The Glenwood post., 1916-10-28
Tears Off the Mask and Shows Up
tbs Weaknesses Of the Present
Democratic Administration
DENVER WILDLY ENTHUSIASTIC

merous the bandits across the bOr-
Many men have gone who have been
obliged to leave their wives and chill
dren to suffer actual want. and who
have permanently injured their profess
ly lost their jobs, because they had to
go to the front and spend months
away from their business. away from
their homes. to make good the damage
done by the utter folly of our rulers
in Washington.
Rulers Uninterested.
These rulers in Washington were not
really interested in Preparedness. They
were not really intercsted9in the de-
fenSe of their country. They thought
the Immediate future. They refused to
give expert military lcgislatiOn.
They gave us political military leRisIR-
tion; legislntion designed to secure
votes next November at the cost of the
lives OF the gallant officers and men OF
the regulnr army, nt the cost Of the
lives of the civilians, men. women and
children on the border, and in Mexico,
and at the cost of the veIl-beinx Of
Thousands of families of National
Gunrdsmen who had Themselves been
lation OF the last scNsion should he re-
pealed and the work of preparedness
entered upon with .eriou. purpose.
See that your representatives represent vote
small but efficient regular army. But
always remember that In free democ-
raoy no man should have the right to
vote in the civil affairs of the country
ii he does not perform all the duties
required by the country. not only in
peace, but in war: and he cannot per-
form these duties In time of war unless
he fits himself to perform them. un-
less he trains himself to perform them
in time of peace. 1 believe in universal
military obligatory training Of all our
time Of ,vnr, in universal military serv-
ice for every mnn and every woman in
whatever position 1t In deemed thnt
man woman can best render such
service to the nation.
A Broken Reed.
The mobilization of the militia on
the border has proved that the Feder-
allied National Guard is broken reed
from the standpoint of National Pre-
paredness, and represents no adequate
national strength either to repel sud-
fense warfare. The amiable pacifist
who was chosen by Mr.. Wilson, with
his usual exquisite sense of entire mil
itary unfitness, to be Secretary Of War.
about how "mobilizations take place
cent scale in advance" Then on June
18th, working on this theory of easy
and uHprepared-fOr mobilization. he
commanded the entire National Guard
to mobilize Immediately. After ten days
OF maximum effort just IL per cent of
the men were started for the border.
Over 30 per cent of the Guard were
found to be unfit for duty. Many OF
had never received q single days train
Ing. Many had never fired rifle.
Most of the cavalry regiment. had no
horses. Half the artillery batteries
had no guns. / know one division in
which, after three months. 10 per cent
of the men have not received their
HI = ln ,ot
ceived their rifles. Some of the regi-
ments on the border have learned with
wonderful quickness and are in fine
shape. Some have made no improve
worthless, because their officers were
so unframed and so unfit for command
that they could not teach and guide
and help over difficulties and care for
their men. who became little better
than a mob.
Best Men Pronted.
The best men in the best regiments on
the border have profited much; have
profited more than men who go to the
tary training camps have profited. But
now. after over four months, first
class National Guard officer. who. is
with his regiment on the border, writes
me: Here we have all the organised
troops in the country on the border and
they only total very small force. part
Of WHICH Is ineffective: l should say
lHAl hlteT lHTS6 UnOHlnb, We nave pt-
tween $4,000 and $4,000 useful troops in
ALL" In other words, after three
months we did not assemble Al army
fit to resist q single German or JAPAN
ese army corps, such ms could be landed
In New York In . fortnikht or In San
Francisco IN = month. President VIII
sen has refused to read the dreadful
lehs0n written In fire and blood across
the face Of the world during the last
tive yeaRs and = quarter. He has left
us shaAefally unready to protect our
selves or do cur duty By ethefs.
The sw1ss systen.
switzerland 10 more genuinely DEM
ocrRtic republic than we are, and there
10 nothing that has helped her people
moro, physically. mentally and moral
1y. or that has done more to perpetu-
ate and increase the genuineness Of her
democracy. than the universal training,
of the kind advocate, which her sons
have received. So far from being mill
tarnsm. this kind Of universal training
is e healthy and efficient antissptie TO
mflitarism. An army 30 trained. which
would consist of the citizenship Of the
country in arrns, would never be used
for aggression. Its only purpose would
be for sslf-defense. Every Intelligent
lover Of peace. every peace lover whose
conviotions spring from reason instead
of-from shear hXlterjc0 ttm16lty and
CONTINUED on page III