The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1917-08-31
BY HUDSON MAXIM
Member Advisory Board, American
Defense Society.

foundation of free institutions are
quaking under the assaults of Ger
many's great guns. 1t is Of the ut
most Importance that the American
people should realize, and without a
moments delay, that our peril is ac-
tual, colossal and imminent.
The time for united supreme effort
is now. The time has come when ev-
cry selfish interest must be made to
yield to the one common supreme in
terest, the salvation of the nation.
1t is time that treason should be de-
fined, and if it's definition is not
found encompGssing enough to in
clude all traitors and enemies of the
country, its definition should be
broadened to include the activities of
all persons, whether actuated by good
intentions or by bad intentions,
whether based on ignorance or on
German propaganda, so long as those
activities tend toward the country's
undoing.
To advocate pacifsm, that tells the
people there is no danger, when there
is very great danger, should be trea-
son.
To advocate disarmament when we
should arm, to tell US that we should
disband our army when we are in
urgent need of raising and training
great army, should hereafter be
treason.
Should Be Treason.
To proclaim that there is no danger
of war and to discourage enlistment,
when we are resting on a very volca-
no of war, should be declared treason.
If such activities be not already recog-
nized as actual treason, they should
be so recognized and so proclaimed
and made punishable with death.
Before the outbreak of the world
war millions of Americans were led
by the pacifsts to believe that we were
actually flirting with the millennium.
When the great European war burst
upon the world it should have con-
WINGED everyone at the start that it
would be utterly impossible for US to
keep out of the war very long, and it
should have set US to getting ready at
once, with all our might and with ev-
cry resource. Yet nothing was done
for more than two years to prepare
for the great struggle in which we
are now involved.
There is, even now, wide lack of
appreciation of the fact that the coun-
try is in danger, the pernicious fatu-
ism that (of course we could lick all
creation and not half try) is hard to
eradicate. Had we entered the war
at the start and done then exactly
what we have started to do now we
might have made the winning of the
war by the allies assured; but it may
very likely be too late.
Some disquieting facts: The war
cannot be won against Germany on
land. It requires five times the num-
Der of men and five times the guam
tity of munitions to capture a mod
ern entrenched position that it does
to hold such a position, and there can
be no such preponderance on the
western front.
The war must be won, if won at all,
on the sea and in the air.
That Germany has been greatly sue
cessful on land since the outbreak of
the war, cannot be denied, and lately
she has been crumpling up the Rus
sian republic like piece of paper.
When Germany needs a new army
to fill her depleted legions she has but
to pave the way to a Russian cam
paign by bribery of the right persons
in right places and then go and cap
ture Russian army. If it be urged
that captured Russians could not we'll
be turned against their own people
and that Germany would be too con-
siderate to adopt such~a measure, it
may also be urged that the Russians,
already, without German compulsion
are setting themselves against their
own people and cutting one another's
throats most literally, while the acts
of Germany since the war began are
not such as to warrant the belief that
she would hesitate much from ethical
consideration in fighting Russians with
Russians.
Hordes at Germany's Bidding.
Frederick the Great once captured
an enemy army and compelled it to
fight for him. If Germany succeeds
in conquering Russia. or the most i'm
portant parts of it, she will easily be
able, by force and bribery combined,
to establish Russian government IA
vorable to Germany, and be able to
enlist Russia as a German ally. Then
all the great hordes of the European
and Asiatic steppes will be at Ger
many's bidding, and the inexhaust-
ible resources of vast fertile regions
will be Communicated for her use.
The most abominable and terrible
weapon Of war is poisonous gases.
The Germans have recently developed
a gas which is at once highly poison
Gus, invisible and without odor. It is, |
therefore, impossible to know when the |
gas is coming. Men falling dead in
their tracks is the first signal AS far
back as four miles behind the trenches
many have been smitten and killed by |
this gas.
The effects of the paison are mainly
those of carbonic oxide. If the victim
is not killed Immediately by the poi
son he may revive in a hospital and
soon feel as well as ever, but the mo-
ment he gets up he is likely to fall
dead from the clots in his
blood made by the poison.
The gas is probably a mixture of
~, i, ox,,Jo ,,,s4I L.