Montpelier examiner. [volume] (Montpelier, Idaho) 1895-1937, 1916-12-29
OUR GENERALS ADVICE


great army and navy for the Unit
ed States. From a military view
that is altogether natural and wise.
and trying to peer into the future
through the light that the past sheds
upon the world. congress should re-
spond to the demand.
1t will not do to lull ourselves in
to the belief that war between our
country and Great Britain ia unthink-
able. Great Britain has made her
money in trade ana by the conquest
OF the unoccupied lands of the earth
and OF India, she has been In alli-
ance with Japan since the Japanese
Russian war. Nothing is palmer
than that Russia and Japan have be-
gun the absorption of eastern ASIA
They already control Manchuria and
Mongolia. and since the great pres
emit war began Japan has wrung
from China concessions which vir-
tually make her a subject nation of
Japan. We should be blind to i'm
agiRe that, II China is to be parti.
toned, Great Britain will not insiss
upon her portion OF 1t. Japan az
fects warm friendship for the United
States. but whenever any of her
public men give expression of that
friendship they couple with it the
hope that the United States will soon
extend to Japan the perfect equality
which we give to the European ma
lions when they land on our shores,
which means absolute social equali-
ty; the opening of our schools to
her children, the giving title to our
lands to any of her subjects who
may declare their intention to be-
come American citizens. That would
in thirty years give the title to vast
areas in California. Oregon and
Washington to Japanese. Since her
war with Russia, Japan has grown a
mighty army OF trained soldiers: she
has a navy nearly as great as our
own and Is now building battleships
more formidable than any we pos
sess. She Ia nearly ready to assert
herself In any direction that she may
please and she is in close alliance1
with both England and Russia. The
foregoing gives the reasons why Gen.
erals Wood and Scott want our coun-
try to be ready for great war in
case It Ia sprung upon us and as
preventative against having 1t
sprung. @And certainly It Is wise ad-
vice, unless in the settlement Of the
present awful war 1t can be arranged
to make 1t unlawful for nations to
league together in offensive and de-
fensive alliances, which can but have
the effect to prolong wars indefinite
ly.
Japan Is the most dangerous of
powers. Russia has land enough,
so has Great Britain, but Japan has
the ambition to become the modern
Rome Of the world, to acquire all the
land she wants and the rule of the
trade of all the seas.
This fact is so apparent that Eng
land and Russia might consent to
an international law forbidding such
alliances and placing all nations in
alliance to protect the world against
future wars. It is the only way.
When peace is declared the critic
al time viii come for our nation and
the ablest statesmanship possible Will
be needed. and the heads Of our war
and navy departments should be the
very foremost men that can be found
in not only craftsmanship, but in
the mechanics and chemistry OF the
two arms, of the service. Ours is
a great country. but 1t is IN most
nnwieldy form In It's most important
essentials. and we fear that nothing
but great war will ever arouse the
people to a realization OF its gravest
needs: One OF which Ia that "Eter-
nal vigilance Ia the price Of Liberty"
--Goodwin's Weekly.