Evening journal., 1916-07-06
Peoples Column
THE INDUSTRIAL END
OF PREPAREDNESS.


To the Editor Of THE EVENING
JOURNAL:
sr:-There was time in the his
tory Of the nation when a certain
commander set up cannon made Of
wood. and deceived the enemy. Upon
that precedent we have been largely
relying ever since for our defense. Il
We build up larger army and navy.
without also getting in motion behind
them the industrial forces Of the ma
ton. so that we shall have real can
non and all other materials Of war
fare. we shall deceive only ourselves.
The foreign spy of today is not so
much concerned over the number Of
men we can muster as he is over how
much or how little our factories can
supply in machine guns. ships. ammu-
milton and other necessaries OF war
oven as our national dangers have
increased, many people have been lull-
ed into q false sense Of security by
the belief that we were sending enor-
nous quantities OF munitions Of war to
/ Europe: hence they have jumped to
9
the men and the factories. we are rea-
sonably safe
But enormous" is a relative term.
A shipment Of shells that is mann
moth 10 civilians in America With
duck-shooting ideas Of ammunition
/ requirements. is only a tea-time ra-
/ tion for a very small part OF one army
/ in action As the true basis OF all
preparedness is a realization OF the
actual needs and then Of our present
ability or inability to supply those
needs, let us apply ourselves to the
real crux Of national defense. which
is the industrial side, for we do not
want an army or a navy that shall
partake Of the nature Of theatre seen
cry without the vital sustaining sub
stance Of organized industrial force
behind It.
England has one and one-half mil,
lion trained soldiers who are drillinl
without rifles Russia-though m,
war has been underway two years
has more than three million soldiers
who are unarmed. The present ad
vances OF Russia in the East are mad,
possible only by the shipment of rifle
and munitions from Japan.
Not a single one OF the great quan
titles of rifles ordered in this countr,
two years ago has yet reached IN,
fighting fronts of the Allies. though
these rifles are at last commencinl
to go forward in large numbers.
These conditions show the ute
folly OF our own people taking refug
or comfort i'm the thought that we ca
prepare after trouble starts. Nations
Defense is a condition OF, mind. III
whole theory Of defense is TO be s
) prepared that no one will start trCr
, BILE with us. European war order
, have helped us toward preparedness
? by showing our industrial incapacit
Soon we will be able 10 turn out rifle
5 in respectable quantities and shell
] in better quantities. than would ha'
a been otherwise possible but-this
the vital point-there are only thr
s concerns in the United States that a
e able to make artillery and we ma
a so few rifle cartridges that the qua
q tity has never been enough to wa
5 rant either Great Britain or Russ
shipping American cartridges to Il
r front.
Our rifle cartridges are used r
target practice only. Therefor
while we have rifles. we have nOthir
; to shoot in them, and while we ha'
shells, we have nothing TO shoot the
; out of.
Il is no flight Of fancy to say tn
a regiment without many machine guI
. now is we'll nigh unequipped Thr
. motorcycle scouts not long ago a
said TO have wiped out with machii
:. guns, an entire German regiment
: it was marching into a village. &C
ually killing every member. German
q had $4,000 machine guns at the b
. ginning Of the war. Great Brita
y had but 400 Compared with Il
equipment OF European powers. so
10 machine guns would be a very sms
? number for our army. A machil
= gun of the best type shoots 700 rif
cartridges a minute or over 10000