The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1917-12-28
PRESIDENTS 1874
MESSAGE BLAMED
BY |. R. FOR DELAY

KANSAS CITY. Dec. aS.--In a
copyrighted editorial article in the
Kansas City Star. Col. Theodore
Roosegelt writes, under the ditle
-Broomstiek Preparedness Study
IN Cause and Effect" as follows:
II; Is earnestly to be hoped that the
Congressional investigation into the
fruits Of our military preparedness
will keep Two objects clearly In mind
First. the aim must DE TO sped up
the work OF efficient war preparation
by doing away with all the present
practices that are wrong. Second.
the aim should be TO make evident
TO all our people that our present
shameful shortcomings are due to
failure TO prepare in. advance. and
that never again ought we TO allow
our governmental leaders 20 put us in
such 4 humiliating and unworthy po-
sitton.
II win be quite impossible to get
all the facts OF our unpreparedness.
Most officers will be very reluctant
10 testify 10 the whole truth. They
know that they win suffer IL they do
so, because they have seen the pun
ishment inflicted by the Administration
on Major General Wood for the soie
reason that be dared to tell the truth
about our shortcomings, an dared to
advocate preparedness in advance.
6pn't quote oGIeers.
Tor thfsereason I am not at liberty
to quote the generals. eoionels. cap
tains and lieutenants OF artillery. in
fantry. medical corps and quarter
master corps who have told me of
their troubles with unheated hos
rT7aUNm frf1V4N
derclothcs in winter weather, lack OF
oFetcOats, OF shoes, OF rifles, OF am
munition, OF cannon. But in the
camps I visited saw some things so
evident that no harm can come to any
officer from my speaking OF them.
Last fall ] saw thousands OF men
drilling with b-oomsticks ] have
such a broomstick now before me.
Last fan 1 saw thousands of men
drilling With rudely whitfield wooden
guns have one such before me
now. I saw them drilling with
wooden machine guns as late as the
rels mounted on sticks, on which
jealous captains were endeavoring to
leach their men how to ride a horse
saw in the national army camps in
Illinois and Ohio scores OF wooden
lannon's. Doubtless any man can
see Them now II he goes there.
The excellent officers in the camps
are as rapidly as possible renedying
those deficiencies. I hope and be-
heve that by spring they will all be
remodied. But let our people not for
get that for one year after Germany
went to war with us we were wholly
unable TO defend ourselves and owed
our safety only to the English and
french ships and armies The cause
was our refusal to prepare in ad-
vance.
u. s. Paid the Price Later.
President Wilson's message Of De
eember, 1914. in which he ridieuIedI
those who advocated preparedness
WAS part of the cause. His Presi-
dsntial campaign on the "He Kept Usl
Out of War" issue was part of the
cause. We paid the price later with
broomstick rifles, loEwood cannon,
soldiers without shoes and epidemics
OF pneumonfa in the camps. We are
paying the price now.
We pay the price in the doubled
cost Of necessary war supplies. We
pay the price In shortage OF coal and
congested transportation. The re-
fusal to prepare and the price we
new pay because OF the refusal stand |
tn the relation OF cause and effect.
do not dwell on these facts to blame |
anybody. ! dwell on them in order
10 wake our people to the necessity
OF learning the lesson they teach. Our
next and permanent duty is TO intro
duce the policy OF universal obliEa-
tory military training for all our
young men before they are twenty
one.