New Iberia enterprise and independent observer. (New Iberia, La.) 1902-1944, 1916-01-22
no DANGER OF INVASION.

Here IS an article from Il. +
PettlgreW, former United States
senator from South Dakota, Whc
: knows the inside OF he came at
ashlngton. d. G.:
| protest against the adminis-
ration S plan for increasing the
army and navy in order 20 pre-
pare this country for war. be
lieve there is less danger of in
vasion than ever before in the
history Of the United States.
When the present war is over,
Europe will have no ships with
which to invade the United States
and no money to equip an cNpcdi-
ton. 1t would take the victorious
nation year to get ready. Why
then should the attention Of our
people he turned to the prepara-
ton for war, which must result
ultimately in war?
| also believe that if we pre-
pare. Canada and the rest Of
North and South America must
prepare for war and thus turn
this Continent into an armed
camp which has for forty years
cursed Europe and her laboring
population with enormous taxes
and resulted in the present uniycr-
sal conflict.
/ | believe that interested parties
are back Of this agitation for
preparation for war, men who
speculate out Of the necessities OF
governments engaged in armed
conflicts and who never do any
lighting or join the army them
selves. No war can be a lust
war, but a war Of defense to rcpel
invasion.
| believe that the best prcpara-
tlon for war will be to do econorn-
ic justice by our own population
by furnishing every man a
chance to earn a living, protect
ing him from exploitation by the
cunning and the strong and see
ing that. he has the entire product
Of his toll, and thus infuse our
citizens with such intense patriot
ASH loxe Of country that invasion
would be impossible.
| | am certain no European ma
tion or Asiatic nation, for that
matter, will undertake to invade
the United States. 1t would take
a thousand ships to transport one
million men to the shores Of the
United States from any country.
These ships would cost more than
two billions of dollars, to say
nothing of the equipment and food
and armament which they would
have to bring with them And if
thev should succeed in evading
our submarines. and finally reach
our shore and land their cotire
force. while they We're doing SO
we would throw up and eanoank-
ment Of earthworks around them,
which the battles of Europe Lave
demonstrated are in,DrcgnabIe.
We would not have to attack then:
only resist their attacks and
hold our entrenchments. DER sub
marines would cut them off from
their supplies by sea, and ;hc rl-
innate result would be their utter
destruction by starvation, and
without ever being able to leave
the shore where they landed. iii
they landed in Mexico or Canada,
the result would be the same-we
would meet them on our border
line.
IN all the history Of the world,
no great army with its equipment
has ever been transported across
the sea and successfully invaded
any country. For thousand
years England has been free from
invasion because of the 20 miles t
of water which separate her from
the continent Of Europe. Spain.
the the height Of her power and
greatness. equipped the Armada
to invade England and she entered ,
the English Channel with vast
force of more than ten ships to
one Of the force Of ENGLAND could
bring against her: and yet no
landing was made on the English
Coast; but her immense ships-
twice as large as those command !
ed hK Howard and Drake event
toithe. bottom. and the Armada,
after sailing around England and
Scotland. was wrecked in a storm
on the Coast of Ireland.
About the middle of the TEir-
teenth Century. the Tartars, nm Ter