Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1916-01-21
TIM TEST ~ COMING.


War or no war, we Americans are
due for test. trial, a showdown.
Probably II In high time for stock
taking. After more than q century
of almost continuous material aud ma
tional progression we hro entitled TO
diagnosis II Is apparent TINT not
few Of our foreign contemporaries
believe that We arc suffering from
fatty degeneration Of the mercenary
heart.
Across the water. peoples and ma
items seem "a have reached the conelh-
hion that We tho nationally unaware,
indifferent or callous 70 any kind Of
nffront except financial one. And
We may az we'll admit that we have,
right here at home, a considerable
element that has no patriotic estima-
ton OF the American eagle, except
~ they SEQ II embossed or printed
on the national money
The president. the secretaries Of
war and navy. the military aud naval
experts Of the nation men whose
business Il is to study and understand
ennditiuns--arc appealing to the
country for reasonable preparation
FOR defense But there are two kinds
Of opposition one from the renee-
at-any-pnce people and the other and
more formidable from those who be-
ileve they would have 20 pay heavier
taxes than they are paving now. The
latter is dollar opposition.
Just how far these kinds Of Amer
icanism extend will, IN all probability,
BE- discovered III the next few months
we have a lot of vocifetous iingoes
ana We have Il surprising number Of
pulling naeifiats, who have not failed
to make themselves heard, This
country has always had a superfluity
Of extremists at both limits Of every
national question.
but every crucial issue, every vital
crisis, every hlstorY-making step met
and taken BY the United states, has
been on the volitlon and ~ the dyna-
mite patriotism Of the usually silent
and indumitahle majority There are
indications that the spirit Of i776 rs
neither aead hor languiahlne. The
American press almost without ex-
eeption. e giving fine emphasis to a
calm and deliberate sort of manful
patriotism that refuses 20 he con-
fused by race prejudice, by political
motives or rs mercenary cravings.
our composite citizenship our sys-
TEN Of democratic government, our
teeming industrial power our national
ideals. our long .vaunted forwarduess
in the ranks Of great nations, our
cunraee. our resaureefulness. our very
independence as a nation are now
face g face with the test Of patriot
Ism. Not newspaper patriotism, or
the blatant boast of spread-eagle ora
tory, not the patriotism of Fourth
Of July eioquence, ar the humptioua
fanfarronade Of partisan campaigns
.-.none of these VIII do nov as either
an expression Or test Of Ameticaulsm
We must have the goods the real
thing such is what the preaidcni Is
going to plead for IN hts speaking
tour
We have arrived At the aahow-mes
period IN our national existence. We
may have deluded ourselves with The
vanity Of our national youth We
may have been led far afield among
the primrose promises Of Hryan and
others who told US that we had al
lneineihle citizen soIdiery that would
leap 10 arms oy"rnleht, any old night
and so our national vanity may have
been flatterea IN those piping DAYS
Of peace and God hiess-Nou
As General Wood has demonstrated.
as the men who have visited the waf
fronts Of Europe have shown. We
haven't any citizen soldiery and we
haven't any arms "a leap TO- We
haven't any army and not much Of
q navy We have no great gun fac
tories. no competent ship-buildlng
facilities aud no opeani2ed ~ nrear-
ranged plan Of enlistlnE. clothing
arminR, eaulpping or feeding an army
and navy. should we need them Ia a
hurry. We have no private manu-
facfuring plants far enough away
from the coasts 70 prevent quick cap
fure should an invading force land
upon our shores
nut, it is our belief and hope. we
have that which viii make all Of these
things possible. II Is the very essence
of our citizenship; II Is The spirit o.
10. Have We that spirit The ques-