to tt e transpor-
tation needs and to the navy of this
ON nf ef
build up a naval reserve. We must
safeguard the rights of our sailors but
we can only do so if we upbuild the
lines of ships on which they are to
serve. The employer of labor must
feel that the government is his friend
and will help him in every way, es-
peclally in international matters and
wishes him to make an ample profit
but at the same time that the govern
ment co-operates with him to secure
his profit and his well-being it mus.
also SO regulate his activities as to Sc
cure the we1l-being of those who work
for him and of the public which he
serves. -
AS part of the work of preparedness,
as part of the work of Americanism
and of Naturalization, we must set
our faces like flint against any effort
to divide our people along the lines
of creed or of national origin The
politico-racial hyphen is the breeder
of moral treason. One of the most
sinister developments of the last TWEEN
ty-two months has been the fact that
a section of the professional German
Americans has joined the pacifists in
the effort to keep America helpless,
while this same section of German
Americans is lauding German militar-
ism to the skies and apologizine for
every manifestation of that militarisr1.
even when it is ruthleSsly used against
welfare nj L On Of e,
great German newspapers of this coun-
try cannot call it a German-Amer-
lean newspaper-the Illinois Stats
Zeitung, has been engaged in active
propaganda on behalf of both German
militarism and American pacifism. IT
applauds and advocates Germany's
EN- barking upon career of military
strength unconditional by any other
consideration. and at the same time
backs the movement of the extreme
pacifists to keep the United States i'm
potent for Self-defense. The men
who take such position are preach
ing moral treason to the American
commonw ealth. What they teach tends
to keep our people divided. It tends
to make our politicians subservient to
the agents of an alien militarisrn 1t
tends to keep our own country help
less so that when the opportunity Of
fers, it may be larger Belgium and
offer a rich prey to Germany or to
Japan or to any other great military
power which thinks it worth while to
make war upon u.s.
A Word to Germans
1 wish to say a special word to my
fellow Americans who are in whole or
in part of German blood. l very
heartily admire them. 1 believe in
them 1 understand the difficulties
under which they have labored dur
ing the last TWENTY-FIVE months
sympathize with, I feel for, them,
even although 1 feel that many of
them are not taking the position they
ought to take. 1 know that what I
preach to them is hard doctrine. But
l believe it to be a doctrine necessary
for them, and for all their-and my
fellow countrymen. 1 do not address
them as German-Americans, for
hold that here in the United States
ruin will come to the country in which