Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1916-01-28
FRIDAY. JANUARY 7s. 1916.
TINE TO ARM. SAYS MANN.

sentative James X. mann, No"I
publican floor leader of thel
House, in short speech that
stirred Congress today appeale d
to the Democrats and the Rel
publicans to cast aside partisan
politics and work together as
patriotic Americans to brig
about legislation for ii
strengthening of the army ard
navy.
No human mind, said Repre-
sentative Mann, could foretell
he result of the present Euro
pean war. No one, he added,
knew whether or not America n
interests would draw this coun.l
try into the present struggle orI
into a clash with some of the
European countries afterward.
Therefore, he said, it would be-
better to spend ST, 900, 900, 900 to|
prepare this nation to defend it'll
self than to spend $40, 200, 600. 0O0|
or SIS, 900, 900, 900 to protect tie
country should the European
war god swoop down upon the
United States.
FEARS BRITAIN MORE THAN
GERMANY.
The speech was by far the|
greatest yet delivered in the
House in behalf of the nationai
defense program. In the course
of it Mr.. Mann declared that
there was far more danger
this country going to war wit
Great Britain than with &c i
many. He said he favored al
standing army of at least $50, cool
men and navy strong enough
to defend this country against
an attack by a foreign fleet. Hell
did not go into details as tol
what he thought should be done
in streng thoning the military
and naval forces.
Il have never been a believer
in large standing army, and l
suppose l have been properly
classed among what are some
times referred to as little nayyI
men," said Representative Mann,
but wise men ought to be able
to peer, maybe indistinctly, into
the future and to prepare today
for what may come tomorrow.
II do not know, ard no o. 81
knows, what will result from til
present war. No one know
where the aggression on either
side against our interests mayl
possibly, against our desires and
contrary to our ideas. finally lead
us perhaps not into this strug
gle, but into some struggl
which is the outcome of this on,
Il doubt whether a paper
peace between the two strug |
Cling parties now, even if it'll
could be entered into, would even
be the beginning of the end. The
present conflict is likely to last
for many years before it is def
nitely determined either that one
or the other is the master or til
neither can become the master
And it seems to me that the part
OF wisdom for us is fairly to pre-
pare ourselves for any possil le
trouble which may come.
1t may be we will have no
trouble. / hope not. In thisI'
war / am peutral, and think eI
ought to maintain peace at "a
II yards. And yet the time m.
c Inc when we may not have tLel
determination whether we carl
maintain peace or not becaus.
however much we may desire
peace. it is not within our power
with the feelings we have, IL
stand aggression too far.
CHEAPER TO PREPARE THAN roI
FIGHT.
I'VE Can better afford to spend
hundreds of millions Of dollars
or two billions of dollars in am
pie preparation for trouble, an
avoid it if possible, than we can|
TO wait for trouble and thenl
spend untold billions before we
are finally yictors, as we would
be. If we are involved in no
trouble we will be getting off
ciieaply with the expenditures
for preparations. If We should
be involved, the money we spend
INV will be worth many fold
that which we would spend afterI
the struggle began.
Il have much more fear, ID
tile ei-d, of war with England
than I nave Of war with Ger
many. Events are coming rap-I
ldly ID the world. We may sill
~ and wait il contentment, and
~ Il = enf dnty = The nsaasGer |
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