Arizona republican., 1917-12-26

given to do the fighting, but in some for or other he is rendering his share of service to the country. The ord1- nary work of the country, the tiilage of the fields, the keeping of the shops, all the common machinery of exist ence, is done today by old men and by women. Again and again as l went through the country there came to me those lines in Macaulay in which he describes the march of Lars Porsena against Rome, and speaks of the way the work had there to be done by the women and the old men,
 by the boys and the young girls, be-
 cause their sires had marched to Rome And that is France today It is a whole nation in arms. Three years of that mean a terrific strain.
 Today in France the first joyous enthusiasm for the war has gone. To- day they have rather come to sober second wind, to a feeling that they
 have taken the war inside their lives as one of the things which must be
 borne, which must be carried, which
 must be put up with They go to it no longer singing and with joy, but
 rather with stern resolution, with firm
 resolve to fight to the end, with firm
 intention to do their duty. to carry
 on their part of the contest no mat ter what it costs them, no matter how long it will take More than that no
 one could ask for. They fought the | fight while the English got ready 1 They fought the fight while we hesi- tated and did not know whether we 1 belonged in it or not. From now on
 it is for us and the English to take i up the full share of the burden, to
 carry, 1 believe. the greater part of
 the struggle that is to come.
 | The Allies Must Control the Sea
 Now, that being so, what is it that l it behooves the United States to do?
 The first and most important task is to keep and strengthen the allied
 control of the sea, to add to the num-
 Der of ships which can transport men
 and munitions and food to Europe. That is the one great necessary thing. | That is the only thing which is ab- solutely indispensable to success. 9th
 CT things may retard an allied vic tory. It may be postponed by Ger
 man military success. It may be de- layed by differences if plan among the
 allies. It may be kept back by the failure of this or that country to dc it's full part. But in the long run, if
 we keep control of the sea, if we art
 able to send supplies to Europe, as
 they are needed, the issue cannot be
 doubtful. No group of countries, nc
 matter how brave, no matter how well
 organized, in the long run can fight
 successfully against the world. Ger
 many and Austria are great countries
 and have in many ways the best
 strategic position in this war, but | ne trio in, r,t.-
 are bound to be beaten, just as France
 was beaten in the Napoleopic wars
 when it had military power perhaps
 relatively greater th;tn the German
 power today, when it held an ever
 larger part of continental Europe ir
 it's grasp, and when it was led by the
 greatest military genius whom tho
 modern world has known. In the
 long run there can be only one result
 of this contest if we keep control O.
 the sea, and because that is so it i:
 vital above verything else that W, ' should strengthen our navy, should
 build ships and yet more ships, anC should enable ourselves to put fortl
 the full force which is at our com mand and the command of our allies , Next to that we want to put ever, man we can upon the fighting line il France. That is being done today, ; believe, from all I could learn. as fas
 as the conditions admit, and bein, done, I think, with great wisdom ant | with great intelligence in detail b, our government. All I heard abou } the American preparations in France : their thoroughness, their care an, , their broad grasp of the condition which the country has to meet, i'm [ pressed me with enormous strength . The administration is doing all tha } any administration could do, given tn l conditions it has at it's command
 , don't say one may not criticize her I or there; I don't say one may no f differ with this or that detail; but i :, the main the work is being well done
 and done with a wise confidence i the men who are in charge at tn l front, with a wise readiness to le | them have control of what is bein , done, so as to do it in the most eff T fective and the most expeditions way : Week after week transports are goin v under convoy, carrying our soldier 0 to France. Week after week our littl 0 army there, as yet a very little arm, : but increasing day by day. | strengthening and training for tn e work it has to do. Week after wee n stores are accommodating, roads are ,be k ing got in condition, hospitals ar e preparing, and all the rest of tn x paraphernalia necessary to a success