New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-03-05
PREPAREDNESS FOR PEACE
Gigantic Struggle Industrial and Commercial Supremacy Must Follow
the War and VIII Be the Of All
Natons-NIeans for Providing Against War in the Future

Rockies These factories should build every
thing needed in war from motorcycles and
automobiles TO the largest guns And in ad-
dition to these factories the United States
should encourage private muniton plants,
which should be located far enough from our
coasts to be out of reach of invaders. These
munition factories should serve as great
training schools for mechanics The workers
in these factories having been trained At the
expense Of the nation the government should
require them TO 20 into reserve and 70 re
port for duty az any time when required. IN
conjunction with these factories there should
be established plants for the building OF
seroplanes and airships and the training OF
aviators. and some way should be found to
keep large numbers Of these men in con-
slant practice.
! believe that some way OF using these fly
ing machines 20 increase our industrial eff
cheney could be found. They might carry
the mails and small parcels between great
cities or over routes not otherwise prac-
ticablc
Sixth.-Great permanent camps should be
established in many parts % the country in
which industrial and mechanical training
should be combined with military drill
Seventh.-Congress should Immediately
pass law requiring every young American
70 enter the national service for At least ~ o
years. This service should be a combination
Of training nm citizenship and for military
and industrial efficiency. from the young
men entering the national service cadets
should be chosen for our military and naval
academies, for our munition factories and
for the national shpbuildng plants. Those
not needed for these places should spend part
Of their time upon engineering works Of
mil al al
example. they might spend part Of their
time building great military railroads paral-
lei with both coasts from north 20 south.
To the patriotic American the cost Of car
ryine out the programme above outlined
will not be an nsurmountable objection when
we realize that the cost Of preparation will
in all probability be far less than the cost
of not preparing. II is believed by competent
Judges that If Great Britain had had a
trained force which would have enabled her
70 send an expeditonary force Of six hundred
thousand into France the present great Euro
pean conflict would never have begun. In
the case of Great Britain the cost OF adequate
preparation would have been d mere nothing
compared TO the cost which she is now in
curing Paying ar insurance premium IS
cheaper than rebuilding after fire, and sem
sible men do not consider the cost Of all
insurance premium as a total loss even II
their houses do not burn. II American pa
triotism is equal TO American wealth the cost
will not hinder thorough and adequate prepa-
ration. If greed cowardice and folly rule
to-day our nation will some time pay the
price which greed, cowardice and folly al
ways exact
Let me close this paper with an extract
from a speech made by the German chancel-
Tor april 7. 1879 when introducing the
army bill: History knows Of no people
which came TO disaster because it had ex-
haustcd itself in the making Of It's de-
fences, but history knows Of many peoples
who have persisted because, living in pros
perity and luxury, they neglected their de-
fences. A people which thinks that il is not
rich enough to maintain its armament shows
merely that it has played its part" Has
America played its part?
PHILIP FORESIGHT.
New York Feb "a 1916