The gazette-times. [volume] (Heppner, Or.) 1912-1925, 1916-04-13
4 sCHooLMAsTER NEEDED.

A schoolmaster is evidently need
ed in Washington. The idea there
seems to be to run the country in the
old fashioned apple-paring, corn
shueking way, go-as-you-please af-
fair. where all are good fellows and
no bossing is desired.
But war is ruling nearly all the
world now. 1t is eonvulsing Europe
and western Asia, it is degenerating
into coarse murder in Mexico; China
is all ready for it; it is churning the
worlds ocean into bloody spray, and
filing the air above. And war Is
strictly an imperial machine. There
is no IF you please" about it. 1t is
go and he goeth, come and he cometh,
all its edicts are like moving the pre-
vious Question-they shut off debate.
A few weeks ago great cry came
from Washington of the need of ma
tional preparedness, and the eXper-
ienee since indicates that the know
ledge of what is needed is so obscure
| that a schoolmaster is needed to for
mulate system which will be COM
prehensive enough to meet the re-
Quirements.
We have before us paper which
tells how a French officer was called
to the telephone about midnight one
August night in 1914 A brief mes
sage fell on his ear. He sprang into
an auto and dashed away to the near
est town and set a dozen phones
ringing In the next six hours sew
eral hundred automobiles came and
reported to him. Some were driven
by workingmen, some by military Of
ficers; some by young men who still
wore the full dress suits in which
they were dressed when the order
reached them. In fifteen hours they
we're all assigned their places with
full supplies and had started for the
front. They had been organized with
the thought that war might come and
every detail had been fixed so that
there was not one seconds delay in
responding.
Suppose such an order was to be
sent out in our country, what would
follow? The message that would
come back would be: "Out of gaso-
line" Then there would be cal
upon those who manufacture gasoline
and the answer would be that they
had just shipped all they had to Eu
rope. Doubtless, the next mornings
papers would give list of lands sup
posed to be oil lands which the gov
ernment had just reserved to keel
greedy spectators from appropriat
ing.
We have been threatened with wa
in several ways for the past thre
years, but as we understand it, ther
are no small arms for an army, n
heavy guns, no sufficient number O
machine guns; no available suppl
of ammunition, and not enough foo
to support a real army month. Nor
so much food has been sent abroad
that the poor of the country are al
ready reduced to small rations an
the prices are soaring out of sight
What common prudence has bee
exercised in outstanding the country
resources? Suppose war was to b
sprung upon us tomorrow what e,
Il planation for the country's conditio
e could those who handle our army an
/ navy and the general governmer
give for the condition the country
in? What could stop the ravagin
. of our coasts? What could possibl
" prevent the killing, uselessly, of frol
T. 10000 to 100000 of the bravest an
8 best men of the republic?
> When our little war with Spai
e was declared and volunteers wei
called for, more of those volunteer
died in camp than in battle, becaus
:, there were no men competent to e
: tablish sanitary camps for them. Wi
our country never get the sense
= use little common prudence in keel
g ing the country in at least little We
- ready to meet whatever call may
made upon it, and in time of pea'
to prevent the people from being ro
J. bed and wronged by spectators ?
(, Goodwin's Weekly.
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