The Colville examiner. [volume] (Colville, Wash.) 1907-1948, 1916-02-19

of conversation, OF magazine us
cussion, and of newspaper head
ings. Man by name Of Wilson
seems to have made it so.
Preparedness has been urged
for years by munitions makers,
powder trusts, armor plate fac
tories, and the like. And the
country's army and navy experts
have advised preparedness. And
the country has spent vast sums
Of money for preparedness. Yet
when President Wilson became
president. he found this country
sadly lacking in preparedness.
Millions of dollars have been
spent annually under the various
administrations, but a careful
check of expenditure reveals the
fact that only about one-thlrd
value was ever received from its
expenditures. Armor plate man
ufacturers, battleship builders,
munitions plants, etc, all received
big prices on special contracts let
by friendly officials, and the coun-
try barely maintained what it had,
without seeming to add to its pre-
paredness.
Now the country is aroused by
the speeches of it's president to
the fact that we are not well pre-
pared to meet invasions, or to pro-
tect our rights on the waters, or
the lives of our citizens in other
countries. Mr.. Bryan and some
of his followers are opposed to
preparedness. Mr.. Wilson and
his administration, together with
the leading republicans and pro-
gressives, favor greater prepared
ness. The question is as to the
details Of the plan, and how the
money shall be raised.
The opinion of the Examiner
has not yet been solicited from the
president, probably because of
his dense ignorance as to the
standing of the Examiner in this
nation. But we do not feel of
Tended.
The Examiner favors prepared
ness by having the strongest navy
in the world, the best coast de-
fense in the world, and a system
whereby those who yell for war
shall be the first ones called to
war-and be made to serve.
We believe in spending the
same amount of money as in the
past, but in getting full value
from this money, which plan in
few years would of itself put us
in front rank in the world. Gov
ernment operation of factories and
shipbuilding plants would largely
solve the problem of getting value
for moneys spent, and would also
save this country from wars or
entanglements engineered by pri-
vate munitions makers, for with
their graft gone, they would have
little interest in seeing cannons
used.
We believe in taxing the wealth
of the country instead of labor.
England has only half our pOpu-
latiOn and wealth, yet taxes in
comes three times as much as the
United States. England collects
45 per cent of her total revenues
from wealth, incomes and inheri-
tances, while the United States
gets but per cent in this man.
ner.
Take the war business out OF
politics and out of reach of per-
sonal profit, and not only Bryan's
dream of peace but this country's
demand for preparedness will be
solved. Bryan is all right in his
peace ideas, but he looks ahead
to what we ought to be, and for
the moment overlooks the fact
that we are yet tainted with the
blood of savagery and like fight
ing as a pastime when not eat
ng. When the human leeches
are still sucking money from the
people by melting wars to sell
munitions, or protect oil plants
in Mexico, or get concessions in