Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-02-09
COMMITTEE READY
TODRAFT ARMY BILL
Senators Bring the Hearings
on National Preparedness
to a Close.
THOSE IN OPPOSITION
VOICE THEIR OBJECTIONS
Speakers State Farmers and Work.
ing Glasses of Country Are Ar
rayed Against Program.

ing Glasses of Country Are Ar
rayed Against Program.
After getting the Views Of an anti
preparedness committee. the Senate
military affairs committee yesterday
afternoon ended its public hearings on
projected national defense measures,
which have extended over several
weeks. The committee plans now to
go ahead with the drafting of an
army bill
Miss Lillian p. Valid of New York.
chairman OF the nti-prepare
committee and head of the Henry
Street University Settlement. intro
duced the speakers to the Senate COM
mittee. The list included Frank Dorm
blazer of the National Farmers Union .
John p. Lennon. treasurer of the
American Federation of Labor: Presi-
dent James II. Maurer of the Pennsyl-
vania Federation of Labor: Mrs
Florence Kelley of New York city and
Mrs. Sarah Bard Field. who spoke for
the woman voters of California.
Mr.. Dornblazer's Argument.
I'VE have twenty-five states that are
fully organized" said the speaker, land
in March we shall be organized in
twenty-six. All these state organiza-
tons get theiS instructions from the
counties. and the county organizat ions
get their views from the forks of the
creeks, where they are discussed nv
hundreds of thousands of farmers. The
farmers have been talking about this
program of yours and they are all
against it,
Mr.: Laurer. who said he was a ma
chinist and had been in constant touch
with large organizations of Iaborine
men, met with repeated applause from
the crowd in the committee rooms.
which was composed of about eouai
numbers of men and women. He smoke
he eXpi ained, not for organized Ia hor
but for the working classes. and
charged that the present call for arms
was inspired by those who were max
ing immense profits selling ammunj-
ton. and who at the close of the Euro
pean war will want a large army and
navy to enforce the collection of the
money owed them by bankrupt nations.
Position of Laboring Men.
THE working people will not con-
sent to fight such a war;" he said
Instead of spending more money. I
think Congress had better investigate
the money already spent. The people
have believed we were prepared. We
were told we were the greatest power
on earth. Less than two years ago we
were told We could beat Germany and
Mexico at the same time.
NOW, suddenly, we are told our boats
are old tubs, our army helpless. There
ruImOrS
when Germany and Austria were in the
best condition of their history. If l
feit now that those dying nations
could thrash us, 1 would be ashamed
to admit l was an American
we of the working classes who must
fight these battles want to know what
you know of them. President Wilson
tells US there may be great confla
pie want to know what danger they
are in.
Will Refuse to Be Cannon Fodder.
IF we fear Great Britain, why permit
our American capitalists to continue to
equip that nation with arms. The
workingman will refuse to be cannon
fodder for their wars and then be
called on to pay the bills, too. If it is
right to take the workingman's life,
tune. What is there for the West Vir-
ginia coal miners to fight for?
The only way you can get the work
ing men to enlist is to provide each
one with the best possible rifle, a thou
sand rounds of ammunition and let
them keep their arms in their homes,
Then I'll promise there will be no in
vasion.'
Mrs. Kelley repeated the demand for
an investigation of past expenditures.
M 80 do sol
as it is in the old, unnecessary army
barracks, why should they be given
more she asked. when we thought
we were being prepared and safe
army barracks and inaccessible navy
yards.
Not in Favor of Disarmament.
Miss Lillian D. Wald declared that
not in favor of disarmament.
What we are against" she said, lis
this attempt to stampede the United
States into a program which has not
been considered and which is full of
menace for our international relations.
We agree with Mr.. Wilson when he
said that we are not in any danger
of invasion. But an atmosphere of
hysteria has been created-we believe
quite deliberately. First. we told
that we need 100000 continentals and
then en- army of 100000 men. Then
Mr.. Wilson says he wants the biggest
navy in the world. and Mr.. Roosevelt
proposes to enlist every man in the
military service. They even talk of
drilling the little children in the
schools.
Dean Kirchway of Columbia Uni
versitE told me not long ago about
man who said he had seen a company
of Germans drilling in Van Courtlandt
Park at 2 o'clock in the morning The
whole nation is infiltrated with fear.
If there is any cause for such fear
we want to know it. We do not want
to be surprised by secret diplomacy"
Due to Women in Politics.
Miss Field attributed the opposition
to preparedness reported to exist in
the middle west to the advent of west
ern women in politics. They realized